I wasn’t surprised.
Jack and Stryker exchanged a look and Jack laughed “sounds awful.”
“How you doing?” Stryker asked.
Jack shrugged “tired. Still got a bit of a headache, but I’m alright. Got Matt waiting on me hand and foot.” He winked.
I sneered at him. He wasn’t joking, either.As if I didn’t feel exhausted enough. But I also felt bad for him and would feel guilty if Ididn'twait on him hand and foot after a migraine attack. So I was stuck as a slave of my own conscience.
Stryker smirked back.
“Can’tyouhave a go?” Theo asked Jack.
“Against who? You?”
“Yeah. Easier than Stryker, right?”
“Huh.” Jack scoffed “I won’t be doing anything with that attitude.”
Stryker sighed “okay, Theo, we gonna do this or not?”
“Yeah. Right.” Theo muttered reluctantly.
“Hey.” He offered a small smile “they told me you were good, okay? I believe that. You just need to be a little more alert right now, okay? Focus.”
Theo gave a slow nod. The pair faced each other for a moment, then he lunged forward, slicing through the air with a swift thrust aimed at Stryker’s midsection. The latter reacted instantly, sidestepping to the left and narrowly avoiding the blade. He countered with a powerful right hook aimed at theTheo’sjaw, but he ducked just in time, pivoting on his heel to regain his stance.
The knife flashed in a series of strikes, each one met with Stryker’s quick reflexes, who blocked and parried with remarkable agility. He ducked under a wide swing, then retaliated with an uppercut that connected, sending Theo stumbling back. Regaining his footing, he feigned a strike to the left before quickly shifting to the right. He aimed for the shoulder, but Stryker had clearly anticipated the move, twisting away and landing a swift jab to the ribs. Theo hissed. He seemed more cautious, began to employ feints and quick retreats, while Strykerfocused on closing the distance, looking for openings to exploit.
I could see that Stryker was indeed going easy on Theo, but the latter was certainly doing much better than before.
Theo lunged once more. Stryker ducked low, dodging the blade, and with a powerful uppercut, he knocked the knife from his opponent’s hand. The weapon clattered to the floor. Stryker hardly seemed worn out, whilst Theo was knelt over panting.
“Not bad.”
“Yeah.” He snorted “you could have-“
“You can’t compare yourself to me.” Stryker said gently “I’m not one to gloat, but Iamamazing. You were good, trust me.”
“Better.” Jack agreed.
Theo glanced over at me; I was looking at his hand. He looked too, following my gaze and blinking in surprise “I cut myself.” He said, dumbfounded.
I had to resist laughing at the dumbstruck look on his face.
Stryker frowned “how…how?”
“I didn’t even notice until now, I don’t know.”
Jack chuckled “so much forbetter.”
“Jack.” Stryker scolded “it happens. Matt, can you take him to disinfect it?”
My head snapped up to protest, but Stryker’s expression told me that it wasn’t a question.
“I can go by myself-“ Theo tried, but Stryker just raised his eyebrows “I’m sure you can. But I asked Matthew to do it.”
“W-why?”
