Ivy made sure to wake before Bucky; she didn't want to repeat hitting his arm and nearly injuring her good hand.
Waking early did have its cons, though. One was that it was darker, and as she went to open the curtain and let a little bit of light in, she tripped over Bucky's sleeping figure. He opened one eye and scowled, then closed it again, sending a clear message that screamed, "Let me sleep!"
Ivy stopped dead in her tracks and went back to her bed; no way she would open the curtain and let him wake up completely. She wanted a pleasant lesson that day, not one with a tired, moody, and overall impatient teacher.
So with it settled that Ivy would not be going back to sleep and would not be leaving the comfort and safety of her bed, she nestled into her comforter and rested her arm atop her head. She bounced impatiently; she was never really one to sit still.
At last, he woke, and he had barely finished getting ready before she grabbed his hand and dragged him to the warehouse to practice.
"Have you figured out which grip you like better?" he asked her. The previous day, he'd shown her two different ways to hold the knife: a reverse grip and a forward grip. The forward grip was held more like a sword, while the reverse grip resembled the way one would hold the pole of a butter churn.
"Reverse," Ivy replied.
"Alright. I'll teach you reverse grips, then I'll teach you forward."
Bucky pulled out his own knife and held it in a reverse grip. "Do what I do. This is edge out, meaning the blade will be facing downwards and the sharp edge will be away from your body."
"Okay," Ivy uncertainly mimicked his stance and held the knife as he did. "Now what?"
"The advantages are that it is a secure grip, and that more power can be applied to the knife. Another is that you can defend yourself by bringing your forearm across your body and bending the knife so the blade faces the opposing force." He demonstrated, and again, Ivy attempted the handling.
"You're doing it right," Bucky said. "Try it a little more quickly. Block my arm." He gently swung his metal arm downwards, giving Ivy enough time to block it by holding her forearm above her head and tilting the knife so the blade faced upwards; if an enemy attacked, he would have been cut.
They continued the exercise a few more times, Bucky applying slightly more force with each swing. "Good," he said, nodding in approval. "Now, the issue with this and other reverse grips is that it is limited reach. You need to be at a closer range with your enemy to get any attacks in."
"And I'm smaller," Ivy stated.
"Yes. This is an especially large problem for you because you're smaller. You're smaller, you need to be quicker, you need to have longer reach, and the last two you have not accomplished yet."
"Okay, and I'm assuming I'll need to fix that before we get your jewels."
"Fix it as best you can; we don't have a long recess before we need to leave. I'll show you edge in, now. Flip your knife so the sharp end is facing you and the point is down. This is still a reverse grip."
Ivy winced as she did what she was told. "I don't know; it doesn't seem safe to me."
"No, and I wouldn't suggest it. It's better you learn, though, in case you want to attack in a clawing motion or more efficiently subdue enemies behind or beside."
"Oh, okay! I suppose that makes sense now."
"Yes. Now claw at my arm edge in."
"You're not a training dummy, Bucky," Ivy said with a scowl.
"My metal arm. It won't hurt unless I want it to."
"I could end up cutting the metal or a wire, and then we'd both end up useless."
"No. Nothing can pierce my arm; I've learned that from experience. Now, attack me."
Ivy was convinced to do so by the determination in her friend's voice. "God," she snarled. "I think I like edge out better."
Bucky chuckled. "I do too. Remember reverse grips are best for brute force and when you can get closer to your enemy without being hurt. I'll show you a forward grip."
So for the rest of the day, Bucky would show Ivy how to throw knives and how to hold the knives best for her stature. Ivy was a bit impatient to learn how to use a gun ("Why the hell are we using blades if guns are available?"), and Bucky would always respond on a line between patient and snappish ("Sometimes the enemy might be too close for a gun, Ivy, and the knives will give you an advantage in hand-to-hand combat").
Finally, Bucky decided it was time to show Ivy how to shoot. This later proved to be a terrible idea, because Ivy wasted half his bullets and hit the target not more than three times. Bucky scowled, but didn't dare to say anything until her fortieth or fiftieth shot.
"Well, at least you learned how to load a gun."
And with that, it was back to knives.
It was Craig who was next.
Laurie cried.
Nathaniel screamed.
Blaire stayed silent.
It could have been Oliver. It would have been Oliver; the boy saw the guard's eyes flicker to him, and Craig did too. Why else would he have gripped Oliver's arm and shoved him back into the wall? Oliver watched from his spot in the corner, wide-eyed as he relived the death of Katya, the death of Peter...
...the death of Craig...
Oliver felt comatose after the needle pierced Craig's arm. All he could do from there was curl into a ball an whimper. Over and over he watched as the guards dragged him away in silence, as his mouth hung limply open, as his eyes stared into nothing.
But it wasn't Craig he kept seeing.
It was himself.
Ugh. Filler chapter. Talk about writers block.
THE AOU TRAILER OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOOFJODOFJA;WEK