Kruppo

“Gentlemen, I gave you a run of the rules in the locker room earlier…” he could’ve spoken all night, and neither Axe nor Kelly was really listening. Both were too busy continuing their staredown from the weigh in’s. Axe was weaving back and forth, side to side, as was his custom for a staredown. Kelly remained still, like an stone.
“Any questions?” The ref cut himself short. “If not, touch gloves if you want, and then go back to your corners.”
They paused, but Axe smiled then, and held a hand up. Kelly struck it with his fist.
Moments later, the ref unleashed the animals from their cage. “Fight!” he shouted, and then it was on.
The crowd was an adrenaline burst as the men circled each other. Who would strike first? No one knew. Axe was grinning. He loved this. Kelly didn’t.
And then, after a minute of circling and throwing cautionary punches, Axe caught Kelly with a savage left hook, almost dropping him there and then. Kelly’s knees hit the mat, but he bounced up quick, and the ref jumped back as Axe turned it up, going after the kid, trying to get the knockout.
But Kelly wasn’t going to go down like that. He then caught Axe with one of his vicious uppercuts, and Axe was now the one staggering back, surprised.
Everyone cheered on and on. The fight was down to six minutes left in the first round, both of the men had hurt each other. Kelly had a large mouse of his left eye. Axe was still coming forward, but Kelly was catching him good. Axe had the power but Kelly had the technique.
Finally, Axe caught Kelly again, this time against the ropes, and he almost dropped him again. Kelly scrambled into the clinch, barely surviving the encounter. Knees came then, and Axe was really letting him have it.
Kelly leaped back into the corner to dodge those, and Axe was on top of him. Kelly clinched up again, and this time, used his strength to spin them around, forcing Axe against the ropes. Axe wasn’t deterred by the sudden change. He was remaining calm.
Maybe too calm. Kelly let go, and Axe stepped to the left, where Kelly’s next haymaker like punch was coming from. Kelly threw it with all of his might.
It cracked Axe hard, and the big man went down. The screaming in the building cranked up several notches. The ref sent Kelly towards his corner, and Kelly grinned largely.
It was a smile too soon. Axe was back up, and his eyes were focused and narrowed. The ref checked him, and let the fight go on.
Axe hit Kelly with a flying knee in the chest, causing them both to tumble to the mat. The ref didn’t count it as a knockdown as they both scrambled to their feet, not wanting to be the one to get caught while trying to get back to his feet. Axe was faster, and hit Kelly with several knees before Kelly got out of his clinch, and back to circling.
Two minutes left. Could Kelly survive? Was he winning, or were the judges giving it to Axe so far? Kelly wished he knew.
Axe came forward again, and his jab caught Kelly during his musing, sending him reeling. The man hit harder than anyone Kelly knew.
Back in the corner again, Kelly threw as a good as he got. Axe finally let him out, frustrated that he couldn’t hurt Kelly.
And then Kelly came forward, and Axe got the opportunity to plant some heavy hands on him as Kelly tried to get on the inside. Kelly lost his balance, almost went down again, when the bell rang, saving him barely.
Axe rolled his eyes and went back to his corner. Kelly was swaying as he sat down in front of Sam, fatigued. “You’re not tired,” Sam told him. “He is. He can’t hurt you and he knows it. He’s pissed off. You scared him when you dropped him. Do it again. He can’t take it. C’mon, Kelly, you can do this!” Sam shouted things like this for the next minute, until the bell rang, signaling the beginning the final five-minute round.
“Fight!” the ref waved them on, and all Kelly could think was, Here We Go Again…
It was war from the beginning. Axe was desperate, and e knew it. Kelly remained out of range for a little bit, but not long enough.
Axe kept trying to corner him, but now Kelly knew better and denied him this. Axe tried to clinch, and Kelly shoved him back, trying to hit him with a few hooks while he could. And then, Axe left his chin out in the open while throwing a Kelly dodged.
Kelly tagged him, and Axe tagged him back harder. Too hard.
The White Light came, and Kelly found himself on the ground. Everyone was on their feet, cheering on Axe as Axe was grinning now, back in another corner, no doubt hopeful Kelly wouldn’t get up.
“Three…” the ref was counting. Kelly groaned as he slowly got up at six of the tencount. “What’s the name of your trainer?” inquired the ref.
“I’ve got two,” Kelly said through his mouthpiece. “Sam and Bob. Let me go.”
“Okay, fight!” the ref got out of the way quickly. A good decision as Axe descended upon Kelly like Apocalypse. Kelly refused to move, and stood his ground as Axe came. Why was Kelly dodging him? Who was harder, Smalls, or Axe?
Kelly decided to find out. Despite Bob’s shouting and Sam screaming, “Kelly! Move! Move!” Kelly remained where he stood, and traded in the pocket with the former champion. Axe took several, and hit Kelly with two. Axe kept pursuing Kelly, but Kelly was backing up anymore. They pressed together, and the clinch was inevitable. Axe tried to employ knees, but Kelly shoved him back, catching him once again with the beautiful left haymaker. Once again, Axe was rocked, but not as badly this time. They chased each other around the ring, and with one minute left, they stood in the center of the ring, tagging each other viciously.
And with eight seconds left, Kelly caught Axe on the button, shattering the bone in Axe’s nose. Axe fell to his knees as the bell rang, saving him. Kelly dropped to his knees as well.
It was over. The fight was going to the judges’ cards. Axe moved to a sitting position and held out hand as he grinned. He shook hands with Kelly and spit out his mouthpiece. “Now that was a fight.” He shouted in Kelly’s ear. “There’s no loser in this fight, man.”
“Thanks for the fight,” Kelly said back. “See you on the other side of the decision.”

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I'm so post-rock I shit sad birds

Kruppo

“Ladies and Gentlemen, give a hand for these two warriors!” the crowd did more than that. The sound of the crowd had never been louder, and Kelly swore that he would be deaf by the end of the night.
Axe looked to be in no better condition. His team stood by him, and they all looked happy just to have the fight over. Axe’s nose was crooked. It looked worse than Sam’s ever had.
Sam stood next to Kelly, trying to ice the mouse over Kelly’s eye. Kelly pushed him away lightly. “I’m fine,” he said.
“Judge Carter scored the bout 20-18, Ggalliano.” The crowd cheered as Axe sighed with relief.
Kelly shut his eyes. He had never felt an urge to pray before, but he did now. “Judge Robinson scored the bout 19-18, Kelly.” Less cheers for Kelly, but Sam whooped in delight. Kelly could’ve sworn he heard Stan jump up and shout “Hell yeah!”
“And finally, Judge Williams scored the bout 19-18, for the winner…” The announcer paused for dramatic effect. He waited for too long.
“God’s sake,” Kelly didn’t mean to, but he burst out anyway. “C-could you just tell us w-who won?”
“Ladies and Gentlemen,” the announcer grinned, “the winner by split-decision: Justin “Smalls” Kelllyyyyyy!” Kelly dropped to his knees. Again.
Sam had no time to help him up as Axe himself stood over his former opponent and lifted him up. “Hey,” Axe was saying to Kelly. “It was a great fight. Congratulations.” They shook hands again, and Kelly trembled as he followed Sam and Bob, both of who which were dancing in joy, down the aisle toward the locker room.
And for the first time in many weeks, Kelly smiled a real, sincere smile.
Smalls was back.

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I'm so post-rock I shit sad birds

Kruppo

Kelly had never before attended any after-party that the Warrior Championships had hosted in the past. Sam had always gone to them when he could. And now, he couldn’t believe what he saw while leaning against a table with Stan and Bob.
Kelly was sitting on a couch in the far corner of the room. Sitting next to him on the couch, face bruised and nose broken, was Axe, who had his seven-year-old son sitting on his lap.
Standing in front of them was Black, who was shaking their hands, speaking excitedly in rapid praise of their bout. Sam smiled as he caught on to some of the conversation amidst the loudness in the party room, and the music in the background, “Awesome, man…just awesome stuff. Round two was even better…best fight I’ve seen in years…” Kelly was grinning, and Axe was laughing.
“Who would’ve thought that the enemy would sit at the same couch Kelly would sit on?” Bob wondered aloud.
“Axe isn’t the enemy,” Sam corrected him.
The old man snorted. “Excuse me. Still caught up in the old days of the sport. Everyone was an enemy.”
Stan and Elisa were talking quietly for the most part. Sam didn’t interrupt with any casual conversation. Stan was on cloud nine, happier than Kelly was, at the moment.
“So what are you going to do, now that Kelly’s on his way up?” Bob inquired. “I’ve heard talk, son. Talk about people who’ve seen your old fights. Saw you fighting amateur. Maybe you should come back.”
Sam blinked. “Excuse me?” he said.
Bob repeated himself. “I said, maybe you should come back. Fight professionally. We both know you could easily cut to one hundred and eighty-five pounds easily. You could start over.”
Sam smiled politely, for Bob’s sake. “No thanks, Bob. I’m done fighting. I just can’t go back to it.”
“That sounds like a convincing little lie.” Bob’s words stung, and Sam looked away from him, irritated. “How long are you going to deny that you miss it? You know that you do.”
“I can’t fight anymore,” Sam said. “The knee is too bad.”
“Both of my knees were weak and couldn’t be trust in college,” Bob replied evenly. “Yet I still maintained All-American honors twice. You tellin’ me that a kid like you, who’s in shape, lemme remind ya, can’t fight anymore because his knee hurts?”
“Bob!” Sam almost shouted, but managed to catch himself at the last moment. A few people were staring, but they went back to whatever they were doing quickly.
“Bob,” Sam said in a calmer tone. “Let it go. I’m done fighting. I just can’t do it. I don’t have the toughness that Kelly has.”
“You keep telling yerself that, an’ it’ll come true!” Sam stood up abruptly after that. He moved away from the table, leaving Bob by himself, looking baffled at what had just happened. “What?” he said loudly, over the music and smatter of conversation all around. “What’d I say?”
Stan and Elisa stood up suddenly. “Hey, we’re gonna head back,” Stan said to Bob. “You taking care of my man Kelly for me?”
“I guess so,” Bob glanced Kelly’s way. “But it’ll be a while, I think.”
“Wouldn’t surprise me.” Stan and Elisa both said good bye to Bob, who finished his drink, and leaned back, satisfied by the success of the night.

