Magnolia

Chapter 14

Luke

"Wake up" a voice yelled into my ears. I jolted up and saw Emma sitting next to me, a grin on her face.

"Jesus Christ, what time is it?" I asked, my ears still ringing. Emma straddled me and leaned down to whisper something to me. My heart beat picked up, the wake up no longer making me mad.

"Time to start your training" she said and than hopped off the bed, my hopes fading. "C'mon lets go! Get dressed!" she shouted, moving fast. I didn't understand how she had so much energy this early in the morning. She wore tight running leggings, sneakers and a tight black tank top. Her hair was tied back in a tight ponytail. 

"Fine" I grumbled. "But only because I love those leggings on you" I said smirking. She swatted my arm as I pulled myself from the warm comfort of my bed. I put on a t-shirt and athletic shorts. I tied up my sneakers, my eyes still squinty from sleep. 

"Here" she held out a banana. I took it, and looked at it quizzically. "Breakfast" she read my thoughts. "If we have too big a breakfast, you'll get cramps" She grabbed my hand and yanked me off the bed. "You can eat it in the car" she instructed. I groaned and prepared myself for a long day.

+

Eventually we pulled up to a large wear house that looked to be abandoned. Emma got out of the car and walked towards the door. She smiled, a little pep in her step as she placed her hands on the rusted over door.

"What are you doing?" I asked, sizing the place up. It was huge, the parking lot around it barely paved anymore. The place creeped me out.

"Teaching you how to fight, dummy" Emma said. She enjoyed this a little too much. Emma pushed open the door with her hips, a loud creaking noise emitted as they swung open wide. 

"Wait for me!" I jogged to catch up to her, not feeling safe without her here. 

"The doors a little rusty. Needs a little shove" she winked at me. I stepped in a looked around. It was a dusty large room with a couple mats and mannequins. A couple ropes hung from the ceiling to. As we walked further into the warehouse, I noticed shelfs covered in knifes and metal poles. There was only a couple guns on one shelf. Emma looked around, hands on her hips. "Lets start with something easy" she said running her hands over the shelf. She picked up a gun, her eyes lighting up. 

"We'll start with gun practice" she walked over to me and handed me a gun. She placed her hands on my shoulders as she lead me to a section of the room with targets on the wall. She aimed the gun a fired. The noise snapping me out of my sleepy state as I jumped. Bulls eye. 

"Guns are a very effective and efficient weapon. After a small amount of practice, you should be able to master them. You should never rely on them though. They are not always around when a weapon is needed and is not great for close rang fighting" Emma lectured while pacing back and forth. "Lets see what you've got" she said, my shaky hands gripping the gun.

I held the gun and pointed it at the target. "Feet firm, grip tight" Emma said, using her feet to move mine until I stood square. I pulled the trigger and this time I didn't jump. "Not bad" Emma smiled. The bullet had hit the target on the outer rim. She stood behind me and helped me aim the gun. "Look through the gun. See where the bullet is going" she spoke softly into my ear. I took a deep breath and again pulled the trigger. 

 "Well I'll be damned" Emma mused. "A bulls eye on the second try" she clucked her tongue in approval.

+

"Left! Right! Roll!" Emma yelled. *Bang bang* I shot and rolled and stood up and shot again. All shots hitting the bulls eye or pretty damn close. "Give me ten!" Emma barked. I got down and did push ups, sweat dripping down my forehead. It had been an hour on the gun drills and I was almost perfect at it. Emma threw in some fitness exercises to strengthen me but I was already pretty built from lacrosse. "And thats a wrap!" Emma smiled. 

"I was just getting started" I teased, standing up. Emma smiled, rolling her eyes.

"Well I think you've mastered the gun" Emma complimented, "Now when your in a dangerous situation the first thing to look for is a gun. Okay?" I nodded, feeling more confident in my ability to defend myself.

"Now lets do knifes" a smile spread across her face. She walked over to another section of the room. A table was lined with knifes and in front of a line of dummies. She picked up a knife and threw it across the room. Straight into the dummies face. She picked up another one and threw it. Right in the place a human heart would occupy. I felt my jaw go wide, my eyes wide.

"Damn girl" I closed my mouth. I couldn't help but thinking of the song 'My Chick Bad'. She turned and smiled. 

"And I am assuming I don't have to teach you how to close up knife fight?" she said raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah that's common sense" I said. I had seen enough movies to know how to fight. I walked over to the table and picked up a knife. She nodded and looked at the dummies. I held out my arm and made a few practice moves. I looked over the top of the knife and looked to where if would go. I drew my arm back, and then threw it forward releasing it. It sore threw the air and struck the dummy in the stomach.

"Nice!" Emma said. "We can work on your aim, but that was great power and hitting a human anywhere, with a knife is sure to slow them down" Emma explained.

I spent the next two hours throwing knifes. It was not as easy as shooting a gun and after a while my shoulder grew sore. I had a few head hits and two heart hits. Emma said I was doing extremely well for a beginner.

"Alright lets make this the last throw of the day" Emma said. "Now focus. Put all your anger into it and aim straight" she patted my back and stepped away, watching intently.

I wound back, jerking my arm forward. I let go of the knife. I watched as the knife struck the dummy right in the heart. "Yes!" I yelled. Emma jumped on my back, kissing my cheek. "Luke! Luke! Luke!" she chanted as I ran around the room. We laughed until our stomachs ached. I knew this wasn't a normal couple activity, but if it made me stronger, made Emma worry less and meant us spending time together, I didn't mind at all.