by Nick Braker
He feinted a shot with his left to Tom’s head but pulled it and swung a punch to his gut. Tom went for the feint and pulled his head back to avoid the swing, leaving his torso open. Asher connected. Tom looked surprised.
Asher followed with two more shots at Tom with a right and left combo to his face but Tom was already backing up and blocking as fast as he could. He managed to avoid Asher’s shots to his face and even brought a spinning back kick with his right foot to hit Asher in the head. Asher ignored the pain and punched Tom square in the jaw with his right. Again, Tom looked surprised and went into a defensive maneuver to block and back away. Asher pressed his advantage and lunged. He got within swinging distance but instead went for the tackle. Tom hit him twice on the back of his head and neck but Asher had him and they went down. Tom landed on his back and Asher landed on Tom. The two men started swinging at each other but Asher had the advantage and was capitalizing on it in aces. He hit Tom several times. The punches landed hard and Tom was desperately defending himself.
I got you now.
Then, he was on his back with the wind knocked out of him. Tom was over him now and landed a downward kick to Asher’s gut. He grabbed Tom’s foot but he needed air badly and Tom had just made sure he was not going to get any soon. Asher tried to throw Tom off balance by forcing his foot up and away from him but Tom simply backed up. Asher rolled away from Tom and got to his knees. Tom stood several yards away, unmoving. Asher couldn’t breathe. His stomach muscles had taken several very fast and strong blows from Tom and the air just wasn’t going in. He needed to breathe in or he would pass out. His eyes burned and stars formed at the edges of his vision. Tom stood there, waiting. His vision started to go and the realization dawned on him that Tom had just knocked him out. It was just a matter of a few more seconds. His next words were coarse and barely audible.
“What did...,” Asher managed to say before his world went black.
He opened his eyes. The weight room seemed strange to him from the floor. He turned his head to the left, seeing Tom sitting on a bench nearby.
“Here,” Tom said as he threw something at him. It was cold and wet. Instinctively, he grabbed it off his chest where it had landed. “Clean up,” Tom ordered. “You have minor cuts and bruises but you’ll live.”
“What was that move you used?” Asher’s voice was still coarse.
He could barely get the words out.
“I can teach it to you, if you’re interested,” Tom replied confidently.
“Aren’t you worried I’ll get up and go after you some more?”
“Not your style,” Tom replied. “Asher, for what it’s worth, I know you in a lot of ways. You’re arrogant, self-centered, immature, and well… you get the point but I want you to know you’re also, strong, resilient, tenacious, fast, smart, and you have skills. I don’t know where you got them but you have them. I would swear you were trained but our research says you’ve had no formal training of any kind. No martial arts, boxing, nothing. Yet, you almost bested me. Now, I know it sounds like I’m bragging but you are the first cadet to have come that close to taking me out, which you almost did twice during that fight.”
Asher sat up and started dabbing the wet cloth on some of the nastier wounds. His stomach muscles writhed in pain and he almost let out a scream.
“Careful, you’ll find it difficult to breathe deeply for several days. I hit you in places designed to put you down as quickly as possible without permanently harming you. I’m not your enemy.”
“I’ve heard that before from WSO,” Asher retorted.
“We’re on the same side. I apologized for my mistake and I meant it. I just ask that you remember what happened that brought you to me in the first place. You were the first aliens we encountered. As far as we knew at the time, you appeared humanoid but that didn’t mean you were friendly. We had thousands of dead bodies from a known but subtle alien attack on our planet. I wasn’t going to play footsie with you while other human beings were still being slaughtered all around us. Alexandria convinced me in the hallway after your interrogation that you were indeed both victims and heroes. I agreed with the evidence she presented and that is why you are here.”
“Lucky me,” Asher responded.
“Don’t you get it? There is something special about the eight of you. Especially you and the four girls. The girls alone make Einstein look like a first grader,” Tom explained.
“Special?” Asher kept his poker face, mainly because it hurt to move any part of it.
“Yes. Alexandria and I are convinced there is more here than meets the eye and you eight are a part of it. Do you know how many professionally trained WSO military troops those four girls took down before they were subdued?”
“What?” Asher cringed in pain but he couldn’t hold back the surprised look his face made.
“The girls beat down several guards before they could be controlled. I’m convinced now that your three friends would have done the same but for some reason, they willingly gave up. Part of me is convinced they saw the odds, knew it was hopeless and decided to lay low until a better opportunity arose. Another part of me believes they simply don’t know how good they are so they just gave up.”
“The girls put those men I saw outside the ship on those stretchers?” Asher asked.
“Yes, they did,” Tom said flatly.
“How?” Asher asked incredulously.
“We don’t know,” Tom shrugged. “They are smart, beautiful, athletic, and they can fight like some of the most highly trained men I’ve ever seen. I haven’t tested them but I bet each one of them could give me a good run in a sparring arena. Asher, I’ve trained for years, worked with masters in their fields of martial arts and hand to hand. I know how to fight. It’s why I do what I do. It’s why I was hired to oversee WSO recruitment training. I’m damn good but someday soon these girls are going to be better than me. Asher, so are you and your three friends...” Tom trailed off.
