Not So Cinderella

by Rebekah L. Thompson

  I clean the cut on his cheek and look up into his eyes. “What do you fight for, Daddy?” I move my hand away from his face, now that it’s clean. I smile. He looks more like my normal daddy now.

  Daddy smiles at me and pulls me to him before standing. “I fight for you, your brother, and your Mama. I fight for the people I love.”

  I smile at him, knowing he loves me. He looks over at my mama and my brother with a smile.

  “I wanna fight one day, Daddy,” I tell him.

  He smiles and kisses my cheek. “As long as you fight for the right reasons, baby girl.” And I will. I won’t ever fight for the wrong reasons. I want to fight for what’s right, just like my daddy.

  A noise sounds outside the door, pulling me from my sleep. I jump to my feet as the door opens, revealing several large men. Ignoring the pain in my body, I glance at the clock beside the bed to see that I’ve been asleep for two hours. I feel a little better, more energized, but still hurting.

  “Come on, girlie,” Damien orders, appearing in front of the men. I glare at him but follow his orders. Not like I have another option. I follow him out the door, all the men circling me. I eye them and give each of them my best glare. They should know this is wrong.

  My bare feet shuffle along the cold concrete floor as the men herd me towards the fighting ring. I’m assuming that it’ll be an unfair fight with no rules except to win, so I have to win. I can’t afford to lose. It’s not like I’d ever let them go after my brother, not if I could help it.

  I can’t let them get the money either. They’d just use it to hurt more people. That money is what’s going to help me pay for my college and Mason’s college. That money will help us get through life.

  There are over two hundred thousand dollars in that account. The letter I got said my father always took money out of his fight winnings and put it in savings for us, along with money from the paychecks he and my mother got. He mentioned it when I was younger, letting me know that he’d always take care of us if anything happened to him. Now, it’s my responsibility to take care of my brother.

  Like my father, I fight for my family and my life.

  Chapter 34

  Athena

  I can hear them. The crowd. They’re through the doors and cheering. Loudly. Victor and Damien must’ve rounded up a group while I slept to ensure they make a profit from this last-minute fight.

  Also, I can hear Damien as he introduces me, the Cinder Wolf, and the Titan, who I suppose is Victor. I’d be flat out lying if I said I wasn’t nervous because I am. I’ve fought many men before, but everything about this fight is foreign. He could’ve rigged the match. He could have a weapon. There are so many unknown variables.

  Bouncing on the balls of my feet, I wait for the doors to open. I’m ready as I can be. I have to do this for me, for my family, Drake, and our future. I must win.

  I have to.

  I will.

  The doors in front of me open, letting a spotlight shine in which nearly blinds me. I blink a few times, lifting my hand to block the white rays. I immediately see the large metal cage in the middle of the room, where we’ll fight. Spectators sit and stand all around the extensive construction. Most of them are men, but I do see a few women sprinkled throughout the crowd.

  Before I can think, my feet move, and I’m weaving between the cheering crowds. I look around for any familiar faces but see none. Nothing about this is typical.

  Again, I look ahead. Victor is already in the cage, exciting the crowd up with his yelling, whooping, and fist-pumping.

  “Strike quick,” Dad’s voice tells me. I walk up to the ring and step in. Here we go. Victor stops jumping around and smirks at me. “Block out all the noise. It’s just you and your opponent,” his voice instructs me as I move to my corner of the cage. Victor saunters to his corner as Damien steps into the middle and silences the crowds.

  “Cinder Wolf, today, I’m giving you the fight of your life, or for your life,” he tells me, making people laugh. “You’ll fight until one of you is dead or knocked out, but I’m sure we’d all like to see you kill,” he smiles, but I know he’s serious. The set of his jaw and the rigidity in his stance tells me he’s completely serious.

  I glare at the vile man in front of me. “I will not kill for you,” I growl, which only makes him smirk. “Keep calm,” my dad’s voice coaches, and I take in his words. I breathe in deeply and turn to Victor. Both men send smug smiles my way as I drown out the sounds. I control my breathing and only listen to Damien.

