by Sean Hayden
We finished the run at about eight thirty. Everybody seemed winded by the time we finished, except me. Let's hear it for not needing oxygen. I felt my familiar hunger raise its ugly head though. I was going to need a juice pouch from the doctor pretty soon. As everyone stood around panting and stretching after the run, I happened to glance over at Rose. Sweaty and disheveled she stared at me. She looked pissed off six ways from Sunday, and I couldn't figure out why.
"People, you received water bottles for a reason. I ran you a little extra hard tonight because I didn't see a one of you wearing them," a winded Agent Walker called over everyone's bowed heads. "Get to your rooms and fill them, and I'll see you back here in five. Go!"
Everyone scrambled for their rooms, even Rose. Walker walked over to me and shook his head smiling. I heard him mutter a "show off", but he never lost the smile so I didn't think I had earned myself another lecture. "Please tell me you're a little tired," he said.
"Please don't ask me to lie to you, Agent Walker," I replied and smiled. "I don't have to breathe nor do I sweat, so sorry. The only thing this does is make me hungry."
He paled a little at the last comment, and I wondered if I had shared a little too much, but he swallowed and shook his head in understanding. The others started returning one by one and shockingly Rose made her way back last. She had obviously dried her face, changed her shirt, and brushed her hair, but the water bottle sat in its sling on her side.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we will be doing this every day so get used to it. Brian, I suggest you quit smoking, and don't tell me you don't because I can smell it on you. Now if you will all follow me we will be heading to a classroom for weapons safety," he said and ignored the groans from the rest of the recruits. I had never held a gun in my life, so I thought maybe learning about it before shooting it might be a good idea.
So it went for the remainder of the night. We learned proper shooting techniques, weapons care and cleaning, and the basics. We also learned when to use deadly force (you can't shoot someone for running a red light, damn it). After weapons safety, we had administration classes on the chain of command, proper procedures and so on. By the time they released us to head back to our rooms I felt exhausted and starved. Sun up wouldn't be for another four hours, but I decided to just take a shower and relax. I figured I could hold out on eating until tomorrow, so I did.
Chapter 10
The second day Agent Walker roused us in the same fashion, pounding on our doors repeatedly. Again Rose exited into the hallway last, and everyone had their water bottles. We exercised for an hour before being led to a large gymnasium. A new instructor stood in the middle of the large room. Mats covered most of the floor, the standard blue ones seen in most gymnastic competitions.
We filed in behind Walker and he motioned us to stand along one side of the makeshift arena. He introduced us to Darenthalis, weapons master and combat trainer. It took me a minute to catch my breath (figuratively) from his beauty. Most men you would use the word handsome to describe, but not him. I realized he wasn't a man. At least not a human male, he had long blond hair down to his waist and poking out from those golden tresses stood the points of his ears. He belonged to the race known as the fey, an elf or maybe even one of the Sidhe. He wore a traditional martial arts gi, the kind you find in every karate class, but his resembled black silk and probably cost a small fortune.
"I am Darenthalis, and you will please address me as such. My name is not Daren, nor master, nor sir. I will instruct you in hand to hand combat techniques, mundane weapons, and firearms. Many of you are wondering why I will teach you mundane weapons, and the answer is simple. As entities of the non natural world yourselves, you will be required to enforce your laws on many of those who dwell in this land. I shall teach you to use swords and knives of steel and of silver, but more importantly I will teach you which one to use against which enemy. I teach you these for the simple reason many things in this world a gun won't kill. That is lesson number one," he said as he walked up and down the line and spoke to each of us in turn.
He asked each of us our names and what made us supernatural. When my turn came I stated my name and told him "vampire". I could see the look of surprise on his face as well as hear the mumbled surprise of most of my class. The two recruits standing closest to me sidled away a step or two unconsciously. Darenthalis shocked me by not stepping away. I learned the willowy Brian practiced magic, and Rose was a werewolf. The remainder of the class hailed a mix of werewolves, lions, and bears and one oriental gentleman claimed to be a weretiger.
