by Daniel Evora
I looked to the left of the sign, and noticed the pub was the nearest thing; next to the old gas station. I rushed towards it, desperate to find water to drink. The sign next to the entrance, as I glanced at it, read Avil Ranch. Completing the town’s name. All of them were glaring at me as I stood out from the rest of them. None of them were soldiers on either side. A few of them had weapons of their own. I guess they were some sort of mercenaries as they scoffed at my Silent Death badge. The mercenaries were not good friends with the Silents, or the Rebels, as they were only profiting greatly from the war.
I took the seat closest to me, next to this guy in a glossy white tux. He glared at me, as my jeans were covered in dirt.
“You gonna order something?” the bartender asked me angrily. I also assumed that he looked at my Silent Death badge.
“Just gimme some water,” I replied.
A few of the mercenaries stepped up to the man beside me. The man in the white suit. They surrounded him, laughing to aggravate him. But, he did not make a sound, nor made a response to their banter. At least that’s who I thought they were going after.
"Look who it is guys," one of the mercenaries said, as he laughed, and so did the others while approaching. “We’ve got both of them in the same place.”
“Shit,” I told myself. “What do you want, Tenn?”
Tenn stared into my eyes with aggression, “You know what I want, kid.”
“Look, I won the rifle fair and square. So, I’d like it if you’d stop being such a bitch about it,” I insulted him.
Tenn smiled at my tenacity. “You’ve got some balls; to say that to me.”
Tenn nodded at his group as one of them grabbed my shoulder and threw me to the ground. I crawled as my gut was clenching in pain. Tenn approached me, and unsheathed the blade. The man in the white suit took notice of it.
“Well, ain’t this a beauty,” Tenn remarked, as he stroked the blade. “It’ll make a fine addition to my collection.”
The man in the suit interjected, while holding a glass in the hands. “Leave the dude alone.”
“I’d stay out of this old man,” Tenn babbled while pointing the blade at him.
The man chuckled a tiny bit and swiveled his seat around.
“What’s so fucking funny, you clown?” Tenn asked, as he smiled to mock the man.
The man responded, while slamming his shot glass on the smooth wood table, "I may be older, but I'm not stupid. The same cannot be said for you."
Some of the mercenaries reacted in a way to side with the man's judgement.
"Enough talk. I think it's time we've taught this old man a lesson," Tenn said, while clenching his fists.
The man looked to the right and left, and in a quick move, he grabbed my katana from Tenn and swung at the first man he saw. Shot glasses fell from the table and shattered into dozens of pieces. The man pushed Tenn into the table, but he slid escaping from his grasp. The fighting could have stopped here, yet Tenn continued to antagonize him. And the man swung the katana around the legs really, missing and flipped them over as he almost stabbed him in the chest, whilst Tenn was on the ground. Tenn rolled over dodging the attack, and getting up to his feet in a swift manner.
Tenn's mercenary group surrounded him bringing out their melee weapons with confidence thinking that they're going to bring an end to this old man's life. But they were wrong. The man spun in such an elegance, that it was satisfying to watch as he brought the mercenaries to justice. The man was breathing heavily as he looked at the bodies of the mercenaries; some dead, some still alive, groaning in pain, but all in all he still won.
"I think I am getting too old for this," he said to himself, walking towards me. "Here. That's a cool weapon you got there."
“Er...”
“Oh, sorry. I was just amazed by your katana,” the man replied. “Andrew Bates, and yours?”
“Nathaniel,” I told him.
“Where the heck did you get that?” Andrew asked, pointing at it. He sounded a bit confrontational.
“Got it from Adam West,” I answered.
I wasn't too careful about how loud I said that. Everyone in the room stopped. It was like time skipped a beat.
“Shh... You can’t just go around anywhere saying that guy's name like you know him!” Andrew whispered. “People these days will just assume you are the enemy. Let’s take this conversation outside.”
