Caged

by Theresa Breslin

  When the bell went for Round Two Leo came out of his corner in supreme confidence. Kai regretted that he’d agreed to cave in to him. Leo would maximize his lion act, secure in the knowledge that Kai had to let him win this round. Several times Kai thought he could have bested him with a good punch but had to let it go. Eventually Leo put a semi-wrestle hold on Kai, who conceded a submission.

  Rounds Three and Four followed the same pattern. Leo reacted to an early blow from Kai in Round Three by playing groggy until the bell rang. When Round Four came and it was his turn to win, he posed about for even longer, growling and pulling his gloves off and on to display his curved claws, leaving Kai frustrated and getting angrier and angrier.

  Now it was Round Five and it really would be ‘no holds barred’.

  The memory of their last fight was in Kai’s head. He was going to keep his eyes on Leo and not be fooled again. Leo’s energy was running high. He’d used Kai’s winning rounds to save his strength. But his superiority was in his height and weight. Kai dodged and ducked, more skilful and nimble on his feet. Counting the seconds in his head.

  Ten to go.

  Kai went blazing into the attack and struck. A massive undercut to the jaw. And Leo was on the floor as the bell rang to end the round.

  Kai jumped across Leo and raised both hands in the air so that there was no doubt as to who had won that round.

  The din of sound from outside the Cage increased as Round Six began. Tech must have turned up the audio track. As if on cue Leo rocketed forward in a flurry of punches. Kai hunched his back and used his fists to defend himself, whereupon Leo crouched and kicked out malevolently at Kai’s shins. It was so unexpected that Kai stumbled. He felt his ankle give under him and he went over. He stayed down. Best to let this round go. The bell rang. As Kai got up to go to his corner Leo thumped him hard with both fists on the top of his helmet.

  No referee to declare him out.

  Kai staggered to his stool. His vision was blurred, his hearing fuzzy. The noise became a sound like the sea surging against rocks. The way it does around an island…lines of foam creaming on the sand…Kai gave his head a shake – some part of his brain acknowledging that he might be concussed. Through glazed eyes he saw Tech interviewing Beowulf. Raven seemed to be slow to ring the bell for the last round. Spartacus had probably also asked her to make the fight last longer so that every Cage Fighter could comment – Tech wanted them to make individual statements on the hardship and hazards of life on the street. But maybe it was to give Spartacus more time to bring their money back in.

  Tech finished his interview and turned up his sound track. Bass notes of drumbeats throbbed in the air.

  Kai’s ears were buzzing. The level of noise was so much louder. Like club music fully amped up on speakers.

  The speakers…

  There was something about the speakers. Kai tried to think. From the beginning two enormous speakers had sat beside the Cage. They’d never been used because Spartacus was neurotic about noise. When listening to their own music the Cage Fighters used ear buds or headphones, Spartacus ever anxious that any unusual sound would be picked up by Underground staff and reported.

  Until this fight.

  Why? This was their championship finale. The last pay-off, a mega amount riding on this one. That’s what Spartacus had said. He wanted to big it up. But why so much noise? Why take this risk when Tech could add it in later as he generally did? Yet it must always have been Spartacus’s intention to use the speakers, otherwise he would not have set them up…

  The bell clanged.

  Last round.

  Kai got up.

  Leo was coming towards him.

  Slowly.

  Kai took a single step forward, allowing himself more time to recover from the blow to the top of his head at the end of the previous round.

  Leo waited…watching. Like a lion with its wounded prey.

  Kai tottered. Unsure.

  Wild-orange claws scratched at his arm.

  ‘Said I’d make you bleed,’ Leo snarled.

  Kai stared stupidly as the red welts oozed blood. Leo had taken a glove off! His nails were filed razor-sharp.

  ‘That’s a foul!’ yelled Kai.

  ‘It’s a “Kill Fight”!’ Leo yelled back. ‘Anyway Spartacus told me to do it.’

  ‘Spartacus told you to make that move on me?’ Kai repeated in disbelief.

  ‘That, and a few others,’ Leo smirked.

  ‘Like mash my head after the bell?’

  Leo nodded. Sweat was pouring down his neck. He was high on the prospect of an imminent win.

