Our Cause (Let the Monsters Live in Fear Book 1)

by Jennifer Jane Jennings

  Kat still wasn’t sure. “Um, okay.”

  Eric turned into the gym’s car park and noticed the black convertible Lexus. “Nice car. It must be Sensei Lucas’s. We’re only the third car here, and the other’s Sensei Connor’s Commodore.”

  Kat and her parents walked into the gym at eight minutes to six to find Sensei Lucas behind the desk with Sensei Connor, and Sensei Damon walking up the stairs, his hair damp, probably from the shower.

  Damon sprinted towards her. “Hey, Kat. Either I’m late, or you’re early. This is my dad, Sensei Lucas.”

  Lucas bowed and said in an American accent, not too different to Sensei Jacob’s, “It’s my pleasure to meet you, Kat. Damon speaks highly of you.” He glanced at Connor. “They all do. You seem to be part of the Knightly Karate family already, and you don’t officially start till Monday.”

  Kat’s eyes lit up. “Officially start Monday?”

  Damon smiled and grabbed some forms from the desk. “We need you and your parents to sign these, and then it’s all official.”

  “Oh, wow. That’s fantastic!” Kat grabbed a pen and signed without reading the forms.

  Eric took them off her. “I’ll read the parents’ part before I sign. Great enthusiasm though, Kat.”

  Lucas smiled and nodded. “Great idea.” He turned to Kat. “I love how all the ladies think Damon’s gay now. He needs time. Thanks for giving it to him.”

  Kat smiled and blushed. “Sasha was just so full-on…”

  Lucas burst out laughing. “You said it to Sasha? She is full-on, isn’t she? Oh, can Sasha think I’m gay too?”

  Kat giggled. “You do look so much alike, except for the hair. You must be heaps younger than Sensei Jacob?”

  “Actually, I’m a year older.” Lucas touched a silver streak on the side of his black hair. “It’s starting to give me away now. Apart from his colouring, Jacob’s the spitting image of our father. I take after our mother, and my kids followed along.”

  Damon pointed out the front at the Lexus. “I think the midlife crisis car gives you away, old man.”

  Lucas chuckled. “I think some demonstrations are in order for our first class together. Time to get beaten up by your old man, kiddo.”

  “It’d be funny if it wasn’t true. I am looking forward to sparring with you properly. No taking it easy on me, this time.”

  “You were just out of hospital. I wasn’t about to put you back in.” Lucas looked at the time and the three cars driving in. “Connor can sign the big boys in if you want to spar now?” He turned to Kat. “Would you like to help Connor or watch us spar?”

  Kat bit her bottom lip. She’d love to watch them spar. “I should probably help Sensei Connor.”

  Both Damon and Lucas shook their heads and smiled.

  “Na, he’s a big boy. He can sign in four weightlifters. Dereck and Laura will be here before the mob arrives. You should watch us spar. I’d also love to see your kata. Damon tells me your technique is flawless.” Lucas turned to Dominique and Eric, “Would you two like to join us?”

  Eric smiled and nodded. “I’d love to see that.”

  “You two are also staying for my karate class, aren’t you?” Lucas smiled, highlighting his dimples.

  Dominique succumbed to his beauty. “Okay. We’ll watch.”

  Lucas shook his head. “You’ve already put your direct debit forms in for the gym, which includes karate and aerobics. You now also get a discount as you’re one of us. Get your money’s worth. Besides, don’t you want to learn from Sensei Damon’s original Sensei?”

  Kat turned to her parents. “That’d be so awesome! Please?”

  Dominique and Eric looked at each other and smiled.

  Eric turned to Kat. “Well, we are part of the karate family. We should probably start karate.”

  Kat hugged her parents. “You’ll love it.”

  Damon and Lucas bowed to each other, and then it was on. Instead of taking either leg back, both men threw scorpion kicks, brought their leg straight up behind them and kicked over their shoulder. They both moved their heads enough to dodge the kick and threw head-level punches that would have stopped a centimetre from the nose just as their foot landed, but both knew the punch was coming and dodged that also.

  “I’ve never seen anyone move so fast in my life,” Kat said, not taking her eyes off them. “I so want to be able to do that.”

