Broken #2 (The Broken Series - Book #2) (6 page)

I
checked to make sure that the battery was fully charged, and that I had an
extra one in my bag, just in case. I doubted I would need it, as I would only
be out for a few hours, but I wanted to be prepared for anything. I finished my
tea and went to get ready to head to the school.

The
gymnasium was far crazier than I expected; it was no random basketball game
playing that night. It was the big MMA fight that Jet had been preparing for.
To see what a big deal MMA was to the school was a shock to my system. When I
walked in, I saw that they had transformed the gym into an arena for the fights.
I barely recognized it. You would not know the difference between a fight there
and a live UFC event, except for the amount of people we could fit in our gym.
I panicked briefly, because I wasn't sure how I was going to find my class in
all the madness. I could feel the charged energy emanating from the room, and I
could almost smell the bloodlust in the room. It was kind of exciting being in
the middle of it all.

One
of my classmates waved to me from the front, near the octagon. I hurried over,
and took a seat beside Brenda.

“Oh
my God, I had no idea the fights were on tonight.”

“Natalie,
you need to get out more. Even I knew your boy was fighting tonight.”

“He's
not my boy.”

“Well,
that's a crying shame.”

I
nudged her with my elbow. “These are great seats.” We were essentially right
beside the octagon, and would have a great view of the fights.

“Yeah,
the professor spared no expense. We couldn't exactly do our project properly if
we couldn't see anything.”

I
knew immediately that I would need to change my aperture and shutter speed to
allow me to stop action. I did that while I had a spare moment. I looked around
the room to see if I could see Jet, but he was nowhere to be found. They
probably kept him hidden until the last moment. Our professor arrived, and did
roll call to make sure we were all present.

“Alright
guys, as I'm sure you have guessed by now, we are here to document the fights
for the school. They want to be able to post these pictures on the website, and
I'm sure the fighters themselves will want images as well, so make sure you do
your absolute best. Try to look for unique angles, kickass techniques―the
kind of photos that make people gasp. That's just one aspect of the job tonight.
I want you to also keep in mind while you are shooting photos that you will
need to submit eight pictures capturing live action, so again, submit your best
pics of one fighter in particular. The rest you can give to the school for
their purposes. All students will be paid a fee for helping the school capture
this event, so lucky you!”

The
class cheered; nothing was better than getting paid for work you had to do
anyway. I already knew which fighter I was going to use for my live action
shots, and I thought the whole experience would also work really well in my
story. I was so excited to get to see his fight now. I planned on taking some
pretty kickass shots.

It
wasn't long before the fights got underway, and I was surprised at how loud the
arena became. People got pretty fired up when it came time for a fighter to
come out into the cage. I watched a few of the fights with growing interest. I
could pick out some of the techniques that Jet had shown me, and I smiled as
one of the school’s players won his match.

I
took a long intermission, and went to find something to drink. The fights were
longer than I had anticipated, and I was thirsty. I recognized a guy over at the
drink area, and went to say hi.

“Hey,
Brian, how are you?”

He
turned, and his face lit up when he saw me.

“Hey, Natalie, nice to see you.
I'm
surprised to see you here, actually,” he laughed. “Are you here to see Jet
fight?”

“
Ahh
,
no.
Well, I guess, but I'm here
because my photography class is here to take the event pictures for the night.
I didn't even know the fights were on tonight,” I blushed nervously.

“Oh,
cool. Well, I'm glad to see you.”

“Thanks.
Are you fighting tonight?”

“No, not yet.
I'm
preparing for my first fight, but I wasn't put on this card. Jet is actually
the last fight after this one.”

I
nodded. “Oh, I see.”

“Would
you like something to drink?”

“Sure,
a bottle of water would be great.”

He
grabbed me one, and handed it over.

“Thank
you.”

I stood
there and chatted with him for a while until the fight ended, with Craig losing
his fight for the night. It made me feel bad for him. It couldn't be easy
facing your corner and teammates after losing a fight you spent months
preparing for.

“Well,
I better get back over there, so I can get these photos taken, and go home.”

He
smiled. “Okay, well, I'll see ya around.”

“Sure,”
I waved as I walked away from him. Brian seemed like a really sweet guy. I
continued on down the aisle until I found my seat. I squeezed back in beside
Brenda, and got my camera ready for the last fight of the night.

“Are
you excited?” she asked me.

“Yeah, of course.
This is crazy fun.”

“Are
you going to make Jet feel better if he loses?” she cackled after she said it.

“Forget
that, Brenda. He can lick his own wounds.”

“You're
no fun.”

An
announcement was made that the final card was ready to go. When they announced
Jet's opponent, the crowd went wild. I couldn't be sure if he was receiving
cheers, or if they all hated him. It was hard not to get pumped up with all the
action going on around me. The fighter headed to the octagon, where he briefly
met with his team, and then went inside the cage to wait for Jet.

New
music started to play, and Jet's name was announced. The screams behind me were
at an all-time high. The lungs of the women behind me had to be close to
bursting as they screamed Jet's name. I almost turned around to glare at them,
but then I deemed that behavior inappropriate. They were just anxious to see
him come out and head to the cage, and I was kind of excited to see him come
out, as well. I had never been to an event like this, and knowing someone who
was involved in it made it the more interesting. It was really exciting when he
burst through the curtain, and start to make his way toward the octagon.

