Chapter 3 — The awakening and hard work.
I woke up the next morning.
And I went into a flashback.
It was me and Jay as kids on the playground, we were running around the slide.
We saw a kid crying…on the sidewalk.
“Hey, what is your name? Jay said.”
The kid cried and looked at us slowly with a bruise on his knee.
“H-H-Henry. He said crying.”
“Nice to meet you, Henry, I’m Jay and this is Lily.”
Then I came back to my senses.
I was on the bed
“Sweetie, come eat! Said my stepmom”
I put on my clothes, my shirt having a sword on it.
I walked downstairs.
“Sleep well sweetie?”
“Yes.”
“Your tournament is soon so you should eat.”
“Yea”
This is my stepmom, she is 34.
She took me in after the incident with my parents.
I can tell she tried to bring me up as a kid best she can, and she is very nice, But things with me have never been the same after the incident.
I came back and recognized I ate all my food with my stepmother sitting right in front of me.
Furthermore, I got out of my chair and said.
“I’m leaving.”
“Ok have a good day sweetie.”
I walked out the house and thought.
“I have to fight Jay in my first fight, there’s no way I can win. No, I can’t think like that, I must practice with all my might and believe I can win.”
I walk down an empty road to a park with a tree next to the playground.
I walked over to the tree.
I get out my wooden sword.
Thwap.
Thwap.
I smack the tree so with my wooden sword.
Over and over and over.
Until it’s night, I fall over and drop my wooden sword, feeling very weak and my whole body swore from swinging my sword.
I look at my hands, and they are bumpy and bruised.
I glare at them a bit longer then… I fainted .
When I wake up, it's pitch black… I guess it’s around midnight.
I look over, and my wooden sword is next to me.
Furthermore, I got up and grabbed my wooden sword and I started walking home.
“First day of training complete. I say to myself.”
I walk home, plop on my bed and fall fast asleep.
Over the next month, I work really hard.
I do 1,000 swings a day
1,000 squats a day
1,000 pushups a day
And run 10 miles
Every day.
On the first of June.
I woke up.
“It’s the first of June… which means only 1 month left.”
Beep! Beep! Beep!
8:30AM
“I am LATE!”
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
I get up get dressed and run out my room….forgetting my wooden sword I run back, grab it, and run back downstairs.
“Sweetie, you should eat before you go.”
“No thanks, I’m gone.”
The door slams.
“I hope I’m doing well as a mother. The stepmom thinks to herself”
I run out to the park to start.
“Dammit!… Dammit! How am I this late? She thinks to herself”
I make it to the park, kids on the playground playing.
I stare and get lost in thoughts, and I go back into another memory.
This one of my parents…my parents???
I… I don’t even remember what my parents look like, but they say.
“Lily, try to go sweetheart. Mom is going to make her delicious pancakes.”
“Okay daddy! I respond”
Bang.
A kid hits me in the face with a ball as it drops and rolls in front of my feet.
“Sorrryyy.”
“It’s okay. I respond with”
“Excuse me miss…why do you carry that wooden sword with you? One of the boys say.”
“It’s to practice my sword skills.”
“Cooooolll. They all say in unison.”
“Are you a sword master? Another one says.”
“Noooo. (I chuckle) nowhere near.”
“Awwwww it’s ok, I believe in you. The little girl says”
I stare at her and start to tear up, then out of nowhere I let the river of tears burst out.
“Look, now you are making her cry.”
They a start trying to cheer me up,
“No, no you guys are mistaking…that is one of the nicest things a person has said to me.
“Can you teach us some of your moves?”
I hesitate a bit, but then I say
“Yeah sure, but it might be hard work.”
“Okay, we got this.”
I walk over to the tree marked with scratches from my wooden sword.
This is the first time I really looked at the tree, and I felt proud and accomplished for a second. All the blood, sweat, and tears put into this blade and sliced into that tree.
I trained the kids for the day and by the time it was over they were drained.
We laid on the ground drenched in sweat for a while before they started saying they had to go home to eat. We waved our goodbyes and by the time I knew it I was all alone. I fell back to the ground and started to doze off, then I heard.
“CATCH HIM BEFORE HE ESCAPED!”
I was frightened, so I jolted up quickly with my wooden sword in my hand.
In the darkness, I couldn’t make out their faces, but it was a man running with about 5 no 6 guys in black suits chasing him.
Before I could process, they faded down the street, and it was back to the pitch-black silence.
“What the hell was that? I wondered to myself.”
