Chapter Three

The group practiced relentlessly and passionately, and despite the small number it shone through in their rehearsal. Ripp and Johnny however, with their own emotions simmering away inside them during the day, allowed this time to let them go through their music. Ripp was exceptionally brutal in his playing, the action of attacking the skins with the sticks providing a much needed outlet for his pent up frustration. Meanwhile, Ophelia began to wonder if she could see smoke seeping from her boyfriend’s guitar. Being the singer, she wasn’t using her voice as much as they played, yet after a while she needed more sips from her bottle of water. Her throat was beginning to feel raw, and one look at her watch widened her eyes as she noted they’d gone well over their allotted time.

“Whoa!” she called out through her microphone, “I think that’s plenty for now, don’tcha think?”

Only after being brought back to reality did the pain begin to register in Johnny’s fingertips, causing him to wince as he set the guitar down.

“Ow,” he complained, studying with concern the darkened hue of the tips of his fingers, and sucking at one of them as she tucked away her microphone and came over.

“You want me to kiss them better?” she hinted with a playful grin.

Johnny sniggered at her offer, watching with a smile as she took hold of his wrist and planted a soft kiss on each of his stinging fingers.

Meanwhile, Ripp’s brow was creased in concentration as he worked to pull a splinter from his hand, gritting his teeth at the pain that accompanied his efforts. He tried to grapple with his teeth, but whatever he tried, there was no shifting it.

“Dammit,” he grumbled.

“Whassup?” Johnny asked as she released his left hand.

“I got a splinter,” he told them, before studying his nails, “Too bad I got nothin’ to work with.”

“Come ‘ere,” Johnny offered instinctively, flexing his right-hand fingers. “Ol’ guitarist nails come in handy,” he finished with a smile. Ripp returned it with one of his own as he went over, holding out his hand as directed.

“Be gentle,” he told him as Johnny took hold of it.

“I’m always gentle,” came the reassuring reply as he began to work.

Ripp didn’t so much as flinch while the slither of wood was tugged at, content merely for his hand to rest in his light grip. It was only his voice that pulled him back to earth as he spoke again.

“There we go,” Johnny announced, holding up the offending splinter clenched between his long nails.

“Thanks,” Ripp said as his hand slipped out of Johnny’s grasp.

“Come on guys,” Ophelia smiled as she took hold of Johnny’s hand, “We’d better get goin’.”

“Yeah,” Johnny agreed before checking his watch, and his eyes widened as he gave a little gasp. “Damn, I’m gonna be late!” he remarked, “Catch ya later!” So saying, he pecked his girlfriend’s lips before clutching Ripp’s hand in a friendly gesture, his other hand resting momentarily on his arm before he raced off.

“Have fun!” she called after him, before she and Ripp left. She couldn’t help but frown at the unusual turn of speed he displayed as they did so, however, and wondered if she should pick up on it next time they met.

“You’re late back,” Tank acknowledged as he caught sight of him.

“Practice ran over,” he explained briefly, before briskly climbing the stairs to his room.

Something in his manner troubled Tank, who watched his ascent from the foot of the stairs.

“Ripp?”

Tank’s concerned cries hung in the air like an intoxicating smoke, which Ripp easily closed the door on as he flopped onto his bed.

Safely away from any form of temptation or its consequences, he allowed his mind to wander as his treated hand rested in his right. His eyes screwed tightly shut as he tried to blot out the recurring images, but instead they intensified, and before he knew what he was doing, fingers stroked the back of his left hand.

“Ready for your last physical test?” the man quizzed with a smile.

Johnny peered inquisitively into the black pools of his eyes, which sparkled with knowledge and mystery.

“Physical test?” he echoed with intrigue.

“Oh yes,” came the enigmatic reply, “There is much potential up here that everyone has, human or otherwise,” He tapped his temple as he spoke, before continuing, “but as our minds are more advanced, it’s considerably easier for us to unlock that.”

“So, after this…” Johnny began, leaving the sentence open for his tutor to finish.

“After this you’ll have earned your black belt,” came the reply, “No more physical training, but still much to learn should you wish to continue.”

A curious smile flickered upon the student’s face, before stretching into a wide grin as he spoke.

“You kiddin’?!” he replied, “’Course I wanna continue!”

“I expected nothing less,” the man smiled proudly. He retrieved two wooden staves from a corner of the room and tossed one to his student, who easily caught the weapon and gracefully twirled it into position, his body adopting a fighting stance as he did so.

