“Kat!” Damon screamed and looked frantically about. He sprinted towards the weights section but looked into the kitchen on the way. “No! Kat, No!”
Damon was too late. The knife hit the floor after Kat had sliced along the vein in her left arm. Damon sprinted into the kitchen, grabbed a clean tea towel from the drawer and placed it firmly on Kat’s forearm as the blood started to flow. Kat continued to stare blankly in front of her, not aware that Damon was there. He scooped her into his other arm while keeping pressure on her left arm.
Connor and Dereck both bolted into the kitchen.
“I’ll call an ambulance,” Dereck said, turning to run to the desk.
“No. The lunchtime aerobics class isn’t too far away. People will start showing up. I’ll drive. It’ll be faster, and we don’t want them seeing Kat like this. It will make it much harder for her to recover,” Connor said.
Kat looked up and noticed Damon. “What?” She looked at her arm that Damon was holding the towel on and started trembling. “W-what did I do?”
“It’s okay, Kat. We’re going to fix it. Sensei Connor will drive us to the hospital while Sensei Dereck calls your parents. Everything’s going to be okay.” Damon pulled her closer to his chest as he walked towards the door.
Connor jumped straight over the desk instead of going around it to get his keys.
“Grab my belt too, Sensei. I’ll use it as a tourniquet in the car.”
Connor grabbed the belt and his keys, jumped back over the desk and ran to his car. He had the door for the backseat opened when Damon got there.
“It’s okay, Kat. I’m just getting into the backseat with you now. I’ll keep you on my lap and wrap my belt around your arm.” Damon pulled the seatbelt over them both and clicked it in.
As soon as he heard the click, Connor started driving. “If the cops pull us over for speeding, they can give us a police escort.”
Kat’s shaking became more intense. “I’m so sorry. Everything became so dark, so meaningless. The attackers are winning. I can’t do anything to stop them. We’re all their prey!”
“No, Kat. We can make this world a better place. We had a plan.”
“It’s not enough! They keep attacking people who can’t fight back. What if they did fight back? What if they won? What if we made the monsters live in fear for a change?”
“What do you mean? How could we do that?” Damon asked.
“We could find out who some of them are. Use me for bait. They all want to hurt me. I need to learn how to hurt them! You could teach me! You could help me! You could protect me!”
8
Connor opened the car door for Damon and ran next to him into the Emergency Department. The only person in line was asked to take a seat.
The nurse looked at the three of them in their gym uniforms. “Gym accident?”
Kat leaned forward, still in Damon’s arms. “I did it. I didn’t mean to.”
“It’s not your fault, Kat. That was way too close to what happened to you.” Damon pulled her into his chest and stepped closer to the nurse. “Her real name is Katerina Chase. Everyone knows her as Emily Jones, the girl in the coma.”
“Oh my God! The news today!” She turned to Kat with kind eyes. “Did you hurt yourself, sweetheart?”
Kat nodded. “Everything went so dark.”
“I saw the end of the article and looked for her. I got to her as the knife dropped. The incision was white and just started to go red as I put the tea towel on it. It looked deep and went for the length of her forearm, along the vein.”
“Did you change towels before you wrapped it? When did it happen?”
Connor looked at his watch. “Nine minutes ago. I sped here, and we ran in. No wasted time.”
“It’s the original tea towel. I couldn’t see any blood seeping through when I wrapped the belt around it,” Damon put in.
The nurse smiled and nodded, but her eyes were filled with tears. “I’ve got a daughter your age. Let’s get you out of the waiting room.”
Dominique and Eric sprinted in, tears pouring down their cheeks and out of breath.
“Kat!” Dominique gasped.
“I’m okay, Mum. I’m sorry.”
“We called the gym and ran to the car as soon as we saw the news. We knew it would be bad,” Eric said through his tears.
“These two young men acted promptly. It should be much easier for us to fix her arm.” The nurse’s tears won and started flowing down her cheeks. “The other stuff’s much harder. I’m Kylie. Please come with me.”
