After The Trials

Chapter 10

We didn't have to hunt for the next days, the food me and Minzy found gives us almost all the essential vitamins, but we still need the iron and proteins from the meat. We had time to train. Even though Minzy and I didn't touch a gun or fought before, we had the best results at combat and shooting. She didn't seem to have any flaws, but I had a problem with distributive attention, which means that whenever I'm fighting with more than one opponent, I tend to forget about the others, focusing on which one seems like a bigger threat to me.

The others seemed to notice this and today I'm fighting all of them at the same time. Minzy is dangerous, her petite body can be helpful in combat. Thomas is tough on the outside and soft on the inside. If I didn't know him so well I'd be frightened. He's 6 inches taller than me and almost twice my weight, but doesn't know how to use those advantages. Therefore, he's not a danger. I don't know what to say about Isaac, though. He had trained almost his whole life. Living through Cranks can be difficult, especially when you have to defend yourself from one. I'll keep an eye on him and one on Minzy.

I wrapped my wrists, elbows, knees and ankles in bandages to avoid sprains. We also did this for safety. We also have a rule when fighting: no wounds that cannot be healed within a day and absolutely no broken bones.

When I'm done stretching, I go to them. "Why always me?" I ask while shaking their hands. For us is a wont which says 'no hard feelings'.

"You're the one who needs more training." Thomas replies.

"We'll see about that." when I get to him to shake his hand, I hold it tighter than I did to Minzy and Isaac and I could see he was trying to hold back a groan.

We split apart, all of them standing in front of me. I lift my sleeves a bit so my arms will have more mobility. I know Isaac comes first, he likes to begin in force to intimidate his opponent. My attention is not as bad as they think, I studied their moves and I know exactly what they'll do. He'll twist his left arm to grab my neck and, with the help of his foot, he'll throw me on the ground. As I see him starting to rotate his body, I bend my knees and hinder him with my leg, making him fall and hit the hard ground with his back.

Minzy didn't wait another second and comes fast to me, punching me in the stomach. Profiting by the moment of pain she caused, she jumps on my back, putting her whole bodyweight on me. I fall, but the moment I hit the ground, I roll over and then backwards to get out of Minzy's grip.

I didn't even get to breathe when a strong hand started chocking me, pinning me to the ground. I put my hands on Thomas' forearm so he couldn't move it even if he tried to and, within a second, my legs twirled around his neck. The next move threw him over my head and I was finally getting some air.

I just got to stand up when Minzy grabbed my braid - I'm wearing my hair in a braid so it doesn't come in my face - and pulled it hard enough to get a whimper from me. The next thing I felt was a knee down my spine, dangerously close to my kidneys. Seeing I still don't fall, Isaac intervened and kicked my knee hard, but not breaking it. I recovered the next second and put my hands around Minzy's neck for support, stretching my legs to hit Isaac in the face and breaking his nose. The swing unbalanced Minzy and gave me the perfect opportunity to pin her down and twist her arm to the back. I know only one of them has to quit and the match is over and that was my intention.

After I hear the 'stop', I let go of her and help her stand up. "And I'm the one who needs training?"

"You don't anymore. You're welcome." Thomas smiles and bows.

"Why is Minzy the only one who managed to hurt me?" I glare at the boys more aggressive than I've ever did.

"I did once too." Isaac mumbles, but instantly regrets it.

"While I was in her grip. Nice try. Seriously, boys, what's wrong with you? Thomas, you destroyed a whole laboratory of scientists, survived the scorch and found a way out of the maze. Wrong order, but you understand. Isaac, you basically grew up fighting. How come than we, who never fought before, turn out to be better than you?" neither Thomas or Isaac answer, they just look at the ground like their mom is punishing them. "I hope you're not holding yourselves back because I'm a girl."

Thomas lifts his head and replies fast. "No, of course not. That'd be sexist and you know I'm all for equal rights."

"Good." I turn to Isaac. "You?" he hesitates a bit before shaking his head so slowly that I barely notice. It doesn't seem pretty convincing, but I don't want to make a scene. It's his loss, not mine. He'll be the one that can't defend himself from Cranks.

Even though I know nothing about Bergs, I catch up really fast, which helped me a lot when repairing the plane. It's very damaged, but that didn't stop Thomas to hope. We don't have enough gas, so he has to turn it into an electric Berg, thing that hasn't created before. Therefore, Thomas is not only a scientist, but a very good mechanic. The flight there should take around 7 hours. The Berg consumes a lot more energy than a car battery has. There's also a few more electricity in the building, but it's still not enough for the whole way, so we'll have to walk a few days on the foot. Originally, we thought about taking one of the cars with us. The problem is that it would make the Berg consume more energy and, after Thomas' calculations, it will end even worse.

I like to watch him when he's working. He learned how to be patient in those 16 years of research. I'd say he's calm, but he still has to work on that. Being a perfectionist doesn't let him make any mistakes, so he can't comprehend failure. I, on the other side, am used to it. I failed over 5 classes in 7 years of school. I didn't really care, though. Those are just grades, we don't get a graduation and we can't include them in VCs because they don't exist anymore. Everyone works wherever they want.

"Tessa, will you get your ass up from there and help me?" Thomas threw a flashlight at me. He obviously called me multiple times, but I was too lost in my thoughts. I turn the flashlight on and pointed it in his eyes. "At least I got a reaction."

I sit next to him and look at the wires. "What do you need? I really hope you don't want me to work with these, you know I'd blow us up."

"That's exactly what I need. You do everything the opposite of how it's supposed to be done. No matter how many times I try this, the result is the same. So, please do your magic." he slides back and points with both of his hands to the panel.

"Is that supposed to be a compliment? Rhetorical question, don't answer." I give Thomas the flashlight and look at the wires, swirling them in my fingers. I don't know why, but when I touch something I don't know how to solve, many ideas cross my head. I take the clipper and tangle random colors. I don't know what I'm doing, but my mind tells me it's ok, so I'll go with it.

Thomas stood up and took a few steps back. He probably did something alike what I'm doing now and didn't end well. I tried to ignore his unspoken remark and continued my work. Right when I was at the last wire, a small shock shivered through my finger. "Ah!" I heard Thomas breathe out.

"Crybaby. Wait, how do you feel this pain?" I turn around to face him.

"What do you mean?" Thomas interested, still rubbing his index finger.

"You didn't feel when I got bitten or scratched, right? What makes you feel it now?"  instead of replying, he takes a knife and stings himself in the digit. "Hey, what was that for?" I cry out. I can't see the point of him doing this.

"I think we only feel the pain we cause ourselves. It was my fault I got a splinter and now it's your fault you got electrocuted. It wasn't your fault when you got attacked, though."

"Makes sense. But use words next time and test the theory after." I put the clipper on the ground and close the panel. "Let's eat something, it's already late."