Chapter 1 - the beginning
February 1981,
Life on the streets of Wood Oak City was tough growing up, especially for any 11 year old kid. Axel was never big into school but he had friends and popularity which helped. Every afternoon him and Adam Hunter would hang out. Often they would visit Adam's house after school together watching TV or hanging out by the arcade machines on the other side of the street.
Originally, these two were not friends though. When Axel first enrolled at their high school 3 months ago, Adam and his friends tormented him. They would steal his lunch, his equipment, and they even went the whole mile in vandalising his locker. When Axel had had enough, he ended up getting into a fight with Adam outside the Science labs. For two 11 year old boys, the fight was messy and got bloody at one point. Neither knew each other could fight the way they did.
Hunter began to lose his popularity in the school when an outsider matched up to him. That day, the principal called Mrs Hunter and Mrs Stone to the office, but only Adam's mom attended the meeting. They tried to contact Axel's mother on several occasions, but as usual she was out working most of the afternoon and night. The teenage boy had an older brother in prison at the time and with his father gone, there was nobody else to take care of him most of the time. At first Axel hated his new school and he resented his mother for making them move to this part of Wood Oak City. He could see it but his mom was blind to it. She thought that moving here would be a good opportunity but the whole idea ended up being a waste of time.
Mrs Hunter felt pity for the boy who got into a fight with her son. Her husband who was a cop made background checks of his home and parents but they could see that they were struggling. She also knew her sons very well. Adam was the eldest of two boys and was very close with his father. But he could be trouble at times. This was the 5th fight he had been in this semester with another student so no matter how innocent he acted in front of her, she knew the truth and was smarter than he gave her credit for.
When they found out about Axel's home life, Adam felt guilty for bullying him. He never meant to but the other boys he was hanging with pressured him into doing it. Adam knew what right and wrong was. One day, he swallowed his pride and apologized to the boy for being an asshole. "Hey, I'm sorry. For everything and the fighting, I didnt mean to..." Adam sunk his head guiltily.
"I've had worse fights than with you" Axel replied.
Adam confidently laughed back at him. "How is that even possible?"
"The school before this one was even more of a dumpster."
"Where did you come from?"
"Wood Oak South, Longsdale bay"
"No way?!" Adam's eyes widened with surprise. "That place is a real stack of shit then,"
"You don't know the half of it."
"Hey wanna hang out? Spar after school?"
"Sure!" Axel replied.
After that day the two of them became inseparable as friends. Most days Axel would go straight to Adam's house after school for Mrs Hunter's homecooked dinners which were the best. Every Tuesday she would rustle up spiced stewed chicken followed by homemade pecan pie. Her cooking was the best and it sure beat the microwave meals and left over take outs Axel's mom used to leave him with.
Usually he would stay over until 8. Sometimes his mother, Melanie Stone would pick him up if she was sober. Other times she failed to show up. As he got older, every night Axel would take the 20 minute walk back home by himself. He got to know the streets well enough compared to most boys his age.
Then one night, he heard a familiar voice in the distance.
"This is all I got left, I swear!"
Behind one of the gas stations, he could see his mom arguing with a man. The guy was dressed smartly in gray pleated pants, a half open buttoned shirt and large shades over his eyes. His brown hair was thick on the sides but balding on top. He looked as if he was in his early 40s. He reached forward, placing one hand around her neck whilst his shiny silver watch reflected off the street light above. He then tugged his other hand at her blond hair.
"Please, I'll get you the money I swear!" She cried out.
"You're gonna pay me back what you owe one way or another, lady! I don't care whether you have to continue working on these streets or who you have to beg to sleep with your sorry ass. I don't even give a fuck if you gotta steal that shit! You have until midnight or I'll..."
"HEY!" The now teenager shouted from a distance. He could see in his mother's eyes that she didn't want him to approach any closer than he already was.
"Axel, stay back!" She pleaded in strangulation.
"Let her go!" The 13 year old ordered.
"Or what kid? You gonna cry?" The thug laughed.
"I'm warning you!" Axel tightly clenched his fists. Inside he was shaking but outside his exterior was intense and it hid his nerves.
The man smirked then turned his head back towards Melanie, "is this your boy?"
"Yes. Please don't hurt him I'll get you the money!" She nodded.
"No need sweetheart". He winked. He suddenly pulled out a knife then he violently forced it straight through Melanie's stomach.
