by Hoyt, Joshua
Tom looked around the giant room that was filled with boys training with a number of different weapons. Some of them were shooting arrows at targets and others were fighting with melee weapons like the long sword, dagger, and katana. Still others were pointing pistols at targets and firing them. The noise was unbelievable as boys screamed out both in pain and triumph. Gun fire echoed off the walls and trainers yelled at boys. John continued around the edge of the room until he reached a man that was yelling at two boys wrestling on the ground.
“Hey Gordan,” John yelled above the noise.
Gordan approached John.
“I have someone I want you to train for me,” John said.
Gordan was a muscular man with an eye patch across his left eye. He was wearing loose fitting shorts and a sleeveless shirt that clung to his skin showing the well defined muscles beneath. He looked over Tom with a well trained eye. “Well John, I don’t know that he’ll make much of a fighter.” He stepped closer examining Tom. “We could try and train him to use a pistol and short sword.” Looking over Tom again he added, “He definitely won’t make it on the front line that’s for sure.”
“Well Gordan I think this one may surprise you, but I agree that we don’t want him on the front line,” John said.
Tom squirmed from the scrutiny.
“Archelaus wants him trained in combat leadership. So we give him the basics here and see if he can handle the pressure. Do you think you can whip him into shape?” John said.
Gordan shrugged. “Won’t hurt to try.”
“You’re going to learn to love this guy. You may not know it now but when you are in the middle of a life or death situation you’re going to be glad he yelled so much,” John said.
Right on cue, Gordan turned and yelled at one of the boys, “Rob, go work in the pistol range.” He then walked over to the other boy and talked to him quietly for a moment. Gordan looked up at Tom and said, “Come over here.”
Tom walked over to Gordan who was standing in a makeshift ring.
“This may not be fun but like John said you’ll appreciate it when you really need it,” Gordon said. He then pointed at the other boy. “Now this boy here is going to whip you several times today and then another boy will take his place tomorrow.”
Tom looked at the boy panic showing on his face.
“Hopefully by the end of the week you will have learned a thing or two about how to keep yourself from getting hurt too badly,” Gordan said as he walked out of the ring. “You ready? Good, go.”
As soon as Gordan said go the other boy charged Tom. He was caught entirely off guard and the boy swung his fist hitting him square in the jaw. He went down hard hitting the ground with a dull thud. He lay there for a few minutes when he heard some fool telling him to get up.
Why should I get up? Tom thought as his head began to pound from the impact.
Gordan yelled again, “Get up Tom or Doug will be all over you.”
Tom stood.
“Good boy,” Gordan said.
Gordan yelled instructions at him, “This time be ready for him, when he comes at you try to dodge his blow and then counterattack.”
Tom’s sight slowly cleared and he saw that Doug was coming at him again. This time he was a little more aware of what was going to happen and so when Doug swung at him again he dodged to the left and Doug only landed a glancing blow. He staggered but was still on his feet.
“Good job Tom, now watch for your opportunity to counterattack,” Gordan said.
Tom’s senses were returning, this is so different than the orphanage where he was always told to just take it. Doug was coming at him again and something strange happened to him. Something told him what Doug was going to do a second before he did it. Doug faked a right hook and then came in strong with his left toward his mid section. Tom dodged to the right and then swung his right fist toward Doug’s face. Doug was caught completely off guard and lost his balance as he missed with his jab. Tom’s fist came down on the side of his face, knocking him to the ground.
Tom went into a rage remembering all of the times that he had been hurt by so many different people. He remembered the humiliation caused by the headmaster, the uncertainty he felt in himself, the many times he had felt abandoned by his parents. “Why did you leave me in that place?” Tom screamed as he jumped on top of the boy outpouring his rage on the poor boys face.
Strong arms engulfed Tom around the chest as he was pulled off Doug. He continued to scream out in rage at all of the injustices that he had had to endure for so long.
“Tom, it’s ok. Tom, you’re ok,” John repeated over and over.
Tom sobbed uncontrollably and stopped fighting as John held him in his arms.
After a few minutes Gordan was yelling again but this time with a hint of compassion. “Ok Tom, it’s time to get back into the saddle. Get up and we will go again.”
Tom looked at John who helped him up, and softly pushed him to the ring. He headed back into the ring wiping the blood and tears from his face.
Doug wiped at the blood running out of his nose and mouth. “No more taking you for granted.” He charged Tom once again but this time he was much quicker and hit much harder.
Tom managed to dodge the majority of Doug’s punches and land a few of his own. The boys sparred for several more rounds with Gordan yelling instructions to them. After what seemed like an eternity, Gordan finally told them to take a short break. They got a drink together and talked about the things that they had learned. Doug gave Tom several pointers and explained some different moves that he could use in certain situations. This is so different from the orphanage. We hit each other and try to kill each other then we are giving each other pointers on how to do it better.
Tom’s confidence was growing in his ability and he felt the rage and hurt inside him slowly begin to ebb. He enjoyed interacting with Doug and having a friend, someone he could talk to. He thought about the friendship that was growing between Cody and him and hoped that it would continue to strengthen.
