Episode - 6: The Unknown World of Fighters

I remember falling from the window above into a deeper and darker hole. I am pretty sure that I would have at least four or more broken bones, as I fell from 10 floors building. I was luckily enough not to die as there was a huge carpet that was soft and through which I was saved and then through which I instantly fell into the hole. The harder I tried to get up, the harder I felt the pain. U never know how hard it can feel unless u feel it. I just fell there sleeping on the ground, waiting for the underlying energy in me to gather itself and then I thought I would motivate myself and get up. 

As I looked up, lying there, I found a world which I have never seen nor experienced. I say it as a world because, it seemed as I was falling through a dark hole, but actually I fell into a world that had hidden lights and a never unleashed world that hadn't been discovered yet.

The lights were hanging with wires all over the place. I slowly gathered my energy to get up and sit and saw what was around. I just wanted to explore the place. The place had multiple caves, which seemed like the entrances to something. This is a different place, before I could get a glance over the place, I was covered with cloth on my face and I was hit badly on my head. As I tried to wake up, the place seemed completely strange to me. I saw a group of people coming towards me. I must have been covered with a gunny bag, as i could breathe comfortably. Their presence never seemed hard to me, as I never feared the place nor the people as per my conscience said that these people meant no harm to me!

"What is this place?" I asked.

"Can you guess?" asked an elderly man smiling at my face. There are multiple eyes which are looking strangely at me. For a moment I thought it would be better to remain calm.

"Confused?" asked another one. 

"Yes! I fell through a peep hole that had a darker entrance, but I am not sure what this place is! Is this a new entrance to a bigger world! That would absolutely seem supernatural. And frankly I am not a comic fan. What else could be this place?"

"This is a world that remains disconnected with the exterior world. This is something that no one would ever want to enter and once, they're in.... They never will get out! The emotional bonding that this place has with people who are in it is enchanting. We are completely in love with this place. But who don't know if you're eligible to enter this world!"

"How would you know that If someone is eligible to enter into this world and remain in it?"

"The Test!"

"The test for what?" I asked.

"That's a brilliant question which will only be answered to the one who really needs it!"

"Oh! then when will I take the test?"

"When you're really ready!" said the elderly man and left me in the place with my hands tied to a log from which I was suspended to. As they left, I felt hunger and thirst, filled in me. I have been hanged here for days may be, I am not sure of that, but it kills me not to find any food nor water to consume here. i slowly fell asleep without any energy in me, in the same hanging position. As I suddenly woke up, to some peculiar noise that I haven't heard in ages, I saw something was moving behind my back. Before I could turn and see I saw the shadow of it jumping towards me. I suddenly jumped back to hold myself upside down hanging on the rope I was tied to. I then realized that the peculiar sound was the roar of a tiger. I din't even know how did that enter here. But I know this, if I had to survive, I had to kill this beast and make a stand to fight the situation of crisis. It was wandering below me in the radius of a circle of attack as the predators draw so as to fight the prey. We, the fighters are trained in two techniques while being fought. No one ever knew that street fights will have professionally trained fighters in it. Yes, we are trained the hardest to fight the worst of our enemies. One among the two techniques that we learn are the predator and the prey. The predator which hunts the prey draws a circle with a radius of it's vicinity to approximate the escape estimation of the prey and then hunt it down badly with no choice left but to surrender itself and die. All we need to show is that the radius of approximation that it drew was false! As a fighter, I must be ready even if it kills me. I know that the Death is no escape when it's time. But I am also pretty sure that this isn't the time for it. I deserve and fight better than most of the fighters did, so now it is time for me to prove those skills of intelligence and strength to kill this beast and save myself!