Kruppo

Kelly had been making conversation with Axe steadily, going over the general topics, such as family, friends, training…and it had been great. Axe was a good man, as it turned out. He was just crazy when it came to actually fighting.
The man’s scarred face, still bruised up after the fight, showed suggestions of a smile as he explained his life to Kelly. “You see this boy here? He’s been watching me do this since he was three. I’ve got no complaints about losing anymore. It happens to the best of us.” He eased his son off of his lap and put him on the arm of the couch. He glanced at Kelly, studying him. “How old are you, Kelly?” he asked quietly.
“Twenty-four,” Kelly said. “W-why?”
Axe smiled sadly. He leaned back, looking at his kid, and then back to Kelly. “Enjoy yourself now, bud.” He said. “Your body can take the punishment and the fighting for a while. The fights will leave scars, but they’ll be of pride. But as you get older…” he seemed unsure what to say next; fumbled around a bit before continuing. “Your reactions aren’t too fast. Your hands are as heavy. Your chin’s not as strong, and your head is not mentally unbeatable as it was years ago.”
Kelly nodded, wondering what Axe was getting at. “I tell you this because you remind me of when I began in this sport.” Axe said heavily. “Not just MMA. I was into boxing for a long time, too. Traveled the world, fighting in different places. Even went into Muay Thai for a long time; had forty fights in Thailand before giving that up.
“Those fights were back in the glory days; back when I was young, like you, and feeling like the world could knock me down, but it could never knock me out. The glory days, they, uh, they tend to stay stuck in the past. They don’t help you raise a strong family. They don’t give you the satisfaction that your wife can give you with a kiss, or a hug from your kid can give you.”
Kelly waited a moment. “So what are you truly saying?”
Axe smiled graciously. “I’m saying that while you fight, you miss something special every single day, something special that you could’ve enjoyed if you hadn’t been training, or been concentrating on cutting weight. That’s all I’m saying.” He emphasized with a hand on Kelly’s shoulder. “Don’t let this game take over your whole life, Justin. When you get up feeling like you’re missing something from your life, retire. There are greater things God intended in this world than fighting.”
Kelly was still nodding, but now he wasn’t so sure how to end the talk. He wasn’t a big advocate for God. So he proceeded carefully. “A friend of mine; she’s big on God. You’d like her.”
“That’s great,” Axe said. “The Lord is the one source of happiness in my life, Justin. Don’t let what you’ve seen of me tell you otherwise. Just because I can fight doesn’t mean life is perfect, or that I don’t need help from a greater power to keep me on my feet.” He stood up. “I’m afraid that I have to take my leave now. This kid needs to go to bed.” He held out a hand to Kelly.
Kelly took it and shook hands heartily, his mind still reeling. “It’s a pleasure to speak with you,” he said.
“And I, you,” Axe said. “Take care, Justin. I’ll be rooting for you against Castillo. Knock him out for me.”
Axe departed then. Kelly sat on the couch for a few minutes, relieved to have the conversation done with. God was a sensitive subject. One Kelly never truly understood.
And maybe that was how it was always going to stay.
Kelly forgot about it when someone jumped on the couch next to him. He was startled when he realized that Tara was hugging him. “You did it,” She said. “I can’t believe it. I was scared. Stan almost fainted during the fight. You should’ve seen him.”
“I was too busy to care; you should’ve seen how it was from my side of the ring.” They both laughed aloud for a little bit. Tara adjusted how she was sitting so that she was comfortable. She couldn’t help but notice the frown on Kelly’s face, his eyes, as they were drawn to some unforeseen figure in the distance. Kelly remained frozen.
Tara elbowed his leg. “You alive there?”
“Vaguely,” he said. “I’m just t-thinkin’, that’s all.”
“Really?” She was in a playful mood; something Kelly had never seen in her before. “Thinking about what?”
“Things,” He said.
She leaned closer, eyes teasing him, baiting him. Setting him for the kill. Kelly felt his heart quicken.
“What kind of things?” she asked.
There was more to life than fighting, Axe had said. Kelly sized Tara up and down as he considered Axe’s speech. Life was a lot of things bound into one. Kelly had never really paid attention to those things; he had had no reason to when he had been younger, abandoned by a horrid mother and a father who accidentally committed suicide by alcohol. And then, as he had gotten older, those things became obscured by fighting.
Maybe Axe had been right. Maybe it was time to focus on some other things amongst the training and weight cutting. Kelly decided to find out. He tried to meet her lips with his.
This time, she did not fall back. She gave in, and they sat on that couch for the rest of the night, as Kelly held her, her head against his chest. He could hear her breathing softly, her breath blowing gently like a breeze against his ear. And he loved it; absolutely loved it.

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I'm so post-rock I shit sad birds

dcastillo

wow i could almost see this end right here.....but please we need the battle epilogue, a revenge finale

Kruppo

THE END...






























































































Okay not really. Just thought I'd scare someone...I haven't written anything new; I've been really busy. BUT good news for a change I got accepted into a University finally..about damn time.

__________________
I'm so post-rock I shit sad birds

Kruppo

“Mmph,” Stan mumbled as he passed Sam on the way to the table, where breakfast was waiting. Sam had cooked a large dose of eggs, and threw some bacon on for extra measure.
The entire room smelled like bacon, in fact. Sam relished it, half awake, as he finished his plate. Stan sat down as he got up. “How’s the head?” Sam asked Stan as he went to the dishwasher.
Stan chuckled. “Eh, it’s killin’ me right now. But whatever. Ain’t the first time I’ve had one.”
“How much did you drink last night? Bob told me you went home early.” Sam said as he sat back down.
“Apparently, more than I had originally figured.” Stan glanced at Sam’s bedroom, where Elisa now slept. “I don’t know if she was happy about it or not. She was too busy talking to your friend Lindsey to see it, I think. Talk about luck.”
“Yeah,” Sam punched him on the shoulder. “Maybe you’d better not drink next time, huh?”
“Yeah,” Stan smirked. “It might be wise. Maybe she’ll think I’ve been sober this whole time.”
Sam rolled his eyes. “All right then.” He went over to the couch, where he’d assembled a small bed to sleep on until Stan and Elisa had figured out where they were relationship-wise. He yanked his shoes on, and grabbed his keys.
“Where you going?” Stan inquired as Sam headed for the door.
“Me?” Sam shrugged. “I’m going to deal with some personal business. We’ve got a month before Kelly’s title fight. I’m going to see if I can scrounge up a deal with Black.”
“What kind of deal?” Sam was already out the door when Stan asked, but nevertheless, Stan had a strange, fuzzy feeling in his gut. He contemplated it as he ate his eggs.
And then he realized what Sam was going to do.

“Mr. Black? Good to see you.” Sam shook hands with the President of the Organization as they both sat down in Black’s office chairs. The room was hazy from the amount of smoking Black had been doing, but Black didn’t even seem fazed by it. Sam detested smoking, and he hated being in the room where someone had been smoking. He tried to appear casual, uncaring.
“So this is it; the big rematch.” Black said. “Your boy ready for it? He’s got a month to go.”
“I heard you haven’t gotten the entire card straightened out yet,” Sam commented off-handedly.
“Not really,” Black admitted, scratching his balding head. “We never really have any problems with any organizing of fights; except, of course, the sleeper bout.”
“The last one of the night? Why?” Sam was curious. He had never heard of this before, from Black or anyone.
“Well,” Black shrugged, opening his hands in an apologetic motion. “It seems no one is interested in what happens after a main event. Not a lot of fighters want the match afterwards.”
Sam nodded as if he understood. Black was busy looking over some papers for a moment, and then he noticed that Sam was looking nervous. “You’re not here for Smalls, are you? What are you really wanting, Mr. Young?”
Sam sighed. Took a deep breath. “I want a fight, Black. I’ll take anyone from the middleweight division or the light-heavyweight division if you’ll give me the sleeper bout.”
Black said nothing at first; His face said everything for him. Genuine shock .The eyebrows were raised highly on his forehead, and he whistled slowly. “A month out before the big card, and you wanna deviate from your boy, Smalls? That seems unlike you, Sam.”
“Kelly would have no problem with me fighting after him.” Sam responded. “He’s wanted me to fight. Everyone I know wants me to fight. Everywhere I go, someone’s asking me, ‘Hey, how come you never fight anymore?’ and you know what, Black? I’m tired of it.”
“And your knee?” Black said.
“What about it?”
“You think it’s gonna handle pressure like it did two years ago?”
“Would I be asking you for this if I didn’t think it could?” Sam’s temper was starting to break loose. He gritted his teeth, trying to relax. Black noticed.
“Look,” Black said. “I’m just making sure that you’re thinking about this. You could fight on the next card. Why this one? Why so soon? You won’t have time to prepare fully for a fight with only a month left.”
Sam glared at him. And then he stood up slowly. “Justin Kelly once fought a top contender on four days’ notice,” Sam said. “And you doubt that I could be prepared? I’ve been training with the kid even before this. I’ve been training for the past year, without pause.”
Black shook his head. “Fine, fine!” He held up his arms in annoyance. “You can fight. Just don’t beat me to death.”
A visible smile came over Sam’s features then. He relaxed. “Thank you, sir.” He said.
“Hey, don’t mention it. Just be ready to weigh in alongside of your friend.”

