Chapter 1

The Fight is on

The stench of sweat and blood filled my nose as I walked into an old warehouse, on the west side of the docks. It was dark and chilly, the wind whispered to me as I rushed inside to escape it's icy grip.

I stood in the shadows just inside the door and scanned my surroundings, trying not to be seen too soon. The whole building was a cement block, the walls were streaked with water and god knows what else, I shivered slightly at the thought. I took a deep breath to calm myself and soon realized my first mistake. I coughed and sputtered, choking on the smoke of a cigarette. The smoke was thick and smothering, it covered the room in a thick fog.

I shook my head and covered my mouth with the sleeve of my jacket as I continued to scan the room. To the far side of the room past all the smoke, was an old bar swarming with people, all waiting to place their bets or grab their money while they could. I ducked my head and walked farther into the dank room. I pushed myself into a far corner and quickly stripped off my jacket and t-shirt, I placed them down on the ground behind me and waited for my name to be called on the mic. The warehouse was filled to the brim with people, all shouting and shoving, trying to get closer to the action unfolding in front of them. I smirked, these people didn't know what was in store for them.

"Our winner is...Steel!" An excited voice shouted over the loudspeakers above my head. I stood on my toes, trying to see over the sea of people, but I was too short and far away to see the face of my next opponent.

The crowd went wild, screaming, yelling and pushing their way towards the old rickety bar, wanting their winning bets. I took this opportunity to push my way closer to the center of the room, anxious to see the face of the winner. I pushed my way past people fighting and shouting trying to get to the bar before their money was taken. I fought against them, but there really was no use. They all mobbed together and pushed forward, tossing me back and forth in the process. I was slammed backwards into someone, my back hitting them hard enough to push us both backward. The unknown man grunted and roughly grabbed my arms and tossed me aside. I stumbled out of the crowd and fell to my knees, trying to catch my breath. It wasn't until I noticed how silent everyone had become that I realized my second mistake.

I slowly looked up from my kneeling position to see a man standing over me. His face was red and glistening with sweat, his body shaking slightly from the thinly controlled rage. I cursed under my breath, this was the man who had just won that fight. This was the man who had caused such an uproar..and I had just challenged him...great.

I slowly stood, never letting my eyes waver from the man in front of me. He popped his knuckles and shifted his weight from foot to foot, ready to attack if needed. I stepped back and lowered my head, trying to look intimidated and scared so he would back down. His reaction was the exact opposite from what I was hoping for, it made him angrier. He grunted and stepped forward, swinging his fist down and aiming for my temple. I squealed and ducked out of the way just in time. His fist slammed down right beside my head as I scrambled away. Fear and adrenaline raced through me as I stood to my feet and backed away. I wasn't ready to fight him yet. I needed to concentrate, not swing blindly and hoping for the best. The man, Steel, I think his name was, was about to swing again when an older man ran up to him and grabbed his arm. I was saved! Or at least that what I thought until the older man whispered something into Steels ear that made the fighter grin with glee. My stomach churned with dread, what were they planning?

"I challenge you to a fight, right here, right now." Steel's strong gravely voice shouted. I shivered, my stomach dropped down to my feet and my heartbeat thundered in my ears. I couldn't say no. If I did I would be killed right where I stood, and it wouldn't be a slow, or easy death.

I sighed and slowly nodded my head, I felt sick to my stomach, but my body vibrated with adrenaline and the excitement of a fight. Steel chuckled darkly, he knew I wouldn't have said no, not with all the people here to see. I crouched down in my fighting position and watched my opponent carefully. He didn't seem to be taking me seriously. He was trying to play this off like just another fight, one that didn't mean anything to him. I could still see the anger sizzling right under his skin, which didn't surprise me since I had fallen into his fight, I had made a fool of him when I ducked under his fist and got away, He wouldn't take that small slip up lightly, he needed to show everyone there that he was still the best fighter, and that no little girl would beat him at his own game. I almost laughed at him, he was worried about me making him look bad, me! I was a small girl fighting in a street fight against a six foot nine behemoth, there was no way anyone thought I would win this fight. I smirked, no one knew what I was capable of, I wasn't some little girly girl who wore pink fluffy dresses and played with dolls. I was a trained fighter, have been since I was little.

The same man who had talked to Steel earlier walked into the ring and stood between us, I hadn't even realized he was there. I cursed myself for not noticing him earlier or paying him any attention at all, he could have been a threat, and I wouldn't have even known it. His face was covered by the shadow of his hat and he wore a long black coat, which confused me because it was so hot in this cramped building. He spoke in a loud voice, it bounced off the cement walls and echoed throughout the building. He had a slight accent, but I couldn't place it, and quite frankly I didn't care. I wanted to get this fight over with, I didn't want to be here. I had school tomorrow and homework still lying at home, undone.

"Alright, for our next fight, our reigning champion Steel has challenged someone." The Man said. I looked over at Steel, he stared down at me with hard silver eyes, his anger simmered and shined through them. A long scar ran across his bare chest, glinting in the dim lights of the ring. It looked like maybe he had gotten the scar from a heated knife, or maybe a whip. The thought of a whip made me shiver in fear, I pushed old memories aside before they could take hold of me and drag me down. I had to focus, or Steel would beat my ass and leave me to die here on the cold, blood stained cement. Steel smirked at me, as if he could tell where my thoughts had drifted. I tensed and glared at him, not liking the taunting gleam in his eye.

