The Fighter
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Rocky was hanging in there but the other boxer was fighting hard to get Rocky down. The crowd was going nuts, and the announcer said, “Look at that! He is trying to knock him out.”
“Come on Rocky,” I yelled. “You can do it!”
The crowd was chanting, “Rocky! Rocky! Rocky!” when all of a sudden they stopped cheering as another fight started up nearby where the two boxers were duking it out with their fists flying through the air over each other’s heads.
People were standing around watching this new fight instead of watching our bout like everyone else did every night inside the ring we fought in for points until one fighter could no longer continue.
When people say that both fighters had been knocked unconscious by blows from their opponent’s powerful punches, the audience cheered again because now nobody cared about who won or lost anymore; only whether these boxers got up again after being hit so many times before finally lying motionless on the canvas as blood sprayed onto them from holes left behind by hits with heavy gloves covering their hands.
They looked dead. Rocky took big, running steps toward his opponent and tried to land an uppercut right between the guy’s eyes which he hoped would punch straight into the top part of the skull causing massive brain damage and resulting in death without killing him immediately too.
He wasn’t able to connect however because the man was moving away from Rocky. Then Rocky’s face exploded from side to side several times while my stomach dropped down to the ground like something out of a nightmare that kept repeating itself. The announcer said, “This is unbelievable. Look at the way this one just bounces back up!”
I turned around expecting to see someone crawling off somewhere after being knocked out cold earlier along with his friend. Instead, Rocky bounced upright once more making me want to vomit again but not even able to make my mouth work.
My body wouldn’t listen to me as well and I collapsed to the floor landing with a thud. Something hurt badly above my head although it didn’t really seem possible given how much pain was shooting through everything else. “Where’s Rocky?” I asked.
“In trouble again, Sam,” Father Jack told me as he stood next to the priest still keeping watch over me while a stretcher came rushing past us carrying somebody else for emergency medical attention.
A very strong-smelling liquid dripped from the ceiling onto me before what felt like a giant hand-held me against its chest then lifted me high above my feet placing me back on solid ground outside the ring near Rocky as well.
His face was covered in blood which flowed freely from various parts of his person but he wasn’t looking at anything except me yet. And then he began coughing up blood onto the concrete walkway leading away from the boxing area towards the parking lot beyond, leaving bloody saliva droplets everywhere.
We got put in separate ambulances heading to different hospitals separated from each other because of the time involved in getting to either place if necessary. They made sure to tell me not to leave the vehicle once Rocky went into surgery which would be done in order to repair bones and ligaments of his shattered jaw bone and most likely damaged internal organs caused by a huge gaping hole punched out of his rib cage following a combination blow delivered by a wickedly sharpened steel shank.
If doctors weren’t successful at stitching his entire midsection together again and closing that nasty wound, a person’s digestive system was basically stuffed full with intestines poking straight up through his abdominal cavity ready to burst open at any moment which meant it might be better for him not to try and keep on breathing especially since his heart didn’t look like functioning properly.
Besides having lung damage as a result of inhaling thick clouds of smoke and dust from whatever exploding bomb blew up nearby first, he also needed to have multiple teeth pulled from his upper gums where blood vessels were severed followed by extensive nerve and tissue repairs elsewhere inside his mouth.
As horrible as these things sounded coming from a doctor sitting across from me wearing a suit and tie while explaining all sorts of things during his emergency consultation with me and Rocky.
Before taking the reins for all kinds of treatments began, they were nothing compared to learning later that I suffered an orbital fracture of the eye socket, second-degree burns over fifty percent of my torso along with needing skin grafts removed from the arms and legs of the women walking next to me who was helping her carry me into the ambulance to be taken somewhere safe where help would come fast after being hit directly in the chest by a rock-like object thrown at us.
While she jumped backward away from its path when some asshole ran directly towards us hollering insanely making me duck into a corner to avoid being caught in the blast zone.
As crazy as it seemed, I somehow survived all those terrible injuries in order to live another day while Rocky lay wounded inside the hospital undergoing every type of treatment imaginable. I only learned about that afterward from people telling me of various people passing along information they’d overheard or were otherwise informed of, though nobody knew exactly what kind of life he had left to lead without proper care.
Everybody was terrified whenever we passed through any crowded space filled with traffic congestion finding almost everyone staring at us suspiciously and pointing fingers instead of risking their lives trying to follow the two ambulances ahead inching slowly forward inch by slow fucking inch amidst heavy congested cars and trucks all going nowhere quickly.
Police cruisers intercepted our way constantly pulling up alongside and blocking us from moving further than half a mile per hour due to reckless drivers weaving in and out between vehicles and stopping at red lights before finally managing to break free of them and advance further down the street.
Those guys just wanted to get to a designated location as soon as humanly possible never realizing they’d already lost control of their vehicle until the thing suddenly started speeding forwards into an intersection waiting for the light to change while they sat there with both hands on the wheel afraid to move anywhere but hoping no one crashed right into them at such close range.
