Chapter 2 - Friendship
Hez and Aj barely stood a people cheered. The final bell had rung and the fighting stopped. Hez was leaning back to avoid a hook kick as Tababa's foot arched through when he whipped his hip forcing his leg to swing hard in a hooking form. Hez had blood running from the corner of his lip and his nose with more scratched on and bruises on his chest and arms. Aj's left eye began to blacken and his body was covered in just as many scrapes and bruises. They could barely hear a word and their hearts were still racing. It wasn't until Mr. Nichols raised Hez's arms and tied a black belt around his waist that they realized they passed. He did the same for Aj and seconds later, all of the black belts grouped together for a massive hug and cheers of praise. They bowed before stepping through the door and were instantly engulfed by family.
Hez's father was darker than him in complexion but muscular and wide. His arms were covered in tattoos with an angel on the left side of his neck, reaching for his ear. He grabbed his son for a hug before letting him and Aj stumble into the basement followed by black belts. When they reached the bottom they both dropped onto the mat and let out a sigh of relief.
The other started to pile in and sit in various corners of the room. Katrina playfully stepped over Hez and sat beside him while Arianna sat on a stack of boards next to Aj. The room filled with the smell of sweat and humidity from the perspiration of everyone's body. Mr. Nichols, Tababa, Salamat and Danny quickly ran through and charged into their separate locker room. They came out almost as fast as they went in full eyes dressed.
"I'm proud of you two," Tababa stated as he looked down as the exhausted new editions to be black belt ranks.
"You guys held your own out there and never quit, never thought you would make it this far." Danny said before heading upstairs.
"My mentee made me proud," Salamat said as he sat on the bench. Neil and NC got up to go change as well after simply raising their fists to Aj and Hez. They knew it meant they were proud. As NC and Neil exited the locker room, Hez and Aj finally stood to change. Katrina was out before Hez could finish. He was shirtless and struggling to lift his shirt over his arms. She noticed the heavy bruising and thought damn, he took a real beating.
"Need some help?" She asked as he managed to slip the shirt on. The two smiled at each other and she noticed there was still blood in the corner of his mouth. She pulled her workout towel from her bag and stepped closer. "You know, you look good all battle scarred but a lot better without the blood and bruising." Katrina joked as she wiped the blood from his mouth.
"I'll keep that in mind." was all he could say as his mind went blank. As Katrina exited the basement Aj nudged Hez and raised his eyebrows. "Don't even start." Aj just chuckled to himself. The Balourchi sisters were the next to come out of the locker room. Arianna hugged the two, Aj a bit longer and tighter than Hez while Donna smiled and congratulated them. The team sat in the parking lot pondering how I celebrate. Salamat sat on the roof of his car while Aj and Hez leaned on Aj's SUV. Donna, Arianna and Katrina sat inside Arianna car with the doors open. Neil and NC sat on the back on Neil's car.
"So, black belts, where do you guys wunna go to celebrate?" Neil asked.
"It's getting late so let's try to not go somewhere far, did you guys hear about the attacks yesterday?" Arianna asked.
"Damn more? I thought the police would've been all over this by now." Hez replied.
"I mean we could all go home, shower and chill at my place," Neil offered.
"That sounds dope, I'm game," Aj replied.
"I'm down for it," Hez said.
"We're in," Donna spoke for the girls.
"Then it's settled, see you guys soon." Neil said as he and NC slid into his car. He drop a silver Nissan Altima. Donna, Arianna and Katrina closed the doors to Arianna's black Honda Civic. As she started her six cylinder engine the machine roared to life. Brain hopped into his Nissan Rogue, pushing a button to start his engine. Aj and Hez climbed into Aj's Ford Explorer before they all left the dojo.
Hez entered his home and was met by a large canine. The tiger stripe American bulldog pitbull mixture jumped onto his best friend and wagged his tail while attempting to gnaw at his arm. "Down Tyger I gotta shower I smell like death."
"Look like you almost died out there," his father joked.
"I mean to be fair, it was like mad rounds of sparring guys who have almost double the time I do doing this." Hez replied.
"Whatever helps you sleep at night," his father said sarcastically. As Hez walked to his room to drop his gear bag he noticed his phone had a message from a group chat. It read, "congrats guys, sorry couldn't make it had to work a double." From their friend Enzo. He smiled and replied with a thank you. He received a text from Aj stating he was bringing Ren. Another friend and black belt who couldn't make it due to school. Hez jumped in the shower before before starting his daily ritual of putting on the first thing he could find. This time it was a pain of high top Adidas sneakers, black cargo pants and a black v neck shirt under a black and white patterned button up. He grabbed his black leather jacket and looked to his dog who was watching him from the bed in the corner of the room.
"What? Too much black?" He asked his dog jokingly. He pet the large canine before grabbing his keys before running down the stairs and out the door. He clicked a button to unlock his black jeep before stepping in. His father waved him off from the front door as he backed out of a driveway and started down the road.
When he arrived to Neil and NC'S two floor home he noticed Aj and Ren on the front steps. He walked up and clasped hands with Aj then met Ren'a fist facing up with his own as they both motioned in an uppercut. "You guys really have a special fist bump," Katrina asked from the doorway with her face in her left palm. The two shrugged with smiles before entering. Hez couldn't help but smirk when he heard her utter, "dorks," under her breathe. He looked over his shoulder and caught her grinning.
