I woke up to high pitched, staccato laughter and the opening and
closing of doors, but didn't bother to open my eyes. Luke was back
and he had brought Amber with him. A very small and unreasonable part
off my mind had a fantasy that he would actually realize what a bad
idea it was to have a human, that he would probably break up with,
involved with the supernatural world. Alas, my punishment for taking
him on was to fix his mistakes and make sure this girl didn't get
killed.
"Oh my goodness! I didn't know Lizzy had a cat!" I heard
Amber's squeals and quick footsteps coming towards me. Hell no. I
opened my eyes and in a flash, I had jumped off of the counter and
retreated towards the living room, hoping for her to take the hint
and leave me to my nap.
I watched confusion cloud her face as she couldn't imagine why
and animal would run away from her. In a place where animals could be
people. Really it wasn't that hard of a thing to grasp. Amber did
not seem to take the hint, but continued to come towards me, more
slowly this time. Where the hell was Luke and why was he not stopping
this? I glanced out the windows that lined the back wall, and noticed
that the sun had gone down. I had slept for a longer time than I
thought.
"Here kitty," she simpered as walked over to the edge of the
kitchen where I sat with my ears pulled back in annoyance. My claws
itched to be raked down her cheek, but I knew better and I also
pretty sure that Luke would heavily disapprove and probably be very
angry.
"Come on baby I don't wanna hurt you," she reached her hands
out for me, but was still about five feet away. I hissed once, in a
last-ditch attempt to get her to stop. Luke hurried from the kitchen
now, finally realizing what was happening.
"Babe, I don't think that you should pet her," he warned as
she cooed. Damn right, I thought, but she just kept coming. A bit
late, I realized that she wasn't going to give up. She was only two
feet away when I shifted back to myself. I was kind of annoyed at
myself for letting her too close, but the look on her face as she
watched me change almost made me die laughing. Her eyes were widened
in a mixture of fear and awe as I put myself back in my own skin.
When shifters first started to use their power, it was slow and
honestly kind of horrific to watch. Those of us that were older
however, made the change into a kind of art. I controlled the change,
making myself grow in size, then stood up on my hind legs before they
elongated and became human once more. The last thing to go was my
fur, which slowly faded so as to keep the swirling pattern on my skin
until the last moment.
"Call me kitty one more time," I warned her. Her face
scrunched up in anger as my words dripped with contempt. Side effect
of being of being a cat I guess, nothing angers them more than being
woken up.
"How was I supposed to know? A lot of people have pets, it's
not like I committed a crime or anything." She yelled and crossed
her arms over her chest. She gave me her bitchiest glare and I
returned it the best I could.
Amber didn't scream or run away, nor did she look freaked out
enough for her to not have known about this ability prior to her
arrival only contributing to the growing feeling of displeasure that
her presence gave me. I stared past her to Luke, whose apologetic
look did nothing to dampen neither my, nor Amber's animosity. I
ignored him completely and focused on the problem I saw as soon as
she had entered my home.
"What are you even doing here? Do you know why Luke chose to
come here?" I asked. This seemed to throw her off guard a bit,
making her expression slightly less severe. Ha I was now winning the
bitch off.
"Ya of course I do. He said that he was going to help you 'clean
out a vampire den', but I've never seen a vampire, so of course I
have no idea what is actually happening." She pouted.
Good god, this was just a teenage jealousy thing wasn't it. I
fought hard to keep a nasty look off of my face that would let her
know how idiotic I found the whole situation. I knew teenagers were
drama oriented, but I honestly hadn't dealt with them a lot in the
past couple of years. I prepared myself to be understanding and to
reassure her about Luke.
"So you believed that people could like turn into animals, but
not vampires?" hmm, probably not the best thing to diffuse the
argument. I was about to say something probably very profound to take
some of the edge off my mistake, but we'll never actually know
because Amber actually surprised me.
"Ya, it sounds kind of silly if you put it that way." Amber
actually looked sort of embarrassed, "I just heard that he was
doing something with his ex and I didn't really know what to
expect. He told me that you were quite a bit older than him."
