Chapter 5

The remainder of the week passed without much interruption, and Wolverine was glad to find that Anna wasn't getting upset quite as much. There were tell tale signs if he could see her tears coming in the middle of a simple conversation, and he would quickly stop, giving her chance to change subject if she wished. It had worked well so far. One evening, he was sat in the living room, watching the fire remains die away as the hours passed. Behind him, Anna came through the kitchen doorway, surveying his silhouetted form with a small smile. She quietly came up besides him, and whilst she didn't know it, he had smelt her presence quickly and picked up on her footsteps right from the kitchen.

"I was wonderin' if you wanted to go out," she said quickly, looking down at him. "There's a lil' bar further down the road if you're interested."

Intrigued, Wolverine raised his head. A bar? That meant alcohol. Now that was something he'd like to be reminded of. "Yeah," he answered, giving a nod, "That sounds good." He pushed out of his seat slowly. "Do er.. Do I need to change?"

She merely laughed, "Hell no. Those clothes are fine. Plus, it's the kinda place where you're better off blending in."

"Are we goin' in the truck?"

"Yeah, don't worry, I'll drive. I don't intend on having too much."

The red, battered pick-up truck pulled into a dark car park alongside a dimly lit bar. The snow crunched softly beneath the wheels as Anna carefully steered them into a parking spot. Yanking open the tinny door, Wolverine stepped out into the snow, leaning on the top of the doorframe as he studied the rather grim looking bar ahead of them. But he wasn't going to complain. Besides him he heard Anna noisily shut her door, waiting for him to do the same as she jangled her keys in a hand. Closing the door to, Anna was able to lock up the vehicle and together the pair walked towards the entrance.

The sounds of rowdy laughter and loud voices could be heard before they even reached the door. That was no surprise, the car park was reasonably full, and Wolverine was willing to bet there wasn't another bar around for miles.

Anna reached the door first, pushing back the rickety handle as she stepped inside. A cloud of smoke greeted them, the fumes swirling into the rafters from the large amount of smokers. Dim light flickered from bare bulbs, which were lost in the rising smog. Raucous people stood in groups, the men typically large with decent muscle disguised under their beer bellies. Anna pushed through the crowds, Wolverine having to move quickly to not lose her from his sight. Her smaller form slipped through a lot easier than his, and within seconds she had vanished into the darkness.

"Anna?" he called, pushing his way through people. He tried to navigate through comfortably, but he was suddenly jostled to one side, colliding heavily into a burly drinker. The man spun round, beady eyes fixating on Wolverine.

"Watch where you're goin'!" he snarled, "Or you'll be findin' my fist in your face soon enough."

Wolverine glared at him as he began backing away, perhaps getting involved in a fight within seconds of entering was probably not Anna's idea of a night out.

"I ain't seen you round 'ere before," the man continued, beginning to advance on him. "New, ain'tcha, perhaps I need to teach you some manners?"

Wolverine quickly turned, scrambling through the group. He had caught sight of Anna when somebody moved and was determined to make his way towards her. The man behind him was not impressed and was shouting obscenities as he followed.

Wolverine shook himself from the crowd as he reached the bar, coming to Anna's side. She had a small grin, looking sympathetic, "Sorry, I've got used to slipping through that lot. Didn't get too lost did you?"

Before he could answer, the man he earlier collided into had just pushed himself out of the crowd with an angry expression. His eyes darted between Wolverine and Anna. "Anna?"

"What's up, Charlie?"

"You know this guy?" he asked, jerking a thumb in Wolverine's direction.

"Sure. Why?"

Charlie narrowed his eyes at Wolverine before he shook his head with a snort, "Never mind," he turned and within second had disappeared back through the throng.

Anna looked quite bemused, turning her eyes back upon Wolverine, "What happened, did you piss him off?"

"I bumped into him," answered Wolverine truthfully, "He's the one that started making some of it."

"Yeah, he's like that," sighed Anna as she turned to the bar, leaning upon the surface. "So, what drink do you want?"

Wolverine studied her for a moment before he matched her position on the bar, folding his arms under his chest as he leant; "Beer is fine."

"Two beers," requested Anna, holding up two fingers to the bartender in front of her.

As she dealt with the order, Wolverine turned to survey the rest of the room. The crowd was heading towards the corner of the bar where it was lit by a single strip of light. Through the cloudy air a large circular cage could be seen and people were gathering around it, seating themselves on wooden benches.

"What's goin' on?" asked Wolverine, glancing back to Anna who was passing him a bottle of beer.

"Best part of the night," she said with a smile, beginning to head over to the corner. "Cage fightin'."

It had grown quieter now everybody was seated, with anxious mutterings passing by, penetrated by a few crude laughs. Anna and Wolverine settled on the end of one of the benches, watching as a man stepped into the cage with a microphone. "Good evenin' ladies and gentlemen!" he called in response to a cheering crowd, "Got your bets at the ready? 'Cause its time for our first round! King of the Cage for four weeks running, it's Charlie!"

The man Wolverine bumped into earlier made his way into the cage amongst hearty cheers and a few quiet boos. He had since removed his leather jacket, leaving the evidence of his muscles clear to all.

"But who'll be fightin' him tonight?" asked the MC into the noisy crowd.

"I'll fight him!" cried one as he leapt to his feet. Applause and cheers rang through the small bar as a blond haired man jumped off one of the benches and made his way towards the cage.

"What's your name?" asked the MC, abruptly shoving to microphone towards the newest contender.

"Johnny!" called the man into the microphone, giving the crowd enthusiastic gestures as he punched his fists into the air.

