Fallen down

"One!"

I heard the shouting of the crowd as if from afar, and the people moving before my eyes were nothing more than blurry shapes. I could barely feel my own body, all I felt was a great pain pulsing through my muscles. As I slowly returned to consciousness, I could vaguely make out the commentator's voice above all the shouting.

"Two!"

Gathering my thoughts, I realized that I was lying on my side on the cold, plastic floor in the middle of the arena, gasping for air. I tried to lift my arms, but my limbs refused to obey my brain. I felt myself drifting out of consciousness once more, and had to force my eyes to stay open. I desperately tried to get to my feet, but managed nothing more than to roll over on my stomach.

"Three!"

Becoming more and more conscious, I felt the greatest pain become centered to my chest and left leg, the areas where I had taken the hardest kicks, and I felt warm blood pouring down my cheek and onto the floor. Once again I tried lifting my arms, but my aching muscles allowed me to do nothing more than slightly move my hands.

"Four!"

Everything was spinning before me as my eyes slowly got used to the light and the blurs started taking shape. The shouting around me got clearer and I started to regain control of my thoughts, and as my thoughts returned, I became more and more aware of my body and my surroundings.

"Five!"

As I turned my head, slowly and painfully to the side, I saw a woman just outside the fence of the arena, shouting at me. Trying to gather my thoughts, I realized that I knew this woman, that it was someone close to me. Barely being able to make out her face, I noticed that she was upset, shouting and crying uncontrollably.

"Six!"

I forced myself to look away from the woman, to focus on getting back to my feet. Focusing all my strength, I managed to lift my arms and move them to the sides of my body, but as I attempted to push myself up from the ground, they merely trembled from exhaustion. 

"Seven!"

Realizing that in order to get up I would have to gather all my strength, I let my arms fall back to the floor, resting only for a moment. I could feel my entire body now, and my mind was slowly returning to normal. As I looked back at the hysterical woman, I realized that she was my wife, cheering me on. Once again I lifted my arms and placed my hands on the floor, empowered by the mere sight of my wife. 'It's now or never' I thought.

"Eight!"

With all my strength I pushed away from the floor, slowly raising my upper body into the air. My entire body trembled from the strain, and the pain was becoming unbearable. I wanted nothing more than to fall back to the floor and drift away from the pain. But as I looked again at the woman outside the fence, I knew that I could not give up. Not now.

"Nine!"

After what seemed like an eternity, I finally got up on my knees, giving my arms a moment of rest before continuing to my feet. My body ached as I stood there on my knees with the crowd going wild around me. I felt as if my legs would break as I used all my power to push myself up, barely being able to keep my balance in the spinning world around me. 'I made it!' I thought, just as the bell rang, finishing the fight.