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Sparks of Bucking Bronco - 4
7 years ago
General
Chapter 4: The Bucking Bronco
The rest of the night went by so slowly. To this day, Buck can recall every detail of that fateful disaster. It was a night that he vowed to keep in his memory until his final days on this god-forsaken land. No one could ever take that from him. He had officially killed somebody.
He was walking from his cage, hooves still dripping the other’s blood onto the floor. People were moving out of his way even though his wrists were bound behind him. He stared at the floor as the security for the fight club escorted him to his prep room. The bull never went to prep. Buck didn’t know what happened to the bodies that were left in the arena after a death match. He heard rumors, the next one worst than the last. It ranged from throwing them in the dumpster for the trash collectors to find, to feeding the remains of the body to the dogs of the owner if they owned any. One time there was a death match, and the loser was presumed deceased until he shot up from the ground and screamed, feeling his life returning to him, if only temporary. It ended up being a mythical occurrence and deemed the person who “killed” the risen one as a legend. If one could hit someone so hard, that they made someone’s soul leave their body and then snatch it back into their lifeless corpse, they’d be held as a god among the rest of the fighters. It only happened once, and Buck wasn’t there to witness it. He was busy training.
He was shoved into the prep room and heard the security murmuring behind him as they closed the door,
“Can’t believe he did that to the poor bull.”
“Yeah, that kid is a monster.”
“Whoever raised him is a real piece of work eh?”
They both laughed out loud as Buck shook in his bindings. He stood there, not facing the door, waiting to be unbound. The door reopened as one of the guards came back in,
“Almost forgot kid, here.”
He felt his wrists being released from the rope holding him. He turned around and saw a pair of scissors in the rhino’s hand. The rhino huffed and turned around, closing the door behind him. Buck sat down, his hooves on his knees as he reflected back on the fight. He couldn’t help but see the agony etched across the bull’s face as he got on top of him, ready to end his life. His whole body shivered seeing the image. During the fight you don’t think about those things, because you’re protecting your own life. But after…
After the fight, you remember. You can’t help but think of it all, and Buck was no different. His wings tightened against his back as he brought his knees to his chest, hugging them tightly as he sat on the bench, rocking back and forth. He felt his eyes water as the smell of blood hit him again. He grew to hate the smell of copper. It disgusted him. Knowing that it flowed through his body made it that much worse. He sat there for who knows how long. No one came to retrieve him. But he didn’t expect anyone to. The door remained shut for hours as he listened to the club get lively. The door remained shut while he listened to the club get quiet. It had been longer than 4 hours since the fight and no one came to send him home. He had paced the room, took a couple more swings at the lockers on the wall, glided across the ground with his wings, anything to keep himself occupied. He didn’t know what time is was anymore. There were no windows in the prep room. Not like one was expected to stay there for how long Buck had been anyways.
Buck was sitting with his back turned to the door when he heard the metal grating against the floor. He turned around to see it opening slowly and the young tiger from the registration walked in. She was on the phone,
“Yeah, I’m just cleaning up, and I’ll be over-”
She saw Buck and jumped back,
“The fuck are you still doing here?”
Buck didn’t say anything and just stared at her, his face a chaotic neutral. Delilah took her phone back to her head,
“I’ll call you back, this kid is still at the club and I don’t see his dad anywhere...”
She paused, listening to the other person on the end,
“Yeah, I’ll kick him out in a few. I’ll see you in a bit baby...”
Buck stood up, dusting off his pants. His hooves had dried from the caked blood on them. His wings too. He was never given the chance to clean himself off after a fight. He always was stuck with the smell of blood on his way home.
Buck froze.
Home. That was where he needed to go. Home was where he was. The man that actually bet against his own son in a life or death match.
“Lets go kid, I ain’t got all day.”
Buck blinked and looked up to the woman,
“Yes ma’am.”
“Oh! So you do speak? Beat it kid, you know the way out of here dontcha?”