  “You’ll have only one round, so the last one standing wins,” he announces, motioning for us to come to the middle of the cage. We both nod to Damien, and he moves out of the cage and yells, “Fight!”

  “Arms up.”

  “Don’t turn away from your opponent.”

  “Anticipate.”

  “Keep the fight off the floor if you can.”

  With those instructions, I put my attention back on Victor. He makes the first move, too eager. He lunges for me, throwing a punch. I duck and shuffle away, making him growl. Again, he comes at me, but before he can do anything, I sweep my leg out and catch his, sending him to the floor with a thump.

  Quickly, I send a punch to his face and a couple to his torso. Victor’s face reddens, and he uses his feet to kick me away. My breath temporarily leaves me as I scramble back to my feet, just to get punched in the face. Dang. The hit brings previous pain flaring to life.

  “You should’ve just given me the information,” he sneers, shoving me against the chain-link wall. I groan at the metal that scratches my already injured back, but I don’t give up. In response, I throw my fist out, jabbing him in the neck. He stumbles back, choking as I fall back into my fighting stance.

  Victor roars in anger and runs at me. I dodge his attack and spin around to face him again. He’s quick to use his entire body against me, slamming me to the floor. “Keep the fight off the floor if you can.” Like my dad taught me, I curl my legs, settle my feet on his stomach, and then shove to get him off me. He flies back onto the floor, and I stand up, my body aching from the heavy impact and all the other damage he and Victor inflicted. This would be so much easier if I weren’t already hurt.

  As I stand, I try to calm my breathing and relax my body. “Don’t fight angry. Don’t fight stupid,” my dad told me. Moving as quickly as I can toward Victor, I strike a punch to his face. I don’t give him time even to blink before I punch him again. I’m about to deliver my third punch when I feel someone grab me from behind. The person yanks me off my feet, pulling an angry shriek from me.

  What the-

  Turning my head, I glimpse another man before the man punches me in the head- pain flares there and everywhere else when he throws me at the wall. The air leaves my body, and my vision blurs from the pain. Staying still somehow enhanced it. I blink the tears away to see two men towering over me. “What is this?” I grit, pushing to my feet.

  “This is my insurance, girlie. I never said I’d fight fair,” Victor spits, making me grind my teeth. I glare at him and raise my arms to cover myself.

  “Too afraid to fight me one-on-one, little man?” In this state, I can’t take them both on.

  Anger flashes in his eyes, and he scowls at me, then looks at the new guy. “Get lost, I got this,” he tells the man.

  I smirk. How stupid. The man leaves the cage with Victor still turned away from me. Stupid again. I take this chance to jump on his back and lock him in a chokehold. I tighten my arms around his neck, which, thankfully, causes him to puff and wheeze.

  The next thing I know, I’m slammed onto the ground, yet I tighten my arms more. I can’t allow myself to let go. It would just lengthen the fight. If I can just knock Victor out, I’ll be okay. Again, Victor lifts his body, slamming me down again. This time, the pain that shoots through my torso causes me to release my opponent, letting him have the advantage.

  “Keep moving, Athena,” my dad’s voice encourages me. He believed in me. He taught me t
o win in a situation just like this. With a sigh, I roll. Victor’s fist hit the hard ground beside my head, narrowly missing my face. Crap.

  Stay focused.

  He curses in pain. I jump to my feet, still gasping and trying to pull in the air. I swipe the metallic taste from my lips and simultaneously send a roundhouse kick at Victor. The kick lands in his side, drawing an ‘oomph’ from him and making him stagger back into the chains surrounding us.

  Without hesitation, I lunge forward, punching him multiple times in the face and torso. I put as much power as I can behind my punches. I hit harder than I’ve ever dared before, landing blow after blow to his face, then his chest, then his ribs. Something cracks. Probably one of his ribs.

  He tries to throw a right hook, but I block it. Missing his feet, I don’t realize the movement as he kicks at my legs. I tumble to the ground with a groan, and my faltering gives him a chance to straddle my hips. I bring my arms up in an X to protect my face from his oncoming punches. He used to put me in this same position when I first fought.

