After that night, ever night was just about the same. I would fight and then be beaten or raped, one of the two. James and I eventually broke up, and I started to date a different guy back at home. James, of course, didn't like this, and pulled me aside after a fight one night.

"You really like this guy?" he asked. I couldn't help but smile. "Yeah I really do...he's really nice..."I let my voice trail off, seeing the look of sadness in James' eyes. He reached down and went to grab my hand, but I flinched and the look of sadness in his eyes changed to a pained expression. He raised his hand quickly and I cringed again, my eyes half closed, waiting for him to hit me. He dropped his hand and stared at me blankly. "You really are afraid of me, aren't you?" he asked. I nodded, trying not to cry. I looked up at him, straight into his light grey eyes and realized that the indestructable James was crying. "I don't want to lose you..." he said, then tried to pull me in for a hug. I backed away. "You already lost me." I said plainly. He turned away and walked from the arena and I stared after him, aware that Ice had come up next to me. He looked up at me and put an arm around my shoulders. "You're a good girl Maytrix. Don't let Avalanche get you down." he said. I sighed. "Yeah I guess I'll try not to. It's just hard..." I said. Ice sighed. "Let's get you home to your normal house with your normal boyfriend and your normal life." he said. I smiled. "Let's."
The next week became extremely hard all of a sudden.
I remember the last time I saw Ice....it was at James' house. James, Dakota, Ice, Blaster (Scott), Tank, Rusty and I were all hanging out on the couch when suddenly Ice's cell phone rang. We all shut up as he picked it up. "Yeah?" he said. Suddenly, his face turned deadly white and he got up from the couch. "Not tonight...please..." he said, sounding scared. Rusty and I looked at each other, then over at James, who shook his head in confusion. Ice sighed. "Alright. I'll be over in a minute..." he said. Then he clapped the phone shut and turned to look at us. "I gotta go." he said finally. Blaster stood up, his jaw flinching the way it normally does when he's upset. "This is our off night. No one does any fights tonight." he said. Tank looked up at him and patted the seat next to him. "Yeah come on Ice, sit down. This isn't the night." he said. Dakota, meanwhile was silent. I glanced over at him, a little skeptical. "You know what's going on, don't you." I stated. Dakota paled a little. "Yeah but it's top secret shit." he said. I glared at him. "Don't screw around with me Kota, you know me better than that." I said. Ice sighed. "Stop arguing, all of you. I'm leaving. I pissed off a couple of the guys that were suppose to be fighting me the other night and now I have a score to settle. That's all." he said. Rusty cleared his throat. "We could go with you, you know. Help you settle this score you're talking about." he said. Ice shook his head. "No...this is one of those things that I have to settle alone. Thanks though. Now get up, I gotta say my goodbyes. This is probably going to be the last time that we see each other." he said. James got up first. "I'm not just going to sit here while someone kills you." he said. Ice shook his head and opened his mouth to speak, but just as he did, there was a knock on the door. Everyone jumped a little, and I looked at James. "I'll get it." I said. James nodded and motioned for everyone to sit down as I walked over and unlatched the door. I opened it slowly, only to reveal a small, black package at the door. "There's only a package." I said, then bent over to pick it up. Ice jumped up from his chair and ran towards me. "GOD DAMNIT MAYTRIX, NO!" he screamed, then he jumped at me and knocked it out of my hands. Unfortuneatly, it landed down the stairs...and so did he. Rusty grabbed me and threw me on the floor underneath him just as it exploded, sending debris flying up the stairs, one board which hit Rusty in the arm, digging deeply into it. He flinched but still covered me until the debris had settled. I pushed him off and ran down the stairs, which now hung in pieces. "Ice?!" I yelled. I jumped down the last remaining stairs and saw him, spread on the floor, face up, bleeding hard. I knelt down next to him, barely noticing James come down next to me. "Ice?" I whispered. He looked up at me, tears running clean streaks down his blood stained face. "God it hurts...please....just end it..." he begged. I shook my head. "I don't think that I can..." I said. James looked over Ice's body carefully, then shook his head. "He's not going to make it much longer." he said. Ice stared up at me, his huge blue eyes bloodshot. "I'm sorry Sara...and James...and everyone else....you all could've died tonight and it would've been my fault." he coughed out. I reached down and kind of gathered him up in my arms, his blood running down onto my lap...for once, I didn't care. James grabbed one of his hands, and stared down at him. "It wasn't anyone's fault Ice. You were really brave up there. You saved our lives...and that's something worth a damn, let me tell you." he said. Ice stared up at me. "I'm going to die, aren't I?" he asked. I bit back the tears that were threatening me, trying my hardest not to show him that I was upset. He smiled up at me though, and even though it must've hurt him to the point of distraction, he reached up and touched my face lightly. "You're the best friend I've ever had, Sara. You stick this through...you stick all of it through...and I'll always be taking care of you....and..." his voice kind of trailed off and that's when he stopped breathing, and his heart started to stop, beat by beat, leaving us behind. I stared down at him then, still not letting the tears come out. James looked at me and stood up. "We better get him to the hospital. They'll want to take any organs that are usable." he said. I glared at him. "You're the most insensitive piece of shit I've ever seen." I said. He stared me down then, which made me feel more than a little uncomfortable. I got up without saying a word and looked up the stairs, and saw Tank, Blaster, Rusty and Dakota staring down at us. I shook my head and they all turned around. I looked back at James. "So am I just suppose to forget that he ever existed?" I asked. He glared at me. "That's exactly what you're suppose to do." he said. I guess he was right. What good is it to dwell on things like death? But then, looking down at Ice's severely maimed body, I realized...that could've been me. And they could be forgetting about me right now.

I will never forget Ice...

To be continued...