Reeves

by Serena Valentine

  Seraphina looked at the ground at the papers on the floor. “I don’t get it, where did you even get these ideas?”

  “From this.” Timothy proudly handed her the paper they used. “Yes, there is no way Reeves will be in Hidden Secret for much longer.”

  “Here,” Seraphina handed the paper roughly back. “Reeves? I’ll be back. I have to visit Cambria.”

  “What?” Reeves watched Seraphina take off. “Why is she going to visit Cambria?” He was expecting some kind of look that would explain it, but Tracy just looked at Timothy as if maybe he knew. Everyone was clueless.

  What was she up to?

  Chapter 23

  Tracy read the paper repeatedly as Timothy continued to scout. Why in the world did she take off? “Why did she go to Cambria? She can’t go there, they’ll throw her out or do something worse. Damn it, Seraphina Medina, what are you thinking?”

  “Reeves is back.” Timothy groaned as he spied out of his window. “Looks like he didn’t find her.” He looked over at Tracy. “Why couldn’t he find her?”

  “I don’t know. Oh, I hate this! What is she doing?” Tracy started to chew on her fingernails in frustration. Why had her sister visited Cambria? “If she’s going to try and make all those kids tell the truth, she’s crazy. That’ll never work in Cambria.”

  “Oh, she’s back.” Timothy laughed in triumph. “She’s getting out of a car with the officer?” He looked over at Tracy. “What could she do with Murphy Day?”

  “What are you doing?” Reeves had to ask. “Why’d you run off to Cambria?” He groaned. “It wasn’t very welcoming.”

  “Reeves. You know, you're good. You're exceptionally talented.” Seraphina smiled. "I think you've got a shot at getting it all back."

  “How?” Reeves looked at Murphy. “You will give me my job back?”

  “No.” Murphy shook his head. “Not as a Paladin, I can’t.”

  That was worth it to ask. “Well, at least I know.” Reeves smiled fakely. Again. Oh, he was beginning to hate smiling like nothing was wrong for all the people of the sector.

  "But Adventurer, I can. A low-level Adventurer is equal to a high Paladin for physical testing." Murphy crossed his arms. "I believe you and the residents here about the charges, my sixth sense tells me that it's fake. However, I can't use my sixth sense as evidence anymore as I'm a retired Adventurer." He tapped on his notepad. "I can tell you that often when Champion Paladins get into something tough, becoming an Adventurer 'erases' it. Too much paperwork, it accidentally gets 'lost' because no one wants to make transition papers over again. And as I overlook those papers, I guarantee it'll be OK."

  "Adventurer?" Reeves rolled his head back along with his eyes. "Would I have to leave?"

  "If you actually start to save men, women and children, you can stay." Murphy assured him. "You're automatically contacted if something world threatening creeps up. You must help protect. On the other hand, you get paid a lot better. No more credits."

  Reeves shifted his weight to one side. Adventurer was never what he wanted to be. He didn't care about rescuing those in danger. How many people were in danger in Hidden Secret? He never did anything except help out and assure no one accidentally hurt themselves. Then again, sometimes he did have to rescue, and he wasn't too lousy at it. "What if no one needs rescuing?"

  "Then no one needs rescuing." Murphy assured him. "If you think you can make it, do it. Paladin is gone, I can't help you there. Of course, there is a serious issue if you do it. A sidekick must-"

  "I knew it." Reeves interrupted.

  “If you make it and find yourself a sidekick, then you’ll be good.” Murphy replied. “Not a showoff sidekick, only a pro sidekick. They need to be eighteen or over, Adventurer Sidekick is a job, and you have to be able to get legally paid for it.” He looked at Reeves. “Now, Reeves? I know Hidden Secret is small, but is there anyone you’d want to consider training for the position?”

  “Someone who could keep up. Someone who is strong and good of heart. Someone who is not a child.” Reeves looked over at Seraphina. “Someone whose showed me new things. Showed me the eyes of truth, and that even I’m nowhere near perfect. There is only one person who could do it.”

  “What?” Seraphina took a step back. “Reeves, you can’t be serious.”

