“You good?” Andres asked, pulling me from my thoughts.
“Yeah.” I said, pressing my foot toward my butt one more time before dropping it and jogging in step with Andres toward the trail.
Andres usually liked to start off at a light jog, just to get our bodies ready and heart rate up, but I usually didn’t need the warm up. I had no problem running anymore, and I could probably go for hours on end without getting winded. The muscles in my legs were now strong and durable - absorbing the impact each time my feet hit the ground flawlessly. No matter how long we would run, I never tired. I no longer felt the burning sensation attack the tissue in my calves and thighs after running for a long period of time and I loved it.
My lungs were well developed and endured the long workouts without complaint, and I never found myself feeling out of breath. I breathed in deeply, feeling my lungs expand and my chest expel in gratitude, inhaling the fresh morning air.
It was like my body had been designed for the speed and agility that was required to be a good athlete.
We mostly stayed on the trail, but when Andres was feeling competitive, or just plain bored with the trails, we would venture off into the woods. It was an adrenaline rush that coursed through my veins like venom, attacking my bloodstream until my entire body was buzzing with an unusual source of power. A good pick me up was something my body could definitely use right about now. It had been awhile since Andres had taken us off course, and my body was already humming in anticipation.
Whistling to Andres, I ran backwards ahead of him, side stepping the trail and jogging just on the edge of the forest. The tree scraps crunched under the pressure of my sneakers, as I paralleled my way past the lining of the forest,
Andres wore a knowing smirk on his face as soon as he realized what I was doing.
“Race you.” I challenged, and spun around the tree taking off as fast as I could.
I heard Andres laugh a second before his speed picked up, and he was right on my tail. I didn’t need to turn around to know where he was, I could hear him just off the right to me and he was close. I pushed harder until I couldn’t hear him as well anymore.
I ran in-between tree after tree, never afraid that I might trip or slam into one at the speed I was going. I felt like I was going so fast that I was practically flying, and since I couldn’t feel my legs anymore, I might as well have been. Every inch of my body was alive with that familiar buzz, but there was something else building inside of me too, that all too familiar sensation that had become a permanent part of me.
He was here.
I turned my head, my eyes searching the mass amount of trees that were scattered in no particular order. They darted back and forth, trying to cover every hidden shadow the sun created for the woods. I couldn’t see anything at first; I was running so fast that everything was a smudge of earthy colors around me, and I needed to slow down if I wanted to see him. It had been so long since I had seen him that I was now frantic to find him.
And then I finally spotted him.
The sight of him running in pace with me was so breathtaking that my heart nearly stopped. He was off to the left of me, and even though he was yards away, I could still seem him perfectly. He was a lot more graceful then I expected, as he dodged tree after tree to keep up with me. I’m sure he could have out ran me ten times over, but he didn’t show any signs that he was struggling to stay with me and my human speed.
The sun gleamed off his fur, and the dark rich colors flickered back mesmerizing me. The muscles in his legs rippled with all the control he was holding back and I wondered what he would look like if he was going at the momentum he was built for. I pushed myself harder, not wanting to hold him back anymore then I already was, and I found it effortless to double my velocity, it was intoxicating.
He turned his head toward me for a brief second before beelining the opposite direction. I wanted to follow him, but I could hear Andres behind me again, and I knew why he had taken off. A quick peek passed my shoulder allowed me to see that he was catching up to me, and fast. We zig-zagged through the trees, now even with each other, but I was about to change that. I took off, crossing in front of him and weaving my way toward the path again.
When I was clear of the mess of trees and back on the trail, I followed the one that would lead me back to the house. It took me a minute to become aware that Andres was no longer in sight, and I wasn’t even sure when I had lost him, but I knew he was on his way back to the house. I moved faster, hoping to beat him back to the house and claim the bragging rights that I would forever throw in his face.
It didn’t take me very long to emerge from the woods and into our backyard, with no sign of Andres anywhere. I was feeling pretty good about myself as my jog faded into a walk that led me to the porch. I turned toward the woods again and I still couldn’t see any indication that Andres was close by. Biting my lip, I turned toward the house taking the steps two at a time and going inside to get me some water.
I was halfway to the fridge when I screamed.
“Took you long enough.”
Whirling around, Andres was coming out of the hall from the bathroom, an amused grin on his face.
“Your evil.” I glared at him.
“And you’re slow.” He said, grabbing an apple out of the bowl on the table and leaning against the edge taking a loud bite.
Pulling open the door to the fridge a little harder then I needed to, I reached inside and grabbed two water bottles. I tossed one to him on my way back outside, sticking my tongue out at him as I passed.
“I’m sure you cheated.” I pouted.
He barked a laugh and pushed away from the table to follow me. “Ha! If being faster then you is considered cheating, then I guess I did.”
“You may be faster, but I’m stronger.”
“Thanks to me.” He bent over and picked up the black hand pads and slipped them on.
“If telling yourself that helps you sleep at night.”
I crouched into position, and he did the same bending his arms and holding them even with his shoulders, the pads facing me.
