Endogenesis

Chapter Nineteen

The first class for the morning was hand-to-hand combat, so after the assembly, they stayed behind, waiting for the other teams to leave. Gabriel preferred having classes with his family rather than individual ones. He could keep an eye on the three of them, though Nadia insisted she could take care of herself. After four days, she still wouldn't tell him what happened with the Red team, but she was hesitant to leave the dorm and was rather nervous when they were outside.

Gabriel had dreaded when Dante informed him they would be in the training hall and that another team would be with them. If they were training alone, he could minimize injuries, and they wouldn't run the risk of agitating another team. Thankfully they were completely alone. Sergeant Arthur had ordered them on the mat to spar, so Gabriel had paired up with Elijah. His brother had been depressed enough when he discovered that he was at the bottom of the rankings for marksmanship, but he had quickly found a similar board near Sergeant Arthur's desk.

Gabriel had come in second, the Green leader holding first place. Nadia was in fourth, the same as in marksmanship. If they held two of the highest positions, the other teams might be hesitant to attack them, or it would throw more fuel on the fire. It was too late to get the Reds off their back, and the Greens may yet prove themselves to be, perhaps not allies, but at least not their enemies. Dante's position for hand-to-hand was slightly higher than marksmanship, coming in at nineteenth, but Elijah was dead last with Meryl before him.

Nadia had tried to reassure him that the 'children' were older than him and, in the case of every boy, bigger than him. Gabriel had decided to take a more direct approach. Several Blues were at the bottom of the list, and Gabriel had seen with his own eyes that they were weak fighters. If Elijah could improve his combat skills, he could make his way up the list, if only by a few ranks and remove the pressure off his shoulders. Gabriel was killing two birds with one stone. After they escaped, they would have to traverse to the other side of the continent; the Republic would hound them, and there were countless other dangers.

The better prepared Elijah was for the outside world, the safer he would be on their journey. Elijah had been outside of the safety of Haven countless times, but that was with the added protection of their parents and transport. The reality was they may have to travel on foot, exposing them to more danger and slowing their progress.

The training pads looked as though they were ready to fall apart, the seams barely holding together. Gabriel held it at Elijah's chest height; he was more concerned about improving his reflexes than his flexibility. If Elijah could land a solid hit to an opponent's gut or kidneys, it would stun them long enough to escape.

'Come on, you can hit it harder than that. I know you can,' Gabriel said.

Elijah corrected his stance and twisted, slamming the top of his foot into the pad with a loud bang.

'Good. Try pretending it's Presley's face.'

Elijah gave him a grin before he kicked again.

'One of those girls may have beaten you in the tournament, but she's what? Sixteen? She isn't getting any taller, but you have plenty of time to grow,' Gabriel had considered he was babying Elijah, but it had been hard enough to go through Anne's death without everything else piled on top.

There was a thump as Dante landed on the mats. Nadia grabbed his hand and pulled him back to his feet. It wouldn't hurt to help Dante while they were at it. Since they were young, Dante had made it clear he had little interest in combat, guns, or any form of training. He preferred to sit at the table and draw rather than participate. Luke should have pushed him harder; he had known what the Republic was like. It wasn't a matter of what Dante wanted but what would keep him alive and free. They should have done more. They should have been better prepared.