never know what can happen or what weapons can leave the ring. You’re safer here. He would want you in this seat.”
Maximo is right. Tongue wants me here, waiting for him when he is done. My excitement is soured by that eerie feeling again. I glance around the room, searching for something, anything to explain this, but all I see is blood-hungry people cheering on Tongue to kill a man.
I would feel bad, but the giant was going to do the same thing to Tongue. It’s survival of the fittest and my man is the strongest of them all.
“What is it?” Maximo asks, staring out into the crowd, following my line of sight.
“Nothing, I thought I saw someone I knew.” It’s a lie, but what can Maximo do for me? He’d probably throw me in the ring given a chance.
No, thank you.
I wouldn’t survive.
I’ll cheer on the killer any day of the week, but I know my limits.
“Holy Moly.” I’m in awe when I see Tongue kick the giant to his back, rip the knife from his heart, and dive into his mouth to cut his tongue out. He tosses the appendage to the side, then from right to left slices his opponent’s throat.
Blood. Is. Everywhere.
A loud roar leaves Tongue, and from where he is standing, he points the knife at me as it drips his victim.
“Does he get a break now?” I ask, hoping I can get him some water or something, but Maximo throws his head back and laughs.
“Oh, you sweet, innocent thing. No. The fights will only get harder as time goes on. Only the best of the best survive.”
I’m about to argue, but two fighters come out from the hallway at the same time and they both have samurai swords. I stand and stabs my finger in Maximo’s chest. “That wasn’t apart of the rules! That isn’t fair.”
“Oh, darling. Nothing is fair in love and war; don’t you know that? People pay for a show.”
I’m panicking now. They have fucking swords, and they scale the fence fast and agile, as if it’s something they do every day just for the hell of it. Tongue doesn’t seem worried and that must be nice because I’m freaking the fuck out. He licks the blade, then spits the blood out onto the dirt floor, gesturing the men with the much bigger swords to come at him.
They circle one another for so long, the crowd start to boo and become restless.
“What is he doing?” I ask myself, watching Tongue’s eyes dart from one man to the next. He doesn’t attack first. He is waiting for one of them to.
One samurai cuts through the air, and Tongue takes the opportunity to dive left, grab the man’s arm, and without hesitation, controls the enemy’s arm, slicing the sword through the air. For a minute, no one sees what happened.
Until the head of the second samurai falls to the ground. Tongue uses the guy’s hesitation as he watches his friend’s head roll across the ground and uses it as an advantage. Instead of using his own weapon, Tongue kills the man in his arm with his own sword, stabbing him right through the heart.
The crowd shouts in Tongue’s victory, but he ignores the attention. He straddles the dead’s lap and from here I can see the large erection tenting his jeans as he cuts out the tongues of the fallen. He tosses them to the side next to the giant’s.
“Three down, two to go,” Maximo informs.
Tongue wipes his forehead with the back of his hand, spins his weapon around as he searches for his next kill. “Who is next?” he yells, the boom from his lungs is louder than the shouts of the crowd.
A tall man wearing a grey hood comes out next, and his weapon is a gun. He climbs up the fence and jumps down, aiming the weapon at Tongue.
“No!” I cry and try to launch myself at the fence. I will do anything to get between the bullet and Tongue.
When the hood drops, I gasp, my stomach cramping at the man I see.
Andrew.
My only friend.
“It gets better, sweetheart,” Maximo’s sly words slither down my spine like the dangerous snake that he is.
I can tell Tongue is surprised, but not for long because he laughs, and his laughter quiets the excitement of the crowd. “Oh, my-oh-my, is it good to see you.”
“Shut up!” Andrew hisses and when his eyes land on me, then Maximo, I know how he got here.
“What did