Seth leaned against the wall outside the main doors of the school, dressed in his usual jeans, Converse, and a plain black tee to match. It was a gray day, the sun refusing to come out from behind the clouds since the morning. He could whiff smoke... Someone was blazing somewhere nearby. Idiots. School was about to let out and the teachers would be out to smell that all-too-identifiable scent. He sighed and looked down at the text messages on his phone. Dozens from numbers he didn't know, all referencing that damn video that had gone up only yesterday.

Seth ground his teeth together.

Who are you fighting on Friday?

Are you on the main card?

These jokers had actual fight cards. Like they were some sort of professional organization or something. And of course, one text from a number Seth knew but was not in his phone.

Your price has been raised to 1 grand. Final offer, my man.

One grand in cash. For a single fight. Seth wasn't a greedy person. He cared about training, good food, long drives, and time with his friends. He wasn't a crazy partier and he didn't need much more that he didn't already have. But one grand was a lot. New gloves, new headgear, fix the nagging issue with his truck's stereo connection... And gas money. A whole lot of gas money.

Seth shoved the phone back into his pocket and looked around the mostly empty parking lot. He'd loitered long enough. It was time to head to CFA and train for the evening. Seth put his hands in his pockets and started walking to his truck. The air had the feel to it that summer was about to end. That sort of dying heat that's still as warm as it was a week ago, but with a faltering edge that speaks of the coolness of coming months.

College was coming soon. Seth's grades were good enough to get scholarships, and he'd done well enough on the practice ACTs he didn't think he'd have much of a problem getting into a school. The last thing he wanted to do was take out a big student loan.

"Hey, track and field."

Seth started out of his reverie and looked up to see Nicole perched on the corner of the tailgate of his truck. She held her backpack by a single strap and it dangled between her legs. She was wearing black jeans today, accompanied by boots that looked a little too 90s, and a V-neck tee that toed the line of the school dress code. She had a single wireless earbud in.

"What are you doing on my truck?"

She grinned. "Well, I was waiting, but honestly if you took much longer I was planning on vandalizing it."

Seth blew air out his nose. "We'd have a problem then."

"Sure we would." Nicole hopped down and slung her backpack over her shoulder. "What are you up to?"

"Training."

"Where at?"

"Central Fighting Arts."

"What martial art?"

Seth blinked. "Dutch kickboxing... But I started with Kyokushin."

"That explains why I had you pegged for Muay Thai."

Seth folded his arms. "Okay, spill, what do you do?"

"Whatever I feel like." Nicole stepped up to him. "And I have the urge to train. Does your gym have a drop-in fee?"

"Yeah, ten bucks, but we do month-by-month contracts that are pretty cheap."

"Perfect. Wanna give me a ride?"

Seth stared down at her. Her brown eyes were intense. "You don't have one?"

"Duh, or I wouldn't be asking you."

Seth looked back at the school. The doors opened up and people began to pour out. He wanted out of there before the parking lot got crazy.

"Yeah. Hop in."

Nicole smiled. Seth walked around, unlocked the doors, and got in his truck. He turned the keys in the ignition as Nicole climbed into the passenger seat, holding her backpack in her lap in a manner that suggested it had valuable contents.

"You have clothes to train in?"

"Does your gym require a gi?"

"Not for kickboxing."

"Then I do."

Seth popped the shift into reverse and pulled out of his parking space, then began navigating the maze of lanes to get out of the school lot. He glanced over at Nicole. "Where did you move here from?"

"A ways away."

"Okay, you're being difficult. I'm giving you a ride, the least you could do is entertain a conversation that's not aggravating."

She fixed him with a stern look. "I'll answer your questions however I want."

Seth put the truck in park right at the exit to the parking lot. "Okay, then, get out." He placed one hand on the wheel and turned to look straight at her.

She smirked. "Florida."

"Yeah, bullshit. You're way too pale."

"That's rude."

"Answer my damn question and we'll keep driving."

"Alright, we moved from Montana."

"Oh my god, was that so hard?" Seth shifted the truck back to drive and pulled out into the main road.

"It was entertaining."

Seth pursed his lips and drew the corners of his mouth downward. "You're a troll."

"That's not nice."

Seth didn't reply, and instead turned the stereo to Bluetooth. Spotify automatically started playing metal over the speakers. He glanced at Nicole. She seemed to be into it. They pulled to a stop at a red light.

"How long have you been doing martial arts?"

"A while. I grew up in a bad spot and so knowing about how to defend myself was kind of necessary."

"How long is a while?"

"A while."

"Uh-huh."

The light turned green and Seth started forward.

A red streak drew the attention of his peripherals as a vehicle came from his left, heedless of the red light. A semi crashed straight into the side of his truck with enough force that the last thing Seth thought before the whiplash knocked him unconscious was the realization his truck was both airborne and upside-down.

The world went black.