The two walked back to the pit where Gordan was talking to a couple of other boys and giving them pointers. He looked at Tom and Doug and said, “You two are done here. Doug, take Tom over to get trained with sword play for awhile.”
The two boys turned to leave.
“Oh, and good job both of you,” Gordan said. Then he started yelling at the other boys.
Later that night, after Tom got back to the dorm he talked to Cody about the day’s events and how he had learned about fighting and also about book stuff that bored him to death. Cody would smile and nod his head as he listened to him and then tell him about many other things that he would learn in the coming weeks and years. Tom lay down on his bed and for the first time that he could remember he felt at home as he drifted off to sleep.
The next few days went basically the same as his first day with classes in the morning and then sparring at night. He was surprised to notice that his muscles were firming up and that he was much quicker when sparring with the different boys. Gordan was surprised as well, which gave Tom a huge ego boost. He was a quick study in his classes and was surprised at how much he learned even though he was exhausted and could barely keep his eyes open for Sarah’s boring lessons.
Within a week Tom had the routine down and no longer needed help from Cody to get up and find his way around the compound. He tried to beat Cody up every morning but Cody seemed to always know right when he was going to get up and would jump out of bed a second sooner. Tom had never felt so alive and full of hope as he learned and grew. He wished his mother was here and wondered where she was.
Looking back on the morning he couldn’t see how she could have made it through the fight. Thinking of his mom often made him cry but he would try to be strong like she had told him to be. Where was his dad? What had happened to him? The last time had seen him was the night before those people had come. His dad said that he would be back soon, but he never saw him again.
Chapter 7:
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“Tom, Tom, get up,” Cody whispered close to his ear. “Something’s happening outside. Can you hear it?”
Tom rolled over onto his back and started to sit up.
“No,” Cody said, “Someone might see you.”
Cody was kneeling at the side of his bed looking out the window. Tom rolled out of bed onto the cold floor and looked out the window. He couldn’t see or hear anything at first, but then a bright flash and a faint scream, Tom’s face drained of color. They silently looked out the window as the sounds of battle came closer and closer to the dorm. Cody’s face fell. “They’re coming toward the dorm.” He started crawling toward the closed door.
Tom followed after him into the hallway. Cody was already opening the first door on the right. Tom watched him go into the room and heard him waking the boys. Tom started down the left side of the long hall.
Tom opened the first door, seeing that the boys in this room were already somewhat awake. He quickly and quietly crawled over to the first boy. “Get out of bed. Quick. W need to gather in the hall. Get your roomy.”
The boy blinked at Tom. “What’s going on?”
Tom put his finger to his mouth. “Just do it and be quiet about it, hurry.” Tom left the room and continued down the hall waking the boys on the left as Cody did the same on the right.
Leaving the last room he heard a loud boom coming from outside and a faint scream, or maybe it was several. “It sounds like whatever or whoever is right out side the front door,” Tom whispered.
“Yeah, I think they are. Get the boys to the bathroom. Joe and I will go check things out,” Cody said.
“Ok guys let’s get to the bathroom,” Tom said.
Cody waved the boys down the hall and gestured for Joe to follow him.
Tom headed toward the bathroom leading the way for the rest of the boys. I can’t believe this is happening and why are they following me? It was intimidating but he liked the feeling of importance.
When they were almost half way down the hallway he heard the front door explode. It sounded as if it had been broken into a million pieces. He stopped for half a heartbeat and then hurried the rest of the way.
The boys had just entered the bathroom when the first sounds of battle inside the dormitory hit them.
Tom closed the door to the bathroom. “Hurry, find something to block the door.” He went to the window and peeked out. The back of the building was still deserted and there was a large tree standing close enough to the window that they could climb onto and then down to the ground.
Tom opened the window. “Hey guys, over here. There’s a way down.”
Tom was surprised when the other boys turned to him and came closer to the window. They seemed to be looking to him to get them out of this chaos. He climbed up out the window and onto the window sill. He was able to reach a branch that was close by and climb onto it. “Let’s get the smallest boys up here first and then I can help them down.”
The older boys started handing up the younger boys. He then helped them onto the branch where they would climb down to the ground. After a few minutes all of the boys were safe on the ground. There was a bang on the bathroom door and Tom’s heart started to beat faster. Could it be Cody letting them know that everything was ok or was it the attackers trying to get in?
Tom’s heart pounded harder and sweat was forming at his temples as he waited on the tree. The pounding became more forceful as he waited. What if it’s Cody and he needs to get in. The door started to open and he climbed closer to the window, his heart racing. The door opened and Tom’s relief at seeing Cody quickly changed to horror when he saw how beat up he was. His face was bloody and bruised. One arm was bent behind his back where a man in black clothing held it. The man pushed Cody through the door and into the bathroom. He roared, “Where are you boy?”
Tom ducked as the man threw Cody to the floor and hurried toward the open window. Tom hid behind a branch, hoping the man would not see him, while trying to think of a way to help Cody. Where are you John? Tom thought as he looked toward the mansion.
