A Bell's Ring (Madness Combat OC Story)

Practice

"You may not be able to fight hand-on-hand, but you can fight a different way"

Once they got there, they were met with a big room full of equipment. There were weights and machines of all kinds. There was even a track! Some grunts were already training inside.

"This is one of the rooms we will use to test your strength, agility, and other attributes."

Amy thought it was quite exciting, he always wanted to prove to himself that he could do a lot more than others think.

Everyone was told to line up at the track, five grunts at a time were to run around it. Joe was in the first group and was easily able to get ahead of everyone else. On the other hand, Lennon was a bit slower. And by a bit, he was a lot slower than others.  He knew he could prove himself soon though, so he didn't take it to heart. It was now Amy's turn.

The agent shouted, "Are you guys ready!?" Everyone nodded. The timer started; they all took off running. 

A competitor passed Amy. Two others went speeding past. Suddenly, everyone had managed to get in front of him. Amy was losing hope, he was falling behind. Then, he heard some sort of noise. It was Lennon and Joe! 

"Amy, you can do this!" Lennon called out. 

Joe chimed in: "What Lennon said! You can go faster than that!" 

In his heart, Amy was determined to keep pushing. With every step that he took, his heart pumped faster. The race was almost over. Amy raced faster than ever before. He was passing everyone! 

Then, he tripped.

Amy flew facefirst into the ground. It hurt like a smack in the face. By then everyone crossed the finish line. Joe and Lennon were stunned. They rushed to check on Amy, who was still on the ground. 

"Amy are you okay?!" Lennon asked frantically. 

"I'm...I'm okay!" Amy replied, as he slowly got up. "Wait, I need to cross the finish line!"

With a boost of adrenaline, he sped off and crossed the finish line. Amy quickly shook off the fact he fell earlier. Lennon and Joe ran after Amy. Then, the agent walked up to Amy with a very concerned look on his face.

"That was a total failure." The agent started, then proceeded. "You will need to redo this part of the training. We will have to set aside time for that." Writing down some notes, he kept going. "Of course I won't be able to do that since I have other matters to attend to. I'll set you up with another agent." 

"Oh. That's fine with me!" Amy happily replied. 

"Okay, everyone. We continue with the next step of the training tomorrow. I suggest for everyone to take a shower and grab some food from the cafeteria. You are all dismissed." 

Everyone left the room. Amy then went to the bathroom to wash up, then went to his room. Lennon was snacking on some gummy worms. Joe was talking to their other roommates. Amy sat on his bed and went through his things. He wanted to get more comfortable in his new living conditions.

Amy pulled out a blanket and set it on the bed. It was Amy's favorite blanket. Next, he took out two stuffed animals and put one on each side of his pillow. Last but not least, a camera, some coloring books, crayons, and his diary were placed in his small section of the room. It was all complete. Everything came together and it felt more like home.

Lennon came over, curious as to what Amy was doing.  

"Hey Amy, what's going on over here?" Lennon asked.

Amy looked up to Lennon with a smile "I'm just unpacking! I want to feel more comfortable while I'm here."

"That's cool! Do you need any help?" 

"Well, I am done for now. Thank you so much for the offer!" Amy replied while closing his bags and sliding them under the bed. 

"No problem! Want any chips?" Lennon insisted by pointing the bag towards Amy.

"Sure!" Amy said while taking a potato chip. He popped one in his mouth, it was very crunchy!

A couple of grunts walked into their room. They both looked around until they saw Amy. The two of them walked toward him. Amy had no clue what they wanted. Did they just want some cookies? 

"Hey!" One of them shouted. "Aren't you that idiot who tripped at training earlier?" The other one chuckled to himself.

"Although I did fall," Amy exclaimed, "I don't think I'm an idiot!" 

"Well, you probably are. You sound so happy-go-lucky." 

Amy was confused. He just got here and he was already being teased. This seems too soon for this to be happening. It's only the second chapter! "What is wrong with looking on the bright side?" 

"Stupid, this is frickin' Nevada! Killing happens, and everything has gone apocalyptic! How in the state can you be so damn oblivious!?" he growled.

"Someone seems a little grumpy today! Don't worry, I'll give you some cookies to make you feel better!" Amy brought out the cookies and placed them in the grunts' hands. The two of them seemed weirded out by Amy's antics. Then, they smelled the cookie's delicious scent. It was wonderful. They looked at the cookies, then decided to try them. Taking a bite, their mouths were filled with many wonderful flavors. 

"Wow, these are amazing!" One of them beamed. 

"I know right? They aren't that bad!' The other followed up with.

Amy smiled and offered to give them some more. They happily agreed. Soon after, everyone had quite a meaningful conversation. It turned out they were just stressed out about the whole state being a warzone. Amy helped them out by telling the two grunts about all the funny things that have happened during these times. Some advice was also given; there can always be happy moments in any situation, sometimes you just have to be the one to make it!

During the whole ordeal. Lennon was just casually eating his snacks. However, something appeared in the corner of his vision. After a moment, he looked back. It disappeared. He didn't think much about it. 

Chapter 2 End.