"MOM! NO!" Axel shouted running towards her.
He knelt down on the ground by the side of her body with tears in his eyes as the man looked down at him. "You'll pay for this!" The boy heavily breathed, giving him the deadliest stare.
"I'm sure I will kid. But first, you'll pay off this bitch's debt!" He laughed.
"I'll kill you for this!"
Axel could hear several footsteps behind them as his mother laid helplessly on the ground in a pool of blood. Sixteen thugs were staring down at him as if they were ready to open the doors to the gates of hell. Most of them were wearing red head bands with denim waistcoats and jeans and the remaining few were wearing brown martial arts gi's.
Axel could fight but 17 others were too much for a 13 year old to take on his own. He knew he had no choice but to get up leave with them. "Ata boy!" The guy in the shades smirked.
Axel quietly stepped into their car. The boy wasn't to be seen again by any of his friends or Adam's family for another 4 years until they finally met again when he turned 17.
April 1987
18 year old Adam hadn't changed a single bit. He was confident, sometimes arrogant but smarter than everyone else around him including the girls who flocked to him like flies. He enjoyed every part of adolescence from house parties to late night clubs. He was keen to live life exactly how he wanted this summer before having to enrol at the local police academy that his father pushed him into.
One night him and his friends stumbled across a bar named L-Devo. It had opened only 3 months ago so they were keen to check it out. As the group entered, the bouncers had their eyes on them like hawks. The vibe of the place wasn't the most welcoming but the music and dance floor was good. The sound of Public Enemy Number 1 and Squeeze the Trigger sealed the deal for Adam and his friends to stay and get a drink. As he sat by the bar he could see flashing lights behind it to the side with a red curtain. Throughout the night, high class gangsters walked in and out of those doors with women by their sides and bodyguards behind them.
Adam wondered what lied behind that curtain so he tried to see.
"Hey, do you have a ticket?" A bouncer halted him.
"No, erm..."
"This place is off limits. Only ticket holders or fighters are allowed beyond this point!"
Adam's eyes immediately lit up. "Well Ima fighter!"
For a second the bouncer examined him from head to toe. Adam did give off the physique of a fighter. "What style do you fight?"
"Boxing".
"Give me a sec..." The bouncer turned away then came back a few moments later.
"You're in luck kid. We're in need of a boxer tonight. Come on in, winner takes $200."
"Alright!" Adam grinned, clapping his hands together. His two friends tried to follow him in.
"No! You two need to wait outside, members and fighters only" the bouncer repeated.
"Hunter, what are you doing?" Jimmy said to him.
"Just wait here, theres 200 bucks in it for us! I'll be half hour, tops!"
The bouncer interrupted, "you're fight is scheduled at 11:45!"
"Shit" Adam sighed.
"I'm goin' home man!" His other friend, Ben shook his head. It wasn't long before they left.
Once Adam entered the underground area, it was smaller than he expected. Given the amount of gangsters with their entourages who entered, this place was small and crowded. It had a bare concrete floor in the middle of it which the crowd surrounded. By the sides they were busy placing bets and smoking every type of pot you could imagine.
"Wait here kid," the bouncer advised.
"What am I doing? Who am I fighting?" Adam asked.
"I'll go easy on you I promise, but that 200 bucks is mine!"
"HUH?" Adam's eyes widened with disappointment "I'm fighting YOU?!"
"It's better than pitting you up against Abadede. Do you really wanna get killed?"
"My guy, whatever your name is..."
"It's Max, Max Thunder".
Adam let out a small giggle, "well, Max Thunder, whatever your name is, you ain't seen me fight!"
"I know your father's a cop. You being here is enough to shut us down, so if your ass is killed the feds will be all over us. But I want my 200 tonight and I need an opponent..."
"Game on!" Adam smirked. "And so what if my father is a cop, I'ma still whoop your..." he suddenly cut his sentence short when he noticed the next fighter stepping into the centre. "Is that who I think it is?" Adam stared with his jaw open.
"Who, Scizzor over there?"
"No, his opponent. That's gotta be..."
"Oh, Stone! Yeah he's a talented fighter, only 17. He could whoop your ass!"
"I don't think so," Adam laughed. "I used to fight him at school. I havn't seen the guy in years."
