“Where will you go after we get away from here?” I asked.
“Well, Jackie said I can come with you guys, but I really just want to find my own family in the next state over. I hope they are still alive. I was scared out there, but I’m not scared anymore. I’ve been through too much here, and I just want out. I wish I could just find a car and drive away. Once we’re away from here, you guys can go your way, and I’ll go mine.”
“Sounds like a plan. I hope you find what you’re looking for.”
“I’ll be okay. I’m a survivor, like you.”
“That you are.”
* * *
I sat in my dorm room, fuming angry that we had to be so patient and let them push us around. They kept me under constant security and threatened Asia’s and Jackie’s life if I even tried any escape or refused to obey their orders. I did my best to assure them that I wasn’t a flight risk.
Over the next week, I trained hard every single day, like a good little gladiator. I sparred with other opponents, some I’d met on my first day there. I honed my combat skills and focused on strike delivery, reaction, and speed of recovery.
At three p.m., they took me to the ring for a mock fight.
Kirk motioned around the room. “This is where you will fight. It is important to get a feel for the place.” When the door opened, he looked across the room and smiled like a kid on Christmas morning. “Ah! Your competition has arrived.”
A big, burly man with a bushy beard climbed under the ropes. He was dressed in orange shorts and matching tennis shoes. He was ripped, with multiple tattoos across his arms, shoulders, and chest, and he instantly instilled fear into me. When he smiled, I noticed he had one gold tooth.
He made firm eye contact with me and laughed. ‘Boy, I’m gonna rule this ring...and you!”
The look of death in the intimidating man’s eyes made me feel instantly uneasy, but I refused to show any weakness by looking away. It didn’t matter how tough he was, because I knew the right pressure points to take him down.
Kirk crossed his arms. “What do you think, Anthony?”
“I’m not sure. This was your pick from that massive talent pool we have?”
Kirk nodded. “He can fight. I’ve seen him in action.”
The fighter walked over to me. “You don’t look like a contender for my throne.”
I just rolled my eyes. Frankly, I didn’t want his throne. I just wanted out of that place and their apocalyptic coliseum.
“I’m gonna put you in a body bag,” he said in a gruff, hostile tone. Then, without warning, he punched me in the stomach, dropping me like a sack of potatoes.
Kirk looked down at me. “Get up!”
I couldn’t breathe. And the pain...uh...
“Get up!” he repeated.
Breathing through the pain, I tried to do as ordered. But I fell back down again.
“This fight is over,” Kirk said.
“No,” I said.
He looked at my opponent. “Get out, Anthony!”
“Sure thing, boss.”
Anthony scurried away, laughing. “I told you he weren’t nothin’! Don’t go sendin’ a boy to do a man’s job.”
Kirk stood over me, shaking his head. “Zombie Slayer my butt! That was pitiful!”
The wind had been so brutally knocked out of me that I couldn’t even respond.
“I had no idea you were such a weakling,” he said. ”And to think, you did so well in my test!”
“Those were zombies,” I said, gasping for air. “This guy is just...outta my league.”
“What was all that talk about pressure points then?” Kirk demanded. “Your girlfriend would have stood a better chance in there!”
“I’m sorry. I’ll try to do better. He’s so fast. He just...caught me off guard.”
“You’ll try?” he roared. He kicked me, and pain exploded in my back. “I don’t need another disappointment! I suppose I can cut you a break, since this is only a practice one, but you should know that you have failed to meet my expectations. That is not wise to do.”
“Bring him back in,” I said. “I’ll show you I’m no weakling. I just wasn’t ready for a sucker-punch.”
“I won’t waste Anthony’s time on you again today, but I advise you not to lose your first fight. I have a lot riding on you. I am only giving you a chance because of what I saw in that zombie field. If you let me down again...well, I will let you down as well.” He called for a handful of security to escort me back to my room. “I expect more, Dean,” he said, then walked away in a huff.
One of the guys reached out his arm and helped me up. “You okay?” he asked sincerely.
I held my stomach. “I’m fine.”
