by Night, H. T.
In a normal fight, this is where a referee would step in and stop the fight. Not on this night. I knew Tommy had to do what he had to do. I didn’t want to see it. Tommy had won his fifth straight fight. I got up and walked to the back of the arena and didn’t look in the ring. The response of the crowd told me all I needed to know. Five Mani were now dead.
It was now apparent what was to happen in the last fight between Tommy and I. Romero wanted only one of us alive after the fight. That wasn’t going to happen as far as I was concerned. This entire deal was off. Tommy had paid back his debt tenfold. He had done the honorable thing. He gave Romero five amazing fights. Tommy had nothing left. I eventually turned around to look inside of the ring. There was no sign of Militia. He had obviously been supernaturally disposed of. Tommy was lying on his back. I knew my best friend had zero left. He had given every inch of himself in that fight.
He was done and I was done. Lena was in danger and I knew she was close. I needed to know who had her and why she was even near this place.
I went back up to Romero’s suite.
Chapter Thirty
I stepped inside Romero’s suite. “Excellent job, Josiah!” Romero said. “I love how you went down to the ring and gave the crowd a little taste of what is to come later in the night.”
“It’s over, Romero!” I said, plainly. “Tommy paid his debt to you. We had no written contracts and, as far as I’m concerned, he’s paid off. And if you don’t like it, that’s just too bad.”
“As far as you’re concerned?” Romero asked, with anger building in the inflection of his voice.
“Yeah, I say he’s done. We’re done. He gave you a show for the ages. No one else has to die!”
Romero stared at me and didn’t say a word for what felt like minutes. I stared back at him. I wasn’t backing down. Guns didn’t scare me. Nothing about this place scared me. There was absolutely nothing this man could do that would make me do anything I didn’t want to do.
Oh, so I thought.
Romero calmly looked me in the eye and said, “You are free to leave and so is Tommy. But I will say this; at least one or more persons will die tonight. It is up to you who it is, or who they are.”
I stared at Romero and I knew then just who he meant. “You son of a bitch!” I yelled. It took everything I had not to kill him where he stood.
“Come here, Josiah. I want to show you something.” Romero pulled out his 4G phone. “I get great reception in this place.” Romero grinned at me, cockily.
I refused to step over to him, so he just put his phone up, so I could see the screen. He pushed a couple of buttons and then a video played on his phone. It was Lena. Just what I had expected, Romero had Lena.
I flew into Romero’s body and I grabbed him with both my hands and threw him across the room. He had about twelve bodyguards in the room and every one of them had their guns pointed at me.
“Shoot me!” I yelled. “You think a bullet could stop me?”
“No one shoot him!” Romero yelled out.
“She better be okay, Romero. If I hear that anyone has touched her or hurt her in any way, I will take this whole place down. I will kill everyone in this room and every motherfucking billionaire in that crowd! You will be fresh out of paying customers for your sick and twisted vampire-werewolf horror show!”
“Okay, just relax, Josiah. Take a deep breath.” Romero said, both scared and smug. “Now that I have your attention, you are going to need to hear me out. You will stay in this suite until it is time for you to fight. You will go down there and either kill Tommy or be killed. I really don’t care which happens at this point. If you don’t follow my directions, I will make sure the mother of your children doesn’t leave here alive.”
Holy shit, he knew Lena was pregnant!
My head and my emotions were spinning. As I stared at Romero, it took every bit of control I had in me to not kill him. I couldn’t do anything at the moment because I didn’t know where she was. She could be anywhere in this place. I couldn’t just start tearing into rooms. He would surely kill her and our unborn children. I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to jump out of my skin. I wanted to crucify Romero with a staple gun.
“Tonight will not end well for you, Romero,” I said. “That is a promise.
“Your threats are very cute when I’m the one holding all the cards, Josiah. Have a seat and enjoy the show. I hear the ending is really good. Well, that all depends on if you’re a werewolf fan or a vampire fan. So far tonight, the vampires haven’t been so lucky.”
