Rune’s POV
My alarm went off at six.
I turned it off without opening my eyes.
Every muscle in my body ached, it’s been a while I had a good sleep.
I sat up slowly, rubbing a hand over my face.
I walked into the hallway and immediately heard coughing coming from my mother’s bedroom.
I frowned.
“Mom?”
The coughing stopped.
“I’m fine,” Coral said weakly.
I pushed the door open anyway.
She was sitting on the edge of her bed, one hand pressed against her chest while the other reached for the bottle of pills on the bedside table.
“You should’ve woken me.” I said
She forced a smile.
“You needed to sleep.”
“So did you.”
She looked away and I sighed and walked over, pouring her a glass of water before handing her the medication.
“You don’t have to hover over me.” She said
“I know but I’m going to do it anyway.”
After she swallowed the pills, I helped her lie back down.
“Do you have a hospital appointment today?” I asked.
She shook her head immediately.
“No.”
“Mom.”
“We don’t have the money.” She said
“I’ll get it ready tonight.”
“How?”
I didn’t answer and besides she already knew, Boss Vincent wouldn’t let us live until he’s taken every penny we owed him.
Her expression fell.
“Landon don’t put yourself in danger again”
“I’m just working.” I said
She closed her eyes.
“That’s not work, it’ll kill you.”
I looked away.
“It hasn’t yet.”
There was nothing left to say, she knew I wouldn’t stop and I knew she hated every second of it.
I grabbed my backpack from the floor.
“I’ll see you when I’m back.”
She nodded without looking at me.
My phone buzzed and I pulled it out, then the battery was dead.
“Seriously?”
I sighed, I’d forgotten to charge it, great, one more thing to deal with later.
I wasn’t supposed to fight today, but I needed to get drugs for my mum.
I rode my bike to the familiar rusted building.
A guard nodded as I approached.
“You’re here early Rune.” He said
“I like getting things over with.”
He opened the metal door and the noise and smell hit me instantly.
The smell of sweat, alcohol and cigarette smoke mixed together.
“Rune!” A few regulars waved as I walked past.
I ignored them.
One of the younger fighters caught up beside me.
“Did you hear?”
“Hear what?”
“They changed tonight’s card.”
I kept walking.
“They always do.”
“No” He lowered his voice.
“This one’s different.”
I looked at him.
“What are you talking about?”
He swallowed hard “Vincent’s looking for you.”
A bad feeling settled in my stomach.
Vincent’s office overlooked the entire arena through a wall of tinted glass.
He didn’t bother turning around when I entered.
“You skipped last week’s fight meeting.”
“I was busy.” I said
“You were with your little school and I hear you have a tutor now.”
My jaw tightened.
“What does Odessa have to do with this?”
“So that’s her name.”
Damn it!
Vincent chuckled.
“I’ve had someone keeping an eye on you.” I said nothing.
He finally turned around, adjusting the cuffs of his expensive black suit.
“You’ve been distracted lately.”
“I still win don’t I.”
“You do.”
He smiled.
“But I wonder for how much longer.”
He slid a folder across the desk, I opened it and it was hospital bills and medication receipts.
At the bottom was a number written in red ink.
It was even higher than last month.
“You raised the intrest.”
“I adjusted it.” Vincent smiled.
“You missed a payment that’s why.”
“I fought twice for you already.” I yelled at him, feeling the anger boil in my chest, I wanted nothing more than to punch that smug look off his face.
“And the hospital charged even more.” He leaned back in his chair.
“Life is expensive Rune.”
I slammed the folder shut.
“What do you want?”
“I already told you.”
He walked toward the glass overlooking the arena.
“I want you to fight.”
The arena below was already filling with people.
Hundreds of them, some had even travelled from other cities.
Others were placing bets before the fights even began.
Vincent spread his arms.
“They came to watch the undefeated Rune.”
“I’m not here for them.”
“No.”
He smiled.
“You’re here because you don’t have a choice.”
I hated how right he was.
He picked up the microphone connected to the arena speakers.
“Ladies and gentlemen”
The crowd immediately went quiet.
“It’s time for tonight’s main event.” He said
The cheers were deafening and Vincent looked directly at me.
“Usually” He paused for dramatic effect.
“Our champion Rune fights one challenger.”
The crowd cheered again.
“But tonight” His smile widened.
“I’ve decided to make things a little more interesting.”
A strange silence spread across the arena.
Even I frowned.
“What are you doing?” I asked quietly.
Vincent ignored me.
“Our undefeated champion” He raised one finger.
“will face” Then another.
“not two” A third finger joined the other two.
“but THREE fighters at the same time!”
For one heartbeat the entire arena fell silent then it exploded into cheers.
People jumped to their feet.
Three against one.
I slowly turned toward Vincent.
“You’re serious?”
“I’ve never been more serious.”
“That’s against your own rules.”
He shrugged.
“My arena, my rules.”
I stepped closer.
“You said one opponent per fight.”
“I changed my mind.”
“You think they’re going to beat me?”
“No.” His smile turned cold.
“I think they’re going to break you.”
He leaned in closer until only the two of us could hear.
