Fatal Attractions : The Masquerade

Chapter Six

     "Alright, great. But try to hit another vital organ other than the brain."

     "I'm pretty sure a knife to the brain is just as fatal as a knife to the heart," I argued. I was getting better and better at knife throwing. I only missed the target once every couple throws now. But the more Alex bantered me, the more on target I got. His last piece of advice was still coming to use.

     "That's true, but not in all cases, Lena. We're not only fighting humans, here."

     "We're not fighting anybody," I interjected. "This is just training in case I'm ever in danger and have to fend for myself."

     Alex crossed his arms over his bare chest. "You know what I mean."

     "Right," I said, and tossed another knife. It smacked into the mannequins chest, right over its heart.

     "Happy?" I asked. He smirked and walked over to me.

     "Very," he said, and planted a kiss on my forehead. I could see the muscles in his arms and chest bunch and coil as he pulled away. Alex still left me breathless at times, there was no doubt about that. He was a difficult person to get used to, in so many ways.

     "Are we done with this endless target practice now? My arm is starting to hurt," I said. Alex walked over to the wooden mannequin and pulled the knife out of its chest.

     "I guess so. Run along, little girl."

     "Excuse me?" I asked, cocking a brow at him. He turned to me, holding the knife in his hand.

     "You're excused," he said. 

     "Watch the attitude," I said, jabbing a finger at him. He held his hands up in defense and made his way over to the table that held the rest of the knives.

     "I think I'm gonna' start a different area of training," Alex said, his back to me.

     "And that would be?" I asked, going to cross my arms, but before I could finish the action, a throwing knife whizzed past my ear. I quickly ducked, placing my hands flat on the ground for support.

     "Dodging," Alex said, the word punctuated by the sound of the knife smacking into the back wall.

     "Are you crazy!" I yelled, coming up to my feet. 

     "No. Why?"

     "You could have killed me!"

     "You really underestimate my aim, Lena," he said, leaning against the table.

     "You're psychotic, Alex," I breathed, the goosebumps fading from my skin. I saw Alex's jaw tense as I realized what I'd said.

     "I'm sorry," I mumbled. He held up his hand, silencing me.

     "It's alright," he said. I pursed my lips and stayed quiet.

     "Like I was saying," he said. "Dodging. You can do flips, you can throw knives. But if you can't dodge or block your enemies attacks, everything else is pointless."

     "I can't carry around a shield with me all the time, Alex," I said.

     "No shields. That's silly. If someone comes after you with their hands, you block them. With weapons, you dodge them. Simple as that."

     "Okay. And if someone shoots me?" I asked. He crossed his arms, the muscles tightening under his skin.

     "Then you'd better hope you don't bleed out before help arrives."

     "Lovely," I said. He gave me a single nod then walked over to me.

      "Hold your dominant arm straight across your body," he said, placing his hands on my right arm and raising it over my chest.

     "Now, if I was going to punch you in the face, what would the best response be?" he asked, raising his fist parallel to my nose. I quickly stepped to the side, and he smiled.

     "Good. You could also block my punch with your arm. Or, if you're fast enough, block my punch by grabbing my fist. And as a double whammy, if you twist my arm just right, you could easily dislocate my elbow. But dodging does take your attacker by surprise and gives you the upper hand for a few moments before they compose themselves," he said.

     "So my best bet would just be to step out of the way?" I asked.

     "Not always. If you're not fast enough, you won't have time to move yourself out of the line of attack. Sometimes during a fight, your mind can go blank and you won't be able to process what's happening. Which is why blocking is also a safe route to take."

     "But if I'm not fast enough to step out of the way, how would I be fast enough to block?" I asked.

     "It's not rocket science, Lena. Just always be prepared to block. Always have your dominant arm prepared to rebound an attack. That's it."

     I let out a sigh. "You make it sound so easy. I've never been in an actual physical fight before, Alex, you seem to always forget that."

     "No, I haven't forgotten yet. Why do you think I'm pushing you so hard?"

     I sighed again and looked down at the floor. His over-protectiveness was extremely overbearing.

     "To drive me crazy, I'm guessing?" 

     "Well is it working?" he asked, with a smile. I rolled my eyes and walked up to him.

     "Try to attack me," I said. His smile faltered.

     "What?"

     "Try to attack me," I repeated.

     "You're joking, right?"

     "Do I look like I'm joking?" I asked.

     "Lena, I could hurt you."

     "I said try to attack me, not try to kill me. Just do it."

     "Um... Alright," he said, his brows pulling together. I could tell he was trying his best to think of a move that wouldn't injure me. After a moment, I could tell he was ready.

     In one swift motion, he ducked down and swept his leg across the floor, an attempt to knock me to the ground. Instead of doing just that, though, I quickly jumped over his leg and tackled him to the ground, my chest on his back, crushing him to the mat. The gymnasium suddenly echoed with an explosion of his deep, joy-filled laughter. It sent chills down my spine.

     "What's so funny?" I asked, quickly getting off of him and to my feet. He slowly turned and sat on his bottom, facing me, laughter still erupting from his lungs. After a moment he settled down enough to speak.

     "It's not funny, it's just... Amazing. I've never shown you how to dodge or counter-attack that move, but you did it flawlessly and in a way that gave you the upper hand against me. Unless I was going to barrel roll you off of me, you could have easily killed me right then and there," he said, another giggle bursting from his lips.

     "So why are you laughing?" I asked.

     "It's just," he said, stifling another giggle. "You're a nineteen year old human girl, Lena, and you just put me in a situation where I was defenseless and you could have easily killed me. This whole time, I thought I was teaching you." He let out another giggle and crossed his legs.

     "Maybe it's really you who's teaching me."