by J. D. Hale
Memories flooded into my head. We had traveled this world and my own together, spending almost every hour together last year. I saw Cal and me on his jet black motorcycle, wind whipping through his hair on our way through Italy, past the Coliseum. Then, there we were on the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, looking down on an African plain after climbing for two days. In my mind’s eye, there we were again, laughing, on the Great Wall of China. At the Taj Mahal, in front of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, there we were. And, the second to last time I saw him, scaling a cliff face in New Zealand without any protection. That had been the best, as I had absolutely adored climbing for the entirety of my existence.
I could tell that we were both recapping last year, reveling in the memories.
“I know it’s only been a year, but I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever!” I exclaimed, and he smiled at me. Neither of us could stop smiling.
He squeezed my hand and then went to Rowan.
They grinned at each other and the two, who had been best friends since we were little, embraced. Rowan had never had many friends, but Cal had been his best friend out of the family, our only technically non-criminal friend. I say ‘non-criminal’ because he’s not what we call ‘on the record,’ meaning that he doesn’t have an official criminal record, but he’s a big name in the fighting industry, which is illegal, and the only reason he doesn’t have a record is that he’s too good to have been caught. Of course, I’ve never been caught either, but I’ve come close enough to have a record.
“Rowan, you’ve gotten taller,” Cal noted happily.
“But you’ve still got a few inches on me,” Rowan sighed, and it was true – Cal was 6’5 and still growing. He had always been tall, but now I figured he would be a foot taller than me in a year or so. I always did have a thing for tall guys.
“Is this your…friend?” Cal asked suspiciously, looking over at Salah.
“Cal,” I smiled, “This is Salah…”
“I prefer Salah the Younger, thanks,” Salah told him icily.
“Well, then I prefer Callahan Richard Gray the Third, heir to the Gray mining company fortune, pleased to make your acquaintance,” They nodded awkwardly, obviously loathing each other instantly. Cal turned back to me, again smiling.
“You ready?” He asked, taking my hand and beginning to walk down the street. I glanced back, sending an apologetic look to Salah, as he and Rowan were now forced to walk next to each other.
“So Kai, what have you been up to this past year?” Cal wondered as we walked faster, him clearly trying to distance us from Salah and Rowan.
“Nothing much, just kidnapping the queen, stealing diamonds and kicking butt. The usual. What’s more interesting is what you were up to. Tell me?” I smiled, really wanting to know.
“Well, my dad’s been out of the country on business, trying to convince someone that mining won’t go out of style. I told him to tell whoever it was that as long as you’re building mansions, mining will be valuable. Mostly, I’ve been taking it easy, since we just relocated to California. I’ve learned how to surf, paraglide, and I’ve been doing a lot of dancing,” He looked almost confused by that.
“Dancing and surfing?” I asked with a laugh, “These American girls must be all over you.” I smiled, using this as a back-handed question pertaining to his relationship status.
“Well, many have tried but, as you very well know, only one has ever succeeded. I’ve missed you a lot. I’ve been thinking about when I saw you last July, and-”
“You mean when you kissed me for the first time and then told me you were moving to America?” I asked sarcastically in an attempt to cover how much heartbreak I had felt that day.
“Yeah, and then you stomped on my foot and broke three of my toes, and I began hallucinating that I was dancing on a rainbow,” he laughed at this, “because you were wearing that fancy lipstick of yours. Anyways, I’ve been thinking about it, and I realized that I didn’t want to leave it like that. So I called you up. It was merely a coincidence that you finally got accepted into fight club.”
“What do you mean ‘I didn’t want to leave it like that’?” I asked, confused. As far as I knew, we had both gotten over each other through various phone calls and emails over the past eleven months.
“I mean, I want another chance.” He said simply, and I looked at him in shock, my mouth open.
“You want me to give you another chance? At What? Another relationship with me?” I asked, my mind racing a million miles a minute.
“Yes.” He replied, “I’ve wanted to be with you our whole lives, and I know you think the same thing about me.”
