Always For You (Books 1-3) (38 page)

He continued to swipe, sending me
rushing around the pit, looking for a chance to strike. I backed away
towards the wall as he wildly rushed towards me, a heavy swing
sending the machete crashing into the concrete behind me. I ducked as
the blade was sent cracking into the wall and saw my chance to
strike. I sent a heavy fist up into his gut at I dodged to the right,
the air bursting out of his lungs as he gasped and wheezed.

He crumpled onto the floor, his grip on
the machete loosened, and I went for it. He wasn't to give up without
a fight though, holding on for dear life, struggling to keep my hands
at bay. Swift as a cat I launched my fist at him again, a devastating
punch that caught him in his temple. I knew that would be it as soon
as my fist landed, his body giving way beneath him and falling with a
thud onto the floor. He was out, and wasn't getting up.

I stood there, holding the machete in
my hand, standing over my fallen opponent. I could see the announcer
looking down at me, his eyes telling me to kill him, to send that
blade plunging into his heart. But I couldn't do that. I couldn't
kill a helpless man.

The announcer once more raised up his
arms, the gathered throng quietening down. He held his left hand out
in front of him as he always did, his thumb pointing out to the side.
He was so theatrical, as if he was an old Roman Emperor, relishing in
the moment, in the power he held.

Slowly, he turned his thumb down as he
stared into my eyes, a smile on his face. I turned back down to the
man beneath me and the crowd hushed, the dungeon falling into
silence. I held the blade in two hands, kneeling over him, preparing
to send it into the man's heart. I knew it was my only way out, my
only way of escaping this nightmare. I wrestled with myself for a
second, feeling the announcers eyes burning at me, willing me to make
the killing blow.

I couldn't. I couldn't kill a man like
this. I couldn't end a life under order, murder someone to entertain
people. I stood, slowly, and dropped the blade to the side. I had no
idea what would happen, no idea what to expect, but I couldn't do
this, not like this.

A murmuring grew in the crowd - not a
murmuring of unrest, but a murmuring of agreement, of respect. The
murmur grew into a cheer as they watched on at me standing there,
unwilling to kill this man, unwilling to obey the orders of the
announcer. It was an act of defiance, a drama that they'd probably
never experienced down here, and they cheered me for it.

I could see the seething anger in the
announcer eyes, but his words didn't betray him when he spoke.

“The Spartan has shown mercy on this
weak man. It is the act of a true warrior.” He was using it as an
excuse, a way to build my legend, build the drama.

“Next time, we will give him a
challenge worthy of him.” These last words sent the crowd into
rapture, the anticipation of seeing me fight again greater than
watching me spill the blood of this unworthy opponent.

I knew then that it wasn't over, that
I'd be forced to fight again, that it would never stop, not until I
was dead. One way or another, I needed to escape.

October 12
^th
2014

Grace

I'd been back at uni for a
little while now and things were going a lot better than last year.
To be fair, things couldn't have gone much worse than the last two
years, what with everything that had happened. The summer had been
long and dull though, my inexplicable need for adrenaline making me
completely lose interest in the things I'd used to love.

Simple things like reading a book in
the bath, having a quiet glass of wine and a natter with Katie, and
laying under the sun back at home hadn't done it for me. I'd yearned
for something more exciting, something that would get my blood
pumping. I'd found it, of course, watching Cain fight. But seeing
what happened after, seeing that man battered to death - that quelled
my urges right then and there. Since then, my normal life seemed so
much more appealing.

It was good to be back at college
though, good to have that purpose, that drive, back in my life. Chase
was working hard at his various ventures, but we'd found a balance
that suited us both - me working hard at college, him working on his
businesses, the two of us coming together a couple of nights per week
for an official 'date'. Sure, we lived together now, but over the
last few months things had gotten stale, neither of us making much of
an effort. That changed though, and now things were all coming
together nicely.

