Haunted by the mystery of a strange accident, the life of Asteria, a young writer, suddenly takes a turn when aliens arrive on Earth and she is among the group selected to participate in the first contact, and the first interplanetary peace treaty...
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Two days later, having already learned kicks, ways to get out of the opponent's grip, and ways to use other elements as weapons, we found ourselves in the same gym, in the same groups, but with a different mission: To really fight.
– I need two volunteers for a group – Collins said, and before he could look at us inquisitively, Tess instantly moved forward – anyone else?
Nav, his classmate, hadn't arrived at class yet, so Kyle, the blonde boy, volunteered. Happy with the first group, the coach looked towards the rest of those present, but no one said anything.
For some reason Tess didn't like me, and from the first day I caught her looking at me with disdain, but even so I wasn't interested in fighting with her. I had better things to occupy my energy. And of course, I relaxed when the coach, after passing Denu, Kyle, Jin and Lexa, then passed by me and continued past the others, until Briar and Enzo arrived.
But I declared victory too early.
– Kyle, you will fight Asteria – Collins said.
The group I had dinner with yesterday automatically looked at me.
– I don't feel comfortable fighting with her – Kyle said – I don't want to hurt her.
– Would you be more comfortable if you fought with someone your size or the same sex?
Kyle shrugged.
– Well, I don't care. It doesn't matter who is in front of you. If it is an enemy, it doesn't matter if it is a man, a woman, or undefined. They will hit you with the same objective. Catch you, knock you out or kill you – Collins said to all of us, somewhat exasperated, and then added: – Jasper, you'll fight Kyle. Asteria, you go with Tess.
The girl looked at me, sizing me up as an opponent, and she smiled arrogantly as if she had already won.
– Shouldn't we have more preparation before doing this? – I asked.
– It's easier to learn by doing – Tess said, waiting for me to chicken out.
– You are all sufficiently prepared – Collins replied.
– Any rules? – Jasper asked.
– There are no rules – he said.
– Okay, but what if... – Jasper tried to get clarification.
– But nothing. An enemy in real life isn't going to care about that.
– Yes, but among all of us there are no enemies – said Denu from outside of the fighting area.
– Okay, do you want rules?
We nodded, and Collins looked at us, looking very impatient.
– Rule number 1: defense first, then attack – Collins walked a few steps – Rule number 2: we attack to remove an obstacle, but killing is a last resort. Now, if you can enter the circle.
