6 Luke

"Again!" the Instructor called from where he stood on the sidelines. I was barely on my feet and my vision had barely cleared before I felt his foot enter my side, sending me into a stagger. This time, I managed to keep my footing. Improvement if there was any. I shook my head, trying to force the blur of the room out of my eyes. Soon enough, I could make out Zihe standing in front of me. 14 years old, big, mean, my usual opponent; I don't know what kind of retard put us in the same weight group, but judging by the encouraging calls of "Good form, Zihe!", "Catch him off guard!" from the instructor, I more or less had a good idea.

He rushed. I didn't have the time I needed to decide how to react and settled for stepping to the side. It worked well enough and he was forced to halt his advance. I took the brief pause and before I knew it, I had my arms around his waist, trying to push him back. It was the dumbest thing I could have done. Anyone with eyes could see that and the laughs from the crowd proved as much. I'm not beating him by matching him. I have to be smarter. Quicker. There was no time to be smarter. Or quicker for that matter. He grabbed me by the shoulders and shoved me back to the point where I near tripped over myself, but once again, managed not to fall. I didn't last long, however. He charged, and this time, he brought me to the ground.

He was on top of me now and I knew how it went from here. While I brought my arms up to defend my face, I already started thinking about the infirmary. I've had my fair share of visits there. The only relief was the nurse who was one of the few half-decent people in this damned military district.

The first of his punches came. The huge idiot was predictable. He went for the face first, but only found my forearms, blocking my face from one hell of a disfiguration. All my time in this ring and if I was a champion in anything, it was telling the time. Matches were 1 and a half minutes in length. I imagine it took him maybe a good 30 seconds to bring me to the ground. Did I have it in me to block his onslaught for another minute? His second punch answered that question, breaking my defense. 53 seconds left. I forgot all about time when his left hook made contact with the side of my head. My vision became a blur, but somehow, the bell sounded. Over already?

"Again! Zihe! There are more valuable locations than the face. If you're toe to toe with an enemy in unarmed combat in the heat of battle, you won't have time to kill your foe. You must ensure he may never fight again. Go for his vital limbs this time. May I recommend the legs?"

"Yes, Coach! Sorry Coach!"

I couldn't help but smile at the pure ridiculousness of the situation. "Any advice for me, coach?" I asked between coughs as I rose to my feet.

I didn't need my vision to see the cold stare he gave me.

The bell sounded, and my vision wasn't back yet. 1 minute and 30 seconds. Thank spirits it wasn't the coach who held the bell.

This time, I didn't dare stand still. I moved. I hopped from leg to leg. Right then left then right, forward, there was no pattern to it. I kept moving until maybe I could make out where the hell he was in my vision. When I could finally make out where he was, it was nearly too late. He went for a grapple, but I dodged to the right. Unfortunately, I had dodged to the right a few more times than I should have and hit the ropes of the ring. He swung at my head, but I ducked. There was a small gap between his vessel of a body and the ropes. I dodged under it, escaping his attempted grapple. I was behind him and the cruiser of a teenager hadn't yet turned around. I would consider it a victory if I could get a single hit at him.

I felt that same anger I felt every day here rise inside of me. I focused it all on that one arm and swung at his side, fists clenched. My knuckles made contact with his bare side and judging by the way he shifted to the side and the grunt that came out of his mouth, I knew that, at least in my point of view, I could consider the day a victory. That was the first time I had landed a hit on him. I didn't get the chance to savor the victory. I could see the backhand for a fraction of a second before it took me in my head and off of my legs. I fell against the rope, leaning against it. He took the coach's advice. He kicked at my right leg. Luckily for me, it was a bit below the knee. I didn't break, but I could hardly tell through the pain. I fell to my knees, my body still hugging the rope.

He punched at my face. It landed. My head swung back so severely I could see the crowd behind me. Suddenly, I felt his weight shift. I felt two arms grab my right arm. One at the shoulder, one at the forearm. No. Before he could break the bones inside of me, I swung with my left arm, focusing that same rage that had served before. It landed straight on his right ear, sending him backwards. I managed to slip my arm out of his grasp until, with a speed unbefitting of him, he tackled me to the ground and promptly placed both hands around my neck. "You little fuck!" he yelled through the blood in his mouth.