  “It would not be easy, I admit,” Reeves warned her, “but there is no one else in Hidden Secret, and your true powers are starting to show.”

  Seraphina moved around on her feet uncomfortably. “Reeves?”

  “I know.” Reeves confessed. “Having a sidekick was not my biggest dream.” He took a deep breath. “I know you have the rest of the day and five more days to decide. It’s what we agreed on, but do you know yet?”

  “Mostly.” Seraphina watched as Tracy and Timothy rushed over with Sammy.

  “Look, I can only stay for so long,” Murphy reminded them. “Pick or I have to leave without a date to come back.”

  “Seraphina,” Reeves said as he strolled over to her. “I need to warn you. I don’t want to, but I must. This is not going to be easy.”

  “Of course, it's Adventurer Sidekick.” Seraphina replied. "Adventurer."

  “Adventurer Sidekick is difficult, and it will be difficult. Still?” Reeves looked her straight in the eye. “No more medication is more than worth it.”

  “Seraphina.” Tracy's voice was on edge. “Seraphina, just give in and he can have everything back.”

  “Don’t give in and we could still get everything back.” Reeves grinned. “You will no longer need to worry about shelter or food. As an Adventurer Sidekick, you will be paid in cash, not credits, and you will live with me in an official airship. Everything up to you, Tracy will have nothing over you.”

  “Live in an airship?” Seraphina asked again. "Like an Adventurer."

  “Everything they took, we can get it back. It takes effort, patience, and faith. Did I mention effort? It will take a lot of effort.”

  “What if this vibe you now have disappears?” Tracy warned her. “And JNSQ, what about JNSQ? How easy would it be for an enemy to defeat you by throwing soda down your throat?”

  “Seraphina!”

  “It won’t be easy,” Timothy added as he pointed at Reeves. “If he says it’s not easy, it’s probably impossible.”

  “It’s not impossible.” Reeves disagreed. “It will be difficult. Like the first few days of training hard.”

  “Oh ho ho,” Timothy pointed his finger up. “Remember that? Remember when you called him names that I can’t say in front of children? Do you want to go through that again? You said it was like being in you-know-where!”

  Seraphina covered her ears. “Okay, that’s it. How long would training take?”

  “Most times, they train for months for Adventurer Sidekick.” Reeves confessed. “Quick training is a week but is not recommended.”

  “Either way, you’re off the hook.” Seraphina nodded. “If I make it, I will stay off the meds and help you see this through to the end to get you out of this mess Tracy put you in. If I don’t make it, I’ll go back to meds, and Tracy will take care of it.”

  “Seraphina,” Reeves said firmly.

  “You said it was my choice before,” Seraphina reminded him, "and this is my choice. One way or the other.”

  “Well?” Murphy looked at Reeves. “When do I come back?”

  “Five days.” Reeves answered

  “Five days?” Murphy frowned. “You should at least take a month or- “

  “Five days.” Seraphina repeated.

  “Well, okay.” Murphy looked in the distance. “You can go into the rewot to train, but if she doesn’t make it, neither of you stay.” Murphy warned them. He pulled a remote from his uniform. "Stand back, this'll need room."

  CLICK.

  The colony started to rumble around everyone's feet. Everyone watched as the Tower began to creak. It slowly began to rise and separate itself from the ground until it was floating. The top of the tower b
egan to descend downward while its bottom lifted upward. Looks of shock and awe were on everyone's faces except Murphy's. He looked like he'd seen it a thousand times before. It was the Adventurer airship, known as the rewot.

  "Look at that, it's actually flying," Daryl yelled. "Reeves’ place is flying."

  "Floating. Towers don't fly," Murphy corrected him. "Flying tower," he scoffed as he hit another button. Before everyone's eyes, the tower began to disappear. First, its turret seemed to fade away like an eraser was being pulled gently across it. It continued until it vanished completely from sight.

  Reeves lowered his shades to look at his almost invisible tower. It spanned almost the entire length of the small sector.

  "How do you find the opening?" Seraphina had to ask.

  Murphy pushed a button on the remote and the sky parted into a square hole that fell. “Retractable elevator. Only thing touching the ground of the colony.” He tossed the remote over to Reeves. "Don't lose that remote, without it you'll never get into your rewot again. It is worth more than a Paladin's life." He covered his mouth. "Sorry, habit."

