Annihilation

[arlenbalesmma]

 

 

 

 

The noise was deafening. The arena was vibrating with the volume of the screaming and cheering fans that filled every inch of the great arena. I stared out across the cage and up into the milling crowd. Every seat paid for but sitting empty as the people roared and jumped around excitedly. The ground felt like it was shaking as the decibels reached another level. The lights were flickering, scanning the crowd as if it was alive, a desperate romantic searching the crowd for a long lost love. I smiled to myself as the noise, lights and shaking arena reminded me.

 

 

 

“Another?” the bartender asked me quickly as he moved around the oval bar area. I looked over to him as he poured an older lady a martini.

 

“No, I think I’ve hit my limit” I told him, managing, I hoped, to get my words out without slurring. I laid a chip down on the counter and stood up. My head spun as I stood straight and the room began to spin. I took a few quick deep breaths and made my way out of the casino. The strip looked spectacular in the dark night of dusk as I made my way down the sidewalk, passing the casinos and hotels making my way back to my own hotel.

 

I came to a stop as the lights all along the strip flickered out. They came back on after a few seconds and I shook my head curiously and took off again. It was only a few minutes before I came up short again.

 

A huge roar broke the night, with it came a flash of lightning and once more the strip went dark and the ground began to tremble.

 

I looked all around me, spotting a bright light amongst the darkness further down the road and started to run towards it. A little fear beginning to bristle deep inside me. As I ran crowds began pouring out of the buildings all along the strip, and it didn't take long for everyone to see the light and start moving in the same direction I was going.

 

The crowds stopped suddenly as the buildings stopped and the Nevada desert spread out before us. The tiny particles of sand shaking and bouncing as another great tremble shook the ground we stood upon.

 

This time the earthquake continued and soon the sand was splitting and a chasm began to open directly ahead of us. On and on it went, the ground shaking and the earth splitting until a huge hole in the very earth spread out across the Nevada desert.

 

And then he appeared.

 

 

 

The music started, I smiled recognising it. “We areeeeee the championsss “ rang out through the arena and even the reporters, managers and celebrities that filled the front rows around me began singing along. He is special, he has something. Something that's taken us all in. I thought to myself as I thought back to the day before.

 

 

 

 

“Welcome to Fight Talk! It's an absolute honor to have you here.” I told the man sitting across from me honestly.

 

“The pleasure is all mine Jeff, the second I saw the invitation to appear here I knew I couldn't turn it down. I've been following your show for years.” he replied to me. Calm and collected, completely unfazed by the rise to stardom and sport dominance in the last year. His voice the same deep, rumbling I remembered from that night.

 

 

 

The crowd around me silenced, the only sound that of hundreds, maybe thousands, of people taking a sudden intake of breath at the same time, as if the very subconscious of everyone gathered was in sync. And I was no different. Frozen in shock as a man stepped out of the chasm.

 

He walked out of the earth and stopped before the crowd.

 

“Everything you know is about to change.” his voice exploded out across the desert, and in the minds of every person gathered, a deep rumbling voice like an ancient being of power, like the very earth itself.

 

“With me comes a new era of sport. Of fighting. Displays of magnificent skill so far above anything you've ever seen or imagined. My Titans will take over the sport of MMA.” he finished with a flourish, turning towards the chasm as more people began pouring out of the great crater.

 

It took a few minutes for the man's “Titans” to gather behind him. A fiercer group of men has never been seen. Deadly warriors to a man. An army ready for war.

 

“My name is Arlen Bales. Welcome to Annihilation.” he told us before once more turning back to the crater in the desert. And then they were gone. Returned to wherever they came from. The earth shook as the crater closed before us. And still the crowd was silenced. Even after the trembling halted and the strip lit up once more, we stood there. Perhaps for hours. Hours that felt like days. And then I called my boss, I told him I had a piece for tomorrow's paper and I made my way back to the hotel, my mind swirling with ideas.

 

 

 

 

“You know Arlen, I was there that night. When you appeared out of the desert. I'm sure you saw my article in Fight Weekly?” I finished inquisitevly.

 

He simply nodded, drawing a smile from me once more. A man of great action and little words.

 

“I’ll get to the point, the question on everyones mind right now as we head into our first AnC event. How? How did you do it? How did such a new organisation become so big so quickly?” I asked him, genuinely curious. A question in everyone's minds, but mostly my own. A question that had burned deep inside of me for almost exactly a year.

 

“Simple. A number. Three hundred and thirty thousand. A revolution in MMA. And we’re not just leading it, we are it. Annihilation is the revolution, Annihilation is 330k.” he answered without hesitation, without even blinking. An aura of calm and confidence dripped from him and I was in awe.

 

“You say it like it's easy. But surely there's competition?” I asked him.

 

“Sure there's competition, Konflict FC is right there with us, leading this revolution. It's exciting times for the sport with two incredible orgs. You can all be assured that there's going to be some spectacular events coming up in 330k.” his voice the same, his eyes unblinking.

 

Is he human? He thrives on pressure, on an audience. He was made for this. I tell myself silently as I take in the man sitting before me. Wearing a tux now, far removed from the simple black hooded robe he wore a year ago when he made his entrance.

 

“You mentioned Konflict, but they’re not the only 330k org out there. What do you think of Kings and BFF?” I ask him as I study his expression. One I haven't seen on his face before. Amusement.

 

“Kings is another great org. But BFF? Come on. They've employed a clown as Vice President.” he tells me, scoffing at the idea of BFF.

 

“Tim Qwe? You say he's a clown. But this is the world of MMA. What sort of org would make a clown Vice President?” I question of him.

 

“Hmm.” he starts, smiling again “a circus?” he finishes with the smallest hint of a question.

I chuckle slightly.

 

“Well ladies and gentlemen, shots have been fired tonight. Thanks for watching. This man with me is Arlen Bales, welcome to Annihilation.” I finish, turning towards the camera. The red light, that indicates we’re live, flickers off.

 

“Incredible” I say. A statement. A question. I don't know. But AnC is a day away now and the world is watching.

 

Arlen nods to me once before standing and leaving.

I chuckle again.

 

 

 

 

I smile, remembering the interview as the music cuts out and lights turn off. The arena goes dark. The crowd quiets. The atmosphere is electric, the tension thick. And then a high pitched screech. The spotlight flickers on for a second, lighting up a portion of the crowd. Then again in another part of the arena. The audience is vibrating with anticipation.

 

The spotlight flickers on once more. This time on the cage. And there he is. The legend. Arlen Bales.

 

“Welcome to Annihilation.” he tells us. His voice a roar without a microphone. The spotlight flickers on and off. When the light hits the cage again, he's gone.

 

The music starts, a new song now. An entrance song. And there's the first fighter to make his walk to the cage for an AnC event.

 

 

Welcome to Annihilation I tell myself as the crowd erupts.

[Boble]

Would you please post that in Smack Talk, this is definetly wrong here!!!!

[arlenbalesmma]

Would you please post that in Smack Talk, this is definetly wrong here!!!!

No thank you.

[Trump2020]

http://www.toxel.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/zooportraits04.jpg

[Warwynd]

Nice write up. Very cool.