Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 84
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[EL CROW’S MIND]
It’s still the same in here.
The only thing that kept getting worse is the bleeding stars. But El Crow got used to it already.
He is used to the pains now, and as the stars dropped on him, he didn’t even jerk on his spot.
He sat on the largest piece of rock, and his back rested on the small rock behind him, eyes closed, hot blood all-over him, essence dimming.
Occasionally, only one word escaped his mouth…
“Let me go…”
“Let me go…”
He kept chanting, repeating.
His voice sounded restricted on his chest, curling with his pains.
He didn’t want to open his eyes cos he knew what was going to happen.
But he obstinately opened it at a point, and he saw her.
He saw Skylar.
In different forms.
In different emotions.
In different positions.
This is his mind anyways, and seeing her here only means he’s currently thinking of her.
She’s the only one in his mind.
He quickly shut his eyes back, not wanting to torture himself with her imagery anymore.
“Let me go….” He muttered.
“If I let you go, you’ll lose me forever. And you already know what happens to people who loses their minds,” his mind voice echoed again. “Are you ready to fall into total madness? Is that what you want, Brayden?”
El Crow’s eyes opened.
— — —
[Tuesday – Underground]
Tonight, there is no roar of ENIGMAS or DREADS from the rogues crowd. Everyone just made entries, took their seats or standings, then they waited for what’s to come.
This wasn’t like the first tournament that was half-based on who the streets liked most. This was more procedural. More serious. Darker.
No one even wore Enigma or Dread vest to cheer a particular team up. It’s like everyone came to watch with uncertain minds and anxiety.
Even the VVIP bettors looked tensed as fûck on their seats, and that includes Jethro.
He sat poised like a damned king in his harem, eyes staring beyond the muslin curtains, into the ring.
Half his mind is here, but the other half is on where El Crow would come out from. He tried connecting with him through the hatcher, but he got nothing, and that just shows how strong his mind is.
But…no matter how strong a mind becomes, there’s always a loophole, isn’t it? He’s awaiting that loophole.
If there’s anything he has abundantly, it’s definitely scary patience.
Beside him, Bellatrix sat, looking perplexed and still anxious.
She hadn’t spoken to her father since she left his Madness Lab two days ago. Even when coming to this tournament, she just dressed up and met him in the car without a word.
Though, tomorrow is the second day of the tournament that Skylar and El Crow would be entering the ring, she still wanted to try her luck maybe El Crow would appear today.
She came because of that.
She hadn’t even given him the couple necklace she bought.
She’s aching to give him and tell him sorry on her father’s behalf.
So what if Skylar had his necklace type around her ankle?
She’s sure they only look same, it’s not El’s.
She drew in a tensed breath, trying her best to keep calm as the underground got ridiculously filled till the brim as usual.
Inside the Dread preparatory room, only Renee could be seen preparing to enter the ring, looking unshaken.
Even when Quincy tried to give her water, she rejected.
“I’m fine, Quin…” She smiled. “I’m not scared. I know I’ll do well.”
Quincy took her hands and strapped her gloved for her as the bustling of their teammates hummed around them.
“Where is my partner anyways? I’m not seeing him,” Renee said.
“He’ll join you in the ring,” Satan responded, coming inside with Midnight.
“Yes Boss.” Renee bowed.
Midnight held a cup of water which he stretched at Renee.
She took it, and she almost asked questions that what is it, but a glare from Satan stopped her.
Renee drank everything then dropped the cup.
She saw a smirk hanging loose on Satan’s face, but she had no idea what it meant till she left with Midnight just as fast as they came.
“What was that in the cup?” Quincy asked curiously.
Other teammates looked at her curiously for answers.
“It tasted like water.” Renee shrugged. “It’s probably water.”
“Skylar?” A teammate said suddenly.
The siblings whipped at once to see Skylar entering.
“Skylar?” Quincy smiled.
“Hey!” Renee waved cheerfully.
Skyler’s steps was slow, sick, measured like she’d fall if she walked too fast. Her sickness still showed in her face despite the light makeup she did to cover her paleness.
She wore female slacks and still El Crow’s blazer on top of it, then a fur cap. She doesn’t care if fur doesn’t match her clothing aesthetic, she just wanted to be warm.
