Combat High: Chapter Two
Secret Fight Club
To read the first chapter of this story, go to Combat High: Chapter One
Pain explodes like fireworks in my ribs. My legs throb. I don’t want to pry my eyes open yet.
Mirren, take a breath, let it out. Do it again.
I’m just going to tune out the laughs and cheers, the gritty grains of sand and blood sticking to my damp body. It feels like there is a vice squeezing my head.
Enough.
When I stand up, I try to cover my wince. It won’t do to let people see that I am suffering. Everyone here is a potential enemy, watching.
It is dark in the basement of the school. Rough stone walls glisten with moisture and shadows hang in the spaces between shifting throngs of people.
I shiver as the sweat streaks down my back. They are icicles along my feverishly hot skin. I bring my gaze from my feet to the crowd around me. Some people look down at me, jeering, faces red with alcohol and excitement. I stand in the square below them and lick my sweaty lips.
All of a sudden the attention is on a spot just over my shoulder. I tilt my head to the right to stretch my neck muscle and take just seconds to enjoy the sensation of the tight chords loosening. I turn around and it feels like slow…
