Chapter 1
BIG Shout-out to JunKing for suggesting that I write a story. Thanks.
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Chapter 1: Raid
Vincent
I ran to my mother's call.
"Vincent, could you help me with these bags."
I picked up a bushel of corn under one arm and a sack of potatoes under the other. I carried them into the house with little effort. After bringing in several more sacks I turned to my mother pleadingly.
"Fine, fine." His mother digressed. "You can go to the dojo."
I whooped and threw my hands in the air before rushing out the door. Even though the village was small, the dojo was pretty far from my house and about a quarter of the way there I met with my best friend, Hwoarang.
"Heading over to the dojo?" Hwoarang asked.
I nodded.
"I'm going there too. Are you ready for the tournament?"
"Definitely." I replied.
"Hey, let's promise to make it to the finals together. Okay?"
"Okay."
"Well then, let's go!" Hwoarang said impatiently and he and I began racing to the dojo.
Hwoarang reached the dojo first and stepped inside just as I ran to the door. We both stepped inside.
"Bow." Our sensei, Baek Doo San, told us. After we had bowed he continued. "Come into the training room- that is where our tournament is being held."
Hwoarang and I followed him into the training room, where the other students were already waiting. They all had their Tae Kwon Do uniforms on - a white gi (fighting uniform) with the Tae Kwon Do symbol on the back (a half blue and half red circle). Personally, my uniform had a green belt and Hwaorang's had a red belt with a black stripe. We got our uniforms on and took our seats in the line.
"Our first sparring match will be…" Baek Doo San said. " Hwoarang against Quim"
Hwoarang and Quim stepped into the middle of the room. They bowed to each other and got into their battle poses.
"Begin."
Quim, a natural aggressor rushed at Hwoarang as soon as the match began. Hwoarang blocked it and punched Quim in the chest. He stumbled, but regained his balance and rushed again. He threw a punch at Hwoarang's face, but he tilted his head to dodge it. Hwoarang kicked him in the stomach. The rest of the match passed on this way with Quim only getting one decent hit on Hwoarang, it was over pretty quickly.
"Hwoarang wins." Baek Doo San said.
That surprised nobody- Hwoarang was the top of the class.
"Next match…" Master Baek continued. "Vincent against Bailey."
Bailey was pretty good, but I was fairly certain that I could take him on. We both stepped in to the middle and bowed to each other. Then we got into our fighting poses.
"Begin." Master Baek said.
Bailey and I, both being the calculating type, circled each other and sized each other up for about ten seconds. Then, I ran at him and kicked for his stomach. He blocked it, grabbed my leg, and threw me to the floor. I got back up quickly and kept my distance. I went to punch for his face, but simultaneously tripped him. He fell on the ground and, before he could get up, I put my foot against his neck. Thinking I had him right where I wanted him I let my guard down. He used his leg to trip me and I fell on top of him. He pushed me off quickly and we both got up. We circled each other for a while until I decided to rush at him. I punched for his face, but kicked his stomach. He clutched his stomach, but recovered quickly. Before he had a chance to attack I punched him in the face and he fell down.
"Vincent wins." Baek said.
The rest of the matches went on and eventually it was down to Hwoarang, a student named Chris, an exchange student named Zack, and me.
" Hwoarang against Chris" Baek called out.
They stepped into the middle of the room, bowed, and prepared to fight.
"Begin."
Hwoarang punched for his gut and then kicked him in the stomach. Chris slowly got back up and ran towards Hwoarang, who sidestepped the attack and punched Chris in the stomach as he ran by. Chris kicked for his legs and tripped him. Hwoarang fell, but got up before Chris could hit him again. Chris punched at his face, but Hwoarang dodged it and gave Chris and uppercut on the chin. Chris went down.
"Hwoarang wins."
"Vincent against Zack."
I didn't know Zack that well. He was an exchange student that just got transferred to this dojo after his previous one went into bankruptcy. He had shoulder-length black hair and deep green eyes.
I stepped into the middle of the room with Zack and bowed, we went into our fighting stances.
"Begin."
Zack immediately rushed at me and punched me in the gut. Then, he kicked me in the stomach and I fell to the ground.
This guy is fast. I thought to myself as I was getting back up.
As soon as I got up, Zack was behind me. He kicked me straight onto the floor. I slowly tried to get up, but he put his foot on my back and pushed me to the ground as he gloated above me. I decided to make my move, and I tried to trip him. He fell to the ground. As I waited for him to get back up- trying to appear more mature than him by following the rules-he glared at me and for a second I thought I saw his eyes turn blood red. All of a sudden, he was up and right in front of me. He punched me in the chest and I went stumbling down. He jumped and landed on top of me.
Is this guy for real? I thought.