  Images swam through Kai’s mind. Was Bird Girl right? Had Spartacus been manipulating them all along?

  ‘We need to stop – to talk!’ he called out to Leo.

  ‘No way!’ cried Leo. ‘Spartacus warned me you might pull a trick like this – use some excuse to stop the fight.’

  ‘Spartacus warned you against me?’

  ‘Yeah. From when we first met.’ Leo advanced as he was speaking. ‘He told me what a liar you are, always talking about people behind their backs.’

  ‘Spartacus warned me about you!’ Kai jumped to avoid Leo’s spinning side-kick. ‘Said Raven wasn’t safe in your company.’

  ‘That’s garbage! Spartacus is my friend. He’d never say anything like that about me.’ Now Leo was close enough to try a head-butt.

  Kai retreated quickly. His back was against the Cage bars. Fists up. Kicking out to defend himself. Leo was right. Spartacus had never actually said that. Just implied it, with remarks and gestures.

  ‘Liar! Liar! Liar!’ Gloves back on, Leo was pummelling Kai’s arms and body.

  ‘You’re angry because you know it’s true!’ Kai shouted. ‘But there is something wrong with the set-up for this fight!’

  ‘The only thing that’s wrong for you is that you’re going to lose.’ Leo was beyond listening.

  ‘It’s too noisy out there!’ Kai reached out both hands and grabbed Leo’s head. ‘The vibrations must be travelling right through the tunnels. Spartacus would know that might be heard by railway workers.’

  ‘Don’t be daft.’ Leo broke free. ‘He wouldn’t risk wrecking the project.’

  ‘Maybe he doesn’t care.’ Kai moved aside as Leo came towards him in full fight mode. ‘Maybe he’s made enough money already and has bailed on us.’

  ‘There’s tons more to make on this fight.’ Leo’s foot shot out but failed to connect. ‘Probably more than all the others put together.’

  ‘Bird Girl thinks he manipulates us, that he’s just in this for himself.’

  ‘Bird Girl. Bird Girl.’ Leo mimicked Kai’s voice. ‘She’s really got you fooled, hasn’t she?’

  ‘What she says makes sense. Think about it, please, Leo,’ Kai begged.

  For answer Leo took off both gloves, lunged forwards and raked his nails along Kai’s neck.

  Kai knew the cuts were deep, felt himself sliding into shock. Losing his thoughts amid the sound booming beyond the cage, blocking every sense.

  Suddenly one noise above the rest. A sound unlike any other Kai had ever heard. A gigantic underground door slamming shut.

  A tremendous thud and a whoosh of air.

  The Cage jerked and spun.

  The two fighters swayed between dark and light as the Cage wobbled.

  Above the pounding drums came a high-pitched shriek.

  Leo stopped in mid-punch, his hands poised in the air.

  The music shut off.

  Empty silence.

  Then – a piercing scream of terror. And another, and another.

  ‘What’s happening?’ Kai flung himself at the bars, trying to see into the blackness.

  Leo swung himself to the roof of the Cage. He shoved his arm through the spars and pulled at the electric cable. The spotlight swivelled so that it shone onto the surrounding area where the audience had been sitting to watch this last match.

  People were climbing onto their chairs, cl
utching each other and shouting. The floor was alive with an undulating stream of movement.

  Rats.

  Hundreds upon hundreds of rats, huge and horrible, eyes gleaming red, were swarming everywhere.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  A shout from Leo.

  Kai looked up. A rat had scrabbled down the cable and onto Leo’s arm. He shook it off and the animal dropped to the floor. It ran around the cage and then leaped out between the bars.

  ‘Jeez-oh!’ Leo shouted. ‘We need to get out of the Cage!’

  ‘Can we call this fight quits then?’ said Kai.

  ‘OK,’ Leo replied. Then added, ‘It’s a no-win.’

  ‘Whatever.’ Kai was already at the Cage door. And there were Sarema and Bird Girl, who had manoeuvred their chairs across the floor.

  ‘I must go to my sister!’ Bird Girl called to Kai.

  Kai helped her and Sarema up and into the Cage. Below them, squeaking and squealing, the rats raced on. ‘Do we know what caused that bang?’ he asked them.

