The swarm

Lightning Blast

I get to the road that the building is on. I find the building after some searching. I've never had a match here. It's slightly nerve racking, but very exciting.

The building is a run down shop. The sign still hangs over the door. The neon lights are far beyond repair now. "Jimmy's Antiques" the sign reads. It's sad that this is the condition of the building now. It must have been a family shop.

I throw my apple in the grass across the street and open the door. I see stairs leading to a underground room. The entrance to the shop is horrible. It reeks of dead rat and mold. I figure the stairs are the best place to go. I walk down them, slowly.

What I am greeted with surprises me. It's a huge room full of bright lights. In the center of the floor is the arena. It feels just like home.

A hand claps the back of my shoulder. "Rebel! Nice to see you again! Where've you been?" A man says. It takes me a moment to recognize who he is, but when I do a smile widely.

"Zach! Hey! I've missed you too! I've been at other fights closer to me and busy with school." I say to Zach.

We were friends all throughout elementary, then we started joining fights together. I haven't seen him in two years, man how much I missed him.

"Follow me to the warm up room. Maybe we can catch up on things?" Zach asks me while rubbing the back of his neck, clearly showing he is nervous.

I follow him to the warm up room. I unzip my bag and begin throwing out my clothes, gloves, and wrap. I quickly change into my fight clothes, not caring if Zach sees. He's seen me change so many times it's not a problem anymore.

"So, you know who I am fighting, don't you? I saw you looked nervous." I say as I wrap my hands.

"Yeah, Lightning Blast. I'm sure you've heard of him before." Zach tells me. He helps run and administer all the fights. He knows all of the fighters.

"Yeah, Sam told me. I never knew before that. To be honest, I was nervous earlier." I strap my gloves on and start walking to the punching bag.

Zach follows me, nearly stepping on my heels. "You were before and now you suddenly aren't?" Zach's face is contorted with confusion.

I nervously laugh. "Well yeah, I mean I was before. I'm not now. I figured I shouldn't let my nervousness get the best of me. If I do, it may affect my fighting." I say. I do a couple round houses, jabs and elbows into the bag.

"Dang girl. You sure do know how to fight. I almost forgot how great you were." Zach says smiling. I can't tell if he's complimenting my fighting or my mind set.

"Thanks, I guess you could-" a screech of a microphone interrupts me. "Up next... Black Lightning versus Rebel Yell!" A man yells into the microphone.

"Listen, Rebel, you be careful. I don't want to be hauling you off to the hospital after the fight. Use technique and think." Zach is now holding both my shoulders.

"I promise." I say. Zach pulls me in and hugs me tightly. He is very warm and smells of cologne. I missed that smell.

I pull away, frowning and start walking toward the arena. "I love you, Rebel." I hear Zach whisper. I'm shocked.

I love him too, but I didn't know he loved me. This fills me with hope and I'm ready to fight, ready to impress Zach.