Fractured Minds (Rebels of Sandland 3)

Everything turned to slow motion as I watched Brandon drop his arms to his side and look straight at me. He mouthed something, either ‘I’m sorry’ or ‘It’s all right’ I couldn’t make it out, and then Hazel smacked him hard in the face and Brandon stumbled backwards. He didn’t drop to the floor, but he did a damn good job of looking punch drunk. So when Hazel went in for the second right hook, Brandon fell back like he’d been knocked out, giving the crowds the perfect performance, and the perfect reason to go absolutely crazy with anger at what they were seeing.

The sheer madness of all the boos and jeers from the room was deafening. They couldn’t believe what they were witnessing here tonight, and we moved to stand under the cover of the corridor as things started to be thrown from the platforms above in protest. They shouted for Brandon to get up and called it a fix and a set-up. No one could believe that some scrawny punk with half-assed punches and zero power had knocked their hero out. I even shouted myself for him to get up and keep fighting. But he’d made his decision and he was sticking to it.

Brandon chose friendship over glory.

I would never be able to repay him.

“Shit, this is bad. What the fuck is going on?” Ryan had his hand over his mouth in pure disbelief. When he surged forward to try to get to the ring and to Brandon, Emily held him back.

“This is a fucking joke,” Zak shouted, mirroring all our thoughts as he shook his head. He didn’t even try to offer up any wise cracks. He was as speechless as the rest of us.

“Thank God I wasn’t videoing that for Harper. It’d destroy her,” Emily cried, looking as white as a sheet.

Ryan just stared blankly ahead, with Emily holding onto him to stop him making another run for the ring that was becoming over-run with crowds of irate people.

“I’ve seen him take harder hits than that and come out of it laughing. I have absolutely no fucking clue what’s going on. I thought he said he was fit?” Ryan turned to look at me with a questioning frown on his face. “He’s been training non-stop since he announced his comeback.”

I didn’t know what to say. Thinking about Brandon training, being so focused on this fight and winning, made my head swim even more with guilt.

“I need to get to him. We can’t leave him out there.” Ryan tried once again to push his way through the crowds, but once again Emily pulled him back.

“Please don’t go out there,” she begged.

Zak patted Ryan on the back and told him, “I’ll go. You stay here with Em. It’s not safe out there.”

Ryan wasn’t happy about stepping down and letting Zak take over, but he put his arm around Emily and kissed the top of her head, bowing in defeat. “Fine. Text if you need us,” he told Zak, and we all watched Zak disappear into the sea of people crowding around the ring.

“Maybe we should wait for them back in Brandon’s room?” Effy suggested.

“What if he gets carted away in an ambulance?” Emily’s eyes were swimming with tears as she spoke.

“There won’t be any ambulances,” Ryan told her. “Even if he died out there, he’d come back to life just to kick our asses if we put him in one.”

Ryan was right of course. It was one of Brandon’s golden rules. No police. No ambulances. No fuss. If we could patch him up, then that was good enough for him.

“He might have concussion,” Emily argued, looking truly heartbroken.

“And if he does, we’ll deal with it. Come on. Let’s wait back there before it turns even nastier in here. Let security calm this mob down.” Ryan guided Emily away with his arm around her shoulder and we followed.

The four of us made our way to Brandon’s room, and seconds after we got there, a group of security guys and Zak carried Brandon in and dumped him into one of the plastic chairs. He wasn’t knocked out, but he was acting dazed and confused. The minute the door locked and it was just the six of us, he snapped right out of it, reaching for a cigarette and then eyeing Ryan as he lit it.

“What? Never seen a fixed fight before?”

“You don’t fix fights. What the hell is going on?” Ryan stabbed his finger into Brandon’s face in fury. He was seriously pissed off.

Brandon sat back and blew out smoke like it was nothing; keeping his cool despite the fact that his world had just crumbled at his feet only moments ago.

“Em, will you ring Harper and tell her it’s over and I’m okay?” he asked, turning his attention to Emily who stood stunned in the corner.

“And should I also tell her you just threw a fight, in front of hundreds of people out there?” Emily snapped back, her pale face now a bright shade of red.

“She already knows,” Brandon announced drily, shrugging his shoulders.

“It would’ve been nice if we’d known too. I’m still freaking out here.” Emily held up her shaking hand as proof of her shattered nerves. “Brandon Mathers, you’ll be the death of me. I swear I don’t know how Harper puts up with you.” She didn’t wait for an answer, not that Brandon was about to give one, she just flounced off to call Harper somewhere quieter and probably give herself some much needed space too.

“Seriously, is someone going to tell me what the fuck is going on?” Ryan spat, but when the door flung open, I figured he didn’t need an explanation from us. He was about to get the low-down from the five fuckers that were walking into the room like they owned the place.

Brandon’s nostrils flared and he stood up, charging forward to take them all on.