The tournament (18)

"Why did Erik do that?" Floyd asked.

He had just beaten Euan senseless, and now the boy was in the ring's corner, lying motionless on the floor. His face was covered with blood. Many wounds and bruises marred his face, some small but some large enough for him to have a bad awakening.

The ring floor was stained with both the contestant's blood, but it was clear that Euan's was the most abundant.

"I don't know," Amber said. "It was like him to do something like that."

"Is it possible that they already knew each other and had some kind of beef?"

"Not that I know it," Amber said while shaking her head.

She was puzzled by Erik's behavior and wondered about what happened during the fight, as if nothing short of insanity would explain such conduct.

While Erik was constantly bullied and beaten at school by Logan, Conal, and Orson, most other students only went as far as verbal insults.