The temperature had dropped several degrees since we had gotten out here and with no extra coats or a fire I could feel limbs becoming more and more numb by the second. 

There's this feeling you get right before a fight. Your chest tightens, your fingers tingle, and your heart races to catch up to your mind that is already running a million miles an hour. That feeling didn't happen before this fight though.

One look at Boyd's shaking frame before I entered the circle was enough to make that anticipating feeling go away.

He was already inside the ring with an unsure look on his face. His small frame already squared up as is he thought I was going to attack him without warning, which I was but still. 

I throw up my guard, keeping my hands at my temples to keep them protected even though I don't think Boyd could reach my temples unless I bent down for him.

Who ever set up this fight was being so unfair to this kid. There was no doubt in my mind his mom was punishing him by making us fight. 

But considering I needed to win in order to not get all the shit beat out of me tonight after I lose to Charlie, I was going to have knock out the poor kid.

Boyd shook as I took a quick step forward and punched him in the gut, hoping to get him to lower his guard so I could knock him out quickly and let this be over for both of us.

His guard didn't drop though so with a small sigh let the poor kid have it, knowing he knew what I meant with the small tap to his stomach. His mom wasn't going to let him stop without a decent bruise or two apparently. 

My fists planted themselves firmly him torso several times, Boyd not even making a sound as he took the beating I was being forced to give him. Eventually he let his guard slip for a fraction of a second but it was long enough for me to hook a punch to his temple.

He never even swayed as he began falling to the ground, my punch clearly doing the trick of knocking him out. 

Watchers and parents all around the ring cheered as the counted up to ten seconds. When Boyd didn't budge during the count down most people cheered at the end of the fight, knowing they were about to get money from someone who made a bad bet. 

My father stood stone faced by his car as he waited for me to come to him. I didn't like him stone faced; it normally meant he wasn't impressed. So with a frown on my face I walked over to him.

The second I left the circle random fighters came to pick up Boyd who was still out cold and probably would be for the rest of the night. If I were his mom I would just take him home now while she had help to get him the car.

"What in the hell was that?" He asked bitterly in a whisper.

 "I believe that was called a knock out. A knock out that made you some money so I wouldn't complain." I state rudely as I turn to watch the next fight. 

"I had a deal with his mom, you were supposed to beat the shit out of him. That was child's play. You're lucky she paid in advance or you have been in deep shit." 

"Well maybe if you had let me in on the plan it would have been a lot easier to play along." I pointed out but in the end we both knew I wouldn't have gone harder on him even if I had known what I was supposed to do.

"Shut the fuck up and just watch the fight." He grumbled before settling his eyes on the match in front of us. I just roll my eyes at him watch the fight like I'm supposed to.

I catch sight of Kyle from across the ring who is watching the fight with a pained expression. His boyfriend was fighting some guy that was bigger than him but was still managing to win. Kyle would grimace every time his boyfriend got hit. 

I shot him an easy smile making the tension in his shoulders disappear but his face still twitched every time a light tap was applied to his boyfriend. 

In the end his boyfriend won the fight like I knew he would. The second he was out of the ring he walked over to Kyle with a smile on his face before giving him a chaste kiss, ignoring the hateful glare his father was giving him. 

As I thought, Dylan was a way harder knock out than Boyd would ever be but I was able to keep him down long enough to get the win and that's all that mattered. 

I was still tired because of my fight with him when the time to fight Charlie rolled around. 

He looked a lot taller than he did before I stepped into the ring to fight him. For a split second I thought about just letting him win and taking my father punishment at him but I quickly shoved it out of my mind.

Charlie wasn't like me, he wouldn't take pity on me like I did with Boyd. He would beat the shit out of me just for the hell of it if I let him. 

With that thought in mind I lifted my guard to its rightful place beside my temples.

Charlie took a step forward causing me to take one back. He goes to take another step towards me but I slide in bring my arm down to my side before pushing it forward to connect with Charlie's stomach.

