Chapter 16
“Well, boys, I am glad to see you made it through your surgery, but it’s time to see how your progress has gone! Each of you will be pitted against one another and as you win, you will go to the next round! Those eliminated will stay to watch the fun unless you need to be seen for unforeseen injuries! The State has invested valuable time and resources into each of you and they expect to see the results and the results they want will be seen today! So let the fun begin!”
Nurse Garrison walks forward and calls out two names, “Brian and Tommy.”
Both come forward and are led to the steel cage with no hesitation and they enter. You can hear the clanging of the door as it is closed behind them.
“The rules are simple; until one of you taps out or is incapacitated, the fight will continue and the winner will move to the next round. Is that understood!?” There is no expression on this man’s face but both young men nod their heads to indicate they understand what needs to happen. “Then let the exercise begin!” shouts our new task master, clipboard still in hand.
It is apparent these guys were in the Young Army, as well, based on their stances and movements. Brian rushes in while Tommy braces himself, it is weird that we haven’t known each other’s names this entire time but either way, today is going to be interesting. Brian grabs Tommy by the back of his head, pulling him forward, letting him control Tommy’s balance and movement. Tommy drops and thrusts forward, going for Brian’s legs, hoping to take him to the ground. I am amazed by the speed these two are going at each other. It’s almost inhuman, but who knows what these vitamins shots have done.
Brian is caught off guard by Tommy’s move and falls off balance, causing him to go to the ground. Tommy lands on top where he starts using his hand as a hammer on Brian’s head. All of a sudden, Brian is able to lean his body to the left, making Tommy place one of his hands down on the mat to try to keep his balance. Brian grabs a hold of Tommy by his shoulders and puts his right leg just underneath him, thrusting him literally off his body!
Tommy goes flying into one of the steel cage’s walls, bouncing right off. I can tell it smarted by his facial expression, but Tommy quickly gets up and prepares for Brian’s onslaught. Before Tommy can fully become aware of where Brian is, he is met with a flying sidekick, blowing him across the floor and bouncing him off another chain link wall.
I can see from the corner of my eye this taskmaster is no longer wearing his sunglasses and has also removed his green Army hat. He is enjoying the show of pain and suffering of these two young men. It means nothing to him as long as they are doing what they were bred to do. As Brian comes in to finish Tommy off, he is a little overly confident and tries to dive on top. Tommy rolls out of the way and grabs Brian by the back of his neck and throws him forward into the cage. Tommy proceeds to get on Brian’s back and puts him into a sleeper hold. This lasts an additional ten seconds and the show is over. Nurses checkout both Brian and Tommy, but the man with the clipboard simply yells, “Who’s next!”
And so this continues until it is my turn.
I see of all the young men, Dr. Pruitt is most interested in me. As to why exactly, I do not know, but I see concern on his face. I enter the ring with my now opponent; his face is without expression, but in his eyes I can see that he is determined to win. He is massive. What he doesn’t understand is while we have been competing in our races, I have been studying each of these guys and have noted what they are best at and how each reacted when they finished. Brad, in this case is always angry, which means he allows his emotions to clutter his mind. Know thy enemy, my father always had taught me, no matter how well trained and conditioned a person may be. If they allow their emotions to control them, I have a distinct advantage. That is why we go through drills and meditations so much. From outside the cage, the clipboard man’s voice shouts, “You may begin!”
Immediately, Brad bull rushes me, using his larger body to try to overpower me. As he makes impact, I brace by grabbing his shoulders and spreading my legs outward to allow myself to not only absorb but also to redirect his momentum. As he comes in, I allow him to push me back. Then I drop, pulling his body still forward, putting my right foot into his lower torso and pushing him up and over me into the steel cage. Whack! I don’t have long before he recovers, so I spring back to my feet and turn quickly to see Brad rushing me again. This time I use a front kick to his groin area, stunning him. I go in with a flying knee, blowing Brad back against the cage wall. The expression on his face is of pain and dismay and disbelief that I am able to hit with such precision and force.
Before he can even think, I go in with my shoulder, slamming into his torso then grabbing him. I proceed to lift him like a sack of potatoes, spinning him in midair to slam him onto the mat below. I can hear the surprise reactions of all the other onlookers as to how fast this fight is going to be over.
“Wham!” Brad now lies sound asleep from the impact, knocked out, and I stand looking directly at the man with the clipboard, but he simply makes a mark on his paperwork.
“Alright! That is round one. Let’s get this moving! Next!”
As I walk out of the cage, Dr. Pruitt gives me a nod. I can see he is glad I did well while the other young men just stare in disbelief that my match lasted literally only a minute while theirs had gone on for at least five to ten minutes each. Everyone, even the winners, had sustained some sort of injury or another at this point. Now I know everyone wants to beat me, but I am accustomed to such attention.