The Beast Within (The Elite Series) - By Jonathan Yanez Page 0,65

control over my beast within, it doesn’t control me. Now get up and try again.”

Thirty minutes later, when Connor was just about ready to give up on the boulder exercise, Lu called a break. “Well, it doesn’t seem like we’re getting anywhere with this today, let’s try something new.”

Connor was all too eager to agree, anything would be better than this. He followed Lu across the field to a line of trees that marked the entrance to the forest.

“Watch me,” Lu instructed, lining up to a tree. The tree was massive, easily three stories tall. It loomed over them, spreading its branches in every direction. Lu took a boxer’s stance and balled his right hand into a fist. Breathing out with a grunt of exertion, he punched the tree, throwing his entire weight behind the blow.

Connor did a double take and thought for sure he saw the tree vibrate. Examining the spot where Lu landed his punch, he saw an indention in the tree. It was two inches deep and looked like the outline of a fist. Shocked, he looked at his instructor.

Lu held up his right fist. It was clean. No blood, no broken bones puncturing the skin, not even the slightest sign of swelling. “Use what you know is inside of you, concentrate and punch through the tree, not at it.”

“I’m going to break my hand doing this.”

“If you’re weak enough to think that, you probably will. Doubt is your greatest enemy.”

Connor took a deep breath and approached the tree. His opponent welcomed him with open branches. Connor knew the tree didn’t have a face, although through the bark he could almost make out a jeering grin. Taking the same stance as Lu, he prepared himself. “I know I can do this. Punch through the tree. I have the ability.” He repeated this to himself over and over again until he was ready. His fist met the exposed bark of the tree at bone-crunching speed. Connor was sure he’d broken something as he drew his hand back in agonizing pain. He groaned in discomfort, hunching over his hand as he drew it in close to his body.

“Did- did I do it?”

“Well, it looks like you sure taught that tree bark a lesson.”

Hand throbbing, he stood next to Lu. The spot where he’d landed his blow cleared away some of the hanging bark, and that was it.

“Well, let’s try again.”

“My hand feels like it’s broken.” Connor raised it up for both of them to see. There was blood on his knuckles where the force of the blow had torn though his skin.

“I guess it’s a good thing you have two, then, isn’t it? Besides, even if it was broken, our healing factor won’t leave it that way for long.”

Four long hours passed. The sun was setting and Connor had yet to pass any of Lu’s tests. He couldn’t move a boulder, punch through a tree, or even get close to pinning him in a wrestling match.

Connor’s knuckles were bloody. Lu was right, his knuckles healed quickly and the wounds were already gone, just the blood remained.

Lu threw him to the ground for about the hundredth time. His legs and back ached from trying to heave boulders and every other part of his body was screaming in discomfort from being thrown so many times.

“Emotion.” Lu stood over him once again. His green eyes stared intently at Connor. “That’s what you’re missing. You have the ability, the drive, and the desire, but you’re missing the most important thing.”

“What do you mean?”

“Why haven’t gotten angry this whole time?”

“What?”

“Yeah, we’ve been out here for almost five hours and you haven’t been able to do even the smallest thing right. The entire time you haven’t shown any anger or frustration. Why?”

“I guess I know it will come. It’s only the first day.”

“What if it was the last day? Where’s that guy I saw in the forest? That crazy maniac who stormed through the front door with a pickaxe?”

Connor thought about this for a moment. “I’m not angry. I was angry then. Angry about what they were doing and what they were going to do to you and Laren.”

“You were angry. You used that anger and turned it into something good. You used that rage and saved my sister and me. We need to find that rage again, Connor, and teach you to harness it.”

Connor thought about it. It made sense. Before, he would find that rage and channel that power into school sports or