The zone. Be the zone. Become the zone, and the zone will be you.
The zone was loud and all encompassing. Crashing metal and shredding guitar strings screamed in my ears. Get mad. Get angry.
My heels padded softly on the ground as they raced to keep up with the beat. I had to keep my calves warm. It was almost time.
I was ready. My feet were bare, and most of my skin was left exposed. Old bruises were spotted randomly against the white surface. The parts that were covered were bound and skin tight. I took deep breaths despite the resistance of my chest protector and gym bra. My long white hair was pulled back tight into a single ponytail.
A muffled sound almost broke my concentration. Focus.
"Jules!"
"Ow!" My headphones were yanked out of my ears. "Hey!" I protested.
"You weren't listening to me, were you." My manager scowled. His personality was just about as stiff as his gelled back hair. "If you don't pay attention, you're going to get killed out there."
"Yeah, yeah." I turned my iJunk off and stole my earbud back.
"Seriously Jules, you've got to be careful. You're not invincible, you know," he continued to berate me.
"Gotta admit, I've got a pretty good streak going." I threw him a cocky smile.
Of course, it did nothing but make things worse. "See! I knew it! I knew you were letting it get to your head."
"Oh relax, Westley. You make it seem like being undefeated is a bad thing." I held out my hand for him to wrap.
"It is for you." He wrapped the bandage firmly around my knuckles. "If you don't get your head out of your ass quick, you're going to get the beat down of your life. Remember, she has quite a bit of weight on you..."
"I know! We've been over this. I've been training like crazy! You've been training me like crazy! I'm more than ready. Maybe you should have a bit more confidence in yourself." I was starting to get a little irritated. It was almost like he was expecting me to lose after both of our hard work.
"Look, Jules, I just don't want to see you get seriously hurt out there."
His concern really was sweet, but totally unnecessary. I was usually at the bottom of my weight class. I knew how to fight girls heavier that me. Hell, I knew how to fight boys heavier than me. "I'll be careful, I swear. Just tell me one thing... Who's awesome?"
Westley gave up and sighed. "You're awesome."
"Damn right." Westley helped me slip on my gloves.
I got up from the chair and made a few practice punches. I was pumped. I felt like nothing in the world could stop me. I kissed my fist and pointed it at my manager. "This one's for you, baby bro."
The doors opened leading out tothe ring. The screams from the crowd and the fog just kept rolling in.
"Kick some ass, Jules!" I heard my brother call out to me.
The crowd was intoxicating. I lifted my arms, and they yelled louder. This was going to be a cinch.
The ref widened the gap between the ropes for me to slip into the ring. My opponent was already there.
Damn, she was huge. Like me, Anya was undefeated this year. I was lightly jumping with anticipation. I'd just have to be quick. All that weight would mean she was slow, right?
Once the ref was safely out of the ring, the bell to start the match dinged.
I immediately sprang into action. I started throwing punches left and right. I landed a right hook straight to her cheek before she could put up her gaurd.
Her head snapped back quickly. I got this feeling of dread. Even with her mouth gaurd, it seemed like she was smiling at me.
I avoided the straight punch she aimed at my nose. Her fist slammed against my ear. In the midst of the ringing in my head, her knee popped up and rammed into my ribs. Shit. Shit. I didn't have time to think about the pain. Was the crunch of my ribs breaking as audible as I thought it was?
She was able to kick me multiple times before I twisted out of the way. I had to keep her from going after the same spot again.
I fought my way closer. I sandwiched her head between my fists and jumped onto her. I twisted my legs around her torso and minimized the distance between us. I pounded on her head while simultaneously trying to use my legs to force her onto the mat. She didn't budge an inch. This was bad. This was very bad.
Her arm whipped out and punched the side of my head. The impact drew me back an inch. She used the opportunity to punch my ribs again. I could feel the grip in my legs slipping. Her next punch landed right on my cheekbone sending a searing pain throughout my head.
And I was flying. Or I was falling. Straight down and back. I tried to think to move my arms, but I just wasn't responding. Everything seemed to slow down. I saw the bright, white lights overhead followed by complete and sudden darkness.
I opened my eyes quickly. What was I thinking keeping them closed? I had to get up and start fighting before...
These weren't the bright lights I remembered. The cheering fans and the ring were gone. Instead, the noise seemed to be coming from some very annoying, beeping machinery. Somewhere extremely close by, there was a siren.
The ground undulated roughly, and I immediately knew where I was.
"Aw shit!" I cussed loudly.
"Hey, hey, I've got you," a gentle voice said.
I hissed as a hand lifted my head and placed another pillow beneath it. The back of my head was extremely sore. It felt like a concussion. "Ow fuck!"
"It'll be okay. I'm here to take care of you, Jules. Do you remember what happened?" The hand and its source had a pen light and shined it directly into my eyes.
"Yeah, I lost," I said bitterly. "I got KO'd. Knocked the fuck out."
"Just relax it'll all be okay," the gentle voice said again.
"Easy for you to say. To you, it'd be like..." I started as my eyes adjusted.
Crouching beside me was the single most beautiful creature I had ever seen. His hair was the color of honey and sunshine. Behind his glasses were a pair of forget-me-not violet eyes. I blinked my eyes to make sure I hadn't died and gone to a heaven that happened to exactly look like the inside of an ambulance. I could have sworn his name tag read Dr. Sexy instead of Dr. Williams.
"Your manager was worried when you didn't respond after a few minutes and thought it'd be best for you to be taken to a hospital," Dr. McGorgeous informed me.
"A-are all the paramedics this hot or am I just lucky?" I blurted out.
He gave me a small smile. I felt like I could faint again. "I think you're still a little loopy, Miss Bielschmidt."
He wrote something on a clipboard. "You most likely have a concussion, so I'd recommend you take it easy a couple of days. We're almost at the hospital. Your doctor there will have more information for you." He held a cold pack up against my cheekbone.
"When can I see you again," I asked desperately. I might not have a lot of time left.
"Hopefully, you won't have to see me for a long time," he answered with a laugh.
The ambulance stopped. I looked up to see the doors open to take my gurney away from him. Somebody else took over pressing the cold pack against my face.
"But what if I want to!" I called out to him.
He just laughed some more. "I hope you have a speedy recovery, Jules."
No! It was too late! I was rolled out of the ambulance, and the mysterious Dr. Williams closed the doors behind him. That was just my luck. First, I lost out on all the match prize money, and now, the most perfect man just slipped through fingers.
I clenched my fists. They hadn't bothered to remove my gloves just yet. I swore to myself I wouldn't let either of them get away. Not that Anya bitch or the sexy paramedic doctor.