Cross My Heart (18+)

Diablo

Chapters from here on out will contain consistent violence and frequent deaths. Beware!

      "Please welcome the reigning champion, Demetrius Vain — also known Diablo!" A man over the speaker said. The crowd roared and stood up, applauding him. He was truly the center of attention, it was almost as if the other man wasn't even there. My ears were ringing from the noise, making my head pound. My anxiety was the worst it had been in ages. The crowd began chanting "Diablo! Diablo!" While throwing their fists up. Christ, did he have some sort of cult following?

Before I had the chance to plug my ears from the overbearing noise, a loud bell rung. "It's starting!" One of the women sitting next to me yelled over the noise. As much as I tried to pull my eyes away, I couldn't. I was morbidly intrigued at this point.

The other man was the first one to throw a punch, but the Diablo quickly ducked. It had to have been not even a second before he reached the arm that attempted to punch him, and twist it backwards. Various "o's" were yelled among the crowd. I immediately took notice that the Diablo was the soft of attraction. People came here to see him hurt others. It was sickening. I lowered my head, not wanting to witness anymore before I felt Axel's gaze tear into me.

"You must look." He spoke angrily, pointing towards the ring. I forcefully brought my head back up, seeing that the other man (whose name was never said) was pinned on the ground. There was a river of blood surrounding him as the Diablo continued to beat him with one hand and strangle him with the other. My chest heaved up and down, panic crawling into every crevice of my body. I could not keep watching this, but I had to. It felt like watching a horror movie, almost; but when you watch a movie you have the option to turn it off or cover your eyes if you don't want to see something. However, I had no option in this — I had to witness. There was no turning it off. I took comfort in every blink, making the sight go away for even just a split second. But, the noise was too overbearing. I still knew what was happening by the crunching of his bones.

Soon, the body turned lifeless. The Diablo stood up, lifting his arms as he yelled in victory. His body was covered in his opponent's blood, still wet due to the fact that this all had happened in less than three minutes. I sharply inhaled, feeling sick to my stomach. I should've never come here, I should've trusted my gut. I would much rather live on the streets than see this everyday.

The Diablo was led off of the stage by Mr. Sanchez, who obviously organized these events. The men and women sitting next to me stood up straight, giving him a nod of congratulations. How fucking brainwashed could people be?

"Quickly, follow me." Axel said, standing up. I followed him like a lost puppy into the back room with the others, including the Diablo. I felt a chill run down my spine. I was going to be in the same room with a ruthless murderer yet again tonight. I grudgingly walked into the room, seeing now that the Diablo — or I suppose, Demetrius, — was sitting on a small medical bed — just like the ones you see in regular hospitals. He had a fairly bad nose bleed, and the cut on his eyebrow and slash on his abdomen that exposed muscle (both of which already had stitches) had been reopened.

While some were cringing at the site, I only examined it. This was what my father had experienced once during a run-in with the Mafia. I pulled latex gloves over my hands before taking a generous amount of gauze and dousing it in isopropyl alcohol. I began cautiously walked towards him, but before I could reach the wound, a hand was placed on my shoulder.

"Do you really know what you're doing?" A woman hissed at me, her eyebrows pulling together. I shifted my stance so that she was no longer touching me. "Yes, I do. Everyone is just standing around, and he's losing blood." I retorted. I could see Axel smirking from my peripheral view, finally proving to me that he wasn't an emotionless robot.

"This will burn." I murmured to Demetrius quietly once everyone began talking about his latest victory. I always felt super uncomfortable when all of the attention was on me in a room, so I was relieved. He didn't say anything, making my curiosity grow. Was he just a stone-cold human? Was he even human to begin with? The rage in his eyes whilst he watched the life fade from another was beast-like.

I pressed the gauze to his structured abdomen, gently dabbing. "You're taking forever," Axel said. "Just wipe it off and stitch it up." I rolled my eyes as I continued to dab. "If you wipe, there's a higher risk of breaking the blood clots that have already formed. That means more bleeding, Axel." I responded, trying to hide the irritation and resentment I was feeling for this entire situation. It didn't work out too well.

I saw him clench his jaw angrily, but I ignored it. I finished dabbing the wound, still no sounds coming from Demetrius. His gaze was fixated on the wall behind me. And although people were coming up to him to congratulate him, his facial expression didn't change. His eyebrows were still slightly pushed down, his mouth in a straight line. Hard-ass.

Everyone in the room quickly got back to their conversations as I began to stitch the various wounds as gently as I could. With each puncture of the needle, Demetrius still didn't flinch. Obviously, there was no local anesthetic, either.

When I got to the cut on his face, I suddenly felt a wave of intimidation. His eyes were cold, but not directed at me. I gently dabbed at the cut, using a medical stapling gun to close the open wound. I winced when I heard the staple go through his skin. The noises were always the worst part. I finished up, putting bandages on his face before wrapping his abdomen in gauze. I felt my face turn beet red as I looked at his stomach, before accidentally brushing his skin.

I wish the ground would swallow me right about now.

Thankfully, he didn't notice. Why did I feel so shy? Why could I not stop thinking about how attractive he was? I wanted to punch myself in this face. 'This is a serial killer, Lux!' The small, morally-compassed voice said in my head. The other part of me was trying to convince myself that he was somehow forced into this. There was no way people willingly join this organization. For now, however, I didn't know. I felt so flustered and confused and terrified all at the same time, it was making my head spin.

"Lux, you are free to go. Same time tomorrow." Axel said.

And I swear to God, I have never bolted out of a place faster.