Adaptation and Evolution (Book Two of the EDSOR Military Academy Trilogy)

Chapter 28- Rebound

“Spartans, take your positions!”, General Rafael hollered. He gestured to the stack of weapons at the far end of the St. Benilde gym. “Get one weapon each. Find a partner and start sparring”

Oh, that’s going to hurt. I was released from the Xavier hospital this morning, and Ayra, the Head Doctor, was not very keen on seeing me walk.

A boy with freckles and mop top blonde locks approached me, and tilted his head to the ground. That was the traditional way of paying respect to each other in our camp.

He was slightly taller by a few inches, and was clutching a foil saber. Today, General Rafael taught us the basics of fencing. An hour later, he told us to grab a partner and practice for the remaining thirty minutes.

“Hi Jamie. The name’s Brent”

This guy looked decent but well adept with his sword. It looked like he was comfortable with holding it. On the other hand, I was not comfortable clutching a long sword. My hands were shivering from anxiety and excitement.

“Ladies first”, he smiled as he positioned himself in front of me. I lunged towards him, hoping to catch him at his left shoulder. To my surprise, he sidestepped and aimed for my left hip. The foil clashed on my body but I only felt a gentle tap as he moved out of harm’s way. This happened in just a few seconds.

Brent charged towards me. I thought he was going to aim for my solar plexus, a vital part in retaining consciousness but a millisecond after his blow, which I tried to block, I felt a gentle tap on the side of my head. If I continue at this rate then I have no reason to be part of the La Salle camp.

But this lanky boy, he was so good! I felt the spirit of competitiveness surge inside of my veins, coursing through my leg muscles up to my hands. Trevor’s words sparked something of me, something that I felt I was lacking. In Honora, I would walk the halls with my head held up high because I was used to the boring academic system. But this was different. This wasn’t Honora. This is EMA. I belong here now.

Right now, I had to forget that I am a student who is bound to textbooks. I got in this school for a reason. Heaven knows what that reason is but if Trevor sees a little bit of Jesse Hope in me, I will do my best to keep it that way.

I dashed towards Brent, who prepared himself. I lured him into protecting his side when I thrust the sword in front of him. It stopped a few inches before it hit his solar plexus. Normally, after someone got hit, he and his opponent would take a few seconds to recover. I was taken aback when Brent continued attacking me.

“Whoa! Go easy on her, Brent!”, a guy called out from behind. From my peripheral view, it seems that everyone stopped practicing just to watch us.

As I crouched to avoid his uppercut, sweat started blurring my vision. I couldn’t see properly but I couldn’t risk being caught unguarded. Brent was a blur in my vision. I could only see the green colors standing out from his shirt and the shiny point of the foil pointed towards me.

The sun, reflected through the gym’s translucent roof, was searing my face and my back as I sighed and tried to evade the next attack.

Then it happened. Everything around me disappeared until I swear I could see a desolate battlefield. The blows came in droves, but they multiplied until I could feel numbness envelope my body.

I was just not suited for this. Brent was about a meter away from me when I crouched and dove for his knees. He jumped out of the way while swinging his sword towards me.

No! I will not let cowardice consume me. I will not fall today.

With little experience in Aikido, I performed the front roll with much pain in my hips afterwards. But that roll bought time as I moved farther from Brent.

I was so scared. Brent looked like a beast on the prowl for a prey. His eyes were bloodshot and I could really see he was taking this seriously.

Clutching my sword horizontally, I dashed towards him. He anticipated the blow to his naval but I sidestepped and swung the sword to his side. He howled in pain as he slumped to the ground.

I followed suit, twisting his sword hand, lightly kneeling on his right shoulder to keep him pinned down.

A group of people gathered around me, shocked at the intensity of our training. Actually, the whole class stopped training to watch us!

I then felt a hand on my shoulder as Brent sighed in pain. “Good job, Stark and Brent. We can enter you both in a Spartan match and expect a few minutes of suspense.”

I released my grip on the red-faced Brent as the whole class, save for both of us, softly chuckled. I didn’t know Sg. Raphael had sarcastic tendencies.

“That was amazing, Stark. No wonder they put you here,” Brent smiled.

“Th-thanks. You did great as well. What’s up with your game face? For a moment, it looked like you were so serious and…”

Brent stood up and brushed the dirt of his pants. “I guess it was only my instincts. Being at war in an early age scars you”

 I nodded as Sg. Raphael called for us to resume training.