He told all of us to sit and watch while he and Agent Walker faced off against each other, and I swear I heard Walker groan before stepping on the mat. Walker crouched while Darethalis stood straight and waited for Walker to make the first move. I heard Walker growl and lunge at the tall elven warrior and then Darenthalis held up his hand and a flare of blue light struck Walker in the chest, blasting him back and landing him on the hard floor outside the matted area.
"The second rule of combat, is always expect what you don't see. All of you would have made the same mistake as Agent Walker. You see a warrior, so you expect to fight with your hands, but remember this, there are many beings out there who would much rather attack you from a distance and then close in for the kill. I need another volunteer. Perhaps you, young vampire," he said and pointed at me.
I gulped and stood from my little section by the edge of the mat. I slid off my tennis shoes and stepped onto the mat in only my socks. I had pulled them on loosely to not rip through them with my talons and the ends remained intact. I have gone through a lot of socks and shoes in my seventeen years.
I stood before Darenthalis and he bowed so I did the same. I had never once in my life taken any self defense or karate lessons, but I had seen enough on television to know what he expected. I opted for something he wouldn't. I used my vampiric speed to circle around him and push him from behind. I had just made it behind him and turned to make my attack when he spun inhumanly fast and grabbed my wrist. He used my forward momentum against me and spun me in a somersault. Instinctively, when I landed I jumped high into the air and looked down at my opponent. Anger clouded my vision as I leaned forward in a downward strike. I aimed my fist at his chest as I dove. I saw the same blue glow coming from his hand and I saw the flash of light coming towards me mid air along with a smile from his face.
The blue glow struck me dead on the chest while about ten feet away from him. I expected to be blasted back just like Agent Walker. I expected a lot of things, pain, shock, or even a sizzling sensation, but nothing happened. I didn't even feel it. It felt like my body absorbed it and liked it. I saw his smile change from superiority to shock and I struck him full in the chest with my closed fist. I landed on my feet and Darenthalis went flying. He landed just before the outskirts of the mats on the far side of the makeshift arena.
I felt horrible. I hoped I hadn't hurt him and ran to his side. Walker almost beat me to the fallen warrior. Darenthalis looked up at me with fear in his eyes. He must have thought I was attacking him because he swung at me. It must have been the look on my face that halted his swing mid strike.
"Are you okay?"
"Have you ever fought anyone before?"
"Not until recently. I'm sorry I hit you so hard."
"Stay with me after class. We need to see exactly what your limitations and strengths are. For the rest of the class, please just observe," he said with a grin and raised himself to his knees and then eventually to his feet.
I turned and found the rest of the class staring at me like I had several extra appendages and heads suddenly sprout from my torso. I blushed and walked over to a small set of bleachers set aside one wall of the gymnasium. I sat and watched the remainder of the class in silence. Walker took my place as the other recruits paired off for fighting techniques. I watched as the others rolled and punched and threw each other across the padded surface. Darenthalis walked around each of them and gave pointers and pointed out e
rrors. I thought I detected him walking with a little limp and felt another twinge of guilt.
Soon Walker called an end to the class and lined them up to head to more administration instruction. He motioned me to stay put. I saw Rose glare at me angrily after she saw the motion. After everyone had left, Darenthalis walked over to where I sat forlornly on the bleachers. He stared at me for a few moments and then made a motion for me to follow him. We left the gymnasium and up the stairs to a loft like area with weight benches and a small armory. I looked around at the gleaming axes, swords, and nunchucks. It surprised me to see such a variety of weapons.
In the back of the room sat a small office. Darenthalis turned the handle of the wood and glass door so I rushed to catch up with him. He held the door open and ushered me in the small room. A small silver CD player pumped soft melodious music over its smallish speakers. I found the music eerie and beautiful at the same time, and unlike anything I had ever heard before in my life.
