21/03/2020

Hey guys! This story here is another short story I've written for uni. A flash fiction. It's only just over 1000 words, so have and look and see what you think :)

'The Master of the Mind' is coming along. I'm probably about halfway through. With everything going on at the moment I'm probably going to have a bit more time to actually write, though it depends as uni has basically transfered everything to online (which may be even more work) but we'll see. I hope to have the first part done with the next couple of months at the very least. But anyway, for now this is what I have. So enjoy XD

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lights flashed. The crowd roared. Some heavy metal rock band was blasted from nearby speakers. My footsteps were heavy, each one an earthquake toto wooden floorboards. Fans screamed their delight. The announcer's voice rocked the arena. It all blurred together. A cacophony of sound that made the most wonderful of symphonies.

I raised my arms, my own roar inspiring the crowd. Sparkling banners with the words 'I love you Mountain!' and 'Break His Fist, Mountain!'' caught my eye. A boy, sitting right above me in the stand with neon green hair and five lip piercings, screamed out his support, nearly falling over the railing with his excitement.

My gaze swept over the stadium to the meshed cage in the middle. The mesh phased in and out as the light passed through it. The wire door swung back and forth, waving me inside like an old friend. The step that pathed the way inward creaked and groaned a welcome. The hard iron floor of the cage felt like home. The metallic scent of dried blood shrouded me like the sweetest perfumes.

My eye caught my opponent, and I smiled; a big, toothy, gapped smile. The man was big. Nearly as big as me. Bold as well, like all smart fighters. The arms were like a gorilla, and knuckles like a scarred stone. Meant he could hit hard; meant he was used to hitting hard. Good.

The man's name was 'The Crusher', I think. That's what they called him anyway. Apparently he was tough. He won a lot, so he probably was. But I won a lot as well. Sometimes people seemed tough, and then weren't. If he could hit hard... didn't care.

The announcers voice boomed in the background as I studied my opponent. The crowd seemed to be riled up by his words. Probably introducing us. Didn't know, didn't pay attention. There was only one word I looked forward to. My blood boiled in anticipation. The Crusher's shoulders rolled as he tilted his head one way to the other. He didn't seem at all put off that I was slightly bigger. Another good thing.

"Three!" the announcer exclaimed as his little speech finished.

My smile widened. My knuckles cracked against each other in a satisfying pop.

"Two!"

Crusher pulled his fists up. He hadn't bothered wrapping them up. Again good. He would hit harder that way.

"One!"

I dropped my hands to my side, not bothered to put up a guard.

"FIGHT!"

Crusher leapt forward, pulling back his right arm in a massive roundhouse punch. I could have blocked. Most would have. No use taking such a big blow at the beginning. I'm not most. I closed my eyes. The fist crashed into my face. My head whipped back. My whole body fell. Pain exploded through my cheek. Something cracked... I felt. My back hit the meshed metal cage. Lights detonated over my vision.

When my vision cleared, I was on my behind. The announcer was counting. Crusher had his hands in the air, his back away from me. The crowd was frenzied. I closed my eyes again, letting myself bask in it all for a couple of moments. There was salted blood in my mouth. My body felt light and unresponsive. The beautiful companion of pain throbbed through my jaw.

The announcer was nearly finished now. I needed to get up. So I did, putting my hand against the scalding cold iron floor and pushing myself up. The crowd screamed even more. Didn't really hear them though. They were like a dull ring in the back of the head. Like that little voice that tells you to keep going.

The pain throbbing in my left jaw seemed to only increase as I smiled. Crusher had turned around, seeming shocked that I had gotten up. Most were. Most thought that their strongest punch would knock me down. Most thought wrong.

"You do hit hard," I said, the wonderful pain increasing as I spoke, "Hit again."

Crusher narrowed his eyes, an ape like grunt escaped his mouth as he took a step forward. He slammed his knuckles into my jaw again. This time the other side. My breath left me, and tears sprang to my eyes. He didn't stop. Another fist, another snap of the neck. Something slammed into my gut, hunching me forward as the wind left my body. There was a crack. Maybe a rib. It hurt like a cracked rib.

He grabbed the back of my neck and slammed my head into the metal cage. The mesh was dented in the impact. He pushed me. I fell, gasping for breath. The announcer counted again. But I just laughed. Oh, it had been so long since I felt such a fight for breath. So long since getting up had been this difficult. Didn't matter though. The more pain the better the fight.

So I got up again. And was again knocked down. But then I got up. Then I was knocked down. Up. Down. I coughed up blood. My head hurt. My chest hurt. My stomach hurt. Back: hurt. Didn't matter though. I still got up. It was exhilarating. My meetings with Pain usually were. This was the only place I could meet with it though. The only place where Pain could be truly shown. No one else showed it to me except my opponents in the cage. So this is where I would stay... for as long as I could. So that Pain and I could fight again, and again, and again. Where I could win against Pain, again, and again, and again.

Crusher fell back against the cage, his breaths coming in gasps and his hands no longer able to be pulled into a fist. With a guttural cry he threw himself at me again. His palm hit my bloodied face. This time I didn't move. Crusher had no more strength. I was sad. Meant my time in the cage was ending. Was happy though. Crusher had shown me more Pain than any in a long time. Made it difficult. Nearly lost for once.

I put my hand against the man's shoulder, smiling genuinely, "Thank you."

He blinked in confusion. Then my knuckles collided with his face. Didn't bother looking around to see if he got up. No other liked to fight Pain like I did. No other could fight Pain like I did. This time it had nearly won. But that was what made it exciting. It was what I lived for. Because the greater Pain became, the greater suffering it wrought, the greater the victory behind it.