None did, however, simply ending up running wide when attempting to turn off abruptly despite the car actually traveling far too slow to safely attempt turning across other lanes so we kept passing dozens of stationary vehicles on streets not quite closed for accidents although many appeared to be badly hit with wreckage piled on top of other wrecked wrecks stuck together with twisted metal everywhere along with burning debris drifting about unattended under the hot summer sun as black clouds roiled overhead making me wish the weather would cool itself off asap.
All the while worried glances were cast in my direction wishing I could read minds seeing me wonder where everybody thought this was headed because it certainly couldn’t end well judging by the faces locked in vacant stares that radiated fear from my own flesh and blood relatives witnessing something completely out of character with everything seen before regarding the rest of their fellow Americans living in their hometowns.
Some people looked really scared wondering what kind of shit storm could be heading straight towards them while others just figured nobody deserved such treatment from anybody, even foreigners having lived here long enough to know how absolutely fucked up the U.S.A.’s reputation abroad had become in recent times.
The level of mistrust among citizens was frightening reaching new levels unknown prior to such madness happening, especially for people unfamiliar with outside cultures and unwilling to tolerate anything less than total compliance from outsiders whether immigrants or refugees from countries racked by war or civil strife trying to escape hell on earth back home.
An immediate backlash against non-white males was forming amongst fearful citizenry driven by rhetoric aimed solely at white men from previous generations demanding respect and tolerance toward newcomers even though lots of newer folks being born in America didn’t share the same attitudes based on much higher standards of conduct demanded from them because of constant reminders of what happened in the past regardless if you’re talking about discrimination decades ago or outright harassment today.
I tried to keep track of all the locations I saw throughout the city thanks to several broken mirrors inside my truck which helped but also made me dizzy after a while so I decided to give up on that effort knowing I’d be confused again anyway unless Rocky gave me detailed directions while helping him navigate around obstacles blocking our way because he wasn’t driving properly yet.
I figured he needed more time recovering mentally from the horrific experience we were enduring whilst assuring him repeatedly we’d make it to that location eventually so he could get whatever help he required to get better once his condition improved.
He listened patiently thanking me quietly feeling lucky to have escaped serious injury thus far since a lot of people got severely hurt in the wreck including at least three killed, none of whom weren’t seriously injured like us when the accident occurred.
***
“This is Captain Martin reporting on arrival to that meeting point marked for General Georgiou’s briefing,” said the pilot when flying around the area gathering details as usual without making contact via radio from high above using a few available search drones keeping track of potentially suspicious activity on the ground while requesting specific support should trouble to appear on radar unexpectedly. “As expected, the target convoy has arrived and disembarked safely although we’ve taken fire en route notifying their escort personnel accordingly.”
Lieutenant Commander Melendez went over the situation from the beginning to a pair of senior officers sitting next to each other sharing a room designed to accommodate only one person who managed not to wake up sleeping on the opposite side of the tiny space with blankets tucked neatly beneath the blanket stand despite still wearing boots on their feet causing her to cross herself every now and then thinking someone might happen upon them hearing footfalls walking across the thin carpet covering the floor between chairs during the night.
There was nothing she could do to stop the nightmares taking place inside her head haunting her waking hours during the day instead focusing on avoiding distractions caused by anxiety taking precedence over concentration while attending classes although she was certain she wouldn’t pass finals this semester failing miserably worse than ever unable to focus on material covered since entering college years earlier becoming consumed by paranoia after spending weeks listening intently to mysterious sounds coming from the direction of another female student regularly studying late into the wee small hours despite barely understanding most of what was being discussed in class during the day.
She couldn’t even understand what most classmates were saying at times looking directly ahead blankly while their voices seemed far away echoing inside her mind surrounded by a bubble.
Separating reality from imagination unable to take advantage of any opportunity presented regardless of how minor finding out the truth surrounding the dark entity tormenting everyone involved unwilling or incapable of warning anyone due to intense pain consuming much of her life if not destroying everything she loved.
Leaving her completely numb and useless experiencing feelings akin to sleep paralysis with no control over her body along with recurrent visions featuring the man known as Agent Smith that kept appearing and disappearing behind windows after lights suddenly went out forcing her to leave before an assistant dean appeared staring fixedly at her threatening to expel her permanently unless she promised never to return to campus grounds until assured nobody else would follow.
Made sure none of that stuff happened ever again if she signed a non-disclosure agreement agreeing to stay away from future sessions completely unaware there had been zero such promises previously although everyone knew better about what constituted a legitimate threat to the safety of others where those in authority had been lying countless times over.
Eventually deciding not to attend further lectures standing silently near the exit door looking at Lieutenant Commander Melendez after returning home. Listening to the distant sound of sirens as she closed the office suite’s blinds ignoring attempts by someone to wake her up demanding answers.
Having fallen asleep at some point early that morning holding a silver paperweight inscribed with “Stay awake!” written on its side used for preventing carpal tunnel syndrome resting comfortably atop her bed frame considered possibly applying for a full scholarship in the medical field.
And due to losing hope and faith in higher education causing her hands shook uncontrollably just trying to tie her shoes although fearing telling everybody precisely why felt too dangerous at best after seeing Professor Warner teaching multiple courses as if he didn’t know anything.
The End