Chapter 3 - Sam: The Place

Sam arrives at her favourite place.

He was watching me. So I had to run. It feels good to run. But I didn't mean to go way too fast. I just know I had to get away from there. I get confused every time he's around. He's affecting my aura. I feel... weird sensations. It's sort of comforting but at the same time thrilling. I should stay away from him. He's... irresistible. When I  glanced at him in class, I was able to study his features for that short time. How? It felt as if everything around me stopped. His long dirty blonde hair tied at his nape. His nose sharp, eyebrows perfectly placed on his face. He got high cheeks and strong jaws. His lashes are long making his eyes more tantalizing. And God.... those eyes. Shade of haunting grey. I had to look away.  
I stopped thinking about Dante when I reached the gate of the Place. I knocked and Mike opened the gate for me (obviously saw me from the CCTV) If you're asking again, yes, the Place is a combat zone. Not just a gym. You may wonder why combat zone for a 5'2" girl like me. Of course, as I said earlier, I have to suppress most of my abilities in public to avoid the interest of the Government (mostly humans), and being part human-immortal- and guess what? zombie. Let me tell you later why zombie and I don't hunt for brains, thank you very much.
Anyway, let me describe you the Place. Think of a very large construction zone. Full of mud and some machineries. It got cargo containers. Very large ones. Almost 2-storeys high. When you enter the gate (made of shipping container metal. A large one. So no one can see the inside well. It's pretty heavy too. No one would even bother trying to get inside here without permission) you'll see one side of the L-shaped container rooms. The first one-quarter of the container rooms is the cafeteria which also serves as a boxing ring for beginners (amateurs) fights. Gino mans the cafeteria and boxing ring. He may look like a body builder but he's got the softest heart. Gino has a long, dreadlocked hair. Imagine T-Pain except muscly and about 6'5" in height. Next to the cafeteria is the men's locker room which occupies about 1/2 size of the total area of the container rooms. This is necessary since most of the members are men. It has 15 sets of shower rooms, a sauna room, and an area for rows of lockers. Benches are placed in the aisles.
Next area would be the workout gym. It occupies a quarter size of the men's locker room. Rows of treadmills, weight sets, gym machines, stationary bicycles, rowing machines, and even a yoga room can be found here. Alfred and Andrei, the Bischoff Twins, manage this area. They were former SWAT members. They look huge but they all treat me like a sister. No one dares to do something mischievous in this area. Alfred and Andrei would literally pick them up like kittens then kick them out of the Place. And finally, the women's locker room. Obviously smaller than the men's locker room. It has 5 shower areas, 1 sauna, 1 steam bath area, and 4 sets of locker cluster circled around the plush cushions. Yes, women are treated like a princesses/queens here. The women's locker room is perpendicular to the gym.  Now, facing this area is the largest part of the Place. The Game Hall covers three-quarters of the whole compound. There are two entrances. One is for the members. And at the other side for the patrons. Just imagine the  Roman coliseum. That. I've seen different games held in here. All brutal. It's rectangular but inside  the seats were in oval shape.
I have to explain though, how come something brutal and violent occur here and the government didn't do anything to the Place. It's because everyone adheres to their contracts (members) and the Patrons are required to sign a NDA. If they talk about the Place to anyone especially to the Government, they are assassinated. Immortals don't care. So they just watch. Humans just had to comply since they can be killed easily. Should a patron or a member bring their car coming here, they would have to park at the other side of the road which is about 5 minutes walk away from the Patrons Entrance.
So, I entered and said hello to Mike. But before Mike was able to close the gate, I felt that weird sensation again. I glanced at the small opening but I didn't see anyone. Maybe I was just thrilled to play against Leon. I walked, splashing muddy water everywhere as I went towards the cafeteria. Before I entered, I looked around and saw Carl sitting near the bar. I walked towards him with a grin.