This time, my vision wasn't blurring the way it normally did all at once. It was more gradual and was actually blackening. I knew I was about to pass out. The only thing that stood between me and a much-needed nap was the bell. It sounded, but it took the third sounding of the bell to get him off of me.

I lay flat on my back in the middle of the ring as Zihe stalked off to his corner for a nice drink of water and moral encouragement. I coughed, trying for whatever air I could take in, spitting out blood that promptly came back down, spattering over my face.

I was still on my back when the coach yelled "Again! Hide, take a break. Dazni, get in there! Luke, you're staying." What the actual fuck.

"No sir!" I heard a voice call from the sidelines. From where I lay on my back, I looked over to where the voice had come from. In the seats, stood Dazni, shaking his head. "He's had enough, sir!"

For the first time in the session, the coach turned away from me where I was getting my ass handed to me and turned towards Dazni, the tall, brown haired boy in the stand. Despite being one of the more fit of the class, he was rather humble about it and not a complete dick, a surprise to be sure in this school, but a welcome one. While the yelling ensued, I stood up, slowly albeit.

"Do you have a problem, Dazni?"

"I won't fight him."

"And why's that? Lost your nerve already?"

"He's had enough!"

"I will decide when he's had enough! At least Luke doesn't bitch when life isn't going the way he wants!"

At this point, I was leaning against the rope, drinking from a bottle of water I had left sitting by the corner. More of the contents of the water was blood at this point, but when it came down mixed with the water, it was hard to tell the difference. If I could make the words come out, maybe I would bitch. Still, it was the closest to a compliment I had received today. I took it for what it was worth. As little as that was.

"Luke!" I had his voice shout at me. "You up for another?"

I was an idiot to think it would end there. I gave him a thumbs up as I took another drink from the bottle. I couldn't speak. My eyes were swollen and couldn't even really see where he was in the first place. I could've been talking straight to Zihe for all I knew.

"Hmm. Maybe you have had enough. You're dismissed for the day. Report to the infirmary. I'll see you next class."

I didn't really remember much of what came afterwards. I knew I left the dojo and at some point, in the hallways, I decided not to go to the infirmary, but just head to my dorm. I had no intention of more talking or social contact today. I just know that I closed the door behind me and woke up a few hours later on the cold steel floor.

My head was pounding, and my entire body was sore. Some of the cuts had already scabbed over. The bleeding had stopped, but dried blood could be found on the steel floor. I'll clean that later. I only realized then I had left my bottle at the dojo. They must have thrown it away by now. Damnit! My left eye was still closed and had to pry it open with my left hand to clean the sleep out of it with my right. My throat was dry and could barely cough. I tried to stand but failed miserably and just fell to the steel floor with a loud clank.

I had an exam today. Or maybe tomorrow. I didn't know what time it was. Had I already slept through the night? I Made a second attempt to stand, this time using my bed for support. I managed to get myself up to a stand of sorts, left arm resting on the door with the other on the bed. I looked back to the floor where I had been lying, and judging by the blood, maybe it would have been a good idea to go to the infirmary. It was too late for that now. I saw the sun outside. It was going to be a busy day. On the bright side, today wouldn't require sitting in class. Today was a war game. When the clock struck 8, the exam began. 60 ten-minute periods of constant planning. That's what the military tactics class was. We'd be presented with scenarios and the goal was to formulate strategies with available resources to overcome these obstacles.

Quizzes would be shorter. Just an hour with 6 ten-minute periods. We'd be given an event ranging from enemy raids to natural disasters. We'd have ten minutes to draft a plan on how to counter and overcome these difficulties while still progressing towards an ultimate goal of victory over the enemy force. If your force was defeated, it was a failure for the exam. If you failed to meet your objective by the end of the hour, you failed. Passing required absolute victory. The quizzes we got all at once were easy. There were right answers. If the enemy attacks you while your men are busy cooking a meal, obviously, you order them to stop eating. You order your scouts and guards to stall the enemy while your main force equips until they're ready to face the enemy. It was the specifics that were the hard part. Accounting for the details. Maybe you forgot to mention the komodo rhinos. For missing a detail, the next report will show how the fighting startled them, starting a stampede that killed 15 of your men. Most students in my class would finish a report in 3 minutes and fuck around for the over 7. They'd do the same thing today.

