Chapter 125 - Madness

Adea

My breath caught in my throat as the field broke out in madness. There was a blur of movement and I watched with wide eyes as the participants threw themselves at each other.

I watched as the participant who asked Ethan the question about the competition finishing on time grabbed one of the other participants by the face and threw him to the ground before kicking the fallen participant on the ribs repeatedly.

He didn’t stop until his opponent shouted in defeat. Blood oozed from his mouth and dripped down his chin. He showed no mercy as he made his way through three more opponents the same way.

He was vicious and showed no hint of remorse as he left a trail of people holding their sides. They slowly made their way for the sidelines and I worried the same opponent would cross paths with Gabe.

My eyes searched the field with an urgency to find my friend. Fists flew, people fell, and the grunts from the field were deafening. When my eyes found Gabe, a sense of nervousness slithered into my chest and put me on edge.

I hated the fact that I had to sit here and watch my best friend fight against trained warriors. I wanted nothing more than to jump to my feet and rush to my best friend and be his backup. My hands balled into fists as I fought the urge to run into the field.

Gabe’s muscles pumped fiercely as he sprinted towards one of the other participants who was a little shorter than him. He grabbed someone by the hair and dragged their face down as his knee came up strikingly fast.

Excitement bubbled up into my chest for the second time today as his knee connected with the man’s face and blood gushed out and splattered all over Gabe’s leg. He let go of his head and the man crumbled to the floor.

Knocked out.

Gabe stepped past his form on the floor and came face to face with another opponent who was larger than him. He lunged at him and took him down. His opponent fell backward and landed on the floor.

Gabe climbed on top of him and he cocked his fist back and as his fist connected with his opponent’s face mud splattered everywhere. With each punch, blood mixed with mud.

Relief flooded my senses and I felt my shoulders relax. I took my eyes off of Gabe to look at Odis. He was watching him with an intensity that almost had my heart beating fast. I leaned forward and watched him with a smile pulling at my lips.

Go, best friend.

“Isn’t my bestie amazing?” I call over to Odis. His eyes are still locked on Gabe but when he hears my voice he straightens his back. If I hadn’t already have been watching him I wouldn’t have noticed but I had been watching him and I did notice.

“He’s doing better than I thought he would,” Odis said in a cold voice.

“Oh, come on, you know his skill is a surprise. I’ve known him for a while and didn’t know he could move like that,” I said and pride filled my voice and I didn’t bother to try and hide it.

I looked back to my best friend who was still throwing punches. As soon as the participant was able to say he forfeit the competition, Gabe immediately stopped and got off of him. I watched his back as he handed the man in the mud his hand and pulled him to his feet before looking around him.

Gabe was doing an amazing job and I was excited to see how the competition would play out. I let my eyes wander over the other matches. I was curious to see how everyone else was holding up.

My eyes danced hungrily from one pair to the other. I noticed a few people were more evenly matched and were putting up a good fight.

The number of competitors had dropped by almost half and it was going to start getting serious. Only the best would be left to watch now. Something moved quickly in the corner of my eye and I turned my head to find the source of the movement.

My eyes found Zoe as she lunged at her opponent. He threw a fist out to hit her but she saw it coming and dodged it. She hunched low and darted towards her opponent’s lower half. I gasped as she made contact.

No way.

I knew what she was going to do and I could feel the laughter bubbling up. I covered my mouth to muffle my laugh. She gripped his goods in her hands and twisted with all the strength she had.

“She’s playing dirty,” Korra said, surprise lacing her voice.

“Well, if we’re being real here, Ethan announced the rules before the start of the competition. And… if I remember correctly, he didn’t say anything about forbidden areas,” I laugh.

“Still,” Korra said.

“No mercy, Kor,” I said.

Zoe’s opponent roared and I focused on their match again. He threw a fist at her face and it caught her jaw. Her head bounced back with the force but she held on and he continued to punch her without hesitation. He landed two more blows on her face before she let go.

He was angry and his fist tightened as he threw another punch and it landed on her cheekbone. I watched with wide eyes as she flew back. She hit the floor and her crumbled form stilled.

He cursed and I frowned as his eyes lock in on her sprawled form. He spat on the ground and watched her. It looked like he was giving her a moment to give up.

When she lifted her hand into the air, he shook his head. One hand gripped her cheek while the other curled around her side. He slowly made his way to her and if she didn’t get up she would be in trouble. I was nervous for her.

Get up!