Fighting Thrasher Jones

{26} Man Down

The metal seats rattled and vibrated noisily as the audience stomped their feet, cupping their hands around their mouths to cheer. The volume rose in intensity as the first two competitors took their positions on either side of the ring, throwing fake punches and performing dodges to intimidate the opponent.

Dealt an unlucky hand in the randomized bracket, the high schooler, who was known as Viper, prepared for his first match as he faced off against the man who had far more experience and the muscles to prove it; The Bruiser.

"Yeah!" Clara shouted with a fist pump, "Go Ruben!"

The outcome of the match had been obvious even before it had officially started. Seemingly the instant that the roster had been made, the odds had been stacked against Viper.

The rules of the match were atypical to those of a professional boxing match in that each match did not have a time limit and only ended when a fighter pinned their opponent for ten seconds using any tactic they saw fit to do so. Each round was sudden death, meaning that once a boxer had been "knocked out", they were eliminated from the competition.

At the sharp shrill of the bell, the referee stepped out of the way and The Bruiser attacked, faking a punch to the left only to use his powerful right hand to bury a punch deep in the teenager's gut. The air whooshed out of Viper's lungs and he gasped, doubling over.

The Bruiser mercilessly took advantage of the young opponent's weakness and barreled his leg into the unsteady ones of Viper, fracturing his bones with a sickening crack. Viper yelped and fell to the ground where The Bruiser leaped on his fallen form not even two seconds later.

The Bruiser held Viper down as Clara and the spectators chanted, "Ten...! Nine...! Eight...!" until they had reached zero. The bell rang once more, ending the match.

The Bruiser oozed confidence as he stood to his feet, basking in the light of the riled up crowd who had already foreseen him as the winner of the entire competition.

Viper had been escorted off the ring, covering his face in shame as he cried and his broken leg dangled limply.

The Bruiser waved his arms, gesturing for the audience to chant even louder. Clara jumped up and raised her voice, battling the rest of the people surrounding the ring in a competition to be the loudest.

"Isn't this exciting?" Clara asked after a few more matches had gone by. I shrugged, faking a smile to appear interested.

"Yeah, your brother is really strong," I remarked. The truth was; my stomach had been churning as I imagined Leo boxing. It should have been my brother that I was rooting for, not Clara's. My heart ached and I looked away to keep the tears at bay.

Clara nodded, saying fondly, "He's going to win the whole tournament, I just know it."

I couldn't bring myself to muster a response, so I kept my lips sealed tightly as the next two competitors took their positions.

"Match Five of Round One," the intercom announced as a strange quiet descended among the listeners, "Revenger Ross versus Thrasher Jones!"

There was a moment of absolute silence as everyone shared incredulous looks with each other. One by one, people started to clap slowly and yell; some in disdain and others in awe.