by Tara Chau
“Gabe, I know you said I’m not allowed to train with you yet, but I disagree. I think that I am fully capable of learning to fight now. I’m all good, in fact, I was days ago. All energised. So, tonight we are both going to the Sanctuary, and you are going to teach me to fight.” I say decidedly.
“Okay.” He says simply.
“Now, don’t try to stop me….” I begin, “Did you say yes?”
“Technically, I said okay. But yes, we can train tonight if you’re up for it.” He repeats.
“YES.” I squeal.
I hear Anne laughing from beside me, and I turn to face her.
“What?” I demand.
“You should probably ask someone else to teach you for the first few lessons. Otherwise, you will end up dragging your broken self to my front door with some bones missing.” She explains.
“What?” I repeat.
“Gabe is a killer fighter. He’s one of the best of our generation. Gabe killed a bloody Hydra, for god’s sake. But that means he’s mean and harsh and does not back down until you’re in a puddle of tears.”
“What?” I say again, finding no other word I could possibly use.
“Don’t, Anne,” Gabe warns.
Anne completely blocks him out and starts talking again. “Didn’t he tell you? Gabe is basically a legend.”
“Annabelle.” He says sternly, but again she ignores him.
“It was about a year ago.” She begins. “A whole army of demons were attacking the Sanctuary. All the protectors went to fight, including Gabe, Ty and myself. When it looked like we were about to lose, they sent all the Protectors under the age of eighteen through a portal, headed for Los Angeles. Gabe, being as pig-headed as he is, snuck back through when none of us were watching. He jumped up onto the roof and looked through a hole that some of the demons had created when flying in. You see, every army needs a commander, including a demon one. Because if demons don’t have a commander, then they don’t have a clue what they’re doing.
Anne takes a deep breath before continuing. “With no instructions, they simply fall, ready to die. Demons need to have a purpose to live. All the Protectors were trying to fight their way towards the middle where the commander would be. There were just too many. As I said before, Gabe climbed up the roof and searched for the commander from up there. When he spotted it, he found out that it was a Hydra. Only four other Protectors have ever killed a Hydra. He had two choices. Go and get help, or jump down from the roof and take on the Hydra queen himself, facing possible death. Guess which one he chose?”
I smile at him and reply. “He went to go face the Hydra himself and face possible death.”
“You couldn’t be more correct.” She says, sounding annoyed. “He jumped down from the roof and caught the demon off guard. With all her other demons busy fighting the Protectors, she didn’t have any back up. Gabe killed the thing, stabbed it through the heart. Earning himself a wicked scare and that chip in his tooth.” She points towards his mouth as Gabe seals his mouth closed.
“Can I see your scar?” I request.
“It’s on my back.” He says as he lifts his shirt up slowly, hesitantly.
I stand up and walk around to see his back. There is a clear huge slash covering his back, spanning from his right shoulder blade to his left hip. I carefully touch my fingertips to the scar, running them over his skin. It’s rough and bulges like a vein, jagged around the edges. I marvel at not only the length of the scar but the muscles and tanned skin it's slashed against. He shivers slightly, bringing me back into reality. I blush, pulling down his shirt. I then go back to my seat and stuff some chicken into my mouth.
“Do you still want him to train you?” asks Anne, noticing my blushing face. I swallow my food and look her straight in the eyes.
“Yes, that just makes me want him to train me more,” I say strongly.
“Alright, but don’t come crying to me when he breaks all your bones.” She says sarcastically, with an undertone of seriousness.
“Chip wouldn’t do that to me, would you?” I say, looking at him, giving him a dazzling smile and fluttering my eyelashes.
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that. I might just accidentally drop you off the roof.” He says, returning my smile and batting his eyelashes back at me.
“Sure you will.”