“You’d better be. Kirk has a lot invested in you, and he won’t put up with you losing your first fight.”
I sighed. “I’m not a trained professional. That guy was way bigger than me and an experienced fighter. My moves work on the average guy, but I really only know a few things my brother and his best friend taught me and the little training I’ve gotten here.”
“Well, Anthony’s the champ. He’s practically untouchable.”
“We’ll see about that,” I said, breathing through the pain. “He might not be so lucky next time.”
Chapter 17
The day of my big fight came, and I was pitted against Marcus, a far fairer fight since we were both rookies. I wore shiny red shorts, tennis shoes, and no shirt. While I waited for my bout, I watched intently as the other fighters exchanged blows. When I peered closer, I noticed that they were girls, and one of them was Asia. My stomach clenched. I knew how vicious the girls could be, and I feared for her safety. Nonetheless, she was fighting like a pro, living up to her Bonecrusher name, and I couldn’t have been more proud.
Asia dropped her back hand to give her opponent the impression that a heavy hook was coming up. The trick worked, because the girl’s eyes gravitated to the dropped hand. Asia then went at the brunette with her lead hand, using a wide, sweeping uppercut. She sucker-punched the stick-thin girl, and it was lights out in one devastating blow.
The bell rang three times, and the crowd cheered and shouted. “Bonecrusher! Bonecrusher!” they chimed in excitement.
“And we have a winner,” the announcer said, holding up Asia’s hand.
After the excitement died down, the unconscious girl was carried out of the ring, and Asia was led out with all the fanfare of Rocky Balboa. As she walked up the aisle, she grabbed my arm, met my gaze, and spoke between gasping breaths, “Good luck.”
“You did great,” I said.
Before she could say another word, a man with a skull tattoo across his neck grabbed her arm and led her away.
I knew I didn’t belong in that ring, because I wasn’t an expert fighter or boxer. I was terrified, and it made me even more of a nervous wreck to fight in front of a crowd. I could only rely on what I’d learned from Nick, Lucas, Val, and the few tips and tactics I’d gleaned from the trainers Kirk had provided me. As Marcus entered the ring, I grew even more nervous. He looked far more rugged, tough, fit, and intimidating than I remembered him.
“He survived the games at Kingsville and has left the bodies of thousands of zombies in his wake. Hailing from Fairport, at six feet and weighing in at 170 pounds, Zombie Slayer!” the announcer said.
I wasn’t quite six feet or 170 pounds, and I wasn’t sure I’d killed thousands of zombies, but the crowd seemed to buy it and cheered me on.
“And in this corner, at six-six and weighing in at 220 pounds, hailing from Detroit, Cut Throat!” the announcer said. “He holds a mixed martial arts record twenty wins and two losses, ten by knockout.”
Sighing deeply, I got into a good boxing stance, bending my knees to put power into my punches. I held my hands up, with my left hand in front. I kept my elbows in, preparing to throw an uppercut with my dominant hand.
“Cut Throat is the favorite,” a man in the audience shouted. “He’s supposed to win
.”
I was sure Marcus had made the whole story up, trying to tell them what they wanted to hear. The people favored Marcus because of his embellished story; he’d told me he knew only a few martial arts. I didn’t really want to fight him, but I knew I had to, and the exaggeration made me even more determined to take down my foe.
Marcus started dancing around with a scowl on his face. I started to throw jabs to test his defenses. He wasn’t bad and had a few good moves, but I knew I’d steamroll him in the end.
He eyed me up and down. “I’m comin’ for you, Zombie Slayer,” he shouted. “You don’t have a gun, crowbar, or baseball bat to fight me. It’s mano a mano out here!”
“I save weapons for zombies,” I said. “All I need for you are these,” I yelled, holding up my fists.
The crowd cheered.
Staying true to character, Marcus said, “I’m gonna give you the pounding of your life, make you feel what those dead-heads feel when you destroy them.”
“Bring it on!” I said. I glared at him and got in my fighting stance. Breathing deeply, I lowered my head slightly and stared him down. I kept my feet on the ground so I’d be ready to attack, defend, or move away.
