Chapter V

After the lunch break, Will and Matt went to the woods behind the ring and they both found a tree. They then started to attack the trees and practice their skills. Soon the tree was full of cut marks and barely recognizable. Most of the bark was gone and there were deep cuts in the tree. Matt was so zoned in on his swordsmanship that he only noticed that Will had left when Matt had finished himself.

Matt, glistening with sweat, went to Will, who was polishing his sword back at the ring. "Hey," Will said. "I'm up next."

"Good luck," Matt said, stretching. "Who are up against?" he asked.

"Duke," Will replied. Duke was Manuel's second in command, and his bodyguard. He has a giant, threatening man, with huge, bulging muscles and a no-nonsense attitude. He did all of Manuel's dirty work because Manuel was too fat to fight anyone hand to hand. Manuel had tried one time against Matt, but it didn't go too well for him. He had gotten a bloody nose and two cracked ribs as a result.

Matt stood on his tiptoes, trying to see if he could find Manuel and Duke in the ginormous crowd. He did, and what he saw worried him. He saw Manuel whispering in Duke's ear, with Duke listening carefully, hanging on to every last word. Manuel had a stick on the bench that he and Duke were by, and Manuel raised his sword and swung it down, breaking the stick in half with the flat of his blade. Matt saw Manuel's head turn, and he quickly ducked down to avoid being seen.

Matt hurried over to Will, who had disappeared again. He found him buying a lemonade and a donut. He grabbed Will by the collar of his shirt and dragged him away from the vendor. He started to say, "But my donut!-"

"Will, listen," Matt said. "I don't know for sure, but I think Manuel is planning something with Duke."

"What do mean?" Will asked, worried. Matt could tell this by not only the creases in Will's forehead but by the fact that Will's knee was bouncing. Will's knee bounced whenever he was nervous, but the local doctor said it was nothing to worry about. "Just jumpy nerves" were his exact words.

"I saw Manuel with Duke, and it looked like they were up to no good." Matt said. "I saw Manuel break a stick in half, and I think that he wants Duke to do the same to you."

"Hmm," Will said. "I think he wants to get back at me for what I said when you beat him. Anyways, I'll be careful. Thanks for warning me."

Matt started to say something, but he was cut off by a loud, booming voice.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, MAY I PLEASE HAVE YOUR ATTENTION." The crowd quieted down. A frail, skinny man climbed up onto the ring. He was bald on his head but had a big handlebar salt and pepper mustache. He wore a long, purple robe with the insignia of a gavel on it, and thick glasses rested at the tip of his long, pointy nose.

"I am Judge Fitzpatrick," the man began. "Many of you know me, as I am the judge of Red Orchard. The officials of the tournament have allowed me to be the honorary referee for the last two matches of the game. First up, we have Duke Brain and William Johnson battling each other in the second semifinal match. After that, the winner will challenge our other finalist, Matthew Daniels, for the championship. Can Will and Duke please be ready to fight in five minutes, please? Thank you!" Fitzpatrick walked off the ring as the crowd applauded and cheered.

"That's Manuel's father, right?" Matt asked as he helped put Will on his armor.

"Yeah," Will answered. "I wonder why he is so skinny when Manuel is like a balloon."

Matt snorted. "Probably because Manuel takes half his food!" he said, chuckling.

Will laughed, his shaggy blond hair shaking. "Good one!" he said as he put on his helmet.

Matt buckled a final strap on Will's breastplate. "Be careful, alright?" he asked Will with a worried look on his face.

"Don't worry, I'm Will," Will replied as he put his sword in his scabbard.

Matt frowned. "No, it's 'I will', not 'I'm will'," he said, confused.

"No, I am Will. Get it?" Will said, smiling.

Matt shook his head and chuckled. "I'm serious, Will."

"Don't worry, I can look out for myself" was the last thing Will said before he walked to the ring.

Fitzpatrick shook Will's hand as he entered. He said, "Ladies and gentleman, our first semifinalist, William Johnson!" The crowd applauded as Will raised his hand in the air and waved. Matt let out a big cheer.