"Hey guys!" Arianna practically yelled as she hugged Aj into a tight embrace before hugging Hez. Donna was sitting besides Salamat while Neil and NC played just dance and were tied neck and neck. They waved their arms and swayed their hips to mimic the movement on the screen.
"I'm not doing that," Hez said before sitting on the farthest couch.
"I second that motion," Aj said before sitting on the couch across from Hez. The couched was a deep red leather that matched the red rug in an otherwise completely white room from drapes to center table. Katrina say besides Hez and before he looked at her he cut his eyes to Aj who was already grinning. Hez motioned his head to Arianna, whose head was now on Aj's shoulder as she leaned back against him and his grin twisted into a deep scowl. As the game ended, Neil raised his hands in victory as NC lost by only one score of, "good," to Neil's, "perfect." He hung his head in defeat as Neil turned.
"So what's the plan for tonight guys?" He asked.
"Let's get swifty!" Salamat yelled as he raised his beer bottle. Donna and Arianna seconded the motion which caused Hez and Aj to slap their foreheads with their palms. Katrina giggles to herself as Ren also went along with the idea.
"Convo! Transform and roll out!" NC shouted while laughing to himself. As everyone reached for their coats Katrina thought to herself, I'm surrounded by dorks. Hez noticed Katrina had on her sky blue skinny jeans and pink t shirt that was usually too big for her unless she tied it in a knot behind her. He watched as she put on her black puffer coat and caught all the blood rushing to his cheeks. Aj grabbed his red hoodie to cover his red t shirt that read, "Train hard," on the front. The shirt matched his red and white converse sneakers. NC wore a blue t shirt and blue hoodie to match. Neil wore black skinny jeans and a black button up that had the top three buttons open, exposing his muscular chest. Salamat wore a green pull over cardigan with three buttons at the top and a high collar. His jeans almost could be mistaken for slacks. Danna wore a yellow and white patterned button up shirt that almost seemed too big for her along with navy blue skin jeans and high top Jordan's in yellow and black.
"Wait, who's riding with who?" Hez asked which stopped the motion of everyone grabbing their coats. Katrina tapped his shoulder before leaning on it. Hez sighed internally without even having to look in Aj's direction. Aj agreed to take Ren, NC and Neil under a bit of persuasion. As they exited the house, Hez noticed a shadow moving between the cars. "You guys just see that?"
"See what? NC asked before he also noticed a shadow shifting between the vehicles.
"Something don't feel right," Aj said as they group bunched together. They each tensed up, clenching their fists. Their eyes shifted between the cars as more and more shadows shifted in the dim light as the sun began to set.
"Shit," Ren said, "we're surrounded." Just as he finished speaking multiple figures charged out, forming a circle around them. They almost looked like people but with jagged features.
"Is it me or do they look like… rock people?" Arianna said as she looked at them closely. The strange creatures surged forward, closing the gap in distance and the team dispersed into different directions to combat their attackers. Katrina ducked a punch and spun to her left as she stood back up, extending her leg and pulling her hip through to hook kick the being. The force of the kick caused the being to flip over, landing on its back and crumbling to rubble.
"That's definitely not suppose to happen." KAtrina said as she had to quickly bring up her forearm to block an elbow strike to her face. She grabbed the being behind the neck and pulled its face down as she drove her knee upwards. She felt the hard rock of its body but kept her knee pumped up before shifting her hips and shooting a side kick into its chest and watching as it crashed to the ground and becoming rubble. Ren blocked a punch and parried a kick as he back peddled. He shot forward a punch that was blocked but rotated his fit upwards to land a back fist. He then kicked the other attacker with a low side kick to the knee, causing the knee to crumble and the being to fall to a knee. He drove his knee into its face and extended his leg backwards to land a back kick into the chest of the other still stumbling from the backfist. Ren noticed he felt as if he was hitting pure rock before seeing the crumbled remains of the being. He felt a presence behind him and rolled forward, evading a roundhouse kick. As he stood on a knee, Hez stepped off his shoulder and flew through the air, landing a flying side kick.
"Looks like you need a hand bro," Hez said in a playful manner. Ren knew how much Hez enjoyed to fight but he knew he must also still be in great pain. Ren stood back to back with Hez as they became surrounded. Hez paired a punch into his elbow, smashing the attacking fist before he gripped the wrist and pulled the attacker into an elbow strike to the face. A rock creature tried to tackle Hez but he backed himself into the car while attempting to sprawl. He drove his knee into the chest and elbow into its back repeatedly as he saw others coming. Ren landed a spinning hook kick on an attacker but was too far behind the oncoming assailants to help Hez. Hez could feel his ribs still in pain but lowered his hips and popped them upwards as he lifted the being up and drove it into the ground. Hez rolled onto his back to avoid a stomp and kicked the knee out of the second attacker. Ren caught the attention of the first attacker by throwing a rock at it. Hez too that opportunity to stand to his feet and rotate his hip while swinging his leg into the face of the being, destroying its head completely.
"We gotten end this, like now." Ren said as he noticed more coming and the others still battling. He looked to Hez who only smirked as he nodded and the two charged into the fold.