by C E Johnson
Marcus took a step back, regarding the dogs coldly. He glanced from them to Droth’s computer room which was filled with monitors. “Even with all your technology and your tracking mutts.” He gestured dismissively to the room and the dogs. “Can’t you complete a simple mission?”
“You wound me with your condescension,” Droth muttered sarcastically. He put a hand over his chest. His human agents had actually identified countless female Dobermans in Austin and around the state of Texas in the last several years, but none contained a trace of magus. “I’ll find my targets soon. It’s only a matter of time.”
CHAPTER 10
Swim Team
Richard switched to the weather channel. The television reporters detailed the latest disasters rocking Earth. “The Pavlof Volcano in Alaska is erupting, and there is a surge in earthquakes in the region.” Images illustrated lava streaming down the sides of the mountain.” A different reporter came on screen. “Tropical Storm Isaac is starting to turn into a hurricane. This storm could develop into one of the biggest monsters of all time.”
Emily sat on the couch next to her father. “Why are you so interested in hurricanes?” she asked him. She enjoyed spending time with her dad, learning of his passions. She felt somewhat morbid bonding over disasters, but this was what he loved.
Her father leaned back into the couch. “I’m astounded by nature. I can’t fathom our Creator. I mean, who could imagine any of this?” He gestured toward the television screen. “If I were imaginative enough to draw up a world, I don’t think I could build or conceive of any of the forces we have on Earth.” His eyes were burning with his passion. “Hurricanes particularly fascinate me … something with so much force at its borders and yet which has an eye of calm, clear sky where it’s placid, actually warmer than the temperature around it.”
“Like a yin and yang, two opposing forces in the same structure,” Emily said in a hushed voice. She understood his fervor for nature, because it was like her excitement for magic. They both had found something mysterious and spell-binding that they were intense about.
“Precisely.” Richard smiled warmly. “I see a little of a hurricane in you. There’s a calm I see in your inner spirit, like when you’re deep into your tai chi with quick peripheral movements, but with a central focus of peace. Or when you’re involved in your martial arts and Delores is wild and crazy around you, but you’re calm and in control.”
Emily nodded in understanding, proud of the way her father perceived her. “Thanks, Dad. I like that.” She squeezed his hand before getting up to gather her towel and goggles. “We need to head to swimming. Can you bear to leave weather headquarters for a few minutes?” A commercial appeared and they both turned to view President Hughes detailing aspects of his Stargate Project.
“Sorry,” her father said guiltily, scrambling to search for his keys. “I just get sucked in by some of this.” He gestured again toward the television. He found his keys under a letter that had arrived with Emily’s school schedule. “Two more weeks, and you’ll start high school.”
“My schedule looks good.” Emily felt excitement over her classes. She followed her father to the car.
“I just have two wishes for you.” Richard held up two fingers before tossing his keys in the air and catching them easily. “I hope you’ll have your friends in some of your classes and I hope Delores will treat you kindly as she matures into a nice person.”
“I hope someone grants you both of your wishes,” Emily said with a laugh. She wished the summer would go on forever. She knew her father also cherished their hours of working together. She helped with her parents’ landscape business, selling plants in their greenhouse. Over the years she had learned interesting aspects of horticulture including which plants were edible, which would help cuts, and even which would keep away bugs.
Richard dropped her off at the pool. Emily was a few minutes late. She looked for Elizabeth and saw her in their preferred lane. The eight lanes of the pool were divided by age groups with the thirteen and fourteen-year-old girls in their own area. “How’s your breathing, Little Bit?” Emily slipped into the pool, hoping Coach Palin wouldn’t berate her in front of the other swimmers for being late.
“Only a little wheezy. Not too bad. Nothing that will stop me from crushing you today,” Elizabeth teased as she splashed Emily playfully. Elizabeth was allergic to almost everything and that meant she was going through life with a low-level wheeze. Her dad called her a ‘histamine ball,’ and she carried her Benadryl and epinephrine in a little bag wherever she went. The pool was one of the few places where she could really breathe. Elizabeth drifted over next to Emily, treading water by her. “How are you feeling after that kick to the head? I probably shouldn’t be splashing you. Am I adding insult to injury?” Now she wasn’t teasing, she was actually worried about Emily.
