The Element of Fear

Being fearless…is actually a bad thing. Fear is a natural response, while it can and has lead to horrible actions being performed to people undeserving, it does allow one to judge a outside element more carefully and react. Many men and women before us have claimed to have no fears, but how many are alive. How many drunkards say they can make the jump across the gap and end up falling in? How many speed maniacs have driven right into a wall to prove something?

And Mindy wished that karma would come in and kick her brother right where it hurts.

“When you become as great as I, it’s only then you will have no fear and be unstoppable.” Mark breathed out as he pummeled his old punching bag multiple times, the bag bouncing back with each punch. Mindy ignored him as she flipped through her magazine. Mark sighed as he grabbed the bag with both hands to stay it. “We could get a lot more done if I didn’t have drag you past every little thing that scares you.” Mindy continued to ignore him in favor of finishing the story about the elephant and the seal.

And Mark did as well, not noticing that his sister cared very, very little about want he had to say today. “Let’s see…I’m not scared of guns. Nope, I’m too fast for them!” He whipped his arm out and smacked the bag with his fastest punch. “Knives, or just for simplicity’s sake, blades don’t make me flinch.” He raised his foot up and kicked out a few times. “How about guys bigger than me, and with ‘roid muscles?” He grappled the bag and placed his knee in a area that would be considered to be the crotch area for someone who stood about three heads more than him. “Simple!”

“What about people smaller than you?” Mindy nonchalantly asked, not even bothering to look up from her reading.

“Pick them up and throw them!” Mark laughed out loud as he threw a good punch lower on the bag. “Or sock them in the face. Whatever works best.” He chuckled out the rest of his laugh as he went nuts on the bag, causing it to be knocked all around. Mindy, getting ready to do the same to her brother, prayed for a intervention.

And it came on a thread from the ceiling. As Mark stopped hitting the bag around, the spider was free to land on the punching bag and crawl down to the eye level with Mark. He didn’t notice the eight-legged creature until he had a long draw of his water bottle, and when he did he freaked. Let out a wail and threw himself over the side of the divider between the hall and the training room and huddled up against it. That got Mindy to put down the magazine and glace at two things: the spider minding it’s own business on the punching bag and her brother ready to piss his pants. With a large smirk on her face, she strolled over to the spider with the magazine in hand. One swat and the poor creature went flying off out the open window.

And for the next four weeks, Mindy had a great time harassing Mark with the tale of how she vanquished his greatest foe, the dreaded punching bag spider.