Hunk and Thud (7 page)

One person was wearing a mask in honour of the Masked Avenger. No one was dressed as Hunk, but Jack guessed that was because the half-troll was a new face on the scene, and no one knew enough about him yet.

By now the hall was absolutely packed. The house lights began to dim, and the harsh bright lights above the ring came on. Into the ring stepped the Master of Ceremonies, wearing a brightly coloured waistcoat and a big yellow bow tie.

‘My lords, ladies and gentlemen!' he boomed, his voice filling the hall. ‘Welcome to the fantastic Riverdam Slam, featuring some of the greatest wrestlers on the scene today, as well as introducing some of the newest and up and coming wrestling stars of the future!'

At this the crowd erupted into cheers and stamped their feet and whistled. The Master of Ceremonies waved his hands asking for them to please be quiet. As an expectant hush settled over the crowd, the Master of Ceremonies once again beamed at them and made his announcement, but this time his voice had an apologetic tone.

‘Today's programme was due to begin with a fantastic contest between Hunk, the half-troll, and Ug the Giant,' he announced. ‘But, unfortunately, Ug was taken ill with stomach ache not long ago, and he's had to withdraw.'

At this, there were shouts and cries of disappointment from the crowd, but before it could get out of hand the Master of Ceremonies flashed a big smile and boomed into the microphone, drowning any unhappy noises. ‘So instead we move to the next bout on the bill: a fantastically exciting match between that brilliant young rising star of Troll Wrestling – the truly formidable, and so far unbeaten … my lords, ladies and gentlemen, I give you … Grit!'

With that, the curtain at the back of the hall opened and the small, stocky figure of Grit appeared. She was about the same height as Princess Ava, but much wider, and much more muscular. Grit's wrestling costume of bright multi-coloured spangles twinkled and shone, the reflected light from the spangles merging with the crystalline sheen of Grit's rocky and stony skin.

Grit waved at the crowd, who cheered the small troll loudly as she stomped down the aisle to the ring, and pulled herself into it through the ropes.

‘Stomach ache?' queried Milo, puzzled over the news about Ug. ‘That's unusual. Most of the giants I've met could eat anything without suffering stomach ache.'

‘Something suspicious is going on there,' muttered Robin. ‘I heard that Ug was seen having breakfast with Hunk.' He looked thoughtful. ‘Remember what Princess Ava said about him? Could it just be coincidence that Ug then suffered stomach ache?' he asked. ‘What better way for Hunk to avoid actually having to appear in the ring and prove whether he's a real wrestler or not, than by sneaking some stuff into Ug's breakfast.'

Jack looked around and saw Hunk standing at the back of another section of the hall, his attention fully on the ring in the middle. If he was disappointed at not being able to take part in the event, he didn't look it.

While Grit stood in one corner of the ring and waited, the MC took centre stage again.

‘And now, Grit's opponent, that mystery wrestler who is only known as the Masked Avenger! Yes, my lords, ladies and gentlemen, she wears a mask to hide her identity. Who is she? Is she a famous star? Is she royalty? Is she a famous wrestler appearing under an assumed name? There will only ever be one way for her mask to come off and her identity to be known, and that is if she loses! If that happens, then the person who defeats her has the right to take the mask from her head! Will that be her fate today against Grit?'

At this, there rose a huge cheer from the crowd, along with shouts of: ‘Yes!' and, ‘Take her mask off! Take her mask off!'

‘My lords, ladies and gentlemen!' boomed the MC, flinging his arm towards the curtains at the back of the hall. ‘Let's have a huge Riverdam Slam welcome for … the Masked Avenger!'

The curtains parted and into the hall stepped Princess Ava dressed as the Masked Avenger. Her costume was purple and she wore a hood with two eyeholes in it completely covering her head. The crowd continued chanting ‘Take her mask off! Take her mask off!' as Princess Ava ran down the aisle, somersaulted over the ropes into the ring to land nimbly on her feet, and then did another somersault into the centre of the ring.

She saluted the crowd as the MC announced: ‘The rules: the first to get two pinfalls or two submissions, or a knockout, is the winner! And now – let the action begin!'

The bell by the side of the ring sounded.

The Riverdam Slam had begun!

The Masked Avenger darted out of her corner and threw herself at Grit. Jack winced and half-closed his eyes in anticipation of the Avenger crashing into the small, solid rocky figure, but instead the Avenger surprised everyone, including Grit, by suddenly dropping to the floor seconds before she hit Grit and sliding into the small troll's shins, grabbing them with both hands. She then slid around behind Grit, pulling back to try and pull the troll over.