I smiled, thinking. Of course I wanted to be with one of the only guys that’s ever actually cared about me, but at the same time, it’s like he’s just showed up again, and now he just expects me to want him back.
But, my better judgment escaped me when I looked in his crystal eyes.
“I’ll stay here for a few weeks. You have until then to convince me that you still deserve me.” I tell him, full of sass, that I knew he would interpret as flirtatiousness. That’s one of those things about him – he always thinks I’m flirting with him.
“Alright.” He’s suddenly very excited, “Are you busy tonight?”
“After fighting, no. What did you have in mind?” I was suspicious – past dates with Cal had included everything from cliff diving, parasailing, and water skiing to racing jets to Paris, touring Italy in a day and exploring catacombs in Germany. Cal had always been such an unpredictable person, I had no clue what could be going through his head.
“You’ll see later. I promise we won’t leave the state of California, though.” He replied.
“That’s a first. Normally your dates are ridiculous and extravagant, but I can’t wait to see what you put together.” I smiled, unsure of what to think.
“Well, it’ll be something you’ve never done before, I promise you that.” He was grinning himself stupid like a little kid who had just gotten away with something.
“Whatever you say.” I sighed, trying not to think about what he could pull off. The heir to one of the most lucrative mining companies in the world, Cal had the assets to pay for anything. Plus, he’s got the raw creativity to pull it off.
“Here we are.” He stopped in front of a low building surrounded by chain link fence, so close to the beach that I could smell the ocean.
“This is it?” I was wondering what lay inside this building. I had never been to a real fight club before; as everyone thinks they don’t exist. When I found out they did, I immediately signed up for an invite, since it’s an invite only club, and I trained. Fight club and being closer to Cal had been my motivation to really train even before I had become totally consumed by my criminal lifestyle.
“I should warn you, though, that the guys in there aren’t going to take you seriously at first, because you’re a girl. You’ll have to destroy them a few times before they think you’re good.” He said.
“Alright.” I followed him through the fence and around to the back door. Inside, we walked down a staircase and then, I was in fight club.
The room was lit by yellow bulbs, casting an eerie glow around. There was an octagon surrounded by chains, where there was a fair of boys fighting. All around, teenage boys hollered and jeered at the pair fighting. As far as I could tell through the crowd, it was a brutal fight. The guys in the ring were beating the crap out of each other street style – no rules, no structure, just fists flinging and kicks flying.
I was excited.
“Cal!” A guy yelled from the crowd, running up. They nodded at each other, and the other guy, a tall, Spanish guy with brown hair, shirtless and sweating.
When he looked at me, his eyes narrowed, “Why’d you bring a girl?”
“This,” Cal replied, “is Kairee, and I brought her because she could kill every guy fighting in this whole place.”
“No way. Hey girl,” the guy said, a toothpick in his teeth, “if yo
u get in there and beat Ty, the reigning champ, I’ll believe that.”
“Alright.” I replied with a glare. When people underestimate me, it never goes well for them, “Row, are you going to fight?” I asked, turning to my brother.
“No, not today.” He told me.
I pulled off my shirt, revealing my black sports bra, and I slipped off my heels.
“Salah, can you keep my stuff safe?” I asked, and he nodded, “Cal, am I allowed to have weapons, or is it strictly hand on hand?”
“No weapons. I know that’s not your style, but give them here.” He told me, and I began pulling out my weapons. My razor pins, a knife strapped to my leg, a needle in my necklace, and my family ring all came off. The only weapon I wouldn’t remove was my hallucinogenic lipstick, applied perfectly on my lips. I dropped the weapons with my clothes, and I looked at the Spanish boy.
“I’m Kai. I look forward to kicking your butt. And, I’ve got one question – can I kiss my opponents?” I smiled at him seductively, and he blinked, dazzled. He shook his head, banishing the power of my eyes.
“I’m sure they’d be lucky.” He replied flirtatiously, “And I’m Jackson.”
“Back off, Jack, this one’s mine.” Cal growled at him
This clearly bothered Salah, but it sent Rowan smiling.