  Reeves pretended he didn't hear the comment as he caught the remote. It would be one of the things he would have to put up with if he made it.

  "Measure yourself for fittings too, you'll wear uniforms if you make it." Murphy looked Reeves up and down. "Good thing."

  Reeves heard Timothy snicker behind him. Well, at least he could still wear his tinted shades. Sometimes, they really helped. He watched as Murphy proceeded back to the car.

  "Can we honestly make it? Do you think I can actually make it?" Seraphina asked.

  "We'll try." Reeves closed his eyes and took off his shades. Adventurer. Uniforms? A sidekick?

  He had the opportunity to get out from Tracy. He had the opportunity to correct everything. But? He also couldn’t date his sidekick or he’d be kicked out of being a Champion forever. Accepting that this was his next step to help in Hidden Secret, he slid his shades back on. He had to trust destiny would help him find his way. "Let's go."

  Chapter 24

  “Ready to begin your training?” Reeves asked. “It’s going to be hard, but if you can push through, it’ll be worth it.”

  “Yeah.” Seraphina nodded. “I’ll do what I can. Where do we begin?”

  “Right here.” Reeves held up a DVD. He pushed a button on the wall, and a screen emerged from the wall with a slot on the bottom. He placed the DVD in the slot. “Everyone is required to view this. It’s fifteen minutes, but more than fifty percent of applicants quit after this part.”

  Seraphina watched the introduction to So You Want To Be An Adventurer Sidekick. As she watched, her expressions changed from positive to extremely negative. Oh. Okay, she didn’t know exactly how to take what she saw and heard. Maybe Timothy could be right, maybe medication was the way to go. “Reeves? Are those facts right?”

  “I’m afraid so,” Reeves said, “two out of ten don't survive training. You will sign a waiver before you start too.”

  “Oh. What? Saying no one’s responsible if I leap off to my death?” Seraphina groaned. “How in the world do I do this?”

  “You have to want it bad enough.” Reeves replied. “I promise, I will do my best to keep you alive.”

  “Okay. Just do your best to keep me alive and I’ll do the rest.” Seraphina turned off the video. “I have to say, this has got to be the dumbest thing I’ve ever done. Now what?”

  “AGAIN.”

  Seraphina refused to grumble as she strived to flip just right. She flipped two times and landed on two circles on the floor Reeves had called oven rings.

  “Not perfect. Again.” Reeves watched over and over as Seraphina did her best to learn how to flip just right. They had worked for three hours straight, but he couldn’t let up on her. She understood the severity, and this time, did not constantly complain. “Again.”

  “My back is starting to hurt a little.” Seraphina informed him as she got ready. “Should we try something else?”

  Reeves shook his head. “Again.” Seraphina sighed but put her arms up. She flipped once, she flipped twice and landed mostly within the circles. “Still not quite correct. You have to land perfectly on the test.” Reeves insisted. “There is no time to think, you just have to know.” He did a half turn and landed perfectly with one hand in the air and one on the circle. “No matter where you are, you must know exactly where your target is. There's no time for playing around.”

  “I understand,” Seraphina nodded. “I’ll try again.”

  “Yes, but I have to add something.” Reeves looked at the circles. “Normally it’s two weeks before I should train this way. You and I both must pass some difficult tests. Sorry if you get hurt, but we have no time to dawdle.” He pulled out the rewot’s remote and aimed it at the floor. "Come over here, were starting the first set of oven fire rings. Seraphina watched as the circles had grown red edges from the sides. Before she knew it, the entire two circles were surrounded by a glowing fiery red. Ooh, that explained the name.

  “That’s no trick.” Reeves pointed to the floor. “You must land perfectly on the cool spots, the circles themselves. If you land even on the edges, you will receive a nasty burn.”

  “You know.” Seraphina stared at the circles on the floor. “I always wondered how Adventurers knew how to aim so perfectly. Now I wish I didn’t know.”

  Reeves backed up. “You’ve done it before, don’t be scared. Just follow your gut and do it.” He proceeded to flip three times, perfectly through the first five oven rings.