"Well, kind of an understatement, but very true," I told her,
"And that is precisely the reason that we would never have worked
out."
We studied each other for a few more minutes. She looked like she
was trying to assess the truth of my statement and figure out if I
actually meant it when I said that I didn't want Luke. I on the
other hand, was taking this time to think about the mission to come.
Amber had reminded me of what I had been too distracted to think
about all day. (To my credit, I was a bit distracted.) Tomorrow, I
would spend the day in the library a couple of blocks from the
apartment building and rent one of the mostly sound proof rooms to
research all that I could on the building that they resided in and
the particulars of each murder. I was still kind of annoyed that the
Moroi did not send guardians out to take care of the problem. I was
pondering the possibility of being able to get into the building by
pretending to be stragoi, when Luke spoke up for the first time,
making me realize that they were still in the room.
"Hey Lizzy, it is getting pretty late. Amber and I are going to
hit the hay for the night," he made almost sound like a question.
"Ya of course," I nodded distractedly, my mind still on
different strategies for the task ahead, "I think I'm going to
head out to the library tomorrow."
Luke sighed, but his face split as a grin lit his face. Usually,
when I went out to do research, I sent him hundreds of links and blue
prints of buildings that he had a hard time keeping up with, but we
always managed to have a fun time thinking of the most ridiculous
plans utilizing the most obscure parts of the information. Usually, I
would return his grin, but today I felt drained and anxious. It could
have been the after effects of my impromptu trip down memory lane or
the nagging suspicion that Amber would want to join us in our little
exploits, but I was only able to manage a twitch at the edge of my
lips before going to my room. Before I started towards my bedroom I
heard a screech coming from the direction that Luke and Amber had
gone and rushed around and into the residential hallway. I barely
held in a laugh as I saw Amber flat on the ground covering her head,
while thirty barbed arrows now graced the wall behind her. Luke stood
horrified next to her and I definitely understood his expression. By
all accounts, she should have been dead. She had to have some
seriously good reflexes to not have been pierced by the barbed heads
of the arrows.
"I guess I should probably take down some of your 'security'
tonight, shouldn't I?" Luke turned to me sheepishly.
"I did tell you that this apartment was not safe for humans
Luke. I don't say things because I like the sound of my own voice."
I scolded him, still laughing at Amber's prone position.
"That is highly debatable." Luke grumbled. We said good night
again before I was finally able to retreat to my room again. I
changed into a pair of leggings and a light jacket before heading out
to the gym again. After the rush of emotion that my memories usually
brought, there was no way I was going to risk sleep tonight. I knew
that as soon as I closed my eyes, I would see Will's face, mocking
and furious, as fresh and painful as the day I left.
Luke woke up to sunlight streaming through the window of his room.
Amber was still sleeping, with her head burrowed into his chest, and
fingers bunching the light grey material of his shirt. Luke loved
waking up before Amber because it made her so happy to wake up to a
kiss or a compliment on her natural beauty. Luke also loved the way
she wriggled around like she was still trying to find a place on the
bed that would give her just a couple of more minutes of sleep. Today
though, he thought while Amber still slept. He thought about the epic
karaoke battles they had gotten into on the way up to New York.
Singing at the top of their lungs and with the windows down and hair
flying everywhere. It probably wasn't the safest thing he'd ever
done, but she had found a way to make the long drive exciting. Luke
also thought about his close encounter the day before. He had been
startled yesterday by Lizzy since the second he stepped through the
door. The wild look in her eyes as she had opened the door had scared
him, and made him think she needed someone to look after her, though
made a mental note to never suggest such a thing to her. She would
most likely slap him. He had also found it weird that she looked the
same as when he left. Luke had gotten used to the way that humans
changed as they aged, and had been struck that three years had gone
by and her face was as young as he remembered and her obsession with
working out had stayed intact as well. Luke had not kept up his
training since he had been gone, and sorely needed to practice today.