“Arms up, hands in front of your face.” He instructed. “I need you to pour all your strength into your core and focus. Your follow through is improving, but I need your upper body to stay tighter. Let’s do a few of the regulars and then we’ll move into kicking ok?”
“You’re the boss.”
“I wish that was a general rule we followed all of the time.” He retorted.
“What’s the point of having a teenager if we did that?”
“Funny.” He said grimly.
“And true. That’s what we call a winning combo.”
“Focus kid.”
“Alright, alright, I didn’t realize you were so anxious to have your butt kicked by a teenage girl. What are we going to start with?”
“Let’s start with knees and elbows first, and then we’ll move to kicks. You need to work on the force that you use to deliver the blows. They have to be fast, precise, and flawless if you want to do the maximum amount of damage. You’ll practice on me and then we’ll bring out Brad.” He was referring to our self sacrificing training doll we named Brad.
“Okay, come at me.” I said, positioning myself for the mock attack.
“Remember, when I come at you-”
“Grab your shoulder for leverage, and thrust my knee right into the center point between your chest and stomach.”
He was busy strapping together the velcro of the protective padding around his middle, that he had picked up from the storage next to the porch.
“Good. Now remember, with as much force as you can, I need you to bring that knee up. Don’t worry about hurting me. Ready?”
“Go.” I said, waiting for him to come after me.
He didn’t come for me right away. He was trying to get me to focus, anticipate the strike without being distracted by the diversion he was trying to create, by taking his time.
I watched and waited.
I made note of his footwork, even though he wasn’t moving toward me in obvious steps, he was inching himself closer, and anyone else who was waiting for the noticeable assault wouldn’t have been aware it. He was trying to avert my attention to his arms and hands, but I continued to watch his feet. If he got too close, I would miss my chance and leave myself vulnerable.
He was only a few feet away from me now, I only needed to take two fast steps toward him and that would be enough to advance and catch him off guard. He was expecting me to wait for him to come to me, but I needed the element of surprise on my side and I mentally counted to three.
One, two, three.
I was fast, precise and flawless.
I moved toward him in two easy steps, bringing me just inches away from him and grabbed his shoulders, making sure to use my thumbs on the pressure points under the soft tissue under his collar bone. Bringing him down as hard as I could, I drove my knee up, keeping most of the power in my thigh, and hit him in the center of his chest. He made a sound as the breath was momentarily knocked from him. I used that time to pull my arms back, bending them at the elbow, and turned slightly toward the right to give myself momentum. I then turned my torso back to the left, bringing my elbow up and toward the side of his face.
He wasn’t expecting that and he flinched back, squeezing his eyes shut, waiting for the painful blow. He stood there dazed for a second or two before he opened his eyes slowly and looked around.
I was standing there smiling smugly at him, my elbow stopped in mid air next to his temple.
“How’s that for focus?” I relaxed my position, dropping my arms and jumping from foot to foot.
He stood too, his six foot two frame looming over me. The corner of his lips pulled down at the corners, looking impressed. “Not bad kid.”
“You keep calling me kid and next time I’ll show you my follow through.” I warned.
“Okay, show off, let’s pull out your buddy Brad and practice some of your fancy kicks and punch moves on him. We will work on offense tomorrow.”
Andres walked to the side of the porch and pulled the tarp that had been protecting ‘Brad’ off, flinging it to the side. Picking up the dummy, he half dragged it toward me and placed it so Brad and I were face to face. He wasn’t much to look at, his rubber skin was a sickly yellow color, and he consisted of nothing more then a head, shoulders, chest, and a torso on a sick and base.
Yeah Brad didn’t have a lot of sex appeal on the ladies, but he did give me the urge to want to beat the crap out of him.
Poor Brad.
“Okay,” Andres stood behind Brad, holding onto his shoulders, “Let’s do the angle kick. Strike with the shin, if you hit hard enough, it’s like hitting your attacker with a baseball bat. Aim for the ribs.” He said, patting the dummy’s side.
I positioned my left leg so it was aligned with my hip, and placed it forward so it was in front of my right leg. My knees were slightly bent, and my arms and hands were up, so my face was protected from any unexpected hits sent that direction. Leaning forward, my left foot twisted as if I was putting out a cigarette. My ankle rotated out, and I brought my right leg forward angling my hip out, giving the kick far more power. The bone of my shin connected abrasively with Brad’s rubber ribs with a loud slap, making his body teeter back and forth.
“And now his rib is broken.” Andres said, with a smile.
“I feel like I should be doing more with my hands.” I held them out in front of me staring at them.
He came around and stood in front of me.
“When you bring your leg around for the kick, bring your left arm around so your face is hidden in the crook of your elbow and bring your right shoulder out.” He moved my arms around while he spoke. “Got it?”
I nodded my head. “Easy peasy.”
“Good. Now do another one, and add in your arms this time.”
He moved around Brad again and waited for me to repeat the move. Once I was in place, I redid the kick, making sure I worked my arms in there the way he had showed me. I followed through with the kick and then looked at him for approval.
