Brian lunged at Tera, his arm swinging in a heavy arc. Tera ducked just in time, the air whooshing past his head. For a second, he felt the raw power of the blow as it missed him by inches. He could tell just from that—the brute could probably knock him out with one punch.
He couldn't fight Brian head-on. Not in a million years. He needed a strategy.
Brian swung again, this time faster. Tera dodged, jumping back. He calculated quickly in his head—the speed, the trajectory. Brian's punches were powerful, but they had a pattern. They were too predictable, too slow. Tera could work with that.
He sidestepped another punch and bolted toward a stack of benches nearby. His mind raced, calculating the momentum and force behind Brian's attacks. Tera knew he couldn't stop Brian with strength, but he could use the environment.
Brian charged after him, his steps heavy and clumsy. Tera jumped onto a bench and kicked it toward Brian with all the force he could muster. The bench slid across the floor, right into Brian's path.
Brian didn't even flinch. He plowed through the bench like it was made of paper, wood splintering everywhere.
"Okay, that didn't work," Tera muttered to himself, dodging to the side.
Behind them, Derrick and Zuma struggled to maneuver their wheelchairs out of the way of flying debris. "Hey, watch it!" Derrick called, narrowly avoiding a stray piece of wood.
Brian roared in frustration and lunged again, his fists swinging wildly. This time, Tera wasn't just dodging. He timed Brian's punches, calculating the kinetic energy and momentum behind each swing. When Brian's fist came down, Tera spun to the side, letting the force of the punch carry Brian forward.
Brian stumbled, momentarily off balance. That was Tera's chance.
Tera jumped onto a stack of old gym mats, using the height advantage to launch himself at Brian's head. His fist connected with the side of Brian's jaw, but it felt like punching a brick wall. Brian barely reacted.
"Oh, come on!" Tera cursed under his breath. He scrambled to get back on his feet, dodging another heavy swing from Brian. He needed more time—he needed to think.
Carlos, who had been hanging around the sidelines, suddenly ran toward Tera. "We gotta get out of here, man! The guards are coming!"
Tera's eyes flicked toward the entrance. Sure enough, he could hear the distant shouts of guards rushing down the halls. "Not yet," Tera said, breathless. He had to last just a little longer.
Brian came at him again, faster this time, his anger fueling his movements. Tera darted between the equipment, using anything he could to slow Brian down. A rack of dumbbells, a pile of mats, even a water cooler—anything to keep a barrier between them.
He slid under a low-hanging bar, Brian's fist crashing into the metal just above his head. The bar bent under the force, and Tera winced at the sound.
"You can't run forever!" Brian growled, his voice low and dangerous.
Tera wasn't running. He was surviving. He quickly analyzed the room, his mind working faster than his body. The force of Brian's punch was massive, but it was also predictable. The key was to stay just out of reach, keep moving, and let Brian's own strength work against him.
Tera jumped onto a higher platform and, in one fluid motion, swung off a hanging rope. Brian's fist grazed the air behind him, just missing him again.
"Too slow," Tera taunted, though his heart was racing. He couldn't keep this up forever. His muscles burned from all the dodging and jumping.
Suddenly, the doors to the gym burst open, and the guards rushed in, shouting orders. Tera's eyes widened—time was up. He didn't have the luxury to keep playing.
"Tera, let's go!" Carlos yelled from the doorway, his eyes wide with panic.
Tera leaped off the platform and sprinted toward Carlos, zigzagging between the guards who were just now realizing what was happening. Brian was hot on his heels, but Tera was faster, slipping between obstacles with ease. He could hear Brian's heavy footsteps pounding behind him, closer and closer.
Just as Tera reached the doorway, Brian's hand shot out to grab him. Tera ducked, feeling Brian's fingers brush the back of his shirt. He bolted through the door, Carlos following right behind.
"We're dead if they catch us!" Carlos shouted, panting as they tore down the hallway.
"I know!" Tera said, breathless, his legs burning as he pushed himself harder.
Behind them, Derrick and Zuma were struggling to navigate through the chaos. Zuma dodged a flying piece of equipment with a sharp twist of his wheelchair, while Derrick pushed himself to the limit, his hands gripping the wheels tightly. "Could you two stop wrecking the place?!" Derrick yelled, his voice strained.
As Tera and Carlos disappeared around a corner, Brian stood in the gym, fuming, his fists clenched. The guards swarmed him, but Brian ignored them, his eyes fixed on the door Tera had escaped through.
From the crowd, hidden among the students, Kiyoshi watched in silence. Her sharp eyes followed every movement Tera made during the fight. The way he calculated each move, the way he dodged Brian with precision—it wasn't just luck. It was something else, something… different.
"Interesting," she muttered to herself, her lips curling into a small smile. There was more to Tera than met the eye. She could sense it. Just like her, he wasn't normal.
And that made him dangerous,more interesting and cute.