  ‘A tunnel cave-in?’ suggested Leo.

  ‘I do not think so,’ said Sarema. ‘From where we were at the back it sounded more like explosions.’

  ‘Explosions!’ Kai exclaimed. ‘You mean there was more than one?’

  ‘We’re not sure,’ said Bird Girl.

  ‘And Spartacus is not here for us to ask him what it could be and what we should do,’ said Sarema.

  Kai searched for an explanation. Sarema had mentioned Spartacus’s name…‘You think Spartacus—’

  ‘We need to do our emergency evacuation,’ Leo called to Tech, who was poised on a chair, still filming. ‘Can you switch the main lights on?’

  Tech pointed to the ground. ‘I’m not budging until these guys have gone through.’

  ‘I can’t go without Darcey!’ Bird Girl put her hands on Kai’s chest. ‘Can you help me find my sister?’

  Kai was mentally figuring out their escape route. ‘We should get ourselves outside first,’ he replied. ‘Then we rescue her by breaking open the station wall.’

  ‘I’m not leaving her alone underground.’

  ‘Mole is with her,’ said Sarema. ‘She is as safe as she can be, for he knows the underground passages better than anyone.’

  ‘Look where the rats are coming from,’ said Kai. ‘If we take the tunnel towards Langsdaine, we’ll be in their path.’

  ‘Then so will my sister!’

  ‘No she won’t. She’s up against the station wall and shut off from the tunnel. The rats aren’t coming in from outside. They’re running from where the explosions took place, which is much nearer here.’

  ‘Yet…’ Sarema paused.

  ‘What?’ asked Kai. ‘What are you thinking?’

  ‘That the only time I’ve seen rats flee in large numbers is when water is involved.’

  ‘No matter what the cause is we should do the evacuation,’ said Leo. ‘We can step down from here onto the chairs and move them along as we go.’

  They clambered from the Cage to join the others.

  ‘The rats are nearly gone.’ Cautiously Tech lowered himself to the floor. ‘I’ll switch the main lights back on.’

  ‘And then we can get out by our emergency exit routes,’ said Raven.

  ‘We should wait for Spartacus to return with the rest of the money,’ said Boudicca.

  ‘Yeah,’ said Beowulf. ‘I agree with Boudicca.’

  ‘The fuses in the main lighting panel have been tampered with,’ Tech called out. ‘I’ll put on my backup system to give us some emergency lighting.’

  ‘Who would have done that?’ asked Bird Girl.

  The Cage Fighters looked at each other.

  ‘None of us,’ said Sarema. ‘We were all watching the fight.’

  ‘Spartacus must have done it,’ said Tech. ‘Apart from me he’s the only person who knew where the lighting panel was.’

  ‘But why?’ Leo’s voice had a catch in it. ‘Why would Spartacus do that? He’s got a share in this project same as the rest of us.’

  ‘Maybe he’s changed his mind about “sharing”…’ Tech faltered over the last word.

  ‘You mean he was only in it to make money for himself?’ Kai’s voice registered his overwhelming shock as his dreams and hopes shrank by the second. ‘Spartacus has betrayed us?’

  Someone slipped their hand into his. He turned his head. Bird Girl was beside him.

  ‘We need to get to the storeroom,’ said Magog. ‘That’s where the safe with the money is. I say we split the cash there between us.’

  ‘Sounds like a good idea to me.’ Boudicca jumped from her chair and sent a couple of rats flying with the toe of her boot.

  Kai glanced down. There were far fewer rats, mainly older, slower ones scuttling at the end of the trail. The floor was almost clear to walk upon.

  With the rest following him, Magog strode out of the Arena to the storeroom. He forced his shoulder against the door. But the door was solid and the lock firm.

  Bird Girl was hopping from foot to foot in agitation. ‘I’m off,’ she said. ‘I think I can remember the way I came in.’

  ‘I know you tried to memorize the route, but you might get lost,’ said Kai, ‘or meet Spartacus.’

  Beowulf and Leo were helping Magog, taking turns at trying to force the door lock. Boudicca and Medusa were busy bringing everyone’s rucksacks from their dens.

  ‘Gita and I will also leave now,’ said Sarema. ‘There is great danger in remaining here.’

