((I know it's longer than usual. Any comments on storyline, characters, or the world they're in are appreciated. For those who read, I'll have the next two sections up shortly. Thanks--Jazz))
Chapter 1 Underground: Just Memories
The morning sun hadn't yet touched the sky when Christy woke. Stretching out her sore muscles, the fighter stared out the window longingly at the stars. The sky was freedom to her, its stars the beauty she couldn't find in the world around her. It was through the night sky that her heart soared back to the days when she had been loved…
Vivid images of sunsets, games, and her old friend played through her mind like an old melody, once known, but now forgotten. Her life had been stable working with the restaurant owner Del, who had become her good friend, and constant protection as he had introduced her to fighting. However, when the street gangs had risen into power, even that wasn’t enough, and they were separated.
With a small sigh, Christy brought her mind back to the present as the morning sun rose to steal the stars from the sky. They were just memories, she reminded herself. Nothing could change them. Getting to her feet and pacing the room, the teen stretched her sore muscles against the walls carefully to keep from injuring them.
Finally, about an hour later, the door swung open and the person motioned with his head. "Come on… Mr. Travis wants us to practice down at the room today," he rumbled in his deep voice as she hurriedly followed him.
She knew him as Bruno, her partner during double matches. Smart and stronger than most, Bruno could almost read her mind when it came to her moods. "You're nervous about the fight aren't you," he remarked as they walked along the dismal halls towards the room they used to hone their skills.
"Very…" she admitted as they arrived. Slipping on her gloves, she started on the pull up bar. "I've never fought someone who has the same skill level I do or better. And, I've heard that he's fast. From the gossip going around about him, I also know that every one of his opponents comes out crippled, if at all."
Sighing as he stood beside her, Bruno nodded. "Unfortunately, that is partially true. But he has been known to be merciful with women… William Samuel Gareth isn't as dark as they paint him, Christine," he added before moving to lock the door and work on his punches. "It's his reputation that lets him conquer his opponents with ease because they get scared and can't think."
Dropping as she finished her fourth set of twenty five, Christine then moved to the parallel beams. Balanced with a foot on either, she bent back until her hands reached the poles and formed a bridge with her body. Kicking her feet up above her head as she balanced on her forearms, Christy digested his words. "You seem to know him," she finally commented, working her legs in a variety of patterns.
"I used to," Bruno replied, hammering into the hanging bag with punches and kicks. "You could say that we were rivals… always seeking to make ourselves better than the other. I fought him many times in the ring before I came here to serve under Travis."
Rocking back up onto her feet, she walked to the edge before working on her flips. As her hands planted on the final few inches of the beam to finish her set, Christy twisted into a neat kick before dropping to the mat. "So… what's he like?" she asked, curiously. "Personality wise, since I want it to be a fair fight."
Carefully considering for a moment, Bruno took a short breather. "Well," he said, leaning against the bag, "when I knew him, he was calm with an underlying temper that often got him in trouble. But he was also cared about the less fortunate on the streets and he would often give them what he could spare of his winnings. In the ring, though, Will transformed into a completely different person. He was focused and collected with a heart that held little pity."
"What about his family?" she asked, running on the treadmill. "Are any of them still around?"
Bruno shook his head sadly. "All of them died in a drive-by. But, he does have a girl that lives with him. He picked her up off the streets from what I've heard, and she can't fight because she has a disability in her spine that affects her legs," he replied before continuing in his combination attacks against the padded bag. "William cares about that girl like the world and it's for her that he fights so hard.''
Silence hung for a few minutes as she considered his words. He sounded like her old friend in almost every way and it hurt to think about it. Hanging by her knees on the bars, Christy sighed impatiently, rubbing her eyes. "That's good to know…" she finally said.”I'll keep it in mind when we fight Thursday."
~
Chapter 1 Topside: Not Just Stories
"Let me get this strait… you knew the girl I'm going to be fighting?!" Will exclaimed as he re-taped his hands and fingers. He had just finished his practice session, and his hands were split from the effort. "That's not possible."
Del shrugged modestly, taping his own fists. "Actually it is. She used to stay at my place a few years ago…. and I fought with her in the ring. Christine is fast… but her story will surprise you."
His lips twitched in a small smile. Sticking the adhesive tape to his thumb, William shrugged. "Being that she's the Underground's top fighter, she must have it pretty easy and more than likely always has. I mean, if she's that good, it's not likely she's had hard times."
Looking over at his friend, the young man's smile died when he saw Del shake his head slowly. Del's eyes were regretful. "Christy's never had it easy, Will. Anyone who's told you that doesn't know a thing about her or the Underground. You see, the Underground doesn't run like Topside. The fighters don't fight of free will, like you, they fight to survive because their lives are forfeit if they don’t."
Making sure that he had driven the thought in, Del continued, "Christy used to be part of Topside; she was even my student for a few weeks. I would look after her, and she helped me in my shop and teaching. Despite our talents in martial arts, we both kept as far out of the gangs as we could… until one day when the gangs caught up with us."
“We’d been out later than usual at a tournament when they caught us. I only made it out because I had won enough cash to bribe my way out. But Christine didn’t, and I couldn’t help her. From what I heard later, they sent her to a special person who honed her skills through rigid discipline before one of their sponsers ‘rescued’ her. Now she had to pay off her debt of lodging and food that he’s given her, so she had to fight. But there’s no way that she could catch up.”
