Post by Justin Kaard on Apr 11, 2016 20:53:55 GMT -5
Justin hit the mat hard enough to feel the rattle travel up the length of his spine and settle into his teeth. James, his teacher, had always had an air of intensity about him but the moment they'd started sparing there had been a subtle shift. Where he'd been merely intimidating before now he scared Justin to death.
"I hope he doesn't see right through me," Justin wheezed.
"If you've got enough energy to talk to yourself while you're laying there then you have enough energy to get up and go again."
"Yeah yeah yeah," Justin muttered as he struggled to his feet, "You know when you said training I figured there would be like an intro class or-"
He was driven to the ground again and James Keenan hit him with an open palm thrust to the sternum. Justin lay on the ground gasping. His chest felt like it had been crushed. The seconds melted into one another as he continued to struggle. Panic began to set in, a dull weight against the pit of his stomach. He couldn't breathe, he was going to die. Red tinged darkness began to appear at the corners of his increasingly blurry vision. Then there was only darkness.
Another blow to the chest and suddenly sweet, fresh air rushed back into his lungs. Justin coughed and sputtered as he spat blood from his mouth. James knelt over him with the satisfied smirk of a well fed housecat.
"You tried to kill me!" Kaard screamed.
"Correction," James responded, "I did kill you, I just didn't let it settle in."
"I-I died?"
James nodded, "If I hadn't stopped it you would have, as it stands you just blacked out for a few seconds. Maybe lost a handful of brain cells."
"So wait," Justin was confused, "You Xena'd me? Like that throat punch thing she used to do?"
James laughed, "Something like that. Except instead of caving in your larynx I stopped your heart. Hitting you there a second time restarted it."
"You're disturbingly casual seeing as you JUST KILLED ME!" Justin accused.
"It's something you'll get used to, Justin. You're just too soft to see it right now."
"To soft-"Justin asked incredulously
"In all of your matches in PCW have you ever truly feared for your life? Has there ever come a point where you legitimately thought you might die?" James asked with a grim determination.
"Well there have been a couple I'm sure," Justin thought back to some of his earlier matches with Mentis.
"No, Justin. I can guarantee you that there haven't. Times you thought you might experience pain, sure. Times you thought your career might end, sure. But I can say for a fact that there has never come a time in PCW that you thought you were on the verge of death. But that's not your fault, the fighting your used to has rules. It has referees that will rush in and stop things before they go too far. I've seen your matches since you came back and you have fought some hellacious battles, I'm not about to take that away from you. But the world I'm preparing you for doesn't have referees who are going to step in when things get to rough. If you're not fighting to kill then you will die."
Justin was shocked, "You said this was about fighting monster, about helping people. You never said anything about killing people when you signed me up for your little monster hunter club."
"Sometimes people are the monsters."
Justin felt the air leave the room.
James sighed sadly and stood up, "You're still young, Justin. I could go on and on how the world isn't the nice neat place you think it is. Yes, we hunt monsters. We kill demons. I've even taken down what I'm fairly certain was a vampire. But it's just a part of what we do. Sometimes the worst monsters are those we never see coming because they look just like us."
"Did he sparkle?"
"What?"
"The vampire you killed, did he sparkle? I hear all the cool vampires sparkle now."
James rolled his eyes but still managed a smile, "Hold on to that sense of humor, Justin. If we don't manage to beat it out of you while we're training you it will serve you well."
"I hope he doesn't see right through me," Justin wheezed.
"If you've got enough energy to talk to yourself while you're laying there then you have enough energy to get up and go again."
"Yeah yeah yeah," Justin muttered as he struggled to his feet, "You know when you said training I figured there would be like an intro class or-"
He was driven to the ground again and James Keenan hit him with an open palm thrust to the sternum. Justin lay on the ground gasping. His chest felt like it had been crushed. The seconds melted into one another as he continued to struggle. Panic began to set in, a dull weight against the pit of his stomach. He couldn't breathe, he was going to die. Red tinged darkness began to appear at the corners of his increasingly blurry vision. Then there was only darkness.
Another blow to the chest and suddenly sweet, fresh air rushed back into his lungs. Justin coughed and sputtered as he spat blood from his mouth. James knelt over him with the satisfied smirk of a well fed housecat.
"You tried to kill me!" Kaard screamed.
"Correction," James responded, "I did kill you, I just didn't let it settle in."
"I-I died?"
James nodded, "If I hadn't stopped it you would have, as it stands you just blacked out for a few seconds. Maybe lost a handful of brain cells."
"So wait," Justin was confused, "You Xena'd me? Like that throat punch thing she used to do?"
James laughed, "Something like that. Except instead of caving in your larynx I stopped your heart. Hitting you there a second time restarted it."
"You're disturbingly casual seeing as you JUST KILLED ME!" Justin accused.
"It's something you'll get used to, Justin. You're just too soft to see it right now."
"To soft-"Justin asked incredulously
"In all of your matches in PCW have you ever truly feared for your life? Has there ever come a point where you legitimately thought you might die?" James asked with a grim determination.
"Well there have been a couple I'm sure," Justin thought back to some of his earlier matches with Mentis.
"No, Justin. I can guarantee you that there haven't. Times you thought you might experience pain, sure. Times you thought your career might end, sure. But I can say for a fact that there has never come a time in PCW that you thought you were on the verge of death. But that's not your fault, the fighting your used to has rules. It has referees that will rush in and stop things before they go too far. I've seen your matches since you came back and you have fought some hellacious battles, I'm not about to take that away from you. But the world I'm preparing you for doesn't have referees who are going to step in when things get to rough. If you're not fighting to kill then you will die."
Justin was shocked, "You said this was about fighting monster, about helping people. You never said anything about killing people when you signed me up for your little monster hunter club."
"Sometimes people are the monsters."
Justin felt the air leave the room.
James sighed sadly and stood up, "You're still young, Justin. I could go on and on how the world isn't the nice neat place you think it is. Yes, we hunt monsters. We kill demons. I've even taken down what I'm fairly certain was a vampire. But it's just a part of what we do. Sometimes the worst monsters are those we never see coming because they look just like us."
"Did he sparkle?"
"What?"
"The vampire you killed, did he sparkle? I hear all the cool vampires sparkle now."
James rolled his eyes but still managed a smile, "Hold on to that sense of humor, Justin. If we don't manage to beat it out of you while we're training you it will serve you well."