The training hall is humongous. Six pillars holding up the first floor cause me to gape. In each corner of the hall, there are different stations, each one catering to different fighting techniques. The far-left corner of the room is set up for knife throwing and archery. The back-left corner is the station for sword, dagger, spear and trident combat. Top right-hand corner is for the hand-to-hand combat fighting. Extensive mats are laid out so the hard concrete won’t break any bones should you fall. Towards the back corner to the right, hammered into a pillar, are pieces of strong wood sticking out by a few centimetres, long enough to step on but short enough for it to be difficult. At ten metres sticking out of the beam is another long piece of wood, wide enough for you to step onto. At twenty metres, there is another, and at thirty, another one. What I’m looking at is a jumping pole. Protectors with no harnesses on themselves are jumping from the long pieces of wood, either falling and landing gracefully or falling and landing with a horrible scream.
I tear my gaze from the crying girl who had just fallen from the twenty-metre mark to find that in the centre of it all is a huge screen. Hanging in the exact middle of the room, it shows the scores. Hundreds of names, assumingly the names of Protectors, are being recorded on the board. How high you’ve fallen without breaking or twisting any bones? How many people you could knock out during close combat before you were knocked out yourself. How far you could throw a knife that can hit its desired mark, how fast you could disarm another peer. It’s all recorded on this one big screen, broadcasting for the whole Sanctuary to see. And in the top fifty people, Gabe, Anne, and Ty are placed. Gabe being number 34, Anne being 36 and Ty being 39.
All kinds of weapons hang from the walls: daggers, swords, crossbows, whips, all of the beautiful and deadly. Gabe strides over to the top right- corner of the hall, where the hand-to-hand combat is stationed, turning to smile warmly at me as I approach.
“This is where we start.” He points towards an empty spot on the mat. While kicking off his shoes, Gabe makes his way across the floor to the spot he’d pointed out.
Swallowing my nervousness, I take off my shoes and remove my hoody, walking across to meet Gabe. As I approach, he starts to switch positions, legs shoulder-width apart and slightly bent, fists up. I take my position a few steps away from him and copy his stance.
“Good,” he complements. “Now, show me what you can do.”
Gabe lunges at me, and I break formation. It feels like my body is taking over as I roll under his legs, then coming once again to the same standing position I’d just broken. Gabe smiles widely; a fierce excitement flashes across his eyes. I attack, going for his legs, and I kick out at his shins. Gabe winces. I take that one second to pounce on his back, holding him in a headlock. Gabe stumbles a step forward before gaining his balance again, coming to stand straight and strong. He chuckles quietly to himself, standing perfectly still, which surprises me since I am clinging to his back and have him trapped.
“You might want to get off me before you get yourself hurt.” He warns.
“What do you mean?” I demand. “I’ve got you. I win. One point awarded to me-”
Gabe falls backwards, and I hit the mat hard. The air is knocked from my lugs as I’m flattened against the floor, my back and hips aching, a slow, painful throb.
Gabe rolls off before I can react, heaving me up and wrapping both his arms around me, trapping my arms. I struggle and kick my legs out. Gabe drops to the ground again, purposefully, me still in his arms and on top of him. Gabe folds his legs tightly around mine, giving me no other options. I stop moving, stop struggling. Gabe has cut off all my options to
escape.
“Do you yield?” he asks in an amused voice.
“Protectors never yield.” I spit out, assuming that’s something they say in these circumstances.
I hear Gabe chuckle softly. His breath tickles my ear, making me shiver regretfully.
“Good answer.” He says as he lets go of me.
I scramble up onto my feet, pulling my ruffled hair into a high ponytail away from my face. Gabe follows me up, shoving off his leather jacket and tossing it off the mat.
“You’re good, Reeds. I’m impressed,” he says with a wide smile.
“I didn’t even know what I was doing. It was like my body just completely took over,” I explain.
“You’re a Protector. It’s in your blood,” says Gabe proudly. “Here,” he says, showing me how to position myself properly. “Left foot forward. Your emotions should be fluid. Let them guide your attacks. Stay focused and know what’s around you. You fall, you die,” he warns seriously.
“Okay, let’s go again-” I say, trying to take in his words.
“Gabriel.” A sharp voice, sweet but sour, cuts through my words.