 He grunted in a small amount of pain but I didn't give him time to strike back. The second my hand collided with Charlie I pulled back and him again in the same place while my other arm went around to hook his shoulder to make his arm tired so he would drop it. 

He sadly did and while my arm was too busy on his stomach, Charlie's fist snaked around to punch me right in the temple. 

I swayed on my feet, trying to catch my balance but it didn't matter. Charlie didn't give me time to get steady on my feet before he tackled me to the ground.

 All I could do as he tackled me was crossing my arms over my face before he had the chance to pound my face into the ground. This would keep me conscious for a few more seconds at least.

Through the blood rushing through my ears I could hear people yelling from all around me. Probably not wanting their bet to be a lost cause or yelling at Charlie to hit me harder. 

I manage to open my eyes just long enough to see a flash of blue and red lights flashing in the distance.

 My heart immediately picks up at the sight as I realize the yelling were people telling everyone to get out of here quickly before we all got caught. 

By some miracle I mange to push Charlie off me just long enough to stand up and get a little distance between us.

I look around me to find my father so we could get our asses out of here only to realize he was already gone. His car was long gone and all that was left in its place was the smell of burnt tires and skid marks.

 I scowl at the empty space before saying fuck it and making a run for it. There were still plenty of people around he running around like maniacs, if I ran fast enough the cops would be too busy dealing with them.

Without a second thought I began running in a random direction hoping they would go after the parents rather than the kids who were forced to participate. 

I was just about to reach a tree line where I knew I would be safe when a strong voice made it's way to my ears.

"Springfield county sheriff's department!" The voice yelled as he ran after me. "Come out of the trees with your hands up or we will release a K9 unit!"

I didn't really like the idea of getting bit by a dog but at the same thing if I got caught my dad was going to murder me. So with that in mind I kept running, surely they wouldn't really let a death dog take down a child right?

"This is your last warning!" The voice yelled again, his voice much more hostile this time. "Come out of the trees or we will release a K9 unit!" I had a sick feeling in my stomach as I heard the sound of a dog barking close to where the voice was yelling. 

"Alright." I yelled as I stopped running. "I'm coming out! Just don't send the dog!" 

"Put your hands in the air!" The voice yelled again while I instantly complied with his command.

 "Turn your back towards me and walk backwards!" I couldn't help the small sigh the left my mouth as I turned around and began walking. 

The officer met me half way, pushing me down on the ground with no time before taking my hands and cuffing them together.

"Stand up." He said in a strong voice that left no room for arguing. 

"Now we're going to walk back to my squad car and you are going to answer a few questions." 

"Ask all the questions you want, I'm not going to answer any of them." I state simply as he pushes me closer to the cop car.

 I look all around me to see Kyle fighting against an officer to try to get closer to his boyfriend, who was also fighting against a cop and winning even with his hands being restrained behind him.

 "Kyle!" I yelled at him to get his attention. The cop behind me stiffened, thinking I was going to fight back as well. "Calm the fuck down! Just cooperate and they'll let both of you go!" 

Both Kyle and his boyfriend reluctantly stopped fighting and let the officers take them to a separate car. 

I felt my own fight slowly slip out of reach as the day's events caught up to me. Eventually it was hard to even walk because of how tired I was.

"As of right now you are being put under arrest. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney; if you cannot afford an attorney then one will be given to you. Do you understand these rights as I have read them to you?" He officer asked when we finally got back to his car.

"Yea I understand." I say tiredly as I lay my head back against the seat of the car.

"You want to tell me what you were doing out here tonight?" He asked but I didn't answer. My eyes slowly slipping closed. "What's your name?" I still didn't answer. "Listen kid, the only way you get out of this with the smallest amount of jail time is if you answer my questions truthfully." He practically seethed, obviously not liking my lack of answers. 

After a few minutes of silence the man cussed to himself before slamming the door shut and leaving me, which I couldn't be more thankful for. 

My eyes began feeling more and more heavy with exhaustion I waited for the car to move to take me to whatever jailhouse I would serve in until I was 18. Thank god I'm still a minor. 

This is not how I thought this day would go.