Feeling helpless and enraged that someone had hurt his friend and he couldn’t do anything. Strange words began forming in his mind. His hand started to tingle as energy began running through it. Holding up his hand and looking at it, it started to glow and heat was coming from it. He flicked his hand toward the window trying to get the heat away from him. To his amazement, two small globes of orange fire shot from his fingertips toward the open window. The globes flew through the window and slammed into the man in black, whose mouth had dropped open. He screamed in agony when the globes hit.
Tom acted on instinct and jumped through the window remembering the training he had recently received. He grabbed the sword that the man had dropped and lunged toward him. To Tom’s dismay the man’s shock had passed and he was ready for him. His lunge missed. The experienced warrior dodged to the right causing Tom to lose his balance and fly past him on the left. Tom felt the man’s fist and forearm slamming into his back causing him to crash into the floor and lose his grip on the sword.
The man grabbed Tom’s shirt and lifted him up to take another shot. Tom felt the fist go into his stomach. It felt as if it had gone all the way through his body and out his back. His mind went blank from the pain he felt throughout his entire body. He could hear the man laughing through the fog in his head.
To his wonder he saw blood spilling to the ground in front of him. Is that my blood? Am I dying? The man dropped him and he fell to the ground. A second later he felt a large body fall across him and then everything went black.
“Tom, Tom, are you all right?” Cody asked in a strained voice. “Tom, wake up we have to get going.”
Tom gained some consciousness and saw Cody leaning over him. Cody’s face was covered in blood and both of his eyes were nearly swollen shut. It looked as if he had been hit in the face several times with a sledge hammer.
“We need to go, hurry, get up,” Cody’s said. He was pulling on Tom’s shirt trying to get him to move.
Tom staggered to his feet with help from Cody. His world began to spin and he leaned heavily on Cody to avoid falling back to the floor. Cody half carried half dragged him to the window and began to push him up and out the window. Tom, regaining some use of his body, was able to pull himself out the window and onto the ledge with Cody’s support.
Sounds were coming from outside of the bathroom door and now he understood why Cody had been so insistent that he hurry. He scurried onto the tree branch and watched Cody climb through the window and onto the ledge. Tom started to descend the tree as Cody climbed onto the branch and started to follow. The bathroom door slammed open, several heavy feet clomped on the tiled floor above.
“They’re out the window,” a man said with a heavy accent. “Hurry, get them, you go out the front and around the back.”
Tom reached the ground and looked up. There was a black clad man climbing out the window and onto the ledge.
Cody reached the ground with a jump. “Hurry, to the main house,” he shouted.
Tom started to push the boys toward the house. They ran with Cody in the back and Tom in the front. Tom slowed, the back door opened, and then he smiled broadly. John and Kristiana were coming out. There was a younger girl behind them who he had not seen before and behind her a half dozen guards. He hurried his pace toward the mansion as fire shot from Kristiana’s hand. The younger girl began to chant and move similar to Kristiana, and then several orange globes burst from her finger tips flying over his head.
John, and the guards close behind, ran toward the dorm. Tom turned, several black clad men were running out the front door of the dorm with weapons drawn. Several more globes flew past him and hit the men in the chest, dropping them to the ground, screaming in agony.
John reached the mass first and in one fluid motion, side stepped the first one and brought his daggered hand up into the man’s stomach. Leaving the dagger in the man’s gut John spun, putting him to the side of the
next man. Slashing his long sword across the man’s unarmored neck caused the man to drop to his knees instantly. He pulled his pistol out of his holster aiming and firing.
The guards slammed into the fray with swords and axes smashing into the bodies of the black clad men. The black clad men were soon overrun and as they fled Tom could see dark red dragons imprinted on their cloaks. The guards pursued after the fleeing men while John stopped, surveying the grounds, looking for any new threats.
Tom’s strength failed him, his legs grew weak, and then he began to fall. Cody with his bloodied fists and face was there to catch him before he hit the ground.
Chapter 8:
Tom woke in a huge bed covered with the fine silk sheets and the softest blanket he had ever felt. The bed was canopied and had dark curtains drawn about it. There were hushed but urgent voices outside the curtains, talking back and forth.
“He needs to be taken somewhere safe,” the man said firmly, “I can only trust you two to take him.”
Tom peered at the curtains trying to see through them. Who are they talking about?
“I want Cody to go with him. Cody can continue his studies with you and then can help Tom learn his as well,” the man said.
“I can’t leave my apprentice and I don’t want her to be trained in seclusion,” Kristiana said.
“You must be there to help with his training, he has the gift. There will be no more discussion on the matter.”
Tom shifted in the bed, it must have caught the attention of the others because at that point they stopped talking. Loud tapping noises faded away as someone hurried out the room. The curtains were drawn open and Tom sat back seeing Archelaus.
Archelaus moved to the edge of the bed. “Hi Tom, I hope that you have rested well. I regret to tell you that you must be leaving soon for your and the others safety. I’m sorry that I have not been able to meet with you. I had hoped to spend much time with you to prepare you more.”