Game is yet to start as it is exactly under me waiting for the prey to make a move. As it wants me to make a move, I taunted it by hanging myself down. It immediately tried grabbing me for which, my rope has been pulled down further. This is a bad feat, which resulted in me getting killed more closer. I decided to hand upside down again and then saw, there is something that is hanging in it's neck. As I realized that it was a key, I saw the entrance of the place from where I was brought in. I tried jumping back again but this time, it threw it's powerful claw on me. It hurt me very badly. I hanged again and this time the rope was cut by the claw attack of it. I immediately took the rope, and tied the rope around it's neck and threw the rope to the nearest rod and pulled it harder. It was then, I took the key and hanged the tiger with it's neck to the rope. When it was running out of it's breath, I saved it by cutting the rope with the knife that I got at the entrance of the cave by throwing it at the predator. As it fell down, it realized that the circle of radius in which it fell was outside it's estimate. With a token of appreciation, it bend down with it's head to me and offered the dignity of carrying me on it. As I tried to sit on it, there suddenly jumped a Lion from the entrance, which I opened with the key hanging in it's neck. This time we are both screwed I thought. As I was explaining previously, we are trained with the second technique of the pack of wolves. We attack in a random pattern to immobilize the prey and we become the predator by surprising it with a Gruesome attack, from the top which it would never expect. This made me the importance of the situation I was put in and tried attacking it in the random patterns with jumps from place to place. Lion is a deadly hunter. Once it lays it's claw on me, consider me dead. But all I had to do was divert it's attention and before it could chase the diversion and comeback I must be ready to kill it. As it is against our Fighters rules to kill a fighter, I thought it would be better not to kill any of the animals around me now. I immediately came behind the tiger and jumped randomly, for which the tiger must have understood the game plan and attacked the Lion. The Lion immediately tried to attack the tiger and before it could lay it's claw I came in jumping from above and gave it a death blow in the back of it and sat above it. The Lion roared in pain and before it could recover, the tiger tried to attack it, but unexpectedly, the Lion pushed me aside and killed the Tiger. I was filled with rage and killed the Lion not even caring about the rules. It was then, the lights came in and everyone clapped. I saw an elderly man coming in a robe with a silk cloth which seemed like some kind of special token of appreciation, and put that on my shoulder. 

"My dear people, the test is complete now! He is one of us from now! Please welcome the Winner - The Regan!" he said and raised my hand. I was not sure of what just happened and they took me to bath and offered me decent clothes and great food, for these all never mattered to me. 

"I wanted to meet the elderly man who spoke to me when I was hanged in the cave!" I asked.

They took me there and I started speaking

"What the hell did just happen to me? What was going on over there? I never killed anyone in my life till date! What the hell is happening to me?"

"It was a combination of both a Dual and a Solo fight! It always ends with one kill! You must be lucky that you're alive!"

"Is this what the test you meant?"

"Actually the Test, unleashes your true intentions!"

"What does that mean?"

"You're a man of your word Regan!"

"I am not Regan!"

"Regan is the name the elderly gave to you and you must respect it until you stay here!"

"Okay! What did the test reveal about my intentions then?"

"It revealed that you're hurt and you need love. Badly!"

"How did you know that?"

"The pain we saw in your eyes when the tiger was killed by the Lion, revealed it!"

"But I killed the Lion too!"

"Yes! It also meant that you're after someone who hurt someone or something that you love very badly!"

"I need to find the bastard who killed the fighters in the club. The Fighters club is all I needed to be in!"

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I was asked to meet you as I believe you have something important to talk!"

"Well! This is something important isn't it?"

"Importance changes from person to person. So I cannot decide if something is important unless something is truly perceived from one's perspective!"

"Then that's all for now!" I quoted. 

"Be safe and sound. This is a place where everyone here is a fighter like you are Regan!"

"Just a moment...."

"Yes tell me?"

"Are all the people living here are selected the way I was today?"

"No!"

"Then...?"

"Worse...! They are given the worst among the worst ways....!"

"So does that mean all the people here are fighters too?"

"No! They aren't fighters... They are survivors I hope!" he smiled and left the place. I came back to the room I was allocated and slept there looking for answered that are still unanswered in my mind. I need all of them answered.