Elemental

Chapter 18

After dinner, Isaiah practically dragged Christine to the gym. She didn't think it was necessary for her to learn how to throw knives but he was insistent. When they got to the gym, he went over to one of the cabinets and pulled out a box of thin knives. They walked over to one of the bare walls where she could already see dents in the wood.

"Are you even allowed to throw knives in here?" Christine asked.

Isaiah shrugged. "Are there even rules here?"

"Fair enough."

"Okay, so first things first you should be about six feet away from the target," he positioned her a good distance away. "Are you right-handed or left-handed?"

"Right."

"Put your right foot forward, a good foot away from your left." She did. "Make sure your body is relaxed and hold the knife with your thumb on top." He readjusted her grip. "When you throw, pull your arm back so that the knife is next to your face with the handle facing the sky. Then you throw it but you don't have to put that much force into it." Isaiah demonstrated.

The knife soared through the air before sticking to the wall. Christine tried next. The first few bounced off the wall, Isaiah altering her stance until she got one in.

"Great! Now see if you can hit the wood right next to it."

The closest she got was two feet away.

"Keep practicing. You're doing fairly well for your first try."

They kept practicing for an hour and a half before they called it a night.

"Same time tomorrow?" Isaiah asked.

"Sure," Christine said, putting the box of knives back in the cabinet.

"Great! I'll see you later, kid," he said, heading toward the quarters.

She was about to call out and say that he wasn't that much older than her but he had already headed inside. She walked to her cabin to find Damien there, petting Bane. Bane jumped to his feet and bounded over to her. He rubbed his face on her chest and she petted his head.

"Hey, boy," she smiled then looked at Damien. "Should I just expect you in my cabin all the time?"

Damien grinned. "I mean, it was mine."

"Keyword was."

"I'm here to help you with your speech."

"Right now? It's getting pretty late." She walked past Bane and sat on her bed.

"The battle is in two days. We've got to work on it," he said.

He walked over to her desk and grabbed a notebook and pencil before sitting next to her.

She sighed. "Fine, but I'm telling you now that I don't have a way with words."

"Oh, I know," he chuckled when she kicked his leg. "That's why I'm here."

He started scribbling some notes down. "We've got to talk about the organization, our plan for a better world, and a little bit about your history..."

They worked on it for a few hours until they had a page-long speech. Christine scanned over it, her stomach flip-flopping at the thought of speaking in front of all those people. Her words were going to be broadcasted across the world. Everyone was going to know her name and face and there would be no question as to where she was.

"Is there any way I can convince you to give the speech instead?" She asked.

"You know I can't. These words have to come from you."

She took a deep breath. "Right. 'Course."

Damien nudged her shoulder with his. "You'll do great."

She scoffed. "I doubt that. I'll probably look out at all the people and forget how to speak. What if I forget what to say?"

"Then you wing it."

"That's not exactly my forte."

"You have practically been winging your entire life."

She smiled and shook her head. "That's not what I would call it but I suppose there's some truth in that."

"Besides, I'll practice the speech with you," he stood up. "Starting tomorrow though. It's late."

Christine nodded. "Yeah, okay. I'd appreciate that."

He smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Damien left and she laid back on her bed. The battle was going to be a piece of cake compared to this damn speech.