• EXTRAORDINARY:THEFORBIDDENKINGDOM
    Chapter 1

    Hong Kong, China – 2009

    Kevin leaped in to the air when Master Xing spun his fighting stick at his legs. After landing softly back on to the wooden surface, the two continued their dual. Kevin Merrill was a master at dodging Xing’s quick attacks. A duck here, a dodge there, Kevin avoided each blow in perfect harmony, as if it were a dance. Anyone witnessing the fight would believe Kevin had the advantage over Xing. That was when Xing rammed the stick into Kevin’s side, leaving him howling in agony. It was no surprise. Xing was a wise old man that knew how to protect himself. He stood straight, adjusting himself, placing his fighting stick back to the ground.

    “Kevin-san, you are distracted. What is rule number one?” Sensei asked him.

    “Always look your opponent in the eye when fighting them.” Kevin responded.

    “Correct. To lose distraction, means failure, and a disgrace to yourself and your opponent. To succeed, you need to fight the battle with honor, Kevin-san.” Sensei took his stick and held it with both hands, offering it to Kevin.

    Kevin knew the gesture meant his Sensei wished for them to switch roles. The stick symbolized an item of importance. In this situation, the stick was symbolizing dominance. He was in control of the fight until Xing found a way to get his stick back. Not wasting time Kevin dived towards his master, raising the stick above his head. Xing moved out of the way just as Kevin came, smashing the stick to the ground with tremendous force. Kevin took the Stick, still on the ground, and swung it to the left, where Xing leaned back, avoiding the blow. Kevin jumped once more, doing a reverse kick-flip, successfully connecting his right foot with Xing’s right cheek, sending him crashing to the ground, rolling three times before stopping.

    Once more Kevin jumped. This time 15 feet into the air, below him he could see his master still sprawled on the floor. As he was plummeting down in Xing’s direction, Xing sat up and also jumped towards Kevin. Their contact was rough, and sent them both flying towards the support beams near the roof. Both of them grabbed on to the same support beam and climbed up. Kevin lost his stick while climbing.

    Standing upright, Xing stretched both his arms up, the stretched them to his right, and with his left arm, he stretched it towards Kevin, ready to fight. Kevin also stretched his arms around, in a circle, reaching behind his back and then finally reaching towards his sensei. When both parties were satisfied with their battle stance, Kevin rushed towards his master.

    Kevin went in for a right hook, but as anticipated, Xing blocked it with ease. With his right hand, Master Xing hit Kevin’s head with the bottom of his palm. The hit caused Kevin to lose balance, but he caught himself, and back flipped back to a safe position. Xing rushed towards him and swung his leg at Kevin. Kevin caught the kick in his arms, though Sensei was expecting that. Having Kevin right where he wanted him, Sensei grabbed Kevin’s back and pushed, freeing him from Kevin’s grasp. Still pushing on Kevin’s back, Xing jumped over Kevin’s entire body, and before Kevin could spin around, Xing kicked Kevin’s legs out from under him, leaving him crashing to the ground.

    Back on the Dojo’s floor, Kevin reached for the stick, but Sensei also jumped from the beams landing near the stick. Kevin quickly got up, and while Sensei was rushing towards the stick, Kevin crossed his arms at his chest, and as his teacher had taught him, he gathered energy from within his center. He started to pull his arms from his chest, it felt like a powerful force was keeping his arms connected to his chest, but he knew it was all part of the process. As he separated his arms, a bright light appeared between his open hands, expanding, as he continued to separate his hands. As Xing reached for the stick, Kevin quickly shot his hands towards his master, shooting a blinding beam of light into his master’s chest, sending him crashing into the nearest wall. The blow was so powerful that Xing flew straight into the adjoining room.

    After the dust had settled, Xing coughed, and stood straight. “Well done, Kevin-san. Next time try not to destroy the dojo.” The two laughed and exited the dojo. Outside the sun was bright, and the weather was perfect.

    “You’re training has made you strong Kevin-san, I am proud.” Master Xing stated.

    “Thank you, Sensei.”

    “Though, you still never told me what happened two years ago that made you come to me.”

    Kevin looked away. When Xing mentioned that, he began to flashback to that night, two years ago. All the pain, and remorse, all of the embarrassment. It was something he did not like to remember.

    “Kevin-san,” His sensei continued, “As I recall, you had some trouble with repressed memories in the past, yes?” Kevin nodded, “Well then, I think it would be wise to talk about what happened. Believe me, you do not want to go down that road again. It is important to know who you are, and why you are here. If you don’t talk about what happened, then all we have gone through these past two years would be for nothing.”

    “I understand your concern, Master. I appreciate it, I really do, but right now, it’s just something I cannot talk about.”

    “I understand.” The two walked into Master Xing’s home, where Kevin had been staying. The two walked to the guest room, where Kevin slept, and Xing said, “Remember Kevin-san, I’m not only your mentor; I am also your friend. If you ever feel like it, you can talk to me.” Again Kevin nodded, and Xing left. Kevin closed the sliding door to his room and sat on his bed.

    After a minute or two of meditating, Kevin sighed. He stepped off his bed and got to his knees, and reached under his bed, and pulled out his suitcase. Unclasping the locks, Kevin opened the case. After living there for so long, Kevin had gotten accustom to living there, so no more clothes were left in his suitcase, but there was one remaining item in the suitcase. A picture frame, when Kevin looked at it he smiled, on the picture was his best friend, Luke Williams, and his doctor and friend, Kyle Thomas, standing next to them was Kevin, smiling.

    He missed his friends. He knew they were probably worried about him, but he knew in the end this was the best thing to do.