Page 16 of Acid

“Yeah!” everyone cheers out.

“Seriously, that was shit. I said, are you fucking ready for our fighters?!” he yells down the microphone. Everyone yells and cheers louder this time. He smiles, clearly thriving off the crowd. “Okay, now this fighter comes all the way from Austria! He’s bigger than Arnold, he said he will be back, and here he is! THE TERMINATOR!” he yells loudly into the microphone. Everyonecheers and claps as a huge guy bounces into the makeshift ring. He throws a few punches, pumping himself up.

“Oh my god, he’s like twice the size of Spider!” I exclaim.

“Don’t worry, Spider has this,” Star says, reassuring me.

I look over to Nova who is watching on with anxiety.

“And now for our champion. He needs no special introduction. He is 15 and 0! He may float like a butterfly, but he knocks out his opponents quicker than you can say Rohypnol.” The crowd all groan and laugh at the distasteful joke. He holds his hands up in surrender, laughing. “Here he is. The one the only SPIDER!” he yells.

Spider enters the ring, and the crowd goes wild for him, chanting his name. He ignores them as he looks up at Nova, giving her a cheeky wink. I look at her, watching as she smiles back at him, and it’s then that I realise.

“Wait, they don’t have gloves on,” I point out.

“It’s bare knuckle boxing,” Star informs me.

“Oh shit,” I mutter.

The bell rings out, echoing off the bare stone walls, and the fight begins. The Terminator lands the first hit, causing Spider to stumble slightly on his feet, but he quickly regains his composure. The crowd go wild, cheering him on to fight back, but he doesn’t. He takes another hit then dodges another.

“What’s he doing? He’s not fighting back,” I state. Dread swirls around the pit of my stomach and as I look at Nova standing there watching intently, there is no expression on her face.

“Just wait,” Maggie whispers in my ear. No sooner had the words left her mouth, Spider rears his fist back, slamming it straight into the Terminator’s face, catching him completely by surprise. He shakes his head while Spider bounces on the balls of his feet, poised and ready to strike again, just waiting for theperfect moment. The Terminator takes a swing, missing Spider, and that’s when Spider attacks.

The Terminator is too big and too slow to react as hit after hit from Spider lands on his face and body. He stumbles back, losing his balance. Spider doesn’t let up. His body is covered in a sheen of sweat, blood is splattered across his chest, and his fist collides with the Terminator’s nose. He goes down like a fallen tree, landing on the ground with a thud. Spider straddles him, still slamming his fists in his face. It’s brutal.

Acid, Ghost, and Beast push their way through the crowd and grab Spider, yanking him off the Terminator. The crowd are bloodthirsty as they cheer, demanding more, even though the Terminator’s lifeless body is being dragged away.

“Shit,” Star mutters. Nova jumps down to run to Spider as Ghost, Acid, and Beast try to calm Spider down. We stand watching helplessly, unable to help in any way. Nova reaches Spider and she pushes Ghost, Acid, and Beast out the way. Spider grabs her in his arms, holding her as she jumps and wraps her legs around his waist. He buries his face in her neck, breathing in her scent. The guy with microphone says something to Ghost. He nods and they leave the ring, walking off down the hall.

“Never a dull fight here. You demanded blood, you got it! Now, that’s just one part of the entertainment over. I have more in store for you. Hit it Gilly!” he yells. The lights dim and heavy based music vibrates as two spotlights shine on to 3 large cages: one with a man and woman making out, another with two women, and the other with two men inside.

“Let’s go,” Cash orders us. I follow everyone to the back of the warehouse, my eyes flickering back and forth to the show in the cages.

“She’s sucking him off!” I blurt out when I realise what is happening.

Star smirks as she places her arm over my shoulders. “Live sex show while people drink, get high, and party,” she states.

I open and close my mouth. “I’ve never seen anything like that. Well, apart from when I caught John, a local from the bar I worked at watching porn and masturbating in the men’s toilets,” I point out.

Star throws her head back and laughs. “Come on, let’s see what is up with Spider.”

We walk through a door into a makeshift changing room where Nova is consoling Spider. “Will leave you to it, brother. Nova, message me when you get home,” Ghost instructs.

Nova gives him a nod before she looks to Acid, a sadness in her eyes. He walks over to Spider and grabs the back of his neck, giving it a squeeze. He says something in his ear that only Spider can hear. Spider nods and Acid slaps him a couple of times on the back before turning towards me.

“Time to go, Mama,” Acid orders, his voice deep and gravely. I nod as he places his hand on the back of my neck and guides me out.

CHAPTER SIX

ACID

My mind was consumedby Spider the whole ride back to the club. I hope that motherfucker was dead and choking on his own blood.

As we all arrive at the club, everyone is silent. The women get off and begin to head inside, but Rhea stops and turns when she notices that none of us are going in. “You not coming in?” she asks.

I shake my head. “No sweetheart, we’ve got some club business to sort.” I could tell she wasn’t sure what that meant, but she nodded anyway.

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