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I'm so post-rock I shit sad birds

Kruppo

Kelly sat down on the couch with Lindsey and Tara, feeling happier than he had in months. The loss from Castillo had been wiped from his brain; it was almost as if it had never happened.
And no one had ever seen Kelly in such a good mood before. Even Mel had been taken back as he was leaving for work. “Dang, boy,” he had said. “What’s got you jumpin’ all over the walls with joy?”
Mel had left an hour ago. Sam came out of the bathroom, and the four young people decided to go out on the town for the day.
“You know what that means, right?” Sam elbowed Kelly. “It means we train tonight.”
“Bob won’t care. He’s-he’s a clock.” They both grinned. Sam pulled Kelly into a one-armed hug.
“You’re a good kid, you know that?” Sam said, the grin still on his face as they walked outside, following the girls to the car. Kelly didn’t know what to make of Sam’s eyes at the moment. They were happy; but there was also something there. Sam was withholding something.
“What’s up?” Kelly asked. “Is something wrong?”
“Hm?” Sam blinked. “Oh no, nothing at all.” Sam’s eyes swiftly glanced at the girls, who were getting in the back, wanting to sit together. He waited until they shut the door before muttering to Kelly. “Later. We’ll talk when they’re well out of range.”
The two gentlemen got in the driver and shotgun seats, and proceeded to head out downtown for the day.
Finally, later that day, after the girls had gone to try clothes and shoes on together, Sam sat down on a bench outside of the store the girls were in. Kelly followed suit, now anxious to hear what Sam had to say.
“You’re not going to believe this, kid,” Sam said. “But Bob and Mark are going to be cornering you for your fight. I won’t be able to make it.”
Sam’s face was completely straight, so there was no doubting that it wasn’t a joke. Kelly coughed, his mind reeling. “What do you mean, you won’t make it? Where will you be?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Sam said stoically. “The important thing here is you. You need to worry about yourself, not me. I’m not important; you could fight the fight without me. You did it with Cage.”
“But Bob’s not you!” Kelly eyes were filled with a stunned sense of betrayal. “And neither is Mark. I don’t like their style of coaching, and they’re not who I want in my corner.”
“What, you don’t like Bob or Mark?” Sam raised his eyebrows in surprise. Kelly waved him away.
“You know that’s not what I mean,” Kelly said evenly. “I like them; I love Bob like a second father. But you’re…” Kelly lost his momentum. He couldn’t get it back, and he shrugged helplessly.
A corner of Sam’s smile lifted upward. “A brother.” He laughed freely, playfully tussling Kelly’s hair. Kelly knocked his hand away, but Sam’s smile became even larger. “That’s what you’re thinking, right? I’m a brother. You never had one of those before, did you?”
“You know I didn’t.” Kelly sat there, miserable. “D-dude, I need you, man. I can’t fight without knowing you’ve got my back. I can’t go in there against that guy unless I know you’re out there watching.”
“Aye, I know, I know,” Sam’s grin got bigger and bigger. Kelly got the distinct feeling then that he was being played with. “Yeah,” Sam chuckled. “But who says I’m not gonna be watching? Who says I won’t be there to share the fight with?”
“What? What-what?” Sam burst out laughing at Kelly’s face. Kelly then flushed red, pissed. “Will you just tell me w-w-what you’ve done, man?”
“I’m not cornering you,” Sam said in between laughs. “Because I’m going to be right after you. The sleep bout.”
“What?” Kelly still didn’t get it, and Sam jumped up, trying to stop laughing, but failing horribly.
And then Kelly realized. He began to grin as well. “Are you serious?” He said to Sam.
“Yes,” Sam said. “I’m fighting right after you, Kelly.”
“Do you even know who you’re fighting?”
“It doesn’t matter.” Sam shook his head. “I need this. You, Stan; you guys are right. I can’t just keep sitting back, watching everyone train and fight while I sit on the sidelines, feeling like an old man, when I’m not.” Sam sighed. “I’m doing this because I have to do it. I have something to prove, just like you.”
They hugged again, and Kelly shook his head this time as they sat down. “Wow. C-cool.” They sat there for maybe a few minutes when the girls came out, ready for more. “Anybody else hungry?” Lindsey asked as they piled into the car.
“It’s what, seven-thirty?” Sam glanced at his watch. “Yeah, I guess we can get something.”

__________________
I'm so post-rock I shit sad birds

Kruppo

They arrived at a restaurant on the edge of the city, a larger one, with a range from Italian to French. “Who’s-who’s buying?” Kelly whispered to Sam as they made their way to the main desk where the hosts stood, waiting and smiling.
“I’ll pay,” Sam said. “It’s okay. Just don’t go over the top, will ya?”
“I’m not that hungry.”
“Really?” Sam whistled. “All that weight cutting must’ve burned out your sense of hunger then.”
“What about you? W-what do you weigh right now?” They were standing there, in front of the hosts who had greeted them, when Kelly asked.
“Two-hundred.” Sam winked. “Hi,” He said casually to the hosts. “Two tables for two each please.”
Kelly stared at his friend, who winked at him again. “You two need your time together. I get the feeling last night wasn’t much.” He said quietly as the girls followed the host to their tables.
Lindsey started to sit down next to Kelly when Sam touched her on the shoulder quickly. “Ah, how about we go over here…” Kelly grinned, embarrassed, as the host put Lindsey and Sam over at a table ten feet away, near a window.
“Wow.” Tara laughed. “What was that about?”
Kelly grinned. “I don’t-don’t know.” He said.
He started to skim over the menu, when she asked him another question. “Hey, Justin?” She said. “What were your parents like?”
It caught him off guard, and he didn’t like that. Nevertheless, he answered as smoothly as he could. “One is dead, and I don’t know where the other one is,” he said. “Why?”
“Well,” She tipped her head. “My parents and I have been in contact. I mentioned things with you, and now they’re curious. They want to come up and meet you.”
Kelly had been drinking his water, and almost sputtered when he heard her words. “Why?” he asked.
“Because they want to see who their daughter is dating,” She said. “From the look on your face, you look like you’ve got a skeleton in your closet.”
“Not-not exactly.” Kelly sighed. “It’s just…I wish you hadn’t brought up my own parents.”
She became concerned immediately. “Bad memory, I take it?”
Kelly focused on the table where Sam and Lindsey were having a good time, talking and laughing about something. “The last time I saw my mom, she was telling me how she had just become ‘saved’ and she wanted the same thing for me,” his voice softened, as if the memories were reliving themselves out in front of him. “She didn’t care what I had to say. It was her way or the highway. She screamed at me and then slammed the door on my face. I’d just left my grandparents so that I could move back in with her, and be a family again.”
Tara licked her lips, uncertain what to say. “And your father?” She asked tentatively.
“Dead, like I said.” Kelly sighed. “He was killed in a crash. I’d rather not talk about it.”
“What did your mother say to you about getting saved?”
Kelly narrowed his eyes, as if trying to recall the details. Finally, “She had started going to some church in Kansas city. She really loved it. Maybe she loved it more than me. She didn’t understand why I didn’t want to go. She said some things I didn’t take-take to too well.” Kelly sipped his water carefully this time. “I guess the church was more important to her than being a family. It was either stay and get saved like her, or leave and find someone who cares about me.”
“And you think you found someone who does?” Tara didn’t mean to ask it; it flew out too quickly.
“What about you?” Kelly fired back. “Don’t you?”
“Yes,” Tara said, losing her smile entirely. “Which is why I’m asking all of this. When did all of this happen? With your mom, I mean?”
“Three years ago.” Kelly said. “I got into fighting not too long after that; it felt good. Made sense to me; I stopped cutting because of it.” Kelly held up an arm for her to see the scars running down it. “I find it hard to believe that my mom thinks that these scars are a sign of my damnation.”
“And fighting made things all better? Just like that?” Tara cleared her throat. “I heard what Axe said to you, Justin; most of it, anyway.”
Kelly blinked. “And?” he asked after a moment.
“And I find it hard to believe that you can just brush away the past so easily.” She said. “I know you think you’re strong, and that you don’t need advice from me on these kind of things, but let me tell you something; you’re not really happy.”
Kelly let out a short bark; not a laugh. “How’d you figure that?” he said.
“You hate God because these bad things happen to you,” she said in return. “You honestly believe your mom loved the church more than you? What if she truly believed that church could change your life?”
“I know, because she’s my mom,” Kelly’s good humor was gone; his eyes were becoming filled with annoyance. And something else Tara hadn’t seen since he had tried to kiss her the first time, next to her car.
Kelly was getting angry.
“I think I know her better than you do, okay?” Kelly sighed, frustrated. “Can we just drop the subject now? Please? I don’t talk about these things for a reason.”
“I think you need to talk about them.” Tara pressed forward, despite Kelly’s eyes getting angrier with every moment. “Kelly, Axe decided to hang up the gloves. Did I tell you that?”
Kelly was startled. “What? Where’d-where’d you hear that?”
“Axe told Sam last night; and Sam told me,” She said. “I didn’t know whether or not I should tell you. Sam was convinced it would bother you, with what he said to you last night and all.”
“It doesn’t bother me, but your frequent questions are starting to,” Kelly said. “Now what’s your point? What are you trying to get at here?”
“God has kept Axe strong through all these years of fighting,” Tara said, her eyes pleading him to understand. “You saw that for yourself. He wasn’t a jerk, or some thug off of the streets trying to make money because he can’t do anything but fight. You saw how good-natured he was outside of the ring?”
“Yeah,” Kelly rubbed his neck. “He’s not a nice guy in the ring, though.”
“That’s not important.” The server came up, and they halted their discussion for the moment. Kelly declined to order anything.
“I’m not really hungry. I’m here for the girl.” The server laughed as he went away. Tara waited for a moment before speaking.
“You need to get things inside of you settled.” She said. “You need to let go of what happened to you in the past. Your mom changed her life. Didn’t you say once that she was horrible before that? She became a different person because she cleared everything away with God. You need to do the same thing.”
“What I need to do,” Kelly hissed. “Is get ready to train viciously for a man who’s put me to sleep before. I need to beat him. That’s what I need to do. I don’t want anything to do with God, Tara. Haven’t you gotten that, yet? And didn’t I say already that if you’re pushing me with your religion, I was going to let you know? Well, you’re pushing it.”
Tara looked away. And then Kelly saw it. A single tear started to fall off of the corner of her eye, but her hand caught it before it ran down her cheek.
“What do you want me to say,” Kelly said, gritting his teeth even harder. “That I’ll be a good little Christian boy for you? That I’ll be that boy you’ve always dreamed of? Guess what, Tara; I’m not. I’m Justin Kelly. I’m Smalls. That’s who I am. That’s all I’ll ever be. And you can’t change that.”
Tara folded her napkin on the table. “Bathroom?” Kelly asked, trying now to change the conversation.
Tara shook her head. “I’m sorry Kelly,” She said his last name for the first time since they had met. Kelly then saw the sadness fully in her face. She was about to cry; barely keeping it in, until she could find someplace private to be for a bit. “But if this is how it’s going to be, then I’ve made a serious mistake trying to have a relationship with you.”
Bells rang off in Kelly’s head. He stared at her wordlessly. Tara went on. “If you can’t strive to be a better person, the boy I really like, then I don’t think we need to see each other.”
Kelly burst out laughing then. “Great. The boy you like? What boy?”
“The Justin Kelly I met at the Starbuck’s,” people were starting to glance their way, but neither Tara nor Kelly seemed to notice. Sam and Lindsey were both watching now, and their faces were etched with concern.
Tara continued speaking despite their disruption. “That Justin was sweet; he didn’t let things anger him so easily. He was a good person, not just a fighter. Not just some punk who hurts people for a living. That’s who Smalls is, Kelly. A fighter who has no care for who’s in front of him, just as long as Smalls knocks out all of his opponents, and the crowd loves him. Smalls likes to hurt others. That’s not what I wanted when I started going out with you.”
“What, what did you want? Justin Kelly is weak.” Sam was starting to get up, and try to get Kelly’s attention. Lindsey was tugging on his shirt, trying to get him to sit down and let Kelly and Tara settled the matter themselves.
Tara shook her head. “We’re done, Kelly.” She said. “We’re done until you get rid of Smalls. If you can’t do that, then maybe it’s best if we don’t see each other for a long while.”
Kelly bit his lip until it bled. A host came over to restore peace, and Kelly told him it was fine, that he was leaving anyways.