Not for Cain though. I knew what had
happened with him at that place, that pit. Then I'd seen him at
Emily's, talking to him after he'd had a heart to heart with her. She
was pregnant, I couldn't believe it. I'd spoken to her a few times
about it, about whether she was going to keep it. She didn't believe
in having an abortion, didn't believe in taking her unborn child's
life like that. I felt sure that she'd have the baby, that she'd work
her college life around it.

He was sat there with me now, asking me
for advice. Aside from everything I felt happy that he'd come to me
for help, that he valued our relationship to the extent that he'd
confide in me, seek me out when he needed someone to talk to. I guess
he didn't have too many other people in his life.

He looked grave as he sat there, a far
cry from when I'd last seen him. When he'd rushed into Emily's house
he'd been excited, happy that he'd escaped the clutches of death, or
murder, in the pit. He was there to commit himself to Emily, to tell
her everything that she wanted to hear, to give up the fighting, give
it all up for her.

But now, now it looked like the weight
of the world was back on his shoulders, that everything had begun to
crumble in around him.

“I went back,” he said, “last
night I went back to fight.”

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
“You went back!. Why? What about Emily, what about your child?”

He was shaking his head, leaning
forward with his elbows on his knees. “I had to. They wouldn't let
me get away with running away like I did. They told me to fight
again, that it would just be a normal fight like before. I had to do
it Grace, had to do it to get them off my case.”

I could sense that there was more to
the story than this.

“But,” he continued, “it wasn't
just a fight. They tricked me, the fuckers. It was a fight to the
death.”

My blood went cold as I looked at him,
and I immediately realized what had happened. “So you did it then?
You killed someone.” I had a disappointed tone to my voice, even
though I knew he probably had no choice.

“No,” he said quickly, “I didn't.
I couldn't kill the guy - he was knocked out, helpless. How could I
live with myself if I killed someone in cold blood like that. No - I
spared him, and the crowd loved it. They knew it wasn't a proper
match up. This guy, he was nothing, a guy off the street, promised a
quick buck.”

“Well that's good,” I said, “that
you didn't kill him.” I could sense the worry in his voice.

He nodded as he spoke. “It
is, but it's not the end. The announcer, he said they'd find another
opponent for me, someone more worthy to fight me. They want me in
that pit again Grace, they always will.”

“But you can't go back Cain, you
can't. What are you going to do?”

He sat and shook his head, his voice
now quiet. “I don't know. Tell me Grace, what should I do?” He
looked up into my eyes, his face etched with worry, his eyes hooded
and dark.

I didn't know what to say. He looked
like a lost boy, scared and alone, a far cry from the confident,
unshakeable man that I had come to know.

“You can't do it Cain,” I said
again, “whatever you do you can't do it. If you lose, you die. If
you win, do you really think they'll let you stop? Maybe you should
go to the police, tell them about everything.”

“I can't do that,” he said, “they'd
kill me for sure.” He spoke as if he'd lost hope, as if he'd longed
for me to give him a solution, give him a way out. I didn't have one,
I didn't know what to tell him, what he wanted to hear.

“I think,” I said, “you need to
leave here Cain, move away. I - I can't see any other way out.” It
was the last thing I wanted, for him to leave, but what else could he
do, what other options did he have.

“I can't, I won't leave without
Emily. I can't leave her again, especially not now.”

“Well maybe she'd go with you - you
could leave together?” I said. I could feel how much he loved her,
how devoted he was to her, to the baby.

“I tried Grace, I tried to talk to
her, tell her what was going on, but she says she won't leave, can't
leave her life here.”

“Maybe,” he continued, “she'd be
better off without me.” He looked to the floor, feeling sorry for
himself. It wasn't a side of him I'd seen before: giving up, not
fighting for what he wanted, what he cared for.

“No,” I told him, my voice strong,
“you're so much more than you give yourself credit for Cain. You
have so many great attributes, and I know Emily loves you more than
anything. She'd be lost without you.”

“Then you'll understand that I can't
leave her, I just can't.”

