Bluejays

Training

Phoenix sat at the table in the basement.

It was the day after the others had all been taken away. He had been told that he would have to save them, while working alone. He had no idea how he would achieve that, though. He was only seven! He was too young for this kind of responsibility!

Still, he accepted the weight of responsibility with a reluctant heart. He had no idea how to do this, but he knew that he must. He had a conviction that he must do it.

Phoenix sat silently. Then, he looked up at the ceiling above him. "Why do you put me through this?" he asked. "If this is some sort of test, then I will overcome it, but I hate it."

The ceiling gave no answer. He sighed, looking back down at his swinging feet. It was late, but he couldn't sleep. He decided, eventually, that he would only rescue them one way: by preparing.

He would have to have a proper diet, consisting of the healthiest things he could find.

He would have to train with his powers, to attack someone, defend himself, and to defend someone else.

He would have to train his mind, so that he could handle this.

He would have to exercise, and get himself into shape.

He would have to do all of this without ever leaving the house.

He would have to do all of this without the use of electronics.

He would have to do all of this on his own.

He would have to do all of this before the others were moved, which simply wasn't impossible.

All that meant was that he would have to do the impossible.

Easy.

_

Three days later

Phoenix woke up, and stretched. He was getting the best sleep he could every night, despite his stress and fear. He was exhausting himself each day, without harming himself, and he was going to bed tired and aching so that he slept.

This morning, he decided that his current sleepiness would fade. He rose, and went upstairs, out of the basement. He found some whole-wheat bread, and toasted it. He put butter and strawberry jam on it. He ate this quickly, then got some eggs with cheese. This was all that he needed for breakfast--and more. He wanted to eat a lot, so that he could get on with the exercises. 

Having finished, Phoenix did just that. He went downstairs, and started to exercise. He did various physical exercises with his body. These were push-ups, weight-lifting, running, and jumping jacks. once he finished these, he used his powers. He stretched out on his belly, and used his mind to lift himself in some semblance of push-ups. Then, standing, he lifted the weights with his mind. He used super-speed that they all had from their powers to run around the room. He then approached some dolls, and used his telekinesis to make them do jumping jacks. They did them at different speeds, so there were almost never two that were in the same position.

Phoenix stood back, wiping sweat from his brow. It was nearly noon, so he got lunch. This consisted of some already-cooked shredded beef that he reheated. He put it on bread, with some tomato sauce. It was a bizarre combination, but it was good, and very healthy. He finished lunch, and did some schoolwork. Then, he went to something they had that was meant to make it so they would think nothing of having to fight someone. It didn't encourage fighting; it was simply something they could read to get used to the idea of battle.

He found the part that described a fight between one of them, and a group of people. He read it. It described for him the moves he might do, and what might go through his head. It offered advice as well. He was very lucky that this wasn't an electronic thing. He couldn't use electronics, as someone might be keeping track of that. He figured that lights, the toaster, and water didn't count. He needed those things. Well, not the toaster, but it helped him.

Phoenix eventually put the book up. He went to a shelf, and grabbed his English textbook. He started to work in it, and did that for an hour. He rested for a few minutes in his bed, then went back to refining his abilities. He was trying to get good at tracking someone down, so that he could find the others.

He found the person in the house next door. They were sitting somewhere. He slipped into the neighbor's mind, and looked through his eyes. He was staring at his computer, and Phoenix persuaded him mentally to look away. He was working. Phoenix was able to make out the letters on the screen, but he wanted to look around first, because he wanted to make sure he could retain the necessary level of concentration.

Phoenix saw that the neighbor was in an in-home office of some sort. He was at a desk, and there was a painting on the wall that he was facing. Behind him was another painting. The door was at the side of the room, and there was a potted plant nearby. There were flowers on the neighbor's desk. It was a nice office. 

He smiled, removing himself from the neighbor's mind. He was tired, and it was getting a bit late in the afternoon. But, he couldn't sleep just yet. He needed to go through all of his abilities again. 

He did this as quickly as possible. He was exhausted, and wanted nothing more than to sleep. But first, he went back upstairs and ate a salad. He had it with nothing else. It was a good salad, though he didn't like it very much. He wanted the real food that he used to eat.

Still, he didn't care. Having finished, he did some basic workouts, then changed his clothes and went to bed.

***

I'm not too proud of this one.🙁 But thank you to those who read it! I appreciate it!