Then I saw him raise his fist in the air. No way! I was already down and he was going for a finishing blow! I prepared for the worst.
"Zack!" Master Baek yelled.
I opened my eyes. Master Baek was holding back Zack's fist.
"Zack! Explain you actions!" he said.
Zack looked straight at Baek and I saw his eyes turn orange again.
"Shut up, old man!" Zack said, and punched him in the chest.
Master Baek Doo San went flying against the wall. We all just stared as Baek got up and dusted himself off, then got into his fighting position.
"Zack! If you can't explain your actions then I'll have to incapacitate you."
Zack gave a devilish grin. "Call me Ogre." He said in a demonic voice.
Then a green lightning bolt struck down and there was an eruption of green steam. In Zack's place stood a 7-foot tall creature that looked slightly reptilian.
"Everybody run!" Baek said as he prepared to fight Ogre. "I'll deal with this."
We ran. As I stepped outside I saw a green troll-like being about 6 feet tall sprout from out of the ground. My first thought was to run.
No, I thought. I can't run. I became a fighter to protect my village. This is the time.
I got into my fighting stance and ran at the creature. I did a Roundhouse Kick at its head. I hit my target and the creature stumbled. I jumped in the air and kicked its chest. Then I tried to punch it in the face. This time, however, I missed and it grabbed my arm and dragged me to the ground. It was leaning over me and I saw that it had razor-sharp teeth. All of a sudden I saw it fly to the side.
"Get up, Vincent!" Hwaorang said.
I took his hand and got up. Apparently, the creature wasn't done yet. Hwaorang and I ran at it. I tried to trip it and he tried to kick its stomach. We both hit. Then I punched its face while Hwaorang kneed it in the stomach. Finally, it went down. Suddenly, a feeling of dread hit me.
"Hwaorang!" I shouted. "I have to go check on my mom!"
Hwaorang apparently heard me over the sound of the battle. "I'll check on Master Baek." He said.
We ran in opposite directions. As I neared my house I saw my mother open the door for me. She locked it as soon as I was in.
"Vince, what happened!? The raid started from the direction of the dojo!"
Trying to sort through my thoughts, I said. "I don't know Mom. I…I don't know."
"Vince," She said as she handed me a bag. "I want you to run. Run away."
"What!" I said. "Mom, we don't need to…"
"We're being raided, Vincent!" she yelled sharply.
That forced me to listen. She never yelled before.
"We're being raided. If we don't run, we could die." She said then picked up a bag herself. "Let's go!"
I followed her out the door. As soon as we opened it, one of the trolls burst into our house.
"Get behind me!" I yelled to my mom.
I jumped up and hit its chest. Then I tripped it and it fell.
"C'mon" I said to my mom as I stepped over the creature.
My mother went first, but as I ran out the troll grabbed my ankle and pulled me down.
"Go, mom!" I yelled. She looked grief-stricken, but she knew that I could take care of myself. She ran with a look of sorrow on her face.
I rounded on the troll. It ran at me, slashing with its nails as it passed me. I jumped on its back and slammed my fist onto its head. I jumped off of it and punched it in the stomach. Then, it balled up its hands into fists and punched me in the gut. I got the wind knocked out of me, but got back up and kicked its legs to trip it. When it fell, I continued running. My mom was nowhere to be seen. I ran as fast as I could and found myself facing Hwaorang.
"He's dead, Vincent…" Hwaorang said quietly.
"What?" I asked, not knowing what he was talking about.
His voice rose to a yell. "Baek Doo San is dead!" he shouted.
I froze. Our master. Master Baek was dead. I looked at Hwaorang.
"I'm not gonna let him get away with this!" Hwaorang said quietly, but with his voice filled with hate.
"Who?" I asked quietly.
He had resorted to screaming again. "Ogre! I'm going to kill him!"
Hwaorang ran straight through the entire battle. I couldn't see him anywhere. I ran to the dojo. I saw a few fights going on, but I ran right past them. The door to the dojo had been broken off its hinges and was lying on the ground. I ran inside…and saw Master Baek lying facedown on the ground. I walked over to his body.
Then, another troll tearing down the wall brought me back to my senses. In my rage, I ran toward it and kicked it twice in the stomach and uppercut-ed it in the chin. Before it had a chance to make a move I started swinging my fists wildly. I knew I was swinging blindly, but I didn't care. I was just so angry. I felt a leg cross in front of mine, but I didn't react in time and tripped onto the ground. The troll walked up to my body. All of a sudden, I felt so tired. Master Baek had told me that letting anger consume you was as good as swallowing an entire box of sleeping pills. I was feeling those consequences now. I watched as the troll laid it's hands down on my shoulder and then I blacked out.