Undefined Path

"And here she is folks, the girl you've been waiting for! The destroyer of hopes and dreams, the outrageous and courageous ACE!" The crowd went crazy at the mention of my name. I walked forward in to the arena and stood dead center where Mark, the announcer, stood. He'd once been a fighter. Actually, his father was the founder of this underground fighting club. One little accident cost Mark his fighting career, and since his father cared about him so much, he gave Mark the job of announcing each fight.

How touching.

Mark winked at me when we met eyes and the smirk on my face increased. Before Mark's accident we'd sparred a few times, but he vowed never to fight me seriously. "Why," many people asked. The simple answer that he always gave was, "I'd like to see my next birthday."

"Ace's opponent is someone we've never seen before people! We've heard about him from other establishments, but we have never seen him fight in person. Let's give a warm welcome to Antoine Jackson, aka AJ!" Some people in the stands booed as AJ walked out in to the arena. He wore board shorts, a sleeve-less Under Armor shirt, and flimsy skater shoes that looked like they could fall apart any second.

First thing when fighting: always wear comfortable shoes that are in tip-top shape. Other wise, they could end up being your demise.

AJ walked forward and stood several feet in front of me. Mark lowered his head so both of us could hear him over the crowd.

"Now, I want a clean fight. Which ever one of you is either rendered unconscious or taps out first loses, got it?" We both nodded. AJ's eyes wandered up in to the crowd. I followed his gaze as it landed on a teenaged boy a few years younger than me and a woman about the same age as AJ. Were they his family?

Mark brought my attention back by asking AJ,"So, anything you'd like to say to Ace before we get things started here?"

AJ leaned forward and said to me, "Don't expect to win this fight." His face was mean, and he looked like he was ready to murder me. Wow. Was this guy actually trying to intimidate me?

The announcer laughed in his face and began walking away. He called over his shoulder, "Go easy on him Ace, will ya?" The medics kind of have their hands full tonight." I laughed at that. After what this guy had just said to me? No way in hell. Not even possible anymore.

I looked my opponent straight in the eye and repeated what he'd just said to me. "Don't expect to win this fight." Then, I decided to add, "And one mistake that you made insuring that you'll lose: bringing your family here." AJ's eyes widened only a fraction as we both backed up to the X's marked on the floor. He took a fleeting look at the boy and woman just as the beginning bell rung.

Boy, was I going to have fun with this one tonight.

AJ made the first move and charged me like an angry bull, yelling out a war cry. Each step he took was just one step closer to his demise. He swung crazily, aiming for anything he could touch. I ducked and dodged. His left fist came out of no where and tried to hit my cheek. I blocked with my fist. The power behind his attack verberated through my fist, in to my wrist, and traveled down my arm.

Damn, did he have a strong left. If I didn't block his next one, I would be seeing stars.

He kept approaching, swinging madly. Every time he threw his left, I would be ready to duck or defend. It seemed his left hand was his power punch. Instead of stepping with his right foot to punch, he stepped with his left. A bell went off in my head. Why was he fighting so sloppily? Did he expect to win against me with such beginner mistakes? Or was he just putting on this act and waiting for me to react so he could get the gist on my fighting style?

Sadly for him, I incorporated any style in to my fighting. If all I kept doing was blocking and dodging, the emotions built up inside of me wouldn't be released. And I knew very well that if they stayed locked up tight any longer I'd go off on someone innocent.

I ducked one final time and finally took a swing, aiming for his side. A surprised gasp escaped his lips and I took that opportunity to swing again with my other fist towards his head as he attempted to avoid my side blow. Both connected, one after the other. He stumbled backward.

"It looks like the predator is finally becoming the prey folks!" Mark yelled over the loud speaker. The volume of the crowd increased. Now was my turn to show off my moves and let the emotional monster inside of me free. I took a running start at AJ. He looked up at me, a confident gleam in his eyes. Bending my knees, I faked to the side. He instantly fell for it went to block. I gathered all of my strength and extended my legs, launching myself at him. He wasn't prepared, and together we fell down, me on top of him.

My fists lashed out and connected with his face. AJ was smart enough to guard as my punches cascaded down on him. Stomach. Side. Arm. Shoulder. Neck. Cheek. Nose. Chest. A repetitive cycle started. Without warning, AJ turned the tables and shoved me to the side. Immediately, I rolled off, stood up, and charged at him again. He didn't even get a chance to put both feet on the ground as I tackled him from the side, slamming both of us into a boulder.

Blood spurted out of AJ's mouth and onto the ground. Both of his hands shot out and grabbed my shoulders throwing me off of him. After throwing me off, I predicted that AJ would take this opportunity to attack. My back against the giant rock, I circled it, peering around the side as best I could. Where had he gone?

Hands shot out from above me and gripped my hair, undertaking the task of trying to pull me up. I began to laugh. I had looked around the entire damn rock, but I hadn't looked on top of it. Priceless. This move was one for the books. I flipped over to plant my hands on the rock. With as much leverage as I had to bend my knees, I kicked off from the ground. My hands scrambled to grab at the two giant rocks I knew were planted at the top.

With AJ's help, I pulled myself up to stand on the rock. A smile crept on to his face as he angled his knee to make contact with mine. Out of reflex, my knee shot out to block his. Somehow, I had to break his hold on my hair or I'd be done for.

My head ached. I could feel a trickled of blood begin to fall down the side of my face. Something deep inside of me recognized the position I was in and started to panic. No. I couldn't let him keep me this way. If I stayed this way, I'd accidentally kill him in my frenzied struggle to get him to release his grip on my head. But what could I do fast enough to get him to release me?

"This is the end of the road for you," AJ muttered. His leg shot out to kick me again, and I did the first thing that came to my mind. I charged at him. Our bodies collided. AJ fell backwards. As he tried to lessen the impact of the fall, he let go of my hair. That gave me the perfect opportunity. My right foot shot out and landed on the side of his head. He slammed in to the ground. I heard an audible crack. I barely had enough time to turn in mid-air and land on my feet, to the side of where he landed.

"A nice reverse done by Ace!"

It hurt. Not only my head, but my chest, where my heart was suppose to be located. A dull ache thudded there as the memory tried to break through my resolve, my fighting spirit. This is the end of the road for you resonated through my head. No. No. No. This isn't my end. It couldn't be. It was too soon for me to end. Who did AJ think he was?

The feelings and emotions roared and took control of my body. They traveled through my blood stream at unimaginable speed commanding my body to move forward. This would be the end of the road for him, not me.

AJ started to get up. I pushed him. He stumbled, trying to balance his self. I saw his knee bend backwards and immediately focused on that point to attack. He screamed out. My foot clashed with his knee, bending it back even farther. It cracked. AJ fell to the ground, his tears mixed with blood from the impact his head must have taken when we landed, and let out a blood boiling scream.

I started towards him again. I directed the rest of my strength in to my right hand, and swung. It landed precisely with his nose. Under my fingers, I could feel it crack. His head tilted back, his eyes now holding a dazed look instead of that confident one earlier. I had broken him.

He was done for.

AJ lay sprawled on the ground in front of me, not moving. Mark ran out, a microphone in hand. He took one look at AJ and yelled, "Ace, wins! AJ has been rendered unconscious!"