I refused to sit down. He might be able to keep me in his suite till it was time to fight, but there was no way I was going to relax. I stood back with all guns still aimed at me from the bodyguards in the room.
So, Tommy knew that Romero had Lena. Tommy must have been told right before the fight that if he didn’t kill each of his opponents, they would kill her. He was fighting to save her life. I didn’t have time to be sentimental about my friend. Tommy had a nightmare of a fight next.
Tommy needed to transition. I needed to talk to him. I looked out into the ring. He was still lying on his back, completely exhausted. Now, I knew why he just didn’t say screw it and bail out of here. He was fighting for Lena’s life.
Romero left the room and I was surrounded by his men. They all looked like a Mexican version of G.I. Joe with their camouflage and goofy military garb.
I knew for me to get Lena, Tommy and me out of here safely, I needed to keep my head straight. This situation was putting my sanity to the test. The love of my life, who was carrying our two children inside her, was being held hostage somewhere near this compound by a psychopathic billionaire.
Tommy eventually stood up. He was holding himself up by using the ropes. The guy was exhausted. He had given everything he had emotionally, physically, and psychologically. He had two more fights. Unfortunately, one was still with me.
The announcer made his way to the ring. There was blood all over it. It looked like the slippery, gory floor at a slaughterhouse and meatpacking plant. Tommy was bloodied, but not injured in a way that he couldn’t continue. The announcer took the microphone. His face looked like how Tommy felt. He said simply, “Wrath,” and walked out of the ring.
The black double doors opened. The crowd began chanting Tommy’s name. They knew they were watching a person give every inch of himself. Tommy was giving them the show of their lives and they showed their appreciation.
The largest man I had ever seen came through the double doors. He was eight feet tall and looked like he weighed 500 pounds, and all of it was solid muscle.
This was Goliath’s son, who for some reason, chose to be a vampire and not a werewolf like his father. I couldn’t imagine how Tommy was going to beat this guy. Tommy looked as if he had just finished a triathlon.
This kid wanted Tommy dead. Hell, he wanted me dead, too; we had killed Goliath, his dad. A child’s vengeance was stronger than anything that was out there. Tommy had his work cut out for him.
Tommy transitioned into the great gray wolf on sight after seeing the beast that was making his way to the ring.
“Tommy,” I said. “I know everything! I know they have Lena and I know why you’ve been killing your opponents.”
“I’m sorry, Josiah,” Tommy answered. “I knew if I told you, you would possibly risk getting her killed. Is she okay?”
“As far as I know she is. She’s okay and so are the babies.”
“The babies?”
“Yeah, Tommy. Lena is pregnant.”
“Holy shit.”
“Tommy, you can’t worry about that. You need to get through these two fights.”
“Do you know who I am fighting last?” Tommy asked.
“Tommy you need to worry about Goliath’s kin. He wants your head on a platter.”
“It’s you, isn’t it, Josiah? You’re my last fight?”
Tommy knew he was going to have to fight me last. He had probably suspected it the whole time.
“Don’t think about that right now,” I said. “We’re going to get through this fight. I’m going to help you the entire way.”
“Okay,” Tommy said.
“Does Goliath’s kid have a name?” I asked Tommy.
“Yeah, it’s Tiny!” Tommy answered.
“Of course it is.”
Tiny jumped into the ring. The whole ring shook like a 10.0 earthquake.
“He can’t be as good a fighter as his dad,” I said. “But I’ll bet he’s stronger.”
“You think?” I could hear the sarcasm in Tommy’s voice, even in my head.
The sixth bell rang.
Tommy stood his ground on his side of the ring. Tiny was on the other side, smacking himself all over his body to get pumped up for the fight.
“Tommy, I said. “The only way to beat this guy is you need to be relentless. You need to attack first and never let up.”
“I have very little left, Josiah.”
“Dig deep, Tom. Give me the best ten minutes of your life.”
“Ten minutes?”
“Well, kick his ass sooner then,” I said. “You just can’t stop attacking him. Coming at him will only confuse him. A guy like this only does the attacking.”