I washed my face in the shared bathroom between my dorm and another. The room next to mine was empty. Had been for a while by the looks of it. I looked inside. It hadn't even been cleaned. It looked like it had been cleared by someone in a rush. Belongings quickly picked up in a hurry. I usually kept the door to that room closed. The dust had a way of messing with my nose. I grabbed the washcloth that would generally belong to my neighbor and used it to wash the blood on my face and neck. The water in my basin was already bloody so I turned to my "neighbors" which I always made sure to refill as well. I used that clean water to wash the rest of my body before using the last bit of clean water to wash and dry the floor.

I hadn't exactly slept well on that steel floor, but it would have to do. I looked outside. I used to be able to tell the time of the day by looking at the shadow of the wall, but now, it was so far away I could barely make out the outer wall. I was just a gray haze in the distance. Still, the skills applied to the inner wall, to which I turned my focus. It was already past 8. The test began at 9.

I changed clothes, throwing my blood and sweat soaked shirt and shorts to the corner in the bathroom. I changed into the military school uniform, the uncomfortable vest, gauntlets, all of it. When I had first seen it, I knew it more or less resembled the armor of the soldiers. I had seen enough of them to notice the similarities. It didn't matter. While I broke fast in the mess hall where only a few other students I recognized from my class ate, I began thinking over what we'd get. The quizzes we took as a class were fine. It was the personal exams we took that I failed. There, there weren't any right answers. There, the teacher could throw whatever bullshit she deemed fit my way. I've found myself facing thousands more soldiers than my reports stated. I've had volcanoes go off behind my camp. I've had all my men defect in the first 20 minutes because of "bad leadership style." And when it came to the war games, it was the same teacher who determined how well we did. I would be pitted against another student and it didn't matter who. Whoever I found myself facing, I'd be the target, the one she hated most.

I couldn't give her leeway. I couldn't miss any details. I had to have a perfect knowledge of my surroundings. Send scouts not just once, but twice to analyze what might be considered a basic factor just to ensure I couldn't be screwed over. I walked over to the class after breakfast. A few other students were in the class, discussing the exam. I pushed past them up to the main desk. I shifted through some of the few files that remained and found the one with my name listed on it. I was the only one without any last name, a fact the students were sure to remind me of on a daily basis. I've heard jokes about my dad running the second I was born, my mother killing herself because I was so ugly, all manners of juvenile creativity. When everybody had gathered in the classroom, files in hand, we waited by the door until that bell rang.

I think I was the only one to take it seriously, probably because I wasn't just being pitted against another student, but a teacher who hated me as well. I closed to door to my dorm behind me, locking it. I unsealed the file, pouring its contents out on the desk in front of me. I still felt filthy from the night before but didn't let it bother me. There were more important things to worry about. I found the preliminary report and read through it.

"Your force of 2,500 men are located in the Taizhou region of the Earth Kingdom along the Da Xijiang river. Your scouts have spotted a force of 4,000 Earth Kingdom soldiers encamped to the north in a series of hills. They appear to be unaware of your presence. Your current surroundings are plains with a river to the east. Your Objective is to drive the Earth Kingdom from the hills by whatever means necessary."

Along with the prompt came a map. I already knew where Taizhou was, but looked at it to see just where on the river I was. I looked over the rubric. It changed for everybody depending on the assignment. Maximum points would be awarded for total annihilation of the enemy. I was surprised I was given the role of the Fire Nation. Whenever I went up against another student, I was usually the Earth Kingdom. Guess the teacher lost the coin toss. If anything, that put me at a disadvantage this time around. Attacking Earth Benders fortified in the hills was suicide. I looked over what manpower I had available to me. I had 7 scout divisions, 25 battalions of soldiers all divided into 10 squadrons each. I only had 5 squads of firebenders which meant 50 firebenders. I did have 10 battalions of swordsmen, 10 of swordsmen, and 5 of archers, but I had no tanks. I drafted my first reports. I ordered one scout division to go east, 2 to go south, 2 west, and 2 north. I ordered a restock of supplies and that all men equip for battle. This would reduce morale but improve battle readiness in case of surprise attack. I wanted to take note of one thing before I made any decisions. The restock would take 30 minutes and the scouts an hour each. I left my dorm and brought the first report to the classroom. I wasn't the first there. I already saw some sealed reports on the desk. I felt worse for the teacher who would have to read through each report and write events and scout reports, and quartermaster counts and all of it, but she was somewhat of a bitch, so I didn't feel too bad.