Not that he thought he would have the time. He knew that Lizzy would
expect him to pore over everything she sent him and he was looking
forward to their planning session when she came home.
A hand touched his face, bringing him out of his own head, and he
smiled lovingly into Amber's beautiful citrine eyes.
"Good morning love," he told her before planting a kiss on her
soft lips, "Do you know what you are going to do today?"
"I don't know," she answered teasingly, "am I going to
explore the apartment?"
"Even better, I am going to treat you to a spa day." He told
her happily. He had booked her a full day of treatments so that he
could tackle all of the information coming his way, but as he looked
down at her expression, he saw that she was not entirely happy with
this decision.
"Baby, I thought we could spend the day together. Come on,"
she poked his stomach and moved her eyebrows up and down, "You
gotta know Miss Crazy's got a few interesting things here."
Luke frowned uneasily. He did not like the nickname Amber had
started calling Lizzy, but he could understand where it came from.
None the less, he knew that he had the responsibility to be prepared
for something that he had wanted to do. When he had called Lizzy
about the mounting body count, she had told him that she would take
care of it and that he could help if he wanted, but that she would
not make him. Luke had told her that he would be happy to do it and
that was true. He missed the excitement and challenge of their fights
and plans to keep people safe from things that they didn't even
know existed.
"I promise that we can spend the day together after I finish the
job," he assured her, "Cross my heart Amber."
She wasn't totally content with that answer, but she agreed that
he needed to focus so that he wouldn't get hurt later. Luke didn't
bother to remind her that he would heal quickly and he couldn't
really die. He just thanked her for understanding and gave her a
schedule that listed her first appointment at 9:30, which was in half
an hour. While Amber showered, Luke made his way out to the kitchen
and walked up to the freezer where he found a note with the magnet
centered perfectly that read:
"Out to the library, won't be gone for more than seven hours.
Keep you little monster out of my stuff, and be productive. We both
know that you need to shake off the rust. I am really happy that you
wanted to help." Xo
- Lizzy
P.S. I bought some stuff for you and Amber to eat for breakfast
last night, but I didn't know what you wanted.
Luke laughed. Lizzy acted like a drill sergeant at times, but the
fact that she actually made the effort to get food for them at all
showed him that she cared at least a little. He wasn't even annoyed
that she had called Amber a 'little monster'. It was a term that
she used to describe most people that were younger than her, which
was pretty much everyone.
Luke pinned the note back up and centered the magnet. The fridge
was uncharacteristically full. There were eggs, several different
types of bread, and packs of bacon piled high. Luke quickly picked
the eggs. There was also a small container of red wine cheese, but he
knew that it was one of Lizzy's favorites so he let it be.
Luke had the eggs ready by the time that Amber came out into the
kitchen and put them on two plates. Amber ate her share quickly
before saying goodbye and kissing him quickly on the cheek.
Today, Luke was going to train until Lizzy bombarded him with her
research. This way, he could get his mind into the zone, or so he
hoped. He tried not to think about how much he had probably forgotten
while he had lived in South Carolina, while he put his dish in the
sink and made his way over to the gym. Sure, Luke had worked out and
even taken yoga classes with Amber while he was away, but it was
nothing even close to the regiment that Lizzy kept. Logically, he
knew that her constant motion was more to keep her mind in check, but
those long hours made her stronger and more agile than he thought he
could ever be. Now, coming in cold to a job made him feel like he
would let Lizzy down.
This thought made him determined, so he vowed to push himself as
hard as he could. Luke started out swimming laps in the pool. He made
sure his flip-turns were as fluid as he could make them, and his
strokes powerful and efficient. He swam until he had taken four
strokes off of his laps consistently. Satisfied with his times, Luke
pulled himself out of the pool and checked his phone. No messages
from Lizzy yet, but he was sure that they would be coming soon. But
they never did.