So, Tommy did exactly what I said. For the next five minutes he bit, clawed, scratched, slapped, punched and kicked Tiny with everything he had. Tommy was getting the best of him. He was until Tiny got a hold of him. Tiny grabbed Tommy’s exhausted werewolf body and threw him into the crowd. Tommy crashed into a table and took out four patrons. Tommy transitioned and got to his feet. He stood out in the crowd, completely worn out, looking at Tiny in the ring. He was panting for air, but knew he couldn’t stop. He jogged up to the ring and slid into it and was squared off with tiny man vs. man. He looked like a child compared to this behemoth. It was a classic Rocky vs. Drago.
I knew Tommy hated fighting as the werewolf. In his mind, he felt he was limited. As long as he was in his Carni or human form, we couldn’t communicate.
Tommy and Tiny circled the ring, faced off as man vs. man, not man vs. beast. Tommy still had amazing quickness, even though he had been fighting for the last two hours straight.
Tiny was far too heavy. Any striking Tommy would do would only do minor damage to a guy that size. His only shot at beating a man of this size was to fight him as the werewolf even if he didn’t like it.
They traded punches and Tiny was getting the best of him. Each blow knocked Tommy back at least three feet. Tommy’s punches were mild, compared to the massive creature’s powerful swings.
Tiny got a hold of Tommy and for the next three minutes, beat the crap out of him. It was the hardest 180 seconds I had ever witnessed in a fight. I felt sick, watching Tiny hurt him. Tiny punished Tommy in a way that wasn’t humane. There was little I could do.
Or was there?
I couldn’t let this happen any longer. I turned to Romero’s bodyguards and said, “Get out of my fucking way, I’m going out there.”
They all stood their ground and there was a sea of bodies separating me from the door. I didn’t care. I transitioned into the great white eagle inside Romero’s suite and began spearing them with my beak. I knew they couldn’t shoot at me, because it would be too loud and if they missed, the bullets would go through the glass and into the crowd.
I flew around clawing and swiping at the men. I was shredding faces and poking eyes out. Eventually, one of them opened the door to get away. That was all I needed. I darted through the door and flew myself through down the hallway and into the holding area. I bolted through the black double doors that were still opened from Tiny’s entrance.
I flew into the middle of the ring where Tommy was a bloody, beaten mess. He had fought his heart out. There was no way this vampire was going to end his life right here. Not if I had anything to do with it.
I flew into Tiny’s back, knocking him off Tommy. I quickly transitioned to my Mani form and dragged Tommy out of the ring.
The crowd went nuts once they realized the eagle was me. They began chanting my name. They had never seen me as the eagle and the crowd was beside themselves.
I stood in front of Tiny.
“This wasn’t part of the deal,” Tiny said.
“What deal? You’re ‘Wrath,’ right? Well, I was the one who killed your father. Tommy merely helped. I was the one who took his life.”
Tiny’s eyes stared at me with a glare that could burn through steel.
“That’s right, Tiny,” I said. “Your fight is with me and as far as I see it, it’s a little fairer because I haven’t fought for the last two hours straight.”
“All right, Josiah. Let’s do this.” Tiny charged me and I kicked him in the face, knocking him back into the ropes. I flew into him and unloaded a barrage of punches.
Even though this kid was a beast, he was no match for someone with my skill set. I gave him a beat down of epic proportions. I would like to say Tiny gave me a better fight, but it doesn’t really matter at this point. I quickly dismantled him. In less than a couple of minutes of harsh strikes and kicks, I bloodied up Tiny as badly as he had done to Tommy.
I knew Tommy needed to be the one to finish him off. It was a weird loophole, but I wasn’t going to risk Lena’s safety.
Again, as I stood over a passed-out Tiny in the middle of the ring, I felt Lena all around me. It was the most bizarre feeling I had ever felt. I just got done beating a man senseless, but yet, I could feel Lena in the pit of my soul as if she was an angel watching over me. Then a fear went through my body and I wondered if she was already dead and I was feeling her spirit.