  “Get up, Athena! Fight!” I hear my father’s voice. I’m trying! I want to reply, but it wouldn’t do any good. I’m so tired and in so much pain. I want to stop. I want this to be over. I need it to be over.

  Taking in a breath, I shoot my arms up and smack Victor right in the nose. Not the best hit, but it does the trick. He falls over to the side, his hand clutching at his bloody nose. To keep him in my reach and keep him down, I grab his shirt and then knee him in the balls. He groans a high-pitched sound, and his hands move instinctively to his precious jewels. This’ll give me a minute to rest.

  Victor fumbles to get up, so I center myself and keep my balance by bouncing on my feet. I can’t let him have the upper hand. I look over his body for the softer, weaker spots of the body. He doesn’t have many soft sites since he’s pretty built, but I go for the usual- temple, throat, chest, stomach, cheeks.

  Holding my arms up again, I guard my face and keep my elbows tucked in tight. I don’t know how many more hits I can take. “Think. Protect your body. Look for weakness.” I glance at his legs to see he’s favoring his right leg. In an instant, I lunge forward. I send a side-kick to his right leg, making him stumble again. Then, I send a punch to the middle of his chest, making his body rock back and fall to the ground.

  Victor rolls over, a pained grimace shadowing his face, and glares up at me. He spits out blood, splattering it over the dirty floors. I stand over him, but not too close to where he could grab me. “You won’t… win this,” I breathe heavily, my voice scratchy and rough. He uses the cage fencing to pull himself into a sitting position.

  At this moment, I hear the crowd. They call for death. For blood. They want me to end him, and honestly, I want to finish him too. He killed my father and almost killed me twice. He threatened my family- the people I love.

  So, why shouldn’t I kill the man before me?

  I shake the thought from my head and remember my dad. “As long as you fight for the right reasons, baby girl,” he told me. I won’t kill this man, no matter how much I hate him. He ruined my life, but I won’t become him by taking his.

  “Go on, do it,” Victor spits, blood dripping out of his lips. Something wet slides down my face, making me wipe at it. Blood. I can feel my body aching and the blood that’s seeping out of wounds, but I ignore them.

  “No, I’m not like you. I won’t kill for entertainment,” I growl, making Victor smirk. He opens his mouth to speak but coughs instead. Blood splatters on the ground as he heaves and groans again.

  When his coughing fit passes, he looks up at me. “You’re just like your father,” he tells me. The way he says it makes me think he sees that as a bad thing, but it makes me smile. I always wanted to be like my dad, and now I guess I am.

  “NO! Someone has to die!” I hear Damien yell. He throws the cage door open and storms in. What catches my eye is the black pistol clenched in his hand. My body tenses as he raises the weapon and points it at me. He’s too far away for me to disarm him, but not too far to kill me if he pulls the trigger.

  “No one has to die. I won this fight. He’s down,” I tell Damien, who doesn’t lower the weapon. I glance at Victor, who also looks surprised.

  “A deal is a deal, Damien,” Victor coughs out, looking up at his partner. “She won. She goes free.”

  “You agree with me?” I ask, making him look up at me with a pained expression. Admittedly, I wasn’t expecting that. I figured, after the beating I gave him, he’d be furious and want me dead.

  He winces. “I’d rather live than have the money. I’m not stupid. A life without riches is still a life.”

  Damien scowls at Victor with an angry and crazed expression. “No! I want that money! We didn’t do this to come out with nothing,” he exclaims. A maddened look flashes in his eyes, and he cocks the gun.

  Drake

  We’ve been trying to locate Athena for hours. “They said it shouldn’t take too long, but we’ve been here for,” I stop and look up at the clock. “Four hours, forty-two minutes, and eighteen seconds!” I exclaim, pulling at my hair.

  Mason nervously glances at the clock and releases a shaky breath. “Drake, I don’t know. I can’t make them go any faster,” he tells me. I know this. But the officer Jason is working with is taking his sweet time. It’s probably not his fault; even so, it’s nerve-wracking and putting everyone on edge.