“How was that?”
“Not bad k-“
I narrowed my eyes at him and he held up his hands with a chuckle.
“Practice it a few more times and then we’ll move on.”
I repeated the kick a few more times, time improving the structure of the move until Andres finally stopped me, so we could move on to a few new kicks he had been waiting to show me.
“I’ve got a couple of more kicks that I want to work on before we finish, so let’s get started.”
He started me off with a simple kick technique. Most of the kicks I started off in the same position, right foot back, left foot forward. In this kick, if my attacker mirrored my stance, I simply used my knee like a pulley, connecting my shin with the inside of their thigh, just above the knee. I would have to use another move with it, but it was meant to injure and stun them long enough to run or bring them down.
The next kick took me a little longer to get the hang of. It required a spin and an accurate follow through. Spinning to my right, I would make a half circle with my body, bringing my right leg up until my foot connected into the center of their chest. According to Andres, if done right, it could damage internal organs and fracture a few ribs.
The last kick he showed me required the use of my hands as well, and consisted of three different strikes to the body. It was something I would practice on him rather then Brad. The first strike went to the side of his chin. It was the shortest distance, and didn’t carry much force. It was just used to daze the person. The second strike was a wide kick to the liver, and then the last strike was another blow to the side of the head. It was fun to learn and probably my second favorite move Andres had taught me.
The first being an elbow move he had showed me a couple of days ago. Using my elbow like a blunt force, I would hit the attacker in the face, and then bring my arm back to hit him on the other side of the face with the back of my elbow. It wasn’t enough to knock someone out, but should manage to leave a nasty cut.
We worked for another forty-five minutes before Andres finally called it quits, so I would have enough time to get ready for work.
“You did good today, Sara. You seem to be absorbing the training like a pro.”
“Did you expect anything less than perfections?” I joked.
I was wiping my face with the towel that was hanging around my neck. The intensity of the sun had increased as it got later in the morning. I knew I was hot, but I didn’t feel hot. It was weird, but not something I was going to complain about.
“I guess I should stop being surprised by you.”
“It would probably make your life easier. I’m going to jump in the shower before work. Are you going to be in your office?”
I knew the answer. It was where he spent most of his days. It’s not like he had kept a ‘Do not Enter’ sign on the door, but it was implied. I had tried going into his office once when he had gone out, I thought maybe there was some clues to what he wasn’t telling me in there, and that’s when I had found out that he kept the door locked when he wasn’t in the room. Of course it had made me even more suspicious and curious, so I had looked up a video on the internet on how to pick a lock, but either I wasn’t doing it right or Andres had some kind of special lock because I had zero luck getting it open.
“Yeah for a while” He said, bringing me out of my bubble. “I have to go out for a while, but I’ll probably still be here before you leave, and home before dinner.”
“Okay then.” Leaving him to put away the equipment from our workout, I made my way back to my bedroom so I could get ready.
I tried to make the task of getting ready as fast as I possibly could, but the minute I had stepped inside, I was back to having the strength of a newborn baby. I knew working out was meant to be exhausting, but the way I felt seemed to be a little excessive. My body shouldn’t have the ability to defy the laws of
gravity that I thought were kind of unbreakable.
After my shower, I dried off and got dressed. It was getting tiresome to have to spend twenty minutes in my closet, just to find something to wear that would hide the marks destined to label me as a walking freak show if anyone saw them. Once I was dressed, I pulled my hair back in a ponytail, it was the only way I wore my hair these days. It was too long for me to have the patience to do anything that required a style that didn’t leave me feeling worn out when I was done. I reapplied the cover up to my eyes that my shower had washed away, and made a mental note to stop at the store for more soon. It would be my third one this week.
Leaving my room, I walked into the kitchen to make myself something quick to eat- since my workout burned most of my calories from breakfast -and grab something to snack on during work later. Scott had dropped by every day I worked this week to bring me lunch and visit with me for a while. I knew why he did it, and even though there was no need for him to babysit me, I didn’t feel the need to mention to him that he had nothing to worry about. Things were somewhat back to normal, and bringing up a subject that was taboo to Scott would only make things weird again. I pushed aside the thoughts of him before they could fully register, take over, and invade my brain like a parasite.
Andres was no where insight. I figured he was probably in his office by now, or still cleaning up after our workout, but I was pretty sure I had it right with the first one.
I cleaned up the mess from my peanut butter and jelly sandwich, grabbing a napkin and placing the sandwich inside, I grabbed my bag and keys. Heading for the door, I tried to shake the weird feeling that was creeping over me.
It was telling me I was going to have a long day, and that was never a good thing.
Ignoring the sensation was getting harder to do the further I got into town.
I tried to pretend my frustration came from anything else, but that actual source itself, like the eight stop lights I managed to catch on my way here, or the construction work that led me to a detour. Let’s not forget to mention the three stop signs that everyone and their dog was crossing, and now lack of parking near the bookstore. The universe was definitely trying to send me a message this morning:
Flutter (The Discover Series) Page 37