Page 15 of 1 Last Shot

Kane doesn't move to return the gesture. He just backs up to the cage.

"God," I hear Hailey mutter. "This isn't going to be pretty."

"FIGHT!" the ref screams.

Kane rushes forward the second the bell rings. He doesn't settle into a rhythm the way other fighters seemed to do in the previous fights, he just… lays into his opponent.

"Settle into it, Kane, you don't have to throw everything at once!" I hear his coach yell from the corner.

Kane either doesn't hear or doesn't care.

He continues to swing wildly. After about fifteen seconds of this, his opponent, Red, seems to be done with playing defense. Still appearing calm, he starts to throw back at Kane.

His combos are different than Kane's. Where Kane seems to only want to throw punches, Red is throwing a variety of weapons. He throws kicks, knees, elbows… he's not just aiming for his opponent’s face.

A few kicks aimed at Kane's leg manage to land. Red starts to time it so that when Kane steps forward, he smashes his shin into his thigh.

I wince because it looks like it would be painful, but Kane just hardens his jaw and pushes forward. It looks more like he's annoyed by a gnat than being beat in a fist fight.

"Kane, we have to defend those," his coach yells. "Remember, we're not just throwing hands.”

Once again, Kane either doesn't hear or doesn't care. He goes right back to throwing big, wild punches.

I glance to his corner to see Tristan's head drop between his shoulders, his chest constricting with a heavy sigh.

My gaze darts back to Kane just in time to see his opponent land a punch to the body. Immediately, the crowd lets out a gasp, then a loud cheer. Dread coils in my gut.

And then he gets hit with another one. And this one’shard.

Kane stumbles back from the force of it, curling over his stomach. His face twists into a wince.

I gasp and clasp my hands together in front of my mouth. Fear churns inside me, and I want to look away, but Ican’t. My attention is glued to Kane as he struggles to stay upright, as his corner starts screaming for him to put his hands up because his opponent is about to charge. And I hope, more than I’ve ever hoped for anything in my life, that Kane doesn’t get any more hurt.

But amid my fear, and as victory lights in Red's eyes, something seems to snap in Kane. It’s like a switch has been flipped. His eyes blaze with rage and murder and hate and he bites down on his mouthpiece as he pushes forward to meet his opponent's attack. He starts to throw wild, crazy punches, blatantly ignoring his corner's instructions to tighten up and be smart about his attack.

Smart or not, it doesn't take long for one of Kane's shots to land flush.

The punch causes Red to wobble, and a dazed expression appears on his face.

A look of raw triumph flashes across Kane's.

The arena isexplodingwith cheers as Kane continues to pummel his disoriented opponent, but both Hailey and I—along with Kane's two cornermen—are too shocked to make even a single sound. We just watch as Kane lands one punch after the other.

It looks more like a bar brawl than an athletic sporting event.

Every shot affects Red more and more, his hands dropping lower with each one, but the last one knocks him out cold. He slumps to his knees as the lights go out in his eyes.

I breathe a sigh of relief that the fight is over, but apparently… it's not. Because Kane jumps on his unconscious opponent and drops all his weight into the punch he rains down on his face. Not once, but twice.

The referee is quick to step in and pull Kane off the stiff-as-a-board fighter. Thankfully, Kane goes easily.

"Oh my God," I breathe.

Hailey winces and hurries to tell me, "That's not as bad as it looks, I swear. Technically, they tell you to fight until the ref pulls you off your opponent. It's totally legal."

But that’s not what prompted my comment. I’veneverseen this kind of savagery before, nothing even close to it, and I know I should absolutely be horrified by what I just witnessed.

And yet, all I feel is relief and pride that Kane came out the victor.

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