"Jesus, Sam... You look like a mess." He muttered. He sat back down. I dropped my bag beside me and sat across him. Gino immediately brought me my usual drink. Carl begun. "You know the drill. I'm worried though."
"Worried about Leon?" I smirked before I sipped on my beverage.
"Sam, I am being serious here. Your uncle specifically told us to avoid you getting in contact with a zombie." Carl explained.
"Oh, Carl... You underestimate me. You know how I play." I said.
Pause for a second. Let me explain. Zombies? Still thinking about walkers, I bet. No. Zombies these days are no longer brainless undead beings. They look very human. They think like a human. They breed now though. They are also fast and powerful and strong. They are also civilized. But you know, some zombies are still hard to control (just like humans.) When they bite a human, the victim will die due to being fed on. Here's the thing, they have a poison that can slow you down. Then they will feed on the victim. Human victim that is. When an immortal gets bitten, they slow down and the victim's regeneration will be slower. But zombies can't eat an immortal. Immortals will just fade like a dust when they get injured then regenerate where they originally wake up. By the way, you would probably be thinking how come a zombie is free to run around the city? Not really running around the city. The Place is situated between the Nouvelle Vie City (this city) and the Old City (where the zombies live.) So, pretty much like the rules at the Nouvelle Vie, Old City have their own set too. Even the seats are divided. But the main thing is that zombie players can share the gym, lockers, and cafeteria with us. With great precaution. Well, as I said earlier, I am part human, immortal, and zombie. I'm really human. But since my treatment involves changing some of my parts, I had a little bit of immortal parts. To be specific, my liver and bone marrow. I didn't exactly know how they were able to get it but they just said that. I got some immortal being qualities such as regeneration. But not as fast as the pure immortal's regeneration. As for the zombie part, they had to transfuse zombie blood since it attacked most of the rare cells and viruses in my body. So I'm a walking melting pot. No one knows it but Gallagher and his people. Zombie's abilities that I got are of course the physical abilities that I was trying to conceal: speed, strength, and power.
Carl grinned. "I know you, Sam. I just don't want to lose my favourite girl. And my head. If you get injured, I don't want to answer to Gallagher." I snickered. "Well, get going and change. You should also warmup a little. Patrons will start coming soon." We stood up when I finished my beverage.
Picking up my bag, I asked Carl "Who will be the undercard players?" We started walking.
"Mia vs Demetri" he answered.
"Who called for the game?"
"Demetri."
"Seriously? Demetri won't have a chance against Mia. She's good." I commented. I looked straight ahead.
I felt Carl smiled. "Demetri changed a lot in few weeks. Who knows?"
"Wanna bet?" I challenged Carl.
"Sure." We stopped in front of the women's locker room. "I'll get to date you for a week if I win." He said. I laughed.
"Oh, Carl... And what if I win?" I asked
"Then you'll get to date me." He shrugged. I laughed harder. I know his intentions but he's more of a brother to me and to think that he's 7 years older than me. I kissed him on his cheek.
"If you win, you'll get to date me. If I win, you would have to accompany me to the Old City" I countered. His jaw dropped.
"No. That's a big no-no, Sam." He said seriously.
"You don't want to date me?" I joked.
"Come on. I don't want to take you the Old City. Gallagher will have my head." He replied.
"Fine. You'll just wear my tutu and ballet flats for a day."
"Jesus, you crazy girl." He rolled his eyes. I giggled. It's really fun joking with these guys. "Deal's off, Sam." He laughed. Then he walked away towards the game hall.
I entered the locker room and fixed myself up. I'm wearing my usual workout pants and a rib top. I was done in 20 minutes then I decided to head to the gym. Then the sensation started again. The sensation hovered on me as I walked to the gym. Michel, Gary, and Carl are there waiting for me and they've set specific warming up workouts for me for 30 minutes. While Michel and Gary are doing my hand protection bandage, Carl left, heading to the game since he has to announce the big event.
Mia won the undercard game. Obviously, if the deal went on, I would've won. Michel received a SMS from Carl telling us that it's time for the game. That time, I started to glow a bit. The sensation is getting stronger.

Author's Note

What do you think?