Luke ran laps until his legs felt numb. Nothing. He spent time
slithering along the walkways high off the ground as both human and
snake, trying to make as little noise as possible. His phone didn't
buzz once. Luke threw punch after punch at dummies, simulating the
feeling of being surrounded by enemies and not once did Lizzy's
name pop up on his phone. After six hours, he left the gym, panting
and drenched in sweat. Luke was disappointed and kind of worried
about Lizzy. She was always so eager for his opinions and told him
that there was always something that he would think of that she
couldn't.
Luke took the stairs back up to the top level two at a time and
sprinted across the skywalk to the apartment. There was no real
reason for this other than to see how fast he could get to the
apartment. Once there, Luke went to his room and showered before
changing into clean, grey sweatpants and a plain, green shirt. He
heard footsteps coming from the hall and knew that Amber was back.
Lizzy had kind of a freaky habit of walking silently and sneaking up
on him on accident. There had been more than a few times when she had
scared him right out of his skin. Luke opened his door just as Amber
made it to the door.
"Hi babe," he greeted her with a kiss," How were your
treatments?"
"They were amazing," she smiled up at him, and he noticed that
her face looked fresh and soft, "These people really know how to
make a girl feel like a princess."
"Only the best for you love." Luke swept into a gallant bow,
making his girlfriend giggle and curtsy back to him.
He took her hand and lead her into the living room where he
flopped down on the smooth, leather couch. Amber followed his lead
and snuggled in next to him. They watched TV for a while, one of
their favorite shows was American Ninja Warrior, and were just about
to find out who was going to the next round when the door of the
apartment swung open. Lizzy stood in the open doorway with her arms
full of documents and large blueprints. Her hair was close to
escaping the loose bun, and she wore her 'research clothes' as
she called them. Black sweatpants and a fitted long sleeve shirt.
Somehow, she wasn't wearing shoes and Luke had no idea how she got
into any respectable establishment without them. She closed the door
with some trouble and continued towards the kitchen without
acknowledging the two people on the couch. Luke hurried over to help
her leaving Amber pouting in front of the TV.
"Thanks Luke, would you put those on the kitchen table?"
Unlike yesterday, when she seemed a bit bored, Lizzy's midnight
eyes were focused. Luke was relieved, but still confused as to why
she didn't send some of this stuff earlier. It would be much easier
for him to contribute to their plan ifs he had had time to go over
everything earlier.
Lizzy spread out her findings over the table as Luke watched, "You
know, you would have a lot less to carry if you sent some of that
stuff over here so I could look at it and printed it out."
Lizzy looked up then, actually surprised, "Huh?"
"Ya, I could have printed them out like I normally do," Luke
pointed out. Color flooded Lizzy's face. Clearly, she had forgotten
that she could do that. At this moment, Amber started laughing and
Lizzy's face closed off, regaining the slightly bored look and got
down to business. After the incident yesterday, he wasn't surprised
that the hostility hadn't worn off. Luke quickly sat down at the
table and picked up some of the papers.
"Alright, all of us know about the mounting body count in the
city, right?" Luke nodded and Amber settled down in the chair next
to him.
"Well that is mostly due to the fact that the Moroi are doing
nothing to stop them, though they are aware of the danger." This,
Luke also knew. The Moroi were an ancient race of living vampires,
meaning they could breath, eat, reproduce, and most importantly, die.
They possessed elemental magic, not unlike Lizzy's fire power, but
only used it to help people and try to limit the damage caused by
natural disasters. Because of this, they became a target for many
other supernatural races that hated them. This is where the Dhampirs
came in. These guardians are half human and half moroi. They got
enhanced abilities from the moroi while their sturdiness and looks
came from the humans. The Dhampirs lived their lives to protect the
moroi as they believed that their ancestors were pure beings that
deserved to live on. That leaves the worst of all of the vampire
race, the stragoi. When you think of the creatures that lurk in the
dark, you are thinking of the Stragoi. Made from killing while
feeding or drinking the blood of another stragoi, these bloodsuckers
had no feelings or soul and never hesitated to kill. It was no wonder
that the moroi were scared of them. They could only die three ways:
cut off their head, stab them straight through the heart, or burn
them to ashes in a fire.
