"What now?" I asked as we were walking back to the first convergence. (I decided that I was going to call it the Verge. Short for the Convergence.) Zero shrugged.
People shrug a lot in Deadlock. I guess it was a common gesture.
"We could go bet on fights," she suggested. "You need money anyway." That sounded good. Angel dug several bills out of the pocket of her jacket, "I have like thirty bucks. What about you two?"
I dug into my bra, where I kept the money I had brought. Two twenties and a ten. "Fifty," I said. Zero produced two twenties.
"I'm good at betting, we'll make some good money today!" Zero cheered, taking off towards the Arena. I took off after her. We raced down the main hallway and we skidded to a halt near the Arena. There were more people, but it was still mostly clear. I leaned up against one of the pillars. My friends lined up beside me.
"We have the best spots in the house," Zero told us. I nodded, looking for somebody to bet with...
"How do you even bet with somebody? Do you just go up and be like, 'Hey if I win give me twenty bucks.'?"
Angel chuckled at my ignorance.
"Basically. Just find somebody and keep them in sight so they can't run away from you if you win. People do that," she explained. "Hey look, there's a guy you can ask. He can't win a bet to save his life. He steals all the money he bets." I followed Angel's gaze to a skinny guy covered in tattoos, but the really shitty kind like roses and crosses.
"Hey you!" I yelled across the Arena. The guy looked up from his phone. I crooked my finger towards myself, telling him to come over. He narrowed his eyes at me, but he nodded. The boy walked across the Arena and stood next to me. I was taller than him.
"What do you want?" he asked brusquely.
I held up a twenty, "To bet."
The guy's eyes lit up hungrily. He nodded, smirking at up at me. "Name's Helix. Watcha wanna bet?" he told me, winking.
Snakebite came over the intercom, "Serpent and Hurricane are to fight. If you're not here by the count of three you're both demoted to marauder." I heard swearing and rapid footsteps, and two guys burst through opposite hallways. People started to flood into the space around the Arena as the guys circled each other.
"Twenty bucks Hurricane'll win it," I said, winking back at Helix. He produced two tens, "You're on, sweet-cheeks."
I punched him swiftly in the gut. "Don't call me sweet-cheeks," I growled. Helix doubled over in pain, throwing me a glare. I smiled sweetly at him.
I turned my attention back to the fight that was about to start. Hurricane was thickly muscled and built like a tank, while Serpent was wiry and fox-like in appearance. It was an obvious who was going to win...
He was a bad better.
The fight started along with the thumping, dubstep-y music that always seemed to be playing in Deadlock. Serpent came out swinging, catching Hurricane with a swift one-two before dancing away. Hurricane, however, didn't seem to feel a thing. He played on the defensive, waiting for Serpent to strike again.
He came towards the other guy, aiming for his stomach. Instead, Serpent flicked his fists upward and punched Hurricane right in the throat. But my man took advantage of their proximity and kicked one of Serpent's knees. I heard an audible crack as the opponent crumpled to the floor.
Hurricane then preceded to stomp on his face, knocking him out cold.
I turned to find Helix trying to slip away in the crowd. I caught him by the back of his shirt and whipped him around to face me. "Money. Now," I growled again. He placed the two crumpled tens in my outstretched hand and scurried away to the back of the centre of the school.
"Nice for your first bet, Vyper," Angel commented.
I gave her a knuckle bump, "I'm just that damn good." Zero and Angel chuckled, counting out their money. I had gained twenty dollars, bringing my grand total up to seventy bucks, but I wanted more.
"I have an idea, you guys. Whenever one of us goes up and fights, bet high dollars on us. Then when we win we can split the profits amongst ourselves," I explained to them. Zero nodded, running her fingers through her quiff again.
"Sounds good to me. Angel?" Angel nodded as well, "Great. I wonder who'll fight first..."
While we were talking, Snakebite had apparently called the next pair of fighters. Two girls named Kari and Sheiba. They both looked pretty well matched, so I wasn't sure if I was going to bet on this round or not.
"Kari always wins when it's her and Sheiba," Zero told me as she watched the two girls circle. I nodded, looking for somebody to bet with. A girl with green hair caught my attention. We made eye contact and she made her way through the crowd towards me.
"Sheiba?" she asked, crossing her arms. I shook my head, "Kari."
"Well, thirty dollars?" the girl asked, producing said money. I was trusting Zero on this one, so I accepted. I turned my attention back to the girls, who had started to fight.
Kari was taking to advantage, clawing and scratching and Sheiba's face. Talk about a cat fight; those two were hissing and screeching like the things too.
By the time it was over, both of them were covered in welts and scratches. However, Sheiba had tapped out, just as Zero had predicted. I collected my money from Green-hair and shoved it all in my bra.
"Thanks for the info, Zero," I told her.
She grunted, "No problem. Anything to help a sista out." I snorted in mild amusement.
"Next up, Zero and Misty!"
"Alright, I'll win it for us!" she said happily, stepping readily into the Arena.
"Who has a lot of money we can bet on?" I asked.
Angel chewed her lip thoughtfully. "Ah... Apex, maybe, but he drives a hard bargain," she answered.
"Who's he?"
"That guy with the long hair over there," said Angel, pointing towards a tall guy with long dirty blonde hair.. I cracked my knuckles and went over to the guy.
"How much ya bettin' on the next fight?" I asked, crossing my arms. He looked down at me, then up at Zero and that other girl.
"Hm. Good question; looks like a good fight. I'll bet one hundred," he said, holding at two crisp fifty dollar bills. You could practically see my pupils turn to money signs.
"You're on."
We shook on it and I made my way back towards my spot. "What are we betting?" Angel asked as we watched the fight with interest.
"One hundred," I replied shortly. Angel raised her eyebrows, "That bitch better win."
About three minutes later, two of Misty' friends were dragging her unconscious body out of the Arena. Zero was bruised up and there were five scratched across her collarbone, but she was victorious.
"Nice goin', Zero!" I cheered, high fiving her on the way.
I turned to collect my money from Apex, only to find him gone. I felt a surge of anger, and I pushed my way through the crowd to find him. Angel hurried after me asking, "Zero! What happened?"
"Bastard bolted!" I growled, searching the crowd.
Angel's head flicked to the left and she stood up on her tiptoes. "He's over there!" she yelled, pointing. I pushed through the denizens of Deadlock, hurrying to get to my money.
Apex saw me coming, and fled down a hallway. I burst out of the crowd hot on his heels. "Up the stairs!" yelled Angel. I saw the end of his long hair whip into the stairwell. I tore across the open hall, cutting the corner into the stairwell so fast I almost fell.
I took the stairs three at a time. I slid into the upper hallway to see him running down towards the Balcony. I sprinted after him, my long legged strides shortening the distance between us.
In a tackle that would've gotten me kicked out of the NFL, I brought Apex to the floor. "Give me my damned money!" I shouted, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. He mimicked my voice with exaggerated head movements.
I punched him in the face.
He still refused.
So I punched him again.
And again.
And again.
Finally, six blows to the face later, he relinquished those fifties. I snatched them from his hands. I let him up after I was sure he wasn't going to try and take them back.
Angel came up to me, looking to see me holding up the money with a big grin on my face. It may have been slightly maniacal.
Hey, it had been a long day, and it was barely ten o'clock.
I studied the bills in pleasure, but found that they were crumpled up. They also had spatters of Apex's blood on them...
Blood money... How fitting.