CHAPTER 10 — WHOEVER WINS HOLDS POWER.

🦪 DALE LAZARUS 🦪

I had cleaned the whole house to keep my mind busy and off things, and now, I'm rewashing the dishes for the third time.

I wash and dry the dishes all over again after doing it three times straight.

I pause for a second, shake my head intensely, and continue.

“Let's not think about it,” I say to myself. “Dora is fine, she's a strong lady, she'll survive this.”

Inhaling and exhaling sharply, I throw the napkin I am holding, and it flies halfway through the kitchen and lands on the floor.

“Oh, please Dora,” I murmur in fear, “Please, please, please…”

My hand flies to my mouth before I know it, and I begin biting. When I realize it, it already bleeds.

I pull my finger away from my lips, covering my face with my palms. Suddenly, my phone beeps from the kitchen counter and I rush to get it.

I open my inbox and realize I got a message from an unknown number I suspect to be Umbra.

When I opened the message, my body froze, my eyes widened, and my heart beat slowed.

It was a picture of Dora in the ring, covered in blood, getting pounded on by her opponent, who appears to be a man in his forties, huge and rich in build and definitely in stamina.

My phone dropped from my hand and hit the ground as a loud, long scream burst through my lips.

I punched the wall beside me repeatedly with the man's face in the front of my mind, proceeding to run out of the house when a wave hit me.

Everywhere blurred together. I stagger, my hands shaking. I slam my eyes shut and open repeatedly, one hand flying to my head, which is ringing with a thousand tiny screams, and after a while, I slowly return to my normal self.

Without taking off the apron I have on, I rush out of the house.

🦪

I get to my best friend's grave and just stare down at it. After a while of staring and having nothing to say, a soft word broke out of my lips, “I can't…” with which I turned around to leave.

🦪

🦪DORA 🦪

My lips bled, my eyes puffy and swollen, I can barely see myself, the man on me pounds on me angrily and bitterly, and I'm finally understanding what wickedness I got myself into.

“2 minutes left.”

“Die already!” My opponent screams, pounding into me even harder.

Every part of my body is bruised, my tummy, legs, arms, my face, and even worse.

As a strong punch lands on my body, I gag, coughing out blood, but aside from blood, it's accompanied by a devilish laugh.

The man gawks at me, his lips quivering as he tightens his fist to throw another punch.

“Die? Now, why would I do that? If one person has to die, why should it be me? Why was it my father?” I mutter, and he freezes halfway.

“If it can't be you, why should it be me?” He asks coldly.

Another round of laughter burst through my lips, my entire face aching from the effect of the laugh.

“Because I have to live,” I whisper, “And you don't…”

His eyes widen, the shock expression on his face slowly changing to anger, “Excuse you?”

I smirk, “Unlike you, I'm not here for the money… I'm here to kill someone, and I have to kill you and others to get there.”

Without letting him spit another word, I deep hands into his eyes, and he screams, jumping away from me. “That's unfair.”

“No!” I retort. “What's unfair is you getting teamed up with me! Never underestimate a young lady. I don't have the strength like you do, but guess what I have? Determination, and anger for revenge.”

“Never underestimate a hungry man,” he snaps and rushes towards me.

As soon as he's closer, I kick him in the dick before he lands a punch. He falls to the ground in pain. I rush to sit on him, and although my soft fist isn't enough to throw a painful punch, my sharp nails come in handy. I stab into his eyes, and blood spills out.

“I can't see!” He cries. “My eyes…”

“1 minute and 10 seconds left.”

I get on my feet in haste. I have no idea how I am going to kill him; the only weapon I have is my small fist and nails.

I begin to kick, stabbing my feet into his gut.

He coughs, it was more ticklish than effective, and I realize that it isn't going to kill him.

“30 seconds left.”

“Shit!” I growl. “Let's try strangling.”

I fall to the ground, and my two little hands grip his neck, trying to strangle life out of him.

I slam my eyes shut, and I press into his neck. It is barely effective, no, it isn't effective at all.

It's like a foam pressing into a skin.

Frustrated, my breath begins to weaken due to the poison we took.

“I just have to get him to stop breathing,” I say to myself, an Idea coming to mind. Strategy is replacing my strength that's missing.

Inhaling sharply, I press his nose with my fingers and reach for his mouth with my other hand.

“Don't kill me!” He murmurs hastily.

Knowing if he didn't die, we'd both die, I proceed with what I am doing.

“Please don't kill me!” He repeats, “I have a daughter, she's your age, she needs me. She doesn't have anyone but me… so please don't kill me.”

I froze.

“15 seconds left.”

A dry cough forces its way out of my lungs as I look down at the man who claims to have a daughter of my age, a man I blinded and just almost killed.

Time flies so fast, we are both fading away from the poison. I couldn't do it, kill a man with a daughter. That's exactly what happened to my father, and that's exactly why I'm here.

But I seem to be the only human with a sense of reasoning and emotion, because tell me why the man I'm hesitant to kill tumbles me over, pins me to the ground, and starts raining punches on me.

A loud, sarcastic yet sad and disappointed laugh flew from my lips, echoing in the ring.

I was ready to give my life for this bastard. Now I realize it, there's no mercy or saving anyone in this ring. It's war… and in War, one has to go.

It was as if I couldn't feel the punches he was raining on me in a constant effort to take my life. I was in a world of my own, a world of regret, confusion, and frustration.

“5”

“4”

“Die!!!” My opponent screams aggressively.

Now, my mouth is filled with my own blood, my eyes are swollen and slammed shut, I can't see shit, my body, pale and numb, like all the blood had been drained out.

The only thing left in my body is my spirit, because I'm not dead yet.

“3”

“Dora!” Lazarus’s voice echoes in my head. “One has to die.”

“Rig-ht…” I repeat weakly. “One - has - to - die…”

“And that's not fucking me!”