“Thank you for taking care of me yesterday, you both. It was helpful.”
That was the first thing she said immediately she got to the siblings.
“Am I dreaming? You talked nicely and are not rolling your eyes?” Renee blinked in shock.
“I won’t say it again,” Skylar said dryly, and Quincy chuckled.
“We’re glad you look better than yesterday.”
“She doesn’t look better! It’s the makeup covering it! How is she going to enter the ring to fight tomorrow if she’s this sick?” Renee frowned. “Maybe Boss Satan could shift tommorow’s match to Friday.”
“We both know that can’t happen. Boss won’t agree,” Quincy said.
“Are you ok though?” Skylar asked Renee. “There’s still five minutes before the match starts. I can still give you last-minute skills.”
“I’m fine.” Renee smiled. “You’re not allowed to train us till third tournament in two months. Rosita trained me enough, don’t worry.”
“And where’s she?” Skylar asked.
“Rosita?” Quincy said. “I swear, since she left Boss Satan’s office two days ago, I haven’t set my eyes on her.”
Skylar’s poker face remained intact.
—
In the Enigmas preparatory room, Svetlana and Blade were receiving the last minute preparations already, both ready to get out.
Arturo is present, surprisingly.
Though, he’s in clutches because of his stomach, but he’s still here.
He decided to trust El Crow’s mind. He decided to keep calm and expect El Crow would be back soon from wherever he is, so he came.
He sat weakly on a sofa, looking at the two Enigmas with dull eyes.
When he tried to talk, Castle stopped him from doing that.
He addressed them instead.
“No disappointments,” he said. “We already have a lot going on. Crow is missing. We lost the second match. We can’t lose this too, or this team will lose face, and you both will end up getting banished from the team.”
As he talked, his eyes moved from Blade to Svetlana, then it settled weirdly on her till she looked away.
Bishop and Kent stood at a side with the other teammates, and while Kent gave Blade a assuring thumb up, Bishop raised his fist for Svetlana.
She smiled cheerfully, and that seemed to relieve her anxiety.
Arturo said nothing till the commencement bell rang, and the two walked out of the room.
Lovato on her side is busy.
She set a timer to upload her relationship status with Castle already.
And as for castle, his anonymous buddies set a timer to upload Lovato’s nudes too. Castle shifted his glasses closer to his evil eyes.
—
The underground burst into bright colours of insanity immediately the partners from the two teams jumped into the ring readily.
Still, no one screamed the name of any team. The uncertainty was still reeking so bad it’s poisonous.
They just screamed in one unending wave, built on anxiety and impatience.
Blade and Svetlana stood on a side, but only Renee is on her own side.
The crowd went silent at that note. A needle fall would clang in the underground as they waited for who the second Dread fighter would be.
“He’s here!!” Someone screamed from the back as the masked newbie appeared in the underground, stinking of mystic overconfidence till he jumped into the ring…
Right beside Renee.
Then he yanked his mask away, revealing his hidden face.
The first few seconds of his unveiling was silent as everyone stared in shock.
Especially Renee.
But Renee’s shock is nearly not as much as Skylar’s.
Skylar stood shakily at the far back.
Even the makeover couldn’t do much anymore. She looked worse.
But she reached the peak of worse when she saw the unveiled face.
Roy!
Roy? The same guy he killed in Jethro’s Pit with Aftermoor dagger and his body disappeared.
She felt her fists balling, fingers threatening to stab into her palms. Her teeth thrusted her jaws, and her cold got worse as anger flowed through her. Raw, deep fury.
Inferno cheated, again.
Inferno made a fool of her again. She killed Roy with the Aftermoor dagger, and he was supposed to stay dead forever, but Inferno revived him?
Skylar’s anger made the wound on her chest throb, and she had to hold it and bend her figure.
“He was supposed to be dead!!!” Quincy yelled shokingly.
But his voice was drowned by the crowd roar when the final bell came, and the two teams collided.
When Roy moved, Renee didn’t. She stayed still, still shocked.
So, Roy handled Blade and Svetlana all alone, drawing back and avoiding, ducking, swaying, parrying their attack till he was able to get in-between the two of them.