  Eric nodded, also unable to take his eyes off them. “Me too, but I have no hope. You do. Look at that sweep. Wow, he dodged it.”

  Ten minutes later, covered in sweat, Damon and Lucas bowed to each other and walked over to Kat and her parents.

  Kat met them on their way. “You were amazing. I’ve never seen anyone faster, not even Sensei Jacob. I so want to be able to do that!”

  Damon smiled. “We showed off a little with the scorpion kicks. It’s good to not always take a particular leg back, especially at the start. Would you like to spar now? We still have time.”

  Kat bit her bottom lip. “Um.”

  “I won’t connect, I promise, but if you’re not ready for it, we understand.”

  Sensei Lucas, Dominique and Eric nodded in agreement.

  “You two were so fast, but I don’t think you connected even once. I should try. I trust you, but I don’t trust me.”

  “How about you try after class? That way, if you feel tired or emotional after, you can go home. We don’t want you missing one of Dad’s awesome classes. Although, he does teach about twelve classes today. Maybe another day? When you feel like sparring.”

  “You’re half right, kiddo. Six. The last three are an hour each, one after the other. I prefer to think of it as a superclass. I leave as close to seven as humanly possible. We’d love you to do as many of my classes as you can today, Kat. Damon can take the midlife crisis car and pick you up to save your parents if you go home after this class unless they want to try all six on their first day.” He smiled cheekily. “Let us know when you feel like sparring. No rush. I had planned to leave it out of my classes today. Now, let’s have a look at your kata. Start at First Kata and go as far as you know. I believe that’s Kanku-dai?”

  Kat bit her lip. “I know the pattern, but…”

  Lucas smiled kindly. “Just give it a go.”

  “Yes, Sensei Lucas.” Kat bowed in. “First Kata.”

  She bowed out after completing all katas up to and including Kanku-dai. Kat was stunned to see at least fifty students who all started clapping after she finished bowing out.

  Damon bowed deeply. “Wow, Kat. You’ve really improved in the five days I’ve known you. Your focus was fantastic. You weren’t distracted by any of the students entering the dojo. Your intensity is much better also.”

  “Um, I probably should’ve noticed them come in.”

  “You were safe. You have four people here,” Damon thought about what he was going to say. Telling a fifteen-year-old they’d kill or die to save her was probably not a good thing, “We’d do anything to protect you. We had your back. Don’t worry.”

  “So my kata was okay?”

  Sensei Lucas smiled. “No. It was fantastic. You still have work to do on Kanku-dai, but so do most black belts. Your technique on your kyu grade katas is flawless. I think it’s more of a lack of understanding than skill for the black belt katas. We’ll take you through that today.”

  Kat’s mouth was slightly open. Did I hear that right? “So after everything, I’m still good?”

  “You are good for a normal brown belt. My son filled me in. For what you have been through, you are beyond words. We’ll do our best to help you reach your potential.”

  Kat beamed. “Thank you.”

  Damon smiled. “You did well, Kat. Have a drink. We’ll be bowing into class in five minutes.” He turned to Dominique and Eric. “I’m sure Kat will show you where to line up.”

  A brown belt girl about sixteen with bright blue eyes and dark ringlets approached Kat just after Damon walked off. “You are amazing! I’ve
seen you here since Monday. You seemed so nervous. You must’ve had some time off. I can’t imagine doing Kanku-dai as a brown belt. Where did you train? Oh, I’m Chelsea, by the way.”

  Kat smiled. It was nice to talk with another teenager. “I’m Kat. I used to train in Brisbane with Sensei Jacob. I’ve had a bit over a year off. I was so nervous.”

  “You looked it, but not anymore. How come the year off?”

  Kat bit her bottom lip. “Partly the move.”

  Dominique stepped forward. “Kat was in a car accident. We almost lost her. We moved here when she got out of hospital for a fresh start.”

  “Oh no! How horrible. I’m glad you’re okay.”

  Kat smiled at both her Mum and Chelsea. “Thanks.”

  “Line up!” Lucas called.

  “I’ll just show Mum and Dad where to line up. It’s their first class today! I’ll meet you in line.”

  Eric shook his head. “We’ve got this. You go line up with Chelsea.”

