"Leona."

His raspy voice had my spine tingling with fret. The floor beneath me felt like it was slowly pulling me in like quicksand. If it wasn't for me holding onto Spencer my legs would have not done me any good, as I would have been on the floor. Tattoo guy was at least twice my size, matching up to Spencer's height except he was bulker in size. Now understanding how Duke felt when he hesitantly walked in front of the group, I dropped my hands to my side realizing my hold on Spencer. Locking my emotions and fears away, I didn't look back at him or anyone else on my side. I didn't want them to worry. A small spark of confidence lightened up inside of me as I held my chin up high. I was glad it was me going in instead of anyone else.

Before I got to the middle of the pit, a large hand grabbed ahold of me, stopping me from going any further. "Put me in instead of her." Spencer's tone was firm and serious.

My eyes drifted up to meet his glassy blues then back to the man who called my name out. The ominous man's eyes flickered with amusement. Turning my attention back to my friend, I said, "It's okay." I forced a smile on my face. "Let me go," I pleaded.

His stare cut deep inside me. I'd never seen him look at me the way he was looking at me now. It felt like I was being seen for the first time in his eyes. Everything around us fell silent like we were the only two people standing there.

With a soft whisper he said, "Never."

The moment didn't last long. Both of our heads snapped over to the man in charge. "How about...," making his way to the middle next to the Ranker. "You and your friend here..." He patted the Rankers chest. "You two against good old Stark."

I bit the side of my cheek as I thought of all the possible scenarios this would end up. Before I could speak Spencer beat me to it. "How about just me and baldy over there?" He nodded towards tattoo guy. "And we'll call it a deal."

Small giggles sounded from our side, which put a sour look on the Ranker's face. He tried to move our way from the remark Spencer gave him but Buzzcut stopped him from going any further.

"It will be a better show for you than what you have in mind," Spencer spat. "It is after all what you want isn't it?"

Spencer's bold taunts left me feeling proud but also scared for what was to come next. Unamused, Buzzcut walked over standing so close I could smell a mixture of aftershave and smoke. "What I want is for you all to perish in the hell you crawled out of," he murmured. "It's either both of you..." His icy scare left Spencer's and caught mine. "Or just her."

The powerless feeling he engraved onto me lingered as he walked back to his spot on the other side. He stood, waiting for us to make the decision. I can still picture the dark circles in his eyes making him that much more sinister looking.

Placing my hand on Spencer's chest, I tried pushing him back but it was like moving a thousand-pound statue. "I'm not going to have you join this fight. It will be over and done with and we can go about our depressing lives, okay?" I was trying to make things light but I'm not so sure it was working.

"Stay behind me," he said, taking what I had said in one ear and out the other. He marched down to the pit were the pissed off Ranker stood. I did as he asked because there was no good in arguing. I readied my position behind him. My hands shaped into fists and I held them up in front of my face.

Before I knew when the go was, the Ranker gave Spencer a forward high-kick aiming for his face. Just in time, he dodged it and aimed an uppercut punch at the man's gut. The punch did no good and provided an opened opportunity. The tattooed man sent his fists right at Spencer's jaw, making a heavy impact. The sound was excruciating in my ears, like a body hitting the water.

My mouth opened wide as my heart fell to the floor along with Spencer. Dread washed over my face as I watched the brutal man stepping over him and continuing to punch wildly at the same spot that had knocked my friend to the ground.

The Ranker's back was towards me, giving me the advantage I needed. Running full speed, I met up at the man's side, grabbed hold of his neck with my right hand, and kneed him hard right in the nose. Hearing a crunch sound, I was sure I broke his nose. He tumbled back holding his hands up to a stream of blood leaking from it.

His eyes squinted shut from the pain I caused him. He was tougher than I thought because the next thing he did made me squeamish on the inside. He grabbed his nose with both hands and cuffed it. With a strong jerk, the familiar crunching sound ricocheted out in the open, aligning his nose back in place.

Putting my hands up once again, I prepared myself for what was to come.

The Ranker spat blood as it entered his mouth from the nosebleed. His bulging eyes daggered directly at me and I took a deep breath to stay focused. He took three heavy strides and swung his muscle-bound arm at me. I leaped back from his reach and slapped away his hit, giving me an opening of his face again. Throwing my fist as hard as I could, I managed to strike his chin.

The punch made the nerves in my fist tingle down my hand. A really intense, sharp pain started to form after. Not having any chance to take another blow at him, he connected his backhand at the upper side of my face, scratching me under my eyebrow.

The hit had me choking up dirt as I face planted on the ground. I could feel the warm burning sensation above my eye. Blood started to trickle down my face. Not having a chance to wipe it away, heaving hands turned me over to face them. The smell of iron and sweat invaded my nostrils as I looked into the eyes of my enemy. Arching his arm back, I braced for what was to come. Making a connection with my temple, the lights inside my head faded in and out. The fuzzy sensation made me feel like I was on a cloud. I could still see tattoo guy's figure and his fist barreling my way again. I couldn't do anything about it; my arms felt like jelly.

My vision kept fading in and out and I couldn't control it.

Feeling the weight lift off me, I could see another figure on top of the bald man continuing to punch down on him repeatedly, without stopping. His blonde hair was slicked back in a tangled mess. Spencer?

And then it went dark.