Heartless Angels
Chapter 32

Chapter 32 – Oakley

Chapter 32 – Oakley

Here’s how it’s gonna go, Head Trainer Sophia calls to all of us. “There will be 6 rounds of fighting. We’re doing this

tournament style, with the top seed going against the bottom seed, second seed against number 42, and so on down the line. Everything is single elimination, meaning if you lose once, you’re out. Your overall ranking will equal half of your total score to decide rankings at the end and who will be kicked out. Up to six matches will go on at a time with four trainers watching each. Because we have an odd number of trainees, we will start with a preliminary round. Ranks 22-43 will fight each other for a chance in the next round.

“You will pick two weapons to use during your fight. Each weapon is completely free of silver, so, though it will hurt like f uck to get stabbed or struck, nob*dy will die. Even so, your goal is to incapacitate, not kill. If anyone goes for a killing blow, you will automatically be disqualified from being a member of the Elite 10. If something happens to your opponent due to this killing blow, you may face murder charges and you will have a sh it ton of witnesses to say what happened. Medics are standing by as needed. No one has ever died from this exercise and I intend to keep it that way.

“You win when your opponent either taps out or cannot continue. Are there any questions?”

I raise my hand and wait until I’m acknowledged. “If we make it to the next round, do we need to keep the same weapons that we used in the previous round?”

“Excellent question. No. You are free to change your weapons based on your strengths and any strengths that you have observed in your opponent throughout the

week. I hope that you were all paying attention,” Sophia answers. “Any other

questions?”

No one raises their hands. The tension in the air is palpable as we wait for our turns in the sparring rings.

“Alright, trainers, please unveil the tournament board,” Sophia says, waving her hand similar to Vanna White.

The board is fl*pped and we all see who we are facing. I am ranked as number one, Jer ry at two, Cassie at three, Lisa at

four, Harry at six, and Mary at thirty-nine.

There are 11 fights going on in the preliminary round and I see that I’m going to be facing the winner of the fight between

ranks 33 and 32. They’ll be in the second set of fights, so I want to make sure to watch them and get an idea of their skills.

That’ll be the best way to help me decide which weapons that I should pick.

But in the first set, I’ll be rooting for Mary. She’ll be facing Jeffrey, at rank 26. He’s really good at long range weapons, so Mary’s gonna have to get in close to get past his defenses. I know that’s exactly what Jer ry’s going down to tell her, but she’s already picking up knives and clubs. With as much as she taunts people, she’s still observant enough to pick up their strengths and weaknesses. And she also picked up the knives, which are a versatile enough weapon that she can throw them or use them

up close. It’s a smart move.

What she does that I don’t expect and am pleased to see is take up a club in one hand and a knife in the other. This will

allow her to block Jeffrey’s staff or sword with one hand and attack with the other. Jer ry still makes his way to his sister to give

her advice, but based on how she’s gearing up, I already know that she’s got this.

She and Jeffrey, along with all of the rest of the fighting pairs take their spots in their respective rings before Trainer Sophia addresses the group. “Fighting begins at the sound of the whistle and ends when one opponent either yields or is physically unable to continue. Stepping out of the ring will cause the fight to be stopped and reset in the center of the ring. No killing blows are permitted. Good luck to all.”

The whistle blows and the fighting starts. If it didn’t mean that Jeffrey got the beating of a lifetime and got a low rank in the

1/3

Chapter 32 – Oakley

round robin, it would be comical how quickly Mary takes him down. He came directly at her, attempting to use his staff as a launching post to send a kick towards her head. Instead, Mary steps to the side and bats him to the ground with her club. He doesn’t even have time to pull another weapon before Mary is on top of him and beating him mercilessly about his head and trunk with the club. He taps out just before he loses consciousness and Mary is declared the victor. The whole thing takes less

than two minutes,

The other fights last a bit longer and I make sure to study each one so that I can assess the competition. There’s one other upset in the first set. Corey, who is ranked one above Mary, wins his fight against the 27th rank. Then it’s on to the second set, which contains my first opponent.

There are two upsets in this round as well, one being my opponent. Sarah takes out Boyle, who is ranked above her, making her my first opponent in the next round. Looks like she favors the num-chucks and the staff. I’ll need a combination of throwable and short range weapons.

Not a problem. Knives and throwing stars. Two of my favorite things.

After a short break to clean weapons and reset the fighting rings, they start the second round with the five pairs that didn’t fight in the preliminary round. This gives the wolves that just fought a rest and time to heal any wounds they obtained in their previous fight.

I’m in the second round since Fm fighting someone from the preliminary round, as are all of my friends.

There are a few upsets in the first set, but nothing that is going to affect me in the next round, so I don’t really pay attention. With none of my friends in the first set, we gather around each other, talking strategy about our opponent.

“Sarah tends to attack with her left and block with her right”

“Gordan always attacks with the majority of his weight on his right foot. Knock him off balance and he’ll be good.”

“Don’t discount Julia’s strength. She knocked Ramses down and he’s got almost 100 lbs on her.”

“Percy is sh it at short range attacks. Get inside his defenses and you’ll be fine.”

We each keep one eye on the fights and one eye on the opponents that we’ll soon face in the ring. We help each other stretch and jog in place to get our muscles warm and flexible, ready to move as needed throughout our matches.

Soon enough, the matches are complete and we’re stepping into the fighting ring.

Sarah gives me a tight-l*pped smile, which I return. She’s always been kind to me here and is a great wolf. She’s just not the pest at fighting with weapons, preferring the crossbow and rifles. Hopefully it’ll get her to the next round, because that is

Something we’re going to need

Unfortunately, she won’t be getting past me.

The whistle blows and the fight starts.

Sarah begins the fight with the staff in her hand and I hold my hands behind my back, three throwing stars in one hand and

one in the other, prepared to throw.

Sarah steps forward, the staff clasped in both hands, one with an overhand grip and one with an underhand grip. She closes

even more of the distance between us and fakes a thrust the staff between us, pointing the staff at center mass. At the last

moment, she pulls back and swings the staff from the left side, attempting to hit me on the right side.

It’s a good move. Too bad I had seen her use it in her earlier fight and had been anticipating it. When she pulls the staff

back, I step into her. She lets go of the staff with one hand because of the awkward grip as she pulls back when she attempts to strike from the side and I aim a throwing star at the hand still holding the staff.

273

Chapter 32 – Oakley

The star hits her, slicing open the back of her hand as it sails by and into the wooden barrier the trainer on that corner holds

up. Sarah immediately drops the staff, her other hand instinctively covering that hand.

It’s all the opening I need.

With my empty hand, I grab a knife from my belt and erase the distance between us. Grabbing her around the n*eck with the arm of my throwing star hand, I hold the knife blade to her throat, pressing my front to her back. Sarah tries to grab a nun-chuck

from her weapons belt, but I take the knife and stab her once in the side and once in her hip.

Sarah screams, falling to the ground under the weight of the pain that she’s in. Again, she tries to reach for the nun-chuck and I give her a long slice down her arm.

In one final attempt, she tries to headbutt me, but the way that I’m positioned behind her, she can’t reach me. Instead, I shift the knife and use the hilt to smash into her head. She goes unconscious in my arms and falls to the ground.

I move on to the next round.

3/3