Luke made Lizzy stop her speech so that he could relay this
information to Amber. He felt bad. After all her bluster about
wanting to come with him, and now she looked to be way out of her
depth. Once she was caught up, Lizzy plowed on.
"Looking at the people that were murdered, they were mostly
young females. You know how they like to play with their food." At
this point, Lizzy's eyes were blazing. She did not like the fact
that girls were practically defenseless against the dangers that they
didn't know about, "In addition, most of their friends said they
were hanging around the clubs on 12th street. Now there is three high
profile clubs on that street. Hundreds of people a night, low lights,
and heavy alcohol and drug usage facilitate the easy nabbing of an
individual that wouldn't stir up any trouble for at least
twenty-four hours."
It was true, Luke thought, how often did club goers hook up or end
up separated from their friends. It would give the stragoi a head
start, and a very easy way to cover their tracks.
"So what we are going to do, is get me kidnapped," Lizzy told
them confidently. Luke was not impressed.
"We are going to do what?" he leapt out of his chair and
glared angrily at the small girl in front of him.
"Trust me Luke I'll be fine! I fit their target perfectly."
Her eyes were glowing now and her lips twitched as if they couldn't
get the words out fast enough. "I know a stragoi when I see one, so
all I have to do is get them to take me, and we could have you follow
behind. If you shifted into a bird and followed them from above, they
wouldn't even know what was happening. We know the streets well and
these blue prints will give us a good idea of the building we should
aim for. You know I am right."
Luke mulled it over. The more he thought about it, the more sense
it made. He had gotten used to humans and their breakable nature, and
therefore worried about her wellbeing. What he didn't factor in was
that Lizzy was a shifter just like him. Her cuts healed before his
eyes, her reflexes reflected those of the cats she loved to become,
and training had made her a fierce opponent by any account. He opened
his mouth to reply, but was cut off as Amber made her presence known.
"So where do I fit into this plan?" she asked confused. He and
Lizzy had been talking as a team of two and had not even given Amber
a second thought. Luke felt bad for not including her, but there was
no way that he was going to let her on the mission. The hard look in
Lizzy's eyes told him that they were on the same page.
"No." Lizzy said shaking her head slowly, "I am not going to
be responsible for your death, which will happen if you come with
us."
Amber crossed her arms and stuck her bottom lip out at the other
girl. Luke did not like the outlook of the situation. Knowing Amber,
she would try to bait Lizzy into letting her come. Lizzy didn't
come off as the kind of person to fall for such childish things, but
Luke also knew her better than most. She liked challenges and she
might deem this as something she wanted to push herself with.
"Oh, so you think two shifters couldn't keep one measly human
safe?" Amber sneered and Luke groaned internally.
"Maybe not if the 'measly human' is an imbecile," Lizzy
muttered. While he wasn't happy about the insult, Luke's heart
lifted, but he knew it was ill placed. She was looking at Amber
critically. Luke could almost see her plan expanding in her mind.
Where she put Amber, and how she could be useful. Lizzy would either
put Amber in the back lines, out of the way or in the front lines
where the challenge would be greatest. Luke was worried because the
later was more likely. The thing about Lizzy, was that she tended to
attract a lot of attention in a club. Not only did her unusual
features draw unwanted eyes, but she lacked the relaxed and slightly
unfocused nature of most party girls. She knew this and would want to
use Amber as a shield to blend into the normal crowd.
"I'm sorry Amber. It was rude to disclude you from our
potentially deadly endeavor. Of course you can come." Lizzy smiled
at Amber like a Cheshire cat. Her voice dripped sugar and honey.
"Absolutely not. Amber, we can get hurt and it will be painful,
but it won't ever kill us. You on the other hand, can be killed
easily by these monsters. You have no experience and I will not let
you go." Luke said in a firm voice and set his face. He would not
allow her to get hurt.
"That was the wrong answer!" Lizzy sang behind him. Luke
glowered at her, trying to convey that she was not helping, but
evidentially, she was right. His girlfriend was now shaking with
anger. Amber pushed her chair back with such force that it skidded a
little way across the floor.
