A/N- Still round, still writing; just a bit slower now days with more stuff on.
Keep your eyes peeled for more stuff coming out when it is ready and the conclusions to a couple more stories I've got going elsewhere.
-Grey.
Having changed into shorts, singlets and trainers, the two boys entered the weights room slowly and without much enthusiasm. A single other gym goer left via the rear door opposite them as they came in.
Double checking the knots on his trainers, Alex tried to inject some motivation into their workout.
"A light session this morning will be just the ticket I reckon Hex," He advised his friend.
There was little disagreement on the others behalf.
"Max pressups, some lunges, chinups, squats, crunches and finish with a benchpress?" Hex suggested, a heavy workout for some, but light compared to what the pair usually undertook.
"Sounds good mate," Alex agreed and they begun.
To be in Alpha Force meant to be fit, it also meant to be competitive.
The pair were good gym buddies in that sense; while not overly vocal for each other in support, they both felt the need to out do the others effort.
This lead to some serious competition in the various exercises, all in good fun of course though!
Hex remained reigning champion of the press-ups and it was understandable with his considerably bulkier chest.
Lunges was a close contest but Alex finally scraped the win, his rangy legs just having one more spring then his opponents.
The chin-up comp was taken out by the large hacker who managed an impressive 15 to top Alex's 13 and beating his personal best. No one was yet to beat Li's 16, a highly uncommon display of upper body strength for a female, but as Hex fairly pointed out; she weighed half as much as he did.
Squats they called a draw since neither were able to get back up after they lost count, matching each other one for one. Alex was quite disappointed.
Crunches went to Alex with his superior abdominals, Hex was simply too fond of eating Doritos while on the computer to ever really challenge him there. He had always struggled with abdominal workouts and had never really had chiseled Abs like some guys did.
It finally came down to the bench, but here Alex knew he stood no chance. His wiry physique couldn't hold a match against the heavier built local. Instead it became a contest of personal best and he was happy with his effort when it came time for Hex to lie down on the bench.
Hex was impressive in his form and slowly lifted the heavy bar, stacked with weight off of its cradle above his shoulders before bearing it aloft over his upwards facing chest. With a deep breath and focusing on a small spot on the ceiling, he slowly lowered the bar to his chest in a controlled fashion. Then with a slow breath out, he pushed up with his arms and raised the hefty weight back to the full extension of his arms.
He repeated this routine eight times with bar while Alex stood at his head end, spotting him in case he came into difficulty. Gradually increasing the weight in five kilo increments, Alex eyed the two simple vertical bars that supported the resting weight bar with apprehension.
They creaked in a concerning manner with only the slightest movement, but Hex reassured him that things were fine.
"They can hold it, there are a couple of guys here that go a bit heavier then me and it manages fine." He shrugged, before rowing his powerful arms in circles to stretch them out.
"I usually can't test my bench too much, no spotter." Hex gruffly confessed.
"Thanks Alex," He grunted, lying down on his back once more to try and lift just over his body weight.
"You're welcome brother, it is quite a load you have on the bar here," Alex smiled good naturedly.
"Yep, last one." Hex growled, before setting his eyes again and focusing on the lift.
With a groan of exertion, he pushed the metal bar off its supports. With shaking arms he dropped the bar into a slow descent, pausing just before his chest. Air escaped Hex's lungs in a loud hiss as he pushed with all his might to force the bar back up.
"Off," He coughed with his last ounce of breath, the signal for Alex to help take the weight and return the bar back onto its supports.
Alex instantly complied and helped him guide it back onto its two supporting poles when he heard it.
A loud snap and the harsh shear of metal on metal.
Suddenly the laden bar was dropping in his hands right back down towards Hex's chest again.
Alex leaped forward to take the weight and found himself staring down into his friend's wide frightened gaze. Hex was panting and pushing with all his might once more, but his energy was all but spent.
The bar dropped another few inches dangerously closer to Hex's throat.
Blood pounded loudly in Hex's ears and he felt a tremendous pressure at the back of his eyes.
