12 Chapter 11: Zane Loses?

Zane watched the remainder of the fights in tense silence. They were soon over, as there were only five this time. Next round there would be two fights in the first two circles, and three fights in the last two circles. Zane's turn came much faster than he would have liked.

His opponent was big but extremely slow and Zane easily defeated him with quick punches and kicks. After the match, he returned to the outside of the ring and found Aaron looking at him with newfound respect.

When the round finished, a fifth circle was drawn. A one on one fight would take place in each of the five circles. Zane was still in circle four. He saw that his opponent was big, just as big as the last one. Zane assumed that he was slow and felt confident walking into the circle to start the fight.

Lentae yelled begin. The big guy rushed at Zane with surprising speed. Zane jumped out of the way and just barely escaped the attack. The monstrous onslaught continued as he attacked Zane with lighting fast attacks. It was all Zane could do to avoid them. If he wanted to win this fight, he would have to think of something, and quickly. He gathered himself from a particularly close call and lunged forward to surprise him. Instead of being surprised, his opponent seemed to be waiting for this. Time seemed to slow down, and Zane watched as the guy's massive hand drew back and moved forward. The last thing he saw was an enormous fist plunging directly into his face.

Zane's eyes slowly fluttered open. He was laying on his back, staring at the sloping ceiling of a tent. He glanced around and took in his surroundings. The ground in the tent was covered with stretchers and injured recruits. Nurses and female recruits were bustling around the tent attending to the injured. They must have already determined that his injuries were not serious, as no one bothered to check on him.

He slowly got to his feet. He wasn't sure how long he had been out, but his head started spinning a little when he stood up. He steady himself and headed for the exit. As he approached the rear tent flap, he caught a glimpse of curly dark hair in the corner of the tent.

Pug was sitting up on a stretcher, moaning in pain. A tall, dark nurse with long black hair was leaning over him checking his injuries. Zane moved closer until their voices became clear.

"It hurts! I think I need more bandages!" Pug was complaining.

"Quit making such a fuss!" The nurse reprimanded him. She slapped the arm Pug was cradling and he flinched slightly. "You only have some mild bruising. We have injured patients to take care of." She then marched off to the middle of the tent. Pug watched her go before noticing Zane in the corner of his vision.

Pug scrambled up from the floor and moved toward Zane with a wave.

"Beautiful isn't she?" He said looking in the nurses direction with a dreamy look on his face, "I think she likes me." Zane raised an eyebrow but decided not to comment.

"We should get back, I want to see if the fights are still going," he replied instead. Pug gave one wistful look back at the nurse and nodded in agreement. They left the tent and made their way back to the circles.