Barbed Lives ☑️

20. King-hit

It was morning by the time we went through hundreds of escape routes.
I wouldn't have ever dreamt all that.

*****

"For the next lesson, we'll head to Gym."
Charles instructed and both of us nodded.
I was still checking my jaw and wrists for any fracture.

"What's next?"
I asked Neil.

"K. O."
He whispered.

"He teaches boxing too?"
I chuckled and Charles turned back and looked at me angrily.

I lifted my hands up in apology.
He turned forward and walk away.

"Why do you think I whispered? He's pretty serious when it comes to hand-to-hand combat. No joke whatsoever."
Neil said.

"I see. Thanks for the warning. We've attended hundreds of those sessions in last three years. I hope I'm good as per his standards."
I said remembering all my broken bone moments of KMA.

Neil laughed.
"I spent 12 years of my life learning all kinds of combat. Still he treats me like garbage. All the best."

"Twelve years? Didn't you go to school or what?"
What else?

"It was my... passion."
Neil said with pressed lips without looking at me.
He was definitely hiding something.

We entered gym and I found Kelly and Blundell waiting for us.

Without having any break, all four of us were on ground pushing.
At that moment, Charles owned our ass in a private session and I didn't feel that great.

"Faster."
"Faster!"
"Knuckles."
Ah damn.

I controlled my groan as soon as I transferred my weight on my knuckles. Those babies were being stung daily in knuckle jumps.
Neil gave no regards to my pain whatsoever.

While I tried to keep my mouth shut, Kelly hissed loudly.
Now I was scared.

"Stop."
Charles said and we paused.

"Trial officer, up."
When your instructor tells you to get up while rest all are still on all fours, consider it sinister.

I did as told.
"Hands in front, palms down."
He said curtly and looked with slit eyes.
Something made him angry because his eyes were red now.

"Everybody up."
Before I could understand what's going on, Charles shifted and was now standing in front of Neil.

"You said you'll take care of that, sir."
He said pointing at my hands still in front.

"I am. He's been doing more than hundred everyday -"
Neil started speaking but Charles was in no mood to listen.

"Kelly. Hands in front."
He said glaring at Neil.
"Look at him."

He told Neil and then looked at me, expecting me to do the same.

When I turned to where I was supposed to look, I took a deep breath.
Kelly's knuckles were nowhere clean as mine. It had more bleeding points than the number of bones in my body. The angry red skin looked back at me pleading. There's no doubt Kelly had been through great torment for past many days.

I gulped down and looked back at Charles.
"I'll.. I'll do better."
I told him in hopes of calming him down.

"You need to start going hard on him if you don't want me to go hard on both of you. Sir."
Charles told Neil with that last word dipped in poison.

"Yes, Instructor Charles. I'll work better."
Neil said with pressed lips.

He turned around and I exhaled a breath of relief. These men produce such tension in air it becomes impossible to breathe.