"Aa…Llllexx" He managed to plead in a groan.
The teen standing above was already trying his hardest too though; Alex's already fatigued biceps were screaming with pain at the massive strain upon them. Blood ran down the one remaining supporting pole where it cut into the side of his chest with a sharp edge.
It was all Alex could do to try and keep his feet on the ground with the massive weight pressing down and forward on his arms.
"Hex.." He pressed through gritted teeth.
"I can hold this maybe half a second max," He puffed out in one long breath, desperately trying to prevent the bar falling any further.
Hex's face was going purple with effort but he met his friend's gaze for the fraction of a second and could see the truth in his eyes.
"On three, you push up for your life and try pull your head out." Alex whispered in instruction.
Hex gave the slightest of nods; he could spare no more energy away from his arms.
Alex counted quickly.
"One."
"Two."
"Three!" He yelled the last number and wrenched back with all his might.
At the same time Hex gave an almighty roar and pushed up, like Atlas supporting the sky. The bar rose a full six inches and in that respite, Hex slid out from underneath it.
With his friend clear, Alex let go of the tremendous weight, leaving it to crash back down onto the weight bench.
The whole padded bench gave out from the extraordinary impact and the padded wooden plank shattered on impact, the supporting metal bending down to accommodate the sudden new weight.
The two surviving teens sat on the ground in the abandoned weight room, wheezing from exhaustion just staring at the destroyed weights bench. One of the supporting arms had snapped and caused the accident, Alex's blood still ran slowly down the remaining one.
The front door to the weights room caved in from a stout shove and a short nugget of a man barged his way in, looking startled. He was approaching middle age and had the look of a man who had once held great strength and fitness, but had now deigned to watch physical activity rather then participate in it. Alex reasoned, judging by the slight paunch, he probably did so with at least a couple of beers and a packet of crisps.
"What the hell was all that noise about, Johnson?" He demanded, the whistle around his neck still swinging from his brisk entrance.
The boys suddenly became aware of how noisy their recent struggle must have been, especially the coup de grace.
"Mr Bruce, sir." Hex croaked in greeting and pointed at the broken bench press station.
"Holy shit," The teacher slowly swore, taking in the scene that confronted him.
"The weights bench just gave out," Alex managed to puff out, clasping a hand to his chest where one of the jagged edges of a fractured support beam had gouged him.
His hand was wet with blood and he had left a small trail from the broken bench to where he now sat on the ground. Every breath in stung.
The teacher approached them slowly as if unsure if it was safe to come close.
"How bad is it son?" He gestured to Alex's chest.
"Hurts a bit sir, but I'm not going to bleed to death." Alex gritted, accepting a towel from Hex to help stem the bleeding.
"And you are alright Johnson?" He barked with what almost looked like concern at Hex.
"Well I don't feel the need to hit the gym for a while," Hex quipped with a queasy smile, his arms shook violently as he pushed off the ground to get up. He offered a hand down to Alex and helped hoist him up by his good side.
"Best get across to the nurse. Now, both of you." The gruff Physical education teacher ordered, leaving no room for argument.
The pair of shaken teens required little encouragement and quietly clutched up their belongings from the changing room and meandered off to see the school nurse.
The nurses office was an old dental clinic situated by itself backing onto the car park, which conveniently gave it easy access by ambulance. As the pair made their way over they finally started to talk again.
"What the hell happened back there?" Hex asked his friend in astonishment.
"It looked like one of the supporting arms that hold the bar at rest snapped." Alex explained, trying to remember what he had seen, it had all happened so fast.
"Is that the most weight that bench has taken?" He double checked.
"No where near," Hex chuckled dryly, "You should see what some of the muscle bound monkeys from the first fifteen rugby team throw on there!"
"Hmmm so why did it give way now then?" Alex mused, as they reached the door.
Hex held it open for his friend and the pair went in and took a seat in the waiting room.
The nurse appeared almost instantly. She was a plump, middle-aged woman with dark curly locks and a kind motherly face.
"Mr Bruce called ahead and told me what happened," She explained, ushering them into the exam room.