“Wait, why are you interested in my katana?” I asked.
“Because,” he paused to turn around. “I made that one. Thirty years ago.”
“Thirty years ago?! How can you be sure?”
“The emblem on the blade,” Andrew explained. “The signature I put on every weapon I make.”
I turned the handle over to see the emblem. A bright red and black phoenix, with its wings going upwards and meeting at a vertex in the center.
“Yes, I teach people how to use self-defense, or at least I did, but I can teach you how to use shaolin including fighting with these.” He grabbed one of them from my harness as I hesitated to take it back from him. “Although I haven’t taught in a decade or two, I could teach you if you’re interested.”
“Why would I do that?” I asked Andrew.
“It’s all up to you if you want the offer. A place to stay, a bed, three meals a day. I got the whole package.” He paused for a second. “Wait, what did you say your name was?”
“Nathaniel…”
“Last name?”
“Why? Do you know me, because I don’t have a clue who you are.”
“Wait a minute…….. it’s you…. I-I remember you.”
“How could you even know me?” I’ve never seen this man in my life, I was thinking in my head.
“It was a long time ago, you don’t remember me because you were just two years old at the time. I’m a former member of the Rebellion, and I left because of what happened to us back in ‘82.”
“I’m sorry, but could I have that katana back?”
“Yes, my bad. The offer still stands though.” Andrew said, as he handed me a hologram file with coordinates of the place to meet. “Tomorrow I’ll be at the Crimson Market at this address. Three in the afternoon; does that sound good?”
“Yeah, alright.” I answered as I observed the map area.
I still had my B.S. meters cranked up to eleven after hearing what he had to say. But, I have to give credit to him for sounding legit. You never know who could be kidnapping you at three in the afternoon. Andrew turned away and got into a vehicle leaving me with the decision of: “Should I or Should I Not?”. I chose off of pure instinct.
“Three it is then.” I said quietly to myself looking as Andrew drove away onto the I-15, heading for Vegas. The light of the city shined through dusk.
I had to hope for the best that word hadn't gone through to the Silent Death about my betrayal. Sam had gone on a mission right before I left. I wish I would have told him that I was leaving, but it's too late now, even if he did find out there's nothing that could be done to undo the damage. I checked the hologram one more time just to be sure that this “Andrew” guy is legit, and I have a good feeling that he is.
There's no way I'm going to be staying in Vegas ever again, seven hundred dollars a night in a hotel? I don't think so. I went to check my clock; it was two in the afternoon. The hologram says that I'm about a mile away from where I need to be. So, I might be a little early. Fifteen minutes had passed and I had just gone by a small restaurant down across the street from where I was. The sky was filled with gray and it was getting ready to rain, so I went across the street quickly into the busy street filled with different foods and merchandise. Fresh fruits, vegetables, and clothing were traded and bought here. Other than that, there was nothing too interesting to stare at. Finally, I reached the address as I checked the map on my watch. Andrew was nowhere to be found anywhere near the store I was supposed to meet him at. Then, I turned around and my heart jumped.
“I had a feeling that you're going
to be a little bit early, but not this early.” Andrew said as he approached from behind, I tried to keep my distance since I still had my doubts about him.
“Yeah I wasn't really in a hurry, I was just not that far away from here. Just a few miles.” I turned around and saw the name of the store. “Unfortunately for me I can't speak Japanese, or even write or read it.”
“Unfortunately for you, that's not Japanese.” He replied.
“Close enough...right?” I shrugged.
“Yeah, no.” he almost laughed. “It's Filipino, okay, I'm just messing with you. Let's just get to the point, Nate.” We walked up to the cook as both Andrew and the cashier leaned on the desk
“Buksan ang kwarto (Open up the room).” he whispered to the cook.
I peeked over the table as the cook opened up the top drawer with what looked like vintage car keys, but without the key, just a button. He handed them to Andrew with a quick toss.
