ZRP-2: Chapter 4, Backtracking

(Andrew)

=I waited as the bus moved towards the raider outpost, a knot settling of uneasiness settling in my stomach=

Come on man...you've been through worse...

=I push the feeling from my mind=

--66 hours before--

=I had gone to the cafeteria, having a decent lunch. I was a little surprised that they had a gym in this damn place=

Of course, you learn something new everyday...

=I got into something a little more suited to a workout, wearing a pair of gloves that I still had. I then entered the room and immediately went to the bench press, putting the starting weight at 325 lbs. I immediately start to feel a burn in my arms=

Wow...it feels like football season all over again...where the hell are my pads?

=I smile at the thought, setting the weight down briefly=

(James)
=I picked myself up off the mat, and rubbed my chin. Damn, the fall had hurt despite the cushioning of the mat. I looked back to Hibiki, a defiant look in my eyes=
"Okay, let me try that again."

Hibiki grinned, adopting a fighting stance.
"C'mon."

(James)
=Instead of charging her like before, I carefully approached her, circling her at first with my arms raised in front of my head, adopting a stance she had tried to teach me earlier. Then, I made my opening attack, a swift jab=

Hibiki moved to the side, reaching out to grip James' arm and twisted into him, preparing to toss him over her shoulder.
Again.

(James)
=I anticipated this, since this was how I ended up kissing mat last time. With my free arm, I got her in a headlock, though something told me that wasn't going to work=

Hibiki bucked her back, then followed through to front roll, landing on James hard before elbowing himin the stomach to loosen his gripe and roll off him.

(James)
=Landing on my back with Hibiki on top of me? Not a problem. Getting elbowed in the gut though and having the wind knocked out of me? Yeah....that sorta hurt. I rolled though, not staying put on the ground, and came back to my feet, gasping for a second=
"Okay.....any....advice?"

"You left me open. A headlock works best if you apply a lot of pressure and use your other arm to keep my head in place. It's dangerous because you'd break my neck if I tried anything." She took a breath. "And never jab. A straight arm is easier to dodge and grab. Try a kick at me or a blow you throw diagonally."

(James)
=Instead of answering, I simply did what she advised. My first attack was a kick aimed for her knee, not at full strength so I wouldn't seriously hurt her=

Hibiki smirked and dodged it by dropping down and spinning, her leg out. James' kick would go over her shoulder while she swept his leg out from under him.

(James)
=Dammit. I landed on my ass, literally. I made sure not to get angry though, a lesson I learned once from my older brother of all people....before he died. You get angry, you get reckless, and as much as it fuels your punches, it clouds your judgement. So I bent back, pulling my legs towards my body while my back went flat against the ground, and the pushed out with my legs. It was another trick I learned, and it got me back to my feet faster than if I had just picked myself up. And then I was back in a fighting stance=

(Andrew)

=I look on, resisting a smart ass remark=

Is it worth my legs getting broken? No...

=I go back to the weights, taking it a few reps at a time, getting a rest period in between=

Hibiki smiled.
"Good job."
She feinted left, then went for a kick straight to James' chest.

(James)
=This time, I saw it coming. I moved ever so slightly out of the way, and grabbed hold of her foot, and her calves. Then I swung her in a short arc, letting go so that she fell on her ass this time=

This was Hibiki.

Using the momentum, she twisted her body and kicked her free foot up.
As James let fo, Hibiki's other foot would come up and kick him in the side of the head.

(James)
=Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the kick coming. Not enough time to dodge, I instead let it hit me, and right as I let go I moved with the kick, my neck bending and hips twisting, so that while it looked like I had been staggered by the kick, I was really just getting set to come back up and advance on her. Which I did, taking a few steps towards her=

Hibiki rolled and came to her feet, in her usual stance.
"When someone is teaching you, watch out for every trick." She warned.

Eve woke up slowly, finding herself snuggled safely against Sam's warm body.
She smiled.

(James)
=I slowed down a little, coming to a stop just out of her reach=
"Doing my best here. Not like it's fair though."

(Sam)
=I was out like a candle, for the most part=

Hibiki smiled. She feinted left, feinted right, feinted center...the charged James, and tried to take him down with a flying tackle.

Finding Sam asleep, Eve scooted up, rested a hand on Sam's cheek, and kissed her lips softly, hoping she didn't wake up.
She then rested her forehead against Sam's, closing her eyes again.
"Please...be mine forever." She asked quietly.

(James)
=Grinning, I spread my arms and caught her in midair, and then went from fighting to turning the whole sparring session into more of a dance, flipping her around my side so that her back was aimed down to the floor, and we both stared at each other's face=
"So, you can dance after all."

(Sam)
=There was alight noise by my ear, and somehow I had the weirdest dream: Eve, Sammy the cat, and a bunch of other faceless people dancing to Gangnam style=

Hibiki grinned, put her arms around James' neck, then threw her entire weight backwards, doing an awkward flip to pull James down and onto his back so she was on top staring down.
"Of course I can." She gave him a kiss. "You can fight."

Eve stroked Sam's cheek a bit before placing her arms around Sam once more and falling asleep.

(James)
=Smiling, I flipped us both over so that I was on top, but this time I had my fist raised above my head and aimed down=
"Yes I can."

=Not that I planned on hitting her, really=

(Sam)
=Suddenly it was my turn to wake up. Watching a cat dance to Gangnam style was just too weird, even for me=

Hibiki smirked.
"Not going to work. If your target is not disoriented, what you are gonna do is going to fail."

Eve wasn't even into REM when the slight jolt of Sam waking up jarred to awake.
Her brain formed one word.
"Nya?"

(Sam)
=I eyed the girl, still sleepy=
"Nyan cat?"