Both Gabe and I look up to see Alice, her distinct frame travelling swiftly through the training hall doors. Alice, the receptionist at our school, looks so out of place here. With all these fighters, she, who is wearing a pencil skirt and silk top, stands out like a red rose in a white rose bush.
“Gabriel.” She repeats. “Quickly, you, Annabelle, Tytus, Hayden and Jessica, must portal to the city square. Half-a-dozen rogue vampires are on a killing spree, and they triggered the sensors. The count for casualties has already begun; eight dead, three injured.” recites Alice, her voice dripping with authority and concern.
“Alice, take Dianna to a spare room. I’ll take her home after we deal with the vamps,” Gabe says, his voice shifting into a low dangerous manner.
I’m so shocked by his change of tone and expression that I don’t realise what he’d ordered until Alice starts reaching towards me.
“No, Gabe, let me come with you. I can help,” I beg.
“Do you think I’m crazy? Why the hell would I let you come to fight rogue vampires? You haven’t even had half a training lesson. You need to have at least three weeks’ worth of training before you go out into the field,” he explains quickly, eyes darting around the hall.
“Gabe, you said so yourself. I’m good,” I say strongly.
“Dianna, I need to go. The longer I stay here fighting with you, the more people suffer.” Gabe emphasises the last word. I flinch.
“Alice, take her to a room. Do you know where my bow is?” he asks, his face concentrated and emotionless.
“Over there in the corner.” Alice nods.
She points to a beautiful black bow. Carved into it are vines that wrap around the entire structure. He slings the quiver, which is also black and full of arrows, across his back, along with the bow itself.
“Death count, Alice?” Gabe requests.
Alice looks to a small screen she’s carrying. I look again, surprised I hadn’t spotted it earlier.
“Eleven, an extra three dead in while you took time to grab your bow and chit chat. Go, now,” she yells.
“Di, go with Alice. Stay in the room till I get back; we’ll talk then. I have to go.” He says as he rushes out of the hall.
“I know you do,” I whisper, fighting the crushing urge to rush after him.
* * *
I am escorted to a room that’s numbered 36. It’s on the same level as Gabe’s room. As soon as the door behind me closes, I look around the room. It’s big. A king-sized bed is pushed up against the left wall, its huge wooden frame taking up a lot of space. A bedside table lies to the right of it, and a mahogany desk is placed under a large painting of two alluring peacocks positioned in a heart shape. A small bathroom is connected by a sliding door. The whole room, beautifully styled. Old fashioned but elegant and modern at the same time. Walking over to the bed, I throw myself hard on the pillows, letting out a loud and ugly yell of frustration.
With nothing to do, no one to speak to, and my body aching, I simply decide to lie in bed with the covers drawn tightly over me. It feels like hours before I start to slip into a light sleep, half between consciousness and bliss. It only feels like a few minutes after that, when a strong hand clasps my shoulder and shakes me into awareness again.
Gabe’s ruffled figure is sitting on the edge of the bed and looking down at me. I turn over to switch on the light and gasp as I sit up and look at Gabe’s face. His face is splashed with blood. His hair is ruffled and full of mud, a deep cut showing only millimetres from his right eye.
“Gabe,” I whisper.
I raise my hand up to his face, but he draws it away with his own, holding my hand tight.
“It’s alright,” he whispers in an uneasy voice, eyes closed. “The rogues are gone. We killed them.”
“That’s good,” I assure him. “How many casualties?”
“Fifteen. Eight injured.” He says. His eyes are still closed like he’s afraid to look at me.
“Nine injured, including you,” I use my other hand to touch the spot next to his cut with my fingertips, making sure to be gentle.
“Ten,” he corrects in an extra shaky voice. “My friend, Jessica. When I thought I had killed the last one, I turned my back. But he was alive. Jessica saw him and leapt in front of me, getting both her arms broken and her right rib as well.”