“Let's go to the back.” He looked at me, pointing towards the back area. I followed from behind.
We walked into the kitchen as Andrew greeted everyone in there, waving at them. He then went to the back wall, knocked on it with his right ear up against it, and pressed the top button on his key remote.
“Now Nate, what you're about to see is something that I've only shown a few dozen people.” The door opened upwards on it's own as I looked at it. “I've only been here a few times recently to clean it out, but other than that I haven't really brought anyone here since 2093.”
I followed him into a dark stairwell, with very few lights, a switch near another door. It consisted of two buttons and a small lever below them.
“Alright Nate, the first button triggers the alarm in case of emergency. Second one opens this door,” he pressed it as the door swung open. “And this lever...brings it all to life.”
Every single room was illuminated in all its glory. I was amazed. I'm also very lucky that this isn't a guy who's trying to kill me in secret, but rather someone trying to help me. I had to respect that he’s a very well mannered person, especially in times like this. I was relieved to find out that he's telling the truth.
“This is something, Andrew. How long did it take you to even design, or to even build this kind of place? The engineering is impressive!” I shouted in awe, running into every room.
“Thank you, first of all. Second, when I was around your age I asked the Rebels if they could possibly help me with this and they did.” He replied. “Took us two and a half years to make this place. Maybe even longer when trying to build it in secret.”
“Wait a minute, if you’re a... a former member of their people….. then how are you able to keep in contact with them? On a…...personal level?” I asked Andrew, try to catch my breath.
“C’mon Nate it’s 2105. Anyways, since I live all the way out here in the West, and the Rebels live out on the East Coast near Boston and New York City. They thought it was a good idea that I become an ‘extra pair of eyes’ for them. I'm probably one of the only former Rebels that lives the closest to the Silent Death headquarters in Los Angeles. So, I report to them whenever I can. Sometimes the information I give to them about WG activity can help them as well. But, it's hard trying to stay in the shadows.”
“I see,” I responded.
“I have a question for you, Nate.”
“Sure, ask away.”
“How'd you do it?”
“Do what?”
“Escape from them.”
“Well, turns out the Rebels sent a few of their own to come get me. Created fake identities and became double agents. One of them, Ben, was their leader. He became a friend of mine, but at that moment I didn't know who he really was. I thought he was just another one of us. Then one day, he revealed himself and his crew. He told me all I needed to know, and I agreed to leave with him. It wasn’t easy.”
“That's a heck of a mission. Suicide if you ask me.” Andrew suggested. “I assume you’re not with him because…..”
“Before we left there were nine of us. After we escaped, there were six. Ben didn't make it. The rest of us were on the run through California. Three of us left…..two…..now it's just me.”
“Damn, I'm sorry.” Andrew replied. “Are you sure you're up for the training?”
“How long is it gonna take?”
“Eleven months, somewhere around that range”
“What?! I thought it was gonna be like some week program, but eleven months?! Might as well say twenty years because I can't wait!” I shouted sarcastically.
“Look, Nate. I've already made arrangements in one of the quarters for you down here. You'll have everything you'll need for the duration of the training. Food, water, shelter, and most importantly, a place to hide from the Silents. C'mon, Nate, no one could possibly turn down an offer like that.” Andrew lifted his right hand. “So, are you ready or not?” He grinned.
I awkwardly stared at Andrew's hand for a few seconds.
“It’s your choice,” Andrew said, moving his hand closer.
“Okay, I'm in.” We shook on it. For eleven months, but maybe even longer than that.
Chapter 4
You can run...
“You got it?” Andrew asked me. I loaded the long, and heavy sniper rifle. I nearly dropped it while loading the magazine.
“Yep,” I said, as I raised the weapon and looked through the scope. I aimed down towards the homemade targets. “So, you just pull the trigger, right?”
“Yeah, but be careful you don’t want to--”
Before Andrew could finish his statement I pulled the trigger on the sniper rifle. The recoil from the shot knocked the lens of the scope in my eye, knocking me on my head as I laid on the floor grunting.