I jumped out of the ring, trying to shake off the feeling. I needed to trust the Triat wouldn’t allow that to happen, at least without me having a chance to save her.
So, there it was. It was lights out in Tiny Town. I went outside to Tommy and dragged him back into the ring. Tommy had pulled himself up into a sitting position and made his way over to Tiny’s motionless body in the middle of the ring.
“Finish him off, Tommy,” I said. “You have one more fight to go!”
I walked out of the ring looking at Romero’s guards that now had surrounded all the exits. They didn’t know what to do. I had maimed their fellow soldiers, but I was still honoring Romero’s agreement. “Bring Romero to me,” I said to one of the guards at the black double-door entrance.
The guard radioed Romero. Tommy and I were about to fight to our deaths and I needed a clear agreement when this was over. By the sound of the crowd, Tommy had finished Tiny off just like the others. Six were now dead.
Chapter Thirty-one
Romero came down to the black double doors where I was still standing. This time he had brought 35 to 40 armed security guards with him. This guy was definitely afraid. He looked like Muammar Gaddafi being protected by his military.
“Don’t be stupid, Josiah,” Romero said. “If you want your family to live there is only one way to do that. You need to kill Tommy, or vice versa.”
“I understand that. All I want to know is: the second this fight is over, Lena better be delivered to me in seconds or I will come after you and I will kill you myself. And know this: if one hair on her head is hurt, this whole place is done for.”
“Talk is cheap. Are you going to fight or not?” Romero lifted his radio. “Cause all I have to do is say is ‘Nata la.’ And the mother of your children is dead.
“Okay, I have one request. If Tommy beats me, you release her to him. His debt will be paid and you are done exploiting him for your financial gain.”
“Fine,” Romero said. “But know this, Josiah. One of you will die in that ring. That is the only chance you have at saving Lena’s life.”
I nodded my head and could not believe what the man Romero had ended up being.
I stood in front of the black double door waiting for the announcer to make his way into middle of the ring to introduce me.
After a moment, the announcer said, “Envy.”
> Now the crowd was realizing that the two they just saw tag team the last opponent were now about to square off against each other. They realized that we were both Envy.
I looked at the ring as I walked up to it. Tommy’s face was barely recognizable. He was covered in blood. By this point, most of it was his.
“Transition, Tommy!” I yelled out.
“Why?” he yelled down to me from the ring.
“Transition, Tom,” I yelled. Some of the crowd was chanting Tommy’s name and some were chanting my name. By this point neither one of us gave a shit. The crowd was a prop in this very tragic Greek play. This theatrical production was about to get even more insane.
Tommy transitioned into the werewolf as I entered the ring. We stared at each other like a good old fashioned street fight about to commence, a real West Side Story.
“Tommy,” I said, in my mind. “We need to sell this for a while. The only chance the two of us have to both get out of here alive with Lena is we’re going to have to give them a show until we figure out what to do.”
“You know me, Josiah,” Tommy said, in his werewolf mind. “I love a good performance.” He could barely keep himself up.
“That you do, my friend.” We circled each other. “Do you have any idea where Lena could be?” I asked.
“No. All I know is she is in the arena complex. That’s Romero’s style. He would want the situation to be very close.”
“This is weird, Tom, whenever I’m in or near the ring, I have the most overwhelming feeling that Lena is close.” We continued to circle one another.
The seventh bell rang.
I jumped on top of Tommy. Even as the werewolf, he was still bloodied. I picked him up over my head and chucked him across the ring, much to the delight of the crowd. The werewolf slid in between the ropes.
“You okay?” I asked, in my head.
“I’m far from okay. I think every bone in my body is broken.”
I let Tommy compose himself. We once again circled one another.
“Romero said the word ‘down’ when he referred to where Lena was,” I said in my head to Tommy. I thought if we kept talking that he wouldn’t lose consciousness. “Do you know of any secret places in this place that are underground…like a bunker?”
