by J Gaines
“I was lucky… and my luck ran out,” replied Amias.
“I don’t believe that. If you asked me who I’d want with me if I had to fight Kaden, it would be you. Somehow, you’d find a way to beat him, I just know that.”
Before Amias could reply, she walked away, disappearing through the entrance leading to the gym. Amias waited for a few moments before turning and continuing his journey towards the fence. To his surprise, as the perimeter boundary came into view, he was compelled to stop. He looked through the fence at the lush green grass and watched as the branches of the tree he used as a bridge swayed gently. Something was telling him that he should be somewhere else, but he wasn’t sure where, and he’d never felt this way before when there was an opportunity to escape the facility. As the rain fell, he held out his hand and watched as it tumbled onto his arm and twisted around the bruises on his wrists. I’m wasting time. He looked further, past the tree, across the fields to the hills. He sighed deeply and turned away, not looking back as he retraced his footsteps towards the prison block.
When he reached it, this time he found there wasn’t a line of armed guards awaiting him. He stepped inside the entrance, letting the door close quietly, and walked to the desk to be signed in. He followed a guard on what was now the familiar path to the cells where Max and Jasmine were being held. Before he knew it, and before he had properly prepared himself, he was in the visiting area and standing alone, wondering what he should do next.
“Back for another try?!” came the almost jovial declaration from Max. He was sitting on his bed and reading again.
Amias looked at him, quickly deciding not to fight against Max’s efforts to engage him in conversation. He nodded. “Has she spoken to you?”
Max sat up with a thoughtful look on his face. “I thought she did two nights ago… but then I realised she was talking in her sleep. Sorry.”
Amias couldn’t help but smile. “Did you hear what she said?”
“It was difficult to make out what it was, it sounded like a name she kept repeating.” He paused. “I couldn’t be sure if it was yours or not.”
Amias nodded. “It’s fine. At least that’s something.”
“Something’s messed her up pretty good,” added Max.
“Falling off the top of a skyscraper will do that to you,” replied Amias.
Max shook his head. “I know that, but there’s something else, something more than that. If you lost your memory, at least you’d be trying to ask questions to regain it. Especially if somehow you made your way here and then you were locked up for seemingly no reason. She’s not put up a fight or asked to be released. Like I said, it’s like she wants to be here. And she remembers… or feels more than she’s letting on.”
Amias was a little taken aback by Max’s insight. “Olivia was her trainer. Maybe on some level she remembers that, and she’s sought her out?”
Max shook his head again. “Maybe, but from what I hear, she doesn’t live here, she’s only visiting.”
“How do you know that?” asked Amias, not hiding his surprise.
Max laughed. “You’d be amazed at what I pick up in this place.” He tapped his nose, with a knowing grin and a wink. “Plus, she’s been in here as well trying to get her to talk.”
Amias laughed, and then walked slowly towards Jasmine’s glass partition. This time he could see her face. It was almost exactly the same as he remembered it, and as he’d seen it in his dreams. She was sitting on her bed and was also reading, but unlike Max, she didn’t acknowledge his arrival. Her olive skin was flawless except for a large scar which ran from underneath her eye down across her cheek. He’d often wondered how the wound would heal; now he saw her, it was as if it had been added to bring even more mystery and beauty to her face. Her brown eyes were focussed on the book she was reading: The Count of Monte Cristo. He marvelled at how accurate his memory of her was as he tried to stand as unthreateningly as he could.
“Hello, Jasmine,” he managed, watching her apprehensively, unsure of whether he expected her to look up or not. “I’m Amias,” he continued. “We were friends.” Friends seemed like a million miles away from the word he wanted to use. He desperately wanted to add something to correct himself but refrained. “What happened to you, Jasmine.” His last statement was as much a question to himself than to her. He watched as she turned the page of her book.
“What’s she reading?” Max was standing close to the glass again and watching Amias.
Amias smiled and moved away from Jasmine’s cell so he was opposite Max. “Maybe a book to set her mind free. What are you reading?” Max turned and returned to his bed, picking up the book and walking back to the glass. He placed the front cover against the glass so that Amias could see it.
“Pride and Prejudice?” asked Amias in surprise.
“Yeah,” replied Max defensively. “You think I’m not interested in the classics?”
Amias laughed. “Not at all. I’m sure there’s lots you can relate to in certain characters. You’ve definitely got some George Wickham in you.”
Max nodded and laughed wickedly. “That’s true!”
*
As Amias left the prison block behind, he felt a clarity of mind he’d not felt since Jasmine had reappeared, possibly even before that. He wasn’t sure he felt any more positive, but at least he’d made a decision. It was still raining, but he didn’t rush to his destination. As he walked, he thought about the Jasmine he’d met over a year ago. He smiled as he remembered how quick-tempered and prickly she could be, and then clenched his jaw as he realised he would give anything to be the target of one of her razor-sharp put-downs again. He wasn’t sure how he found his way there, but when he did, he saw the person he was looking for was sitting, straight-backed and with her eyes closed, meditating. He approached as quietly as he could, ignoring another headache that had begun and trying to decide the best words to interrupt her with.