I got my quartermaster report back first 30 minutes later after ordering my men to prepare to march. I did have no tanks, but I had 3 coal powered troop transports. Perfect. I ordered my men to begin assembling into these ferries. I did the calculations based on distance and size of the transports. To transport all men across would take 4 hours. I couldn't spare that. I ordered a quarter of my men to begin assembling into the boats. They would be done shortly after the first scout report came back and I could decide if I wanted to dedicate more men to the east.

I submitted the report. I checked the clock in her room before leaving. I was still on-schedule. Good. I walked back to the classroom and gave out common orders of organization and foraging that were just basic orders to improve morale, battle readiness, supply, etc.

At the 1-hour mark, when I turned in my 6th report, I grabbed the report with my name on it and unsealed it back in my dorm. Morale was slightly below average, but still acceptable. I couldn't expect any defection soon. Food was high as well as battle readiness and organization. I got my scout reports back. Terrain to the south was more plains. To the north, plains, until the hills, where the enemy was encamped. This time, my scouts counted their numbers at 3,000. I would prepare for the worst and prepare for 4,000. Terrain to the west was hills. Across the river which was half a mile wide, the terrain was plains, but visibility was low due to fog floating on the river. Perfect. A quarter of my men were already on their way across. Then, of course, as there was every hour, an event. I read it:

"The Earth Kingdom enemy has launched a surprise attack on your forces. They dedicated approximately 500 forces to the attack according to scouts. Troop composition unknown. You may no longer give general orders as you are being attacked but may only give battle orders."

Battles functioned differently. I needed formations and a general plan. I didn't know how long I had spent reading so I had to rush with the order. This was just the first hour. I was doing fine. I sent 125 firebenders across the river, however, that wasn't great. I ordered my firebenders to move forward with my spearmen and swordsmen as well as archer following. I ordered my firebenders to burn the ground in front of them, creating a smokescreen. I order them to file in with my spearmen and order them to form a spear wall with archers in the rear. As my archers have not yet had a move, I order them to fire in an arch over the smoke. I had no idea who I was pitted up against, but he was going on the offense. Wanted to catch me off guard. It wouldn't work.

I turned the report in. When it came to battles, obviously, we couldn't get the reports meant for us right when we turned our orders in, we would have to wait until the next round. My transports were not yet across the river, but I started drafting their orders, having them move north, using the steam as cover until they were north of the enemy position on the other side of the river. I would keep them where I needed them. I couldn't write any orders right now. There was nothing I could write for these 10 minutes. So, I waited until I felt it was time.

I went to the room, but the clock told me I still had another 5 minutes to wait. Would've been much easier to have clocks in our room, but I could understand, they were expensive. When the time came, I heard just as the report was sealed and grabbed it off her desk right away as the other students started filing in. I ran straight to my room and read the battle report.

"The Earth Kingdom forces use earth bending to block incoming arrows with some efficiency. The suffer losses of 53 (13 earthbenders and 40 soldiers). The Earth Kingdom smothers the flames, but the smoke remains. Earth Kingdom forces incite ground tremors beneath the Fire Nation formations, hindering their shield wall. The Earth Kingdom charges."

They used up their moves too soon. They're mid charge and I have firebenders in front of my formation at the ready. I write my orders, having my archers fire down on the Earth Kingdom while my firebenders torch the approaching forces. I order my forces of greater numbers to form a concave curve, surrounding their forces while remaining in shield wall formation.