  Kat hugged her parents. “You’ll love it. Thank you.” She started walking towards the right-hand side of the dojo with Chelsea.

  Chelsea gestured to a bunch of girls trying to line up directly in front of the instructors. “Watch all the girls try to get as close to them as possible. They’re both gorgeous, but Sensei Lucas is married, and I hear, Sensei Damon’s gay. Probably a little too old for us, even if he were straight and single. I think he’s about twenty-two.”

  “Twenty-seven.” Kat tried to stand on the left-hand side of Chelsea, so Chelsea was closer to the higher belts.

  “No way to both! I can’t do Kanku-dai. You’re standing on the other side!”

  Lucas smiled directly at Chelsea. “That’s going to change right now. Today, we’re all going to learn how to perform Kanku-dai and the meaning or bunkai of the moves. Heels together, bow.”

  Chelsea turned to Kat after they bowed out of class. “That was amazing. My head’s spinning. I don’t know how I’m going to fit any school stuff in there. What school do you go to?”

  Kat was about to get nervous, then she remembered, “I start my traineeship here on Monday. I’ll end up with a Diploma of Fitness, then uni. Working here will be so much fun.”

  “That’ll be amazing. What do you want to do at uni? I want to be a psychologist.”

  Kat smiled. “Counsellor.”

  “Nice. I’ll see you after school. Please tell me you’re doing Sensei Lucas’s super class?”

  “I wouldn’t miss it. Line up together?”

  “Definitely.” Chelsea smiled and walked off to get her drink and karate bag.

  Kat ran over to her parents. “How did you go? I know Kanku-dai is a lot for your first class.”

  Eric smiled cheekily. “I thought that was First Kata. Our yellow belt grading’s going to be a breeze.”

  Kat giggled.

  Dominique put her hand on Kat’s shoulder. “I’m starving, and you need to eat if you’re doing all six classes. Let’s get breakfast, and we’ll have you back for the ten o’clock class. We may even join you for that class, but not the other four.”

  Kat and her parents walked back into the gym at nine forty.

  Dominique carried a bag of food. “May I put this in the kitchen, or should Kat keep it with her? We’ve said she can stay till after seven, but she needs to eat. Kat has my phone and will call Eric if she needs to come home early. This will be a good practice for Monday. We’re staying for this class and then leaving her here.” Dominique bit her lip, reminding everyone of her daughter.

  Lucas smiled warmly, showing his dimples. A couple of young women walking in behind the Chase family caught their breath. “Is this the first time you’ve left Kat since…?”

  Eric nodded. “Since she came home from hospital, yes. Even then, we pretty much lived there.”

  Damon smiled, looking so much like his father. The girls caught their breath again. “We’ll look after each other, won’t we, Kat?”

  This made Kat feel useful. She nodded enthusiastically. “We certainly will.”

  “And I’ll make sure they both remember to eat. I’ll show you where to put the food.” Lucas turned to Damon, “I’ll meet you downstairs after you and Dereck sign this lot in.”

  Connor walked over after taking a few clients through their new programs and took his place behind the desk.

  Lucas gestured to the kitchen. “It’s pretty self-explanatory. The fruit’s free for all staff. Our clients use the loyalty tin. Fridge, cupboards. Most people are pretty good and won’t eat your food, but leave it for more than a day and Connor might. I swear that boy will eat anything, especially after a workout. Wash, dry and put away anything you use. Keeps the place respectable.” Lucas smiled cheekily as though he was going to say he wasn’t. He glanced at Kat’s bag of food instead. “Just like my Heather, you’ve packed enough food for a week, Dominique. Put it away, and let’s go to class.”

  Dominique smiled as she and Kat started putting away the food. “That’s what us mums do. I’m guessing Heather’s your wife and Damon’s Mum?”

  “My wife, yes. She thinks of Damon as her son. We have two children together. Cadence is…eleven, which means Caleb’s nine. Lee, my first wife, passed away when Damon was four.”

  “How dreadful! Poor Sensei Damon! Um, poor you. I’m so sorry, um,” Kat couldn’t decide whether she should keep apologising or be quiet. She seemed to be falling over her own tongue.