“Be nice Cal, I’ll see you later.” I said, and kissed him on the cheek.
I could feel three sets of eyes on me as I walked away.
I stalked through the crowd, boys parting in my way and staring at the girl trying to get in. I could almost feel jaws dropping around me as I walked up to the chain octagon. I waited as patiently as I could for the fight between a giant, who I assumed was Ty, and an almost equally big teenager, to end so I could get in there. When it did, Ty stood over the convulsing challenger, and the ref stepped in.
“Who wants to try at Tyler now?” The man yelled, and Tyler looked dangerous.
“Me!” I yelled, and the room grew hushed. Nobody expected a girl to be in the middle of fight club, wanting to take on the biggest guy there.
“Al…right?” The ref called, and I walked forward.
“I’m Kai.” I said to the ref, and Ty.
“Tyler.” The giant grunted.
“Good to meet you. I’m sorry you’ll be in the hospital tomorrow.” I smiled, but he wasn’t fazed.
“Same to you.”
“Shut up, princess,” The teenage ref said, “Just destroy her already, Ty. Fight.”
The ref backed up but didn’t leave the ring, like normal.
Tyler came at me, a mountain moving towards a lithe cat at surprising speed. He tried to punch me in the jaw, but I easily blocked it with my elbow, then I grabbed his wrist and bent his arm the wrong way, cracking his elbow. He grunted and tried to kick me in the stomach. His huge leg collided with my rock-hard abs, almost bouncing off. It hurt, but now enough to put me on the ground. The rest was quick. I elbowed him in the jaw, kneed him in the ribs, and then punched him in the side. He doubled over, and I shot out a barrage of punches into his face, then rammed my fists into his neck, smashed in his collarbone, and cracked four of his ribs. Then, as he was completely dazed, I jumped up and kicked his knees in, leaving them broken. He fell on the ground, and I punched his back quickly and rapidly, breaking his shoulder-blades.
Overall damage to him: broken jaw, four broken ribs, smashed nose, shattered collarbone, two broken legs.
Overall damage to me: slight stomach bruising.
I cracked my neck, giggled, and then I looked at the crowd. I saw people all around with shocked expressions on their face, trading cash and watches.
I turned to the ref, “Who’s next?”
“Oh my god.” He whispered, and then, shouting, “Who wants to fight the girl?”
A few boys came in and dragged my first opponent away.
One boy stepped through the crowd, tall and strong, and said, “I will. Even I can take a girl.” The boy had shaggy blonde hair and murky green eyes. He smiled at me.
“I’m not so sure.” I smiled back, a little bit of a smirk on my face.
This is one boy I would be using my strongest weapon on.
“Fight!” The ref yelled, and got out of the rings as fast as he could.
The cute boy came at me, and I didn’t really want to hurt him.
I let him punch me for a few moments, I swung at him once, my fist colliding with his shoulder, and then I kissed him. He was so shocked at first, but then he kissed me back for a second before passing out. The room was silent, mouths dropped to the floor as the boy I had kissed fell to the over.
“What the hell did you do to him?” The referee whispered, breaking the silence.
“He’ll be fine in a few hours.” I said, and I looked around the crowd.
“Okay. Who wants to fight Kai now?” The ref yelled, and more boys were stepping up each time. They all wanted to prove themselves.
But, the moment Cal put his hand in the air, everyone’s hand dropped. Apparently, people here were just as afraid of Cal as everyone, everywhere else is afraid of me. He grinned at me, and I smirked back. There were only two people in this universe that could beat me in a fight – my twin brother and Cal. These days, though, I could probably beat him easily. He took up a fighting stance, and I mimicked. The ref called the match and walked through the opening, out into the crowd.