I won that encounter. When I got the report 20 minutes later saying how I killed their forces with maximum fatalities, I felt a wave of relief wash over me. I wasn't happy yet. I knew I could beat the student, it's what the teacher had up her sleeve that scared me. She was just luring me into a false sense of security, even I could see that. I found out how they got here so quickly. They were cavalry, but they dismounted north of my position knowing the animals would become afraid of the flames and cause chaos in their ranks. I ordered my men to slaughter half while I mounted

A quarter of my force was east of the river and marching north. I had plenty of time and was growing paranoid of what the teacher was planning so I had them back further away from the river by a good half mile. I didn't want even the luckiest scout finding them. I had the rest of my army on the west of the river marching northwest, so I wouldn't attack their camp straight from the south, but from the hills to their southwest. The second event came, mass rainfall. This was the first evidence of the teacher working against me. The river became flooded. I had abandoned the troop transports to the south but was positive they would now be beached. This would ruin the wood supply along the banks I would have used later to construct rafts to go back across the river which meant I would have to move more inland. Some of my food supply was destroyed by the rainfall as well. I was glad I slaughtered those animals.

The next 7 hours were a slog. More rainfall, storms, quakes. I had ordered my soldiers west of the lake to camp in the hills, but mud from the runoff was killing the morale of my men. On the east, wood was rotting on the trees wherever I went. I had my men in position, but they still weren't ready to attack. I had had to order my men on the east to go back for the steam powered transports and recover them. Luckily, with the flooding, I could bring them inland enough, so the Earth Kingdom wouldn't see them from their hills. Overall, the flooding had given way for a whole new plan. I knew the teacher was trying to sabotage me. That much was obvious. Whoever my opponent was, his part had ended after the first attack. Unless he was spending hours in end fortifying his position, he wasn't doing anything.

I had a new plan made possible by the flooding. Her insistence to have flooding be part of the "random" event every hour had raised the water levels by over 3 feet. My men in the east were wading in mud. At least, that's what she thought. For the last 3 hours, I had made my orders in the east vague enough to throw her off, but specific enough to meet the requirements and have me prepare for my next steps. I would move "undefined" equipment onto "undefined" vehicles. In the west, with the mud gathering in the valleys of the hills, I was able to move small squads throughout the hills, visibility decreased by the rain to the point I had them surrounding their entire camp, hiding in the mud.

It was at hour nine and minute 20, when more rain kept coming down that I tossed aside the ambiguity. I ordered my men in the mud around their camp to initiate the attack by setting fires to their watchtowers and tents. I knew this would scare their animals. From the last scout report I did on their camp, they hadn't fortified at all and all their men were inside the camp. I don't know if I was walking into a trap or facing an idiot. And if I was walking into a trap, was it the student's or the teacher's?

By the time the fighting had started in the hills, I launched a naval attack on the hills. With the flooding and over 3 feet of water above river level, there was more than enough room for my transports to come in, having my firebenders bombard their inner camp with fire.

I turned in the orders. The next 10 minutes were hell as I didn't write but waited for the report. I decided to wait right outside the classroom. I didn't see how I could lose now. Not when my opponent had done absolutely nothing. Finally, the time reached the 9-hour and 40-minute mark. I grabbed the report, ran to my room and read it. The attack was going perfectly. Their camp was beginning to be set aflame, their troops were in disarray, but they weren't retreating. They were holding their ground in the center, earth bending walls around their camp despite the fact that my soldiers were already moving in. They were stalling me. I had my objective and if he wasn't going to retreat, then I had to finish this.

I gave the last of my orders. I pushed the transports in, raining fire from above atop the Earth Kingdom soldiers, having my firebenders scale their walls and burn the soldiers within like fish in a barrel. It had to be over, right? I hesitated before I sealed that last order. I had him. I did, but did I have her? Did I have the teacher? What could she do? What could either of them do?

I guess I would find out. I walked to the classroom, final orders in hand along with the rest of the War game file, planted them on her desk, and took my seat. The final orders of all war games were read in class. These final reports were the last 10 hours in the making. We were tired, hungry, and nervous. The rest of the students filed in and watched as she wrote the final reports for each and every student.

She walked around the room, placing the final report attached to our file now packed with all of our past orders and reports, in front of each student. When I got mine, I unsealed it before I even checked it was for the right person, but I knew that it was mine just by the insane amounts of rain described.