"You, friend, do not get to tell me what I am allowed to do.
Lizzy is the leader here, right?" Lizzy nodded, trying desperately
to contain a laugh, while Luke just looked at her like she was crazy,
"If she says I can go, then it's settled."
"Alright then, Amber said it! We are going clubbing tomorrow."
Luke's eyes widened as he didn't actually think that Lizzy could
be so reckless or that she and Amber would side against him on
anything.
Amber seemed to think that she had won the argument. She bumped
his shoulder as she walked past him and disappeared down the hallway
to their bedroom. How could he let this happen? She was going to get
killed and it was his fault. He should have never let her come with
him to New York in the first place. Lizzy was angry at him for
bringing her here, but now it seems the roles were reversed.
"I won't let her die." Lizzy came up behind him and put her
small hand on his arm. All of the laughter was gone now. The lines
that showed when she was laughing were perfectly smooth now and the
deadly focus was back, "I'll even take her into the gym tomorrow
and teach her some things. Trust me, they'll have to kill both of
us before they get to her. If she is important to you, then I'll
protect her."
Reassured, Luke let the tension drain out of his shoulders. It had
been a long day and he was tired. "Thank you Lizzy, but she doesn't
know the first thing about fighting," he said hopelessly.
"It doesn't matter," She shrugged, making him tense all over
again, "All that we need is for them to think she is the bigger
threat, even just for a moment. After that they'll all be dead. For
good this time."
Luke shivered. Lizzy's vice had turned savage, scaring him like
it always did. It was the only thing that kept him from arguing
further. He trusted her to put Amber's safety first. Sometimes, he
thought that killing was the only thing that kept her sane. The cold
practice counteracted the effects of the searing heat of the memories
that left her in varying states of grief. While he liked that she
slept better after their missions, he didn't like what battle did
to her. She ripped through opponents without regard for her own
health and often suffered horrific injuries that she just laughed
off. It was terrifying to watch.
Luke turned to say something else but she was gone. Were all of
the older shifters this silent? He shook his head and headed down the
hall and climbed in beside Amber, who was already asleep.
I cannot believe that I just did that. Did I really just promise
to teach Amber how to fight? Why? That doesn't seem like something
that I want to do. Actually, it was the least fun thing that I could
think of at this moment. Never the less, I had committed to it, so I
guess I had to see it through. Ugh. I was sitting on my bed and going
over the conversation that had happened in the kitchen. So far, I was
not impressed. It went well up until Amber opened her big mouth. She
was probably proud of herself for being able to bait me into
something like a child, but I was more horrified than anything. The
whole time she was talking, I was thinking of her like a science
experiment. What if she did come? Could I keep her alive, or would
she die? Truthfully, I didn't care what the answer was at the time;
I just thought it would be fun to try. I know it was a horrible thing
to think, but to me, humans are so temporary. What finally brought me
out of it, was the panic I saw written all over Luke's face. Every
muscle tensed and lines carved themselves into his usually peaceful
face. Amber obviously meant a lot to him, and it would hurt him badly
if she were to die. That was really the only thing that really made
sense to me. This still wasn't the best reason for wanting to keep
someone safe, but I'd take what I could get.
Since I had a big day of trying not to rip my hair out in
frustration coming up, I would actually have to sleep tonight. I
usually tried to sleep the night before an operation, but the
nightmares were so bad lately that I was contemplating staying up
just a day longer and waiting for the dreamless sleep that usually
followed battles.
Sighing, I climbed into bed and just hoped that I would not dream
of Will. My mind had been oddly fixated on him recently and I always
came to with my chest aching. It had taken a long time for me to stop
missing him, but if this kept up, my hard work could unravel
completely. I put my head down and tentatively sank down into the
pillows.
I opened my eyes to blue. The color was everywhere, smothering me.
