2. Corinthians DeCorte #2
The door opened, and a group of men walked in.
Uri came in last, his hands tied behind his back and a gag in his mouth.
His right eye was swollen, and his nose was bleeding.
But he wasn’t walking as if he were hurt.
There was no limp or misstep. He looked to be unfazed.
They escorted him to the cage with the other boy, unlocked it, and then pushed him in.
“Did he get checked out?” the boy asked, but no one answered. He went to Uri and untied his hands. “Did he get checked out?”
“No,” one of the men laughed as they walked out of the room. The door slammed behind them.
“Uri,” the boy said, looking him over. “I gotta check you out. Make sure you’re okay.”
“I’m okay,” Uri said, pulling the gag from his mouth. He used it to wipe his nose, then sniffed. “It doesn’t hurt.”
“It never does,” the boy mumbled. “Did you get hit with anything?”
“Just fist,” Uri answered. He stood and lifted his arms over his head. The boy checked his sides, back, and stomach, then stepped back.
“You look fine,” the boy said, shaking his head. “But I won't know for sure how many bruises until they start forming.”
“I told you I’m good.” Uri chuckled, then sat down. “How do you feel?”
“Sore but okay,” the boy answered. He cut his eyes to me. “I told her to stop fighting Robert. She’s his pet-“
“I’m not his pet,” I told him. Uri dropped his head and shook it while the boy glared at me. “I’m not his pet.”
“You’re his pet,” the boy said. “Your parents accepted the money. You belong to him. There’s no way out of it. It's you; it’ll always be you.”
“I’m not his-“
“Yes, you are!” the boy yelled. “You’re his pet, Uri is his killer, and I’m the spare son! We have our roles. Accept it or die!”
“I would rather die,” I told him. Even at my age, I knew that whatever a pet was, I didn’t want to be it.
“Then he’ll kill you,” the boy laughed. “He will kill you and replace you with the next best thing. You have a sister, right? Younger?” he shrugged. “Robert will take her as a replacement. Mold her into whatever he wants and do whatever he wants to her.”
The thought of him touching Bug made my eyes water.
She hated this; hated fighting, hated being told she had to fight to survive.
We hadn’t been raised like this. My granddaddy was a preacher, and our grandma, whom we called Madea, was the first lady.
We sat in church every Sunday, in the front row—my uncles, aunts, and cousins.
We weren’t allowed to start any fights, but we finished every one that was brought to us.
We had Sunday dinner every week. Madea cooked, Granddaddy said grace, and we ate at the big table.
This wasn’t my life! Things changed in an instant, and I was told it was our secret, that no one was supposed to know.
What happened in our house was our business, not anyone else's.
“Bug doesn’t-“
“He won't care,” the boy said. “He will break her just because he can't have you, and the way he will do it will be hell.”
“Kenbral, chill out,” Uri said, standing. He was moving as if he had no pain.
“Chill out?” Kenbral reared back as if Uri had hit him.
“Chill out?” he wiped his hand over his face and shook his head.
“We talked about this, Uri. You can take this. It doesn’t hurt you, but it does me.
I’m tired.” He dropped his face into his hands, and I saw the scared and hurt little boy.
“I can't keep fighting. I’m not like you.”
“I’ll fight for you. Your next fight is your last fight, right?” Uri and Kenbral nodded. “Then I’ll do it.”
“You can't,” Kenbral sighed and lifted his head. “You could be hurt, and we don’t know it. I can't-“
“I will fight for you.” Uri looked over Kenbral’s shoulder at me. “No matter what, I will fight for you.”
The doors opened again, and the same group of men who had brought Uri into the room came back.
They didn’t say anything; they just came to my cage and opened the door.
I balled up my fist at my side and waited for them to come into my cage.
I may not be able to beat them all, but I was going to fight no matter what.
“Don’t fight them,” Uri said to me. I looked over to see him shaking his head. “Don’t fight them. They’ll tase you and drag you out when you pass out. Let them take you.”
“I want to go home,” I told him. Uri nodded, and I relaxed my hands and walked out of the cage.
I was taken from the cage, through the room with the cages, and into another room. I expected to see a fighting ring, but instead it was an office. Robert sat behind the desk watching me.
“Pet,” he said and pointed to the space in front of his desk. I took a deep breath, then stood where he pointed. “Good girl.” He leaned back into his seat and swayed. “You have disappointed me, Pet. Have I not been good to you?” He waited for me to answer. “Well, have I?” His brow went up.
“I want to go home,” I said instead of answering him.
“I have been good to you,” he chuckled. “I have, and that pisses me off because you haven’t lived up to your end of the bargain.”
“I didn’t agree to anything,” I said, shaking my head. “My daddy told me to listen to you.”
“Yet you haven’t,” he replied. “You’ve fought me on every occasion.
From your first lesson to now. Every time it’s a fight with you.
But you know what, Pet?” he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desk, and smirked.
“I realized that you like the fight. You aren’t just going to do what I say because I say it.
You have to respect me to follow me, and I get it, I really do.
And to be honest, I have to respect it.” He leaned back and shrugged.
“So, this is what we are going to do. You are going to fight until you have no choice but to listen. I am going to put you in a ring, and you will either listen to me and survive or die at the hands of whoever I send in here.” His eyes were cold and soulless.
“And if you die, I will go to your parents' house, put a bullet in their heads, and drag your sister into this same fucking room, and she will have to fight me.” Robert picked up the phone on his desk and kept watching me. “Bring him in.” He hung up the phone, and I turned to look at the door as it opened. Uri walked in, eyes dark and wild. “I knew you would come.” Robert pointed to the space next to me, and Uri came and filled the space. He was bigger and taller than I was. “Good, you’re here. This is a breaking.”