He nodded and walked past her, smelling the stench of cigarettes on her person. He walked through the hallway, into the club arena. He looked around. A bunch of trash was still all over the floor. There was even someone laying in the bleachers that spectators were allowed to watch fights from. Said person was asleep, a bottle in his hand, and snoring obnoxiously loud. He kept walking, making his way out of the club. A couple people gave him a weird look as he passed them. He paid no mind though. He would give himself a weird look too if he saw himself in a mirror. He was covered in blood, was a horse with wings, and was a 7 year old boy. Of course people would wonder why he was there. The red stains all over him kept them from approaching though. He made his way out of the club through the back door. He entered into an alley way and looked up. It had started raining. Pouring actually. Buck sighed and winced from the deep breath. He felt his side and it was aching still. He shook his head and unfurled his wings, taking off into the air before anyone else could see him or question his appearance. He flew low, just over buildings, or just over the lights that lined the street. He didn’t want to get struck by lightning, and he didn’t want to be seen, so it was the best position. The sky grumbled loudly and he kept his eyes focused on flying. He passed over the nearly empty streets. The moon was high in the sky and he figured it was about two o’clock in the morning. At that time, most people were either sleeping, robbing, or getting robbed.
He made it to his neighborhood and landed on the sidewalk, his side screaming at him to stop flying. He landed roughly and stumbled forward in the rain, the ground slick with water. Buck was gla that he made sure to know his way around his city. If he didn’t he’d have been lost for sure. He kept walking clutching his side and looked around. His neighborhood was really quiet except for the occasional car that came by, its headlights the brightest thing on the street. His house was just around the corner and his fur was heavy from all of the rain. He kept his wings tucked behind him and walked slowly. He rounded the corner and saw his father’s car sitting in the driveway. He frowned, knowing he was home. He walked up to it and peered inside. It was littered with beer cans and beer bottles from a late night of drinking. Buck then walked up to the door, taking a key from under a potted plant near the door. He took a deep breath despite his injuries and held it as he unlocked the door as quietly as he could. Pushing the door open with a hoof, he walked into the house, his fur dripping onto a welcome mat. He closed the door behind him, locking it back. His footsteps were quiet along the hardwood floor, and he peered around the corner to see his father, in a recliner, a can still in his paw. Buck gasped thinking he was awake until he looked towards his dad’s head.
His eyes were closed. Buck didn’t move and listened for his breathing. It was deep and long. The way someone that was sleeping would sound. Buck released his breath and continued to his room down the hall. He entered it and walked in still holding his side. He went straight to his dresser and grabbed a green hoodie and blue jeans from it. He also grabbed a new pair of briefs and a towel before he left his room. He walked towards the bathroom and paused, seeing his parent’s bedroom door open. He peeked inside and saw the faint glow of his mother asleep under the covers. She was on the far side of the bed and he watched her chest rise and fall under the covers.
The he heard a sniffle.
Buck froze and spoke quietly,
“Mom?”
The figure under the blankets shuffled and sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes as she peered over at her door,
“Buck? Is that really you?”
“Yeah.”
His mom got out of bed quickly and walked over to Buck, opening her door quietly. She hugged him tightly and Buck whimpered slightly from his injuries. She let go and held him by his shoulders, looking at him in the dark.
“I’m so happy.”
Buck walked into his parents room and turned on a lamp to see his mother better. She glowed in the dark a little because she was a Phoenix. Her bird like features are what gave Buck his wings. She was always the one that cared for Buck when he got hurt, either in a fight, when he was training, or when his father returned drunk. Buck looked at her face and frowned seeing her red eyes, swollen from rubbing. She had been crying all night.
“Why are you crying mom?”
“I thought I had lost you...”
“Why?”
“Your father said you died in a fight. That someone had created a death match and you didn’t win. I was so scared…”
She went and hugged him again, this time lightly so she didn’t hurt him.
“I’m so glad it isn’t true.”
“Yeah, dad lied. He lied a lot actually.”
His mother looked up at Buck, a mixture of slight annoyance and sadness,
“What do you mean?”
“Dad put the bet on me. To die, unfortunately.”
Buck sighed and winced,
“He also put up the death match. And then... he bet against me.”
He looked to his mom and saw her face, now a mixture of anger and betrayal.
“How could he? To my poor baby...”
His mom blinked and realized something. Without saying anything she went to the bed. She pulled a box from under it and opened it, taking out a gun and setting it on the bed. She then took out some ammo. After a while, her talons searched through the box frantically, her expression turning to that of worry. Her glowing wings dimmed slightly as she turned and sat on the bed, her face in her talons.
