The second I turned my head—he was already on me. Cody’s boots thundered against the mat as he lunged forward, barbed wire bat gripped tight in his fists. I didn’t even have time to brace—just instinct. I threw up my arms to shield my face.
CRACK.
White-hot pain tore through both arms as the bat collided, barbed wire biting deep into my flesh. I screamed—but the sound barely made it past clenched teeth. Blood dripped fast and hot, trickling down to my hands as I staggered back, vision blurring. The world spun. My knees buckled. But I didn’t fall. I wouldn’t. "Cody!" I gasped, my voice hoarse. "You don’t have to do this—please—"
But there was no hesitation in his eyes. No remorse. Just that same fire. Cold. Unrelenting. He roared and charged again—and this time, I wasn’t fast enough. His shoulder slammed into my gut like a freight train. Spear. I hit the mat hard, but it wasn’t the canvas that stole my breath—it was the crunch of glass beneath me.
I shrieked. Glass from the fluorescent tube I’d broken earlier embedded itself into my back, piercing through skin and muscle. I writhed under him, body convulsing, blood slicking the mat beneath me. “Guh—” I coughed violently, crimson staining my lips. My whole body shuddered. My arms were bleeding freely now, hot rivulets painting the mat beneath me. I could feel the glass shifting when I moved—every inch of my back lit up in pain. Cody stood over me like a shadow. He reached down, his hands rough as he grabbed a fistful of my gear and hauled me up like I weighed nothing.
“Why won’t you stay down?!” he growled, his voice rough, warped with rage.
I gasped, head lolling. “Because you’re still in there,” I rasped, spitting more blood. “And I’m not leaving without you.”
He didn’t respond. Instead, he hurled me toward the ring like I was nothing. My body hit the ropes and then the mat with a sickening thud. I screamed again, glass digging deeper, skin tearing. The blood soaking my top was no longer just Cody’s. The world was noise. The roar of the crowd. The pounding in my ears. My heartbeat like thunder on a battlefield. I could barely see. Could barely breathe. Cody slid into the ring behind me, looming like a nightmare as he rose to his full height above me. I looked up—barely able to lift my head—and met his eyes.
And for a moment, just a moment, I saw it.
The war.
Rage. Pain. Regret. All of it. Swirling in that fire. I coughed again, more blood spilling from my lips as my body trembled. My cheek was pressed to the mat, arms sprawled at my sides, glass still poking out of my back. My tears had mixed with the blood now—streaming down my face unchecked. I forced my head up a little higher. “Cody…” My voice was barely audible. He didn’t flinch. Didn’t move. “Do you even recognize yourself anymore?” I whispered. “Or did you kill that man when you picked up that bat?”
Still nothing. I tried to push up onto one arm—my left. The pain was searing, and I bit down on a scream. “Remember when we trained together?” I wheezed. “You used to hold back. You’d smile when I got the better of you. You were… kind.”
His jaw clenched.
“You said I kept you grounded… kept you human.” My voice cracked. “Where did he go, Cody? Where did you go?”
He opened his mouth—like he wanted to speak. Like something inside him was clawing its way back up. But then… his gaze hardened again. The fire didn’t die. It just burned colder. I felt my heart break—really break—as the last of my strength ebbed away. My body gave out, the adrenaline finally running dry. I collapsed against the mat with a sob, blood smearing beneath me. “…please,” I choked out one last time. “Don’t make me fight a ghost…”
And then darkness crept in. My eyes fluttered shut. And I passed out in the ring—bathed in blood, memory, and heartbreak.
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