Another fight down

Sal and I were pouring over some more of Anthony's notes when the announcement went out that the next fight would take place in twenty minutes.

"Go on ahead," I told Sal. "I'll put all this away and catch up."

"Alright," Sal said. "See you in the stands."

After he left, V spoke up.

"Sal isn't fighting yet?" she asked.

"I figure he would've been visited by one of the cards if he was," I said. "I'm guessing this is someone else's fight."

"Sal's a card himself, isn't he?" V asked.

"Yeah," I said. "But he's different from the others. They were all human at some point before being changed by the Game Master. Sal was born a Card, which is pretty rare according to him."

"Oh," V said. "And you trust him?"

"He's one of the only people here I do trust," I said.

"What about me?" she asked.

"What?" I asked. "You mean do I trust you? Of course I do. Now hang tight. I'll be back after the fight's over."

I headed to the arena, where Anthony and Sal were waiting for me.

"And now, for the next fight!" William announced. "Javonír Horak versus Mackenzie Virtanen!"

I recognized them. Horak was the blonde dude in the heavy robes, and Virtanen was the girl who had the first aid kit.

"Begin!" William announced.

Virtanen immediately drew a pistol and fired at Horak, but he managed to dodge it and quickly close the distance between them, knocking it out of her hands. She started throwing punches at him. She seemed surprisingly competent, given how shaken up she was the first time I saw her.

"She's going after weak points," Anthony noted. "She seems to have an understanding of anatomy."

"But that robe of his is dampening her attacks," Sal said.

"And slowing him down," Anthony said. "Why would he fight in something that restrictive?"

"For the same reason I train by swinging around a lopsided barbell," I answered.

Anthony's eyes widen a bit.

"Muscle building," he said.

"That's right," I said. "He's wearing a weighted training robe."

The two of them continued trading blows, until Horak evidently got annoyed and shoved her away from him. He then quickly undid the ties of his robe and let it fall to the ground. Underneath, he was wearing a pair of black slacks, and nothing else. I let out a long whistle upon seeing his body.

"Damn," I said. "Dude's ripped."

"Really?" Anthony replied, raising an eyebrow.

"What?" I asked. "I'm allowed to be turned on."

The fight didn't last much longer. Having removed his weighted clothing, Horak was now a lot faster. He deflected all of Virtanen's attacks, got in some quick jabs that I'm pretty sure broke some of her bones, then he grabbed her by the throat and lifted her body off the ground. She struggled for a short while before losing consciousness. He dropped her to the ground, and a card appeared to examine her, before announcing that she was definitely unconscious.

"Javonír Horak is the victor!" William announced.

Horak got his robe back on and picked up Virtanen's discarded gun. But rather that keep it, he slip it over to Virtanen's body and walked away.

"Huh," I said. "He seems neat."

"Think you could take him?" Anthony said.

"Probably," I said. "But I think he'll pose a challenge."


We all got ready to leave, but Anthony pulled me aside and handed me a cellphone.

"What's this?" I asked.

"One of my old tracphones," he said. "Your sister's number is on it."

He then walked away, leaving me alone with it. I sighed, and shoved it in my pocket. It's sweet of him to try and reconnect me with my family, but it's just not happening.