I walked back into my apartment in complete despair. I dreaded having to call my dad and tell him I had to come back home, and telling Ashley and Mr Greggs would be even worse. I pushed the door to the lobby open roughly stomping my way in.

"How did your job interview go?" Ms. Smith confronted me by the mail boxes.

"How on earth did you know about that?" I asked in shock. I was almost impressed at the depth of her gossiping skills.

She shrugged at me and I eyed her long flowery dress, her greying hair wrapped up into a tight bun. She looked especially nice. "I thought it was common information that you're unemployed."

I let out a groan of frustration, walking past her, "Well, I didn't get it! Are you happy now Ms. Smith?" I shouted.

I heard her mutter something about hormonal twenty year olds as I began my trek up the stairs when my phone rang. Grumbling I picked it up, "Hello?"

"Hi, this is Daniel from earlier."

I paused, "Oh, hi, Daniel."

"I just wanted to let you know, I talked it over with my brother and he agreed that you can have the job." He stated.

"What?" I yelled a little loudly. "Is this a joke?" I asked my eyes narrowing. It would be just like this punk to play a prank on me.

"It's not a joke," He said slowly like I was hard of hearing, "Can you start tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow? Of course! I'll see you tomorrow!"

"9 AM," he confirmed before adding, "Er, you seem like the type to get here early. Don't get here early."

"9 AM," I repeated. "I'll be there. Thank you!"

I hung up and squeaked to myself for a moment. I leaned over the railing, "Ms. Smith!" I called out knowing she was listening. She was always listening.

"Yes?" Came the quick reply.

"I got the job!" I said enthusiastically.

"Hallelujah," she stated in monotone.

Well, now I remembered why Mr. Greggs was my favourite. He would show some enthusiasm at the very least. I ran up a couple of flights to his door and knocked incessantly.

"Goddamnit, just wait a minute," he grumbled in annoyance while I continued to knock on his door. "What?" He shouted, opening the door, the stench of cigarettes reaching my nose abruptly. Upon seeing my face he calmed down.

"I got the job!" I squealed, hugging his frail frame.

"Great." He replied tapping my back slowly. I pursed my lips. This wasn't exactly the enthusiasm I was expecting.

"Thanks," I muttered half heartedly. I'm sure Ashley would make up for this when she finally woke up at 11 PM for her night shift.

I left Mr. Greggs and returned to my apartment to research for work tomorrow. It took me thirty minutes of searching in places I hadn't looked at in years to find my old, buried spinal cord injury notes.

I jotted down key information to remember like how depression was highly likely after going through a spinal cord injury, about how physical exercise was crucial, and how the patient needed to learn how to cope with a new way of life. I double checked my statistics about the recovery period and was pleased with myself when I realized that the two year recovery was in fact, true. I was hoping to get more information as to the nature and extent of the injury tomorrow from Daniel or his brother, but I also didn't want to appear overbearing and push Daniel away.

My phone rang at that moment and I checked the ID to see that it was Ashley. I was surprised that I had researched for so long.

"Hey," I answered the phone.

"Hi!" Came the chipper reply. "So?" She asked excitedly.

"I got the job!" I cheered.

"You got the job! I knew you would do it! You're so talented!" She replied loudly. Mr. Greggs should take notes, this was true enthusiasm. But then again, every interaction with Ashley was filled with enthusiasm. "Can you meet up for a coffee?"

"Do you have time?" I checked my watch to see that it was 10:30. She must have woken up early to call me.

"I'm actually checking out this place for a story so I was going to get a coffee and hang out there and get to work for 12." She responded.

"Ooh, what's the story?" Ashley always had the most creative stories. Being on air so late meant she either got the fluff, feel good stories that no one really cared about - like an orangutang at the zoo that air kissed a baby - or the really dark ones that most people didn't like to see in the day - like the underground spread of drug use.

"There's this thing called street fighting, which is basically like a super secret fight club. There are no rules and the winner takes home any bets that were made on the fighters." She explained getting giddy like she did whenever she got a meaty story.

"That sounds morbid," I responded.

"Oh, it is. It's extremely dangerous. They move the location every time they fight so they don't get caught by the police. I've been in contact with someone in the inner circle, that's the only way I could get my intel."

"Sure," I replied. Anything beats sitting in my apartment, alone.

Ashley gave me the address and I left my apartment to meet her. It was a miracle I didn't run into Ms. Smith who would have scolded me for leaving the apartment so late and made a subtle jab at promiscuity in the twenty first century.