I grabbed my wooden sword and ran down the street
I ran and ran and ran until I could hear their voices in reach.
I run and hide behind the wall. In a dark alleyway, I hear a man in a black suit say.
“Where is it?”
“He must be the leader, and what is “it”?”
“I will give you one last chance… where is it?”
“I… I will never tell you. He said weakly”
“Ok then your funeral. The leader said.”
“Beat him down boys.”
Next thing I know, I hear grinning and chuckling, then I hear punched being thrown.
Pow.
Pow.
Pow.
I sat there and tried not to intervene, as I would like not to interfere with gang associated activities, but I couldn’t help myself.
I grab my wooden sword and dash in the night.
All under 5 seconds.
I run up to the first guy and hit him in the back off his neck with the wooden sword.
He let out a painful cream alerting the others.
They all back off a bit and say.
“Who’s there?”
I jump off the wall and kick one of them into the floor and hit another one with my sword.
“2 down, 2 more to go. I think to myself.”
Right there, open fire.
Pow.
Pew.
Pow.
They shoot there guns at me, I can feel there bullets barely grazing the side of me head and my left arm.
I jump back to create some distance, and they start to refill their guns
“This is the end for you. He says”
They both point their gun back at me ready to fire.
“I have to think. THINK! If not, I’m going to die. I thought to myself.”
I had an idea.
I threw my sword and the person next to the leader, leaving him stunned, then I dash quickly to close the distance, but then he starts shooting at random.
I duck under I move to the right and I get close and stab him with the wooden sword.
He drops to his knees in agonizing pain and collapse on the floor.
The boss in a state of panic says.
“DIEEEE!”
Pow.
Pow.
Pow.
He shoots some more
“GAAA-“
His bullet hit me in the shoulder.
Click.
Click.
“Gawd, dammit, this useless piece of shit.”
“His gun ran out of ammo, this is my chance. I thought to myself.”
Bam.
He throws down a smokescreen and runs into the empty road.
Augh.
Augh.
I get stuck in the smokescreen, coughing.
I swing my sword and clear up the smoke and chase after the leader.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
His footsteps start fading away, and at that moment I swear I heard him say.
“I will get you back for this, I swear.”
I walk back to the dark alleyway and look at my arm.
There is blood running all the way down my arm.
“I must stop the bleeding. I think to myself.”
I touch my head and notice it’s bleeding.
Furthermore, I walk over to the man.
“Hey, are you okay?”
“Yes, thanks for saving me.”
“No problem.”
“Here take these bandages.”
“Thanks I say.”
“I wrap the bandages around my head and arm.”
“Let’s go to the park down there, I have something to tell you.”
“Something to tell me? I think to myself.”
We walk back down the empty road in silence, then we sit on a bench.
“He stares at me intensely. Like he is staring into my soul for a while.”
“You are it. He says.”
“I am what?”
“I gave him a good look and I noticed he has a sword inside his scabbard.
“Hey, why didn’t you use your sword against that gang.”
“Hahaha hah. He laughs.”
“I would rather not resort to violence… I might have killed them if I did.”
I feel a shudder go down my spine as I see this bright red and black aura around him.
“But, thanks for saving my ass back there that could have ended way worst, ha.”
“Back to what I-“
Then out of nowhere the sword started to glow.
“What is going on? I say”
“It is starting…we have to hurry.”
“FOLLOW ME.”
I follow the guy into the street under a bright light
“I just wanted too see who I was passing my legacy down to. Haha he starts to chuckle.”
“Legacy? What?”
“What is happening?”
The sword starts trying to escape from the guy like it has a will of its own.
“I don’t have time to explain right now, you have to trust me.”
SHING.
He grabs his sword out of the scabbard and says these chants.
“Under this full moon tonight. I will be passing my legacy down to this brave young warrior to the gods of this world will you please protect this brave young soul with all your might.”
“With this sword will come lots of challenges and enemies, but also a lot of adventures and new opportunities. I saw a bright light in you that I never saw in others so I hope you will use this well.”
KRCH.
GLAH-
He stabs me with the sword.
What is going on…did he just…stab me?
Thud.
The guy falls over.
“Is he dead? But, how?”
Thud.
I fall onto the ground
“It’s blood…it’s my blood. I thought to myself.”
“It’s warm liking taking a bath.”
And then it gets cold.
“This is it…I’m going to die a cold painful death… without achieving…anything.”
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Written by – Ash
Co-written by - Silas