Asher knew what Tom was getting at. Something was different about them but he still wasn’t convinced.
“My firearm training, for example?” he asked.
Tom nodded.
“Nobody shoots that good in such a short time. I think the difference between you and your friends is they simply don’t have any drive. They need a leader to push them. Fisk has tried but they’re more interested in having fun. They spend their nights playing some kind of Dungeons and Dragons variation, then get up in the morning tired and worn out from lack of sleep because they goofed off all night. Weston is what? Nineteen years old?”
“Yeah, so?” Asher prodded.
“His dexterity and hand-eye coordination is amazing. I’ve never seen anyone so gifted. Your friend, Brandon, is fast, both running and in reflexes. He plays table tennis with the others and I’ve seen his speed in action. He is a prodigy,” Tom said with some excitement in his voice.
“What of Greg?”
“Greg can beat Brandon and Weston in table tennis.”
“Wait, you said Brandon was a prodigy in speed and reflexes. How does Greg beat him?” Asher asked.
“He adjusts. He learns. He finds his opponents weakness, probably by instinct. He doesn’t even think about it. He lost at first but within just a few games, Brandon and Weston were both losing to Greg, consistently.”
“So what’s the problem then?”
“The problem is they only show these abilities when they are having fun or goofing off. They don’t give a rat’s ass about learning anything that takes effort. Weston and Brandon just want to play. Greg has let his emotions cripple him. The world is under attack and they just don’t care to do anything about it. I can’t find a way to motivate them. I’ve tried and Fisk has tried. All the while, you are off doing your own thing. You show up when you feel like it, work hard only when it suits you, and are indifferent to basically everything we’re trying to accomplish here. I thought your relationship with Jules might push you along, so I didn’t intervene to stop your midnight trysts. I know s
he’s been sneaking into your room at night. I was hoping it would be a catalyst of give and take. Instead, you’re even more distracted.”
Asher dropped his head.
Damn.
“Tom, I--”
“Work with me, Asher,” Tom said with a hint of pleading in his voice.
Asher sighed.
“I don’t want to lead, dude. I’m sick of responsibility.”
“You’re missing something,” Tom nearly whispered.
Asher started to ask what it was but he didn’t need to. He knew.
“Go ahead. Tell me my gifts and why I’m a prodigy,” he said.
“You’re a natural leader. You remain calm under pressure and you can influence others like no one I’ve ever seen. You have exceptional strength both physically and mentally. You don’t just know women, Asher, you know people. You know what to say, what to do and they trust you. I know I haven’t even scratched the surface of what you and your seven friends can do.”
“Perhaps what you are saying is true. So what? What does that really mean? Fate? Coincidence? Luck? What?” Asher didn’t like asking the question because he didn’t really want to know the answer.
“Keep training, do your best and I move you to the next level as fast as you can learn. No boredom allowed,” Tom said.
“Hmm, in exchange, I want some freedom and I want to go on some missions. Something you think we can handle. You know we’re ready,” Asher said.
“Talent doesn’t equate to training. You’ve got to know what to do,” Tom replied.
Asher looked at him and smirked.
“We took over a spacecraft after killing three highly advanced alien beings from another world without any training. Weird that I have to keep reminding you.”
“No reminder necessary. It got you in the door. Now, you need to try to get through the next door and then the next. It’s never-ending but it’s insanely rewarding,” Tom smiled and Asher could see the twinge of pain on his face when he did.
“Talent goes a long way,” Asher rubbed his jaw and pointed to Tom’s.
“That it did. Nice shots, by the way. I was quite surprised but in the end you lost. I’m sure you haven’t forgotten, considering you’re still sitting on the floor.”
“I like it down here. Was planning to do some abdominal sets,” he quipped.
“Yeah? I’d pay cash to see you try a few of those right now,” Tom laughed and surprisingly, Asher found himself laughing, even though it hurt like hell.
Tom left the weight room after telling Asher to think about it. The pain in his abdomen was so bad he sat there for thirty minutes before he was able to get up. Asher had a high tolerance for pain but this was different somehow. It was debilitating. His movements came slowly and carefully at first but he managed to walk out of the room on his own. He planned on heading back to his room but he nearly walked into another person as they both rounded the corner at the same time.
“Asher. I’m Doctor Nance.”
She nodded her head, almost as if she were giving him a subtle bow. He tried to respond, but his voice was so hoarse and constrained by the pain in his abdomen, all he could manage was a weak, “Yeah.”
“Tom asked me to give you some pain medication. Swallow these three pills and drink this,” she ordered.
Asher was naturally suspicious but at the moment he didn’t really care. He took the pills and the cup of liquid.
“It’s just water,” she smiled.
He got the impression she could see he was questioning the situation.
“Alright,” he croaked.
Tipping his head back, he dropped the pills in his mouth and washed them down with the water. It was as good as ice cold beer on a hot summer day.
“The pills dissolve nearly instantly and you should feel their effects before you reach your compartment. Come see me in the morning when you wake up. Tom ordered me to send you to your room instead of examining you first. He seemed to believe you’d ignore the order anyway. That true?” she asked.
