A Way We Fight (Book 2 Of The A Way To Win Series)

Chapter 13: A Past & A Present

1 Year Ago

The day after school was amazing, I got rewarded with passing the grade and we went out to eat, of course, my mom got too drunk and my dad had to drive but it worked out. Nothing bad happened that night.
But I didn't think a virus would spread across the entire world within a few days.

I was getting a lot of sleep ever since school let out. Any person would've, hopefully. I wasn't the kind of person who enjoyed video games but the kind of person who focused on drawing.
Every summer, my dad would take me out to see if I learned any new survival skills from the last time and I would take notes in a journal given to me.
I would mainly go into the woods at any chance given with drawing essentials at hand, mainly being pencils and a sharpener with a drawing pad. The woods gave peace to me at any time.
All that peace ended that night.

My dad rushed into the room and practically slammed the door before blocking it with a chair at my desk with a screwdriver still in hand.
I remembered rising out of my bed out of pure confusion. "What's...going on?"

"Some sort of creatures broke into the house and I don't know where the hell your mother is. She could've gotten taken by those things." My dad had said.
I didn't remember Liz being in the room but it was a year ago that it happened so she probably was in there. What I know for sure...she didn't come with me.
"Only way is out the window, so pack up and GO!" He finished with yelling.
Something began banging on the door at that point and the chair along with my dad wouldn't hold the door for much longer.

I frantically began packing my things rather if it was clothes, journal notes for later or a hunting knife my dad had given me as my reward.
I unlocked and opened the window before looking back at my dad one last time.
"Goodluck." He nodded as I got on the roof. I slid down and landed on the grass. My ankles began to hurt from landing wrong but I got up and walked anyway.
A person walked out of the house without a weapon and cursed something.

Now I realized something...Jack...killed my dad.

"You alright kid?" He said.

I trusted him then and there. I could've died. Jisu killed Jack before he could though.

---
(Now)

I walked outside and met Mari.
"Remember the rules?"

"Yeah."

Mari smiled and ran at me and threw a punch. I caught it and hit her in the side. She ignored the hit and kicked me backward. I fell but quickly got up and spun kicked her. I hit her in the gut and she got knocked backward.
She rolled across the ground and hit the back of my leg, forcing me to one knee. She pushed me but I grabbed her arms and kicked her over my head.
Mari got up and grabbed my legs before she threw me into the snow. I back handsprang before landing and pinned Mari against a tree. "Give up?" I asked before I threw her back.
Mari stumbled back and ran at me after regaining her balance. She landed a punch in my gut before I sweep kicked her and pinned her to the ground.
She struggled for a minute before giving up. "I win." I said getting up.
Jisu ran over to me and hugged me before kissing me on the cheek.
"Now it's time for you to train, you're like a damsel in distress sometimes and we need to change that. You were a badass when I first met you. Look at you now." I said.

"W-what? I didn't know we were going to train!" Jisu replied.
I whispered in her ear, "If you train, we can do whatever you want."
I flicked her on the nose, "Mari, could you try to train her? I'm gonna make a supply run."
"Yeah..." Mari said, rubbing her wrists.
"I wanna go!" Jisu exclaimed.
"I can't, I'm sorry. You gotta train, you never know what's gonna be out there. I'll test how good you are when I get back." I replied.
Jisu frowned before accepting it.
Liz came to me already dressed, "Can I go?" She asked.
"I guess. You've had enough scarring so you can spend time with me." I picked her up and held her with an arm.
"Everyone else, help someone train. When we get back, hopefully we can find the people who hurt Liz." I said before leaving.

---

I went into the store with Liz following me. I immediately pulled out my knife and went to the camping section where I grabbed a very large backpack before going and putting more food and water in it. Liz grabbed a couple of toys and put them in the backpack when I wasn't looking. I smiled and pat her head, letting it slide.
I went to the weapon section next and grabbed a couple of knives, and began to get a new pistol. Though I probably would never use one, I was still gonna get it just in case, but...I needed to find the keys.
I didn't want to break anything that could possibly trigger an alarm so I left it and we began heading home. Snow was beginning to fall and temperature was crazily low. Liz began shivering in a few seconds but we couldn't stop. I picked her up and wrapped her in one of my jackets to try and help as we ran home.
I felt a burst of random wind and then a punch to the face. I spun around and covered my face. Liz turned back and I grabbed her to protect her.
"It's been a while Tyr." A voice said before I got hit again. This time I was knocked back but I held Liz close.
I stood up with her and the blur stopped.
"How long has it been? 3 months?" The person asked, walking a few steps closer with their hands in their pockets.

"W-what?" I asked, "How?"