Within moments of the bell ringing, Adam stood in awe watching his old friend fight. The kid could upper cut like no one else he'd ever seen before and in under a minute, he knocked out the other fighter who was strangely named Scizzor.
Axel casually walked away from the centre stage with one cut under his eye and barely an inch of sweat or tiredness on him.
"Hey Stone!"
"Adam?"
The two of them happily greeted each other with a hug as if 4 years ago was only yesterday.
"What are you doing here?" Axel asked.
"I was abouta say the same thing! Where has your ass been the last 4 years?"
"It's complicated. But I'll tell you when I have a chance..."
"Your turn Hunter! You're going down!" Max interrupted.
Axel laughed straight away, "wait? You two are fighting? Thunder go easy on him, he's my bro"
"He's an arrogant piece of shit" Max replied.
"Best of luck then," Axel said to Adam as he gestured towards the centre where the crowds were rallying up their bets.
The fight that unfolded ended up lasting almost 10 minutes but was highly entertaining. It was rare for the crowd to witness a boxer against a wrestler. Adam had the advantage in terms of speed and jump, but Max had the upper hand in terms of strength. Adam quickly regretted underestimating the man who called himself Thunder as soon as he felt the might of the first suplex. Adam struggled to get up off the ground, but in doing so, he snatched back a mean right hook that caught Max's jaw.
Eventually, Max gained the upper hand when the boxer tired out. Max was 5 years older and had more fighting experience in these underground events with over 30 victories under his belt.
"Go easy on him..." Axel reminded Max from a distance as the wrestler swooped his exhausted opponent high up in the air. He spun with Adam help up then he threw the 18 year old straight into the crowd. Axel just about caught him upright as Adam appeared as if he was going to pass out.
The bell rang and Max was announced as the winner of the fight.
After midnight, most of the crowd dispersed and went elsewhere. Adam and Axel casually sat at the near-empty bar together with their drinks.
"Hunter, are you sure you're ok?" Axel asked.
Adam answered with disappointment. "My father is gonna kill me when he sees I've been fighting," he then reapplied the bar made ice pack to his swollen eye.
"What's the worst that could happen? You used to get into fights all the time."
"I got my interview for the academy later this week."
"Talk about bad timing"
"Speaking of timing, what happened to you?" Adam asked.
He then felt a heavy pat over his aching shoulder as Max stepped between the two bar stools. "No hard feelings kid. I'll buy you a drink" the wrestler offered.
"I think I'm gonna need more than one drink. That was a good fight though, you're one to watch" Adam replied.
"You're not so bad yourself, for a boxer" Max smirked.
"You ain't seen nothing yet! Give me a few more fights to experience and I'll hack this" Adam laughed.
"No doubt you will. I can see you got talent" Max nodded as he sipped on his liquor.
"Hey Hunter, check out 3 O'clock" Axel nudged him.
"What?"
"That group of chicks have been coming here for the last two Saturdays. The one in the middle is sweet on you"
"I agree," Max nodded.
"You boys wanna come over and have a drink with us?" One girl from the group with jet black hair gestured over to the table.
"Why not," Max grinned at her.
"I'm in," Axel got up. "You coming with us or what?" He asked Adam.
"I er need to go..." he suddenly caught the eye of the 18 year old girl sitting in the middle that they were talking about. She was mixed race with the most prominant hazel brown eyes and curly hair. She was a lot quieter than her wild friends, but something about her grabbed Adam's attention straight away "...okay! I'm in" he maintained eye contact with her as he followed his friends towards the girl's table.
"Hey, I'm Blossom," she smiled as he took the seat next to her.
"I'm Adam".
"I ain't seen you here before. That was a great fight earlier by the way. You did good!"
"Thanks. So you've been here before then?"
She smiled, avoiding his gaze. "A couple of times. I'm a singer here"
"Wow! That's hot,"
"Maybe she can sing you a song about losing!" Max joked next to two of the other girls.
"I won't next time! You got off lucky!" Adam perked up.
It turned out to be a fun night in the end. But this was all just the start of a new beginning. Now that they had been reunited, the two old friends had a lot of catching up to do with each other. Not to mention Adam's new found interest in fighting underground. Either way, this was the start of new ventures to come.
Note from the author
This was the first chapter. I am planning to add more over the coming weeks so I hope you liked the beginning of this story. Feel free to review or message.