“Oh no…. Oh no oh no oh no oh no….”
“What’s wrong mom?”
She looked at Buck and had more tears coming from her face,
“Your father took the money I’d been saving...”
Buck walked over, resting a hoof on her leg,
“W-what?”
“You know how I got that new job a couple months ago? Well, I’d been saving money to leave this place and take you with me… And your father just used it all to bet against you in that fight… I can’t believe it. I’m back to square one...”
“Mom, its okay. I came home. Thats all that matter right?”
“What about finally getting out of here?”
His mother stood up and started pacing,
“What about finally ditching him, your father, and living in a decent neighborhood where you didn’t have to worry about being robbed at gunpoint every night?”
Buck stood there watching his mother talk. He didn’t say anything. He just watched. He knew that his input wouldn’t get through to her right now, so he opted to just be a vent. He watched his mothers glow get brighter. Bright enough to wake someone up.
“Mom.”
She stopped and the glow subsided,
“Sorry. I’m ranting. You’re right. You came back to me and that’s all I care about.”
She walked back to Buck and crouched in front of him,
“You know how much I’ve wanted to put you in actual school?”
Buck nodded but didn’t say anything.
“How much I’ve wanted to send you to boy scouts? Go to an amusement park? I mean, you’re seven years old. No kid should have to live like you.”
Buck nodded again, but still didn’t say anything.
“I will. I promise you that. One day I will. I will take you someplace where you can actually have fun...”
Buck teared up slightly listening to his mother. She hugged him and he cried silently in her arms. She wrapped her Phoenix wings around both of them and he felt the warmth surrounding him, from her glowing wings. He sighed in content and smiled softly. His mother was the only thing that had really made him smile in his life. A genuine smile at least. There were multiple times when DCFS came from a complaint of Buck’s life and he had to fake a smile in order to not get taken away from his mom. Sometimes he wished he could actually leave and never come back, but his mom is what anchored him to this place. When he could leave and take her with him, he would.
“Buck, I want you to go clean yourself up.”
“Yes ma’am.”
Buck hopped from the bed and walked out of the room, grabbing his clothes and walking into the bathroom. He turned on the water and let it heat up before stripping. He climbed into the tub and pulled the knob, making the spout push the water into the shower head. He let the water hit him as he washed the caked and dried blood from his body. He flinched every time he went over a sensitive part. He had to use a long sponge to get his wings clean, his arms not being able to reach around. He scrubbed gently, watching the bull’s blood drip off his body, making the water a light tinge of red. His body shuddered with every stroke over the cuts on his wings. He shook his head at the pain and finished cleaning himself. For a while, he stood there under the shower’s water. His mind went blank as he stared at the bottom of the tub, watching the water flow down his body. He watched how the water went through every defined muscle on his body. It curved, and went over every ab muscle. Every nook and cranny of his legs, toned from his years of training. He also saw the water go into and over every scar on his body, whether it be a deep cut, a healed gash, or broken bone.
After a while, he turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, the bathroom foggy from the hot water misting up the room. He wiped the broken mirror and peered at himself in the mirror. He sighed seeing his slightly bruised face. There was a cut over his eye and his lip was still busted. He brought a hoof to his lip and felt it, but when he saw the hoof, he flashed back to the bull’s face getting pummeled and dropped the hoof to his side, lifelessly. He hated what he had done, but he knew he’d do it again if he was forced to for his own survival.
Buck got dressed in the hoodie, underwear, and jeans before exiting the bathroom. He threw his towel onto his dresser and slowly laid himself on his bed, groaning softly from a hard night’s work. He laid there and stared at the ceiling. His ears went up hearing his door open slowly. He saw the familiar glow of his mom and relaxed.
“Goodnight Buck. I love you.”
“I love you too mom. Goodnight.”
Buck rolled over to try and sleep. He closed his eyes and felt that it wouldn’t come easy. He sighed out loud and was about to roll over again until he felt a pair of lips press against his temple. He smiled to himself feeling his mother kiss his head.
“One day Buck. One day. I promise.”
Buck closed his eyes and fell asleep after a couple seconds, feeling comforted by his mother’s love.
