Never Leave

14

Laura stood in Carmilla's corner, watching her punch at the air like it was her worse enemy. Never had she seen Carmilla so focused and trained, not even when she watched her practice. This was different. This was real. This was a fight with a stranger for money. This was lethal. This spoke to Carmilla's primal instinct. This was survival...and it scared Laura to no end.

"Carm? Are you sure about this?" Laura frowned, getting her feel of the room. The crowd was live, drunk and sober in mix. Some were cheering. Some were screaming. All of them were loud. There were men with bottles of beer waving in the air like candles. Women were using their tops as pinwheels. Some of said women had nothing underneath, giving the crowd an extra show. A few of the audience members were obviously a bunch of under-aged 16-year-olds looking for a place to avoid parental supervision. And Carmilla's opponent...yikes! She was taller and very bulky, so much so that muscles flexed without effort. A normal person would shudder in fear. Laura wouldn't blame them. She looked like she ate sawdust sprinkled nails for breakfast. Sure, Carmilla use to have O'negative every morning with her Captain Crunch; but that wouldn't give her razor-sharp teeth other than the 2 she used to have...unless they were still there, just less fang. But, this girl, every tooth could have been fang.

"She looks hungry...for flesh."

Carmilla stopped her shadowboxing to look dead into the eyes of her opponent, wrapping her hands nonchalantly. She turned to face Laura, unbothered. "I've eaten squirrels bigger than her."

"You tell her, K-Dub! It's ass-kicking time! Put your hair up and square up!" Kenzie slapped Carmilla's shoulder before jumping over the ropes and back out of the ring.

Laura could've slapped them both. She wanted to. Though her face looked more like "lost puppy" than slap happy. "How are you not scared? That woman can bench press 6 of me!"

Carmilla took a step forward, cupping Laura's face in her hands. "I spent 2 years thinking you were 6 feet under Silas Cemetery. The only thing that scares me now is waking up in a world where you don't exist. Again."

The bell rang and Kenzie screamed an inaudible chant from her perch on a turnbuckle.

"See you at the violence." Carmilla put her mouthguard in, shrugged off her jacket, and turned away to face her opponent.

The referee- if you can call her that- had the two women shake hands before backing away to wait for the second bell.

"So, how many points does Carmilla need to win this thing?" Laura asked.

Kenzie shook her head, keeping an eye on the other side of the ring. "She doesn't win by points. This is a bare-knuckle fight, Laura. Her aim isn't to get a certain amount of points on the board. Her goal is to leave that girl lying on the mat, unable to move. She's fighting to win- and get paid, of course."

Laura noticed Carmilla removing the gauze from her hand and putting it back. Winding and unwinding until she flexed her hand and stood patiently. What would those hands look like after this?

"And, if she loses?" She pondered.

"We don't get paid! Jeez, Hollis! Are you even listening?" Kenzie nudged Laura as she bounced down from the turnbuckle to stand beside her. "If she loses, you have a bloody Karnstein to wipe down tonight. If she wins, you have a sweaty, less bloody Karnstein to wipe down tonight. So, it's a win-win for you either way."

Laura glowered at her, blushing all at the same time. "I can, and will, smack you, Spielsdorf."

Kenzie chuckled. "Laura, my money's on the latter. Literally. I'm her manager. Carmilla hasn't lost a fight but once. That was a long time ago, and my fault I imagine. Bad scheduling..."