Olivia’s eyes flicked open. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
Chapter 18
Amias watched as Olivia got up from the gymnasium floor. She dusted off her trousers and slowly looked him up and down. Amias stared back at her, beginning to feel a little uncomfortable. “When can we start my training?” he asked, finding it difficult to look her in the eye.
She looked around her. “We’re in the right place. Let’s start now.”
“Now?”
She nodded as she walked towards the weapons rack. “Do you have somewhere more important to be?” She slid two black Bokkens out of the rack, throwing him one before he could answer. He caught it, letting the tip of the blade drop towards the floor.
“You’ve been trained with the sword?”
Amias nodded. “Yes.”
“And?” pressed Olivia.
“And what?”
“And how skilled are you with it?”
He sighed. “Is this where you show me how superior you are with the sword?”
“This is where I kick your ass.” With a speed he hadn’t witnessed before from an altéré, Olivia strode forward and swept his legs away using the Bokken. He fell heavily onto the gym floor, letting go of his sword and sending a cloud of dust into the stale air. Before he could suck in a breath, she’d brought the blade down into his stomach with a loud crack. His midriff and insides caught fire as pain ripped through his solar plexus. He struggled to catch his breath as his diaphragm went into spasm, contracting painfully and making it difficult to suck in the much-needed air. He lurched to his side and then onto his hands and knees as he waited for his muscles to stop cramping. When he could finally breathe again, he got up painfully and faced Olivia, who was watching him with a smile.
She laughed. “I know I should probably feel bad about that… but actually I don’t. It’s been a while since I had a student.”
Amias rubbed his stomach protectively, and rotate
d his healing shoulder. “Did you do the same to Virgil and John?”
“No. But then they came to me with more respect than you have. They came to me to help them extend their abilities beyond what many of our kind believe is possible.”
“Why you?” muttered Amias.
“Because I believe in a different form of training to what is usually taught to our kind. The focus of the standard training is on control, mastering your emotions and the fight or flight response and how to trigger your abilities. That’s fine for a child, but there’s so much more we’re capable of. There’s energy in us which is more than just the sum of our physical parts. It’s something we can never truly control, and yet it can be our strongest asset. I believe it can allow us to trigger abilities we haven’t discovered yet.”
“You taught Jasmine this?”
“It was part of her learning, yes,” replied Olivia.
“But I didn’t see anything special about her abilities?”
“Is there anything you think is special about her abilities now? Do you think her survival isn’t something special – the fact she’s still alive after being dropped from the roof of a skyscraper?” Amias was lost for words and Olivia nodded. “Raise your Bokken. Show me how special you are. If you can stop me beating you in two moves or less, I’ll be impressed.”
This time Olivia gave him time to ready himself. He positioned his feet and raised his blade, shutting all thoughts of Jasmine out of his mind. He leaned onto his back foot and moved his blade, so he held it across his body. Olivia nodded her approval, but then flew forwards, thrusting the blade directly at his body before he could even move in defence. He felt it hit his sternum and another explosion of pain ripped through his chest as he fell forward in pain. Olivia drew back, and then waited for him to stand up.
He laboured to his feet, shaking his head in disbelief. “How do you move so fast?”
“How do you move so slowly?”
Amias clenched his teeth in pain and anger. “Again.” Olivia simply nodded, standing with the blade pointing down as if she were holding a walking stick. “Ready yourself,” growled Amias.
“I’m ready, are you?” replied Olivia.
This time, Amias was the first to attack, spinning the blade expertly in his hands and bringing it down in the place where Olivia had been standing seconds before. As his blade whistled through thin air, he felt a shadow move beside him and then a blinding pain which began at the back of his head and travelled through his whole skull. He fell head first onto the gymnasium floor and lay dazed, unsure of what had happened. He heard Olivia’s voice before he saw her.
“I’m over here.” There was a pause, and then she added, “Are you going to spend all of your time on the floor, Amias?” Without completely regaining his senses, and now being driven completely by anger, Amias rolled onto his side and flipped to his feet, clasping his hands tightly around the hilt of the Bokken. “Oh. Now I’m scared,” laughed Olivia, rolling her eyes. Amias closed his eyes, trying to find the control he needed. He took a long breath in through his nose and opened his eyes to find Olivia watching him with a smile. “Are you ready now?”
He ignored his rage, which was increasing with every moment and threatening to overwhelm him. He tried to remember Virgil’s teachings in the few moments before they engaged again. As he raised his blade, he felt his strength building, a tingling in his hands which signalled the chemical reaction he required; and he gripped the Bokken more tightly. His vision focussed solely on Olivia who watched him take his fighting stance.
She was standing as she had before, with both hands placed around the hilt in front of her, resting her weight against it nonchalantly. He waited patiently this time, allowing her to initiate the first attack. They watched each other, awaiting the other’s move, and Amias held firm. Then, unsure if he was imagining things, he noticed her wink at him. Before he was sure she’d really done it, she was in front of him and brought her blade swinging towards his head. He lifted his sword blindly, instinctively doing his best to protect himself against the impending strike. As their Bokkens met, he heard a loud crack as her blade tore through his and everything went black.
