Jim sat at an elevated booth that allowed him to see the cage over the heads of the swarm making for the center of the gym, for the main attraction, spinning around a matchbox between his fingers, watching the design mold into a spiral of colors with passive interest.

Down below, an old chinese woman walked to the center of the caged octagon and soaked in the primal roars of the disenfranchised masses surrounding her, nothing but flimsy chain link and the promise of machine gun fire from the shadows keeping her safe from the rabid dogs she entertained. She grinned, as she raised her arms, and the gym shook with their thunderous response. “Good morning my precious dolls!” She thundered, her voice carrying over the roar. “I have a very special treat for you tonight!” she twisted to one side, pointing at a bloody seven foot pile of grinning, bloodthirsty muscle, “Tonight! We prevent our very gentrification! This man, is a symbol of the aristocracy! The personification of the entitled that keep us down! Already he has killed three honest, hard working deadmen! Straight from Pride Rock! A tourist!” she spat this last word out as it was met with an ocean of boos. The man revealed in it, showing bloody teeth, in a savage grin.

“But worry not my dolls!” She snapped back around. “For tonight's finale challenger is a young man who needs no introduction! Because this is his house! Who is he, my dolls?!”

“Blut!” The tattered audience shouted back.

“Who?!”

“BLUT!” The predators of Krymehaven howled.

“ONE MORE TIME!!”

“BLUT! BLUT! BLUT!” screamed the deadmen.

I rolled my eyes, as Jim smiled.

He’s gonna die. 

-I said, leaning against the railing.

I’m gonna miss the bastard.

We could use the money we win to buy a ticket to Europe. No one will ever find us.

Shut up. Jim snarled, lighting the cigarette.

It’s not gonna stay easy forever

Garrett walked up to the booth, two beers in his hands, looking down at the cage. Blitz was giving Warren one final pep talk as he jumped back and forth, nodding his head to her words and mean mugging the giant sitting across the cage. Before leaving the cage, Blitz grabs Warren by the shoulders and the two headbutt each other. “Athletes.” Garrett smiles, shaking his head and placing the beers on the table. “Strangest rituals, in my experience.”

Jim laughs. “‘Least that one makes more sense than that thing Maribelle does.”

“You talking about that thing she does before a run when she hawks a loogie and uh...”

“What else would I be talking about? Stretching?”

You know how you're always asken’ me why we need better friends? 

-I say almost to myself, still watching the cage below.

Garrett shrugs. “I have seen stranger things I suppose.”

“Oh for sure. But it’s still disgusten’.”

“What’s disgusting?” Eddy asked, walking up to the booth and throwing a small clear bag of off-white coke on the booth table.

“Maribelle before a run.” Jim replied, taking a sip of his beer.

“Oh the hair thing?” Eddy asked, focusing on cutting neat lines of the white powder with a razor he pulled from his wallet. “Yeah that’s really weird.”

Garrett looked at the coke suspiciously. “Eddy, are those bathroom drugs?”

“Might be.” Eddy said, rolling up a fifty dollar bill.

“Come on, have some pride man!”

“When in Rome...” Eddy shrugged before snorting one of the three lines he made. He grimaced and rubbed his nose, pulling a face. “Ah this shit sucks.”

“Aren’t you the one that’s always sayen’ you shouldn’t buy shite from inside the city?” Jim laughed.

“Yeah, but I mean it shouldn’t suck this much. Here I am trying to get high, and they give me shit that barely qualifies as sweetener, I just got fuckin’ robbed.” Eddy whined.

Fights about to start. 

-I say, bored.

Jim points towards the cage without looking at it. “Warren's bout to get killed.”

Garrett looked over as Eddy walked up and leaned over the railing to get a closer look. The bells went off and the two opponents approached each other.

“How did you know that?” Eddy asked.

“Freeloader.” Jim responded, tapping his head.

Garrett frowned at this until Jim got up and stood next to Eddy.

Your friend still doesn’t trust me.

I don’t blame ‘im.

Gee thanks.

-He leaned over the railing between me and Eddy and I sat myself atop it, looking down at him. 

What are we gonna do with the money?

We aren’t goen’ anywhere. He said half-heartedly, lighting a match.

At least consider all our options here.

No. he snapped, flicking the match in my direction without looking over. It fell through me, toward the crowd below.

Arse. 

-I grumble, before turning my attention back to the fight.

Warren was circling around the giant, who loomed tall and proud, challenging him with a smile. “Come on little boy.” He boomed. “Come and face your fate.”

“I’m good, thanks.” Warren said, scanning the man frantically for an opening.

“Count your blessings, deadman!” The man commanded with a corny laugh. “Few get to face their deaths knowingly.”

Warren made a decision while the man spoke, and jabbed at his exposed ribs. The man took the hit unfazed, and punished Warren with an elbow to the face.

“Regretting your decisions yet, boy?”

“Oh I fuckin’ hate that word.” He grumbled to himself, getting back into a fighting stance. He went high for a kick, but the man simply clamped Warren's leg before the blow could land. Then, he swung Warren by the leg and tossed him backward, sending him straight into the cage wall.

“Ow...” Warren groaned, sat up, and spat out blood. He followed through with his rise, stood up all the way and then declared to himself, "Alright... Cheatin' time." as the bloodthirsty crowd roared for his vengeance.

“Fuck him up, Warren!” Blitz shouted from the other side of the cage. “Quit being a punk ass bitch!”

The man lobbed a punch toward Warren's head, but halfway through the swing, the world around Warren slowed, and he effortlessly stepped aside. Warren quickly delivered a handful of jabs to the man, before sidestepping another slow swing from his opponent.

I groaned. 

How much of that money was Garrett's?

He fronted one-fifty. Jim scratched the back of his neck.

Least you weren’t dumb enough to spend our paycheck all in one place. 

-I say, looking down at his freshly inked hands. 

           Again...

He flipped me off with a scabby L. Eddy tried very hard to ignore us.

Warren laughed mockingly, goading the giant on. The man snarled and rushed him, only to slow again when he got within swinging distance of Warren, who danced around him gleefully, before kicking him into the cage. His head struck a support bar, and a loud ringing noise filled the arena. He roared in frustration, but even this was sluggish and drawn out. He looked at the amused stares of the bloodthirsty crowd and paused. He half turned to Warren, gasping from exhaustion and dazed from a concussion. “How...”

Warren smiled, gesturing towards his eyes. “Regrettin’ your bloody decisions yet, ‘boy’?”

“You...you’re...shatt-”

“Yep.” Warren grinned, proudly. “We can do this all day, and you’ll just be dancin’ round like a wanker, goin’ nowhere.” Warren slowly walked around his prey, who tried to shift in response, but could only manage stiff movements. Reaching his back, Warren jumped up onto the man, grappling him into a hold around his thick neck. The man scrambled to get Warren off his back, but Warren just strengthened his grip and tugged tightly, grinding the man’s bloody neck into his shoulder.

Warren jerked backward with his entire weight, and the club filled with a loud crack.

The two fell to the ground. Warren pushed the man's corpse off of himself, stood up quickly, and held his fists in the air. For the first time since nine o’clock that night, the gym was silent, before bursting into cheers, ten times louder than before.

“ BLUT. BLUT. BLUT!”

“He won.” Jim said amazed. “Limey fuck won...”

“Well...” Garrett managed. “There goes two hundred dollars.”