Day 2.
I awoke the next day in my bedroom, 'How did I get here? What happened?' I wondered, holding my head. There was a note on the dresser next to my bed- it was from Leo. and read:
Hey baby, you sure partied hard last night, but you got a bit too drunk so I brought you home, hope you don't mind we should do it again tonight okay? I'll be around with the limo to pick you up. Adios fresca. Leo
"Fresca?" 'What could that mean?' I thought, it didn't sound like a word even when I said it out loud. At that moment I decided to stay away from Leo and all her weird friends. Once I got myself out of bed and ready for the last day of school this week, I got numb. The sun was shining so bright through the window I actually thought I would go blind just from thinking about it, I closed the shades and rubbed my eyes bitterly. 'What is going on?' I thought, 'Maybe I should stay home today? Mom and Dad are gone to work, they'd never know the difference.....' As I lay back down in my bed I drifted back to my blissful sleep.
My dream on the other hand wasn't so blissful- I dreamt that Leo and I were in her limo going for a drive, we were all alone at first- and all over each other- next thing I know those two guys are sitting across from us watching and sneering with snickers, then they moved her out of the way and bit into my neck!
At first I thought they were kissing me, but it sure didn't feel like a kiss; and as they move away Leo says something to them about me and they laugh- biting into me again! It wasn't until they sat back on their side of the chair that all of a sudden my skin began to crawl and they were laughing- louder and louder as I morphed into this freak thing! I don't think I would have survived the dream if it weren't for the sudden crash of thunder outside my window.
It had blown open! I hurried to shut it, not knowing why- it felt like fear, but fear from what? Leo? I can't be afraid of her she's my girlfriend she wouldn't hurt me, but what about her weird friends? And that arena! I couldn't have been that drunk and I know I didn't dream it so then what was-.... "What are you thinking about?" A girls voice came from behind me.
It was Leo! "Wha- what are you doing here?" I asked trying to disguise the fright in my voice, 'how long had she been in here?' I wondered looking across the distance of my bed to her. She was hidden in the darkness, I could see nothing but her bare faces glow from the window light. Glancing at my clock I saw that I had been asleep for hours!
It was already after school, what could have possessed me to sleep so long? And where are my parents that Leo is in my room? "I let myself in..." She said as if she read my mind. "Hope you don't mind?"
"Um,...not really....it's okay, but I can't go out today I'm not feeling very well." Which was the truth and spending time with her would make it much worse. She frowned as if she heard what I was thinking and then a thin smile lit her lips.
"Come with me Tum? Please?" Her voice was low and seductive but I resisted her easily from nothing but pure fear of her. "I can't, I told you I'm sick." I replied- looking away from her now showing eyes- that were like brown arrows stabbing me in the head. "Why not?" She asked. "I don't bite." It wasn't what she said, but how she said it that made me wanna run, but for some reason I stayed and stared at her.
My skin and veins wanting her nearness, the blood in my body throbbed badly inside to be touched by her and before I knew what I was doing, I walked over to her, sitting myself on the bed in front of her and I let her touch my face. My skin burned when she did but in a good way and as she moved her lips close- then away from me- she whispering things- again, that I couldn't understand but as my blood began to bake more from her touch her words began to come in clear.
"Please come away with me, I just wanna be near you." She said, her hands going through my hair. "I don't want to be lonely tonight." She put her arms around me for a hug, and I could smell her skin through the long sleeved turtle neck- it was like strawberry ice cream and lemon tarts. She stood up and walked to the door with finger extended gesturing for me to come to her- or with her.
Confused, I followed her, she led me to her limo and we got inside- she started to kiss me- sharp and hard as if she were trying to avoid actually doing it, but, it was good and I wanted more but it felt like we weren't alone and suddenly a light clicked on and there were the two guys from the club- just like in my dream! "No, no no no noooo." I heard the words leave my mouth but I don't remember opening it.
The dirty blond one smirked at me when Leo moved aside from me and as I waited for what I knew was coming, I was shocked to see that he leaned forward with a hand extended. "I'm Polix," he shook my hand that reached out for him some how, "and this" he pointed a finger to his right. "is Caster. How are ya?" His voice was younger than he looked, but, tight and serious.
Some how, the dreamy spell Leo put around me faded and I had my own mind back. "Where are you taking me?" I asked, when I didn't recognize the area we were being driven through. "To the club." Polix said to me not taking his eyes off me for a second; Caster was looking out the window up until he heard his friend say those words.
"I'm not going back there, I'm bored with it." He said as tightly as his friend only his voice sounded as though he took everything to the heart and killed you for it. "Brother puleeze, look at him," he said with s slight head nod towards me, Caster threw me a bored look and continued looking out the window then whispered loud enough to be heard. "We'll see about that." From the light shaking of Polix's shoulders he found that rather amusing.
"Don't worry," came Leo's voice- who I forgot was even there, because these two were so engulfing from my own curiosity. "I won't let anything happen to you, besides that- Diablo is a push over when you get to know him." At those final words she looked out the window and ignored me the rest of the way. 'Diablo?' I thought. 'Isn't that the monster guy who tried to kill me before?'
From the way Polix looked at me with a smirk I knew right then I was going into the ring.
* * *
When we arrived at the club, Caster walked off with a girl he saw and Polix looked in that direction until he was gone, than he turned to me with a questioning expression on his face. "Hey kid, what's your name?" He asked me and it stammered out of my mouth like a joke. "Mi- Michael, s- sir." He nodded, but Leo continued for me as if I had something else to say. "All his friends at school call him, Tum, cause he eats so much."