Marcus jumped around a lot and I knew that was a huge waste of energy. We fought in a flurry of jabs, straight and hook punches, and uppercuts.
It didn’t take long for me to grasp Marcus’s fighting style. He loved body punches and delivering left hooks to the bottom of my ribs, hitting me in the liver, as I’d advised Jackie to do. He was going for a body shock knockout, trying to paralyze my legs. I blocked them as best as I could, but I knew his m.o. Even if he couldn’t get a liver shot in, he could wear me down by hitting me round after round, because a sore gut and bruised ribs made it difficult to breathe. On top of that, I was still reeling a bit from that horrible punch from big Anthony.
Marcus cocked his hand back and came at me in a wide semicircular, looping motion, like a hook but with more force. Idiot! I thought. The haymaker’s only good if your opponent is weak and tired, unable to counter. His technique was poor, and I was able to easily counter his move. I went at him with a left jab, followed by a straight right, then a left hook. I went into pit bull mode and got right in his face, unleashing a barrage of punches. Marcus dropped to the canvas, but he refused to give up and quickly sprang back to his feet. We then slugged it out for nine more rounds.
When the bell signaled the start of the next round, Marcus lunged at me. I sidestepped, but he still nailed me really hard with a violent blow to the ribcage, sending a wave of sudden pain through me. He smirked and jabbed again at my midsection. The guy was relentless and came at me like an animal. I threw counterpunches while dodging his attempts to knock me down. I slipped under his right cross. Then, stepping sideways, I swung my fist around and plunged it right into his gut. I threw fast punches and managed to avoid most of his attacks.
He was sneaky and, in a flash, threw me into the ropes. The crowd went wild as he stood in the center of the ring, gloating as if he’d already won. I came back hard, but he threw powerful punches to my face and body. He started to get the better of me, landing a punch that cut me over my left eye.
As the blood trickled down my face, it lit a fire. I’d never been so determined to win, and my temper kicked in. I thought about what they were doing to me, to Jackie, to Asia, and even what they’d done to Eva, and something in me snapped. My pain was suddenly infused with rage, as if he’d unleashed a beast within. Former celly or not, I was ready to take his head off, and when he smiled arrogantly at me, I went ballistic, feeding him a steady diet of jabs.
I could tell by his heavy and labored breathing that he was tired. Fatigue was overwhelming him and I’d use that to my advantage. I was tired, too, but I was determined to box my way through exhaustion.
It was time to end it once and for all. I refused to lose my first fight, because I needed Kirk and his goons to stupidly be on my side. I lowered my left arm and cocked it back. I also stepped back with my rear leg and twisted my torso to the left. I kept my left arm firmly locked at a ninety-degree angle and aimed high at his jaw. Then I went in for the kill. I struck with an explosive, pulverizing, destructive thrust, throwing my entire body into the mix.
My killer left hook hit him hard, connecting perfectly with the side of his sweaty jaw. The resulting head snap caused a knockout, and he fell through the ropes, seeing stars and dreaming.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
“Lights out!” a man screamed.
“He went down like a Redwood in the forest!” a woman shouted.
“The Zombie Slayer jabbed his way to victory! We love him!” another screamed.
The crowd cheered like crazy, chanting my new name. If I had sold autographs that day, I would have been a post-apocalyptic millionaire.
“Whoa!” the announcer said. “That was lethal!”
The crowd screamed and cheered even louder.
“That was the prettiest punch I’ve seen in a while!” the announcer continued. “Folks, did you see that? So well executed, a sharp, quick snap at the perfect angle. It was precise and gorgeous, a real Mike Tyson special. Your winner is...” He walked over and held my arm in the air. “Zombie Slayer!”
Kirk climbed under the ropes, ran to me, and held my other hand up high. “Everyone,” he said, “give it up for our new rising star!”
The crowd roared and cheered my victory.