He just knew that his father would be the complete opposite come morning.
The rest of the night went by so slowly. To this day, Buck can recall every detail of that fateful disaster. It was a night that he vowed to keep in his memory until his final days on this god-forsaken land. No one could ever take that from him. He had officially killed somebody.
He was walking from his cage, hooves still dripping the other’s blood onto the floor. People were moving out of his way even though his wrists were bound behind him. He stared at the floor as the security for the fight club escorted him to his prep room. The bull never went to prep. Buck didn’t know what happened to the bodies that were left in the arena after a death match. He heard rumors, the next one worst than the last. It ranged from throwing them in the dumpster for the trash collectors to find, to feeding the remains of the body to the dogs of the owner if they owned any. One time there was a death match, and the loser was presumed deceased until he shot up from the ground and screamed, feeling his life returning to him, if only temporary. It ended up being a mythical occurrence and deemed the person who “killed” the risen one as a legend. If one could hit someone so hard, that they made someone’s soul leave their body and then snatch it back into their lifeless corpse, they’d be held as a god among the rest of the fighters. It only happened once, and Buck wasn’t there to witness it. He was busy training.
He was shoved into the prep room and heard the security murmuring behind him as they closed the door,
“Can’t believe he did that to the poor bull.”
“Yeah, that kid is a monster.”
“Whoever raised him is a real piece of work eh?”
They both laughed out loud as Buck shook in his bindings. He stood there, not facing the door, waiting to be unbound. The door reopened as one of the guards came back in,
“Almost forgot kid, here.”
He felt his wrists being released from the rope holding him. He turned around and saw a pair of scissors in the rhino’s hand. The rhino huffed and turned around, closing the door behind him. Buck sat down, his hooves on his knees as he reflected back on the fight. He couldn’t help but see the agony etched across the bull’s face as he got on top of him, ready to end his life. His whole body shivered seeing the image. During the fight you don’t think about those things, because you’re protecting your own life. But after…
After the fight, you remember. You can’t help but think of it all, and Buck was no different. His wings tightened against his back as he brought his knees to his chest, hugging them tightly as he sat on the bench, rocking back and forth. He felt his eyes water as the smell of blood hit him again. He grew to hate the smell of copper. It disgusted him. Knowing that it flowed through his body made it that much worse. He sat there for who knows how long. No one came to retrieve him. But he didn’t expect anyone to. The door remained shut for hours as he listened to the club get lively. The door remained shut while he listened to the club get quiet. It had been longer than 4 hours since the fight and no one came to send him home. He had paced the room, took a couple more swings at the lockers on the wall, glided across the ground with his wings, anything to keep himself occupied. He didn’t know what time is was anymore. There were no windows in the prep room. Not like one was expected to stay there for how long Buck had been anyways.
Buck was sitting with his back turned to the door when he heard the metal grating against the floor. He turned around to see it opening slowly and the young tiger from the registration walked in. She was on the phone,
“Yeah, I’m just cleaning up, and I’ll be over-”
She saw Buck and jumped back,
“The fuck are you still doing here?”
Buck didn’t say anything and just stared at her, his face a chaotic neutral. Delilah took her phone back to her head,
“I’ll call you back, this kid is still at the club and I don’t see his dad anywhere...”
She paused, listening to the other person on the end,
“Yeah, I’ll kick him out in a few. I’ll see you in a bit baby...”
Buck stood up, dusting off his pants. His hooves had dried from the caked blood on them. His wings too. He was never given the chance to clean himself off after a fight. He always was stuck with the smell of blood on his way home.
Buck froze.
Home. That was where he needed to go. Home was where he was. The man that actually bet against his own son in a life or death match.
“Lets go kid, I ain’t got all day.”
Buck blinked and looked up to the woman,
“Yes ma’am.”
“Oh! So you do speak? Beat it kid, you know the way out of here dontcha?”