She smiled a toothy grin at that but Polix just patted me on the back leaving an arm around my shoulders to steer me through the club. "You like fights, kid?" He asked me as we got to a set f stairs. "Yeah sure, I guess," I wasn't sure, but something told me to say, yes- or else. "This part of the building," he began and pointed a finger behind us with his free hand, "is the club, my brother Caster owns that part- he likes the music and dancing. But me," he paused. "I like to fight." He pushed the door open and the crowd cheered at the sight of him over their heads.
He paid them no attention, just looked down at a fight that was now in progress. There was a little guy, he looked about my age and he was getting hurt- bad. "What's uh- what's going on?" I asked him trying to have the same buddy- buddy voice he used with me. "This is my arena, where weee....." he looked for the word. "sort the boys from the men."
I nodded at that and we sat down in chairs the looked like royal throwns to watch the fight. The poor boy was gonna be killed! But, a part of me wanted it to happen, I wanted to see the blood I wanted to taste his fear and see his life slip away...all the while I was watching the fight I wasn't aware that Leo had stayed back in the club part of the building and I was getting rather comfortable next to a stranger on my own but when I had finished thinking this- Polix was staring at me!
I tried not to notice but I couldn't help it, only when the fight was over did he pull his attention away from me again. "Winner!! Taurus!!" He said with a proud smile. The person who was fighting the kid- whom I thought was a guy- took a mask off her head revealing a beautiful girl with tanned skin and black hair.
She was smiling proud about her victory and as a rope came down from the ceiling she grabbed on and was lifted out of the ring, the boy on the other hand lay there practically dead and a girl like Leo only with brown hair and fair skin- rather than pale- came in and scooped him up walking him off in another direction. "Where is she taking him?" I asked casually, as if I had known him all my life.
"To the Inn above this place, wanna take a turn?" He asked suddenly. "What?" I asked, but was too late to notice his hand coming down on me, pushing me over the railing! "Aaaaahhhhhh!!" I fell over the side, waiting for my head to split open on the arm of a chair or something but I was stopped abruptly in what felt like mid-air and placed down on a row of seats.
When I looked back to where I fell from I saw Polix looking as though he were reaching for me then he backed away. The crowd cheered me on and someone grabbed me pushing me to the aisle, once I was there I was yanked to my feet and thrown into the gates of the ring and as the rope lowered itself for me to climb up I got this sick sensation that I wanted to! I grabbed the rope and let myself get lifted into the air and lowered into the ring.
"Yeah!!! Yeah!!!" The crowd chanted over and over- it felt good to hear it- somehow- like it was for me and then I noticed who they were really cheering for- Diablo. He scaled the gate like he were flying and he jumped the long drop down making the ground shake under us, and as he stood from his landing position- a whole 6' 2" I felt my confidence drop. He made an inner throat growl in my direction and laughed at my trembling body- the bell!
He let out a roar and slammed into my face with a fist so powerful it could have taken out the walls of this place, I felt myself fly a distance than smack into the gate; on my hands and knees I spit blood to the floor licking my teeth to make sure they were all there. Diablo approached me balling his fist together and slamming them into the back of my head.
I was being kicked in the stomach now and trying not to die- 'I have to fight back' I coached myself mentally rolling away from the next kick that came. I stood to my feet and bashed into him, it was like running into a rock. He gave me an upper cut my mother would have felt and sent me flying again, but when I hit the gate I felt him pressed against me- mouth opened and sharp teeth bared. I felt my blood begin to burn again and suddenly there was a blaze.
Diablo backed away in what looked like anger more than pain. As he rushed at me again I pulled my fist back and SLAM!!! the impact was so strong it knocked him clear through the gates! "Yeah!" A familiar voices roar came from above and I ran for him leaping into the air as though I could fly but when I came down over him his clawed feet slammed into my stomach knocking me back and taking some skin along with it.
He got up with a leaping fly like mine- dog ran into the ring and he swung at me viciously and I blocked them all, my strength and agility were amazing how was I doing this? When I swung back he grabbed my fists in each hand and kicked me straight under the chin then pounded me again, I rolled away- standing and kicked him back, under his arm pit when he held on there from the pain something told me to jump on him so I did, and what happened next made scared.
I bit down into his neck and burst into flames! I burned him bad enough for him to howl like a wolf in pain and when he dropped under my weight I stood up growling and howling like a lunatic, the heat still coursing through me as a part of my mind began to realize what was happening to me.
* * *
I was outside of a room with two double doors in a hall blacker than midnight, I couldn't see a thing but I could hear part of a conversation between Caster and Polix. "You should have seen him," Polix was saying sounding like he was walking too. "he burnt the shit out of Diablo."
"Is he alright?" Caster asked bored and hardly really concern. "Yeah, he's fine. Aries is with him giving him some new skin," he said easily. 'Aries, who's that?' I wondered as I flashed back to the end of the fight.
A girl came into the ring, pretty with black hair like Diablo's and pale skin, she picked him up as though he were nothing and walked out of the broken gate way. That's when I saw Polix leap over the balcony- land on some chairs- than soar through the air over the gate and he brought me here. "I think he may be one of us, I mean Leo might have just brought him here but you remember the scrolls, don't you?" Polix asked and Caster was quiet for a good while than he spoke up.
"There are only two Gemini brothers, and we're it. Don't try to change that." "Non-sense, don't be petty- besides, I like the kid- he stays." Before I could move the door opened and Polix was standing in my face, his serious expression twisted into a smirk. "He even eaves drops," he said to Caster. "come in here." He said steering me in.