__________________
I'm so post-rock I shit sad birds

Kruppo

Chapter 37
In the darkness of night, the room was lit up by the few small lights scattered throughout the room. Bob paced back and forth as Kelly, Stan, Mark, Sam, Brady, and Andre all were sparring.
Kelly was training for distance with Brady. Brady stood no chance against the hurricane of anger that blazed through Kelly like adrenaline, pumping Kelly as Kelly struck Brady from all angles, dropping the bigger guy several times.
The last one came from an uppercut, and Brady fell over, blood starting to trickle from his nose. Bob considered this the final straw as he shouted “Time!”
Brady jumped back to his feet, angry. “Hey!” he shouted at Kelly. Kelly was walking towards the bags, ignoring him.
“Hey!” Brady thundered. “What the hell is wrong with you? I’m not Castillo, damn it!”
“Kelly!” Sam said. “The man’s talking to you. At least answer him.”
Kelly waved to Brady. “Sorry ‘bout the nose.” He then turned back to the bags and started to hit them with a force no one had ever seen from him before. The bag was all over the place, trying to avoid its near-certain execution. Bob saw this and called “Time!” again.
Kelly punched the bag a final time for good measure. “Everyone up and out; conditioning time.” Everyone headed for the doors when Bob called out a third time. “Not you, Kelly. Wait here a minute. You and I have to talk.”
“No we don’t.” Kelly went outside anyway.
Bob followed close, and snatched him by the collar of the neck, yanking him aside from the rest. “Sam, get ‘em started.” Sam nodded and pushed the others along.
“I don’t know what’s bothering you,” Bob began. “But you need to push through and keep your mind focused on the goal.”
“What goal?” Kelly said. “What goal? I don’t even know what that goal is anymore. Is it to revive Smalls? Is it to win the fight? Or is it to hurt Castillo?”
“None of those,” Bob said briskly. “It’s to get you in shape and ready for the fight. You need to drop ten more pounds. Worry about that.”
“Right. Right.” Kelly broke away from him. “Whatever.”
Bob uttered a curse as he watched the boy who had been his son for years. Kelly had grown up, and it terrified Bob to see him like this.
Sam came up then, breathing hard. “He’s still pissed, huh?” he asked.
Bob nodded. “What’d you do?”
“It wasn’t me. It was Tara. She was trying to get him to maybe think about getting saved, and he took to it badly.” Sam rested on his knees. “What are you thinking?”
Bob answered after a moment, noting that Kelly was outpacing the others in conditioning. “If this was any other fight, I would’ve said I like what I’m seeing,” he said. “But this is a title fight. Justin’s head’s not in the right place right now. I don’t know what to say.”
Sam nodded, agreeing. “We need someone to speak to him.” He looked up at Bob. “He won’t listen to me.”
“Me neither.” Bob sighed. “Well, unless you get this girl Tara to apologize or something, I don’t see how we can get him back to normal, short of slapping him around.”
“That wouldn’t do it, and you know it.” Sam stood up. “God, what do we have to do to get him to stay smart?”
“I thought you just answered that,” Bob rolled his eyes. “I offered my opinion, and you just threw it away.”
“You really wanna start slapping him around, be my guest,” Sam said intensely. “Watch how that won’t do a thing for him.”
Bob took his cap off and scratched his head, agitated. “You said you’re fighting that night as well?”
“Yeah,” Sam nodded.
Bob saw the group coming towards them now. “And yet here you are, caring more about Kelly than yourself.”
“He’s my brother,” Sam declared in a tone of anger. “What kind of man would I be if I didn’t look out for him?”
The group was ready for the next sprint. Kelly was gasping, his eyes fixed to Bob. Bob nudged Sam, indicating he should join them. “Do it again,” he said loudly enough for everyone to hear.
“And Sam?” Sam glanced back as they were walking away.
Bob nodded grudgingly. “Make the call. You do what you have to do.”
Sam nodded as well. He winked at the old man before getting the others to follow him back to the sprinting line. Bob sat down in an old chair, feeling like a spectator once again, unable to influence the outcome; he could do nothing but watch.