“I’m recovering.” Emily appreciated Elizabeth’s concern. “I’m still a little sore.” Elizabeth gave her a small nod, and Emily could tell she was sharing her pain.
Leaving his cushioned deck chair, Coach Palin stood up and walked his tall, lanky frame to tower above their lane. He ran a hand through his thin blonde hair, making sure it was spiked to perfection “How are you, Coach P?” Elizabeth asked.
“Living the dream,” Coach Palin answered. He pulled off his sunglasses and flipped them up into the air behind his back. Twirling, he somehow managed to catch the falling sunglasses with an easy athletic grace. His warm brown eyes were laughing in the bright rays of the sun. He picked up a wireless microphone from a table that was set up with an impressive speaker system and spoke in a low voice, “First, we’ll do an easy two hundred-meter warm up of your choice of stroke.” He flipped the microphone up like his sunglasses, twirling again to snatch the device from the air. He roared into the device dramatically, “Then we’ll do the Snake.” His hand darted out and he switched his speaker system to the radio. Music thundered out, reverberating across the water in rolling waves of sound.
The “snake” was one of Coach Palin’s inventions using every lane in the pool and pitting each swimmer against the others. They would all line up in one lane at one side of the pool in pairs with the youngest, smallest swimmers in the front and the oldest, fastest swimmers in the back. The paired swimmers would start a few seconds apart and snake their way through all eight lanes of the pool. After they finished with one snake, they would vault out of the water as fast as their tired muscles would allow, walk quickly to the first lane, and dive in to begin the whole ordeal again. Coach P became a sports announcer for this event, and he would continually update the status of the race while alternating between music and his voice on the sound system.
The pressure in this game was on the fastest, oldest, last swimmer who was called the monster snake. The last swimmer’s goal was to catch every swimmer in the pool, because once tagged, swimmers had to get out and sit by the edge of the pool and watch the remaining battle. It was an all-out thrashing war in the pool as everyone struggled to stay ahead of the monster snake, pulling on the lane ropes and grabbing on people’s feet in front of them, anything to stay in the lead.
Moans came from the grouped swimmers in response to their coach’s proclamation, but they could barely be heard above the resounding music. Emily groaned with the rest, but secretly she respected the arduous snake challenge. She liked this event much better than his triathlons, where he screamed at them incessantly from a golf cart as they ran loops around the periphery of the pool area. Emily pushed off and started on her warm up, taking it nice and easy so she wouldn’t be too tired for the competition,
“Let’s go, let’s go, time’s a’ wastin,” Coach P droned as Emily and Elizabeth finished their warm up.
“I think he likes to hear himself talk,” Emily whispered.
“He really likes the timbre of his voice on the microphone,” Elizabeth added as they giggled together while standing side-by-side on the deck in the middle of the snake preparation area. Elizabeth lowered her
voice further, “Don’t look now, but the Ogre is coming for you.”
Emily looked back at the monster snake for the day, seventeen-year-old Conrad, six feet tall and all muscle. He was going to swim at the University of Texas on a swimming scholarship next year. “He’s not so tough.” Emily rolled her eyes.
Conrad noticed their glances and saluted them mockingly. He called out, “Good luck, ladies.” He began jumping up and down in the air and shaking out his arms as if he was preparing for the hardest event of the Olympics. Emily pulled her cap down firmly over the tips of her ears and began to stretch her muscles also.
“Test old Conrad today, team,” Coach Palin chortled, “First two, ready, go!” The first swimmers were off. Once it was Emily and Elizabeth’s turn, they hit the water with a pair of smooth dives. Emily started her butterfly kick underwater to get extra distance and then came up, arms dashing with her fastest freestyle stroke.