I wait a minute for him to continue but take in a breath as I realise why he refuses to look at me. I hold on to his hand tightly. “Gabe,” I say sternly. “Tell me you’re not blaming yourself. Tell me that you understand that it wasn’t your fault.”
“I can’t lie to you, Di, not now.” He sounded so sad; it made my heart ache to see how much this affects him.
“Did you want Jessica to get hurt?” I inquire softly.
“No.”
“Did you make her jump in front of you? Because I’m pretty sure she decided to do that on her own.”
“No.” he breaths.
“Then, I do believe that you are not to bear the blame for this accident, and you should know better than to blame yourself. You could have never known that this would happen,” I say sternly.
“I should have checked that he was dead,” he argues.
“And I should have been there to help, but you know what? The universe is an ass,” I state.
“No, if you were there, you would have died. Jessica has been training her whole life while you haven’t even had one day of lessons,” he says harshly.
“I could have made a difference. I could have been the one to save you.” I state professionally.
“No, you need to have at least three weeks’ worth of training before you go out into the field. Legally it is six months,” he says.
“I am not like every other Protector,” I say harshly.
“But you’re still human,” he implores.
“It doesn’t matter right now. All that matters is that you’re not hurt, and you stopped the vampires. You also know that Jessica’s injuries weren’t your fault.” I remind, “Wait, how is Anne?” I ask quickly.
“Anne is fine, only a few bruises.” He assures.
“Oh, that’s good, and Ty?” I ask.
“Fine. Everyone else escaped with minor injuries.”
I let out a heavy breath that I hadn’t noticed I’d been holding and nod, assuring myself that my friends are now safe.
“Alright. Now that I know that everything’s fine, I’m going back to sleep.” I start to sink back into the bed, throwing the blanket back over me.
“Not so fast,” Gabe grabs the blanket off me and pulls me back into a seated position. “I’m taking you back to your house,” he states.
“No, thank you. I’m good here.” I say chirpily.
“Come on, Reeds, let’s get you home,” he says as he scoops me up, carrying me like a baby.
“Gabe,” I say calmly. “Please, put me down gently on the bed.” He ignores me and continues to walk out the door.
I put all my weight onto him, dropping my arms down by my side, hanging my head back and kicking my legs. Anything to make it difficult for him to carry me.
“Di, I’m really tired,” he states, sounding defeated and drained.
“Put me down, Gabe. I can walk myself.”
He sets me down on the floor, and we continue to walk in silence.
“You owe me another training session,” I say as we walk out the door.
“Okay,” he says simply.
The night air is cool, and I shiver just as Gabe wraps his jacket around my shoulders. I smile at him gratefully, reaching for his hand, yearning for his warmth and comfort. He squeezes it lightly, but let's go, and we continue to walk down the empty street. As we approach my house, I begin to feel drowsy swaying from left to right. Gabe picks me up once more and carries me to my room through my unlocked balcony door. He places me down on the bed and removes my shoes before pushing me gently down and covering me with a quilt.
“Gabe” I whisper. “Stay with me?”
He shakes his head slightly. “I can’t tonight. I have to go back to the Sanctuary and fill out the form on what happened. The perks of being a Protector.” he says with a tired laugh. An improvement, but not his usual lop-sided, wicked, infuriatingly charming grin.
“Alright, good night Gabe,” I say tiredly, returning his small smile with one of my own.
“Sleep well, Reeds.”
I walk up to school the next day with every bone in my body screaming at me. It turns out that even if I am alright at fighting, it doesn’t mean that I can’t feel pain. I’m ten minutes early, so I walk around looking for Anne or Gabe. When the bell rings, and I still haven’t found either of them, I walk into class alone.
Waiting at a desk, I save a seat for either of them in case one of the two turns up late. They don’t. By the end of class, I walk out to the oval. With neither Anne nor Gabe here, I’m going to be sitting alone. Walking over to a shady tree, I start to worry. What if something happened with another mission? What if Gabe was lying, and one of them really was hurt? A hand comes down on my shoulder from behind, and I jump. I turn around to see Ty standing there, a look of worry painted across his features.