  Lucas smiled warmly. “Thank you, Kat.” They started walking downstairs to the dojo. “Laura’s class will be over soon. She’ll look after upstairs, and we’ll have four instructors down here.”

  They walked into the dojo to find at least thirty students.

  Eric smiled, “Not all women. You and Sensei Damon certainly have your following, but I’m glad to see some are here for the brilliant class as well.”

  “Everyone needs to learn how to protect themselves, so whatever gets them here,” Lucas said and noticed Sasha walking towards him.

  “Sensei Lucas,” Sasha touched his arm, “Could you please look at my kata? You certainly don’t look old enough to have Sensei Damon as your son.”

  She won’t believe the truth, but here goes. “I’m fifty-four. I was twenty-seven when he was born.”

  Sasha’s jaw dropped. Even the Chase family was taken aback.

  Lucas spoke before anyone else could. “Show me Saifa and Bassai-dai. Heels together, bow.”

  Although shocked, Sasha did her best to impress. She managed to impress Kat a little. Her focus and intensity were great. Sasha certainly wasn’t lacking in confidence, but her technique needed work.

  Lucas waited for Sasha to finish bowing out. “Great intensity and focus. I’ll get Kat to work on some of your techniques in both katas.” He turned to Kat. “I want you to work on her stances and hand movements. Her core was pretty good. Get her to do it again if you’re unsure of what to work on.”

  “Yes, Sensei Lucas.”

  Lucas walked off to greet Damon and Connor as they walked in.

  Kat went into hourglass stance, her feet shoulder width apart, one foot slightly in front of the other. She turned her front foot in but left her back foot out. “Um, this is what you were doing. Please turn your back foot in instead.” Kat demonstrated the correct stance with both feet turned in and everything engaged. “It makes the stance much stronger.”

  “Okay,” Sasha did as she was asked. “What do I need to improve with my hand movements?”

  Kat Demonstrated the first six moves of Saifa. “Clean techniques. No extra movement. Can you try that like I did?”

  Sasha nodded, took her heels together and bowed. She did the same six moves and bowed out. “That felt better.”

  Kat smiled. “It was heaps better. Much cleaner. Sensei Dereck’s just walked in. Hopefully, we have time for Saifa all the way through. Heels together.”

  Sasha bowed, completed Saifa and was just bowing out when Sensei Lucas called, “Line up.”

  “How was that?
” Sasha asked, a bit nervously for her.

  Kat beamed. “So much better. You listened to everything I said. That was brilliant!”

  “I wouldn’t normally listen to a kid, but I saw your Kanku-dai this morning. You definitely know what you’re doing. They were right to hire you. You just better be able to teach aerobics.”

  Kat bowed, “I’ll do my best.” She turned to her parents.

  They smiled and shook their heads, “We’ve got this.”

  Kat ran into line, and the other brown belts stepped to the left to let her line up next to the black belts. Wow. That’s a huge compliment.

  “Heels together, bow. After you run three laps around the dojo, brown belts and above will line up with me, blues and reds with Sensei Damon, yellow, orange and green with Sensei Connor and white belts with Sensei Dereck. Begin.”

  Kat bowed and ran three laps around the dojo. I need to get fitter. She was first back to line up in front of Sensei Lucas, although she was out of breath.

  “Great enthusiasm, Kat. Take big breaths. Keep your head up.”

  A few black and brown belts arrived soon after, shortly followed by the rest. Lucas took them through stretches and Kanku-dai. At the end of the class, Kat’s head was no longer spinning but understanding.

  “Thanks, Sensei Lucas. I think I get it now. Um, I’ve still got heaps to learn, but I think I understand it.”

  Lucas smiled and bowed. “You did an amazing job, Kat. Huge improvement, and you weren’t bad to begin with.”

  Kat beamed and bowed deeply, “Thank you, Sensei Lucas,” and ran off to her parents. “How did you go?”

  Dominique smiled. “I think we learned First Kata.”

  “Cool. Show me.”

  Dominique and Eric bowed and started doing First Kata. About halfway through, Dominique looked at Eric to check what she should be doing.

  Kat went into the next move and continued the kata with them until the end, changing spots when she needed to, so her parents could see her. “That was so good, especially for your first day.”