Prologue
"Change back to the clothes you had on previously," he said and smiled. He had this weird gleam in his eye and I knew what he was going to say next, "It's time to begin your training."
The only thing that entered my mind was: Aw hell.
Chapter 5
"Since your right 'ended," Hatter said, standing a few feet across from me, "Angle your body so your right side faces me." I did as I was told, "Good. When fighting you have to make yourself a small target by keeping your side in a straight line and your chest at a 90 degree angle." He walked over to me and continued,
"For a strong stance, keep your feet firmly planted on the ground." He bent down and moved my feet so they were correctly placed. "It is important to bend your knees so you can move quickly and guard against a low kick that can permanently damage your knee." I followed his instructions.
"Your weight should be evenly distributed between the balls of both feet, for this can give you the advantage of speed in your movement. Whenever moving stay on the balls and move in a circular motion. Make sure both feet are on the ground before trying to execute a punch, block, or kick. Keep your steps close to the ground almost sliding your feet. Two fingers placed on the chest of a person in between steps can actually push someone off their feet and onto the floor."
He demonstrated this and knocked me to the ground hard on my butt. I got up and resumed the position I had been before.
"Make sure your hips are at a 90 degree angle," Hatter instructed, "It is very easy to allow your hips to turn forward which then causes the upper body to follow.
"Shoulders should be square over the hips and the back should be straight. Whenever fighting an opponent, try to keep your shoulders and head back. By leaning into the punch you leave your head wide open for a retaliatory strike as well as shifting your center of gravity, which gives your opponent an advantage. You may not feel your center of gravity has become off until your attacker has thrown a good punch or has time to grab your hand after you have executed one of your own. If your center is off, you could easily find yourself on your rear looking up at your opponent.
"Your head should be turned to face your opponent with your right fist up and just under your eye level. Your elbows are kept close to the body and the arm is in a parallel line with your side. By keeping this arm directly in front of and close to your side, you are effectively blocking hits to your side, rib cage, front and back. This arm placement will take a great deal of practice so you don't flap your elbows like a chicken every time you attempt a punch. While your right arm is defending your side, your left shouldn't just hang there. Bring it up in front of your body with the fist up around your chin. Your elbow is bent and also kept close to the body to protect your chest and abdomen areas. You are also set up to throw and affective reverse punch off the rear hand.
"Whenever you are fighting, remember the golden rules: keep only your side facing your opponent, keep your guard up at all times, arms and elbows close to your body and never forget you have two hands to fight and block with." Hatter finished and studied my stance, "Excellent, now for the violent part." He walked over to his desk and picked up two foam pieces.
"Keep these between your elbows and sides, while trying to punch me," he instructed.
"But what if they fall?" I asked. My answer was a slow punch to my side which I avoided and countered with my own, causing one of the foam things to fall.
"Twenty pushups," Hatter said.
"But why?"
"Because you let the foam fall to the ground," he said in that damn accent of his, "Now." Grumbling about how I was going to talk like an idiot like he does, I did twenty pushups. As soon as I replaced the foam thing under my elbow Hatter started attacking again. And every time the foam fell, I had to do twenty f-ing push-ups. I must've done at least 100, but pretty soon the foam fell less and less until not at all.
I'll never forget the moment that came next. Hatter swung at me, I dodged and swung back… and hit him in the gut. He went down like a rock. His face was so priceless, like one of those MasterCard commercials. I started laughing like crazy.
"Alright now that we've gotten your punch down," he said getting up, "let's work on your kicks."
For the next hour he demonstrated the basic kicks: a front kick, roundhouse kick, side kick, reverse side kick and a back kick. I followed his instructions until I successfully completed each kick.
"This is tiring," I groaned after I completed the last kick. Then out of NOWHERE he starts attacking me.
"Come on Avey," he taunted, "What are you scared?" I grew angry. I was tired and hungry and you don't mess with a girl when she's like that. I gave out a flurry of punches and kicks, then finally knocked him on the ground. I sat on top of him, pinning his arms with my knees, and prevented him from getting back up.
He looked up at me with a shocked look on his face, and I grinned smugly. But then that damn gleam was in his eyes again and I found myself pinned under him. He was on top of me, with one of his arms holding both of mine above my head. A blush rose in my cheeks and I prayed to God he would think it was just from exhaustion.
"You lose," he said simply, then got off of me. He was clearly as tired as I was, because he went straight to the couch on sat down, yawning and closing his eyes. I got up and flopped down next to him. We sat for a long time, the only sound coming from our breathing.
I must've fallen asleep because the next thing I knew I smelled something delicious. I opened one of my eyes to see Hatter in the same spot eating some kind of soup. Just then my stomach grumbled. He looked at me and laughed.
"Someone's hungry," he said.
"You wouldn't happen to have any more of that would you?" I asked. He got up and disappeared behind a brown door.
*in the series when that hobo guy brings Alice to Hatter, there's a brown down behind him when he's sitting on the chair with the headphones*
When he came out he had another bowl of soup, which he handed to me.
"How long was I asleep?" I asked after scarfing down half of the delicious soup.
"Bout thirty minutes," he replied. No wonder I was still tired that was clearly not enough time for me to rest and get some energy back. As if proving my point I yawned.
"Once you're done I'll show you were you will be sleeping," he said, noticing my sleepiness.
"Okay I'm done," I said putting the bowl down on the table. He got up and I followed him through the brown door, and into a kitchen looking room. I looked around while following him through yet another door that led to a room with a bed, a dresser and its own bathroom.
"Well 'ere you go," Hatter said, "If you need anything just ask." With that he left, closing the door behind him. The room was Hatter's… it smelled like him. I went into the bathroom and took a shower, rinsing all the sweat off my body. I got out, grabbed a towel and headed towards the dresser, but my reflection in the mirror caught my eye. I looked different somehow, and I couldn't figure it out. Then my eyes glanced over the necklace around my neck, and I had a sudden urge to hide it.
I ransacked the dresser and found a decent pair of shorts and an oversized sweatshirt. Then I looked, and found, a perfect place to hide my necklace so I wouldn't lose it in this dangerous and unknown world
I was so tired that as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was fast asleep.