Helping William knot his bandaging, the young man added, "I only saw her once after that and…well, Christy wasn't the girl I remembered anymore. She's cold until you gained her trust and that took awhile. Even then, she never fully came out of the shield she built around her heart. But she's determined, quick thinking, and stronger than she appears."
Mulling this over in his mind, William felt disbelief stab his heart. It didn't seem possible. "Why hasn't she just run away and then transfer?" he asked. "It can't be that hard."
With a sigh, Del replied, "She would have to get through the Underground's alleys first and more than likely she would be caught and punished."
"I guess…" Will said finally, thinking over the words as he seemed to lose all sparkle. His earlier excitement over the fight had evaporated. “It’s just not right…"
Walking along the hallway with his friend, William ran his fingers over his hands with a sigh. It made his rage flare to think that Christine was treated like that. What hell have you gone through to get where you are? He wondered. How hard will you drive yourself to win against me? And what will be the consequences?
Suddenly, his eyes registered something unusual ahead. Breaking into a jog, the fighter wondered what the heck was causing light to come from where his apartment was like that. Frowning as he and Del came to the room, Will felt the muscles in his chest tighten.
His heart stopped as he saw the busted door swinging in the wind. The main room was a mess, things bumped and strewn everywhere but this was unimportant to him. What truly was disturbing was that he could not hear Sarah and a streak of blood ran across the wall.
Walking forward to find that the blood was still wet, he felt his foot hit something. The shining glint told him what it was before he saw it. "Del... is there any sign of Sarah," he asked urgently picking it up.
"Not at the moment," the other fighter replied, shifting furniture away from the closet. "Do you think she's still here?"
His expression was grim as he held her walking assist. "I'm sure of it…" he replied setting the crutch against the wall as he continued to search.
Several minutes passed, but there was still no trace of the crippled girl. Will felt anger rise in his chest as he thought of the way Burnaby had been staring at her. A low growl rose in his throat and he slammed his fist against the closet door as rage boiled to the surface. It crashed and he could hear a slight cry come from inside.
Flinging open the door as he felt the rage die, Will looked around, but didn't see anything. "Sarah?" he called, shuffling through the coats and such without luck.
There was a banging sound followed by the same muffled cry. Following it with his ears, he pulled out his trunk which held his personal belongings and flipped the lid. Inside, bruised and slightly bloody along the legs, Sarah stared up at him through scared eyes. Pulling her out with some help from Del, Will carried the sobbing girl to her bed and laid her on her stomach. "What happened?" he asked.
Unable to speak, she just shook her head as she buried her tear streaked face in the pillow. Her figure shook slightly in his arms from shock while they examined her heavily slashed legs. Trembling like a leaf, she finally managed to sob, "They did it… I-I tried to fight them, but I lost balance, and then I couldn't get away as they cut up my legs and threw me in the trunk, and I didn't know what to do, I couldn't seem to get free and it was so dark, and I didn't know what was going on, or when you'd be back or what they were going to do…"
Hugging her tight as her voice was choked off by fear again; William glanced at Del with concerned eyes. "Get my medical kit… We have some more patch work to do it seems."
As his friend brought the kit and threaded the hooked needle, the young man took Sarah's hand in his, bringing her eyes up to his as he knelt beside her. "I need you to stay still so that Del can get you sewed up… it's going to hurt like hell, but it has to be done with that deep of cuts."
Nodding, she closed her eyes and turned her face back to the wall. Holding her tightly by the shoulders as Del kneeled over her ankles, William felt Sarah tense up as the needle punctured her skin. In and out, over and over, he watched as Del sewed the muscles together before closing the skin for the three deepest gashes. The others were minor enough to simply be cleaned and wrapped. Meanwhile, he held Sarah tightly as she tried not to cry out from the pain.
Finally, the last knot was tied, and Will gave Sarah a hug before helping her to roll onto her back. Covering her with the warmest blanket he had to keep her from going into shock from the pain, the fighter propped her legs up on his pillow. "You did that really well," he whispered in her ear before kissing her passionately. "If you keep those legs propped up for a bit and take it easy, you should be back to normal within a week… Sarah, who did this to you?"
"I don't know… it happened really fast. I know that one of them was pretty tall with bright red hair, and the other was heavy built with dark skin...” she said softly, staring up at him exhaustedly as she returned his kiss with a light one of her own. "And they spoke with an Italian accent that seemed like it was mixed with something."
Considering her words, Del sighed as he glanced down at the pair. His eyes were slightly disturbed. "Italian mixed with something? That's strange…The Metilian's run for the Underground…" the young man said, "not Topside, which means Burnaby isn't the only one you need to worry about. They know about you, too. You need to watch your back, man. I can help you out since I only have one match this week on Saturday and it's after yours."
Will nodded, stroking his fiancé's hair as she drifted off into an exhausted sleep. His brilliant eyes were flat, slightly depressed. "That would be great if you could stay with her…" William replied. "I don't want her to get hurt further because of this match. Burnaby's already threatened to put her back in the rings or kick her out, and the Underground will probably do worse if they get their hands on her.."
Slightly shaken, the young man rested his head in his hands. Though it was only afternoon, he was mentally and physically worn from stress. Embracing Del brotherly as he left, Will flopped down onto his pallet beside Sarah. With a small sigh, he kissed her forehead softly. "I love you…" the young fighter whispered before wrapping her in his arms and falling asleep.