__________________
I'm so post-rock I shit sad birds

Kruppo

Training stabled out for the next few days. Those next few days turned into weeks, and the time was flying before Kelly could realize. He noticed one day even that Sam was even more ripped and in-shape than he had been months ago.
And then, one day, after an intense weekly session, Kelly decided that he wanted a day off. To be alone, to think. TO visualize the fight before it came. Weigh ins were in a few days, and all Kelly wanted was some decent solitude for a change, instead of being followed around by everyone.
He stood on the deck of the pier, leaning against the wooden handrails, keeping him from falling in. He watched as the waves repeated their motions again and again, just like life did so much.
First Tara wanted nothing to do with him. And then she did. And now, just like last time, she was gone. Gone; and this time, she wasn’t coming back. Not without a fight.
But what kind of fight, anyway? The fight she wanted wasn’t the kind that Kelly could handle. He could use his fists for something physical. A physical fight was no problem.
But Tara was asking for a mental cleansing. A fight that Kelly had never attempted. A fight that he wanted nothing to do with at all.
He wasn’t alone for long. Despite his craving for privacy, Kelly heard footfall behind him, and saw the shadow creeping up behind him, a shadow larger than his.
Axe leaned against the handrails, mimicking Kelly perfectly. “So how are things, Kelly?”
“I don’t know.” Kelly said. “Did Sam call you up to ask about it?”
“Maybe he did.” Axe didn’t even flinch. “Or maybe, I was walking by with my wife and son, and saw a kid who needs a helping hand. I saw a kid drown once. The worst thing I’ve ever witnessed; it’s still stuck in my head. And I couldn’t do a single thing to save him.” He tipped his head as a shrug. “Of course, I was stuck in a wheelchair after damaging my knee severely in a fight. I couldn’t stand on my own. My wife had to take care of my for a long, long time.”
“And what, you figure that I’m drowning?” Kelly snorted. “Look, I appreciate the token gesture of kindness, but I don’t want it. I just want to fight Castillo and win the title.”
“You think that’s going to bring you happiness.” Axe said calmly. “It won’t it never will. You could fight a hundred more times, knock out tons of men, and even lose a few more fights, and you still won’t be happy.”
Kelly shifted further away from Axe. Axe remained where he was. “Haven’t you figured out yet that fighting is not going to make you happy? It’s what you do during your off-time that matters Kelly. And from what I gather, your off-time you spend daydreaming about beating man so savagely that you get upset if someone suggests that you calm down.”
“Score.” Kelly said sarcastically. “So what do you want-”
“Don’t interrupt; it’s rude,” Axe said sternly. “Kelly, I don’t know you personally. But I know the rage you’re smothering yourself with. You should know that you’re not the only one who has had a bad upbringing. You’re not the only one who’s lost a father, or a mother. If you think otherwise, then you are just plainly ignorant.”
Kelly edged closer then, his face grim. “What is it that you want from me?”
“It’s not what I want from you; it’s what you want for yourself you should really be thinking about.” Axe rolled his sleeves up. “You really seem to be intent with hurting a man. Do you honestly think that settles everything? Kid, I’ve been fighting for years. I even fought God at one point. And then I learned the most important lesson that fighting can teach you. It’s not who wins the fight that’s the most significant thing. It’s who walks away wiser, stronger, and healthier as a person. That’s why I retired not too long ago.”
“I heard about that,” Kelly said. “I’m sorry to hear that you’re done. You gave everyone hell.”
“My years of fighting are behind me for a reason,” Axe said. “Lots of men hurt, lots of headaches for me at night, and I have a lot less brain cells. But I walked away because those fights, they never mean anything to you at the end of your life. The outcomes don’t even occur to me anymore. I have no grudge against you, even though you beat me in front of my whole family.
“And that’s what you need to remember, Justin. If you must fight, fight because you do it to strengthen yourself as a human being. Use it as a test to find out what you’re truly made of. The crowds are fickle; they’ll forget that you were a fighter years from now. The men you will fight and have already fight will have forgotten you as well. And all that will remain is the memories you’ll have of those times you’ve fought and trained. If you’re lucky, you might have some good memories. You might even be far more successful than I’ve been. But then you’ll have just those memories.”
Kelly was still listening. Axe continued. “None of those memories will be especially worth remembering if you don’t have someone to spend the rest of your life with. Someone you love. It’s the days I spend with my wife and son away from fighting that I truly treasure life the most. Do you have anyone like that, Kelly?”
“Not really. Not anymore.” Kelly said.
Axe nodded. “Son, what you need is to make your peace with God. It doesn’t have to be now. I’m not asking for you to say a prayer or anything here. But you need to realize something; It’s not God that brings about bad things in your life. It’s you that does that to yourself.”
Kelly stepped away from the railing. Axe motioned that they should walk. “I’d better get walking towards the wife and son, if you don’t mind,” Axe said pleasantly. “I’ll not waste much more of your time, kid. I just want you to know that I have always admired you. I’ve been watching your fights for a long time. Even before you and Sam Young were partnered together, I saw how tough you were, how life had shaped you. You don’t have to be Smalls forever. And you know what? This war you want, with you and Castillo? It’s not Castillo that’s waging the war. It’s Smalls. Kill Smalls, and you can truly be free.”
A tall woman, older than Kelly expected, sauntered over, followed by Axe’s young son, who ran over grinning from ear to ear. Axe dropped down and scooped his boy up. The little kid stared at Kelly, wordless. Kelly felt the same way.
“Alex, do you remember this guy? Mr. Kelly?” Axe grinned. “Dad fought him a little while ago. You remember him?”
Little Alex nodded wordlessly. “This is Justin,” Axe said to his wife. “Kelly, this is my wife Tanya.”
They shook hands, and she smiled, showing large, white teeth. “Nice to meet you,” she said.
“L-likewise.” Kelly said.
“Kelly’s fighting for the title in a few days,” Axe said to Alex. “And you know what? Mr. Black has invited us personally to watch. Would you like to see Kelly fight?”
Kelly was astounded when Alex nodded. “Great!” Axe said. “We’d better get going; these two are getting anxious. It was a pleasure talking with you, Kelly.”
Alex scampered down the pier, followed by his mother. Axe shook hands with Kelly. Kelly tried to move away, only to find that Axe held his hand tight, eyes dead serious. “Take care of this,” he tapped his own head with his free hand. “Before you take care of Castillo. If you don’t, then you’ve already lost the fight.”
And Kelly finally got his solitude after that. A large, crushing amount of weight struck him on the chest as he ventured back to his car, feeling like things had only been complicated, instead of made easier.
But Kelly knew, deep down in his heart, that Axe was right. Castillo had nothing personal against Kelly; and Kelly really didn’t hate Castillo. It was all because Kelly’s pride had been hurt.
“He was right.” Kelly admitted aloud. “The man’s right.”
What to do about it? Kelly knew what could be done. He drove off, counting off the minutes, the hours, until weigh ins came.

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I'm so post-rock I shit sad birds

dcastillo

a mentor in an old enemy....the struggle between the dark and the light and finding the balance to live by

Kruppo

The weigh in’s were smooth, for the most part. Everyone was making weight, the crowd was in a great mood, and Black couldn’t keep a grin off of his face to save his life. Things were going very well.
Kelly walked up to the scale when he was called, and stripped down. “I might need a towel,” He informed the doctor. As soon as he was about to step on the scale, a towel was spread out across, in front of Kelly so no one saw his genitals as he stepped on the scale.
The doctor peered close and announced, “Two-hundred. Straight on.”
Mr. Black raised his eyebrows, surprised. Kelly felt the need to explain as he yanked his pants back on. “I used to fight at a hundred and ninety pounds,” he shrugged. “Weight cutting’s been great this time around. I feel like I’m faster too. The extra weight slowed me down.”
“Well, good, I guess.” Black smiled.
And then Castillo made his entrance. The crowd jumped to its feet for their champion. Castillo’s friend was holding the golden title up for everyone in the room to see.
“Well, we know his buddy’s loving this,” Sam muttered behind Kelly. But Kelly was paying attention to Castillo as Castillo jumped on the scale.
“Two hundred six and a half!” Castillo cursed the moment he heard the doctor speak. He got down off of the scale, his face contorted. Black was not amused either; his champion not making weight was a bad sign.
“Run it off. Go!” Black urged him, and then turned to Kelly. “Looks like your lucky day.” Black smiled again. “You can go now; you don’t have to wait for him.”
“Too bad,” Kelly said as soon as he and Sam were out of earshot and were moving back towards Bob and Mark. “I was l-looking forward to facing off with him.”
“This means one thing, and one thing only, buddy,” Sam squeezed his shoulder, excited. “He isn’t taking you seriously. He thinks he’s gonna womp you again.”
Kelly tried to avoid smiling, but the grin popped up on his face anyway. “C-can’t believe it.” he said as he sat down on the bench that Bob and Mark were sitting on, waiting for them.
Bob scratches his neck, agitated. “Well, what’s the score?”
“Kelly’s two hundred pounds.” Sam explained. “And Castillo’s overweight. They gave him an hour to cut it. We can chill out for the night though. Come back tomorrow strong.”
“You’re kidding!” Mark said. “The champ didn’t make weight? Boy, some champ.”
“Yeah.” Bob agreed. “But it’s not for us to care about that. It won’t matter when he’s in the ring. Stay focused tonight, regardless of what you do, okay, Kelly?”
Kelly nodded instead of answering. “Good,” Bob stood up. “Well, I’m going home. I’ll meet you all tomorrow in the afternoon.”
Sam said goodbye, and then he took Bob’s place as they sat silent on the bench, contemplating things.
Castillo passed by, jogging, dressed in layered sweat clothes. He glared straight ahead, as if trying to ignore that Kelly was even there.
“Wow,” Mark said softly then, when he had passed. “You guys think he’s pissed?”
“Sure seems like it.” Sam said quietly.
Kelly stared at the ground. He was busy lost in his head, just waiting. Now he was counting the time until Fight Night.