The MC patted his back as he stepped away, "Our first contender!" he cried to the crowd. "Bill is comin' round with the bets now. Who are you gonna choose.."

Anna turned to Wolverine as the MC continued talking, "Charlie is the best here," she said softly, "He's been fightin' for years and recently he's been beating anyone who goes against him."

"Are you bettin'?" asked Wolverine curiously.

"Sure I am!" Anna laughed, "Puttin' one on for you too. It's a sure winner. Small, but we'll be gettin' more than we pay."

Wolverine nodded his head slowly, "Alright, you know better than me."

Bill headed their way with a notepad and began to confer with Anna over the betting. Wolverine studied the two men in the cage as they prepared. Johnny was still waving to crowd, jumping on the balls of his feet. Charlie was stood against the fencing with a beer, wisely conserving his energy for the fight. Wolverine lifted his beer to his lips, tilting it back as he drank. His eyes continued to survey the cage until Bill moved away.

"Sorted," said Anna, holding up two slips of yellow paper to him. "Now we jus' gotta wait for him to win!"

Ten minutes later, the chatter had settled down as the MC stood in the centre of the cage with a hand raised for quiet. "Ladies and gentleman, the bets are all in. Charlie versus Johnny!" He quickly backed out of the cage, pulling the large cage door shut. "On the sound of the bell, fellas."

The bell rang.

The crowd noise escalated.

Johnny was forward first, making a run towards his opponent. Charlie was ready however, and as the first punch was thrown his way, he promptly ducked from it, his hands grabbing the offending arm and quickly flooring the man.

"Aw, this is gonna be over in seconds," Wolverine heard Anna murmur, "He's got no chance if he can't block somethin' like that."

"When do we know it's finished?"

"When they can't stand up anymore."

An uppercut struck Johnny as he tried to rise to his feet, the hit then knocking him back into the wire fencing. As he stumbled forward, he was tripped by a kick and was upon his front once more. The crowd reacted with according noises, whooping and cheering and Charlie continued to hit his opponent.

"Like a lamb to god damn slaughter," muttered Anna as she watched Johnny be thrown off his feet yet again.

"I thought you wanted Charlie to win?"

"Johnny clearly underestimated him. He don't deserve such a beatin' though. It's clear Charlie's gonna win. The thing is he wants it to end in style."

Charlie had his opponent pinned under his boot, looking up at the cheering crowd. Anna had risen to her feet anxiously with many others, staring as Charlie held up a hand and began counting off his fingers. The raucous crowd began to countdown from ten, getting noisier the lower they went. Anna gave a nod to Wolverine, "He's done it," she looked back to the cage, clapping as she joined in with the countdown.

The number one was echoed loudly throughout the bar and the MC strode to greet Charlie, "The winner!" he yelled to the frantic applause.

A few men hurried in and helped Johnny out who was sporting a much bloodied lip and a bruised eye.

"Keep your bet tickets safe!" he called, "We'll be roundin' them up at the end of the evenin' and giving you your winnings! That is of course if we get another fighter brave enough to fight Charlie!"

The crowd seemed to be much happier being a spectator this time round, with nobody volunteering to be pummelled as Johnny was.

Anna craned her head, peering over the sea of heads as many others were, trying to see if there was anyone standing to their feet.

"Look after my jacket, would you?"

Anna quickly looked round to see Wolverine stood, pulling his denim jacket off his arms. "What are you doin'?" she hissed, a hand grabbing his wrist and yanking him back down to the bench, "Sit down!" The crowd was peering expectantly their way now.

"I could try and get some cash," muttered Wolverine as he was pulled back to her height.

"Against Charlie! Didn't you see what he just did? After all you've been through I don't want you been attacked like that."

"I'll be fine," he insisted, dropping his denim jacket into her lap, "Jus' do me a favour, huh? Bet on me. The odds on me will be high."

"No – what? Are you crazy?"

But Wolverine had stepped out of the row, making his way down the steps towards the cage. The crowd was cheering again, drowning out Anna's anxious calls. He made his way into the cage, rolling his shoulders slowly and cracking his neck.

"A brave man!" called the MC appreciatively as he beckoned Wolverine towards him. He held the microphone out to him after he spoke, "What's your name?"

"Wolverine."

The crowd began to jeer suddenly at the supposed self-fashioned fighting name. Even the MC was grinning, "Right then, Wolverine. Bill is comin' round with the bets again. Who do you think'll win?"

Wolverine stepped towards his corner in preparation. He knocked back the remainder of his beer before placing the empty bottle down on the small table against the corner. He peered through the misty light of the cage to regard Anna as she sat anxiously watching him in return. Bill came towards her, and Wolverine watched as they talked for a short moment. Looking surprised, Bill scribbled her name down, then tearing off a yellow strip of paper and handing it her with the details. As Bill moved on, Wolverine caught Anna's eye, and she nodded slowly at him.

He turned slightly, shrugging his unbuttoned shirt off his shoulders and laying it upon his chair. His vest was pulled up off his head and dropped down also. His actions summoned a few sarcastic wolf whistles from the crowd. He ignored the taunts, stretching his arms slowly as he readied his muscles.

Anna watched him with concerned eyes, her fist tightly clamped about her betting slip. She studied him as he stretched, the dog tag that lay on his bare chest glinting in the light. With his upper torso naked, it was obvious that he was not lacking in any muscular structure himself. Anna found herself studying his thick upper arms before snapping herself out of it as the reality of the situation came back to her.

"At the sound of the bell, gentlemen," called the MC as he exited the cage.

The bell rang..

Cliffhanger! Please review this chapter!