When Damon followed the guy, he couldn't stop thinking of questions. Why did he say yes to this offer? He didn't like fights.
It went against everything he believed in. He had to eat, though, because his stomach wasn't going to go along with him.
He might be able to change his life around if he won some money. Buy some new clothes, get a haircut, and finally apply for a job.
People always seemed to think that being homeless was a choice, that all someone needed to do was "get a job," and everything would be okay. But it wasn't that simple.
Would you hire a poor person if you owned a business? That was the question that everyone had to ask.
As a homeless person, Damon knew that people looked at him with disgust, like he was less than human.
They didn't see how hard it was for him every day to find food and a place to live. They didn't see how painful and scary it was to live on the streets.
And they definitely didn't see the desperation that drove him to accept this fight.
The guy was still on his phone when they got to the house, and he led Damon to the back of the house.
Damon saw that the yard was large, very large, and it was grassy, with an octagon cage made of fence gates.
There were some people sitting on benches, chatting. Damon saw a bulky middle-aged man coming straight to him. Well, he was going to the guy that brought him here.
"Joey! You came back soon. Did you finally find him? I mean, the fighter, and who's that guy behind you? Wait, don't tell me he's the fighter," the man pulled the young man away from Damon.
"What are you doing, man? I brought the fighter, like I said," Joey said, annoyed, as he pulled his shoulder away from the man's hold.
The man didn't seem happy; he looked at Damon in a weird way, then back at Joey. "Do you even see what you brought? This guy is like a twig; he also stinks. No one will want to fight with him."
Damon heard all the names they just called him; it didn't affect him. He had heard way worse from his father.
Thinking of his father, his heart raced in fear, then calmed, remembering what happened.
Joey, the young man, walked up to him. "Ayy, man, you can just wait here; we'll call you when it's your turn to fight."
He then turned and went back to the man as they walked off.
After that, he turned around and followed the man as he walked away.
Damon was left standing by himself and felt uncomfortable and out of place.
He turned around and saw that everyone was looking at him with curious and disgusted looks on their faces.
As more people arrived, the yard became busy. When it was really full, Joey went inside the made-up cage.
He screamed, introducing the event with a loud, energetic voice that sent chills down Damon's spine.
The way he did it reminded him of the show his father used to beat him to watch. It was UF... no, was it UFF? No, it was UFA - Ultimate Fighting Association.
The fights began, and Damon noticed the fighters seemed to be wearing fingerless gloves for protection.
He got closer to the fight, people made way for him, and not because of some respectful reason, it was rather his dirty and stinky appearance that made them want to avoid him.
There was a lot of hitting and grunting as he got closer to the cage. With his eyes glued on the fighters, Damon's heart pounded with eagerness.
He noticed the fighters were all wearing similar gloves, their hands wrapped in tape, their eyes fixed on each other with a fierce determination.
It made Damon feel uneasy to know that he was about to enter that world.
He watched as the blonde guy threw a powerful right hook at the brunette.
The brunette barely avoided the hook and tried to push it away, but it still landed on him and knocked him back a few steps.
Surprisingly, the blonde guy didn't take advantage of his short-term edge. Instead, he chose to get closer to his opponent.
The brunette straightened himself fast and started a barrage of punches, some of which landed solidly on the face of the blonde guy.
The blonde guy stumbled back, his eyes widening in shock as the brunette kept pushing for the attack.
In a bizarre display, the brunette threw a wild kick that missed the blonde guy by mere inches.
He didn't give up and kept attacking with a number of overhand punches, one of which went off with a loud "BANG!"
The blonde guy gave on and fell to the ground, beaten.
The brunette stood tall and proud, his arms raised in victory as the crowd cheered.
Damon could feel the excitement in the yard, and his heart was beating hard and fast.
He quickly looked at the knocked-out blonde man and then turned to face Joey, who was motioning for him to enter the cage.
"Ayy, man, it's your turn," Joey said in a low, urgent voice. "Just get in there and do your best... yeah." Damon took a big breath.