Cal came at me in a movement so fast I almost missed it. In a split second, he was behind me, punching me with his fingers curled – the joints in his fingers pounding into my spine. Everyone knows this is the most successful type of punch, something I learned from personal experience. As the pain was jolting through my back so quickly I hardly processed it, I whipped around, but he kept firing at my stomach with his fists. I elbowed him in the jaw and thrust my knee upwards. He almost doubled over, but then he was back on his game, shooting his shoulder into my neck. I gagged back, and in my moment of weakness, he punched me in the stomach in a rapid barrage. I regained my strength and countered, jumping up high and kicking his left knee in. But, as my foot made contact, he shot his leg out behind him and my foot pounded into the ground, and it felt as if my toes were shattered. I winced, blinked, and suddenly Cal twisted my arms behind my back and held me. I struggled, but couldn’t break his iron hold. The ref was smiling as he called the match.
That night, I put twenty teenage boys in the hospital, four simply passed out, and eight sent home with broken bones and bruises, but only Cal made it out unscathed. The only injuries I had at the very end only three cuts on my stomach, my shoulder, and one on my leg, and six bruises, and one broken rib – I’ve noticed that since I’ve broken all of my ribs multiple times, it’s as if they’re now more susceptible to breakage. Of course I know that’s silly, but it seems true to me. My big toe was bruised and throbbing, but my stomach was the worst. The cut was over my belly-button, about five inches long and a half centimeter wide, a few bruises blossomed around it.
I had only fought for about two hours, but I was already exhausted, and excited. All I would need was a little coffee to perk up.
I walked out of the ring, and Cal smiled at me on the way out.
I took my things from Salah and put on all my weapons, neglecting to put on my shirt due to the fact that my stomach was bleeding and would stain the soft green fabric of my shirt. Cal, Salah, Rowan, and I all walked up and out of the building. I watched suspiciously as Cal pulled out a folded sheet of paper and pressed it into my hand. I waited for him to say something more, but he just smiled.
“Kairee?” I heard Salah’s voice behind me, “How long are we going to stay here? The theft is in just a few weeks, and we really-”
“Chill out, Salah. We’ll be here up until a few days before the theft, but we’ll get in just as much training as we would have on Saize.” I reassured him.
“I’m not so sure.” He whispered, and I could tell he was almost hoping I didn’t hear what he had said, “You seem distracted by…Cal. I think he�
��ll keep us from getting all our training done.”
“You’re completely wrong.” I told him as nicely as I could, “Cal has street smarts, disguise genius, and almost as much will power as I do. I think he’ll help us with the training you need.”
“Well, where will stay?” Salah asked, and Cal smiled.
“Well,” Cal began, “my father recently bought Anacapa Island, about eleven miles off the coast, and we just finished building a mansion of Dunham sized proportions. It’s got enough space for all of you.”
Rowan grinned, but Salah had what seemed to be a permanent sulk glued on his face. I couldn’t help but smile at Salah. It made me kind of happy to see him so jealous of Cal. The fact that he’s that envious of Cal means that he really cares.
“It’s the only place on the island.” Cal said, “So why don’t you guys go and…check out the place.”
“And what will you and Kairee do?” Salah’s look suddenly turned from mild irritation to shock and anger as he took in Cal’s obvious plan. Tonight, he and I had gone from almost going on a date to me going out with another guy, while he’s stuck with my brother in Cal’s mansion.
I sighed, “I’ll explain it to you later.”
“Are you guys going out again?” Rowan asked happily. Cal’s one of the few guys that Rowan approves of.
“Well-”
“Yes.” Cal told him, cutting me off.
“Have fun, I’ll find the island and take Salah there. Don’t wait up.” Rowan grabbed Salah by the arm and dragged him off to who knows where.
“So,” Cal turned to me and smiled, “ready for out date?”
“I wish you wouldn’t say it like that.” I groaned, “And no. I need some coffee first.”
“Alright. There’s a coffee shop down the street. Follow me.”
As it happens, the coffee shop is Cal’s favorite, and all of the girls behind the counter know him. A pretty brunette barista grinned excitedly when she saw Cal walk in with me.
I couldn’t help but stare at her a bit, doing the ridiculous teenage girl thing – comparing her to me. She was a few inches shorter than me, with chocolate hair – clearly highlighted blonde – and bright blue eyes.