A nurse a few years older than Kylie took her place at the counter. “God bless. I’ve notified the doctor, and he’ll be with you shortly. You’ll get through this, love. Don’t let the bast…bad men win.”
Kylie took them into a long corridor with beds and curtains on either side and stopped at the first bed. “Put Kat on the bed, please.”
Damon did as he was asked. Dominique wrapped her arms around Kat just before a man in a white coat walked in.
“I’m Doctor Fred White.” He started pulling the curtains and looked at Damon and Connor. “There are chairs at the end of the corridor. Could you please wait there?”
“Of course.” Damon turned to Kat, “You’re in good hands. We’re just out here if you need us.”
Connor gave Kat a warm smile, and they walked out of the room made of curtains and sat at the seats about fifteen metres away.
“I’ll let Dereck and Laura know she’s with her parents and the doctor. She should be fine. I want to wait to find out for sure. What do you want to do?” Damon asked.
Connor shook his head. “I couldn’t concentrate on work until I’m sure she’s okay. I’ll go back before the rush starts.”
Damon nodded. “I probably will too, but we’ll see how she is. That was fucking terrifying.”
“You saved her life though.”
Damon shook his head. “We did. We worked flawlessly together.”
“What are you going to do about what Kat said in the car?”
“Teach her, help her and protect her, absolutely. Use a fifteen-year-old girl for bait, no fucking way!”
“I see your point, but I also see hers. What if Adam hit one of the girls in the dojo, and she turned around and beat the crap out of him? He’d probably think twice about hitting another girl. I’m not saying you should dangle her in front of serial killers, but train her up. See if she can take on Adam. He’s already got a thing for her and will target her whether we like it or not. Let’s turn the tables. We’ll also be in the dojo and can break it up and break him any time we like,” Connor said.
“She is getting more confident at sparring, but she’s certainly not ready for Adam. We’ll see how she goes with training after this. The TVs stay off the news until she’s well and truly up for dealing with the likes of this. Fuck I’d love to kill the guy who killed the girl on the sand dunes, for both her and Kat.”
“I’d love to kill him too, and I’ve never killed before.”
“It’s totally fucked up how I can kill soldiers, but fucking killers and child rapists, I’m supposed to leave alone. It makes no fucking sense!”
“It would certainly make the world a better place if they weren’t in it,” Connor agreed.
Dr White opened the curtain slightly and walked over. “You two did well. She’ll have a scar, but there was minimal blood loss. You two probably saved her life and definitely made our job easier. Her arm’s fine. Her parents tell me that her mental health had vastly improved while she was working with you. I had recommended a substantial amount of time off but now feel it would be better for her wellbeing to return to work the day after tomorrow if she feels up to it.”
Damon beamed. “That’s wonderful news! She’s an asset to our gym. I won’t leave her unsupervised until we all believe she’ll be okay. I’m leaving the televisions off the news indefinitely.”
Dr White nodded. “Who knows when some evil son of a bitch will do something similar. It’s
too much for her to deal with at the moment. I became a doctor to save lives. It breaks my heart that some can take them so easily.” He glanced back at Kat’s makeshift room. “Thanks for looking after her. You may see her now. I better get to my next patient.”
“Thanks, Doc,” Damon shook his hand.
Connor followed suit. “Thanks, Dr White.”
Damon stuck his head through the gap in the curtains. “How’s our girl?”
Dominique almost knocked the elite black belt over as she flung her arms around him. “She’s okay, thanks to you. You saved my baby’s life.”
Damon hugged her and looked at Connor and Kylie. “It was a team effort.”
Kat sat on the bed with a cookie in her hand. “Thank you all so much.” She pointed to the bags of hospital cookies Kylie had given her. “Anyone want a cookie?”
Connor grinned. “You know I’ll never say no to a cookie, Kat.”
Kylie wagged her finger at him and smiled. “They’re Kat’s.” She used her key to open one of the drawers next to Kat’s bed, which was jam-packed with packets of cookies. She scooped a heap up in both hands, dropped them on top of the chest of drawers and added a few more. “That should do you.”