"Fire Nation forces close in on the Earth Kingdom army, raining fire on their desperate holdings. However, as the Fire Nation army moves inwards, Earth Kingdom mines, buried beneath the hills detonate destroying the entirety of the Fire Nation forces and fleet. DEFEAT."

What. The fuck? That last word, emboldened and capitalized as though the paper was telling me to go fuck myself. I looked up to the teacher who was passing the reports back to the other students and could see the self-satisfied grin on her face as she looked at me with the corner of her eye. Of course, she did.

"Ha!" I heard one of the students, Zanni, yell from across the room. "Suck it, Luke!"

Guess that wasn't the only rule she broke. The opponent was supposed to be anonymous.

"Congratulations on your results, students. You're all dismissed. Zani, please come see me for personal commendation."

She just had to be a bitch about it to. I grabbed my file and got ready to leave when I heard her say behind me "Luke. Please turn in your file to me."

I turned around from where I stood at the door and when I did, I was standing right above Zani's desk where he sat with his orders laid right in front of him as he read through them as though he was some sort of military genius. Maybe a military genius wouldn't make it so obvious. The orders in his handwriting ended after the 2nd hour. The handwriting that followed was the same handwriting that wrote the reports given to me at the end of each period.

I looked to the teacher who was now sitting at her desk with that same grin on her face.

"Why?" I asked. Everybody else got to keep their file

"It's solely for organization and continuity. It's safer here than in your dorm."

I bet it fucking is.

"Excuse me for asking, but would it not be worth more in my hands where I can learn from my mistakes, ma'am?"

The grin left her face. "File. Now."

Fuck it. I was done with this game. I walked to her desk and slapped the file down onto it.

"Better luck next time, Luke" Zani called from where he sat. I never had so much of an urge to beat the living hell out of somebody and I never had such a hard time resisting. If this was the slums, he would be dead, hanging feet first from the wall. I allowed the image to satisfy me until I returned to my own room.

I found no sleep that night. No matter how I adjusted myself, sleep evaded me. I lay on my side, looking constantly at that door that connected to that stupid, dusty, abandoned dorm. I just got angrier the longer I looked at it.

I was back in that same dojo the next afternoon. It was Zihe all over again.

"Sweep the legs" the coach yelled from the sidelines. Zihe went down to the ground, and sure enough, swept me off my feet, bringing me to the ground where he promptly kicked me in the chest, leaving his foot there as a show of victory.

"Again!"

This time he went for the arm. Each punch I threw, he blocked, and parried. He grabbed my arms, throwing me from side to side like a ragdoll which would be infuriating enough without the laughter from the others. This went on until he pinned me to the rope, kicked my leg out from underneath me and punched me across the face, sending me to the ground, opening all too recent wounds.

"Again!"

He went for the eyes. I couldn't even see him when he grabbed me by the shoulders and butted his head against mine, sending me to the ground once more.

"Again!"

My vision wasn't even clear yet. He jumped out of reach as I tried to throw a punch, grabbed my arm, pulled me forward sending me falling down on my face and put his foot on my back, pinning me to the ground.

"Again!"

I tripped me as he passed to my side, jabbed me in the back of the neck, grabbed me and pulled me to the ground.

"Again!"

He stood right in front of me. Waiting for me to make the first move again like I had every other time. I was sick of this. I was sick of this shit where I was just a moving punching bag to be thrown around on a whim for practice. I was sick of the coach using me to find new ways to train his actual students. This time, he went for the first move. I didn't even see him approach through the growing blur of my vision. He punched me in the chest, sending me backwards. He punched again, but I managed to block. Not his second punch which took me in the stomach, sending me reeling back to the rope where he pinned me. He punched. He punched. And he punched. Somewhere in there, I got sick of it. All of it. Sick of the treatment. Sick of their view of me. Sick of the bullshit they called a military academy. I felt that same anger rise through my body. I felt it flow through me like some kind of unheard of energy. I saw my opening between his punches and took it. I grabbed his right arm mid punch with my left, twisted it to the side, saw his face wide open and took the shot. I felt that same anger, that same rage, that same energy flow to my arm as I brought my first up to his exposed face. I don't even remember if I made impact. I just remember falling backwards. All I remember is that and the fire and smoke.