Tales of the Underground: Crestfallen - 3. Showtime!

The second we pulled up to the gym my mindset changed. I forgot about all the drama at school and shifted into becoming the stone cold fighter I needed to be. I tapped Perry on the head and grabbed my gym bag out of the backseat. I nodded to my sister who was sitting in the passenger’s seat and shut the door behind me.

I walked into the warehouse converted gym and waved at my trainer before heading into the locker room and getting changed. I switched from preppy rich clothes to humble fighting shorts, a big white shirt and an oversized hoodie. I taped my hands up tight and headed out to begin my warm up.

“The other fighter tonight is a wrestler, do NOT let him take you down to the mat” my trained yelled

“Damn” I said shaking my head “A few of the guys from the wrestling team are coming to watch, I was hoping to showcase my moves.”

My trainer shook his head “Not tonight, your wrestling just isn’t there.” I nodded my head accepting that I still had a lot of work to do before I was a complete fighter “Still thinking about joining the team?” he said wondering if I was going to hang up my gloves for a few months

“Only if they let me fight MMA too” I said with a smug grin “MMA comes first, if wrestling can’t handle that then they’ll need to find a new addition.”

“Can you handle that extra work?”

“I guess we’ll have to find out.” I said recognizing that I would be pushing my body to its limits, but hey that’s what I do best. I may have been handed everything in my life but fighting is the one world I can gladly say I’ve made my own way in. When I’m in that cage it’s all me, daddy’s money can’t buy me wins, my combinations and wrestling have to. The hours before the fight turned into seconds and before I knew it members of my family, my friends and the wrestling team were sitting in the bleachers that surrounded the small cage.

I waved towards my father to come over but he simply nodded and left me to my own devices. Henry put his hands on my shoulders and massaged the bare skin as my trainers and coach put on the clunky gloves.

“Go kill em kid” My coach said knowing he had prepared me well for the fight ahead.

I nodded and made my way to the referee who patted me down and rubbed the petroleum jelly on my face. I did my best to stand still as the ooze was rubbed on to help prevent my face from getting torn up. I would love to be able to say something cocky like “I won’t get tagged” or “don’t even bother” but the true reality of fighting is that no matter how good you are, no matter how fast you are, you will get hit.

I ran up the small stairs and felt the familiar sensation of the soft padding against my feet, I ran around the small circle a few times before making my way to my corner. One of the trainers and Henry hung the American flag and the Pride flag making it feel even more like my corner. I watched as my opponent made his way into the cage. He was equal size to me but a bit heftier, I watched every motion he made, studying his mechanics for any weaknesses I could exploit over our 3 round brawl. He pointed towards the pride flag in my corner and made a face, I watched as he said something to his coach and they both laughed. I got the vibe it wasn’t something friendly, not that it mattered, in a few seconds we would be fighting anyway.

The ref called us to the center “I want a clean fight, no dirty or low blows. If you would like to touch gloves you may do so now”

I reached out both fists but the other fighter just stared at them and laughed.

“have a good fight” the referee finished sending both of us to our corners .

I watched as the flags were pulled out of my corner. I dialed in my focus, looked into the crowd and once again pointed towards my dad who was sitting in between Perry and Brooke. I’m gonna prove to you I’m more than just a business.

“Fighting out of the blue corner, the away fighter, standing at 5’6, and weighing in at 150 pounds. Fighting out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Howard “Brawl” Benson.” The announcer shouted. I heard a few people from his corner clap but for the most part it was quiet.

“Now fighting out of the red corner, your home fighter, standing at 5’5, weighing in at 140 pound. Fighting out of Short Hills, New Jersey Aidan “Static” Taylor.” I could hear the wresting team cheer from the bleacher and Henry echo my name from behind me.

The ref took a step back and the fight was on. I stood tall and minded my footwork as my opponent approached to push pressure on me. He faked a punch but threw a kick to my front leg instead. I eat the kick and winced in pain as I quickly realized his strategy. He went to throw another jab but this time I ducked it and landed a body shot. He took a step back and I approached with another light Jab to his face. I watched as he slowly crept into his own head, he went to throw another kick but this time I caught it and pushed it right back to the ground. He stumbled back and I unloaded a punch right to his jaw. I could tell by the expression on his face that I rattled him, I landed another punch to his face but this time he fell to the ground. I went to pounce on him but quickly remembered the words of my trainer. I took a few steps back and waved him back to his feet.

“What the fuck are you doing?” he shouted at me

“Get up, you’re in my cage” I yelped.

I dodged one of his fists but quickly ate a body shot that forced me against the cage. I felt his elbow fly across my face and cut my eyebrow open. The combination of the cold iron against my back and warm blood dripping down my face distracted me and I locked up as he attempted to take me down to the mat. I could feel the anticipation of the team as they eagerly waited to see my ground moves. I stood tall with my defense and kept my feet on the mat. I landed a powerful body shot that backed him up. As I heard the bell ring to signal a minute left in the round I felt a sudden energy surge in me. I started darting around the cage with a second wind. I landed a powerful combination of a head kick, body shot and punch to the face which once more staggered my opponent. I watched as he began to wobble and stepped up to deliver one last powerful punch to his head. With a loud slam his body hit the floor.

I scaled the cage and reached out as Henry handed me my rainbow flag. I wrapped it around my shoulders and looked over to my sister who was proudly smiling at the sight of her baby brother’s victory. When I finally found my father he was making his way towards the exit. I should’ve known he only wanted to see who would win. He didn’t even bother to make sure I was okay. Slightly disappointed I climbed down from the cage and walked over to the center for the announcement. The other fighter was finally back to his feet but didn’t bother to look my way.

The announcer grabbed onto both our arms “The winner by knockout in the first round, Aidan Static Taylor” I felt him raise my hand high in the air and heard the bleacher full of people I knew cheer. In that moment I’m numb to everything, the blood, the disappoint…it’s nothing compared to the thrill of winning.