Tank’s assault on his father’s punch-bag was relentless and brutal, as he unleashed all manner of destructive emotions on the equipment before him.
Ignoring the growing protest from his knuckles, he stopped only when, for now at least, enough of those feelings had been spent for him to rest. When he did, he caught the bag as it swung towards him, embracing it as he felt another wave of emotion crash ashore. His eyes began to sting as he clutched the canvas pillow as though it was a close friend, his head resting against it as he felt himself begin to sob.

Tears are a sign of weakness…

He let the bag slip from his grasp as he rubbed at his eyes, struggling to regain his composure. When he looked back at the bag this time, he saw a familiar face.

The emotions stirred by the image took him completely by surprise. Swallowing them back into himself, his fists clenched so tightly they began to ache, and he pounded the bag as his conditioned mind regurgitated them outwards as rage.

His face damp with tears, Ripp eyed the fresh scrawl upon the pages with a heavy heart, dryly noting the watery splotches that partly obscured some of the words. Setting the book aside, he allowed himself to hunch up his knees and slump forwards onto them, as the tears bubbled over into soft sobs.

“Congratulations!”

“Thank you so much!” he grinned, pulling his tutor into a very informal hug. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

The man chuckled as he returned his embrace. “It had to be there to start with,” he reminded him as they broke away, turning the mood mysterious once again, “I knew it was there – that’s why I chose you.”

Johnny frowned as he eyed him, thoroughly confused.

“What do you mean?” he checked, his sheltered upbringing struggling with the theory now forming in his head.

The man didn’t answer, instead gazing at him expectantly as he sensed that he would find one himself. Sure enough, with a mildly nervous smile, the teenager hazarded a guess at what lay in store for him, given what he’d already been told.

“Wait a sec,” he began slowly, his smile becoming one of mounting excitement, “You can read minds? Is that what you’re hopin’ to teach me?”

The man silently confirmed his first guess, but vocally responded to the second.

“Close,” he replied, “That’s the last lesson.”

Johnny again frowned in puzzlement.

“So what…?” he started to ask, but trailed off as his jaw hung open at the sight now before him.

“Whoa…” he breathed, watching in wonder with a hand now clutched to his mouth.

“That, my boy, is the next lesson.”

An awestruck whistle escaped Johnny’s lips, before once again the fascination was replaced by gleeful anticipation. A grin spread across his face, stretching from ear to ear as he eyed his mentor, before it started to fade as his head bobbed in a meaningful nod.

“See you next week,” he promised in a hushed tone.

“I look forward to it,” the man agreed, “Remember to meditate regularly.”

“I never forget,” Johnny reassured him, now understanding why it had been deemed necessary.

So lost was Tank in his training, that the sudden tugging at the bag took him by surprise. His searching eyes soon discovered the source as the bag settled into its default position.

“Thought it about time you did your homework,” Ripp prompted, waving Tank’s exercise book at him. “Don’t you?”

“I’m in the middle of trainin’,” he countered, his chest still heaving slightly from the exertion he’d already displayed.

“I know damn well what you’re doin’,” Ripp bit, “You can’t punch it outta you forever, y’know.”

“What’s that s’posed to mean?!”

Ripp grabbed one of his wrists, raising it to eye level as he studied his grazed knuckles.

“I mean this,” he explained, his voice raising in frustration as he indicated his brother’s hand, “Tears aren’t for the weak, Tank, they’re for everyone. Crying is a pain reliever, not a sign of weakness.”

Tank pulled his hand from his grasp and marched off a little, trying once again to control the rising sorrow that bubbled through his veins.

“Talk to me, please,” Ripp offered, despair and concern in his eyes as he approached and lay a hand on his shoulder. “Stop tryin’ to fight it, just let it go.”

The dam their father had placed to hold at bay the flow of tears was starting to crack. With his head turned away, Ripp couldn’t see the first droplets begin to seep through the chinks in the wall, but he could hear the choking sounds released from his throat. Growing in confidence that, perhaps at last he was breaking through, he put away his sledgehammer and brought out the wrecking ball as he gently moved to face him, laying his other hand on his free shoulder after casting the book aside.

He could see now the truth of his suppressed feelings as he raised a hand to wipe away a tear.

“You see now what happens when you keep it all inside?” he said gently, “It eats away at you ‘til there’s nothing left… is that what you want?” He nursed his shoulders as he continued. “Let it go, please, for everyone’s sake…”

The dam burst with a force that sent him collapsing into Ripp’s arms, weeping hysterically as he clung to him. Ripp was only too relieved to catch him, his arms pulling him near and allowing his fingers to roam his head, enjoying the closeness that he’d never before imagined he would experience with his own brother.

One down, he thought to himself, wondering how much harder it would be to reach their father.