__________________
I'm so post-rock I shit sad birds

Kruppo

The day of the Fight was always a quiet one in the apartment. Mel and Claudia hardly spoke to Kelly, knowing that he was going to be in a contemplative state as it were.
He sat at the table, staring into space. He hadn’t showered, and his hair was long overdue for a cut. His face was covered with dark stubble, and his eyes were reddened.
This was not the Justin Kelly that everyone knew. This was not Smalls, either, however; this was someone entirely new. Someone questioning the things that surrounded him, that shaped his life, and threw themselves in the way. This was a man in the time of his life that needed to find out who he really was, and make it count. Otherwise he would be lost to himself forever.
Mel couldn’t take it for long, seeing his roommate just sitting there, dazed, so he finally took a seat, sitting in front of Kelly. Kelly blinked, and looked at his friend.
Mel cleared his throat, and eyed Kelly. “So the price for seats around there, they’re what, fifty dollars?”
Kelly nodded.
Mel sighed. “So,” he said. “Guess that means I just paid a hundred dollars, just to see you win.” He grinned. “You’d better win in grand fashion boy. I’m gonna be getting drunk to where you can actually hear me better than you will Old Bob.”
Kelly lost the dazed look and grinned. Mel laughed. “I knew I could make you smile, you little punk. But seriously, whatever happens tonight man, no matter what, remember something for me.” He gripped Kelly’s wrist and looked at Claudia. “We’re here for ya. You’ll be coming home to a welcoming family, man. Ain’t no shame in losing every now and then. Nobody’s gonna get the perfect win or the perfect streak. Not even the New England Patriots could do it.”
Kelly grinned even wider. “That’s football.” He said.
“Yeah, and that’s a lot different from this. If you lose here, well, firstly, the whole country ain’t gonna know about it, but uh-” he looked at Claudia again. “Any help?”
“Kelly, if you lose, then it just means that this guy’s a better fighter.” She said bluntly. Mel winced at her words. Kelly didn’t.
“She didn’t mean that,” Mel tried to assure him. Claudia came over and elbowed him.
“I did mean that,” She looked Kelly in the eye. “But look at it this way; who’s going to care? You don’t have to worry, because you’ll still be able to fight, and you’ll still make money. Nothing will change here. We’re still here for you, no matter what.”
Kelly nodded. Took a deep breath, and released the bombshell. “I don’t know how much longer I’ll be fighting.” He said.
Mel stared at him, slack-jawed. Claude raised her eyebrows. “What, you’re thinkin’ about quitting? Kelly, you’re only twenty-four!” Mel gasped.
“I don’t have to fight my whole life; I’ve already had enough fights in the ring and out of the ring to last me for the rest of my life,” Kelly said, his eyes going blank once again, as if he was receiving the words from another place. “I fought my mom when Dad died. I fought Dad when he was going down the hill and drinking every single night. I fought everyone that came to know me, before I met Bob. I even had fights with Bob. The fighting never ends, guys.”
They weren’t following him; at least, Mel wasn’t. Claudia was starting to smile, maybe out of happiness for Kelly. Mel was baffled.
“I’m doing this fight because I want to test myself.” Kelly said clearly. “I’m doing this because I have to. There’s…there’s someone that I have to deal with in that ring, and it ain’t the guy that I just got knocked out by. I’ve got to fight me.” He pointed to his own chest. “I’ve got to deal with Smalls. He’s been making me run around in circles for a while now. He’s the been screwing me over, with Tara, with Sam, with you guys.” He stood up. Cracked his neck, and smiled. “Smalls has to go. After that, we’ll see what happens. If I fight again, then I will. If I don’t, then I don’t.”
He went to his room, grabbed his bag of gear, and stepped out of the room. “I’ve got to get going. See you tonight? After the f-fight, I mean.” He said it to Mel.
Mel pulled him into a friendly hug. “Of course, man. We’ll stick by you whatever goes down tonight. You’re all right by me.”

__________________
I'm so post-rock I shit sad birds

Kruppo

The hours drew by, when Kelly arrived at Bob’s house with Sam and Mark, all of them prepped and read to go. Kelly had never seen Sam look so excited in his life. Sam kept pumping his fists forward in combos, hissing as he did so, as if he was fighting a shadow of himself or something.
Mark was in a cheerful mood, whistling stupidly. Bob was the only one besides Kelly that seemed unsettled or restless; the entire drive to the building the Organization hosted fights in was one filled with whistling, and Sam’s pep talk to Kelly, most of which Kelly wasn’t really paying attention to, anyway. “You get in him in a corner, right? Don’t go for the clinch right away. You’ve done that before, but don’t do it with this guy. He’s a lot stronger than you. You just want to get close enough to tag him on the chin. And then if he tries to clinch with you, just duck out of it and back away. Hit and run with this guy. He won’t like it, and then he’ll come charging in for more…”
Kelly nodded absently, while Mark kept on whistling. Bob looked back from the driver seat, his face filled with annoyance. “Will you quit it, please?” Mark ceased whistling, seeing the look on the old man’s face.
Sam was grinning widely. “You nervous?” Kelly asked him.
“Me? Nope. I’ve wanted to do this for a long, long time,” Sam said. “Why should I be worried about it?”
Kelly shrugged. “I’m just w-worried you’re taking this fight lightly.”
“The man weighed in ten pounds heavier than me; we agreed on a catch-weight of a hundred and ninety-five pounds.” Sam said. “Of course I’m not taking him lightly.”
“Wait, wait,” Mark glared Sam’s way. “This guy’s one ninety-five pounds, and you’re only one eighty-five?”
“One eighty-eight,” Sam corrected. “But it won’t be an issue.”
“Dude-” Sam cut Mark off before the guy could get any further protest out.
“I don’t wanna heart it, Mark! Worry about Kelly, not me.” Sam glanced at Kelly, who was still looking out the window. “I don’t blame you if you’re nervous,” Sam said. “But I’m not fighting for a title. That’s why I’m not nervous. This is going to be fun for me. Just don’t let your guard down and you’ll be fine.”
Kelly nodded. “S-sure.”
Bob looked at Kelly in the rearview. “This is your night, kid,” he said. “I know you can win this. You’ve come too far only to fall down now. Even if you lose this fight, you won’t go down without making him pay for it. You’ve trained harder than anyone I’ve ever known for this fight, and there’s not much else you can do now; just step in there and show everyone what you’re truly made of.”
Kelly still wasn’t really paying attention. He was swimming in his own ocean of thoughts of doubts, fears, and confidence. These thoughts battled tremendously, and only one was going to conquer and drive Kelly through the fight.
And what scared Kelly was that he didn’t know which one was going to win. He honestly didn’t. He glanced at Bob, who was now squinting as he drove along cautiously through the traffic, and then Kelly looked at Sam. Sam noticed, and smiled. The smile was enough to encourage Kelly. Enough to cease the fears and the doubts for a moment. It sufficed.
“You’ll do fine, trust me.” Sam said. “I know because Castillo’s not taking you as seriously. And he’s not prepared for howmuch better you’ve become. I know you’re going to do well, because we’re all watching you. We’re all rooting for you, despite the fact Castillo’s the crowd favorite.”
Kelly sighed, and looked out the window again. “WHO’s going to corner you?” Kelly asked Sam.
“I’ve been talking with Axe,” Sam said earnestly. “But we’ll see. I might just go out there with a cornerman to take care of my face, and that be that.”
“Here we are,” Bob announced suddenly. “Let’s roll, guys.”
“Indeed.” Sam said as they got out of the car. “It’s time to become the men we were destined to be.”

Kruppo

In the third row, the best row to be in during the fights, Mel, Claudia, Tara, Lindsey, Stan, and Elisa all sat together in a clump. Tara and Elisa were nervous for Kelly and Sam, while Lindsey was flirting shamelessly with some random bum sitting behind her. Stan and Mel both had beer on them, and hotdogs to boot. Mel was partially drunk, and Stan had sworn to Elisa that he would drink no more than three beers.
“Where’s Kelly at, man? When’s they fightin’?” Mel demanded during an interlude after a fight. The lights had been turned on in the building, and loud rock music blared, while montages of previous fights in the Organization were shown on big screen TV’s.
“Not for a bit. I think we got maybe two more fights.” Stan estimated. “Maybe one? I don’t know, man. Just pray for a quick knockout.”
Elisa shivered as she leaned on Stan’s shoulder. She hadn’t seen much of mixed martial arts, but what she had seen last time Kelly fought and what she had seen now made her cringe. “How can anyone enjoy this sport?” she said to Stan.
Stan grinned and shrugged. “Hell if I know; I know I like it. Nothing’s more manly than seeing two gentlemen beat the tar outta each other.”
“Hey, Stan!” Mel threw his empty hotdog wrappings at him to get his attention. “Who’d you get to watch the baby?”
“I got Rich and his girl to watch Marisa.” Stan said. “Why?”
Tara was startled. “Wait, you got Rich to watch your girl? Stan!”
“What, what? I’m sure he’s a good kind of guardian…” Stan glanced worriedly at Elisa, who was giving him the Evil Eye. “Seriously!”
Mel laughed and slapped Claudia on the thigh. She yelped and smacked him across the face. He grinned stupidly. “Aw, come on, darlin’ you know you love it…”He laughed.
Lindsey was busy exchanging numbers with the bum when Stan realized that she was still among them. “Hey, you ever been to one of these before?” he said loudly.
Lindsey nodded. “I was here last time, remember?”
“Not really,” Stan shook his head. Lindsey rolled her eyes.
“Okay man, when’s the next fight?” Mel stood up and shouted. “Come on! I paid money for fightin’ not talkin’!” Claudia grabbed him by the waist and forced him to sit down. She then glared Stan’s way.
“How much has he drank?” she asked.
Stan made a mental calculation, and seemed to be getting nowhere, so he finally gave up and said simply, “More than I’ve had, that’s for sure. Several?”
“This is going to be fun,” Lindsey said as she turned around to face forward, now that her boy-toy bum had gotten up to use the bathroom.
“Yeah, you can say that again,” Stan said. “Hopefully I’m wrong. Maybe the title fight’s next. We’ve been here for a while, right? About two hours or so? Yeah, the fight should-”
He got no further as the lights went out, and the montages ceased. Everyone began to roar, and the sound of at least a thousand or more people in a building was deafening.