“And when they do you’ll finally remember who owns you.”
My fists clenched so tightly my knuckles turned white.
For a second I genuinely considered punching him.
Vincent noticed and smirked “Go ahead.” His bodyguards immediately stepped forward.
“There are eight guns in this room.” He said and i slowly unclenched my fists.
A loud metallic clang echoed through the arena.
The cage door had been opened.
The announcer’s voice boomed through the speakers.
“RUNE!”
The crowd began chanting immediately.
“RUNE!”
“RUNE!”
“RUNE!”
I took one slow breath and then another.
Whatever happened next i was walking into it alone.
I rolled my shoulders, adjusted the tape around my wrists and walked toward the cage making sure to cover my face with my hoodie.
The roar of the crowd grew louder with every step.
When I stepped inside, I finally saw my opponents.
They were three huge men, all taller than me and built like they belonged in a heavyweight division.
And judging by the way they spread out instead of standing together, they’ve been trained for this.
The referee looked from them and then at me.
“You ready?”
I cracked my neck.
“As I’ll ever be.” The steel cage door slammed shut behind me.
CLANG.
The sound echoed through the arena, the three men smiled and they began circling me.
The bell rang.
The arena erupted into deafening cheers.
“RUNE!”
“BREAK HIM!”
“THREE AGAINST ONE!”
I kept my eyes on the three men circling me.
None of them rushed.
The tallest one stood directly in front of me, he was six-foot-five with shoulders as wide as a truck.
To my left was a leaner fighter, the last one stayed behind me.
They weren’t moving randomly, they were boxing me in.
“So that’s the strategy.” I muttered.
The giant grinned.
“Pretty boy finally figured it out.”
“I’d be worried if I hadn’t.”
Without warning, the skinny one darted forward and he was too fast for someone his size.
A jab flew toward my face.
I tilted my head just enough for it to miss before driving my elbow into his ribs.
He grunted but didn’t fall.
Instead the giant’s fist crashed into my shoulder.
The impact threw me halfway around before I could regain my balance a kick slammed into the back of my knee.
My leg buckled and I rolled across the canvas just as another punch came crashing down where my head had been.
The crowd roared.
“They’re cornering him!”
“Don’t let him breathe!”
I pushed myself back up and blood trickled from the corner of my mouth, I laughed like a maniac.
The giant laughed.
“Still smiling?”
“I’ve had worse.”
He charged at me.
This time I met him halfway, our fists collided and I slipped underneath his next swing and threw three punches into his ribs.
He staggered backwards and the fighter behind me wrapped both arms around my waist before lifting me completely off the ground.
He slammed me onto the canvas.
The breath exploded from my lungs.
Before I could recover the skinny one drove his knee straight into my stomach.
I curled inwards instinctively and the crowd had gone insane with shouts and cheers.
Money flew through the air as people screamed my name.
I tasted blood and smiled, the skinny fighter frowned.
“What the fuck are you smiling at?”
“You.”
“What?”
“I expected Vincent to hire professionals.”
His face twisted with anger and he threw another punch which was as exactly what I wanted.
I grabbed his wrist and twisted hard, his elbow locked and before he realized what had happened CRACK!
He screamed and I drove my forehead into his nose.
Blood sprayed across the canvas as he stumbled backwards clutching his face.
The giant roared and charged again.
I stepped aside and he smashed shoulder-first into the steel cage.
The metal rattled violently.
I didn’t give him time to recover, a kick landed squarely between his shoulder blades.
He stumbled forward then I jumped and my knee connected with the side of his head.
The giant crashed onto one knee.
The arena exploded into cheers
“GET UP!”
“COME ON!”
The third fighter lunged at me from behind.
I sensed him a split second too late, his forearm wrapped around my neck.
He squeezed hard and air couldn’t reach my lungs.
My vision blurred as he choked me, I tried to grab his arm and failed.
The giant recovered and walked toward us, smiling.
“Hold him.”
“I am.”
The giant cracked his knuckles.
“This is gonna hurt.” His fist shot toward my face and I knew I couldn’t dodge.
At the last second I lifted both feet off the ground.
The man holding me lost his balance and we both fell sideways.
The giant’s punch missed me and smashed directly into his teammate’s jaw.
The chokehold disappeared instantly.
I rolled away, coughing violently.
The crowd gasped.
“HE HIT HIS OWN MAN!”
“IDIOTS!”
I wiped blood from my lip.
“You little boys should practice together a little more.”
The giant let out an enraged roar and rushed towards me again.
I ducked under his wild swing and hammered my fist into his stomach right where his liver should be.
Once, his knees buckled and before he could recover i spun and my heel crashed into the side of his head.
His eyes rolled back and he collapsed face-first onto the canvas.
The referee immediately stepped between us.
“ONE MAN DOWN!”
The cheers nearly shook the arena apart.
I bent forward, my hands resting on my knees.
My chest burned.
Every breath felt like I was swallowing broken glass.
One down, two left to go, I looked up and both of them were staring at me now, no more smiles on their faces.
They’d finally realized I wasn’t trapped in the cage with them they were trapped in here with me.