WOUNDS THAT NEVER HEAL
His fist flew towards her face before she could blink. She felt it before she processed it happening - the spider webs of pain weaving it's way over her face. The sheer force of it made her stumble back a few steps. It was in that moment that she realised just how screwed she was.
Cassie shook it off, uncaring about the wetness under her nose. She raised her fists in front of herself weakly, her gaze dancing over his form briefly. Under a second she mirrored his stance, praying that she appeared just as menacing as he did. She barely had time to respond to his next attack, dodging out of the way just in time for air to whoosh past her cheek.
Her heart was pounding in her chest. She was exploding with adrenaline. Her hands itched to taste the glory she dreamt of.
So she gave it a little sip.
Cassie thrust her fist forward.
Fabian deftly blocked the blow. His fist quickly shot out, knocking into her gut and sending her spiralling. Cassie resisted the urge to bend over in pain, breathing heavily and lightly clutching at it with her left hand. He didn't waste a second, his foot kicking out towards her. She jumped out of the way, nearly tripping over her feet in the mean time. Behind her she could hear jeers from the crowd, colourful insults being hurled at her back.
She really wished that she had cowered away.
Cassie had little time to ponder her lost chance of escape. Fabian was advancing on her quickly. With each step closer he got, the further her feet took her involuntarily back. It wasn't long until she felt her legs press hard against the edge of the tables. She had no where she could hide.
Cursing under her breath, she ducked under his swinging arm, ignoring the agony it triggered in her stomach and darted away. He followed her dance. He was close enough that she could see the way he carried himself, him favouring his right side, his left arm hanging limply by his side.
And that's when it hit her.
Aidan had said it would be a while before he could fight properly. He wouldn't be able to move that arm at all. Fabian was weak, but Cassie was weaker. This time, she wouldn't let herself be labelled as her inexperience - no, she was going to live up to her name. She going to strike like a viper and spill venom into his veins, ignorant to his pleas for mercy.
She was going to make him feel a fraction of her pain. Not the pain that he had inflicted on her. No, she was going to overwhelm him with the pain she endured everyday. From the ache she experienced at school, sitting alone and forever alone, watching with hopeful eyes the friends who gossiped around her to the pure torture she returned home to with each of her father's agonising smiles.
She going to make him experience the wounds that never healed.
It was like a switch had been flipped within her. One moment, she had wanted to hide in a corner and wish all of this away. Now, she wanted to pummel him into the ground. Even if it did her more harm than good, she wanted to show everyone just how hard she was willing to fight for what she wanted. She was going to show them all just how vicious a girl with so much to lose and had already lost so much could tear them to pieces.
If she moved even the slightest, she would be brushing against Fabian. He had managed to tower over as she bristled with fury, his form leaving a shadow over hers. She knew he would regret that soon enough. She had lived in the shadows long enough that she thrived in the darkness.
Without warning, Cassie snatched a hold of his left arm. Fabian jolted under her touch. He didn't react quickly enough as she pushed it suddenly behind him, sidestepping him and pushing it further up his back. Fabian cried out, his free arm batting at her blindly. She just carried on, pouring all of her strength into digging it further into his back.
Fabian howled.
The crowd were no longer laughing at the teenager. They were watching with a obvious awe, gaping at the seemingly innocent child bringing a man close to tears. It was mesmerising.
Now that Cassie held him in this compromised position, her mind drew a blank. She knew she couldn't keep him like that forever, but she had no idea of what she needed to do next. Her gaze dropped down, focusing on his knees. Images of Astrid bringing him to his knees by kicking at his legs erupted in her mind. She prepared her foot to strike, aiming at the back of his shin when his leg moved first.
His foot connected with her leg. Cassie stumbled back, her grip loosening on his arm. In a blink of an eye he spun around, releasing a turret of fury. She succumbed under the fire. She crumbled to the ground like a pile of ashes, her body curling into a ball as he kicked and punched at her body. The pain no longer registered, the only feeling remaining being the cold ground seeping into her bones. It was soothing. It helped take her mind off of the abuse she suffered under a man who had abandoned humanity and embraced monstrosity for the sake of survival.