Connor grinned. “I hope no one else’s hungry.”
Kylie smiled warmly. “Cheeky boy. I’m getting Kat some real food before she’s allowed to go home. I’ll bring sandwiches for all of you. Let the others eat some.”
Damon shook his head. “We’re fine. Just get Kat something.”
Kylie waved her finger at Damon and tried to put on a stern face. “Save a life, get some sandwiches. That’s how it works. You need to keep your strength up too.”
Damon smiled, which highlighted his dimples. “Yes, ma’am.”
Kylie blushed. She’d never seen a more beautiful man. “Um, I’ll hurry up with those sandwiches.”
As soon as Kylie was out of earshot, Kat spoke up. “Thanks so much for saving my life and bringing me here. I won’t do it again. I promise. I know how to save the world now. We can make this world a better place.” She turned to her parents. “Sensei Damon’s going to train and protect me. We’ll hunt the bad guys. I’ll be the bait. I’ll plead for mercy, and when they don’t show it to me, I’ll beat the crap out of them. If I can’t, Sensei Damon will.”
Damon put his hands up in front of him. “Kat, I will definitely train you and protect you. I’m not setting you up with serial killers.”
Tears filled Kat’s eyes. “But…we could save the world.”
Damon walked closer to her and took her good hand in his. “We can still make the world a better place. You can help me research people, and when you’re trained and ready, we may let you spar Adam.”
Kat’s eyes lit up, and she leaned forward. “Yes, please! I want to spar Adam. If he hits me, I’ll beat the crap out of him.”
Damon beamed. “That’s the plan, but you’re not quite there yet.”
Connor walked over and joined them. “You’ll definitely get there. We’ll both help you.”
Damon nodded, “And if anything goes wrong, we’ll take over. We will keep you safe. Only Adam at the moment, and only when you’re ready, okay?”
Kat nodded enthusiastically. “Yes!”
Damon turned to Kat’s parents. “Is this okay with you?”
Dominique nodded as enthusiastically as her daughter had. “We almost lost her today by her own hand. You two saved her. We know you’ll keep her safe, but you can’t be with her all the time.”
Eric continued. “She needs this to keep her grounded. We’ll work out the details later. I went behind Kat’s back last night and read what she had in her folder. There was nothing about being the bait but a fair bit of rule bending via computers. I can help you out there too.” He turned to his daughter, “We’re a team. We all want to help.”
9
Adam walked over. “Come on, Kat, partner me in kumite.”
Kat bit her lip. “Okay.”
They lined up with the other students.
“Heels together, bow, begin,” Sensei Damon instructed.
Adam took two swift steps forward and punched Kat in the stomach, forcing her to take three steps back.
Kat breathed out hard. “We’re not supposed to contact each other.”
Adam nodded instead of bowing. “Okay.” He stepped forwards three times and punched her harder in the stomach.
Tears came to Kat’s eyes. “I said, no contact. Please, don’t hit me again.”
Adam’s steps were faster and longer as he backed Kat into the wall and punched at her nose. Kat stepped to the left, bringing her right knee up into Adam’s groin as his right fist punched the wall. The strike forced his groin protector up into him, hurting him more than if he wasn’t wearing it. He leant forward from the pain and was hit in the nose with a palm heel strike. Kat stepped through, hooked her right leg around his left leg, making him fall to the ground, hard.
The scene changed. Kat was on the beach with Brandon Underhill, the alpha who controlled the pack on the night that changed her life and ended Courtney’s. It seemed to be just the two of them.
“The sand’s a game-changer.”
“Only if you don’t train in it.” Kat moved flawlessly through the sand, hooked his right leg and was about to take him down when she was grabbed on each side by Tommy and Michael.
Brandon smirked. “You’re mistaken if you thought this was a fair fight.”
Sensei Damon grabbed Tommy as Sensei Connor grabbed Michael.
