Page 4 of The Midnight Prize

ROUND TWO

Munoz was a force.It didn't take long to see why he had developed such a devoted group of fans online. The promoters chose well in bringing him to fight me. This would have beenthefight. We were both undefeated, so the pot for the winner was substantial.

Fighters and their trainers never parked their cars in the circle. Those were for the spectators, so Derek and I parked in the back of the park’s parking lot and walked the rest of the way. Derek continued to yell at me as we traveled from our vehicle till we reached the crowd. Once we arrived, he spat onto the ground in disgust and broke away from me to go let the promoters know we had arrived. I'd spent that time with Ariana, and it threw off my normal pre-fight routine. I'd caught a quick nap when I went home, visions of her body filled my dreams. When I'd awoken, it was much later than I'd anticipated. I grabbed my bag, jumped in my car, and arrived late at his place. We always traveled together, as it gave me a chance to clear my head, and him to speculate on who my opponent might be. Neither happened during our trip this night. He asked me what the problem was that delayed me, and I told him about my tryst with Ariana. He clenched his jaw so tight during the trip it was a wonder he didn’t shatter his own teeth. We traveled in silence, and instead of clearing my head, I once again found my thoughts on Ariana. I wondered silly things like if I should call her, text her, or head back over her place after the fight. I focused on everythingbutthe task in front of me. Once we arrived and parked, he let me have it. I guess he couldn’t hold back anymore. Perhaps he sensed my overconfidence, and this was his way of getting me to focus on the night ahead instead of the night I’d had.

When I saw Dustin Munoz on the opposite side of the circle, I wasn’t impressed. Good looking guy, but he didn’t strike fear in me. No man did. I sized him up, and determined that I could still whip his ass and claim the prize money. Until I looked to his right. There, standing beside him, was Ariana, and my heart stopped cold.

I did a double-take and the second viewing offered no more of an explanation than the first. Ariana held Munoz by the arm and leaned on him. She hadn’t noticed me yet. They focused on the fight in front of them. At the moment it was a one-sided affair, and would end soon. The main event...my fight with Munoz would be next and my heart and mind were not in the right place. The only thing I could think of was this was all some kind of setup. If Derek knew I was fighting Munoz, did Munoz also know that I would be fighting him? If so, was Ariana some type of pro they’d sent ahead of time to distract me? The Midnight Prize was worldwide, and only select fighters participated in the main event. But only after they had proven themselves. This large of a prize didn't happen all of the time at The Pit. Only after a couple of fighters had separated themselves from the rest of the field would the pot grow this large. Munoz and I had been on a collision course since I’d begun, but neither of us knew it. Or did he?

Ariana and I made eye contact, and a sly smile formed on her face at the same time I felt my jaw drop. Why was she smiling? Did she purposely seek me out on that app? Is that why it'd been so easy to match with and then fuck her the same night as the biggest fight of my life? Damn my desire for a sexual release.

The crowd gasped and then erupted, as the current fight came to a gruesome end. The winner had hit the loser’s leg in such a way that it protruded out the back of his leg. The loser’s scream made even the hardest person grimace for a moment before the crowd erupted into cheers and boos, depending on who they bet on.

“Whoa,” came the shout of the announcer. His name was Mike, which was fitting since he walked around with a portable one to do his job. At first, he was a random guy chosen by the promoters to hype up the crowd between matches and call out especially bloody action. He was a poor man's facsimile of a rapper’s hypeman. He did his job so well he became known as the voice of The Pit. He was as much a part of the online success as the action. “Did y’all see that shit? He didn’t knock him out, he knocked his fucking bones out. Guess that means the next two fighters are up to bat, and y’all know that means...time for The Midnight Prize! First up, Dustin Munoz. They call him the Vampire. Then there's Damian Wolf, the Hunter. He’s on the prowl. This is going to be epic.”

When I heard my name, I sucked in a breath, rotated my head round my shoulders to loosen them up a bit, and stepped forward.

Standing across from Dustin was like standing in front of a mirror. We matched each other in such a way it was like we'd been cast from the same mold. We looked each other eye-to-eye as we both stood over six feet. I was long and muscular and he was a perfect match for me. There would be no physical advantage between us, and I could see why the promoters saved us for this year’s Midnight Prize.

Mike met us in the middle of the circle of lights with a big ass smile on his face. Dustin and I walked forward till we were mere inches from each other. The sweat streamed down the sides of his face, but I had none. My pre-fight routine destroyed, I'd not had the time to warm up. I broke the famed stare-off for a second to look at my own arms. My veins popped as I curled my fists into tight balls. My mind may not have prepared, but at least I could make my body act the part.

“Oh, shit,” came Mike’s declaration through the high-powered speakers placed around the park. “This is what The Midnight Prize is all about. Not one buttwoundefeated fighters, from different parts of the world, ready to entertain you!”

I tried to resume the staring contest with Munoz. I couldn't let him believe he already had the advantage. It was pointless. The only person in the entire event I could look at was the woman over the right shoulder of the man mere inches away from me and ready to pound me into oblivion.

“And what’s the prize? A cool, million dollars to the winner," Mike bellowed through the sound system.

Somewhere in my mind, I heard Mike call out the prize. I even heard the crowd gasp in excitement and awe at such a large amount. I heard it all, and none of it registered in my brain. The only thing I could focus on was her. As I looked at her over Munoz’s shoulder, I noticed something. The sly smile that I’d seen earlier when we first made eye contact melted away to reveal a hint of...what was it? Was that concern etched on her face? Even though she tried to keep her face as cold as steel, her eyes gave her away. It was always her eyes, from the moment I’d swiped till our encounter, to now. Her eyes never hid the truth from me, and I saw concern in them, which made zero sense. If this was a set up, why would she now have concern in her eyes as she returned my gaze?

I tried to dismiss it. I needed to. The concern I thought I saw must’ve been for Munoz. He was going against me after all, and I was every bit as good as they must’ve heard.

“I see you,” Munoz spoke in a whisper. He leaned in close to my ear to make sure I heard every bit of the deadliness in his voice. “You’re looking ather. I see you. Now, I’m going to put you in the ICU.”

#

MOST OPPONENTS WEREfast in their own rights, but none had proven to be faster than me. My ability to predict their movements kept me a step ahead and nullified any speed advantages they had. Munoz was different, his movements cat-like, and every move I made felt like I was climbing uphill. Against hurricane-force winds. Even with all of these things going against me, I knew in my heart I could beat him. Well, I could've beaten him if I hadn't caught glimpse of her as we entered the circle.

My mind was full of doubt, and it showed in my body. I couldn't tell if he was that good, or if my moments with Ariana had affected me more than I'd calculated. My reaction time was one-third its normal speed, and I faced an opponent that driven to not win but obliterate me and make me suffer.

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