f"good..good.jab, head movement, jab, shuffle,...yees!" Hermes called out pleased as Ethan demonstrated the moves he had shown him some few minutes ago. It was the end of school and Hermes was training the boy in the art of boxing. He had demonstrated a basic boxing training routine made up of punches, feet movement, head movement as well as blocks and it was safe to say he was really impressed with how fast the boy had grabbed this routine.
"Hit that bag with power. You want to do as much damage as possible with every single hit when you're in a fight. Hard, hard, hard!, HARD!!!" Hermes shouted.
Ethan punched the training bag with all his might.' jab, head movement, side punch, head movement, one-two, one-two-three..' Ethan thought out his every movement in his head as he delivered them. "Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!" He grunted as he hit the punching bag with all his strength.
"Enough!" Hermes ordered to which a sweaty and panting Ethan obeyed. "You're good, Ethan. Very good. You have an eye for things like this. I can tell." Hermes praised. "Not many people can co-ordinate all these moves I showed like you on their very first day. I am really impressed." The Protector confessed with a smile as he saw the pleased look on the boy's face. He really was giving it his all.
"I know it is still too early but with how fast you're improving, If you're down for it, I would like you to have your first official boxing fight with Lucian tomorrow. It would be just fists. No leg attacks will be involved. If you defeat him, then you would fight him again, this time, you will be fighting with only your fists, whiles he would be free to use any part of his body. Pass that, and I'll declare you a boxing graduate." Hermes announced to an excited Ethan who nodded in acceptance of the challenge. Anything to speed up his quest.
"Good. Under normal circumstances, a boxing novice like yourself wouldn't fight until they knew all the basics and even a few of the advanced moves but I don't need to tell you that this isn't a normal boxing academy. In here I just want you to master punching, dodging, and blocking which I can tell you're already not far from mastering. Win tomorrow's fight and I will know you're ready to move on to the next martial art." Hermes started "now let's continue with our training. We still have a few hours to go before we stop. Begin!" The Protector ordered.
That whole afternoon and well into the night, Ethan and Hermes trained. Hermes showed Ethan a few more moves he called the advanced moves. He then showed Ethan how to read and predict an opponent's attack so he could block perfectly. He also taught Ethan how to hide feints among his punches to fool his enemies. He also spent a lot of time teaching Ethan how to dodge punches aimed at his head. He even developed an on-spot head movement training routine that Ethan performed separately.
Finally,the training had come to an end. Ethan's head was pounding from all the hits he had received whiles trying to perfect his head movement. Hermes had told him he had done far better than he had expected and that pleased him. All the same, Ethan had vowed to get perfect so as to not get hit in the face again next time. That night, after eating and resting a little, Ethan had continued with the separate routines Hermes had taught him that afternoon. He trained his head movement the hardest until he was confident he wasn't going to get hit even once in the upcoming assessment. When he finally decided to go to bed, the alarm clock Hermes had got him read 2:45 am. He grimaced but said nothing. This was the warrior's path. If he wasn't ready for the pain, then he wasn't ready for the pay. He thought as he closed his eyes. Tomorrow afternoon would be one hell of a time. He thought as he drifted off to sleep.
Paul had just returned from work in the restaurant and was now on his way to his room after checking up on the other children, the oldest of who was thirteen years. Ever since the incident with Vera, he had taken on the role of caretaker In the shelter even though no one had asked him to. He had found out quickly that taking care of seven children was no easy task at all and this had made him miss vera even more.
If not for Becca, the thirteen-year-old girl helping him after school, he was sure he would be raving mad by now. He hadn't told the kids anything about the night Vera attacked him and killed that cab driver. They kept asking him where their 'mummy' was but he always changed the topic. The truth was, he didn't know. After that incident, the police had been called to come investigate but before they could question him, he had slipped away into the night. He hadn't heard anything concerning that night since and Vera hadn't returned as well.
Luckily, Vera had shown him her secret stash of money which she had hidden in her room. That money plus his own from the restaurant had been enough to support them these past days but seeing the money reduce every day was very troubling. Soon, the month would end, and with it, questions would arise as to Vera's whereabouts if she didn't go to claim her monthly benefit from the mayor. Already, people were asking about her. Paul had told such people she had gone on a short trip. This lie had been enough to quell further inquiry but Paul knew he couldn't lie forever. Soon, people will know he was lying and then the mayor will take action. He sighed as he thought of all the possible unpleasant things that could happen if people found out what Vera was missing, or worse if they found out what she had done.
Paul had got to his room and was in the middle of changing into his night clothes when he heard a knock on the front door. He sighed as the knock came again. Another annoying neighbor probably coming to ask something annoying. He thought as the knock sounded again. "I'm coming!!" Paul shouted as he quickly pulled on his top and made his way to the door with an annoyed look. It was 10:50 pm for chrissake. Just who would want to call on anyone at this time? He asked himself and pulled the door open with a scowl.
Paul's scowl vanished the instant his eyes fell on the dirty and disheveled person standing outside who had their arms wrapped around themselves as they shivered in the cold. Paul's eyes widened in shock as he caught the person's face. He would recognize that face anywhere, no matter how gaunt and dirty it looked. His throat felt dry as he looked at the pitifully thin woman who didn't look anything like her former self and a single tear fell from his eye as he saw the woman avoiding his gaze. "V-Vera..oh, how I missed you". Paul said and immediately threw his arms around the dirty and stinking woman who also burst into tears as she ft the boy's body envelope her own with warmth. Vera was home.