Someone
screamed, “
Jetttt
!!” At that moment, everyone got up
from their seats as he made his way down, and the high they had for him was
addictive. He had a killer smile on his face, and he headed down with a cocky look
on his face. The crowd screamed even louder; there were definitely a lot of
fans there to see him. I watched as he met with his team, and got ready for the
fight. He tore his shirt off, and tossed it aside, which made the ladies in the
crown go wild. He turned, and smiled at the crowd, and it was then that he
caught my eye. To say that he was stunned to see me in the crowd was the
understatement of the year. A slow smile played on my lips, as my heart was
beating furiously in my chest, like a cage full of wild horses. He turned away
from me quickly, and I couldn't read the expression on his face. I suddenly
couldn't breathe, and held my breath until the bell rang, and the fight began.
I immediately lifted my camera up, to make sure I was ready to catch the shots
I wanted.

The
opponent’s name was Dillon, and as soon as Jet moved forward, he threw a kick
and landed it right in Jet's ribcage. He hit so hard, something that I didn't
expect, that it caused me to whisper a silent
no
at the sight of it. Jet didn’t check the kick―instead he ate
it, and I could tell he didn’t like it. He recovered quickly, however, and went
in with a four punch combination that landed wonderfully on Dillon's face,
causing his head to snap back repeatedly. Jet's body was strong and flexible,
and his movements were fluid―almost like watching a violent dance. It was
pleasing to the eye to watch his powerful muscles in action. The crowd started
to boo as Jet took another hit to his torso, and I prayed that he wouldn’t crack
his ribs.

Dillon
followed with an uppercut to Jet's chin. As Jet's head flew up, blood splattered
the mat. I was snapping pictures in quick succession, my heart pounding in fear
along with the shutter. I couldn't believe the reaction I experienced when he
took a hit.

Jet
regained his position, keeping his guard up, and moved in toward Dillon. I
could hear his corner yelling for him to build up to something. He was clearly
a strong fighter, and didn’t seem winded at all while he was fighting. Dillon,
however, seemed to be getting tired. He moved in too quickly, and went in for
another body shot to his side, dropping Jet down to one knee.

A
scream tore out of me that surprised Brenda beside me, “No!” There were screams
behind me from the other women, whose hearts Jet seemed to have stolen. They
were screaming for him to get back up and fight. Jet's eyes flickered toward me,
and he got up off the mat, and swung, hitting Dillon square in the jaw, pushing
him back into the cage walls. Jet took the opportunity to regain his position
before Dillon moved toward him again.
 

My
nerves were raw as I continued taking pictures of the scene laid out before me.
I couldn't tell how the fight was going, or who would reign supreme at the end
of it. I found the experience very stressful, and wished for it to end quickly.
People all around started chanting Jet's name in a frenzied sort of way that
got my heart pumping.

“Jet!
Jet!
Jet!”

I
looked around the arena, still amazed by how many people had come out to the
fights that night. I glanced back at Jet, just in time to see him feint a low
kick, only to come spinning around to smash Dillon with a spinning back fist.
The movement had been incredible, and I couldn't believe that I had caught it
on camera. I almost screamed out with joy. The impact of the hit took Dillon
off his feet, and he went flying backwards. He never got back up, and the crowd
went insane. Jet returned to his corner while the medics checked up on Dillon.
The judges were ready to call the fight, and the two fighters met in the middle
of the cage. They announced Jet the winner by TKO, and the crowd cheered madly
around me. Jet put his hands high in the air, as if he was proudly accepting
his victory. The look on his face was priceless, and it was the last photo of
him I caught that night. I was grateful that I had taken so many pictures of
him at the beginning of the fight, as I hadn't anticipated him ending the fight
during the first round. I watched as he went out of the octagon, and his corner
people were all over him with congratulations. I noticed one of the octagon
girls heading his way, and when she approached him, she wrapped her arms around
him, hugging him a little too tightly as she congratulated him on his
win
.

I
turned to Brenda, who watched the whole scene go down as well. “Let's get out
of here, and grab something to eat. We can compare pictures.”

She
smiled sadly at me, but didn't say a thing. She nodded, and we got up, and left
the fights behind us.
 

Chapter Eight

Jet

I
awoke the next morning in a fog; a happy fog, but a fog nonetheless. I had been
out all night, and had only gotten a few hours of sleep. I was still on a high,
however, from the fight last night, and I wasn't sure I would be getting off of
cloud nine anytime soon. We had all gone out after the fights and got pretty
hammered. That was probably an understatement; we had all been drinking like
lushes at the bar. It was that fog that made me still sleepy after waking up―the
drunken fog. Maybe I was still drunk; it was hard to say. It had been a great
night. Robbie made sure to get some drinks into my system after the attack I
took on my ribs during the fight. Dillon had given me a run for my money, and
even moving briefly in bed, I felt a sharp pain. I would be sore for at least a
week, but I would survive. I would have to take extra care of my ribs for the
next little while, so they could heal properly in time for my next fight. I
needed to ease up on training in order to let the healing process happen
properly.

I
rose up from my pillow as slowly as possible, making sure to take care of my
ribcage. Wrapping it later would probably be a great idea. Man, was I ever sore.
A fight will do that to you, however, in one manner or another. I'm sure Dillon
was feeling his own brand of soreness the same morning. I grinned at the
thought of him taking that hit, eating my back fist like it was his morning
breakfast. He would think twice about coming in close in a fight next time,
there was no doubt about that. I was glad that I finished the fight in the
first round. He was a strong fighter, and you never knew what could happen in
the next round. I sat up and felt the full extent of a headache coming on. I got
up quickly to find some painkillers. I went into my bathroom, and opened the
medicine cabinet, riffling through it until I found some Motrin. I popped a
couple of pills, and headed back to bed. I lay back down until the pills kicked
in.