He nodded and walked past her, smelling the stench of cigarettes on her person. He walked through the hallway, into the club arena. He looked around. A bunch of trash was still all over the floor. There was even someone laying in the bleachers that spectators were allowed to watch fights from. Said person was asleep, a bottle in his hand, and snoring obnoxiously loud. He kept walking, making his way out of the club. A couple people gave him a weird look as he passed them. He paid no mind though. He would give himself a weird look too if he saw himself in a mirror. He was covered in blood, was a horse with wings, and was a 7 year old boy. Of course people would wonder why he was there. The red stains all over him kept them from approaching though. He made his way out of the club through the back door. He entered into an alley way and looked up. It had started raining. Pouring actually. Buck sighed and winced from the deep breath. He felt his side and it was aching still. He shook his head and unfurled his wings, taking off into the air before anyone else could see him or question his appearance. He flew low, just over buildings, or just over the lights that lined the street. He didn’t want to get struck by lightning, and he didn’t want to be seen, so it was the best position. The sky grumbled loudly and he kept his eyes focused on flying. He passed over the nearly empty streets. The moon was high in the sky and he figured it was about two o’clock in the morning. At that time, most people were either sleeping, robbing, or getting robbed.
He made it to his neighborhood and landed on the sidewalk, his side screaming at him to stop flying. He landed roughly and stumbled forward in the rain, the ground slick with water. Buck was gla that he made sure to know his way around his city. If he didn’t he’d have been lost for sure. He kept walking clutching his side and looked around. His neighborhood was really quiet except for the occasional car that came by, its headlights the brightest thing on the street. His house was just around the corner and his fur was heavy from all of the rain. He kept his wings tucked behind him and walked slowly. He rounded the corner and saw his father’s car sitting in the driveway. He frowned, knowing he was home. He walked up to it and peered inside. It was littered with beer cans and beer bottles from a late night of drinking. Buck then walked up to the door, taking a key from under a potted plant near the door. He took a deep breath despite his injuries and held it as he unlocked the door as quietly as he could. Pushing the door open with a hoof, he walked into the house, his fur dripping onto a welcome mat. He closed the door behind him, locking it back. His footsteps were quiet along the hardwood floor, and he peered around the corner to see his father, in a recliner, a can still in his paw. Buck gasped thinking he was awake until he looked towards his dad’s head.
His eyes were closed. Buck didn’t move and listened for his breathing. It was deep and long. The way someone that was sleeping would sound. Buck released his breath and continued to his room down the hall. He entered it and walked in still holding his side. He went straight to his dresser and grabbed a green hoodie and blue jeans from it. He also grabbed a new pair of briefs and a towel before he left his room. He walked towards the bathroom and paused, seeing his parent’s bedroom door open. He peeked inside and saw the faint glow of his mother asleep under the covers. She was on the far side of the bed and he watched her chest rise and fall under the covers.
The he heard a sniffle.
Buck froze and spoke quietly,
“Mom?”
The figure under the blankets shuffled and sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes as she peered over at her door,
“Buck? Is that really you?”
“Yeah.”
His mom got out of bed quickly and walked over to Buck, opening her door quietly. She hugged him tightly and Buck whimpered slightly from his injuries. She let go and held him by his shoulders, looking at him in the dark.
“I’m so happy.”
Buck walked into his parents room and turned on a lamp to see his mother better. She glowed in the dark a little because she was a Phoenix. Her bird like features are what gave Buck his wings. She was always the one that cared for Buck when he got hurt, either in a fight, when he was training, or when his father returned drunk. Buck looked at her face and frowned seeing her red eyes, swollen from rubbing. She had been crying all night.
“Why are you crying mom?”
“I thought I had lost you...”
“Why?”
“Your father said you died in a fight. That someone had created a death match and you didn’t win. I was so scared…”
She went and hugged him again, this time lightly so she didn’t hurt him.
“I’m so glad it isn’t true.”
“Yeah, dad lied. He lied a lot actually.”
His mother looked up at Buck, a mixture of slight annoyance and sadness,
“What do you mean?”
“Dad put the bet on me. To die, unfortunately.”
Buck sighed and winced,
“He also put up the death match. And then... he bet against me.”
He looked to his mom and saw her face, now a mixture of anger and betrayal.
“How could he? To my poor baby...”
His mom blinked and realized something. Without saying anything she went to the bed. She pulled a box from under it and opened it, taking out a gun and setting it on the bed. She then took out some ammo. After a while, her talons searched through the box frantically, her expression turning to that of worry. Her glowing wings dimmed slightly as she turned and sat on the bed, her face in her talons.