"Hey!" A shout acted like a slap. The abuse on her body suddenly stopped; Cassie didn't move. She just waited for the onslaught to continue. "Get the fuck away from her!"
A loud slam shattered her ear drums. A hush fell over the crowd. Curiosity ate at Cassie's gut - she easily gave in, her arms withdrawing from her face and letting her see all. She couldn't believe her eyes. She withheld the urge to pinch herself, not wanting her body to move and experience the explosion of agony that would fire off in her body.
So she forced herself to believe that Astrid the Anhilator was beating Fabian to a pulp.
Astrid squirmed out of Aidan's confining arms, managing to get one last kick in before Aidan finally managed to subdue her. She didn't seem happy with the arrangement, glaring at the man.
"Don't look at me like that." Aidan warned darkly. "You know this is against the rules."
"And so was him beating the living shit out of her when she was down for more than thirty seconds," Astrid spat, peeling herself out of his grip. Her face was the picture of fury, and Cassie was surprised Aidan remained so cool. "Why the fuck did you let a kid get involved in this? She's a kid, Aidan."
"She wasn't taking no for an answer. This should make her less persistent next time."
Astrid simply scoffed. Rolling her eyes, she shrugged. "Whatever helps you sleep at night."
With those final words, Astrid turned towards Cassie. Her face instantly shifted, the fury melting off of her face. She still looked terrifying, but it was nothing in comparison to how she was before. "Come on kid. Let's go have a talk."
Cassie hated how she couldn't climb to her feet. She had to let Astrid pull her up, leaning heavily on her as they walked back through the doors Cassie entered to start the fight. Cassie didn't speak as she led her to a bench, leaving her there for a few minutes. Coming back, Astrid held a first aid kit in her hands. Wordlessly, she opened it and began dabbing rubbing alcohol on a cotton pad.
Cassie watched her do this with attentive eyes. The fact that the woman she admired was helping her, well, she was grateful she couldn't see herself now. She was sure that not only did she look god awful, that she was blushing deeply. If she was, she hoped that Astrid would mistaken it for bruises.
"This is going to sting." Astrid warned. Not even a second later the pad was touching her sensitive skin. Cassie bit her lip harshly, a metallic taste slowly pouring onto her tongue. "You know, if you keep doing this, you're going to get killed or locked up. Either way, you end up dead."
Cassie chose to stay silent.
"You don't want to talk, that's fine. We don't have to."
Astrid simply carried on, dabbing at Cassie's wounds. The only noise in the room was an occasional hiss from Cassie, and the shaking of the rubbing alcohol bottle being dampened on the pad. Cassie shifted in her seat. Astrid was so close that she could feel her breath on her face. It faintly smelled of coffee.
After a while, Cassie swallowed deeply. "I don't care."
Astrid's brows raised. "About what?"
"Myself."
Astrid hummed in understanding. Her whole attention was on attending to Cassie's wounds, her hands moving with expertise. The only indication that Astrid had heard her was her silent agreement, and her response minutes later. "How noble of you."
Cassie couldn't help it - a crooked laugh slipped past her lips. As dark as the situation was, it was nice talking to someone who wasn't her parents, or someone she had to talk to. It was nice just talking.
The doors swung open. Cassie's eyes flitted to the sound of the noise, taking note of Aidan's broad form blocking the majority of the light streaming into the room. From what she could see behind him, the crowd had gone, leaving behind only blood on the floor and the ghost of their cheers. Instantly, his eyes moved towards Cassie's.
"Fuck." He muttered, taking in Cassie's bruises and cuts. Those were only the wounds he could see; she was fairly certain that a rainbow would bloom on her ribs, an imprint of Fabian's foot still there.
Astrid tensed. Besides from that she displayed no other emotion, just her hands continuing to do their work.
Aidan cautiously moved towards them. "I didn't realise it would be this bad."
"She's a fucking kid, Aidan. Of course it was going to be this bad. You should be grateful that it's not ten times worse." Astrid snapped. Her hands had halted in their work, allowing Cassie's wounds a moment to breathe. The fire from the alcohol was burning at her sensitive skin, the break allowing the roaring fire to simmer to a flicker.
