The Wrong Side

Chapter 23

"What is the point of learning about polyatomic ions?" Luna asks me as we sit outside the gym, waiting for Coach Tanner to let us in.

"I don't know," I reply. "I think it's pretty interesting."

"Yeah, well you're a nerd and will probably be a scientist one day but what's the point? Seriously? Am I going to go up to an object and ask myself, 'I wonder what kind of atoms make up this object'?"

"I don't know," I repeat. "I guess we'll have to find out."

Luna rolls her eyes and the door to the gym opens. "If I ask my mom, I bet she won't even remember what a polyatomic ion is," she grumbles and I scowl a little bit at the the mention of Ember Irving.

It's been almost two weeks since Matthew turned seventeen and now that November is here, frost starts clinging to everything. The attire has changed from shirts and shorts or capris to jeans and sweaters and maybe the occasional jacket.

We've started up sparring again in the fitness class and Coach Tanner moved me down a weight class after the first incident. I win every match against those guys and I'm itching to get back into the other group but Tanner wants to wait a bit.

We go outside again even though it's freezing and the ground is hard from frost. We run another few kilometers for warmup. When we first ran outside, if you fell, you'd get muddy. Now, you get a broken nose since the ground is frozen solid.

The sparring starts up but before the first group has gone, the class is surprised with a visit from none other than Ember Irving herself. When she comes out, I can feel my cheeks heating up from anger and Luna shifts awkwardly beside me. Ember goes up to Tanner and whispers something in her ear. Tanner starts to protest, but after a stern glare from Ember, the coach sighs and looks down at the tablet in her hand. She taps a few things and waits for the match to finish.

"Tarasi, you're next against Altman," Tanner says.

I look over at Dennis and he's as surprised as me. I glance back at Ember who's expression is completely stoic. I remember her asking me, I heard you took out five Endurance soldiers on your own but got knocked out by one punch from Dennis Altman. What happened?

She doesn't think I can win. I smirk to myself, knowing that I'll prove her wrong. Dennis looks a bit uncomfortable but still confident. He bends his knees and raises his hands. I do the same.

Tanner blows the whistle and Dennis swings for my head. I duck and his momentum throws him off balance a little bit. He staggers but recovers quickly.

At this moment, I hear the Voice in my head saying something I think I've heard before: Once your objective in a fight changes, the way you fight will be different.

I look over Dennis. He's huge and probably won't be able to be taken out unless I use my prosthetic. He'll most likely be expecting it so he'll be on guard for my right arm and probably won't be too worried about anything else besides that.

What's my goal here? To beat Dennis. How do I do that? Open up a chance to punch him with my right arm. He's kinda slow compared to me. He likes to throw hooks which I can dodge easily and which can easily throw him off balance if he's not in a proper stance.

He attacks with another hook. I dodge and his body turns to the left, exposing his side. I grab his shoulder and give it an extra push, delivering a kick to his kidneys. That seems to anger him a little bit and I think I may have actually hurt him a little bit there. He turns and sends several punches to me. I back up slowly and his fists miss my face by mere inches. He slows down a bit, tiring. I push his arms back and kick his stomach. It doesn't hurt him, but he gets sent back a few feet. He tries to kick me and I duck beneath him. As I come up, I place my right fist in my left hand and shove my elbow as hard as I can into his face.