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I'm so post-rock I shit sad birds

Kruppo

Justin Kelly stood up, and pulled his hood down over his face. Bob and Mark stood ahead of him, waiting for him. Mark carried the bucket and corner gear they would need in case Kelly start to bleed badly or bruise up. Bob had his Bears jacket off, and he was wearing one that said ‘Triumph over impossibility’ a jacket that looked old enough to have been around during his old days.
“How old’s that jacket?” Mark even asked as they made their way out of the locker, Kelly following behind them, in his own world, sweating viciously from his warm up.
“I wore this when I wrestled in the NCAA wrestling championship.” Bob said calmly. “I lost that match, but then again, I wasn’t supposed to have placed in the tournament, either.”
“Ah,” Mark said. “Nice.” He looked back at Kelly, who was staring at the ground as he walked behind. “You okay back there, Kelly?”
“Yes.” Kelly said nothing more.
The doors in front of them were opened by security guards and the noise of a room crowded with over a thousand people hit them hard, like a solid wall of cheers and boo’s.
As they made their way to the ring, Kelly noticed Mel jumping up and down in the third row behind the judges table, grinning like an idiot. “Yeah, Kelly! You freakin’ rock man! Go get ‘im son! Get ‘im!” Mel was shouting.
“Is he-” Mark started to ask, and Bob nodded before he could finish.
“Yes he is,” Bob said. “He’s drunk, all right.” He grabbed Kelly by the shirt and pulled him forward. “Get on up here and get your gear off for the refs.”
Kelly stepped out of his loose sweat pants and removed his hoody. His body, in comparison to the pudgy little slump it had been months and months ago, now was built with solid muscle. He had changed since training full-time. He let the ref rub Vaseline all over his face. “You got your cup strapped on?” the ref inquired.
Kelly responded by raising a fist and slamming onto his crotch twice, hard. The ref grinned. “You didn’t have to hit it so hard,” the man laughed. “Okay, you’re ready to go. Good luck tonight, son.”
The ring, so large, attracted Kelly like a moth to the flame. He leaped in between the ropes, and walked over to his corner. Bob and Mark walked around the ring, and met him at the corner. He didn’t pay them any heed.
The crowd had his attention. Some were hailing him, saying, “Smalls! Smalls! Smalls!” But they didn’t get it. This wasn’t Smalls fighting tonight. Smalls was done. Kelly was going to retire him on the spot in less than eight minutes.
And then, after a moment, the lights went out again. The cheers were even louder this time as Castillo made his way to the ring. He jogged up to the ref, instead of walking. They quickly slapped on his Vaseline, and he was in the ring in no time, looking eager to fight finally.
There were introductions. Kelly didn’t listen. Castillo was bouncing up and down, his back to Kelly, and he was talking with corner guys, not even caring. Kelly concentrated on his back, never losing sight of his goal for a moment.
The Ref pulled them together, and finally, Castillo looked down into Kelly’s eyes. He was now glaring, as if he hated Kelly more than anything else.
And that’s when everyone in the audience got a shock. The big screen TV’s revealed it all for everyone to see. The moment Castillo’s forehead touched Kelly’s, Kelly was smiling. A little smile it was, but a smile none the less.
“Touch gloves, and let’s go.” The ref stepped back, and the two fighter touched gloves. Castillo seemed confused by Kelly’s smile as Kelly, still smiling, went back to his corner. Now it was Kelly bouncing up and down, and Castillo was standing still.

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I'm so post-rock I shit sad birds

Kruppo

“Fight!” the ref signaled the start, and Armageddon began.
The crowd’s screams were like thunder in Kelly’s ears as he circled the ring, allowing Castillo to take the center. Kelly was light on his feet, always moving his guard up at all times. Castillo was flat on his feet, his hands at his waist, pursuing Kelly.
The first exchange came when Kelly went for a jab. The punch landed, but it was only grazing as Castillo landed a hard left as Kelly danced back out of range of any more punches. Castillo went at him with a grim, laser-like efficiency.
But he wasn’t landing hard on Kelly. Kelly was staying well out of Castillo’s range. But the moment Kelly went in for a combo, Castillo stepped back half a pace, and swung his leg up towards Kelly’s head. The entire crowd was on its feet as the kick swooped straight over Kelly’s head as Kelly ducked it barely.
Kelly took the moment to get close in and hit Castillo with several punches, but none really landed well, and Castillo was able to clinch up, and swing Kelly against the ropes. The ref shoved between them, separating them after they had struggled on the rope for a minute.
And then it happened. Castillo threw the kick again as Kelly was going in for a combo. The kick landed perfectly, dropping Kelly. The crowd was on its feet as Castillo raised up his arms in triumph.
It was triumph lived very shortly as Kelly rose to his feet at seven of the tencount. He looked dazed, but ready none the less. The ref let them get back to fighting.
Kelly was now a bit more timid as he circled around Castillo, still trying to find a groove, but failing to do so. Even if he had had to cut weight late, Castillo was still a smooth operator.
And then, Castillo shoved Kelly into a corner and started to tee off on him. The crowd rose up once again, expecting the fight to be ended. Kelly blocked most of the shots, but several dazed him, causing him to stagger away from the corner, but still lean against the ropes. Castillo chased after him, still swinging wildly. They clinched up after a moment. Castillo let go, intending to step back and launch another salvo, but Kelly seized the opportunity and hit Castillo on the bridge of the nose with an elbow, causing Castillo to back up and give Kelly space.
The round ended with the two of them clinched up in Castillo’s corner. The ref yanked them apart and sent Kelly to his corner. As he was walking, Kelly realized that he was cut and bleeding.
The ref noticed. “Get this man cleaned up if you want him to keep fighting!” He said to Mark and Bob, who leaped to get their job done.
“How did you get cut on your forehead? He didn’t land anything there.” Mark said as they patched up the large cut.
“Inadvertent head-butt? It happens.” Bob said. “Who cares. Kelly, pay attention to me. Don’t let him bull you around like that, you hear? DO you get me? Don’t let him do that. Clinch up if you have to when he does that. Otherwise, stick to the game plan. We can still win this fight.”
Kelly didn’t believe the man’s words. He’s lost the first round. Ten minutes, and Kelly lost the majority of them. In his eyes, he already lost. But there was still hope.
The corer time was over, and Kelly stood up, this time, refreshed. He let Castillo take the center again, but this time he came in with a five-punch combo, and rocked Castillo briefly. Castillo stumbled slightly, and regained his footing, clinching up with Kelly, trying to force him into a corner.
But Kelly was having none of it. He did exactly as Bob said and tried to duck out of it. Castillo kept a firm grip on him, and they went tumbling around the ring together, until Kelly finally worked free, only to find Castillo’s kick coming his way.
There was no time to block it. It connected, and Kelly felt his jaw get jarred, and his skull rattled as he crashed to the canvas. The world went fuzzy. And yet, he could still hear the ref counting. The ref was on four when Kelly realized he needed to get up.

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I'm so post-rock I shit sad birds

