Indifference (boyxboy)

8. Ice is for Wimps

Ryan

The smell of The Pit snaked its way round my senses making my whole body fizz with anticipation. The Pit was an abandoned warehouse on the edge of town which had been claimed by the McDonagh family, probably the biggest and most influential travelling family in the area. Now it was an abandoned warehouse with a boxing ring in the centre.

The police were aware of what went on here, but tended to turn a blind eye to save them the trouble. They knew that messing with the McDonagh family would have consequences far beyond their involvement with this place. It's not that the family were like the Mafia or anything. The police weren't necessarily scared of them. It was just that it was much easier to ignore what went on as long as no one was complaining about it.

I'd been coming here since I was 6 years old. And fighting here since I was 10. My Dad had been born into the travelling community, but his mum moved them away and out of the community when he was still small, after his dad had been killed in a hit and run.

They did eventually move back into the area, but although he acknowledged his traveller roots, Dad didn't consider himself as part of their community anymore, more a friend of it. My mum had no history with the community at all, and usually turned her nose up at anything to do with it. She hated that I came here.

It was my Uncle who had first brought me. My Uncle Jim, my dad's brother, had embraced his travelling roots on his return and had rejoined the community, even going so far as moving into the traveller park. He married a girl from within the community and had 3 children, including Eddie, who I considered my best friend.

"Are you fighting tonight?" Eddie asked.

"Yep, I'm up next," I replied, handing him my phone to look after.

Eddie wasn't a fighter. He tried, but after the fifth broken bone, his dad decided that anymore and he'd have social services sniffing at their door. Eddie made a front of acting pissed at his dad for stopping him, but I think that secretly he was relieved.

I on the other hand was a natural fighter. I had a high tolerance for pain, and a strong body that could take a lot of punishment before it let me down. My Uncle Jim, seeing my potential, had coached me and I'd quickly become a firm favourite at the ring.

It was really just a glorified betting shop. People would place bets on who they thought would win, as well as other side bets on things like, what round they would win in, or if there would be a knockout.

Despite the fact we fought without gloves, there were surprisingly few knockouts.

"Are you gonna win?" Eddie asked, slapping me on my back as he pocketed my phone

"I always win," I shot back with a smirk.

It wasn't just arrogance, it was also true. Ok, so yes, I did lose the occasional match, but I definitely won most. In fact it was because of my current winning streak that they'd decided to move me up a category. We generally fought people who were our own age (for the younger ones) or body size. Not that it was that technical. There weren't even any weighing scales.

But today I was fighting Ron Parsons. And he was 18 while I was just 16. And he was about half a foot taller than me. And was also fighting on the back of a winning streak. Ok, so maybe the odds were against me, but they were the kind of odds I preferred. It gave me a fire in my belly and a thirst for blood that left my body humming with excitement.

The fight currently in the ring came to an end, leaving me with 10 minutes until I had to go on. I patted Eddie on his shoulders before going off to find my Uncle.