Rise

Chapter Twenty One: The A-Team

“Good . . . huah! Yes . . . put a little more into it, I can take it. No, now you’ve put yourself off balance and I can do . . . this!”

Matt grunted as the Old Bear flung him to the ground, pulling on his outstretched arm. The two had taken to sparring in the early mornings before their duties and drills, helping to hone Matt’s hand to hand skills. It was the old man’s idea. He had caught Matt practicing with his baton one morning, the kid attacking imaginary adversaries with the mean end of the rod. The Bear had asked if Matt wanted to learn to fight with more than just a gun. Matt still hadn’t forgotten the way the soldiers had held him back and tossed him into the dirt, a heavy boot crushing his rib cage. That wasn’t going to happen again.

“Don’t sacrifice your balance for a strike,” the Bear said, holding out a hand to help Matt up. “Another opening will come, no one’s guard is perfect, not even mine,”

Matt nodded, and let Bear help him up and dust him off. He could feel a spot on his back that would definitely be carrying a decent bruise by the day’s end. Just one more to add to the collection. 

“Again?” Bear asked, assuming a ready stance. Matt assumed his own stance and that was answer enough. The bout began like all the rest, the two circling each other with fists raised, both waiting on the other to deliver the first strike. 

It was usually Matt who lost his patience and lashed out, often into one of Bear’s perfectly timed counters. Patience, patience Matt, it’s all about patience. Yes, well when you are a tank of a man who’s palms double as shields, I guess you can wait all day for your opponent to tire out. 

In an effort to mix things up, Matt feinted, faking a heavy blow. Bear leapt forwards with his prepared counter and Matt sidestepped and exploited the opening, delivering a couple hits to the Old Bear’s side. 

The man’s eyebrows rose and a smile formed on his lips as he put his guard back up and put some distance between him and Matt.

 “You’re learning kid. Can ya do it again though?” the Bear said before unleashing his own flurry of strikes, wearing down Matt’s guard. 

The boy deflected and turned as many of the blows as he could, but a few still made it past his defence, eliciting a few grunts. The pain wasn’t too bad though, making Matt think the Bear was holding back a little. He didn’t mind too much however, since they were only sparring. Matt wasn’t hitting Bear all that hard either. 

Watching the old man’s eyes, Matt tried to look for any hints towards his adversary’s next move. He saw the Bear’s pupils dart left and he dodged right, just as the man lunged forwards and flung his fists. With the Bear’s side now exposed yet again Matt struck back, taking advantage of his new angle. 

His giant shoulders turning faster than Matt could have imagined, the Old Bear spun, his guard ready to absorb Matt’s blows. The kid thought about pulling back, and putting some more space between them but decided to follow through, hoping to wear the old man down just a little bit more. 

Once again, the Old Bear was one step ahead of Matt, and countered just as the kid was about to make contact. Again, Matt put himself off balance and found himself laying in the dirt, the old man standing over him. 

“You’re improving very quickly. Just watch your balance and you should be fine,” The Bear said, watching Matt rise and assume his ready stance. He chuckled softly, “I think that is enough for today,”  

Matt dropped his arms, his shoulders rising up and down slowly. He was glad for the chance to catch his breath. Arching his shoulders backwards, stretching, he heard his spine crack, a welcome release of tension.