Flint: Book 1 (Freedom In The Cage) Read online

  Flint tried to stand, but his legs were wobbly, and he fell back down onto the bed. Stone gave him a moment and then went to help him. They left out the back door and made their way to the hospital. During the fifteen-minute drive, the guys begin to talk.

  “I’m not sure why you’re helping me, but thank you, man. Name’s Flint, by the way.”

  “I know who you are, tough guy. I’ve seen your billboard, and I do read the paper from time to time. It seems as if you have too much time on your hands these days, well, at least from what I have seen. Why do you hate your life, or is it living in general that you hate?”

  Flint drew in a deep breath, and he paid for it with a sharp stab of pain.

  “I love my life; well, I don’t have a death wish if that is what you are thinking.”

  Flint started telling Stone about Hannah and how he felt lost without her. Stone could feel the sincerity in his words. Stone could see that this guy would end up hurting himself or someone else if not diverted from the path he was on. Chasing the thrills he shared with his sister was dangerous. Nothing would ever be the same, no matter how hard he tried. This was the connection Stone felt for him. He had lost his twin brother ten years ago, and his life had never been the same from that moment on. The one main similarity was that he was the cause of his brother’s death, all because he got into a fight and his brother came to his rescue. It was two weeks before Samuel was supposed to get on the plane and fly to Iraq. Instead, he caught a bullet in his right lung. Before the ambulance could get to them, his lung collapsed. By the time the paramedics arrived, too much pressure had built up in his chest cavity, causing the second lung to collapse. He couldn’t breathe.

  They soon pulled into the hospital entrance. Stone got out and went to get a wheelchair as an orderly was coming out. After assisting Flint into the chair, the orderly said he would take him inside and get him checked in. Stone parked the car and went to look for Flint. The young man who took him told him they had already taken him to the back. He showed Stone into the waiting room where he sat and waited for several hours. By the time Flint came hobbling out on a set of crutches, Stone had spoken with Jade twice and dozed off.

  Flint hobbled over and tapped Stone’s leg with one of the crutches. He was surprised to see him still sitting here, waiting on him. This guy had already done more than anyone else would have done if facing the same situation. He was sure of that.

  “Hey man, umm, I guess I need to say thank you. I owe you my life right now.”

  “Are you good to leave? You were pretty banged up, bro?”

  “They wanted me to stay for observation, but this isn’t my scene. It is a little too sterile for my taste.”

  Flint tried to make a joke but failed at it miserably.

  “Seriously, man, I’m okay to go home. I just have to take it easy and, of course, no fighting for a bit. I thought my jaw was broken. It was, however, just popped out of the socket which caused a lot of swelling. The stab wounds are going to be just fine, thanks to you and your medic.”

  “Come on, let’s get you back to the gym. We can regroup and go from there. I’d like to talk to you more about what happened and give you an alternative to the path you are heading down. But we will talk once you have some time to heal up. Deal?”

  “Deal.”

  Stone went to get the car, and they drove back to the gym in silence. Flint’s car was parked in a parking deck between the gym and the bar. Stone walked him over to it. They exchanged numbers and agreed to stay in contact.

  The next few weeks went by in a blur for Flint. There were some small issues at work that needed his attention. He kept meaning to reach out to Stone, but he was still in so much pain, more than he would like to admit. If Hannah could see him now, she would be ashamed of him. The nerve of him going around picking fights and acting like a baby. He needed to toughen up. Flint made up his mind that he was going to call or stop by the gym real soon.

  Another week went by, and Flint finally decided after work that he would go by the bar that changed his world to apologize for the troubles that he stirred up. He then walked over to Phoenix Risen and did something that he hadn’t dared to do until now—walk through the door. He looked around and spotted Stone immediately. He was kind of hard not to spot. He was in the ring sparring with someone he called Brick. At that moment, Stone looked over at the door when he heard the chime. Brick took a cheap shot and caught Stone off guard.

  “Good one. I’ll give you that one as a freebie, but no more.”

  He immediately began his assault on Brick, who began staggering backward. Stone was a beast, it seems, in the ring. Watching him, it seems as if a switch clicked on. When the fight was over and he exited the ring, he was the same guy who got him to the hospital after standing watch over him. Stone walked over to him with his hand outstretched for a fist bump. His hands were still wrapped, of course.

  “Hey man, good to see you not bleeding out. How you been? Any more trouble, or you been keeping out of trouble these days?”

  “Believe it not, bro, I’ve been just working and healing up. Sorry for it taking so long for me to get back to you. I know we still needed to talk. Between how crazy it’s been at work and healing, I’ve had my plate full. But I’m here now. You got a sec?”

  “For you, man, of course. You want some water or Gatorade or something?”

  Flint shook his head no. Stone grabbed a water from the cooler, then escorted him to the office, and closed the door behind them. Within a moment, Jade knocked on the door and stuck her head in.

  “Hey Stone, a guy wants to speak with you when you get a chance. Do you want me to tell him that you’re busy?”

  “Yeah, Jade. I may be here for a minute. Youngblood and I have some things to discuss.”

  Jade closed the door as she exited.