“Next two, go!” Emily could faintly hear the call allowing the next two swimmers to enter the race, but she didn’t look back as she flipped her turn and headed down the second lane. Over the summer, she was feeling stronger and stronger in the water. She slowed slightly, pacing herself next to Elizabeth, waiting to see when Elizabeth would make her move. She was excited by her newfound strength. No breather this lap, harder kick, water line at your forehead, her ki suggested.
At the next turn, they did an open turn, and Elizabeth yelled, “I’m dying today. My asthma’s kicking in a little. I’m going to get caught, Em. You go for it. Beat Conrad!” Emily gave Elizabeth a ‘thumbs up’ sign, and pushed off on her own, flying across the water to catch the younger swimmers ahead of her until surprisingly she found herself leading the snake. Reaching the last wall at the end of the eighth lane, she finished hard. She launched herself out of the water onto the deck ignoring her muscles screaming in pain with oxygen deprivation. She could scarcely believe her eyes. Conrad had not even entered the water yet.
“Coach, you’re starting us too slowly,” Conrad called out. “Look! Emily’s right behind me!”
He doesn’t look so confident now, Emily thought. Can I catch him?
Coach Palin gave Emily a wink while starting Conrad with extra emphasis. “Last group. Go!” Conrad turned from the rapidly approaching Emily and dove in. Initially he spread his arms like a cliff diver and then he formed into a streamline position to enter the water. Emily had to admit, his arc was impressive. Coach Palin cranked up his music to the highest degree. The song was a rap song that had a deep bass sound that was so strong the water appeared to be shaking from its mournful notes.
The hunter has become the hunted, she thought as she chased after Conrad into the first lane for her second snake. Distance per stroke, control the water, her ki continued to advise. The music was so powerful, Emily could feel it beating away as she swam, like the heartbeat of a great beast. Pacing with the notes, she drafted along in the distant current Conrad was creating. His feet were kicking frantically, and she had a glorious urge to tag him. Blood coursed through her arms and legs as she churned along. Nevertheless, she began to feel an achy pain start in her limbs, interfering with her electrical signals and making her muscles burn. Despite her endurance, she was beginning to fade.
Ignore the pain. Another no breather, her ki urged her on. Breathing slowed her stroke because her head turned and altered the streamlined form of her body. Coach was constantly trying to get the swimmers to breathe sparingly, but her body was screaming for more oxygen. She finished another snake. The music roared in her ears as she left the water with a guitar solo ripping through the air. Conrad was still fairly close. Coach Palin was making a lot of noise, and all the swimmers who had been caught were cheering her on from the side of the pool, loving the competition.
Elizabeth was on the side, encouraging the yells. She stood and screamed, “You can catch him! Go!” Emily knew she was spent, but she ran across the deck. Her body ached, and her muscles were throbbing. She debated if she should use her magic to push herself forward, but she decided not to. Watching Conrad’s feet streak away, she just wanted to stay untouched until the competition ended.
“Forty-five seconds left,” Coach bellowed.
A new song came on, shattering the air. This was a song Emily knew, one that blasted before sports events and wrestling matches. She managed to stay ahead of Conrad for the last few seconds. A loud whistle sounded, signaling the end of practice, with Conrad still a quarter-length back. She sighed in pure bliss, At least I went untouched.
“Nice race,” Elizabeth gashed as she jumped into the water next to Emily. “You actually held him off.” They finished practice together, taking it easy. After practice they drifted for several minutes in the water, talking together about boys, school and life. They were the last two out of the water.
Emily toweled off and pulled off her cap. Conrad was still around, and he was walking in her direction. Will he tease me about my ears? she wondered. She hated when her wet hair exposed her tips.
“Awesome swim,” Conrad complimented her. “Impressive. I hope you swim that way in the championship meet.” He gave her a high-five.
Dancing on air, Emily skipped across the deck with Elizabeth toward her awaiting father. “Maybe Conrad’s not a total ogre,” she giggled to her friend.
