Biding Time

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{OoC: Continued from The Problem. One shot post. DO NOT REPLY}

They had a week to prepare for some threat that would come to crush the school, or so it had seemed. Some of the questions had been answered, some hadn’t and though Zachariah wished to speak with the school supervisor, who seemed to have something to do with this, he had been unable to locate the man. It was unfortunate however it wasn’t a certainty that the man knew any additional information, though it would have been nice to find out. Either way there was seven days… seven days until this prophecy was supposed to come true, which made much of this conjecture and wanting for information irrelevant. He would need to prepare, as much as he may dislike the idea of this battle.

For the next week Zachariah set down a schedule for himself starting very early in the morning and running all the way through to late nights, mostly to make sure his school work was done as well. It was perhaps a tiring week however it needed to be. Up with the sun and down with stars.

Everyday, Zachariah rose before the sun and changed into a sweat suit before heading down to the beach. He would run as the day started, at a steady yet quick pace, for around five miles. On average it took him about forty-five minutes to finish the run. Time for a rest? No… he would continue to work, switching into a series of sit-ups and crunches that would number over 150 in total before quickly switching into a series of push-ups. First about fifty normal push-ups before Zachariah switched to what is mostly called a “handstand push-up”. These would number only twenty-five, however between each drop down where his head almost touched the ground, when he was fully extended, Zachariah would hold the position for a thirty second count. Why? He knew two styles, Tai Chi and Capoeira, the latter was his main offensive style and required him to be able to support his body weight with just his arms for long periods of time. Once this initial workout was done, Zachariah would head home, shower, and then leave for school. Yes, by this time school had not yet started.

This time at school was not only a rest from physical training, but also training for his mind. Not only for this coming battle but for life in its entirety. Something that Zachariah felt was equally important, if not more so. This physical prowess would fade, and fighting prowess would become useless and irrelevant… only his mind would be of real use beyond these walls and for the rest of his life. Notes, assignments, and the like where neatly filed into his bag to be taken home for review and completion. However first would be a good meal and then more training for the coming battle. This time he would focus on his fighting technique.

So Zachariah arrived at work and as he had arranged, made his way up to the security team’s training rooms. Many of them were former military and not men he would want to fight under any circumstances, but he really felt didn’t have a choice. First he would focus on his defensive Tai Chi style. He stood erect and ready with slightly staggered feet and coiled upturned arms. A security guard stepped forward to face Zachariah, a former marine this one was so it should be all reason that he was in for a tough go.

The marine came forward and threw a viable howitzer of a punch toward Zachariah’s sternum, which the student sidestepped while gripping the man’s wrist and pulling forward to add momentum. The intention was to create an opening to strike the man’s side, which Zachariah tried with his opposite hand. However these training bouts were never that easy as the guy kept moving forward thus avoiding the strike and putting himself in position to twist the student’s arm and send him sprawling forward. The student responded with a quick acrobatic series of maneuvers to regain the advantage. Using his free arm as a plant, Zachariah flipped with the twist of his arms and was able to get his legs around and under him again, though he didn’t stay still for long as he took to a spin and whirled his leg around to kick the man in the face. It landed but all that happen was a tilt of the marine’s head and a half step back… yeah, these practice fights never went all that easy.

This training regiment continued for almost three hours before a very sore and tired Zachariah would be taken home by a company car. Another shower and the student took to his school work, finishing in the wee hours of the morning before heading to bed only to do the whole thing over again the next.

Of course, that was until the day before the supposed day of prophecy. Instead Zachariah spent the entire day wandering the city and finding a quiet place to meditate on not only the gravity of the situation but the moral quarrel with in him. He had always been against violence in all its forms, but had often broken that code to protect the school. Why was this time different? He was preparing to fight someone he didn’t know, that had so far made no act of aggression to the school… couldn’t there be peace? Students fought themselves only to put everything aside when an outside threat arose and then… right back to fighting each other. Zachariah wished to break this spiral of conflict but felt that to do so would be the end of him… was he willing to make such a sacrifice? Would it even work? Logic dictated that it would not change a thing, that the cycle would continue well beyond him regardless of his actions. The thought depressed him…

… Zachariah sat, watching the sun set on the last day… it was time. Until now he’d just been a part of the cycle without really realizing it…time for change…

… it would start tomorrow…





… fate be damned.