Creatures of Snow by Dr. Doctor Doctur Page B

“I’m the one you’re irrationally mad at.”
    She exhaled loudly and
shook her head as she let her anger recede. “Irrationally? Oh,
that’s right, it’s not your fault you’re a jerk. You’re just a
product of your environment.” Sara said mockingly.
    He looked away quickly,
hopefully embarrassed. “I didn’t mean it to sound like that. It was
a stupid thing to say. So, on that note I think I’ll be
going.”
    Lee called out a farewell when all she could
manage was a sneer.
    “You were a bit harsh with
him, would you not agree?” Lee seemed genuinely
troubled.
    Sara looked up at the
night sky with a slight bit of regret. It had really been one of
her better nights…up until then. “What does it matter…to a guy like
him?”
     

Chapter Nine
     
     
    After three weeks of
classes Sky had settled into the routine easily enough. Keeping up
with the REALM curriculum didn’t seem as hard as he would of
thought, but the lessons from Arche, more specifically any class
Roland taught, was like learning a new language. Luckily, the
classes Con and Ellie headed were enough to get him to school
everyday.
    “ You’re holding back,”
Ellie scolded before delivering another round of hits to Sky’s
sides and belly.
    He stumbled back, his vision blurring. She
was small and fast and impossible to hit. “Not really.” He slurred
and leaned forward, forcing his body towards her.
    He had lost track of how
long she had been beating him, and quite frankly, all he wanted was
for it to be over. She threw another punch, this one headed
straight at his face. He ducked, narrowly avoiding it and saw the
slightest opening – her back was exposed for an instant as her
punch followed through. Sky jabbed a fist towards his small target,
but she spun before he could make the connection.
    “Very nice.” Con yelled
from the sidelines. He wasn’t sure which one of them he was rooting
for.
    All morning the four of
them had been sparring on and off, Ellie had introduced it that
morning as a team building exercise, but so far all they had done
was get pummeled by their mentors. The onslaught had kept going
right through Roland’s scheduled lecture time, which had obviously
annoyed Roland, but he had given up arguing with Con and Ellie
after their first week. Now, he just stood and watched from the
literal sideline that Con had drawn on the floor near the back of
the warehouse. It was their ‘training circle’ and once you were in,
you weren’t allowed to leave until told.
    Sky was at his limit,
which was amazing considering he thought he would never tire of
fighting. Ellie was just too far above his level, it was no wonder
she had landed a hit on Con – she was a far superior fighter. In
fact, he was pretty certain she could wipe the floor with
Con.
    “Enough.” Roland announced
with an eye on the time, “Wrap it up. You’ve got Fundamentals of
Trig coming up.”
    “ All right.” Ellie looked
disappointed and stepped back. “Lesson’s over.”
    Sky let out a sigh of
relief and dropped to the comfort of the concrete floor. He
stretched out on his back, heaving in breaths of stale air. “Thank
the Havens.”
    “ Nice work kids.” Con
clapped his hands, “Sky, what did you learn?”
    “ Never make Ellie
mad.”
    “This wasn’t a lesson of
skill or technique - it was a lesson in observation.” Ellie walked
past Sky, glancing down at him only briefly. “Sara, explain to me
how Sky fights.”
    Sara snapped to attention
at the edge of the circle, “Yes, sir. Sky is a sloppy fighter. He
rushes in without thinking and relies mainly on his strength and
ability to take a hit, but, aside from those faults, he does seem
able to think quickly in the midst of battle and he is able to
pinpoint an attacker’s weak points and openings. His form is
unrefined and off balance, but has promise.”
    Con nodded with a smile,
“Very good. I would say that is pretty much spot on.” He looked
between Ellie and Roland who both nodded in