The rabbit's eyes darted to me and then the carrot. It inched toward it. Zak smiled.
With each second the rabbit grew more confident, trusted me more. It finally hopped to the carrot. I sat there, waiting to make my move.
The rabbit grew comfortable, looking away for a split-second. I seized my opportunity. In a flash I dove on top of it, gripping it firmly around the ribs as it squealed. "Oh, shut the hell up. I just saved your damn life."
I rose to my feet as the rabbit kicked at my arm. It hurt like hell but I wasn't letting go. I walked over to Zak and grinned from ear to ear.
"You did very good." He nodded.
"Fuck you. Your ass is eating carrots for lunch."
His laugh echoed through the trees.
"Come on. I have a good meal planned for dinner."
We walked up the steps to the house and when Zak wasn't watching I set the rabbit down in the grass. It took off in a flash.
"Don't worry. I'm a good shot. I'll get him tomorrow." He didn't even turn around.
We went inside and washed up for dinner. I sat at the table as Zak pulled out two large steaks from the refrigerator.
"We're going to eat good tonight. You've lost too much weight." He pointed to my ribs.
"When do I learn to fight?"
He lowered his eyes.
"I'll teach you when you're ready."
"How can I protect people if I can't protect myself?"
I caught his stern glare in the corner of my eye. "I'll teach you when you're ready."
"Fine.”
"You really want to fight? People hit back, you know?" He chuckled.
"I've been hit my whole life."
"Not like this you haven't." He shook his head. "Not like this."
We bounced in unison as the truck rambled down the gravel road, twisting and turning through the hilly countryside. My whole body was tense. I was beginning to regret asking to learn to fight. Zak had his usual smug grin on his face. I could tell I was about to learn a lesson. It was usually a lesson in humility.
"Where are you taking me?"
"To learn to fight."
"To learn to fight." I stuck my tongue out at him with a smile.
He brushed off my silliness with a smirk.
"You better hope you have a tongue left."
I snapped back into the worn seat. Zak laughed and patted me on the head, still staring at the road.
"Don't worry. I won't let them take your tongue."
I sat there, curious and perplexed, rubbing my sweaty palms down my legs. Zak had an innate ability to always know what I was thinking.
"What book are you reading now?"
"Calculus. The plot is pretty weak. You should really update your library."
"Calculus has a great plot. Lots of plot lines."
He chuckled at his clever word play.
We veered onto the highway and weaved around a few cars. I could see the old, beaten down train on the other side of the road, heading for Bathory. The night of my escape rushed into my mind. The fear and anxiety. I thought about the girls. What was Kiril doing to them? They were probably already tortured or murdered. Thoughts of his knife in their flesh made me sick to my stomach. My lunch crept into my throat and I wiped cold sweat from my forehead.
"What do you think he did to the girls?"
"It doesn't matter. You can't change the past."
"Well it matters to me."
"You did what you had to do. Anybody would do the same."
He reached over and wiped my hair from my face. My warm cheeks were trembling. I couldn't purge the thoughts from my mind, but Zak's kind gesture kept me from hurling into his floorboard.
"They're okay. They don't know anything."
"Okay." I whimpered a little.
"Kiril is smart. He'll blame his drivers, not the girls."
I eased in my seat a bit. It made sense. The girls wouldn't know anything. It'd be pointless for him to torture them.
"So where are we going?"
His smile returned. "Don't you worry about that."
We pulled into a part of Bathory I'd never seen. It bore a close resemblance to Golem: dirt everywhere, women working the corners, children covered in filth playing in the street. If I hadn't known any better, I would have sworn I was back in that shithole.
"Where are we? I don't recognize it."
"It looks different now. Kiril expanded into Bathory."
How could one man change a city?
"The whole town?"
"Things got bad pretty quick. But just this one part. So far."
He pulled down a side street. Three girls roughly my age stood on the corner. One had on tight denim jeans with a red top that rode halfway up her stomach. She acted like the ringleader. She whipped her curly brunette hair around and gave me a go-to-hell look when we passed. The three of them shouted down two boys who walked past on a cracked sidewalk.
Zak parked the truck across the street from them.
"Get out." He stared at me, his eyes and voice serious.
"I'm not getting out. Those girls are twice my size and there are three of them."
"You wanted to fight. So fight."
"They'll kill me."
He laughed.
"I hope not. You can't protect the city if you're dead."
Thanks for putting things in perspective, asshole.
"Please, let's just go. Just teach me to fight."