"I'm the school nurse Cassandra," she introduced herself to Alex who, she hadn't previously met.
"I'm Alex," He returned the introduction, removing his shirt and gestured to Hex.
"And this is.."
The nurse laughed at him, it wasn't an unkind laugh, quite the opposite, friendly in fact.
"Oh I know Hex alright," She chuckled and Hex actually blushed.
Alex was a little surprised by that, it was a pretty big school and he didn't think his school nurse back home knew who he was.
"It's not often he comes in here with a friend either, usually it is another… adversary." Cassandra settled on, choosing carefully the right way to word it.
"I've got into a scrape or two," Hex mumbled darkly, shrugging it off.
"Oh really?" Alex inquired curiously, wincing as the nurse dabbed his wound with something that stung.
"Never had to fight the same guy twice though," Hex growled, looking decidedly like he wanted to change the subject.
Alex eyed his friend sympathetically; he hadn't known that school had been so difficult for Hex at times.
The nurse skilfully closed Alex's laceration with some surgical strips and applied a dressing over top of it, leaving him with the instructions to come back and have it changed in three days.
Having thanked her profusely, the pair sought to leave the clinic, but Hex was stopped by the nurse once more.
"You've got little bits of glass all over your face, Hex. Sit down and I'll get them out." She scolded him.
Alex hid a smile behind a fist and took a seat in the spare chair. "Don't worry Hex I'll wait for you to clean your face." He chirped.
Hex scowled at being babied by the nurse, but complied; sitting down on the side of the bed and throwing his bag, with his jacket on top, up beside him.
The nurse quickly got to work but on her first lean in paused, took a big sniff and stepped back. With a wrinkled nose she located the source of the smell and lifted his jacket to her face. The unmistakeable scent of alcohol assaulted her and she couldn't help but notice the tiny fragments of glass embedded in the weave of his old jacket.
"Have you been drinking this morning, Hex?" She sharply accused him, her sympathy quickly turning to anger.
"What? No! No! Hell No!" Hex vigorously denied, shaking his head as if to reinforce his point.
Alex leaped to his rescue.
"He was binning a half empty bottle someone left on the tube today and it pretty much exploded in his hand the instant he picked it up." The quick thinking leader lied.
The nurse gave them both a scrutinising look for a few moments before her expression softened.
"Of course, I believe you." She slowly conceded, "The Hex I know would never do something so foolish."
"I dunno, he can be pretty foolish," Li piped up from the doorway.
"And there was that party at Paulo's that one time…" Alex alluded in amusement, watching his friend simmer.
"Well, Li I can recall a couple of things that you did that night after a few tequilas that you might not want reminding of." Hex bit back, trying not to smile as the nurse pretended to be deaf and removed the last few fragments of glass.
"Like she needs reminding, Paulo hasn't stopped mentioning it at every opportunity since." Alex added with a full blown grin.
"Coach Bruce sent me over to see how you were doing, but you guys must both be alright if you are still able to give me shit." Li diagnosed, hiding her embarrassment well. It wasn't a simple welfare check that brought her to find the boys though.
"Even on my death bed I will still be giving you a hard time about your singstar performance." Hex assured her.
"And will you and Amber be sharing that bed, like you did out at the ranch?" Li shot back, fast as a whip.
"Okay that should be about the last of it!" The nurse announced loudly, partly so she didn't have to hear anymore idle teen gossip.
"Thank you and Good," Li called back to her dragging the two boys back out into the waiting room.
"Because there is something you both urgently need to see." She ominously finished.
Blowing off the rest of second period, the trio quickly found an empty classroom.
"Even the rugby hooligans are talking about it." Li told the pair, as she fired up her IPad and crossed to one of the local news websites.
In a big scrolling banner at the top of the page, news highlights played.
One read 'Further civil unrest in Solambia'.
But the one that caught everyone's attention was the one that cut much closer to home.
'Breaking News! One dead, two injured on London Underground. Police seeking suspects'.
"Oh Shit!" Hex summed things up pretty well.