  “Sit down, man, let’s chat it up. We need to figure out how to use your energy for something positive. You have a lot of anger built up inside of you. It may be coupled with hurt, but there is a lot of anger. You must not let people get to you. Not only that, you need to stop looking for trouble.”

  Flint knew that what Stone was telling him was true. He had always been the run headfirst into, well, everything, type of person. He had no fear. Not even when it came down to facing the grim reaper himself.

  “There is a support group for people who have lost a sibling or significant loved one and are having a rough time dealing with their new reality. I personally think that you could benefit from that program. I go once a month myself. I used to be there every week, but I’ve gotten better at handling my loss. I’ve learned to use the ring to let out my frustrations before they overwhelm me in unhealthy ways. The next meeting is next week, if you’re game.”

  Flint could not imagine that this guy he just saw jump into beast mode at a moment’s notice needed assistance with channeling his anger. Flint agreed to attend the next meeting. Who knows, maybe it would help him? Stone continued to talk to him.

  “Even though you got your butt whooped, you are quite talented when it comes to fighting. You exhibited some ferocity that is not easy to come by. At one point, I thought you were about to try some Jiu-Jitsu but never quite got it going.”

  “My mom made my sister and I take Jiu-Jitsu when we were ten. From ten to seventeen. We participated in competitions, and we both hold first-degree black belts. The parents wanted us to be able to defend ourselves,” Flint laughed as he said the last part.

  Stone smiled. That would help him if he decided to come aboard.

  “I’ve thought long and hard about this, but even though the best age range to learn to be an MMA fighter is around fifteen or sixteen, you’re a little away from that. But I can train you. It won’t be easy; it will take lots of dedication and hard work on your part. You don’t have to answer now, you can take some time to think about it. Me and my guys, we are a family. We work hard, and we play hard. We compete hard. If you think you want to become a part of this, I will train you myself for fre
e. A part of me thinks I’m crazy to take this on, but I feel like you have a lot to offer and the potential to be great. Plus, if you find an outlet to release your anger, then we all win. Well, kid, that is my entire pitch. Totally you’re choice if you take me up on it or not. No pressure. You are always welcome to come by and talk if you need to.”

  Flint was speechless for a minute. This could be his answer. After a few minutes of silence, he asked Stone where he needed to sign up at. He was all in.

  “Alright, I’ll introduce you to the rest of the family. You ready? Your life will change from this moment on. It’s no longer just you against the world. Instead, it is the world against Phoenix Risen. Just as the name implies, we rise, despite how far we’ve fallen.”

  Stone stood up and headed for the door. When he got there, he turned and waited for Flint.

  “Remember, once you cross this threshold, it’s a whole new ball game. So far, you have no strikes but get three, and you’re out.”

  Flint stood up and followed Stone through the door. That was the moment when his life changed.

  Chapter 4

  Jade’s first client of the day showed up thirty minutes early. They had begun their preliminary warmups. Normally she doesn’t take on male clients, but the money was good, and she could use it now more than ever. Jade took on about five male clients to increase her pay to help cover some newly developed expenses. Her mother was forced to stop working when she suffered her second mild heart attack. Although she fully recovered, the doctor was very insistent that she does not exert herself. He told her that her heart couldn’t take it. Jade paid the bills for the house, plus medical expenses. Her mother’s copay jumped up from $10.00 to $50.00 per visit. Unfortunately, she had to attend several appointments monthly. Jade didn’t want her mom to worry about any of that. She simply wanted her to rest and enjoy the rest of her life.

  She and Kevin began to spar. He seemed to be catching on pretty quickly. This was his third session with her. He honestly creeped her out a little, but at the end of the day, money was money.

  “Come on, Kevin. That’s it.”

  She hadn’t noticed when Flint arrived.

  “Keep them coming.”

  Her mind trailed off a bit as she wondered how Flint was doing. Stone hadn’t really said too much when he got back from the hospital, except he got the treatment he needed. He also told her that she did a hell of a job of bandaging him up. The hospital staff complimented her on that. In all the years she’s been at the gym, she hadn’t seen Stone react that way over someone starting a commotion in the streets. Now when it came to gym family, that was something altogether different. He would go to war for any of these guys or girls. Unfortunately, his loyalty had been tested once or twice, and Jade was there to witness it. The beating he unleashed was scary in its intensity.

  Jade’s thoughts drifted back to the guy and hoped that he was doing well. It was right at that moment she caught a glimpse of him coming out of Stone’s office. Her body was on autopilot, and she didn’t see it coming when Kevin’s right hook landed square on her jaw. She stumbled back, shaking her head.

  “What in the?”

  Before Jade could react or Kevin could explain, a body jumped into the ring. She could tell it was a man, but he was just a blur.

  “Wait, man. I didn’t mean to hurt her,” Kevin yelled out.

  It was too late, as the man rained down several blows upon poor Kevin, one in the face and the other in the gut. Kevin doubled over and fell to the floor.

  Jade couldn’t believe what was happening.

  Chapter 5

  Flint’s eyes connected with Jade’s at the same moment she saw him. A smile crossed his lips. He began to think of how he would repay her for helping him out when he was down. She saved his life. He owed her and Stone a huge debt of gratitude.

