Drake gave her a deathly stare. "No needles. Today, you'll be sparring."
Sparring? That was pretty basic. We had done it all the time.
"Without your Avatars," Drake added.
Oh. We were going to train like I had seen Mia do before. By fist and by foot.
Nikki raised her hand. Drake ignored her, but she kept waving her hand. "What is it, Young?"
"What if we're not good at, um, fighting without our Avatars?" she asked.
"Then, you better get good real quick or face the consequences," Drake said.
"Um, but what if—" Nikki started.
"That's enough. Pair up and show me what you got. Anything goes. First person to tap out or unable to continue loses."
For once, I was grateful that I was the odd man out. The girls eyed each other warily, realizing that the choice of partner would be more important.
Julie walked up to Mia. "You and me," Julie said.
Mia bowed slightly. "Of course."
Stella moved first, grabbing Nikki's hand. "Nikki."
Kayla and Claire reached for Nikki too.
"Oh, for crying out loud." Drake said.
None of the girls would let go of Nikki. She looked around, bewildered.
"Young, you're with Perkins!" Drake shouted. "Jones, you're with Fisher. Now, move it!"
Mia and Julie were already in fighting stances. I watched in fascination as they circled each other cautiously, probing with the occasional feint.
Mia moved efficiently and methodically, while Julie danced around on the balls of her feet. They suddenly closed the distance between them at the same time. I blinked, and they were both on the ground, grappling.
I glanced at the Avatars sitting in a line on the other side of the room. None of them had reacted to the sudden violence.
"Hunter!" Drake clapped my back. "Enough with the sightseeing." He pointed to Stella and Nikki, who were eyeing each other. "Take those two out. Now!"
"What?" The girls hadn't heard Drake's command. "Like, both of them?"
"Do I need to repeat myself? Take. Them. Out."
"Yes, sir!" I moved towards them. I heard grunts of pain from Mia and Julie's direction, but I didn't dare take my eyes off the girls in front of me.
What the fuck is he doing?
I don't know, Dustin.
Stella and Nikki finally noticed my approach. "Dustin?" Nikki asked.
"Perkins, Young," Drake called out. "You're a team now. Two versus one. Take him out."
Stella nodded to Nikki. Then, they both attacked.
Despite Nikki's complaining, she clearly had some training in unarmed combat. Stella, obviously, knew what she was doing, too. I had picked up some moves since joining the squad, but I was brand new to most of this. Only my Predator Reflexes kept me from getting clobbered.
Nikki came in low, sending a kick to my knees. Stella came in high, a palm strike to my head. I sidestepped the kick and twisted my head the other way to avoid Stella's blow.
Neither could match my enhanced speed or agility. Or so I thought.
Nikki became a flurry of legs, kicking high and low, at a nearly inhuman speed.
"Shit!" I cried. I couldn't dodge or block every kick and had no choice but to retreat.
Stella had stopped attacking for a second to watch Nikki's display, but she quickly picked up her attack as well, moving to flank me from the side.
Nikki flashed a smile. "My Quick Feet ability. Helps me run faster. And kick faster."
Zoe, I'm getting beaten up by a rabbit. Help?
A hard punch from Stella glanced off my ribs. A kick from Nikki caught me in the shin.
Drake shouted at me. "Hunter, what're you doing? Attack, damn it!"
You could take her to the ground, where her kicks won't be effective. But that leaves—
I had to change something. I dove at Nikki, taking a kick to my chest, but it wasn't enough to stop my momentum. We crashed to the ground together. Someone hit me from behind.
—that leaves you open to Stella.
I wrapped my arms around Nikki and squeezed tightly, rolling over with her to put her between me and Stella. Stella tried to flank me again, but I threw a flailing Nikki into her legs. Stella jumped to avoid tripping, but I was already up by the time she landed.
I tackled Stella and mounted her torso. I raised my fist, ready to strike her. She lifted her arms to protect herself.
I stopped. I couldn't punch Stella in the face.
"Hunter!" Drake shouted. "Fight!"
A kick struck the side of my head, rocking me to the side. Stella used the distraction to swing her body out from under me and reposition herself. She yanked one of my arms toward her, then wrapped a leg around my neck, pulling hard. My face was buried between her thighs, but I didn't have time to dwell on that. She was choking me.
I squirmed frantically. Someone grabbed my legs. I had one free arm that wasn't pinned down. Something tried to hold it back, but I ripped it free with my superior strength.
The pressure on my neck mounted. I had to get free.
I swung my lone free arm…
I opened my eyes. I was lying on my back. The others were standing around me.
"He's up!" Claire cried.
Did I pass out?
For like ten seconds.
"What happened?" I asked.
Kayla shook her head. Nikki giggled. The girls dispersed. I looked around in confusion.
"I told you to fight, damn it," Drake said, also walking away.
Zoe? Fill me in?
Zoe played back the fight from her viewpoint. I was stuck between Stella's legs. Nikki had wrapped herself around my own legs. My arm ripped free. I swung it…
I cringed. My hand landed on Stella's right breast and squeezed. Stella shrieked and broken the choke, but my body lay there limp, already passed out.
Shit.
I looked around. Stella was off to one side, studiously looking in the other direction. I walked over to her.
"Stella, I'm so sorry—"
She turned to me, her face brimming with anger.
Oooh. You're in trouble now.
"Everything happened so quickly. I couldn't think. I was choking. My hand had a mind of its own. I swear—"
Stella cut me off. "That's not why I'm mad."
"What?"
"You held back, didn't you?"
I stared blankly at her.
Maybe she means you should have squeezed harder.
Zoe!
"I'm not sure…"
"You were holding back. Admit it."
"I didn't want to hit you."
Stella's brows furrowed further. "See! We're training for the War. Do you want us to win?"
"Well, yeah—"
"Then, don't hold back. Plus, it's insulting. Like you think I don't belong here."
"No, it's not that—" I stopped. "Okay, you're right. I'm sorry."
"Dustin," Stella said. "Being nice isn't going to cut it on the battlefield. Remember what Drake said at the start?"
Hey, Mr. Nice Guy. He said to be a master of yourself.
Yeah, yeah. I know, Zoe.
"Everyone grab a new partner!" Drake walked over to me, resting a hand on my shoulder. "She took the words out of my mouth." He steered me into a corner for a private chat. "I have to admit, Hunter, that didn't go quite as planned."
"Yeah, tell me about it," I muttered.
"Look, I get my orders, too. I don't always agree with them. But you've got to follow through."
I gave Drake a curious look.
Drake sighed. "I tell you to punch me, you need to punch me. Hard. I tell you to jump, touch the fucking sky. Being a Beastmaster, a soldier, is about more than fighting with your Avatar. Got it?"
"Did Dr. Hill tell you to—"
Drake cut me off. "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. My grandma used to say that."
I shook my head. "What am I going to do with lemonade?"
Drake laughed. "I'm not going to get myself in trouble. But I'll do my best to turn out a squad that can be proud of itself. Got it?"