"That's what I'm doing. You have to learn to lose a fight before you can win."
"I'm scared."
"Good." He pointed out at the downtrodden neighborhood. "This is the place you want to protect. It's scary."
"They're going to hurt me."
"I won't let them. Didn't you take a punch from Kiril? He hits harder than those girls."
"It's different."
"You read my books right? Physics? Force is the same. Doesn't matter if it's a man or a girl."
"Ugh! Fine."
I stepped from the truck and one of the girls was already glaring at me. I turned to Zak's window, looking for any indication it was some kind of dare and he would tell me to get back in. Instead, he handed me some money.
"Go get me something to drink."
He nodded to the parking lot where the girls stood in front of a store.
I slouched as I walked toward them, head down, hoping they would ignore me. No such luck.
"Hey bitch!" The one in the red tank top stepped into the street.
I kept walking.
"Oh she's ignoring you. You better not take that bullshit."
"Hey, you little fucking whore!" The ringleader came closer. What a cunt. I forced my feet to keep moving, even if it put me on a collision course with trouble.
I heard footsteps and made eye contact with her. Huge mistake. The girl smiled and popped her knuckles.
"Yeah, you fucking saw me. Give me that goddamn money in your hand."
"It's not mine." My heart pounded. My hands were clammy. I could feel the bills wrinkling in my palm.
"I don't give a fuck. Give it to me or I'll take it from your scrawny ass."
My blood boiled, but I knew I had to control it. Fighting is rarely the answer. I tried to keep Zak's advice in my mind but the bitch kept running her mouth.
"I don't want any trouble." Keep walking.
"Yeah, you fucking found it though." I glanced up and all three were stalking toward me.
The girls now stood directly in my path. I had no visible escape and I didn't hide my eyes from theirs any longer. I looked back and Zak was still smiling.
I hated him for making me do this. I just wanted to go home. I wanted to knock that smug grin off his face. Then I remembered begging Zak to teach me to fight. He promised not to put me in harm's way.
I turned back and a fist slammed into my nose. My legs went to the sky and I landed flat on my back. Blood gushed down my cheeks. The pain in my nose radiated through my face and my eyes watered.
I stared up at the clou
ds, momentarily in a daze. The girl appeared over me and took the money from my hand.
"Thanks, cunt." She turned her back to me and faced her friends. "You see me knock that bitch the fuck out? Fucking get some of that shit you little whore!"
"Fuck you." My fists clenched and rage rushed over me.
The girls froze, then slowly turned around.
"What'd you just say?" The ringleader's face was red and her chest heaved up and down with each breath.
"I said go fuck yourself, you piece of shit!" Angry tears mixed with the blood on my face as I worked my way to my feet.
"Take the money back," Zak called from the truck.
"You shut the hell up, you old pecker fuck, or I'll lay your ass out too!" The girl leered at Zak as he chuckled.
I looked over and his eyes narrowed when they met mine.
"Use your training. You're fast."
I lowered my hips and found my center of gravity. The girls stared at me like I was insane.
"Look at this dumb little twat. Guess I'm gonna have to fuck her up twice. Make her cry again."
The ringleader lunged and I lifted on my toes and shot past her, swiping the money from her hand. I flew across the parking lot and up the steps of the store.
I turned back from the top step. "Looking for this?"
The ringleader stomped her foot on the pavement. "Yo, you little bitch. Give that shit back." She glared at me, puffing her chest out as the two cunts next to her smacked their fists into their palms.
"Come take it." I laughed.
Cunt number one turned to Zak. "Your girl is motherfucking dead, prick!"
He shrugged.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
How was I going to get out of the store and past them? I hadn't thought this through when I ran my fucking mouth off. Another lesson I'm sure Zak was itching to teach. I tried to think of any means of escape as I grabbed Zak's fucking drink. I walked up and paid for the soda and pocketed the change.
I looked to the front door. The girls stood at the bottom of the steps, laughing.
"Yeah, how you gonna get out of there now? You a dead little whore." She turned to her friend and pointed at me. "This bitch dumb."
I stood frozen, examining my surroundings. The front door was the only way out.
I composed myself and sauntered through the entrance. The sun blasted my eyes but I fought through it, making sure I had my opponents in sight. A few trash barrels were to my right and the odor of stale soda, beer, and rotting food drifted across my nose as flies buzzed in my ears.
The girls were hungry for blood. My blood.
"You fucked up now, girl."
