The Crystal Chronicles: Cursed

New Friend

Bodies thumb against the thick mats as various exercises are being worked on. Over two hundred people have been split into groups of approximately forty. Each group has been divided into pairs. Mostly male and female duels spread out before me. Very few compete in same sex pairs. Their positions draw me in. They must be doing an exercise focused on battling the opposite sex. It's a smart tactic. Many men are reluctant to fight a woman or a child. While women have trouble taking down a man. Training for a war fought with all parties is ideal. Ty's voice pulls me from my thoughts. I quickly searched the crowd and found him. He's in the dead center of the room. Standing beside General Smith and an unfamiliar woman. They are leading this training session. I caulk my head and I listen carefully to what they have to say. Ty steps forward and addresses the group first,

"Welcome, today we will be doin' heretro fightin'. Man against woman." His mouth snaps shut and General Smith steps forward. Wow Ty that was an eloquent speech. Not. I stifle my laughter with the back of my hand.

"Ty, Martha, and I will be walking around helping you with form and fighting skill. Start with what we learned from last week and build on that. We have two hours until the next rotation so let's get cracking!" General Smith loudly instructed. Slowly the students get into attack positions. I remain stationed on the outskirts of the room. I don't want to interrupt. I simply want to see what Matt's group has got.

I slowly scan the crowd before me. My eyes breeze past the woman General Smith called Martha and land on the girl she's staring at. Martha simply watches from the sidelines while a young girl fails at fending off her large attacker. She's thrown like a sack of potatoes onto the stiff mat. My vision flashes red and the next thing I know I'm pushing through the crowd toward the pair I watched fight. I shoulder check Martha when I pass by her.

Her eyes flicker in shock, but I shrug my shoulders nonchalantly and continue walking. It serves her right to be startled. Martha clearly is not doing her job. The hulk sized man leans down to grab a hold of the trembling teenager. Planting my foot behind his, I reached up and grabbed him by the back of the neck. He grunts in surprise before he tumbles over my foot and onto the mat. The seventeen-year-old shakes uncontrollably and I reach my hand toward her with a somber expression. Her eyes finally soften as she takes my hand.

"Hello. My name is Alex. I saw you struggling. Would you like some help?" I softly asked while I helped her to her feet. The teenage girl's eyes bounced between Martha and I. Shaking my head and giving her a kind smile, "Don't worry you won't get into trouble. I'm new around here but am highly trained. If you let me, I can help you." The girl's eyes dart to the ground before she slowly nods her head.

"S-s-sure... my name is Samantha, but most people call me Sam."

"Well Sam. The first thing you need to do is spread your legs. At minimum they have to be shoulder length apart. You need to have a good strong base in order to fight properly. This is how I stand when I fight." I gently instructed the young girl before I spread my legs, bent my knees, and placed my right foot slightly in front of my left. My muscles stretch and harden as they anticipate an attacker. Sam slowly nods her head and tries to copy my movements. Her legs shake, but she's got a better stance. Sam eyes dart from me to her opponent and she shakes more violently. Even with her weight distributed she looks like she could topple over at any moment. Caulking my head, "What's the matter? Why are you shaking so bad?"

"Well... he's so big and muscular and I'm... well tiny." Sam squeaked. In all reality, her fear makes complete sense, but my stubbornness refuses to admit defeat just because my opponent is larger than I am. I can't let her fear something when it's possible she can win. Sam simply needs to try. Shaking my head,

"Small. Large. Fat. Skinny. Size doesn't matter. The secret to fighting as a small person is to read your opponent and use your speed. Besides, the bigger they are, the harder they fall." I winked to slowly encourage the timid girl, but doubt flashes in her eyes when her eyes land back on her opponent. Shaking my head, I'm going to need to change my tactics. How can I convince her... A lightbulb flickers in my brain, I've got it. Changing direction I approach her opponent with a smile on my face, "Care to spar with me for a change? I think Sam needs a break." The behemoth laughs and cockily cracks his knuckles.