Fight!
The crowd screamed, many standing up with raised fists, making awful embarrassments of themselves. At least Ellie thought it was embarrassing. Standing in the corner of the ring, she bounced back and forth on the heels of her feet, Joel whispering reassurances in her ear with a strong hand on her shoulder.
“You got this, you know that? This is what we’ve been working towards.”
And of course she had it. Ellie couldn’t remember the last time she lost in the ring and she was determined to keep that mentality.
The woman on the other side of the ring was imposing. Tall, taller than Ellie, broad muscled shoulders that seemed to double Ellie’s own size. Her jaw squared as she stared down Ellie, making a show out of cracking her neck, her long braid shaking with the effort.
The two were signaled into the center of the ring, a middle aged man grabbing both of them by one wrist, holding them above his head.
You know the rules. There are none.
The refs words echoed in her head, drowning and suffocating the noise of the crowd. She could hardly hear him introduce her opponent, just barely making his words out.
“ABBY ANDERSON.” He screamed, a disgusting grin on his face that only repulsed Ellie. She did, on some level, enjoy fighting. But truthfully, it was sick how much amusement people could gain from watching it. This wasn’t a normal boxing arena. Everyone knew that. It was sick.
- Dina
“The fuck?”
“What did he just say?”
“Ellie?”
The group froze in their spots on the broken down bleachers, none of them quite understanding what exactly was happening. There was no way. Simultaneously, they leaned forward, trying to get a better look into the ring. But it was her. It was Ellie. What the fuck could she be doing here?
“Am I fucking seeing things? There’s no way that’s Ellie.” Jesse reasoned, eyes wide, unable to move from the center of the room.
“Dude, that’s her, what the fuck?” Trevor added, always one to state the obvious.
Dina, however, could say nothing. Her blood ran cold, the realization hitting her with the force of a truck. Why wouldn’t Ellie have said something? Couldn’t she trust her? How do you hide something like this? She felt sick to her stomach, adrenaline pumping through her as if she was the one in the ring.
- Ellie
So far, the fight was fairly equal. Both of them took turns coming at one another, though Ellie found herself in a defensive position more often than not. Abby came at her, obviously pacing herself, throwing a few jabs towards Ellie’s chin. She dodged them, mostly effortlessly, trading a few of her own. One had hit, clearly disorienting her opponent for a few moments.
Ellie raised her right foot, scoring a painful kick into the brunette’s ribs, her opponent gasping for a breath of air while she moved away from Ellie. Ellie knew better than to chase her, she’d be pinned down with the massive size difference between the two of them.
They went back and forth for a short while, the crowd becoming more and more rambunctious with every blow. Ellie could hear nothing other than the pounding of her heart, her ears ringing with the adrenaline that coursed through her.
Only for an instant, not even a second, she looked into the crowd. Abby was far enough away, she thought, to spare a glance at their spectators.
What?
She had to have been seeing things. There was no other possible explanation. Trevor. Maddie. Jesse.
Dina.
It wasn’t possible. They couldn’t be here. There was no way they knew about Deeno’s. No one knew about Deeno’s. They had never mentioned it to her. Dina couldn’t see her like this, she couldn’t see the real Ellie. None of them could. They’d leave her. Abandon her. They’d finally see the truth to the rumors and vitriol that followed Ellie, and who would want to be around something so disgusting? Ellie was going to be alone. Again.
She froze. Ellie had never froze. Not in the ring She only realized her mistake when the heavy pounding of massive fists rained down on her, strike after strike landing. Her nose. Her jaw. Her stomach, ribs. The breath was knocked out of her, crumpling in on herself like a tin can. Ellie tried to put her fists up, to protect her face, but it was too much. Her opponent had seen her moment of weakness and was exploiting it to it’s absolute fullest.
She couldn’t get her balance, she was backed into the corner, back against the ropes. This was it. The ringing in her ears was getting to be too much, nothing other than the impossible pain from her opponent’s fists registered in Ellie’s mind. She was going to lose. Ellie thought she might have heard Joel, on the outside, screaming at her. To pick herself up, bring her hands up, anything. But she couldn’t.
Abby swung her elbow, connecting with Ellie’s temple with so much force she didn’t know it was possible. Everything went black, at least for a second.
She was on the ground now, curling in on herself. Kick after kick connected with her side, relentless attacks never ceasing. She was going to lose. Why wasn’t the ref counting? Why was no one doing anything?
Someone fucking help, goddamnit.