“...Do that,” Andrew added. “You alright?”
“Does my eye look black? ‘Cause it hurts like crazy,” I asked him.
“I’m afraid it looks a bit...swollen,” Andrew replied, wincing at the injury. “Here, lemme help you up. Maybe it’s best that you don’t touch another one of these suckers for a minute.”
Andrew held out his hand, but I insisted I stand up on my own.
I shook my head, “No, I got it. You know...last time I got knocked on my ass like that was when I was still in my teens. Got in a fight with some other kid.”
“That right?” Andrew smiled. “Well, I’m gonna get you an ice pack for that eye. Stay here for a minute.”
Andrew left towards the pub as I sat down near the fence. As boring as the Ranch was I stared at the town name. Avil Ranch. For some reason I was still curious about it. But then I stared back at the road. The very one from which I came. I started to remember that eventful day that changed my life. There was always a part of me that wanted to go back to the way things were. To go back down the road.
Andrew approached me with a plastic, white bag, and handed it to me. I slowly lowered the ice onto my face giving me that cold sensation that felt good in the heat. I sighed in relief.
“That feel better?” Andrew asked.
“Yeah, much better,” I replied happily. “Hey, Andrew?”
“What is it, Nate?” Andrew responded.
I stared at the sign, “Avil Ranch. Avil...What do you think that means?”
“Avil is a name,” Andrew answered.
“What does it mean, though?” I asked again.
“Well, it could mean many things,” Andrew explained. “But, what really stands out to me is it’s literal meaning...Renewal.”
“Huh,” I answered, while lost for words. I grinned at that sign. Just knowing what it meant made me feel something. I couldn’t describe it in words on its own. The best way I could describe it would be, reassuring.
“Alright, I think it’s time we went back to the shop,” Andrew told me.
I got up on my feet and followed him on the road back to the South Vegas District.
A lot of time had passed by. About seven months have gone by faster than light. I’m surprised that I've been able to hid
e from the Silents, but yet so close to them, for so long. Andrew’s also been a good friend. Teaching me from the ground up, and starting from zero. Learning the art of Shaolin, guns, and other combat stuff is not an easy task, far from it. I've been through trial and error, time and time again. But, Andrew keeps telling me time and time again not to give up so easily.
I was training like usual for the past seven months, sweating bullets, trying to control my breathing and technique. It was much more complex than Andrew’s. It consisted of the regular kenjutsu of the old samurai from the days of feudal Japan.
However, the swings had more elegance and swiftness, than rigidness and subtlety. Much more quick timings, and sometimes I would block almost perfectly. I hated practicing defense, but that didn’t mean I could be good at it.
“Good, Nate...Again,” he said, watching me practice my form. “Remember to take advantage of the momentum you create to increase the speed and strength of the attack.”
“I’m tired,” I said, gasping for air. “Can we at least take a little break?”
“Your opponent won’t give you time for a break. Again.”
Andrew pulled out a katana and raised it against mine. “Now, you will try to defeat me.”
“Really? I’m not ready for that.”
“So you say, but I think otherwise.”
“Alright I’ll try.”
“That’s the spirit.”
He swung to my right for an attack. I blocked it as he went in the opposite direction for a low swing as I jumped over it. He got ready for an attack from above as we clashed katanas. I slid through it to get Andrew off balance, at this point I could attack from behind. But, he was too quick and dodged it, and with it he pinned on the ground. I didn’t even last ten seconds.
“Again,” Andrew ordered me, as I lay on the ground.
“I can’t beat you. I couldn’t even last more than five seconds.”
“Again.”
I attacked from side to side, increasing the strength of my attacks as Andrew told me to do. I went for another attack from the right as Andrew lost his balance and I finally struck from above. But, he was much too fast for me. Andrew stepped out of my swinging range and pinned me down to the ground once more.