ROCKET VS TANK

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Fiction

Hit, punch, kick. Hit, punch, kick, headlock. Rocket and Tank are going head-to-head. Rocket lands another hit. Tank lands a hit. Rocket lands another hit. Tank misses a hit to the head. Rocket lands another hit. Tank lands a kick to the leg. Rocket lands a kick to the leg. Tank misses again. He's getting pissed. Tank lunges at Rocket. Rocket ducks and lands a kick to the stomach. Tank bends over in pain. Tank punches Rocket. Rocket slips but gets back up. Tank is seething. He can't knock Rocket down.

Rocket is quick. He's using his speed to outsmart Tank. Tank is strong but not quick. He can't catch up to Rocket. Tank is slow, his speed, his footwork is not on par with Rocket. Rocket lands another blow to Tank. Rocket quickly gets away from Tank's punches.

Tank is getting upset. After another punch by Rocket Tank gets up but he doesn't move. He's stand there watching Rocket. The crowd is cheering for Rocket but not me. I'm cheering for Tank. Rocket is too cocky. I see it all over his face. In his mind Rocket knows Tank is slow and that he can beat Tank but Tank has something else working for him.

Tank is smart but right now Tank is not using his mind. I need him to start using his mind. I see him standing there watching Rocket, watching his every move. Rocket begins to circle Tank. Tank doesn't move. The crowd is yelling Rocket, Rocket, Rocket. I look at Tank. He looks at me. I nod. In one swift motion Tank punches Rocket in the face. Rocket goes down.

The crowd is silent. The ref begins to count. 1,2,3, Rocket is not moving. 4,5,6, Rocket is still not moving. 7,8,9,10, the bell rings. Tank wins. Oh My God! Tank won the match. The crowd is booing. They are chanting we want a rematch. I jump into the ring and hug Tank. I can't believe Tank won. Tank wasn't supposed to win. He was the underdog. Tank still won despite the odds. I'm so happy. The crowd is clearly not.

Me and Tank leave the ring together all the while the crowd is yelling and cursing at Tank. Tank grabs my hand and moves me closer to him. I'm getting scared. The crowd is becoming violent. They can't stand the fact Rocket lost and Tank won.

I look up at Tank. He mouths to me "I'll protect you." I trust Tank with my whole being. He never lets me down and I never let him down. You can say Tank is my best friend. We've known each other since the day Tank moved next door to me.

I know Tank as Mason Rivera. A skinny kid from right here in Los Angeles. He was a dreamer, dreaming big things. Every day I saw him going to the gym. I asked him one day why he gets up so early to go to the gym? His simple reply "I want to reach the big time."

I didn't understand what Mason meant by reaching the big time until I passed the gym and saw Mason working out. I couldn't keep my eyes off of Mason. His hardworking and dedication to what he loved was incredible.

The next day I introduced myself to Mason. I told him my name is Shay. He told me his name is Mason. I asked Mason what he hopes to become? With a big smile on his face Mason told me he wants to make it one day in MMA, mixed martial arts. I was surprised by his answer. I thought he wanted to be a boxer.

Mason looked at me like I had three heads. Already I knew no one believed in Mason and that was going to change. This was the first time I talked to Mason . I knew he has passion for MMA. He just needs someone to believe in him and I was going to be that person.

Every day for the longest time, I would go with Mason to the gym, cheer him on, encourage him when he was down. Many people at the gym wouldn't take Mason seriously because of how he looked. I told Mason to tune them out and he did.

I saw Mason getting better and better every single day and by the time his first match came along Mason was ready. The odds were against Mason. This was his first match. His opponent's fifth match. Experience vs inexperience. The money was on his opponent. I bet my money on Mason. I never was a betting girl but I know Mason very well.

Ten minutes was all it took for Mason to show these people what he was made of. I was proud of Mason for not backing down and for showing these people how good he is.

Mason made a name for himself in the underground scene but what he really wanted was to fight in the MMA. His dream was always within reach but the MMA officials always overlooked Mason because he wasn't the right person or he didn't have the right look. It broke my heart seeing Mason get rejected time after time. All the rejections fueled Mason. Mason never gave up, never quit, then one day something incredible happened.

Mason was the undisputed champion in the underground scene. He beat everyone and I mean everyone. They called Mason Tank because he bulldozed threw them all. In the stands was the president of MMA world of action Sebastian Nguyen. I wondered why he was in the stands.

Mason won his match again still the undefeated champion. I walked to the ring and hugged Mason. Sebastian Nguyen was right there too. He talked to Mason about an upcoming fight. Mason was interested in the fight but no details were given. I asked Mason if he was going to accepted.

I didn't like what was happening but this is Mason's dream and I wasn't going to step on his dream. One week later the details of the fight were given. The undisputed underground champion Mason "Tank" Rivera vs Grayson "Rocket" Hunter the undisputed heavy weight champion. The match was set for June 24th.

Rocket did so many interviews about how he was going to beat Mason. How he's the better fighter and how he's going to prove Tank is a fluke. The media and the fans ate it all up. The women especially. They fell all over Rocket. Sick puppies all of those women.

Mason on the other hand was quite taking everything in. He didn't care about the media or what they were saying about him. The odds were against him. He knew it and I knew it. The days leading up to the fight me and Mason sat down together and watched Rocket's old fights. Mason study them day and night.

The night of the fight came that was tonight. I was nervous for Mason, scared even. Mason was calm. I never seen him so calm. He told me not to worry so I didn't. A couple of times I had to close my eyes but in the end Mason won. Now me and Mason are moving through the rowdy crowd. They are pissed off Mason won. I can assume they lost a lot of money.

Tank held me tight until we safely made it outside. I looked at Tank and asked him if he's going to give Rocket a rematch? "We'll see." was his response.

ROCKET VS TANK

ROUND TWO COMING VERY SOON IN THE NEAR FUTURE

June 21, 2023 17:51

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1 comment

Susan Catucci
21:54 Jun 29, 2023

You are a discovery, Melinda. I enjoyed reading this. You have an engaging way of writing that drew me into the tale and, to be honest, I caught minor things (a spelling mistake, some punctuation) but as I read, I thought as a whole, this story worked on its own and I personally wouldn't change a thing. You have a voice and I liked it!

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