Chapter 14

Elias lay on his back in the middle of the floor, huffing and puffing as sweat dripped down his whole body. "I'm still not getting it." He slammed his fist into the damp floor. Never in his life had he sweat as much as this. "And I'm not even sure I'll be able to move later... or tomorrow."

"I wasn't going that hard." Jae jumped around and stretched his neck. "I still don't feel the same as I used to. My body's sluggish. But I guess it's not that bad, considering I was frozen not long ago."

"Ugh... I don't think I could handle you at full strength."

Kristie leaned over Elias and held up a water bottle. "I don't think you could handle him if he was at half strength."

"Geez, thanks." He accepted the water bottle.

"Maybe you need to see the movements from the outside," Jae suggested. "Some people don't catch onto what your movements should be, unless you see it first. You can get there, Eli; don't give up yet."

"Eli?" Elias frowned.

"Don't like the nickname?"

"Never had one."

"Really? I thought for sure that would've been one of them."

"We don't use nicknames."

"Unless you count aggressive bunny," Kristie huffed.

"It's a bit long, but I kinda like it." Jae smirked. "Kristie, how about I teach you now, and Eli can watch and learn?"

"Me? I mean, I'm interested, but..." she trailed off as she looked at Elias. "I don't want to end up like him."

"You should go for it." Elias finally sat up. "Maybe you'll do better than me."

Doubtful. "Uh..."

"I'll try to be more gentle with you, but you'll still feel it." Jae waved his hand towards the open floor. "Though I wish we had some mats to lessen the impact."

"I have blankets, but that'd likely make her slip and fall on her face," Elias said and chugged down the entire water bottle.

I wish I could deny that. "Fine, but go easy on me."

"Okay, we'll start from the beginning." Jae glanced at Elias to make sure he was watching. "Oh, and for reference, the army teaches more combat than self defence; this is from person training before I ever joined."

"I think I at least got the first few things," Elias complained. "But some of those techniques are hard to manoeuvre."

"Because people can grab you in various ways. Best not to fight at all, but you can't help it if you get attacked. Kristie, if someone grabs you like this, what should you do? I assume you were paying attention." He grabbed her wrist.

"To every movement." Because you were magnificent to watch. With her elbow pulled in, she moved closer to him as she twisted her arm and pulled her wrist out of his grasp at the weak point.

"That's good, but don't get cocky." He tapped on her nose. "If the person isn't startled, and continues, this might happen before you have a chance to run."

Before she knew it, he had landed her flat on her back and pinned her arms beside her head.

"Oh..." She stared at him wide-eyed and swallowed hard as her heart fluttered.

"Actually, I can teach you how to get out of this position, too, in a few different ways. First off, do you know what a bridge is?"

"..." Kristie's cheeks flushed when he didn't move away.

"Kristie? Are you still with me here?"

"What? Oh... Um..."

Elias laughed. "Pay attention to your teacher, you unruly student."

"Do you know what a bridge is?"

"I... I assume you mean the yoga pose?"

"Yes. When your arms are pinned like this, bring your feet up close to you on the ball of your feet and do a powerful bridge to push the person. If your hands are above your head, try to squirm up until they're beside your head. When you do the bridge, they'll be forced forward, so rip your arms out of their grasp as they try to catch themselves. Try it."

Kristie took a deep breath as she dragged her feet up close to her on the floor and thrust forward to make a bridge. Jae fell forward and caught himself on all fours. Feels farfetched to think I can shove him off when he has me pinned like this.

"Good job." Jae repositioned himself over top of her, gripping her wrists.

"Oh... I thought I got it."

"That would require you getting away, not letting the attacker grab you again."

Elias snickered. "How could you think it's that one move and you can just lie there?"

"Shut up, Elias," Kristie pouted.

"It was the first step. Next, when they come back, grab their arm with both of yours, pulling it in close to you as you use your foot to trap their leg. Then use the bridge again to push the attacker over, reversing your position. Try it."

They went through each step together a few times until she successfully flipped him over.

"I did it!" Kristie cheered. "Ah!" she yelped when he wrapped his legs around her.

"Foiled again." Jae laughed. "As soon as you flip them, attack their ahem... weakness, and run away."

"Weakness?"

"Oh, ow." Elias covered himself up at the thought.

"Oh! Uh..."

"Please don't actually hit me." Jae released her.

"And if it's a female?"

"Throw some quick punches and make a run for it." Jae sat up, but Kristie still didn't move away. "Looking to try again?"

Kristie scratched her cheek. "It'd be best to get it right a few times, right?"

"That's her way of saying she likes rolling around on the floor with you," Elias said as he watched them. "How about you get back to the grabs and throws you were teaching me? Helpful for both of us, I think."

Kristie covered her flushed face with both hands. "Geez, what's with you today?"

"I don't like being a third wheel."

"But you needed a break!"

"I can see I'm causing an issue, so maybe I should back away here." Jae got to his feet.

"No; it's not your fault he's being a brat." He never acts this bad. What's going on?

"You're calling me a brat?" Elias raised an eyebrow. "Rich, coming from the person who—"

Jae stood between with his hands up on each side. "Stop, please. You two are best friends; don't get into a petty fight. How about we show him those throws?"

"I'm supposed to be able to throw you?" Kristie looked up at him. The height difference alone made her skeptical. "I mean... rolling you over is one thing, but throwing or flipping?"

"I'll teach you. Having a lower centre of gravity actually helps. I'll have you throwing me around in no time." Jae smiled at her.

"Yeah!" Kristie cheered after successfully using a hip throw on Jae. "That was awesome." She offered her hand to help Jae stand. "Can I try it on you next?" she asked Elias.

He rolled his eyes. "I thought you two were showing me what I was doing wrong so I could do it?"

"Did it help any?" Jae asked. "Though this throw is easier for her based on height."

"It's not like I didn't get any of them, and I did more of the other. Guess you don't want to pull joint locks on her," Elias huffed. "I can do that one... if I could move any of my stiff muscles right now."

"Oh, I'm sorry. We should've done some cooldown stretches. Maybe we should stop here for today. I'll move everything back."

"Don't bother; we'll have more than one session, right? We can leave it as is. Not like I'm all that worried about having my furniture in its exact place."

"Since when?" Kristie scoffed, and he glared at her. "I mean, good idea."

"Let's do those stretches now."