  He and Stone were headed over to where one of the other guys was working out alone. Just as Stone was about to introduce him, he bolted for the ring. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jade get hit, and it was a hard hit. It made her stagger back a bit. Before she could adjust and react, Flint was inside the ring. He punched the guy repeatedly in the face and stomach until the guy began to double over. That didn’t stop the assault, though. Nothing did until he was pulled off.

  Stone grabbed him up like he was nothing and threw him over the top rope of the ring. His facial expression was lethal, and he had no words until they were out of the ring. He shoved Flint back towards the office.

  “What do you think you are doing?” Stone asked aggressively.

  “I saw that dude hit Jade hard. I just reacted, man. She is a girl. Well-woman, you know I mean.”

  Stone didn’t like what he was hearing, so he jumped in and cut Flint off.

  “Bruh, do you honestly think she would be working here, as a trainer no less, if she wasn’t capable of knocking most of the sleazebags on their asses that come through that door? Jade has worked hard to secure her place at this table, and she is a great girl and worthy of going toe to toe with any adversary. I will not let you take that power away from her. She isn’t some defenseless damsel in distress. If she needed help, she knows what to do to get it.”

  Flint was pissed. Here he was trying to do the right thing, but it turned out that was not the right way to do it.

  “Dude, I saw the hit. It hurt her. Whether she admits to it or not. No man should put his hands on a woman. My mom went through that with my dad. Don’t get me wrong, my father was good, but he could be an asshole, especially once he got a few drinks in his system.”

  Flint sat down and started shaking his head. He knows he may have overreacted, but he blanked out. This had only happened one other time, and that was when his father raised his hand to his mother. It was like a switch turned on inside. When he got that mad, Hannah was always his calm to his storm.

  “Ughhhh.”

  “The good thing for you, Flint, is that I told you before we walked out of this office that you had three chances. I’m going to take one from you because of that display, and I will explain why. Not only did you take away the power over the situation from Jade, but you put my gym in a position where there could be backlash, lawsuits just to name a few. We have to make this right. You still have two chances. Here we have rules that we abide by. Pretty simple. If you’re in that ring, then you have to own that ring. No one jumps in to save you unless it’s truly life or death. We don’t coddle you here. We do build upon your skill level and show you how to control yourself. This isn’t about killing someone, but about knowing if your life depended on it, you could. If you can abide by these rules, then we’re good, man. I won’t say all is forgiven, but we are good.”

  Flint couldn’t believe how calm Stone was while talking to him. It was a complete 360 from how he was thrown over the top rope and out of the ring. He was thankful he managed to land on his feet. That concrete floor he imagined was just as hard as it looked.

  “Stone, listen, I owe you a lot. There is no other way for me to say it. Now that I know the rules, I can dig it. Something like that won’t happen again. Tell me how to make it right, and I will do it.”

  “First, you are going to have to deal with Ja…”

  His words abruptly cut off when the sound of angry footsteps approaching made them both look towards the door.

  Chapter 6

  Jade had never been so heated in all her life. After making sure Kevin was okay. Luckily, it was only his pride. Jade profusely apologized and assured him that nothing like that would happen again.

  “You guys are crazy here. I’ve never been so humiliated in my life.”

  “Kevin, I’m not going to say you deserved that, but you know, and I know, that you took a cheap shot. The difference is that once I get into the ring with you, I’m willing to take that risk. My goal is to make you better prepared to defend yourself. He is new here, so he doesn’t know all the rules, but judging by how long he and Stone are in the office, he is learning them now.”

 
“Yeah, well, I ought to sue.”

  Kevin felt his face and sighed.

  “You know there is a way to make it right.”

  Jade walked off, heading toward the office. She knew what it was going to take before he even spoke it. That irritated her more than anything, having to be put in that position.

  Without warning, she suddenly bursts into the office.

  “I’m not sure what the hell you thought you were doing? But here, we don’t do that. We don’t beat up our customers or interfere with training sessions.”

  She paused to take a breath, and that was long enough for Stone to intervene. He grabbed Jade by the waist and gently slides her back. Since entering the room, she closed the gap between herself and Flint. Stone’s experience led him to believe Flint may be in danger.

  “Jade, calm down. I’ve already dug into him and ripped him a new one. He didn’t understand our rules or our ways. I think we finally came to an understanding.”

  Jade backed off but still stood there seething.

  “You have no idea what you have done. This man is talking about suing. I mean, I know he is blowing smoke, but what if he wasn’t?”

  Jade didn’t close the door behind her when she barged in. Kevin saw his chance to make a nuisance of himself. He was finally going to get something he had been working on since before joining the gym and insisted that it was to be Jade who would train him. Stone didn’t like it for multiple reasons. The main one was he simply didn’t trust the guy. Jade was like a sister to him. The last thing he wanted was her stressed because some jerk was coming on to her. She had been through enough.

  Stone stopped Kevin at the door.

  “Hold on, Kev. I know your feelings are hurt. Truthfully, there was no harm done. You know it, right man? He saw a woman being hit, so he jumped to her defense.”