Fight Club

2563 words

4 years ago..

"Claudia.." A faint voice in the distance was heard. My eyes were shut tight as I laid uncomfortably on the hard mattress. I was half asleep when the voice rang in my head, I was so sure it was a dream. But then it came again, "Claudia!"

The yell was enough to jerk me out of, what I thought was, a dream. My eyes finally opened but soon closed again, squinting from the light behind the half opened door to my room. "Commander Shumway?" I murmured after my eyes fixed on the man who stood tall before me.

I glanced behind him seeing two guards with their arms set behind their back as if the Commander needed protection from a 13 year old girl.

"W-What's going on?" I asked him cluelessly earning a smile from his behalf.

"You've been chosen, child." He spoke but provided no context which only confused me more.

"..Chosen for what?" I continued to question the man until I understood.

He chuckled to himself, glancing behind to the guards before turning to me again, "We're going to make a fighter out of you."

And without another word, the men grabbed me aggressively, much to my protest. "What are you doing?" I asked frantically, struggling to get out of their strong hold. They continued with a stone cold expression, ignoring my dismay and picking me up as if I was a feather. Their grip was so tight it could've left marks. "Let go of me!" I kicked and pulled but couldn't get out of the restraint no matter how hard I tried.

...

Present Day..

I stared down my opponent after I had tied my hair into a ponytail. I knew, not only with my experience, but from their appearance, this event wouldn't last more than two minutes. I swallowed nervously, fighting back tears, not wanting to perform what had become my daily ritual since I was a child. No matter how many times I went through the procedure, it never became second nature.

I glanced over to Shumway, who watched intensively, ready for the games to begin. It was sick. But there wasn't anything I could do.

I waited in agony for the cue. That damn cue I was so tired of.

"Begin!" Shumway ordered and I took a deep breath as my adversary charged towards me in an angry manor. Her movements were amateur-like, as if she hadn't been trained her whole life. She thrusted her right fist towards my face but I ducked quickly, already bored of my so-called competition.

I jabbed an elbow into her back causing her to fall onto the floor with a grunt but she was quickly back on her feet in no time.

Again, she threw a fist but this time I grabbed the clenched hand, twisting it behind her back and giving a hard kick into the side of her knee until I heard a crack as she yelled out in pain, forcing down onto her other knee.

I wrapped a leg around her torso, falling down onto the floor and wrapping my arm around her neck and my hand over her mouth, blocking her air flow.

She struggled against my hold, reaching for my face and repeating the pattern until she finally stopped fighting and all her movements came to an end.

I sighed, letting go of the girl and frowning at her limp body, seeing that her chest was still and her breathing was now something she would never experience again. Shumway began to clap, as well as the other teenagers that surrounded me.

He did this to me. That day, four years ago, he told me he would make me a fighter. A warrior. But little did I know he was going to set me up to kill other teenagers like myself to become stronger. It was horrible, cruel. He said to me, "Channel your anger towards the Chancellor for floating your parents into this.." How could he manipulate me like that? I was thirteen.

He told me winning came with privileges like a later curfew but losing meant death. I didn't want to do it. I didn't. I still don't. But he pushed me. He pushed, and pushed, and pushed. Telling me that if I didn't win, he'd kill me himself.

Until it was too late. I'm 17 now, and the long-reigning champion. So they called me. I went from being a naïve little girl to a killer combat. I hated it. Some competitions were quick. Some long. But all of them were hard. It was kill or be killed, nothing more. Nothing less. I still don't know the reasoning behind this teenage fight club. I sometimes wish that I were never picked to be his stupid champion but then I remember if it wasn't me, it would've been someone else.

"Ah, yes, my child. You have made me proud." Shumway approached me with a grin while I stood with a straight face. "I know you still don't appreciate this opportunity and the warrior I have made of you-"

"Machine, you mean." I corrected with a snap and his grin soon fell into an intimidating stare which sent chills down my spine from the way his dark brown eyes had turned to a dark black.