He ran a hand through his hair, strands sticking out of his bun. It was clear that his hands had continuously been repeating the same routine from the mess his hair was. "I tried to - I tried to stop it. I spoke to Fabian before, asking him to go easy. I don't think he took the advice on board."
"You moron." Astrid scoffed. "The moment she fought back, he got angry. He loves an easy win, and you handed it to him on a silver platter. When she did a number on him, he let his rage take over. Fabian isn't a man of reason - he thrives off of anger."
"I get that now." Aidan shot back shortly. He sighed heavily, his shoulders dropping. His attention moved from Astrid to Cassie. "Are you okay?"
Cassie went to speak when Astrid interrupted her. "Does she look okay?"
Aidan froze.
In a small voice, Cassie spoke. "I didn't look that great to begin with."
"Oh so you do know more than three words, that's a nice surprise."
"Astrid." Aidan reprimanded her. He didn't spend much time on her, turning quickly to Cassie. "Do you finally see what this life is like? Do you understand that this isn't something you want to do?"
"But I do." Cassie whispered, her head dropping down a fraction. Astrid grabbed a hold of her chin tightly and lifted it up, dabbing alcohol at a fresh cut. Cassie groaned. She wasn't certain if it was a warning or if she was looking out for her.
"Until you get proper training you are not stepping back into that ring again."
"You're thinking about letting her fight? Are you insane?" Astrid's voice reached a pitch Cassie didn't think was humanly possible. She resisted the urge to plug her ears, the only sign of her discomfort being a wince that flashed across her face.
"Oh come on Astrid, she's not giving up any time soon. Look at her! She just had the crap beaten out of her and she still wants to be part of this. I'm just protecting her from it until she's ready."
"We could report her to the guards."
"And expose the entire Pit? I'm not throwing away years of hard work for a girl." Cassie pretended that the words didn't cut deeper than a knife. Her jaw tensed as they carried on talking about her as if she wasn't there, as if they could dictate her fate and not let her say a word of it. No, she was tired of letting other people control her destiny. She would choose which path she travelled down. Whatever the consequences are she could accept, with the knowledge that all of this was what she wanted.
"Can you stop talking about me like I'm not even here!" Cassie screamed. Her chest heaved from the sudden pressure. She glared at the pair as they stared at her, shrinking away from Astrid and the rubbing alcohol. "This is the only place I can get rations. I've literally tried everything - stealing, bribery, you name it, I've done it. This is the only thing I haven't tried and I really need this."
"Those rations can't be more important than your life." Aidan commented, leaning his back against the wall. His arms were crossed tightly over his chest, outlining the stress in his muscles.
"Killing someone is against the rules, I'll be fine."
Astrid sighed heavily. "He doesn't mean dying. He means the constant looking over your shoulder, the fear you feel every time you see a guard. At any moment you could be arrested and floated for having even stepped in this place, but fighting in the ring? You might as well say goodbye to any future at all."
Cassie wanted to pretend that it was all okay. That she was willing to live with the gripping fear that at any second she could have everything taken from her. But she couldn't. "Yeah, I'm terrified. But what's even more terrifying is not having those rations."
Aidan and Astrid exchanged a look. She could see the cogs moving in Aidan's mind. "Let Astrid train you."
"What?"
"You train her, she gets good. You two half the rations from the wins, I get more credits from having two good fighters in the ring. If she's good enough, the only ones not getting hurt will be you."
A worry gnawed at her mind. "Isn't that unfair?"
"No, it's not. You already have the fighting spirit - I saw it when you pinned Fabian and nearly knocked him for six. You just need to train and perfect it." Aidan shrugged. "Anyway, Fabian played dirty today. If he's not going to follow the rules, we aren't either."
Astrid looked at Cassie, voice wary. "This is the last chance you have to back out."
"I'm in."
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hey guys! this was one of my favourite chapters to write, i just love it so much! hope you enjoyed it as much as i enjoyed writing it!
see you guys soon!
-thirdwheelchurchill