With sweat and trickles of blood running down my face, I pasted on a fake smile. Being forced to pound somebody like that just wasn’t right, because neither I nor Marcus had signed on for it, but we had to do what we had to do. That was the key to survival in the cold, new world.
Chapter 18
Days passed, but they would not let me see Jackie; they said I had to focus on training and that a woman would be too distracting. They did finally let me see Asia but only for a short time. Being controlled in such a way, as if I was some sort of convict, fueled my rage. Inside, I was angry, but I worked hard to control it. It’s only temporary, I told myself time and time again. We’ll get out of here soon enough—all of us. I threw my anger into my daily morning runs, hours of weightlifting and sit-ups, sparring with other fighters, and skipping rope to improve my footwork and rhythm.
I played their game and sucked up to them in an attempt to get out of there alive. In time, everyone came to know who I was, and they stopped to talk to me when I was escorted to the cafeteria to eat. In exchange for earning their trust, I was given a bit of freedom, allowed to go outside, into the fenced-in courtyard.
As the snow melted beneath the bright sunshine, I stared up at the blue sky and contemplated how I’d ended up there, separated from all my loved ones. “They don’t even know where we are,” I muttered. “I bet they think Z’s gang killed us and buried our bodies in some unknown location, dumped us where nobody will ever find us.” I knew better though. I knew Nick wouldn’t just let me disappear, and I was sure he wouldn’t leave Fairport until he at least had a body to bury.
A few guys were walking around, but I didn’t know any of them. I thought it best to keep to myself, because I had no idea if the strangers had volunteered to fight or if they’d been kidnapped. Like Eva, lots came voluntarily, in exchange for food, shelter, and peace of mind. What they didn’t know was, cross Kirk and they’d just be fodder for the zombies in the field.
One man continued staring me up and down, checking me out. As he did, I recalled what Jackie had said about being shanked. I watched him closely as he weaved in and out of the others in the group who’d just walked out into the yard. As I peered more closely at him, recognition hit, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. There, just across the courtyard from me, was Z’s brother, Jim, the guy who’d roughed me up back at that camp. Asia and I had barely escaped from his clutches.
“You!” he shouted, pointing at me. “You left me for dead back at that hospital. But my friends carried me out to safety.”
“Your brother left me for dead
in a burning warehouse full of zombies. And you were going to kill me back at your camp.”
He shot me the most evil look.
I clenched my fists. I’d take him on if he insisted. Yeah, he was bigger than me, but the bigger they are, the harder they fall. There was nowhere to run, so all I could do was stand my ground as he approached.
“Your friend killed my brother, boy, and now you’re gonna pay! I went into that danger zone after you because I didn’t want Claire to be smashed in all that mess. I didn’t wanna be denied my chance to kill her with my own bare hands!”
I cocked a brow. “Seriously? You dragged your team in there, risked their lives, just to settle some stupid vendetta? You got something against women? Because you roughed Asia up when she was tied up and defenseless. What kind of coward does that, especially to a girl?”
In a flash, he tackled me and took me to the ground. I dug my heels in and pushed my weight against my head, arching my back. He growled, lying on top of me, chest to chest. I wedged my hand into the space between us, just enough to give me the leverage I needed to turn. As I did that, I flipped one leg over the other, then used my legs to twist my hips. I also twisted my torso, and as soon as I corkscrewed my shoulders free, I shoved him and scrambled to my feet.
We now had an audience as everyone gathered in a frenzy of cheering and shouting. I was pounded by a flurry of blows as he pummeled me from my head to my ribs. He grabbed me, turned, and threw me over his shoulder. I landed on the ground, dazed until I felt the stomp of his boot in my chest, knocking the breath out of me.
In a blur, a dozen security guards rushed in and separated us. I couldn’t even explain my side of the story because I couldn’t talk.
“I want to fight Dean,” Jim shouted. “Put him in the ring with me. I’ll destroy him! He’s mine!”
Eva helped me up and walked me away from the incident, back to my dorm room, where a security guard opened the door for us. I swayed to the left, and she helped me get my balance. “Lie down,” she said, leading me to the bed.
Impact Page 14