“Oh no…. Oh no oh no oh no oh no….”
“What’s wrong mom?”
She looked at Buck and had more tears coming from her face,
“Your father took the money I’d been saving...”
Buck walked over, resting a hoof on her leg,
“W-what?”
“You know how I got that new job a couple months ago? Well, I’d been saving money to leave this place and take you with me… And your father just used it all to bet against you in that fight… I can’t believe it. I’m back to square one...”
“Mom, its okay. I came home. Thats all that matter right?”
“What about finally getting out of here?”
His mother stood up and started pacing,
“What about finally ditching him, your father, and living in a decent neighborhood where you didn’t have to worry about being robbed at gunpoint every night?”
Buck stood there watching his mother talk. He didn’t say anything. He just watched. He knew that his input wouldn’t get through to her right now, so he opted to just be a vent. He watched his mothers glow get brighter. Bright enough to wake someone up.
“Mom.”
She stopped and the glow subsided,
“Sorry. I’m ranting. You’re right. You came back to me and that’s all I care about.”
She walked back to Buck and crouched in front of him,
“You know how much I’ve wanted to put you in actual school?”
Buck nodded but didn’t say anything.
“How much I’ve wanted to send you to boy scouts? Go to an amusement park? I mean, you’re seven years old. No kid should have to live like you.”
Buck nodded again, but still didn’t say anything.
“I will. I promise you that. One day I will. I will take you someplace where you can actually have fun...”
Buck teared up slightly listening to his mother. She hugged him and he cried silently in her arms. She wrapped her Phoenix wings around both of them and he felt the warmth surrounding him, from her glowing wings. He sighed in content and smiled softly. His mother was the only thing that had really made him smile in his life. A genuine smile at least. There were multiple times when DCFS came from a complaint of Buck’s life and he had to fake a smile in order to not get taken away from his mom. Sometimes he wished he could actually leave and never come back, but his mom is what anchored him to this place. When he could leave and take her with him, he would.
“Buck, I want you to go clean yourself up.”
“Yes ma’am.”
Buck hopped from the bed and walked out of the room, grabbing his clothes and walking into the bathroom. He turned on the water and let it heat up before stripping. He climbed into the tub and pulled the knob, making the spout push the water into the shower head. He let the water hit him as he washed the caked and dried blood from his body. He flinched every time he went over a sensitive part. He had to use a long sponge to get his wings clean, his arms not being able to reach around. He scrubbed gently, watching the bull’s blood drip off his body, making the water a light tinge of red. His body shuddered with every stroke over the cuts on his wings. He shook his head at the pain and finished cleaning himself. For a while, he stood there under the shower’s water. His mind went blank as he stared at the bottom of the tub, watching the water flow down his body. He watched how the water went through every defined muscle on his body. It curved, and went over every ab muscle. Every nook and cranny of his legs, toned from his years of training. He also saw the water go into and over every scar on his body, whether it be a deep cut, a healed gash, or broken bone.
After a while, he turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, the bathroom foggy from the hot water misting up the room. He wiped the broken mirror and peered at himself in the mirror. He sighed seeing his slightly bruised face. There was a cut over his eye and his lip was still busted. He brought a hoof to his lip and felt it, but when he saw the hoof, he flashed back to the bull’s face getting pummeled and dropped the hoof to his side, lifelessly. He hated what he had done, but he knew he’d do it again if he was forced to for his own survival.
Buck got dressed in the hoodie, underwear, and jeans before exiting the bathroom. He threw his towel onto his dresser and slowly laid himself on his bed, groaning softly from a hard night’s work. He laid there and stared at the ceiling. His ears went up hearing his door open slowly. He saw the familiar glow of his mom and relaxed.
“Goodnight Buck. I love you.”
“I love you too mom. Goodnight.”
Buck rolled over to try and sleep. He closed his eyes and felt that it wouldn’t come easy. He sighed out loud and was about to roll over again until he felt a pair of lips press against his temple. He smiled to himself feeling his mother kiss his head.
“One day Buck. One day. I promise.”
Buck closed his eyes and fell asleep after a couple seconds, feeling comforted by his mother’s love.
He just knew that his father would be the complete opposite come morning.