"Watch yourself." His voice spoke deeply, glaring into my eyes causing me to nod slowly in an apologetic manor. His scary expression turned into a neutral one as he turned behind him, calling over another fighter, "Alec!"

Alec. My only competition. Shumway decided the two of us were too good to go to waste like the others so instead we trained to become the best of the best. Alec was also my secret boyfriend. Secret. Shumway made a strict no-dating rule and if we were to break any of his rules we would be killed. No matter how good of fighters we were. It was dumb, but he refused to be disobeyed.

The handsome dark-haired boy jogged over to the two of us, sending me a faint smile that I returned subtly. Shumway placed a firm hand on his shoulder, "Train with Claudia for the remaining thirty minutes. I won't be present but fair warning, my guards will." He glanced over to the two pricks watching over the teenagers like hawks.

"Yes sir." Alec nodded once earning a pat on the back from Shumway. The man nodded towards me once before leaving Alec and I in private.

The two of us began to 'train' together lazily. The guards grew careless over the years and didn't pay much attention to the two of us since we held higher rank than the others so Alec and I saw this as an opportunity to talk about the dates we'd go on; courtesy of our extended curfew. Sure, we couldn't do much considering we were floating through space but it didn't matter to us. As long as we were together.

"I missed you." Were the first words he said to me while he threw a lazy punch that I dodged with ease. I smiled at the boy,

"I missed you, too." I threw a quick kick to his side which he caught instantly like a reflex. "What are we doing tonight?" I questioned my partner as he threw down my foot, grabbing my hand and spinning me into his body so that my back was to his chest.

"I have a plan." He whispered into my ear, making me giddy and anxious.

I grabbed his hand, flipping him over so that his back was now laid out on the floor while I stood over him, "What's the plan?"

He smirked, pulling my foot from under me causing me to fall onto my back with a groan. He crawled over me, pinning my arms above my head, "We're done with this stupid fight club, okay? We're gonna threaten Shumway and tell him if he doesn't give this up, we'll go to the Chancellor."

I rose my eyebrows in shock as soon as the words came out of his mouth. "Seriously, Alec? Don't you think it's kinda crazy? Like Shumway will give in to us."

"We have to try." He opposed my statement as I took a deep breath, "We can't keep killing people." He spoke in a hushed tone and I nodded sadly in agreement. I was fed up and wanted a change. Besides, what could Shumway do? Tell the Chancellor we rebelled against his idea to pit us against each other and kill? He'd get himself floated.

"Okay. I'm in." I let out a deep breath I didn't even know I was holding in the first place. Alec smiled and I took this as an opportunity to flip over the both of us so that I was now the one pinning his arms above his head.

He smiled, leaning up to give me a risky kiss. I gave in for a moment before I pulled away, "I love you."

"I love you, too."

...

I sat in my bed, tying my shoes and waiting for Alec to arrive at my door. It was our nightly routine granted from our extended curfew. But instead of a date, tonight would be different. We're going to get our freedom.

I heard the tapping at my door, springing up instantly at the sound in anxiousness and opening the door, revealing my boyfriend. I jumped into his arms, wrapping my arms around him with a small smile before pulling away. He planted a quick kiss on my lips with a smile, "Are you ready?"

I nodded silently, grabbing his hand and interlacing it with mine. He nodded once in understanding before turning and leading the both of us down the hallway.

Luckily, other guards on duty knew of our extended curfew because they took part in the confidential fight club. Some still asked for our ID chips in disbelief of our excuses.

"There he is." Alec whispered, pulling us back behind a wall and letting go of my hand to point at the man whos face I would never forget. He stood conversating with another guard in laughter. I wanted to roll my eyes in disgust. He didn't deserve to be happy.

"Look, the guard's leaving." I commented as the tall suited man began to walk off and Shumway now focused on the tablet that was held in his hands.