I thought for a moment. He was so
loyal, so dedicated to her. I knew he couldn't go, not unless she
went with him. But if he stayed, if he didn't leave, he could be
killed, whether in that pit or out of it. No, he had to leave, and
she had to go too.

“I'll talk to her Cain,” I said
finally, “I'll make her see how serious this all is.”

October 15
^th
2014

Cain

My life had taken a turn that even I
couldn't have imagined only a few months ago. I'd got into
underground fighting to make a bit of money, but now things had
spiralled out of control. It was my fault, my desire for more and
more money that forced me to where I was. I wanted it for Emily, I
needed it so that I could quit. Now, ironically, I couldn't quit -
they wouldn't let me.

I'd gotten a call from the announcer a
couple of days after the fight. I didn't ignore it, I couldn't ignore
it. He told me he wanted me to fight again, that he set me up for the
final billing in a couple of weeks time. This time though, I could do
nothing but agree. In fact, agreeing was part of my plan.

I'd spoken to Grace the
day after the fight and she told me that the only way I could escape
from this was to leave West Norton, move away somewhere, start a new
life away from here. It was the last thing I wanted to do - leaving
my newfound family, leaving Emily. I couldn't leave without her, I
wouldn't leave her alone to raise our child.

She said that she'd talk to Emily,
convince her to leave with me. She said that I should agree to
whatever they told me, agree to fight, buy myself some time. I'd
leave with Emily, run away and start a fresh life somewhere. They
didn't know about her, they would have no idea where I'd gone. I'd be
untraceable, off the map. I'd finally be rid of it all.

“Excellent Spartan, excellent. Good
to see you've come around. Don't worry, this time you'll be able to
enjoy a real fight, a proper challenge, something to get the crowd
going.”

“Fine by me,” I said, knowing I
wouldn't be there.

He laughed at my bravado. “Yes,” he
said deliberately, “I'm sure you'll be fine. I hope, this time,
you'll be more motivated.” His last words carried extra meaning,
unsettling me slightly.

“Don't worry, you'll get your show,
you and your bosses.” I didn't care how I sounded anymore, whether
he took the sarcasm in my voice as being disrespectful. I'd be gone
before I ever set foot into that pit, and him and his fucking bosses
would have to stand there and explain to the crowd, once more, that I
wasn't there. I knew he'd hunt me for it, I knew he'd try to find me,
but he'd never trace me. I'd be long gone.

Grace

“This is so much more serious than
you realize Em. Cain is being forced to fight. It's not his choice
anymore - these people, this place, it's out of his hands. If he
doesn't leave, he'll die in that pit eventually. Even if he wins a
punch of fights, eventually he'd be killed. If you don't leave now,
your baby will grow up without a father.”

I was laying it on thick, trying to
impress the seriousness of the situation onto her. I don't think she
got it before, perhaps Cain hadn't given it to her straight. There
was no time for that now, though, no scope for fucking around. This
was it, now or never.

“But what about college, what about
mom?” she said frantically. “I can't leave her, my whole life is
here.”

I took her by the shoulders and looked
straight into her eyes. “Do you love Cain?” I asked.

She nodded, her eyes gathering tears.
“I do.”

“And the baby, you're keeping the
baby?”

She nodded again.

“
Then you have to
leave, now. He won't leave without you Emily, he'd stay here and
he'll die. You can start a life together somewhere new. You can
enroll
in another
college - you don't have to sacrifice everything. You can visit your
mom, your friends, any time. These people aren't after you, they want
Cain. They don't even know you exist. Support him for now, go with
him - you can return if you want to in the future.”

The truth was dawning on her slowly, I
could see it in her face. The realization that she might hold Cain's
life in her hands, that if she stayed, he might die, she might lose
him, lose the father of her unborn child. And if she decided to stay,
decided to let him go, that would be like killing him anyway. It
would devastate him, tell him that she didn't love him enough, not
enough to leave with him.