Kruppo

At six, he was halfway up. At nine of the tencount, Kelly had barely made it up in time. Because of this, the ref really looked him in the eyes, trying to make sure he was all right. “You’re sure you can continue?”
“If I didn’t think so, I wouldn’t be standing, would I?” Kelly jumped up and down to prove that he wasn’t disoriented. His vision was reddening as the ref stepped back, only to halt the fight and get a doctor in the ring to check Kelly’s cut.
The crowd booed as the doctor looked him over. Kelly glared at him fiercely. The doctor nodded to the ref. “He’s fine.” He said. “He can fight.”
Castillo looked frustrated that Kelly was back up and ready. But it was more than that. Kelly knew what was wrong here, why he was doing so poorly.
When the ref signaled them to continue fighting, Kelly took the center of the ring this time. Mark and Bob were both shouting as him, telling him to keep his distance.
But Kelly was done listening to them. It was time to do things the way they should’ve been done in the first place.
And with only four minutes left, Kelly went at Castillo. They often threw several punches and clinched, but Kelly was getting the better of Castillo now. Castillo was exhausted, gasping hard as he leaned against Kelly in the clinch. He was gassed.
Kelly kept throwing elbows, trying to hurt him. Castillo took quite a few but kept coming back for more. The crowd couldn’t believe what they were witnessing. Everyone was screaming, and Kelly couldn’t hear any of it. He could only hear his own ragged breathing, and that of his opponent’s, and the grunts each of them gave when they got hit.
Three minutes left in the fight and Castillo tried to throw the head-kick. Kelly blocked it and clinched, landing a jab, then a punch that ended up being an elbow. The world was turning red again; was Kelly bleeding that badly? Kelly saw that the canvas was covered with blood.
Two minutes. Castillo was still clinching. And then Kelly hit him with another elbow, and then a punch. Castillo tumbled backwards, and fell on his butt. He was back up, but the ref leaped in front of Kelly before Kelly could finish it. “Stop! Go over to your corner!” The ref pushed Kelly lightly and signaled for the ring doctor. Kelly went back to his corner baffled.
He barely made it to the corner when suddenly, thee bell went off, and everyone was cheering or gasping. Mark went wild suddenly, leaping through the ropes to lift Kelly up in the air. “You did it!” Mark was screaming repeatedly. Bob was grinning savagely as well.
“What? What’s going on?” Kelly detached himself from Mark. “What do you mean?”
Bob took him by the shoulder and turned him around. Kelly the ref walking their way. But what Kelly also saw was Castillo, drenched in blood, screaming bloody murder, cursing and shouting endlessly. He was pissed.
“That’s not just your blood on him, Kelly!” Mark shouted in his ear. “Look at his eye!”
Kelly looked closer, and he couldn’t believe it. The right of Castillo was closed shut, and above it was the largest and widest cut Kelly had ever seen in his life. It was spilling pools of blood out, and the doctors were trying to tame Castillo so that they could halt the blood flow.
“You won!” The ref took Kelly towards the center of the ring as both Bob and Mark were hugging out of sheer joy.
The ring announcer got in the ring, holding up a piece of paper. “Ladies and Gentlemen, here is your winner tonight, by doctor’s stoppage due to cut; the NEW LIGHT-HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORLD…Justinnnnnnn Kelllyyyyyyyyyy!”
Kelly had his armed being raised, and he still didn’t know how to feel. Just before he could process what was going on, he felt something being slipped around his waist. Glancing down, he saw gold, and realized that Black had entered the ring and had put the title on him.
Kelly dropped to his knees. The crowd was screaming his name over and over again. And then a ringside reporter with a microphone came up. Bob lifted Kelly up so that Kelly could speak clearly.
“All right, Justin, congratulations,” The reporter said cheerfully. “You just won the title. This was a tough fight for you at the start; you got dropped twice, and you got cut open pretty badly. How do you feel right now, knowing that despite the odds you managed to win?”
Kelly spit into the bucket Mark held next to him before speaking into the microphone. “Yeah, t-this wasn’t how I w-wanted to win, by a cut, I mean. I just wanted to do my best, and I think I did.”
“You took some hard shots tonight, was there any doubt at all that you could win this?” The man posed the question like a typical side-ring man would do; making it sound like there was never a chance of doubt in an underdog’s mind.
So Kelly answered him truthfully. “Honestly? I t-thought I lost the fight after the f-first round ended. I just wanted to make him feel me before the fight ended. I didn’t come out in this round planning on winning.”
Everyone in the entire building was stunned. The reporter was the only one who recovered smoothly. “Is there anyone, any top contenders you would like to face next?”
“N-no,” Kelly said. “No. This wasn’t fair for Castillo. He was winning the fight and then lost it because of a cut. I say we should get a rubber match on sometime. I’d-” Kelly paused, and then said slowly, “I want a little break from fighting, though. I’ve been fighting nonstop for more than two years now. I think I deserve that much.”
“Indeed, no one deserves it more right now,” The man was starting to pull away. “Justin Kelly, ladies and gentlemen!”
Kelly grabbed the microphone and snatched it away. His breathing was labored, but he spoke as well as he could, still stuttering. He had never spoken in front of a huge crowd before. “I came in here tonight, thinking that I wasn’t gonna fight much longer,” he said. “I was thinking ab-about retiring early. But coming here tonight, seeing friends and family, and seeing the fans and how they love what we do, I think I’ll stay-stay for a little while longer.”
The crowd jumped to its feet, cheering wildly for him. He went on. “I just wanna thank Sam Young, who’s fighting next, f-for being a brother to me, and I wanna thank Bob here,” Kelly pulled Bob into a semi-hug. “For being a father to me. I wanna thank all my friends who came tonight, and finally, I think it’s only fair if-if I t-thank God for all the battles that He’s pulled me through. Hopefully He can pull through again next time.”
Kelly was done after that. He went into the locker room with his soul flying free for the first time in months.

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I'm so post-rock I shit sad birds

Kruppo

Sam Young was in the ring, feeling good. Kelly sat with the rest of the gang in the locker room, watching a small television in the room, while Kelly was getting stitches for his cut.
Sam was grinning widely as he hugged Axe, who was in his corner after all. The ref started the fight. Everyone in the room, even the drunken Mel, shut his mouth and watched in awe as Sam tore through the bigger fighter.
The man didn’t even look like he knew what he was doing. One moment Sam was tagging him with short-ranged leg kicks and jabs. Just when Sam’s opponent, a large, sluggish character, went in for a haymaker, Sam had his head and was kneeing him. The fellow to several to the cranium and went down. The ref counted to seven when the guy got back up. Everyone in the locker room cheered when the ref asked for the man to walk to him, the man fell back over, clearly out on his feet. Sam won his first professional bout by T.K.O.
“Well, this was a good night out,” Stan said as he patted Kelly on the shoulder. “Hope you don’t feel bad, bud, but uh, me and Elisa gotta get back and get to Marisa. Sorry we won’t be coming to the afterparty.”
Kelly waved him away. The doctor sewing the cut up on Kelly’s forehead sighed sadly. “Sixteen stitches; you won’t be doing anything for a while, son. Sorry if you had plans.”
Kelly didn’t answer. He was remaining perfectly still. “Well, we’d better let the doc take care of him.” Bob ushered everyone out “C’mon.”
Everyone but Tara left. She went over to Kelly and squeezed his hand, and then smile. Kelly smiled back.
“I’ll see you later.” Tara promised before she left as well.
After the door shut, the doctor commented, “Quite a package of fans you got there. You’re a lucky man.”
“More lucky than you realize.” Kelly said softly.
“I’m sure.” The doctor said. “So why does everyone call you ‘Smalls’ anyways? What’s with the nickname?”
“I’m not Smalls anymore.” Kelly said after waiting a beat.
The door opened, and this time, Sam and Axe both came in, their eyes on him, on the gold title belt that sat next to Kelly on the bench.
“Not anymore.” Kelly repeated. “I’m Justin Kelly. I got here and won the fight because I wasn’t alone.”

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I'm so post-rock I shit sad birds

Kruppo

“Thanks, Black. I’ll speak with him now and let him know. Thanks.” Sam hung up the cellphone and sauntered over to the table where Lindsey sat. They were outside, at the park having a celebratory picnic. Even Bob had decided to attend.
“Will you take a look at that kid?” Bob said as he and Sam both sat down next to Lindsey. “He’s happier than I’ve ever seen him.”
He was referring to Kelly, who sat in between Tara and Stan. Mel and Claudia were playfully arguing something stupid with Stan abot politics, and Stan was looking to be on the losing end. Finally, Stan got up tackeld Mel, and they rolled around for a full minute when Mel had Stan pinned to the ground amidst everyone’s laughter.
Kelly was grinning from ear to ear. He and Tara shared a glance, both smiling, and went back to watching Stan and Mel screw around. Sam chuckled as he surveyed the scene.
“Smalls is dead, finally.” Sam said. “That’s why he’s happy.”
Bob nodded. “I have no idea by what you mean by that, but I’ll take it as a good sign.” He stood up. “Now if you’ll excuse me, Claudia has found the sandwiches.”
Lindsey and Sam both laughed at the old man as he walked towards the others. “So Kelly’s not what I expected.” Lindsey said to Sam.
Sam blinked. “What do you mean?” he asked.
“He’s…I don’t know, like a little kid? Or something,” She said. “He’s just pure-hearted. That Tara girl, let me tell ya? She’d be a very lucky girl if she stayed with him.”
“Who said they’re together?” Sam raised an eyebrow.
Lindsey shrugged. “Who knows? I just said that she’d be lucky. He’s a good guy.”
“Yeah,” Sam agreed. “Yeah. That he is.”
They both watched as Elisa excused herself, requiring the bathroom. Without a word to him, Elisa handed baby Marisa to Kelly and walked away before he could say or do anything. He stared the baby in his arms, baffled about what to do with the small creature.
It was too much for Sam and Lindsey; they both cracked up, leaning against each other, bursting out with laughter, as Tara gently took the baby from Kelly’s arms and cradled Marisa properly. Kelly grinned, blushing.
“Good kid.” Sam murmured again.
Indeed, Kelly was.

Later on, when evening was strolling around, Sam pulled Kelly aside from the others so that they could talk. They both sat on the table, elbows against their legs, leaning forward.
“Well, I spoke with Black,” Sam began. “Looks like he granted your request. Given how bad the scarring is on Castillo’s face, and the scarring on yours is, the fight won’t happen for six months.”
Kelly sighed with relief. “Finally.” He said. “I-I appreciate your help.”
“I’m still your manager, man,” Sam said. “Anything you need, you know you only have to ask.”
“Yeah, I know.” Kelly sighed. “So what about you? What’s your next move?”
“Mm? I don’t know,” Sam shrugged with his hands. “I’ll probably fight at one eighty-five. Black’s got several fight options for me. We’ll see when I’ll be fighting again.” He nudged Kelly. “Looks like you’ll be cornering me for the next couple of months, kid, instead of it being the other way around.”
Kelly smiled. “Yeah.” He said. “Looks like.”
They sat there, while the sun slowly went down. Bob called to them. “Hey, morons! It’s getting dark, are you coming along or what?”
They would be along. But for the moment, both fighters sat there, contemplating the battles they had survived in order to reach where they were standing in life. They both were aware that they had only survived yet another round in the war of Life, however; there were many more battles to be waged, in the ring, and out of it. There were many more scars to be worn with pride, and there were many more punches to give and take.
A glanced shared between them earned them both a smile from the other. They understood. They knew too well that things weren’t ending; they were only beginning. This was just the one minute-corner break for them; soon they would have to get back up on their feet, and put their fists up for another round. They knew all too well. They had seen the struggles of Life. They had endured their share. They were fighters. They wouldn’t go down without a fight. It was just how Sam and Kelly were.
It was in their blood.

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I'm so post-rock I shit sad birds

Kruppo

THE END...

362 pages long, 43 chapters. The best I've ever done.

Any critiquing? Anybody?

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I'm so post-rock I shit sad birds

dcastillo

castillo got jobbed, but very well done....

AcidRain

Dude, that was great. A few miner grammar errors but other then that id say go try and publish it.

Thank you very much for this.

AcidRain

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Jean Baptiste Spears

not today. definately, though.