Asher’s response came several seconds later as he had finally noticed Nance was a beauty. Her golden blond hair was pinned back tight and off her neck, immaculately done, so she cared about her appearance. Most women cared but some went the extra mile. Nance was one of those. She wore a white lab coat. It covered her surgical blues making her look professional but it was her face that was the most interesting. The doctor was stunning, wearing just a hint of makeup. She smiled a lot and he couldn’t help but be put at ease by it. Her teeth were pearly white, which told him again she valued her appearance more than most.
“Mind if I share something with you, Doctor?” he asked.
“Of course not. What is it?”
“You are absolutely the most beautiful doctor I’ve ever met.”
He smiled as her cheeks turned slightly red.
“Is that so, Romeo?” she said, apparently disinterested. “Do you always hit on the girls like that or did the fight knock some screws loose in your head?”
“If they did, I think I’d like to keep them that way. I hope you don’t mind the rattle,” he made a quick, easy laugh hoping to get a similar reaction from her and avoid the pain in his stomach. He got neither.
Her face went neutral and she simply stared at him as if bored but was trying to be polite.
“Come see me in the morning. Consider it an order. If you don’t show up, I’ll send a platoon of MPs after you and have them drag you to my office kicking and screaming. Got it?” she demanded, and poked him in the stomach with her index finger.
Asher stifled a yelp as the pain shot through him.
“Holy--” Asher said in surprise.
She walked away but looked back as she did.
“Never mess with a doctor who knows the nature of your injuries and is willing to use it against you.”
Wow, that one is feisty.
Asher grinned. She was playing way too hard to get and that meant she wasn’t going to be. The doctor had already walked away and was out of sight. Asher decided he should return to his compartment and began what was a long walk back. Every step he took sent shooting tendrils of pain from his stomach down his legs and into his arms. He did his best to ignore it and keep his feet moving. The sounds of his shoes hitting the floor, even at his slow pace, were muffled by the wall to wall, thin carpeting covering it. Metallic walls would have created an echo effect but they were intentionally muffled with various cloth covered, virtual windows. As he heard it, the designers felt the need to give the underground facility the facade of being above ground, so they installed windows along the hallways at regular intervals. Each window had a sunlight effect, created by lights located behind the cloth drapes. It was effective because Asher could never shake the feeling he was topside even knowing otherwise. The pain was excruciating. Moments later he rounded the corner to the hallway where his compartment was located and there was Jules. She grinned at him as he approached.
“Hey there, big guy,” she said trying to be cheerful.
Asher wanted to smile back but he also didn’t want to move any muscle in his body, certainly not his face... not after his attempt with the doctor.
“Ouchy. I heard about the fight,” she said.
Asher’s jaw dropped.
“Really? News travels fast around here.”
“Definitely. Especially where I work,” she said.
Asher wanted to pursue that but shrugged instead and let himself in.
“Come on in, Jules,” he said as he started taking off his clothes.
“Oh dear--”
Asher turned to face her.
“What?” he asked, seeing a bit of shock in her eyes.
She stared at him, specifically his mid-section. He looked down at himself. There around his abdomen were several nasty looking black and blue spots and they were quite large.
“Damn, I’ve never--” he started to finish but Jules interrupted him.
“Lay down,” she ordered, pointing to his bed.
He complied and she immediately stripped him of shoes, socks and pants.
“Okay you. It is time to rest and recuperate. Did you see the doctor?” she asked.
“Yep. Saw her,” he said with some weariness in his voice.
“And?” she demanded.
“Well, she gave... me... these pills...”
Asher tried to shake his head clear but it wasn’t working. He looked at Jules and started to laugh because she sounded funny when she talked.
“You know... you... shalk... fun... ny,” he said. “I...”
Strangely, he just didn’t care to say anymore as he closed his eyes and went to sleep.
Earth - WSO Training Facility
August 10, 1987 - 9:10am
Asher opened his eyes. The memory of yesterday’s blackout returned and he mused to himself that this was becoming a habit. He started to roll over and sit up but gently bumped into someone else lying next to him. He pulled the covers back and relaxed as he recognized her. Jules.
“Hey, sleepy,” she said as she twisted around to face him. “Feeling better?”
“Actually, yes. My abdomen still hurts but not terribly so.”
“Hungry?” she asked.
“Hmm... let’s go get some food. What time is it?” Asher asked.
“It is eleven minutes after nine,” she said, her gaze never leaving his.
“Interesting,” he said.
“What is?”
“Nothing, let’s go.”
Asher tickled her into motion and she jumped back, out of bed. He rolled off the other side and started to get dressed.
“Uh...” she said.
Asher looked at her questioningly.
“You need to clean up,” she said. “From your workout, remember?”
“Right.”
He jumped into the shower and then dressed while she waited for him in his living room.
“You seem to be moving okay,” she said.
“Yeah, feeling good. I hope this isn’t the drug because that will eventually wear off.”
He held her hand to the doorway of his compartment, kissed her and let go.
“Time to play strangers again,” he said.