It didn't work. Grit used her weight and her low centre of gravity to remain solidly upright. Then she reached down, grabbed the Avenger by one arm and threw her up into the air, caught her as she came down, and hurled her hard at the nearest corner post.

The Masked Avenger thudded into the post and crashed to the canvas.

‘Ouch!' winced Jack. ‘That must have hurt.'

The Avenger went into the attack again, this time jumping high and leaping onto Grit's shoulders, her feet gripping Grit's head on either side. Then the Avenger tried a forward roll, but again Grit used her weight and low centre of gravity to stand still, like a rock. Grit slammed her hands up to clap the Avenger's ankles to the sides of her head, and the Avenger found herself upside down with her feet trapped in Grit's rocky fists.

BANG!

Grit slammed the Masked Avenger head first down onto the canvas twice, and then let go of her ankles.

The Avenger, dazed by the double blow to the top of her head, fell down onto the canvas, and immediately Grit fell on her, pinning both the Avenger's shoulders to the canvas.

‘One!' shouted the crowd approvingly, as the Master of Ceremonies (now the referee) began the count. ‘Two! Three!'

Grit pushed herself up off the fallen Avenger and returned to her corner, while the crowd erupted with shouts of ‘Grit! Grit! Grit' and ‘Take her mask off!'

‘It's not looking good,' said Jack, worried.

The Masked Avenger pushed herself off the canvas. To Jack, she still looked groggy, wobbling slightly as she stood up. The crowd sensed it and began shouting for Grit to finish the job.

‘Go for her!' they yelled excitedly.

Jack, concerned, watched the Avenger stumble unsteadily. Grit saw this, and moved, throwing herself directly at the Avenger, intending to knock her to the canvas while she was still dazed and then fall on her, pinning her down once more to finish the bout.

It was then that Jack realised that the Avenger's wobbling was an act. Quick as a flash, the Avenger swayed sidways and Grit stumbled past her, unable to change direction. Her troll-weight, which had been a major advantage when holding the Avenger down to the canvas, now put her at a disadvantage. The Avenger leapt into the air and thudded the soles of both her feet hard against Grit's back, sending her plummeting forward into the ropes and being bounced back. As Grit stumbled backwards, trying to regain her balance, the Masked Avenger slid past her, catching her behind the knees, and the troll fell.

Immediately, the Avenger dropped on Grit's head, smothering her and holding her head and neck down firmly on the canvas, the troll's own weight pinioning her shoulders down.

‘One! Two! Three!' called the referee, and the crowd erupted into applause again as this time the Masked Avenger got to her feet and strode away from her fallen opponent.

One pinfall each!

The rest of the contest was a battle that swung first in Grit's favour, then in the Masked Avenger's, as the two wrestlers threw themselves at one another, and tried every hold and throw in their repertoire to get the final winning throw on their opponent.

The end, when it came, was nimbleness over strength. Grit had gripped the Avenger in a bear hug, squeezing her between her powerful arms, trying for a submission. The Avenger heaved herself backwards and managed to put Grit off-balance; but the troll held on grimly as the two toppled to the canvas, with the Avenger in a vulnerable position beneath the troll and looking as if she was about to be pinned for the final fall. But suddenly, the Avenger pushed up with her feet against Grit's body, and then let the troll crash back down hard to the canvas, the troll's weight making the canvas bounce, sending the Avenger springing up enough to be able to spin nimbly out of the troll's grip.

Before Grit knew what was happening, the Avenger had spun the troll over onto her back, and then pulled Grit's legs up as far as she could towards Grit's face, the weight of Grit's legs helping to keep her held down.

‘One!' roared the crowd.

‘Two!' called the referee. And then: ‘Three!'

And it was over.

The two wrestlers clambered to their feet, and shook hands, as the Referee announced: ‘And the winner, with two pinfalls, is the Masked Avenger!'

‘Looks like Ava gets to keep her mask on,' Jack whispered to Milo as they headed to the dressing room, where Big Rock and Sam were waiting.

The interval had been declared, and the crowd had flooded out of the hall to get a breath of fresh air, or grab a snack, before the main bout: the tag event between Big Rock and Sam, and the two orcs.

As Jack and Milo were about to walk into the dressing room, they were barged aside by two large orcs. They both wore identical red and black costumes.

‘So!' sneered one, looking at Big Rock and Sam. ‘You must be our opponents! Or, as we call them, losers!'

At this, both orcs threw their heads back and laughed gloating, cackling laughs. Then they turned to one another and clashed their claws together, sparks flying from them.

‘See you in the ring, losers!' growled the other orc.

With that, they left the room.