“I never thought it was fair.” Kat kneed Brandon Underhill in the groin, slammed him in the nose with the heel of her hand and took his left leg out, making him fall in the sand.”
Kat sat bolt upright in bed. “We can win this!”
Dominique and Eric sprinted into her room. “It’s just a dream, Kat. You’re safe here with us.”
“It’s not a dream; It’s an omen. We can win this!”
The doorbell rang at six-thirty in the morning.
Kat was up but still surprised. “Who could that be?”
Eric smiled. “You’re popular, my girl. We got so many phone calls and drop-ins last night to see if you’re okay. You were sleeping peacefully, so they all said they’d be back.”
Kat nodded. “The stuff they gave me really knocked me out.”
Dominique answered the door. “Good morning, Chelsea. Please come in.”
Chelsea walked in carrying a plate of cookies and a karate Beanie Bear.
Kat was still wearing her Hello Kitty pyjamas. “Morning, Chelsea. I should probably be dressed by now.”
“Na. You’ve got the day off. Pyjama day. I saw the news about that poor girl, and then you weren’t at the gym last night. Laura said you weren’t feeling well, so I called, but you were already asleep. I knew you’d be…” Chelsea’s eyes dropped to Kat’s left forearm, and she almost dropped the cookies.
Eric took them off her. “Thanks for the cookies, Chelsea.” He looked at Kat pointedly to encourage her to make the decision.
“Chels, can you come into my room for a moment?”
Chelsea nodded and followed Kat.
Kat sat cross-legged on her bed, and Chelsea followed her lead.
“I saw the news while I was at work yesterday. Everything went dark. The next moment, Sensei Damon’s holding me in his arms like a baby and pressing a towel into my arm. I can kinda remember cutting my arm, but it’s foggy and like a dream. Like I’m watching someone else. Sensei Connor drove us both to the hospital. They saved my life.”
“Oh my God! Um. What can I do to help? How can we stop this from happening again?”
Kat took Chelsea’s left hand in her right hand. “I won’t hurt myself again. I’m different. I know how to help the world now.”
10
Eric pulled up outside Chelsea’s cream brick, single storey home at a quarter to six on Friday morning. The front door opened, and Chelsea bounded to the car. Eric pressed the button for the boot, and Kat jump
ed out of the backseat.
“Hey, Chels. Put your bags in here.” She pushed the boot open.
Chelsea threw her bags in and hugged Kat. “How are you feeling?”
“Good. Everyone was so nice. Thanks for staying for tea last night and missing karate.” They both got into the backseat and did up their seatbelts.
“Thanks for having me. It was so much fun.”
“It was,” Kat replied.
“You’re welcome any time, Chelsea,” Eric said as he drove.
“It was so lovely. You two don’t have an early start on Sunday. Maybe dinner and a movie night tomorrow?” Dominique asked.
Kat’s eyes lit up. “That sounds fantastic!”
Chelsea grinned. “How about a sleepover? That way, our parents don’t have to worry about us, and we can go to sleep when we like.”
Dominique and Eric held their breath.
The car was silent for about thirty seconds, then Kat answered, “Even better. I’d love that.”
Dominique squeezed Eric’s leg, and they both smiled in delight.
All four of them entered the gym dressed in their karate uniforms just before six.
Lucas, Damon and Connor all met them at the door.
Tears came to Sensei Lucas’s black eyes, making them look even more like opals. “Don’t ever scare us like that again, young lady. You’re one of our family.” He held his arms out briefly so Kat could see them and pulled her into a warm hug. He let go as soon as Kat started to back away. “I hear you want to get your kumite as good as your kata. Let’s go downstairs and train. Connor’s got the front desk covered. He’ll definitely have his turn, though.”
The six of them bowed and entered the dojo. Lucas closed the door.
“Kat with me, Chelsea with Sensei Damon and the two adults together,” Lucas instructed and waited briefly for them to comply. “Light sparring for the first few minutes. Heels together, bow, begin.”
Our Cause (Let the Monsters Live in Fear Book 1) Page 7