I got off the bus at what looked like a street with food vendors lined up. If my dad thought my apartment complex was sketchy, this would give him a heart attack. I clutched my purse a little tighter, glad that I remembered my pepper spray today. "Where the hell has Ashley brought me," I muttered to myself. I felt a tap on my shoulder and screamed before turning around fumbling with my purse in search for my pepper spray.

"Whoa, relax, Em." Ashley piped.

"Jesus. Don't sneak up on a person." I clutched my heart which was rapidly beating out of my chest.

"You should thank me for making you realize that you're not nearly prepared enough for an attack."

"Thanks," I stated dryly. Silver lining.

"Come on," she quipped lacing her arm with mine and leading me into an alleyway.

"Um, Ashley, are you sure this is safe?" I asked eyeing every suspicious shadow that we encountered.

"Well, sort of, I guess? We're like undercover journalists so it's never one hundred percent, but we'll have an adventure either way!" She exclaimed. Silver lining.

"I'd like to show up to my first day on the job with no external damages," I remarked quietly.

"Here it is," she pointed to a large cement filled area with large overhead lighting. A metal cage was in the middle, a crowd already building around it.

"This looks like a horror movie," I stated taking in the area.

"Relax," she jabbed her elbow into my side pointing at an announcer that was entering the cage and pulling me to the front of it.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen! Are you ready for a brawl?" The crowd around us cheered and he waved them on, "You know the rules and those are there are no rules!" The crowd cheered even louder. "Winner takes home the honey pot! Coming in on the right is Kaz, weighing in at 170 pounds!" The crowd cheered and whistled as a thin, blonde haired man walked into the cage, holding his hands up, without gloves. That's extremely dangerous.

"Coming in on the left is someone you've heard whisperings about - a man who only appears to defend his title - a man who needs no introduction - 'The Axe Murderer' Silva!" A huge man with darker hair entered, tattoos covering every inch of his body, including his face. He looked terrifying. The crowd went wild, jumping and screaming at the top of their lungs. He grinned at his opponent who looked wary now.

The bell dinged and they began to bounce around the cage, fists up. Kaz attempted a kick in Silva's direction but he easily dodged it. Kaz came in closer with a punch that Silva ducked under before punching him in his ribs. I winced. I could almost hear the cracked rib. Kaz attempted another kick, missing and another punch, missing again. Silva looked to the crowd putting his arms up to signal that he wanted cheering. The crowd complied and he reached his fist back and charged it forward into Kaz's head, knocking him out cold.

I watched in disbelief as Kaz's body hit the ground. The bell rang and the crowd cheered for Silva, but he didn't stop there. He jumped on top of Kaz's knocked out body and delivered fist after fist of beatings until Kaz's body was flowing with blood. "Stop!" I screamed at the top of my lungs but the crowd was cheering too loudly for anyone to hear. Where are the referees? Scratch that, where are the police? All I could do was watch in horror as Silva stood up and smirked at the body that looked like it was nearly dead.

He looked to the crowd with that stupid smirk plastered across his face. I never realized how much I disliked smirking until this very moment. His eyes scanned the crowd, his smirk growing larger at the praise he was receiving. His eyes met mine briefly and I could see annoyance flash at my less than pleased posture.

The crowd began to disperse, Kaz still lying on the floor of the cage. Was no one going to help the man?

Ashley tugged my arm, "We need to get going."

"What about him?" I asked horrified as I pointed to the body, still on the floor.

"Can we call 911?" She asked.

"I think he's lost too much blood." I pushed all other thoughts aside and walked into the terrifying cage. Most bystanders were gone at this point. "Call an ambulance, Ashley." I said as I saw the extent of his injuries.

I began to apply pressure to his wounds, but there were so many. Ashley ran in behind me and gave me an old first aid box, "I found this on the side," she stated pulling gauze out. I supposed it would have to do. Kaz needed a large amount of stitches, but he'd be lucky to survive the beating.

Kaz groaned from under me trying to open his swollen eyes, "Keep your eyes closed, Kaz. You'll get blood in them," I coached as I attempted to wipe the blood off of his eyes.

The sound of sirens sent a wave of relief rushing through my body. This man was going to die if he didn't get immediate attention. The paramedics drew in closer and gently put his body onto a stretcher. I heard Ashley telling them she was a journalist with HZ news, but I couldn't get the horror out of my head. What had I just witnessed?