A huge, hulking figure walked onto the stage. It was Duke, and he looked like a giant compared to everyone else. His silver, bulky armor only made him look bigger. Matt gulped, and he could see that Will's knee was bouncing again, too.

The judge turned and jumped a the sight of the gigantic boy. "Oh! Um, uh... Our other semifinalist is Duke Brian!" he said a bit unsteadily. He shook Duke's hand as he did with Will. He visibly winced and let a high-pitched "Ooo! Nice grip you got there!" He tried to cover to up with a cough, but it didn't hide anything.

"Okay, then, let's review the rules, shall we?" Fitzpatrick said, taking a sheet of paper out of his robe pocket. "Ahem," he said, clearing his throat. He began to read: "The rules are: 1) There shall be no maiming or killing in this tournament. 2) There shall be no form of cheating. 3) There will be..."

As one half of Matt's mind listened to Fitzpatrick drone out the rules, the other half thought about what Manuel could have planned with Duke. Matt racked his brains, but he couldn't figure it out what was going on. Damn it, he thought. I guess I'll have to deal with things as they come.

Not a good idea, Matt.

Once Fitzpatrick finished listing all the rules, he put the list of rules back in his pocket and shouted, "Let the games begin!" The crowd cheered as he stepped back to let Will and Duke shake hands. After that, the two contestants went back to their respective corners of the ring and rested their hands on their scabbards.

"Ready!" Fitzpatrick called. Will and Duke drew their swords. Duke wielded a huge broadsword, which made Will's katana look like a toothpick in comparison. Things did not look good for Will.

"Go!" Fitzpatrick shouted. He blew a whistle and the match began.

Will struck first, trying to slash and get to Duke's weak spots in his armor. But Duke denied him, simply knocking the sword out of the way. Then Duke started to advance, bringing great, forceful blows down on Will. Will was barely able to fend for himself, dodging the strikes in the nick of time.

Then Duke leaned back and swung his sword so hard that it kicked Will's for his grasp. The katana flew in the air and landed with a THUD! on the ground. Will had lost.

But even as Judge Fitzpatrick declared him the winner, Duke wasn't done yet. He walked over to Will, pushed him unceremoniously to the ground, and smashed the flat of his blade on top of Will's kneecap.

Matt could hear the tearing of ligaments and the breaking of bones and a whole bunch of other stuff that he didn't want to think about. But above all that, he heard Will's scream. His painful, wretched, agonizing scream. It was one of the worst things Matt had ever heard.

A swarm of men rushed towards the ring. Matt heard a voice yell, "Order, everyone, order!" It was Fitzpatrick, trying to get to the frenzied mob to listen to him, but to no avail. The shouting and fighting continued. Sighing, the judge grabbed a megaphone and bellowed, "LISTEN UP, GODDAMNIT! STOP ACTING LIKE A BUNCH OF SCHOOLCHILDREN AND SHUT YOUR YAPS! EVERYONE EXCEPT THE DOCTOR BACK THE HELL UP!"

The crowd quieted down and moved away from the boy. Will was withering on the ground, still screaming. Fitzpatrick and the doctor knelt by him, trying to soothe him. Fitzpatrick yelled out, "Does anybody know this kid?"

"I do!" Matt called out. Fitzpatrick motioned for him to come in the ring. Matt bounded up the steps as the doctor called out orders. "It's not looking too good!" the doctor yelled. "I need a stretcher, a-stat!"

"Will!" Matt said as he slid to where Will was.

"Matt, it hurts..." Will moaned.

"I know," Matt said. "But hey, at least I won the tournament, right?"

Before Will could answer, Fitzpatrick butted in. "Sorry, kid, but you still have one more fight to win."

"What?" Matt said. "Who am I going to fight? Duke is disqualified, and Will obviously can't fight. There's no one left."

"Actually, the rules of the tournament state that in a situation like this, the person that you beat would be eligible for a spot in the finals. So that means Manuel, my son, will be fighting you!" the judge said with a smile.

Matt looked up, furious, as he saw Manuel enter the ring with a leering smile on his face.

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Duh-duh-duhhh!

Well, what do you think? Please comment and like! :)

~sjd_write