  “Two flips. Two flips and land in the cool centers.” Seraphina put her arms up. “I can do this. I can do this.”

  Reeves could tell as soon as she started her second flip, she wouldn’t make it. He looked away as he heard the loud scream.

  Seraphina quickly pulled backwards and landed with a thud on the floor as she felt her right hand. Almost perfect, but her little pinky was just a smidge off. Just a smidge was still enough to get one nasty burn. “Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!” Reeves ran over and gave her a cooling towel and was ready with gauze. “I am sorry. I bet that hurts.” Reeves wrapped a small amount of gauze on the hurt part. “There you go.” He tried to smile. “You almost made it. Maybe you’ll make the next one?”

  SEVERAL BURNS LATER...

  Seraphina looked at her right hand. Two fingers were bandaged up, along with her thumb on her left hand.

  “It’s getting close to bedtime.” Reeves watched his clock. “Considering this was your first half of a day, you did very good.” He watched her stare at her hands. “You’re going to start calling me Pervert again, aren’t you?”

  “No, Reeves.” Seraphina smiled at him even though her hands were still in pain. “It’s not your fault, I’m not sturdy enough yet. I’ll become proficient.” She looked back at her hands. “I better make sure I don’t lose anything important before I try out. Like my life.”

  Reeves watched his clock on the wall. “Seven O' seven. We are late for bed.” He walked over to the side. His old bed had crashed at the sudden turning of his tower, tonight he'd make do with a mattress.

  “You don’t hog the covers, do you?”

  Reeves looked back at Seraphina still nursing her hand. “I've got another blanket and pillow.” He looked around the ground, knowing the small cubby spot should be on the ground now instead of the side. It was strange, having his tower on its side. He'd grown used to running up and down the stairs. Now, there were no stairs, and it was one long, deserted hallway. As he thought about how much everything was changing, he saw the colored cabinet door on the ground. He opened it up and saw the spare blanket and pillow. “Here you go", he said as he tossed it to Seraphina.

  However, he slept close to her. She glanced on and off at him. He stared at her, then at her hands, then at her. “Just do it.”

  “Do you have to assume that I know what you’re talking about?” Seraphina said. “I might not know.”

  She knew. “Please?”
>
  “I can’t.” She looked ahead of herself. “Reeves. Tracy set me up here because I have an ex-boyfriend who put a hit on me. Hidden Secret was safe. Sorry.”

  “You used my innocent home to escape a boyfriend who has a bounty on you?” Sheesh. “Okay. Back to the please again?”

  “He doesn’t believe I have JNSQ,” Seraphina said again. “I couldn’t . . .” Nervous. Anxiety. Embarrassment. Shame. “ . . . do him. Some testosterone thing, now he’s trying to send others to do me if they find me.”

  “Obviously you couldn’t have sex,” Reeves said. “You were on your medication. You couldn’t do anything.” No? Wrong, he was wrong. What could she do that didn’t equal energy or too much adrenaline? “You please the man, but not yourself.” Yep, that made everything rise. “One more reason to stay off of medication. Not before though. Before, that wouldn’t have been good. I want to be the one to- “

  “You need to slow down,” Seraphina warned him. “You don’t need to be that open. I get it. You like me. We’ve kissed. You massaged me and touched me passionately. You want a date with me among other things. Life’s a little hectic right now.”

  Yeah, but that wasn’t the reason. The only reason. If he trained her to be a sidekick, he had four options to go. She could be his sidekick, but then he wouldn’t be allowed to have a relationship with her. It wasn’t allowed, and he wanted her in his life. She could be someone else’s sidekick, but then she’d have to leave Hidden Secret. I want her, that’s not going to work. The third would be to propose marriage, which would be tough considering he didn’t have much time. She would have to be extra sure of her feelings before she selected it.

  His last choice was to make her his official Adventurer Courtezan. It was like a courtesan, a high prostitute, but she only stayed and obeyed his desires. She couldn’t live on the rewot, but he could take care of her financially. It was far from an ending she would want but without his help? No one could take care of her. They couldn’t stay together. Seraphina loved her independence, which was part of the battle.