Eventually I realized that I was in the water and sinking fast. I
tried to kick out and bring myself to the surface, but my legs were
tied together. I looked down to find chains circling my feet attached
to a large rock that was dragging me towards the bottom of the lake
with ruthless efficiency. I took stock of what I could use to free
myself and saw that my hands were tied as well. The rope bit into my
struggling hands until droplets of blood clouded the water around
them.
I screamed, causing bubbles to stream from my mouth, but quickly
shut it as I was wasting precious air. Realistically, I knew that I
would be ok, but it was hard to fight the burning feeling in my lungs
as I struggled to hold my breath.
This was one of the worst times in history. The Salem witch trials
were a stupid fad that made anyone that looked, acted, sounded, or
did things differently than the mainstream populous a huge target. It
created a pack mentality that existed only to rid the world of so
called 'witches'. I was deemed a witch in every single town that
I had moved to. Looking like I did combined with being the newcomer
did not go over well with anyone. Often, I wished that shifters were
able to alter their human appearance other than the age we looked,
but like our color scheme, that was something that just couldn't be
changed.
Anyways, back to drowning. At the time, I had to be calm to shift.
I hadn't really had reason to train on how to change in stressful
situations, so that wasn't an option to escape. Because of this, I
spent hours trying to calm down enough to shift into a small fish and
swim down river. Meanwhile, I spent the night feeling like I had a
ton of bricks on top of my chest until I jerked awake to sunlight
streaming into my room and my comforter twisted around me,
restraining my arms.
I ripped off the covers, gulping air. I doubled over with my head
between my legs with my mind still trying to justify that I was safe.
Slowly, I pulled my legs off the side of the bed and stood up. I was
still a bit shaky, but a quick walk would fix that. I let my morning
routine fill my mind and take my attention away from the crashing
waves of my dreams. I washed my face in the sink instead of taking a
shower and brushed my hair. (I did not want to deal with more water
than I needed to.) Now this was a task that took some effort. The
thick white ringlets seemed to rebel against the brush, tangling in
places that just minutes ago I had finished. Once this was done, I
felt much better and the haunted eyes that stared at me from the
mirror and taken on a much healthier look. The closet door was open
and waiting for me to pick the day's clothes.
Ugh. I stiffened, remembering that I had promised to give Amber
some training. My mood soured as I pulled on leggings and a grey
sports bra. I left my feet bare as usual and walked out to the
kitchen where Like and Amber were finishing up their breakfast. They
had eggs and bacon piled on their plates and I assumed that Luke told
her that I would not be going easy on her. I smiled internally as I
saw them making good use of the food I had bought.
Outwardly, my face was stern and my mouth was set in a thin line.
I was going to put her through the paces and make her work hard. This
would give me an idea of how close of an eye I was going to have to
keep an eye on her. I needed to gauge her strength and timidity so I
could teach her defensive moves that would be suited to her.
"I think you've had enough kids. Wouldn't want to get
cramps." I yelled, enjoying the way they both jumped out of their
skin. "Get up maggots, we are going to start with laps." Luke
stood and saluted, no doubt remembering the routine that I had made
during his first months here. Amber followed his lead and I saw that
she was wearing about the same as me, though she was wearing a
vibrant pink tank top instead of a bra.
"Sir yes sir," Luke yelled, while Amber snickered.
"Oh you think I'm funny soldier?" I looked up at Amber
sternly. She turned to Luke, looking for some backup, but he faced
forward at attention, knowing that I was dead serious. "Get in line
behind me and try to keep up."
My two recruits trailed behind me as I set a brisk pace towards
the gym. I slowed down to what I thought she should be able to run,
but even then she was huffing and puffing by the time her feet hit
the track. Hmm. I was not optimistic about her ability to out run
anything at this point, but I made her run a couple of more laps with
me as she complained the whole way. We finally stopped to rest when I
deemed her too out of breath to go on any longer. To her credit, she
never stopped running for the fifteen minutes that we went, but she
did slow down.
I lead her and Luke through some standard stretches to lengthen
and loosen our muscles. I watched as her eyes widened when I asked
them to go into their splits. I knew that Luke had at least one of
his splits, but the look on Amber's face suggested that she did not
have either, but then I didn't expect her to.