"Sit please," he said to me, breaking me from the spell of the music.
I did as he asked and sat in a comfortable chair made of wood. "I'm sorry," I began, but quickly silenced me by raising his hand. "You have nothing to be sorry for, child. You simply reminded this old fool to follow his own first two lessons. How is it you had no idea of your own strength, nor have lived in the world of the vampires and never had to fight? Are you recently turned, and what of your master?"
Apparently no one had clued in Darenthalis about my unique lineage, so I eased back into my chair and told my story yet once again. I could see the interest he had for my tale in his beautiful green eyes. I found myself hoping maybe he could provide me with some answers. When I got to the part of my tale when I shared the differences I had noted between me and regular vampire subspecies, he held out his hands to inspect my hand. I slipped my cool skinned hand into his fiery grip. He turned it from palm down to palm side up and ran his finger along the length of my index talon testing its strength and sharpness.
The intimacy of the gesture sent a chill down my spine and sent stirrings to other parts of my anatomy I'd rather not mention. I had never before been this close to a male human, let alone elven warrior. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat and he released my hand. I pulled it back and placed it in my lap as I finished my tale.
He sat thoughtfully for a few moments and then said, "Tell this tale to no one else. If anyone else should inquire, tell them you are simply a vampire. The more people who know the truth, the more dangerous it could be for you. I will share this wisdom with Agent Walker as well. Come with me back down to the arena. I wish to test you a little further."
I really didn't want to fight Darenthalis again. I felt bad enough for scoring the first hit on him to begin with, but I followed him nonetheless. We faced off against each other on the mat for the second time. He told me just to stand there while he tried to work some magic against me again. I watched as the blue light sped from his hand and struck me again in a shower of brilliant sparks. I watched as tiny white missiles flew from his fingertips and strike me with the same result. The same happened with the ball of fire and the lightning he casually lobbed at me as well. Then I stood as he cast a globe of shining opalescence around me and he told me to walk to him. It didn't even tickle my skin as I walked right through it and heard it pop like a massive bubble.
"I don't believe my eyes," I heard him say.
"What?"
"Over my thousand years of life, on many occasion I have had to fight every type of vampire. Never before has my magic failed me against one. Either there is something wrong with my magic, or you are just completely impervious to it. There is a young mage recruit in your class, tomorrow I will have him try, and only then will we have our answer. Come, now I want to test your speed and strength.
Moving about the arena and lifting heavy objects is how I spent the rest of the night. He ran me through a series of speed, strength, agility, and reflex tests which surprised me. Not with the test themselves, but at how well I did. I think I surprised Darenthalis as well because after every test he gave me a little nod of approval. By the end of the night, I still hadn't eaten and resolved to go see the doctor before I went back to my dorm room.
"I think you've had enough for tonight. We still have seventeen weeks to train and test your limitations. Are there any other gifts you have I should know about?"
"I've told you everything I know, but if I make any discoveries, I'll let you know right away. Thanks for the lessons Darenthalis. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Thank you for the refresher course as well" He smiled, bowed, and bid me good night. and I made my way to the medical building for a "juice pouch" before heading back to my room for the rest of the night.
Chapter 11
I woke the next evening before sunset. I hadn't showered the night before and decided it would help wake me up. I glanced around the room and there wasn't any sign of my roommate, maybe my luck had taken a turn for the better. I stripped my clothes and wrapped my body with an oversized towel and headed down to the showers.
I showered quickly, dressed, and waited outside the door with several other recruits for Agent Walker. We didn't have to wait for long either. He opened the door to the dorm and saw most of us waiting for him. He smiled and began knocking on the doors of those recruits who weren't ready yet, and they joined the rest of us in the hall. Rose still hadn't made an appearance though, and I found myself hoping she had quit. As soon as the thought crossed my hopeful brain she came in the door to the dorm. Damn it.
