Rampant: A Divergent FanFiction (Book Two) ©

Chapter 7

                “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Lockdown! Now, let’s get ready to rumble!” Jax bellowed, drawing out the last word until he was out of breath.

                I wish he hadn’t. His amplified voice combined with the loud music that was playing over the sound system were only adding more pain to the pounding in my head. I winced; feeling like my head might shatter at any moment. If it hadn’t been for the crowd of people, I would’ve literally curled into a ball and squeezed my hands over my ears to drown out the painful uproar.

                A day, a single measly day without alcohol, and already I felt like I was going to go insane. All the bluster I’d made saying that I wasn’t totally dependent on the stuff had been just that; a bluff. I’d never thought the time would come when someone, much less Banks, would force me to give up the only lifeline I had to staying mentally-stable.

                “After counting up all the votes, it has been decided that the first fight of the night will be between John the Boulder Andrews, and Sage the Monster Stronghold!”

                My nerves felt like they were exposed electrical wires; buzzing with a dangerous amount of energy that needed to be released. Upon hearing my name I immediately stood and went to stand to the right of Jax, while John took the left.

                “And now for the fun part!” Jax continued after the crowd had quieted down enough for him to be heard. “Weapons!”

                He pulled out a battered-looking wood box, and then gave it a vigorous shake. The crowd was going mad; this was the other part that made Lockdown fights so famous. The customer is always right, was the motto around here. If they asked that we fight with metal pipes, then we asked how thick they wanted them, if they wanted us to use stones, then we asked what size they’d like; essentially, we were at their mercy.

                There were only two weapons that weren’t allowed; knives, and guns. That would’ve been boring. The point of the wooden box was that the people were allowed to get creative and invent exactly what they wanted us to use. Then, like animals, we’d be tossed into the Cage to see just who was stronger than the other; no holding back.

                Technically, because Lockdown fights weren’t legal, the unspoken rules we had to keep in mind as fighters were that if we were injured and then asked what had happened, we always had to say, it was an accident; the Cage workers and audience would be in no way implicated in what had occurred. And though it hadn’t happened in all the years it had been going on, before we accepted a nomination for a Lockdown, we had to be well aware that death was a possibility.

                However, possibility was the key word. The Lockdown was supposed to be fun for the crowd and an easy way to make money; not a way to decrease the dauntless population.

                Jax gave the wooden box a final shake, and then he lifted the lid and fished out a folded piece of paper. The crowd went momentarily quiet in anticipation, and comically enough, I was relieved; the break from the thunderous racket was almost soothing.

                “And the weapon for tonight will be–” he unfolded the sheet “– knuckle-gloves, what a classic!”

                The multitude cheered, and from a different edge of the podium I saw one of Jax’s assistants jog over. He handed John his gloves first, and then me. I took them, and then gave a small sigh of disappointment. With all the anger and frustrations that had been building up inside of me, I’d sort of hoped I’d have a better chance at venting with tonight’s battle.