Mistaken

Blaze (Chapter 10)

Chapter 10

Block. Punch. Shove. Jab. Block. Stab. Block. Stab. Stab. Punch. I went through the process easily. It was second nature to me. No one was able to get  anything past my defense.

It was a normal day in the training room, but for some reason something was off. It took me a moment to realize why. The usual constant yell from my father was nonexistent. He wasn’t yelling at me to do better or telling me what to do. I didn’t mind the absence of his voice, but it struck me as odd.

As I hit the last man with the hilt of my sword, knocking him unconscious, I turned to my father. He had a serious look on his face and looked like he was trying to decide something.

I decided to ignore him and went to the weapon rack to return my swords. I exchanged my swords for a bow and some arrows and moved on to my next training exercise.

The large training room had the floor of a gym but was much larger than an actual gym. It was separated into different sections, each for a different area of training.

I made my way to the sections that had targets hung in the air and on the walls. This area alone was as big as a basketball court. Centering myself in the middle of the targets I readied my bow. Pulling my arm back I readied myself and aimed at a small target on the wall, but before I could release the arrow my father’s voice rang out through the gym.

“Stop.”

I lowered my bow and turned to my father, giving him a confused but wary look. Was he mad? Was I doing something wrong?

“No more training. I have something else that I want you to do.”

It was odd for my father to stop my training, but I did as I was told and put my bow back on the rack. As I walked back to his side I wondered what was going on with him. He was acting so odd.

“What do you want me to do?” I asked obediently. Was he going to introduce me to some kind of new harder training?

Instead of answering me he turned to the large door that led into the gym and yelled: “Come in Blaze.”

The door opened and in walked a short black haired teenager with a goatee and the beginnings of a beard. He looked like he hadn’t taken a bath for a month. His hair was greasy and his hands were dirty.

What kind of name is Blaze? I thought to myself. I would understand if his hair was red or something but his hair was black.

As the boy got closer I could see multiple scars on his hands and face. What has this boy been through?

I opened my mouth to say hello but before I could my father interrupted me and said one short word: “Fight.”

All I could do was look at him confused, then Blaze was in my face. I was barely able to duck out of the way of his fist. Stumbling backwards in surprise I tried to think of a plan of action. I had been caught off guard, but Blaze was approaching fast and I needed to think of a plan.

The weapons were on the far wall. Maybe I would be able to get to them before he was able to get to me. I glanced back at the weapon wall. That was a mistake. Blaze’s fist was on my stomach before I could snap my head back around.

Dang this guy is fast. I thought. … and strong. I added, as I spluttered and coughed, trying to catch my breath. Then his fist slammed into my face.

Come on. Get it together Alex! You beat up men daily! Why should this man be any different?

Before I could back away his other fist slammed into the other side of my face.