Chapter twelve
Zamuel along with Peter and Rose stood in a room somewhere in the facility with Rose's and Peter's fathers.
He was the only fatherless one among them here. It was supposed to hurt, but no, it didn't. He was going to be with his parents soon.
Besides, Jack and Patrick both stopped treating him and the others like children. They were acting more like military instructors.
They treated each child with respect and equality. Just like they would with grown up hardened soldiers.
"But father...", Zamuel heard Peter protest to his father who had pinned him down in the ground after a few tackles.
"Hey"
Zamuel docked out of the way just in time to avoid a smash to his shoulder. Rose's dad was really not going easy in them, not in the least.
Twisting, Zamuel returned the punch, aiming for Patrick's torso with all his might.
Zamuel watched him shift out of the way like he had seen it coming. He was a great fighter too, so he wasn't surprised.
Thanks to his momentum, Zamuel crashed hard into the ground, landing in a thump.
Immediately he rolled over Patrick was already there, palm stretched forward in a gesture that indicated that Zamuel grabbed it for a lift. Simple yet it reminded Zamuel of his parents and their support.
"You're tired, maybe you should rest and let's call it a day", Rose's father suggested.
Zamuel looked to the corner of the room where Rose sat, eating cookies. She had beaten Peter, and then him and then she went in to defeat both of them together.
There was no way he was going to survive this if he gave up now, he did need to get stronger fast. They were leaving in two days, they needed all the skills that they could grab.
"No, let's continue", he said defiantly, already getting into position for an attack.
Patrick smiled a little before talking. "That's the spirit, brother. Just don't break a bone before the mission".
Zamuel froze. Had Patrick just called him brother? The respect was this much?
Another punch!
This time, Zamuel saw it coming a split second faster and he sidestepped before throwing his fist up.
The feeling he got when his hand connected to Patrick's jaws was exciting. He had managed to land a blow —the goal since they had begun this in the morning.
He saw from the corner of his eyes that even Rose and Peter paused to stare at him. Shock was obvious and tell-able in their expressions.
"Hey, where have you been keeping that tough punch all day?", Patrick asked, his hands grabbing his chin.
Zamuel managed to break a smile, that had just been coincidentally played. There was no way he had just done that.
He was proved wrong when within the next fifteen minutes, he had managed to land seven hits on his new found mentor.
He did notice that if he concentrated well, there was a tiny time allowance where there was an opening in the defense of Rose's father. That was what he took advantage of, the opening.
Indeed, he was getting stronger. Or maybe it was just Patrick that was getting weaker.
******
Peter couldn't help but watch in amazement when he saw Zammy throw a punch towards Patrick. He hadn't been able to do more than defend himself when they started brawling in the morning.
He was even more flabbergasted when his hit landed on Patrick. He couldn't help but turn around completely to watch.
His father, Jack, didn't give him the chance. He kneeled him in the middle of his back, sending him tumbling over.
"Not fair, dad", Peter yelled back in pain. His body was aching all over already.
"You should never take your eye off your enemy, Peter. Besides, life isn't fair."
Soon Peter wanted to give up already. He couldn't do it. He just knew when he watched the others exit the room, leaving him alone with his father.
"Again", he heard his father bark, and just like that, he was charging at him again.
The first blow came, and he managed to shield himself from the attack, even though it left the victim's arm feeling drained.
He jumped up again, narrowly escaping a sliding tackle from his father.
"Want to know how I survived in the military for this long?" His father asked him out of the blue.
"I don't...", Peter wasn't able to complete his sentence because a kick from his dad to the back of his knee made him go down.
"First, don't lose your concentration, no matter what!"
Peter jumped to his feet almost immediately, he wasn't going to give a chance for more attacks. He threw his own lunch forward, aiming for the shoulder joint.
His shock heightened when his father caught his hand mid air. "Don't let your rage control you, it makes you more open to attacks and blind to cracks in your opponents defense"
His father was right. Peter tried to quickly relax, but he wasn't fast enough. He fidgeted when he saw his dad's fist headed for him and without even being touched, he lost his footings and crashed into the ground, again.
"Lastly, never panic in the face of even death. Think, there's always a way", his father said as he pulled him up to his feet.
Peter suddenly felt like he had gotten the hang of it.
"Again"
This time, he knew what to do.
He threw his left arm forward, his aim was his father's groin.
Or so he made it look.
As he expected, his dad tried to side step it and that was when he sent the real deal.
The first attack was only a feint. Peter hit him hard with his right fist immediately he withdrew his hand.
Following quickly, he added a double kick to the combination. Kicking twice with his left feet.
The result?
A tired sweaty father spawned out on the floor.
Peter finally smiled. He had done it!
"I guess I had underestimated you, my son".
"I think so too", Peter added, already feeling pride swell in him.
He only hoped that all this training won't be useless when the real deal starts.
Now, finally, he could have dinner and a great sleep.