"Steel has chosen to challenge the famous Shadow. Most of you know her, she's been here for a while now. She's also one of our....younger fighters." The Man said. I glared at him, not liking the condescending tone he was speaking in. He spoke as if he was better than me, when in reality he was nothing more than a pile of dirt underneath my shoe.

"Place your bets quickly, this should be a short fight." The Man said as he stepped into the crowd, leaving me with Steel.

"This'll be easy." Steel said as he stalked towards me. I smirked and readied myself for the fight ahead of me. He had no idea what I could do.

His fist shot out to hit me in the jaw but I ducked and rolled to the side. He was fast, I hadn't even seen his hand move from his side, it was only instinct that kept me from getting hit. Some of the people watching the fight booed and called me a coward, but I didn't pay them any attention as I stood and waited for Steel's next move. It was better to wait than to act foolishly and get hurt. Steel glared at me, his eyes scanning me for any obvious weak spots he could use against me. He shifted his weight from his left foot to his right, the movement was small and slight, and if you weren't watching closely you wouldn't have seen it. That small movement told me everything I needed to know, he was about to kick with his left foot. I tensed my body, steadying it, ready for the hit.

I let him kick me in the side and I flew to the ground. Pain shot up my ribs, burning my insides, I knew I would have a nasty bruise there soon. I looked up to see Steel standing over me with a sick smile. I knew that smile, I always saw it when someone thought they had won. I smirked and raised my eyebrow at Steel, he had no idea what he was in store for. I rocked back and hit him in the shin with my foot, he hissed and staggered back, this gave me just enough time to stand and swing my foot around towards his head. The heel of my foot hit him in the temple, his eyes rolled back in his head and he slumped to the ground, unconscious.

A silent shock filled the room before a defining roar rose from the crowd. I looked up and frowned, I didn't like these fights, they bored me, but I needed to participate in them. I stepped over Steels limp body and walked out of the ring, I pushed my way past drunks, fighters, and other people to get to the bar at the end of the room. I didn't feel like dealing with these people any more, they knew who I was now and most of them were more than happy to get out of my way. I grabbed my money from the shadow covered man behind the counter and walked back to the corner I had placed my stuff in, I grabbed my shirt and jacket before walking out of the building and into the cool night. I took a deep breath of fresh air and winced when pain shot up my ribs once more.

"Great, now I have to deal with my ribs, and my homework." I mumbled to myself as I walked down the dimly lit docks, dreading the long cold walk to my house.

I walked up the cobble stone driveway of our small white three bedroom house and unlocked the old wooden door. I knew my mother wouldn't be home, she worked late most nights, and my father...he left us before I was born. I slowly climbed the stairs, every once in awhile they groaned under my weight. Once I reached the top of the stairs, I walked down the short carpeted hallway to my room and shut the pale blue door behind me. I placed my jacket down on my brown bedspread and looked around my room at my bare light blue walls.

My black desk was filled with work from school, and on my black desk chair sat my camera. I smiled, photography was one of the only things that made me somewhat happy. I scanned the room once more, looking for any threats. I may not use my real name in the fights, but someone could still find me. Granted, I didn't even look like myself at the fights I was still careful not to let anyone know about me. My mother had enough to worry about without having to move because someone was after us, again.

I walked into the bathroom that was connected to my room and started the shower in the small white tub. I pulled off my clothes and jumped in, not worrying about getting the water just right. The hot water burned a bit but it relaxed my muscles, calming me down and washing away the stink of the fights in the form of temporary hair dye. After a while, when the water turned cold and I felt the heavy weight of sleep, I got out of the shower and dried off.

I slipped on black shorts and a black t-shirt then walked over to the large mirror anchored on the wall above my wooden vanity. I dried my long midnight black hair with a towel before brushing it out and leaving it to air dry. I leaned closer to the mirror and removed my ice blue colored contacts. I blinked, letting my eyes get used to the feel of freedom once again. I stared at my stormy gray eyes and shook my head, not liking their dull color.

I stepped back from the mirror and pulled my shirt up to show my stomach and sighed, along the left side of my body was a long black bruise, I gently pushed on the ribs underneath, checking for any breaks. I let out a sigh of relief when I found none, I pulled down my shirt and walked out of the bathroom, not wanting to avoid the inevitable any longer.

I walked over to my desk and pulled out my homework. I had Math, English, and Science homework to do and not a lot of time to do it. I frowned, this was going to be a long, maybe even sleepless night. I turned around and picked up my camera from my desk chair and carried it over to my brown bookshelf on the other side of the room next to the door and placed it in its case, I turned back to my desk to start the long tedious task of doing my homework.

By the time I had finished all of my homework it was really late, well, technically it was really early, but I was too tired to care. My mother still hadn't come home, but that was nothing new. Like I had said, she works late nights. I stood from my desk and stretched, wincing once again as I moved too quickly, resulting in pain searing through my ribs. I paused for a second to catch my breath before slowly lowering my arms and walking over to my light switch. I turned off my lights and stood by the door for a few seconds, letting my eyes adjust to the darkness that had engulfed my room. Once I was sure I wouldn't kill myself trying to get into my bed I walked over to it and pulled back my poofy brown bedspread and slid into bed slowly, letting the soft mattress hug me as I relaxed into the covers. I fell into the darkness before my head even hit the pillow.