Chernobylite: A Fast-Paced Kidnap Action Thriller

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Tommy was sinking into a pit of despair with his bullying situation at school. He tried to hide it from his mother, because he knew it upset her and knew there was nothing that she could do about it. He was screwed.

Feeling helpless and sick of the a***e, Tommy lost his spark and his sense of fun, beginning a slide down into depression.

But Tommy had deep reserves of strength that he called on one day when he was feeling particularly down, remembering his father’s words about staying strong. He asked himself, ‘What would Dad say?’ and Tommy immediately imagined his dad saying in his slow country slang, ‘Don’t let the bastards get ya down, mate – stand up and show 'em what you’re made of.’

The very next day, Tommy made a decision that would change his life forever and determine his future path, at the tender age of just twelve years old. Tommy went searching for a self-defence school, to find someone who could teach him to look after himself and protect his mum from the danger that seemed to lurk around every corner and down every dark alley in their seedy neighbourhood.

On his quest, Tommy soon stumbled across an innocuous looking building with a lopsided, weary old sign proclaiming Self-defence classes, inquire within. Drawing in a deep breath, Tommy rapped his knuckles on the door. ‘Hello?’ he said in a quiet voice.

Slowly, the door creaked open and Tommy stared into an inquiring face littered with wrinkles and topped with a generous head of grey hair. In a heavy accent, the man said, ‘Hello, my name is Viktor. How can I help you?’

‘Um, I’d like to learn how to fight please,’ responded Tommy.

‘We don’t do that here,’ said Viktor.

‘What do you mean? Isn’t this a fight school?’

‘No, this school is not for fighting. This school is for protecting yourself. There is a difference. Self-defence is not fighting. Here I teach much more than fighting. Here I teach Judo. If you want to fight, you go somewhere else.’

‘Whatever you do, I need something,’ said Tommy. ‘But you look too old to do anything cool. You probably do Tai-Chi or something lame like that, do you?’

With a chuckle, Viktor said, ‘Yes, something like that, among other things. Don’t worry, I might look old, but I can still hold my own.’

Viktor’s highly attuned senses alerted him to Tommy’s troubled demeanour, and he had a feeling that he should take him in and look after him. ‘Come inside and let’s talk some more about what you want to do,’ said Viktor.

Tommy watched Viktor move and subconsciously re-evaluated him. Viktor seemed quiet and unassuming but had a calmness, a quiet strength and catlike fluid movement that belied his wrinkled face and grey hair. Easily ignored at first glance, it was quickly apparent that you didn’t want to mess with Viktor. They walked into the dojo and Viktor bowed as he took off his shoes and stepped onto the mat. Tommy, ignorant of tradition, walked onto the mat with his shoes on and with no trace of a bow.

‘STOP!’ snapped Viktor, and Tommy responded instantly to the forceful tone, almost powerless to resist. He continued the lesson in an easier tone as he said, ‘Always respect the dojo. Shoes off when on the mats and always bow when you enter and leave the mats.’

‘Um, okay, sorry,’ mumbled Tommy as he stepped back off the Judo mat, removed his shoes, bowed, and stepped back onto the mat, enjoying the cushioned but firm feeling under his bare feet. It felt like home, it felt right. Tommy immediately knew this would be a big part of his life from now on.

‘There’s nobody here right now. The students will be arriving for their class soon. We can run through a few basics before they get here if you like and then you can join in the class,’ said Viktor.

‘What, now?’ asked Tommy, pleasantly surprised at the prospect of getting started straight away.

‘Of course,’ responded Viktor. ‘Now is the perfect time for you to start learning Judo.’ And so, the old master and the young, fragile boy took their first tentative steps together.

The months rolled on and Tommy embraced the art of Judo with an insatiable appetite and a work ethic that impressed Viktor and astounded his mother. Tommy was totally committed and absorbed by the technique, the skill and the philosophy of Judo. He just couldn’t get enough of it and became almost part of the furniture at Viktor’s dojo. Before long, Tommy’s constant training had increased his skills so quickly that he started helping Viktor teach the younger students the basics, which became an important part of his learning.

One day after training when everyone else had left, Viktor said, ‘Tommy, now that you have learnt the basics of Judo, I think it’s time for you to learn some other skills. The streets aren’t like the dojo and not everyone fights fair, so you need to know what to do just in case you need to act quickly against a group of people, say if some bullies g**g up on you.’

Viktor knew that Tommy had been having trouble with some local boys and had wanted to intervene but understood that wasn’t the answer. Tommy needed to stand up to them on his own, under his own power in order to find a permanent solution to the problem.

‘What kind of skills?’ asked Tommy, suddenly extremely interested and even more attentive than usual. When it came to Judo, he was like a sponge; always eager to soak in knowledge and learn new techniques.

‘Let’s just say these skills aren’t exactly in the Judo rule book, so you can’t ever use them in competitions, or you’ll get instantly disqualified,’ answered Viktor.

‘I like the sound of this,’ said Tommy with a smile.

‘These techniques could save your life out on the streets. I know the first day you came to my door I said that I didn’t teach fighting, but for you I’m going to make an exception. Understand that this is just between us, we will be working privately one-on-one after class and you can’t tell the other students about it. I know you’ve got some problems with some of the local boys, so I want to teach you some things to keep you safe.’

‘Street fighting? Awesome! Let’s do it!’ exclaimed Tommy, suddenly excited. And so their street fighting sessions began, with Viktor teaching Tommy every dirty trick he had learned back in the day, with vicious strikes, punches, knees, elbows and head butts that would get him kicked off any Judo mat but could possibly save his life one day. Tommy loved it, revelled in the extra attention from Viktor and grew more confident by the day. Slowly but surely, he was growing in his power, saying goodbye to that scared little boy and maturing into a confident young man.