"All of you had weapons assigned to you during provisioning. Please bring your side arms and your shoulder holsters. We will be starting tonight's class at the firing range." Everyone returned to their rooms including myself and Rose. I went to the closet and retrieved the boxed weapon and the holster from my closet. I didn't say anything to my roommate as she retrieved hers; I just went back out into the hall to wait for the others.
When everyone had finished we followed Walker down the path to a new building. He opened the doors and we filed in one after another. The range itself looked kind of like a bowling alley with a countertop running its length instead of the open pit areas with ball returns. Alleys ran down perpendicularly to the counter top and behind the firing area sat the control booth. A concession stand and bar would have topped the whole thing off.
Darenthalis waited for us as we entered. He told us to take our weapons out of the packaging and to sling them in our shoulder holsters. Most of the recruits had already eagerly unpacked said weapons and just slid them into the holsters. The rest of us fumbled with the boxes and wraps and finally put them away. Everyone except Rose fumbled with the unfamiliar straps of the shoulder rigs, but she put on hers with practiced ease. Apparently someone in her family (daddy) had taken her to the range before. Bitch.
I'll admit I cheated. Instead of fumbling like a fool, I stood around and watched everyone else as they successfully slipped into the harnesses. After witnessing the live demonstration I wrapped the rig around myself and clipped it into place, having to adjust the plastic buckles to tighten it enough to where it wouldn't slip. I found the whole contraption pretty damn uncomfortable. On television, most cop shows showed people with the side arm holster attached to their belts. Maybe I should invest a little of my cash into one of those.
Darenthalis directed us to individual little stalls. Someone had stacked clips of live ammunition on the counter in each stall. Safety glasses and earplugs sat right next to those. I wondered why Walker hadn't told us to grab the ones from our rooms, but didn't care. I felt nervousness and anxiety creep through my body. I had never shot a weapon before, nor did I like the idea of starting. Something told me they wouldn't just let me skip this part either.
We listened to a short safety sermon delivered by Darenthalis as well as a set of instructions on how to raise our hands when the clip clicked empty. Darenthalis or Agent Walker would come up behind us and monitor our progress on changing out the clips. Seemed like a plan
to me. I had no idea what to do anyway. He demonstrated how the trigger safety worked on the Glock 22 and 23, as we had been issued both as a group depending on our hand size. I didn't even know which one I had until I noticed the 23 etched into the cool matte black weapon.
He barked an order for us wait for one of them to come and help us initially load the gun. Once loaded we would be given the go ahead to start firing at the paper targets at the midpoint of the range. He told us to put our safety glasses and earplugs on and wait.
Ten recruits and our two instructors donned earplugs and yellow lensed safety glasses. My stall sat smack dab in the middle of the range, so I would be one of the last to start firing. Walker started at the recruit closest to the entrance, and Darenthalis began at the other end. A few moments after they started, a loud pap, pap, pap noise echoed throughout the room, only slightly dampened by the foam plugs in my ears. The noise continued until I felt a tap at my shoulder. I turned my head and found Darenthalis behind me.
"Load your weapon, Ashlyn," he hollered over the noise of several firearms being discharged. I pushed a button I knew wasn't a safety since the Glock didn't have one. The empty clip discharged from the bottom of the handgrip into my left hand. I slapped the empty down on the counter and loaded a full clip in its place.
"Very good, begin firing," he hollered once again.
I held the weapon in both hands like I had been shown during weapons safety training and sighted down the barrel. I immediately felt something wrong and I couldn't put my taloned finger on what it was. As a rule, vampires can cease to move. When I say this, I mean it literally. We have no need to take a breath, our hearts don't "beat" like a normal human's and we don't even need to blink our eyes. There is no movement of our bodies we don't consciously control, but for the life of me, I couldn't hold the weapon still. My hands weren't shaking, but I couldn't keep the weapon from drifting to the right or left.