"You can't expect me to be able to just be able to do all of
this stuff instantly. Just because I do yoga, doesn't mean I am
super flexible," she looked disgusted that I would even suggest
that.
"Well, never fear kid. I didn't think you could in the first
place." I explained slowly so as not to display my irritation with
her insolence, "The whole point of this is to stretch your muscles
so you can become more flexible over time."
"What is the point of that. It's not like I am going to be
here for a long time anyways," she pointed out. Amber smirked at me
and looked down on me with mocking pity, "Besides, you can't tell
me to do something that you can't do. I read somewhere that people
with a lot of muscle are too stiff to do their splits anyways."
Man, I hate ignorant people. She might not be staying for long,
but to me it felt like forever. She was just that annoying. I
shrugged my shoulders at her comment and proceeded to sink down until
my pelvis touched the ground. I sat there for a second, examining my
body. I certainly did not look like one of the body builders on TV
that couldn't even bring their arms fully to their sides. It was
true that I had a fair amount of muscle, but it was the lean and
smooth kind that came from running and moving around. I had worked
hard for that muscle since my tiny, five-foot frame didn't lend its
self to much excess of bulk.
Amber grumbled to herself as I pulled myself up and led them
downstairs to a studio with mirrors on all four sides. I directed
Luke to bring one of the large, heavy dummies from the wall to the
middle of the room.
"Now," I explained, "When you punch the dummy, use your body
to provide the power your arms don't have. Imagine that you are
punching through it."
She squared up the way that I told her and swung. There was a
faint whistle as her fist flew through the air. It started off well,
but as she came close to the dummy, she slowed and the impact was
less than impressive. She seemed proud of herself though. She beamed
at Luke, who was trying to look encouraging.
"Amber, you hesitated. There was no reason to. The dummy won't
hit you back, pretend it is trying to hurt you and the only way you
can save yourself is to punch it as hard as you can." I told her.
She nodded and made minimal adjustments. I coached her through
about ten more and though she got exponentially better, it was clear
that she would not be able to attempt any offensive maneuvers.
"Alright, Luke come over here and pin her arms to her sides."
I instructed, and Luke circled his arms lightly around her body. She
giggled and looked up at him while I shook my head and adjusted his
arms myself, "How is she going to learn how to escape a real enemy
is she practices like she is trying to get away from a small child?"
Once his arms were tight enough for them to pose a real threat, I
continued my instruction, "When someone has you trapped like this,
there are two ways that you could chose to escape them. Number one:
stomp on their foot as hard as you possibly can and elbow them
wherever you can reach. Your elbow is sharp and sturdy, so it will
pack more of a punch if you put some power behind it."
Amber nodded and tried as I had instructed, but her efforts barely
phased Luke. I could understand that she didn't want to hurt him,
but if she didn't she wouldn't be able to get out of trouble
later. She struggled to get into a position where she could
effectively use her elbow. I noted all of this silently and mentally
prepared a couple of strategies that would allow me to protect both
of us at once after we were taken from the club.
Finally, Amber gave up. "There is no way I am getting out of
this." Her hair was disheveled and her clothes wrinkled, but she
hadn't really made much headway. She had totally given up on my
instructions and had resorted to twisting and flailing about.
"He is just too strong. He outweighs and out muscles me by a
lot. How am I supposed to compete with that?" She huffed, "It's
like trying to fight my brothers. They just put a hand on my head so
I can't reach them."
Hmm. Amber had been conditioned to think that just because she was
smaller, she couldn't begin to hurt those who were more vertically
inclined. The first step in overcoming that mind set, was seeing
proof that size didn't matter. Who was I to deny her that?
"Luke, come on over here. We are going to fix Amber's frame of
mind." I rolled my neck and shoulders as Luke tentatively walked
over.
"How exactly are you going to do that?"
Amber looked at me quizzically. Clearly, she did not know what I was
getting at, but by the look on Luke's face, he was beginning to get
it.
"You said that there is no way to best someone that is bigger th
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