CAGED HEART (COMPLETE)

CHAPTER ONE (The Fighter)

There are all these moments you think you won't survive. And then you survived.

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Leon's POV

            I was panting.

            I was catching for my breath. I felt I was going to lose it. One. Two. Three. Fuck. How many punches do I have to give this shitty bag? I couldn't feel my knuckles because of the pain. Even if I was wearing gloves, it was still painful.

            But I wanted this.

            I wanted to feel the pain. I wanted to feel that I needed to breathe. I wanted to feel the sore in my body.

            Napapikit ako at isang malakas na suntok pa ang ibinigay ko sa kaharap kong punching bag tapos ay hinawakan iyon para huminto sa pag-galaw. Humihingal na idinikit ang ulo ko doon. I needed to slow down. As much as I wanted to push myself, I needed to breathe. To feel the air in my lungs.

So, I would know that I am still alive.

            Napahinga ako ng malalim at humihingal na tinatanggal ang gloves sa kamay ko at itinapon sa isang gilid. Hinila ko ang tuwalya na nakasampay sa silyang malapit doon at ipinahid sa katawan ko tapos ay deretsong tinungo ang banyo. Binuksan ko ang shower at pinabayaang tumulo ang tubig mula doon. Hinubad ko ang training shorts kong suot at humarap sa salamin.

            I could still see the scars from that nightmare. I looked at my face and there was the operation scars that they did for my broken nose and broken cheek. Tiningnan ko ang mga ngipin ko at kita pa rin doon ang pantay-pantay na tubo. Hindi halatang nagkabungi-bungi iyon dahil sa isang bangungot. Bumaba ang tingin ko sa dibdib ko at nakita ko doon ang scar tissue ng tama ng bala. Marahan kong hinawakan. It had been a year, but the pain was still there. Once I pressed it, the memories were like a flood in my head. Torque. Carmela. Their god damn syndicate.

            People thought that I couldn't survive. I was in coma for three months. Had a hard time moving my face and body. I wasn't able to speak for months. My body felt sore. Well, I could still feel the soreness occasionally. Everyone was telling me that what happened to me was a miracle.

            I kept on telling myself no. I survived because I was born a survivor.

            I always was.

            People knew me in XM Agency as Dustin Matias. The dependable agent that was going to follow every rule and command of my immediate superior. A follower. Because that's what I wanted them to think about me. I don't want them to know who the real Dustin Matias was.

            Before I joined the agency as Dustin Matias, I was Leon Deaver Kaestner first. The bad ass fighter of a deep underground circuit that holds illegal MMA fights. Yes. I was a cage fighter for years. Fights that my own brother leads. He was the organizer of Ring of the Dead. I smiled dryly. Literally the name says it all. Because after every fight, one of the opponents always turns up dead.

            It was always a fight to the death. Hindi ko maintindihan kung bakit may mga taong sumusuporta pa sa larong iyon. Gumagastos, pumupusta ng malaki para lang sa sandaling entertainment na makitang nagbubugbugan hanggang kamatayan ang dalawang tao sa ring. The patrons loved the blood and gore. More blood, more money. If there was death, more patrons to attract.

            My brother, Brad trained me to become a fighter. A game that he wanted to be in, but he couldn't because of an accident inside the ring. One game, with an uncalculated spin, he kicked his opponent, but he broke his shin in return. It was a nasty one. I was there and I saw the horror while looking at my brother's shin bone torn in two. Fucking gruesome sight.