  Who knows what she’s going through? She could be getting tortured, or worse, she could already be dead.

  “I’m worried too, but counting the hours won’t help,” Mason tells me. “I trust Jason will find her,” he continues as I stand up to pace around. I’ve been up and down the whole time we’ve been here. It’s not good, and I think it makes Mason even more nervous, but it’s the only thing keeping me from attacking someone.

  “Dude, stop pacing; you’re not helping,” Chase demands, grabbing my shoulders. He shakes me roughly. It doesn’t help even as I consider him, consider what he’s saying. But I can’t stop the tears that gather in my eyes.

  “I can’t. Athena could be seriously hurt, man,” I tell him, my voice cracking a bit. He sighs and does something unexpected, hugs me.

  Mason stands and hugs also, and soon, Ross and Alec join the group hug. If anyone were to walk in the station, they’d see a group of leather-jacket-wearing, tattooed teenage guys hugging. It’d probably be an unusual sight.

  “We found her!”

  “What?” I ask, turning in the direction the voice came from. Jason is running towards us with several of those bulletproof POLICE vests- like the ones you see on TV- in his arms.

  He skids to a stop in front of us and thrusts one into each of our arms. “We found her. We’re leaving now. Put these on and follow me!” It’s probably not legal for us to go with him, but I don’t protest.

  We waste no time following him, sliding the vests on and securing them and our lives simultaneously. We run after him and notice several squad cars and two black S.W.A.T vans. Jason jumps into one van and motions for us to get in. We all climb into the back, and as the door closes, the vehicle speeds off.

  “We’re gonna get her, guys,” Jason assures us.

  Mason glances at me, and I nod. “She’ll be fine. She’s strong,” I tell him. He looks worried, chewing on his bottom lip and picking at invisible lint on his jeans. My face probably mirrors his worried expression.

  “Any of you fired a gun before?” I turn back to Jason and let out a breath.

  “I have,” I admit. Jason hands me a 9mm Pistol and looks at the guys. He raises an eyebrow in question.

  Chase reaches his hand out, and Jason passes him a pistol, too. “This is only to be fired as protection. My Commanding Officer had me sign papers for you all here, but you only use the weapon if you have to,” he tells us. I nod, and so does Chase.

  The van comes to a halt, and the back door opens, revealing a man dressed in black with a POLICE vest. “Come on. You tell them what to do?” The man asks
, his question directed at Jason. This must be his Commanding Officer.

  Jason nods as we file out of the van. I check my magazine then click the safety off. I take the lead behind Jason. Chase comes directly behind me, then some other officers follow after him. Alec, Ross, and Mason were told to cover the back and parking lot with some Officers if anyone tried to escape.

  When we enter the loud building, the sounds of screams and cheers reach my senses. Jason glances over his shoulder at me, and I see what he does. Athena stands in the middle of a boxing cage, a man pointing a gun at her and a second man on the floor.

  “Police!” Someone in the crowd yells, making everyone turn our way. The people panic and run, bumping bump into us and clogging the way as we shove through toward Athena.

  As I push towards my girl, the gunman points the pistol at the second man and yells something. Athena jumps in just as the deafening sound of a gunshot rings through the air. No! No! No!

  My heart stops when Athena crumples to the floor, and another gunshot rings through the air.

  “Athena!” I scream, pushing harder to get through. After the second shot, the man who shot Athena falls to the ground, and I realize Jason shot him. I shove harder, desperate to get to her.

  Please be okay, Flower.

  Chapter 35

  Drake

  I finally reach the cage, enter, and run past the man who had the gun. I fall to my knees beside Athena and pull her into my lap. Her skin is pale, and the bullet wound in her chest is seeping with blood. Other injuries- bruises and cuts- are purpling and have dried blood surrounding them. To stop the bleeding, I press my hands on the wound. As I apply pressure, I study the man leaning against the wall. He’s pretty beat up, his face bruising and swelling, blood dripping from his mouth. And he’s just sitting there, staring wide-eyed at my girl.