"Stay here." Alec instructed before lunging forward and grabbing Shumway in a protective hold, covering his mouth but that didn't stop him from his protestant muffles.

Alec walked backwards carefully back to behind the wall where I watched intently, not missing a beat. He pinned Shumway against the wall, still holding his hand over his mouth so he wouldn't yell. Shumway's eyes widened largely as he grew angry once he saw the two of us but I ignored it when I spoke,

"Listen up, Shumway." I crossed my arms as I glared at him with pure hate, "I think it's safe to say you ruined our lives. Forcing us to be these.. machines. Well our fighting days are over. Because if you don't shut this shit down for good, we'll go to the Chancellor." His eyes widened again once I warned him.

"Now it doesn't have to come to that." Alec smirked, "You can call off this bullshit and let us go, all of us, or.. you can get floated and we're free either way. It's your choice." He said, looking back at me for approval to which I nodded with a smile. "I'm going to uncover your mouth.. if you yell.. well, you're not going to be happy with the consequences."

Shumway nodded slowly while Alec removed his hand from his mouth. The both of us watched in anxiousness, waiting for him to express himself. Presumably anger. Fear. Something. At first it was silent until he chuckled causing my eyebrows to knit together in confusion.

"You two are so ungrateful." He scoffed, glancing between Alec and I in disappointment. "Look at the people I have made you. The warriors-"

"We didn't ask for this!" I slammed him against the wall angrily as he rose his hands in defense, "Now do we have a deal or not?"

Shumway stayed quiet or a while until he nodded making me sigh in relief, "Meet at regular time tomorrow and I'll announce it to the rest of you. Deal?"

Alec nodded before quickly grabbing me as we ran off before he changed his mind.

...

"Where is he?" I asked Alec for the thousandth time that day. It was the next afternoon and it couldn't come soon enough. It was the day I'd get my freedom- my life back. All of us would. Except Shumway was thirty minutes behind- which was unusual behavior of him. "Do you think he went back on the deal?" I whispered aside to my Alec while the rest of the teenagers stood confused, not knowing what to do since there was no authority present. Not even guards.

"Screw it, we're going to Jaha." Alec grabbed my hand, walking so quickly to the exit, my feet couldn't keep up while I stumbled.

As soon as he reached for the door, it flew open and in walked Chancellor Jaha with a couple of guards behind him. Next to him stood none other than Shumway, who was wearing a wide smirk that wouldn't last long after Alec and I exposed what he's been doing for the past four years.

"Chancellor Jaha, we were just on our way to tell you that Shumway-" I began but was soon cut off by the guard approaching my boyfriend and I mercilessly.

"Claudia Hensley, Alec Anderson, you're under arrest for the forcing of teenagers to partake in battles to the death and killing hundreds of them yourselves." The Chancellor spoke coldly while our hands were roughly forced behind our backs and locked into thick cuffs.

"But we didn't! It was him!" I argued, glancing over to Shumway who pulled an innocent look.

"As I said, sir. I found out about it just yesterday. It sounded far-fetched to me at first but I found out it was terribly real." Shumway frowned and my mouth fell open in shock.

That dick!

"He's lying!" Alec yelled while they led us down the hallway, taking me to a cell, different from the room I slept in just last night.

I saw the guards continue to lead Alec past the cells and my heart beat began to race, "Where the hell are you taking him?" I yelled angrily while the guards undid my cuffs, pushing me forcefully to the ground and locking my cell shut.

I got up, looking through the glass of my door- having to stand on the tip of my toes to do so. Then it clicked- Alec was 18. Which means his crime would be treated like any other adult's would. And the punishment for a crime like this would be..

"Wait! No! Stop! We didn't do it!" I pounded rapidly on the glass with clenched fists, kicking against the door, doing anything and everything to stop them from floating him. "Let him go!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as tears ran down my face.

But once he entered that room.. he never came back.