*
The next thing Amias was aware of was an icy cold sensation as he breathed in deeply. Water tumbled down his face and onto his chest as he sat up in shock. He shuffled backwards until he felt the wall behind him. He looked up to see Olivia looking down at him, and she smiled broadly.
“Come on, get up.”
He placed a hand on his forehead and winced in pain as he felt a foreign lump. “What happened?”
“I broke my Bokken on your head.” She pointed at the broken wooden blade at her feet. “I’m not sure what I’m more surprised at, how hard your head is, or how sloppy your sword skills are. I thought you said John had been mentoring you. He’s better than what I just saw, and I know that because I taught him.”
He got up shakily, using the wall to balance himself. “Well done. Is this what you wanted?”
“What do you mean?”
“To prove that you can beat me. I already told you they overestimate my abilities. I’m here to find out how I can get through to Jasmine. If I have to take a beating to do that, then so be it.”
“That’s why you’re here, because you want to find out how you can reach Jasmine?” He ignored her question, taking his hand away from the wall as he gingerly tested the steadiness of his legs. “If that is why you’re here, then you might as well give up, leave this place and run away and wait for Kaden to find you. You’ve been visiting her and waiting for her to recognise you, but do you even recognise yourself?”
“I know who I am,” he growled.
“Are you the man she fell in love with and sacrificed her life for? Because I don’t think you can be.”
He felt his legs strengthen and pushed past her. “You don’t know anything about me.”
“I know what I see. And I’m not impressed. You’ve told me you’re undeserving of the altéré’s hope, and that you’re not a match for Kaden in abilities. But from what you’ve shown me, you don’t even deserve their respect. Where’s the man who faced Kaden alone?”
“He’s gone.” Amias continued, walking to the door. “Just like everyone else.”
“And what about Mia, and John? What about Jasmine? They’re still alive. Are they to roll over like you are and accept their fate? I can’t see John doing that. What about everyone’s sacrifices – did Blaise and Virgil die for nothing?”
He stopped and turned around. “What do you want from me?”
“I want to meet the man I’ve heard about. The man Virgil and John were proud of. The person one of my best students fell in love with.”
“Why?”
“Because I started to believe in that man, even though I’d never met him. I began to wonder what you were capable of and how great you could really be. And not just because I thought you could beat Kaden, but because I thought that maybe, just maybe, you could become the leader we so desperately need.”
“I suck at being a leader, maybe you’ve not realised that yet,” sighed Amias.
“I noticed,” replied Olivia.
“So, what do we do now?” Amias dropped his head in resignation and shrugged his shoulders.
“I’ll teach you what I can, but only when you are ready to go deep inside yourself, to tear everything down and believe in what I have to show you. It’s the only hope any of us have.”
He was silent for a few moments before raising his head. “I’m here to try.”
“I hate to sound all Yoda, but there is no try.”
“I’m here,” he muttered.
“Then come back and face me.”
Amias walked slowly back to stand in front of her.
“You have something, Amias, I feel it. It’s deep down but it’s a power that wells inside of you. I
t’s a gift you’ve been born with. It’s what Virgil saw in you and he told me about, it’s what gave you the first-strength so young. It’s what allowed you to stand against Kaden and survive.”
“Then why don’t I feel it?” replied Amias.
“Because you’re lost.”
“That doesn’t help me,” sighed Amias.
“What makes you stronger is not your physical attributes, or even your abilities. It’s what drives them. It’s the power that comes from the strongest emotion, the purest feeling any human being or altéré can feel. It comes from your love, Amias.”
Amias rolled his eyes. “Virgil said the same–”
Olivia raised her voice. “You told me you were ready to believe in what I have to teach you?” Amias sighed and gritted his teeth. “Our abilities are triggered by hyperarousal. This instinct is the most powerful form of love there is. Almost every animal has it, the same as we do. The impulse to put oneself in front of mortal danger, and sometimes certain death, to protect those one loves. Is there any motivation more powerful? Virgil told me how you showed the first-strength, beyond reasoning and even beyond your control; it was your mind telling you to fight and protect your brother. Your body did the rest.”
“I don’t feel the way I used to,” Amias growled.
“That’s because revenge and anger are driving you now. Anger clouds everything that makes you truly strong. It and revenge are negative emotions, and they will only give you strength for a time. The difference in a person’s approach to combat when they are fighting to protect rather than kill is immeasurable. You roll your eyes when I mention love. But if I asked you to describe the most powerful and positive emotions you’ve felt, you’d associate them with love and with someone whom you’ve loved. There are so many ways we can describe it, but I believe it’s like a sixth sense, a higher power we can never truly understand. We allow it to guide us on paths throughout our lives. And possibly it helps us to make pre-destined choices we think we made, but which were actually made for us.”