Post by Sarah Sharpe on Nov 6, 2015 1:55:51 GMT -5
It was days like this, Sarah thought as she began her daily ritual of martial arts practice, that reminded her for a moment or two of what was like before the world fell apart, before the walkers took over, before society itself fell apart....which meant that every moment not dedicated to survival had to be appreciated for what it was. Along with her long-time assistant and confident Gemma, Sarah went through her routine, practicing with long baston, or rattan, sticks, then followed with short knives and swords and then finally with, to the outsider, looked like a very fast-paced fight, but both of them knew exactly what they were doing as they went about their activities.
After what seemed like forever, Sarah smiled, caught her breath and said as practice ended, "Remember, Gemma, when someone comes at you with a knife, feint in one direction, get them moving that way, then come around," showing her the exact move in question, "and strike," lightly tapping her friend on the back of her head with one of the bastons'. "Remember that, alright?" she said as they walked over to where a couple of quad ATVs' where parked at. Climbing on a couple of them, they started them up and began riding back towards the yacht club...
... ... ...
Pulling up in front of the DYC building, Sarah could feel the wind blowing, the first chilly winds of fall beginning to encroach on the Detroit River and the nearby ruins of the Motor City. Walking inside, it still amazed her after more than two years how her and the other survivors had taken what amounted to an abandonment by the military and the nearby civil authorities and turned their island - their island, she reminded herself - into what amounted to an oasis in what was a lethal urban desert, something they had to protect against at every moment.
Reaching what had, before everything fell apart, been her office in the old days, she said, "Go get something to eat, Gemma; we got a supply run coming up later today, so be ready to go, alright?"
"Yeah, sure," Gemma said, walking away. Turning around, Sarah walked inside and sat down; after lighting a couple of large candles for light, she leaned over and picked up a set of rosary beads from the table and began twirling them around in her fingers, whispering a short prayer as she sat there. On the last supply run, we nearly lost two people, she whispered, and God, I don't want to lose anyone. Please....please protect us on today's supply run, she whispered over and over, "just...protect us," quietly whispering it as she sat inside her old office, hoping that the Man above was still listening....
After what seemed like forever, Sarah smiled, caught her breath and said as practice ended, "Remember, Gemma, when someone comes at you with a knife, feint in one direction, get them moving that way, then come around," showing her the exact move in question, "and strike," lightly tapping her friend on the back of her head with one of the bastons'. "Remember that, alright?" she said as they walked over to where a couple of quad ATVs' where parked at. Climbing on a couple of them, they started them up and began riding back towards the yacht club...
... ... ...
Pulling up in front of the DYC building, Sarah could feel the wind blowing, the first chilly winds of fall beginning to encroach on the Detroit River and the nearby ruins of the Motor City. Walking inside, it still amazed her after more than two years how her and the other survivors had taken what amounted to an abandonment by the military and the nearby civil authorities and turned their island - their island, she reminded herself - into what amounted to an oasis in what was a lethal urban desert, something they had to protect against at every moment.
Reaching what had, before everything fell apart, been her office in the old days, she said, "Go get something to eat, Gemma; we got a supply run coming up later today, so be ready to go, alright?"
"Yeah, sure," Gemma said, walking away. Turning around, Sarah walked inside and sat down; after lighting a couple of large candles for light, she leaned over and picked up a set of rosary beads from the table and began twirling them around in her fingers, whispering a short prayer as she sat there. On the last supply run, we nearly lost two people, she whispered, and God, I don't want to lose anyone. Please....please protect us on today's supply run, she whispered over and over, "just...protect us," quietly whispering it as she sat inside her old office, hoping that the Man above was still listening....