  Kai saw that they weren’t prepared to hang on. He wanted to go with them. But he wanted his money. He needed his money. The lock was still resisting the blows from Magog.

  ‘I’m going.’ Tech closed down his film camera and handed it to Raven, who stuffed it in the shoulder bag.

  ‘Me too,’ she said. ‘That door will take ages to smash through. I’m not risking getting caught by the police.’

  ‘But our money’s in there!’ Boudicca wailed, dropping the rucksacks behind them. She paused. ‘We need to work out where we can meet up topside because Spartacus will come down here and get it for us later. Won’t he…?’

  Kai hovered, undecided. The scratches on his neck were aching and he was beginning to feel dizzy. Raven and Tech picked up their rucksacks.

  ‘Wait,’ said Kai. ‘I’ll come with you.’

  At that moment the door of the storeroom opened.

  From the inside.

  A young teenage girl stood in the entrance.

  CHAPTER

  THIRTY-ONE

  ‘Darcey!’

  Bird Girl rushed to hug her sister.

  ‘Shhh!’ Darcey said severely. She opened up her hands which were clasped to her chest and showed a bird’s nest with three fledglings nestled in it.

  ‘How did you get here?’

  Darcey glanced about her, confused as to where she was.

  ‘Is Mole OK?’ Bird Girl asked her.

  ‘Yes,’ Darcey replied. ‘He’s with Albert. Albert knows how to be safe.’

  ‘Was it Mole who brought you—’ Bird Girl was cut off by the gabble as the Cage Fighters thronged into the room.

  And it was immediately plain there would be no money for anyone. The door of the safe was ajar – and it was empty!

  ‘Still think Spartacus is going to return?’ Raven asked Boudicca.

  Boudicca shouldered her rucksack. ‘I’m going then, before the police arrive.’ Her voice was cracking, her upset obvious.

  Beowulf searched among packages and crates, but there was nothing of value to be had, and no trace even of the box containing their mobile phones. Shouting and swearing Leo began to hurl items from the shelves onto the floor. Sarema stepped in to speak to him, talking quietly until he calmed himself.

  ‘I think we should move out as quickly as possible,’ said Kai. ‘The noise of that explosion might have been picked up outside and reported to the police.’

  It was Tech who brought them together. He dressed Kai’s wounds and che
cked they had snacks and water bottles before discussing an exit plan.

  ‘If we ever want to meet up we can contact each other via the gym,’ he said. He gave a wry smile. ‘You never know. Maybe Spartacus is waiting there for us with all the money intact.’

  Nobody smiled in response.

  ‘Gutted.’ One word from Magog summed up the general feeling.

  The rehearsed evacuation allowed for four groups, each taking a different route: north, south, east and west. East was where Mole had been working on the caved-in roof which might still be unstable. The school exit lay south but they reckoned it was best not to go in the direction the rats had run.

  ‘North or west then?’ asked Tech.

  ‘South,’ said a voice no one recognized.

  ‘Darcey?’ Bird Girl turned to her sister. ‘What makes you say south?’

  ‘Albert said to go south.’ Darcey raised her head, then lowered it again to focus her attention on the chicks she held.

  Bird Girl glanced at Kai. Kai looked at Raven. She turned to Tech.

  ‘Are you thinking that north via the green Main Tunnel is best?’ Tech asked them. ‘I’ll come with you.’

  ‘Us too,’ Sarema said, holding tight onto Gita’s hand.

  Kai and Raven were for it. It was their emergency evacuation line and the shortest exit route. Bird Girl agreed – it made sense to go that way rather than listen to Darcey, who was probably quite confused.

  ‘I’m heading west,’ said Boudicca. ‘That’s my emergency exit and I’m not taking advice from a rat to go after other rats. Better we split up anyway. We’ll move faster and attract less attention when we surface.’

  Medusa, Beowulf and Magog agreed to go with her.

  ‘What about you?’ Boudicca asked Leo.

  Leo hesitated and then shook his head. ‘I’ll go with Raven,’ he said.

  ‘Your loss,’ said Boudicca and, with the briefest of goodbyes, her group marched off west on the Main Tunnel.