Svetlana and Blade grabbed him from behind together, aiming to throw his face at the corner metal, but just a shrug from him shook them away from him. Roy retracted his steps and smashed their heads together, proceeding to attach his teeth on their hairs.
He pulled part of their hair out to his mouth, and they hung in his teeth, looking crazily traumatizing.
Breaths were held.
Svetlana and Blade’s comeback was instant. Despite their bleeding scalps, they hooked Roy by his waist, shoving him forward till his body slammed against that particular metal.
Svetlana banged Roy’s head against it, and Blade in turn pierced Roy’s stomach with the metal bolts, then he dragged him back, tearing his stomach skin with that move.
A normal human would stagger and fall or swivel to the side, but Roy did none of that. In fact, he came back stronger, laughing as he leapt into the air in a spin kick, delivering a kickback to Blade’s nose.
For a minute, Blade stopped breathing, and it was at this moment Renee regained her composure.
A strange energy burst through her as she jerked forward, kneeling Svetlana on the butt. Svetlana lurched forward but spun back and pushed Renee’s legs apart.
They both crashed down with Svetlana on top. Her elbows crashed into Renee’s face brutally, bloodying up her teeth.
A normal person should feel pain and groan, but instead, Renee inched up and attached her teeth to Svetlana’s neck.
Breaths were held again.
No one screamed.
No one functioned in the crowd.
“Something is wrong somewhere!” Castle stood suddenly. “Dreads are fighting like they’re drugged!”
“The water…” Quincy muttered in realization of what’s going on.
“No written rules in this game…” Satan smiled in all poignancy. “I merely did what I had to do.”
“Satan!” Arturo tried to shoot up to get her, but his stomach made him fall back on his chair.
Castle quickly held him.
Midnight grinned in mockery.
Still, no one screamed in the crowd.
All eyes stayed in the ring where the fight of the century was happening.
Blade slammed Roy’s hip bone to the ropes. From there, Roy’s body curved recklessly, and Blade tore him in the chest again with the pointing metal rings before punching him five times in the face consecutively.
Roy simply laughed again, and when he went for Blade too?
He attached his teeth to Blade’s ear, biting it off cleanly. Final.
Blade’s ear fell from Roy’s mouth, but that wasn’t the end cos he attached his teeth to Blade’s nose too.
He bit it off, too.
The underground scattered.
Cos Renee’s teeth is already on Svetlana’s neck…
They weren’t fighting.
They wanted to kill.
“Ring the end bell!!!” Arturo yelled at the top of his pained voice.
“No one is ringing the bell!!” Jethro shouted from behind the curtain. “This is the liveliest match ever!”
“Ring the damn belllllllll!” Arturo screamed till his head banged.
It was at this time Rosita entered the underground, and seeing that’s happening inside the ring…her breaths left her system.
“No…” She moved… “Blade!!!!”
She began running devastatingly to the ring, screaming.
Midnight and Satan spranged up, shocks written in their eyes.
Bishop and Quincy were already rushing to the ring to separate Renee from Svetlana too.
The underground scattered more.
In the middle of it all, Skylar’s cold got worse. She shouldn’t have come here tonight.
She shouldn’t have…
She’s currently on her chair, unable to breathe or talk.
And it was at this time the timer for Lovato’s post clicked.
The post uploaded.
Her nudes uploaded at the same time.
As some people screamed about the ring chaos, some were running to the ring, some were making videos, and some were checking their phones for the new uploaded update.
Gasps filled the area.
All eyes went fixed on Castle, and he wondered what was happening.
He told his buddies to upload the nudes, and it’s done, so why is he the one people are staring at?
He didn’t understand til Lovato rushed over with a childlike smile on her desperate face.
“Happy day-one to us, boyfriend. I choose to call you Mine from now on. What do you choose to call me?”
Castle’s eyes widened.
No wonder people are staring at him.
She actually announced that she’s in a relationship with him?
His anger was boundless.
“We were never dating, Lovato.” He sneered. “You’ve just been fooling yourself, dating yourself. And I chose to call you a naked fool cos your nudes are everywhere!!” He yelled.
Lovato’s world did a somersault.
TBC
