Chapter 109
Chapter 109
Zenovia
The next battles felt like a breeze. Our first victory motivated our team a lot and even after breaking into smaller teams, team A won against Team B’s opponents most of the time.
After a few more rounds, when it began to be obvious that Team B’s opponents were losing, the spectators began to boo and lose interest in the match.
Seeing their loss of interest, Matteo decided to switch things a bit.
He blew the whistle to gain our attention.
“OK, now team A and team B fight amongst themselves instead of each other. It would be between five people from each team that remain standing at the semi finals and then the last one on one match.”
He announced and immediately a few visitors began whispering excitedly. Matteo had just turned the game upside down.
Now, I had to fight against the very team members I had started to bond with. I stared at them warily and they, too, looked at each other warily.
Just like that, our team bond was now strained. My gaze flitted to the other team, and it looked like they were not having it much easy either.
Little sparks of fight had already begun showing as one boy shoved the other mercilessly and the referee had to intervene to signal that they could fight each other when he announced it.
I looked at my team and replied, “Don’t worry. We are not going to hurt each other, are we? We will just try to throw each other down to the ground. No harsh movements or anything.”
I said and held my hand in front of them with my palm open.
A few looked at me doubtfully but one girl smiled and placed her hand on mine. Soon, more followed suit and then we all cheered and got into position as we waited for the referee’s signal.
Now we were just eight on either team and it didn’t take us long to end up with five. Two of our team members gave in pretty easily because one had injured his ankle while the other girl had sprained her foot.
So both were not confident of tackling the other team B that was fighting each other viciously.
It was funny to watch them. The other team was practically pulling at each other’s hair and clothes and kicking and shoving to push each other down.
Meanwhile, our team just was playful and did not lunge at each other’s throats for victory. We had a team spirit and even those who were asked to leave the arena after being disqualified had a smile on their faces.
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After the referee announced the end of the match, I ran towards the injured and we chatted for a while before the next fight would begin.
Frankly, I had not even expected to last this long. Not only because I doubted
my strength was enough, but because I thought I would be dragged out of the arena before stepping into it.
I had been fearing that Callahan would show up and drag me outside, but he was nowhere to be seen. I felt a little upset to not have been able to show my progress to him and how I am not a weak, timid girl anymore, but he was not around. All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.
Probably, he had more important things to do than watch the pups fight and bicker with each other.
“Hey, you fight really well” I was dragged out of my thoughts when one of my team member spoke to me.
I smiled, “We all tried our best”
She was a cute girl and looked younger than me.
“My name is Caroline. Think I did not introduce myself earlier.”
She extended a hand which I took and shook lightly.
“Zenovia.” I offered and looked at her leg. “How is your injury?”
“Nothing to worry about. But I think that team B girls hate you”
I chuckled. I was not the only one who had noticed them glaring at me, it seemed.
“Yeah, I have no idea why but they do look a little familiar. Not all, just a few, but I dont know where I might have seen them.”
Caroline put the bottle on the seat beside her and replied, “Just stay careful. They look mean and bitchy.”
“Thanks. I will”
I heard the whistle signaling for us to return back to the arena. And I stepped with my team of 4 other players to fight against the team of 5 from team B.
However, when the timer started, all the team B members looked at each other and smiled deviously.
Before I knew what was happening, they all ran towards our team…or rather, me.
Five girls, all angry and hissing, lunged at me. Two grabbed my hands, two grabbed my legs, while the one left began punching me left and right.
My team only stared at them for a second with a disbelieving look.
“Hey, this is a team match!!”
Caroline shouted from outside the arena. Her words dragged the others out of their stupor and they tried to shake off the girls wrestling me.
But I don’t know why they left all the four other members and only ganged up against me.
“This is cheating” Caroline called out to the referee but there was no rule expressly stating that they could not do what they were doing.
My team tried pulling them down and hitting them, but the girls ignored their efforts and only began dragging me to a corner, away from my team.
“Hey, why the hell are you targeting me?” I tried to speak while wrestling out of the hold of the girls who were holding my hands, but they did not answer.
I struggled and writhed, but my strength was not on par to take down five of them at once. I saw the one holding my left leg was already distracted by my team member trying to pull her away, so I kicked as hard as I could into her abdomen while also pushing my leg in the sand to throw the grains of sand in her face.
As expected, she winced and lost her hold on my leg as the sand got in her eye. The one holding my arm yelled at the girl holding my right leg, “Don’t let her go”
I looked up at her as she snarled at me, but I took my chance and swung my free leg as hard as I could and the tip of my toe connected with the small of her back.
“Ahh” She winced and lost control of my other foot. Sensing the opportunity, I roved my foot in the sand while the two began dragging me, their nails digging into my skin painfully.
I could hear hysterical shrieks from the crowd and even Caroline who was jumping up and down from the bench.
I saw her running to Matteo and arguing with him, but the girls had not seriously injured me, nor had they shifted into their wolf forms.
At first, I felt angry that he did not stop them, but then I told myself I did not need anybody’s help. I recalled the times when Sid and his friends had bullied me just like this while I expected somebody to intervene, to save me.
The scene began playing vividly in front of my eyes of how he would taunt and bully me while the others would either enjoy it or act like passive bystanders.
“You bitch. You think you can humiliate us just because you are a smartypants? I will show you what it means to be a warrior.”
The girl holding my right hand smiled deviously and sunk her nails further into my skin and I felt something warm trickle out of my skin.
But I did not have time to cry. I was done crying.
So, using the pain as a motivation, I tried to plant my foot in the sand again and twisted my body at an odd angle, recalling how Callahan had done that when the rogues had fought him back at the hospital.
My moves hadn’t been smooth like his, but I managed to take the two girls by surprise and jump back on my feet while freeing my hands of their hold.
Bending down, I collected sand in both my hands, walked up to them and blew it in their face while they let out hysterical shrieks.
But I was not done with them yet. Going behind them, I closed my hands around their necks, holding them trapped at my elbow joint with each hand and gritted my teeth before hurling them both to the side.
They went flying on each side of me and fell to the ground with a thud, howling and screeching in pain.
“Crying suits you” I winked at the girl who was glaring at me murderously.