(James)
"Not sure you know what I have planned Hibiki."
=However, not wanting to risk getting my ass handed to me, I forsook the advantage I had, and quickly backed away=

"If it involves you on top, I want to know." She said with a flirty smile.

Eve blinked. "If I am a poptart, then why are you not eating me?" She refuted sleepily.

(Sam)
=More than anything else, that just made me laugh. Started with a cough, that little puff of air that makes your cheeks blow up, then it turned into a full blown giggle=
"Does this mean you come in strawberry flavors? Maybe chocolate chip or brownie?"

(James)
"It involves me coming out on top."

"Only the one of a kind Eve flavored. Get it while it is here." Eve replied, slowly waking up.

Hibiki grinned. "Good luck."

(Sam)
=Still giggling, all I could do was swing my legs out and over the edge of the bed, getting up=

(James)
=I waited for her to get back up, still in my ready stance=

Eve was nearly pled off the bed - but she barely noticed, really, and just sat up...and fell off the bed.

Hibiki did the ninja thing and was on her feet in a flash.
"So. Winner gets to be on top?" She teased.

(James)
"Winner gets to be on top."
=I echoed her, and then feinted right, then left. Springing off my back foot, I shot forward towards her=

(Sam)
=Still reeling from the giggles, I broke into another fit when Eve fell=
"You okay?"

Hibiki ducked and then drove up, flipping James over onto his back.
She then backed away, ready to strike.

Eve put a ha d up, raised her thumb, then sloy got up.
Finally standing, she started to rub her eyes. "You know, there are easier ways to wake me up."

(Sam)
"Sorry Eve."

(James)
=Rolling onto the my stomach, I got to my feet and attacked her in full. I went with a low kick, meant to sweep her legs out from under her the same way she did me=

Eve smiled softly, hding her arms out to Sam.
"Make it up to me?" She asked innocently.

Hibiki didn't see that one, and went down. She cracked her head though...thus making her disoriented.

(Sam)
"I don't know....I don't really see anything to make up for."

(James)
=I knew I got her, but that didn't matter to me; she stumbled around, and I got a sickening feeling=
"Hibiki, you okay?"

Eve pouted. "Making me fall. You got up when my arms were still around you."

Hibiki clutched her head.
"That hurt. You win. I don't think I can pull off a Jackie Chan this time. Nice move."

(Sam)
"Then let go next time Eve. Think of it as a lesson in holding on too tightly."

(James)
=Walking over to her, I held her by the shoulders, gently, and pulled her in for a hug=
"Sorry, didn't mean to hurt you that badly Hibiki."

Eve pouted. "Meanie. I was half asleep."

Hibiki rested her head on James' shoulder.
"Wasn't you. Just knocked my head when I fell. I'm ok."

(James)
"Okay. You still good to go, or do you want to take a break?"

(Sam)
"Well, wake up faster Eve. In this world, being half asleep can get you killed."

(Andrew)

=I looked over and then continued on, hopefully not interrupting=

Could someone come over here and spot for me real quick?

=I grunt with exertion from the weight=

Hibiki giggled. "Yeah. I'm ok."

Eve stood up. "The least you could do is smile!" She stormed into the bathroom and closed the door.

(Allie)

After I finish cleaning my gun I take up the challenge of making a ghille suit.Mainly out of bordem.

(James)
"Uh, give me a minute Hibiki. Let me help Andrew out for a moment."
=I walked over to where Andrew was lifting the weight, and helped pick it up with some moderate effort=

"Oh yeah, you really need to work out more man. I mean, the walker that kills you is going to want a juicy meal, and you're kinda....scrawny."

(Andrew)

=I shoot James a look after I set down the weight, feeling offended=

SCRAWNY?!?!?! WHY I OUGHTA...!

You're one to talk, Peewee.

=I get up and draw myself to my full height=

(James)
=Honestly, after living in a world filled with the undead and taking down a psychotic cult leader, Andrew standing at full height was hardly intimidating. The look on my face spoke volumes of how much of a threat I did not really see him as, currently anyway. Yes, he was taller than me, but that really counted for shit. I may not have had the full training of Hibiki, but I knew enough about how to use someone's size against them=
"Andrew calm down. It was just a joke."

(Andrew)

=I stay silent for a few seconds, my eyes narrowing briefly. It was just one more reminder of my short temper=

Take it easy Andrew...just let it go...

I know, I know...

=I sit back down, my mood easing a bit=

It's just that recent events have left me with an even shorter temper than in the past.

(James)
"Well I think I saw a drug store earlier, outside the compound. If you want I can swing y and grab you some tampons."
=I made sure I was well out of range of any punch he might throw at me. Yeah, I didn't view him as a threat but that didn't mean I'd take a blow from him=

(Andrew)

=I glare at him=

Now THAT is a low blow...

Get one for the mat there...Because you were kissing it more than a first date...

=I grin childishly=

(James)
"Why don't you step in the ring and say that again. I'm sure Mira won't get any hard feelings.......bah, I'm just fooling with ya man."
=Slapping his shoulder in a friendly manner, I walked back over to Hibiki=

"Try not to hurt yourself in here man."
=Then my attention turned to my wife=

"If you two want to know who's dick is bigger, I'll talk with Mira and compare." Hibiki delivered monotone, but still obviously a bit woozy.

Eve closed the lid and sat on the toilet, holding her face in her hands. She was joking. Now Sam going...was she overreacting?
How was she suppose to react?
Was she suppose to react?
"WHY THE FUCK CANT THIS BE SIMPLE!" she shouted, Falcon-punching the wall...and yelping in pain as she felt the skin break, leaving some blood on the wall.
"owowowow!"