When Emily arrived home, her happiness continued. Floating in a new joy, she greeted Xena who bounded to meet her. You have the best doggy grin, Emily marveled as Xena wriggled in contentment. Emily had once seen a show on television that reported the dogs capable of the biggest smile were Dobermans.
Want to go for a swim? Xena asked hopefully.
Of course, Emily answered warmly. Even though Emily was tired from her workout, she wanted to share some time with her link. Together, they flew out of the house and down the porch in a giant leap. Xena took the early lead. Running out after her, Emily boasted to Xena, I’ll beat you to the lake.
A challenge we both know you can’t hope to keep, Xena taunted.
“We’re going for another swim,” Emily yelled to her father as she dashed by him where he stood in their driveway. Her father threw her a towel, which she caught in a smooth motion while still on the run, never breaking her stride.
Girl and dog streaked toward a series of trails that began right by the Whayne’s house, with rocky paths extending through clusters of oak and cypress trees. They were one as they ran under the warmth of the sun, one mind dashing through nature with no fetters and no concerns. The Whayne’s home was by a greenbelt that bordered the Balcones Preserve, a tract of land set aside for several endangered species of animals. Emily and Xena headed north along the closest trail that led toward a winding creek at the end of their community. The small stream fed into a larger river called Lake Austin, which was considered a lake because there was a dam on each side of this portion of the Colorado River. The towering structure near the Whayne’s house was Mansfield Dam, a concrete wall almost three hundred feet high which held the weighty waters of Lake Travis at bay.
All at once, Xena alerted Emily to the unusual smells of cheap aftershave lotion, sweat and aggression. Amplified through Xena’s hearing, Emily heard the crunch of gravel under shoes behind her and spun to face the irritation suggested by her bondsmate. A stocky man with short military-style red hair in a business suit emerged from the cedars. He began jogging toward them with a smooth and easy gait, even while in his dress shoes. Although fit, he appeared over-heated, and sweat was streaming down his face which was as red as his hair. His lips curled in a broken smile
“Nice day,” he called out, acting like there was nothing bizarre about being out for exercise on a trail in the summer heat in Texas dressed in such a strange manner. “Do you mind if I pet your dog?”
I smell a gun, Xena warned. The man’s suit coat flapped open and Emily saw the butt of a pistol that was rubbed and worn, speaking of age and constant use. Realizing he was one of the men who had watched her at her martial arts competition, Emily tried to hid
e her recognition.
“Sorry, sir. She bites sometimes.” Emily crept backwards, holding her breath.
“Do you jog out here often?” he asked while moving sideways away from Xena and toward Emily.
He wouldn’t abduct me right here, would he? Emily wondered.
A low rumble came from deep within Xena, and her lips curled back to reveal white teeth. A second man is approaching, Xena growled, sending Emily new scents of danger.
“I have to go,” Emily gasped. She raced away at a full sprint pace with Xena at her side.
The man started to give chase, but once she disappeared beneath a particularly dense canopy of mighty oak boughs, Xena whispered, he’s given up.
Heart hammering away, Emily flew along the trail. The bondsmates easily outdistanced both men, taking a variety of well-known, but difficult paths to make sure they were not followed. Emily studied her bondsmate loping at her side. You’re becoming more protective lately, thank you. I’m not sure what to do with all of this … it’s overwhelming.
We’re a team, Xena conveyed while flooding Emily with pack-like feelings to calm her mind. Instantly, Emily felt more relaxed and secure.
Dr. D will sort this out, Emily thought hopefully.
I’ll help you stay out of their way until we meet with him again, Xena promised. When they reached the creek, elation replaced concern, and the two raced along the water until it merged with Lake Austin. The water rippled in the breeze. The sun shone down, creating a bright line of reflection on the surface, like the shimmering sword of a great king. Seldom did people walk in this region due to a fear of rattlesnakes and water moccasins, but Xena was so skilled at sensing the snakes in the area that Emily had no concerns. They usually had this space totally to themselves.
