Member-only story
Hear Me!
See Me!
The steel cage door slams shut.
Its metallic echo reverberates through the arena,
A warning bell for a contest already decided by the ticket sellers.
Under the harsh lights stands the patient…
Thin, weary, clutching a stack of medical records
Instead of weapons.
Across the cage wait towering opponents…
Corporate health systems, their muscles swollen
With profits and policies,
Government regulations, thick rulebooks
Wrapped around their fists,
Pharmaceutical giants, draped in sponsorship banners,
Their pockets heavy with the cost of survival.
The crowd roars.
Not for the patient.
Never for the patient.
The bell rings.
The patient enters the fight with hands tied behind his back,
A blindfold covering his eyes.
He swings anyway. Hope is a stubborn thing.
A punch lands…denied.
Another…not covered.
Another…prior authorization required.
