Read Online Uprising by Jessica Therrien - Free Book Online Page A

I’d seen running with tears in his eyes. Was that wrong, when he was such a villain now? To see his perspective, to understand how his hate had been born? When love is plucked from your heart, little is left to keep you sane. But understanding his hate didn’t change who he was to me—the enemy.
    “It’s okay that you understand him that way. It might help you,” Kara continued. “That’s all I can give you in terms of memories, mental preparation.” She stood and paced with her hands in her pockets. “You seem to be pretty good with your dart gun, but has Mac taught you hand-to-hand?”
    “Yeah. We’ve gone over the basics. Technique and things.”
    She smiled. “All right. Let’s see it.”
    I rose to my feet, a little shy in front of Kara, and took a boxing stance. I threw a few punches at the air, the way Mac had instructed. Nimble feet, guard the face, turn with the jab.
    “That’s not what I meant,” she laughed. “Nice form though. I meant, try and hit me.”
    “Fight you?” I asked. “Yeah right. You’d kill me.”
    She nodded. “I know, but you’re not going to get any better swinging at nothing.”
    I stood there staring at her until I realized she was serious.
    “Fine,” I said. “Just . . . be easy on me.”
    “Yeah, sure,” she said with a grin.
    I dug my fingernails into my palms making tight fists and bounced on my toes. Kara watched me, more with amusement than with concern. I swung, but she dodged the hit, and I pulled back. She shook her head slightly, waiting for the next one. I sighed and swung again. This time she grabbed my wrist, twisting my arm around my back and locking my neck in a chokehold with the other.
    “If you can avoid throwing a punch, you should. Unless you feel confident you’ll make the right point of contact.”
    “Okay,” I breathed as she released me.
    “It makes you vulnerable,” she said. “If you want to hit someone, and you’re not sure how they fight . . .” She grabbed my hand and bent my wrist back, patting the lower part of my palm. “Use the heel of your hand, make a fist and use it like a hammer, or use your elbow. Try not to use your knuckles. You break those, it’s over. Most people drop their head instinctively when they see a punch. You won’t be able to do much more damage if you break your knuckles on someone’s skull.”
    I nodded, taking her words seriously.
    “Again.”
    I tried using my fist like a hammer, but she still caught it, swinging my arm around my back and locking me in the chokehold.
    “To get out of this, turn your body and throw your leg behind me. This will give you leverage and throw me off balance.”
    I smiled when I was free. “It worked.”
    “When you throw the first blow, you have to lean into me. Don’t be a timid fighter. You’ll lose. You have to move your body forward, throw me off balance as you’re swinging, so I can’t grab you or hit back.”
    “Show me,” I said, taking up a defensive stance.
    “You want me to hit you?”
    “Yes,” I said, more determined.
    Without much of a warning, she stepped forward, shoving both heels of her hands under my chin and knocking me off my feet. She moved so quickly I didn’t have time to react.
    “Hey,” William’s voice called from a distance. “What the hell’s going on?”
    “It’s okay,” I said, dusting the dirt off of my pants and rubbing my jaw. “We’re training.”
    He looked at Kara and then back at me. “What’s she teaching you? How to get knocked out?”
    “I’m fine, really,” I said, laughing it off.
    He raised his eyebrows at me. “Maybe you should teach her how to block a punch.”
    “Why don’t you teach her?” Kara said, challenging him to do better.
    I tried to hold back a smile.
    “What?” William asked me. “You think I don’t know how to hold my own in a fight?”
    I shrugged, unsure. “Well, you never showed me anything before.”
    “What can I say? Mac sort of steals the show, but I am ninety-two,”