I looked to the closest barrel and an idea popped into my mind. I rolled the barrel at them. The girls darted out of the way.
While they were distracted, I made a run for the truck, my feet in perfect harmony with the ground.
Zak's eyes were trained on mine when I was about fifty feet away. Two large men with ripped, tattooed muscles bulging from their white tank tops stepped in my path and I threw on the brakes. I lost my grip on the soda and it arced in the air before exploding all over the concrete.
Soda fizzed on the ground as the men stomped toward me. One of them wore a maroon bandana and he grabbed a handful of my hair. I winced at the pain in my scalp, waiting to be beaten to death. The last sounds I'd hear would be soda bubbling on the hot pavement and men screaming at me. My throat closed as the sun's blinding rays beat down on my back. I waited for the blows that usually came after I'd disobeyed. But they didn't.
I heard a truck door slam shut. I looked across the pavement to boots slamming into the street, then gazed up to his black shirt, and finally a clenched jaw that etched out Zak's terrifying face. His eyes were wide. I'd never seen anyone look as menacing as him.
When Zak spoke it was slow and with purpose. "Let her go."
"Oh, a hero. Mind your fucking business and drive off before you wind up in the hospital, old man."
Zak took a step and I felt the man's hand trembling against my scalp.
"I'm not going to tell you again," Zak said.
The man gripped my hair tighter, but I felt safer with every step Zak took.
When Zak neared, the man threw me down on my back and pain ripped through my legs.
Zak glanced down to me and spoke through gritted teeth. "Get in the truck."
I rose and limped past him.
Through his terrifying gaze, he winked at me as I hobbled past.
"Take notes."
I drew a deep breath as Zak turned to them. There was a brief pause and then...
The man in the bandana lunged for Zak and he dodged him effortlessly, laughing as he flew to the pavement. The man quickly jumped to his feet. He brushed off his jeans and growled before taking a swing at Zak. He avoided it easily.
"You're slow." Zak chuckled as his feet shifted into position.
The thug jumped up from the pavement, jaw clenched, veins bulging in his neck. He talked a tough game, but his knees quaked underneath him. "Fuck him up!"
Both men moved in. Zak's hand blocked the first one's punch before he slapped the other man across the face. He twirled and kicked the first man in the throat before flipping back around in a smooth motion to grab the other by the wrist. A pop echoed through the street as Zak snapped the man’s upper arm in half.
He shrieked. His cries of pain pierced my ears as he clutched his crooked arm. He tumbled to the pavement, writhing on the hot concrete. His accomplice sprinted away. Zak looked to the girls who stood there shuddering. The girls screamed and ran after the thug. Zak walked over to the lone guy curled up in the fetal position and still holding his arm.
Zak shook his head. "You shouldn't hit women. Only a coward would do such a thing."
He turned back to me. My knees knocked together as I tried to process what I witnessed. Zak moved faster than Kiril and hit ten times harder.
He smiled at me and looked back to the man. "First lesson in fighting: make an example out of the first person and the others will run away."
We climbed in the truck and I smiled at Zak. He tapped his index finger on my temple.
"You did good. But don't forget the tools you have."
I caught Zak and Kaja in the corner of my eye as I flew around the side of the house. I cut around behind them undetected and tapped Zak on the shoulder, surprising him in the process. Kaja lifted his head and gave Zak an inquisitive look.
Zak looked down at him. "I knew."
"Hah, right!" I kept my pace.
I somersaulted across the ground, arms flying in each direction as two knives soared through the air and hit their marks.
I ran through the makeshift obstacle course of hay bales and anything else Zak could find that might trip me up. More knives flew from my hands and hit every target dead center. Zak nodded and smiled as Kaja whined and put a paw over his face.
When Zak was nearly satisfied with my performance, I veered in a different direction and his eyes widened. I sprang onto a hay bale and thrust myself into the air, flipping a cartwheel over a barrier. My foot came down and snapped a mannequin's head off. I simultaneously drew two knives from my sides and crashed to my feet in the middle of seven other makeshift dummies.
I spun around, arms nothing but a blur as blades struck every vital area Zak had marked. I was completely focused as I ran around the corner into another group of dummies for hand to hand combat.
Suddenly, a rabbit blew past my feet. Distracted and afraid I might step on it, my legs twisted up and my head smacked the dirt face first. Despite the pain, I grinned.
I sprang to my feet and started to finish the course.
Zak balled his hands into fists. "Enough!"
I halted, mustering a foul look his direction.
"What the fuck? I'm not done?"
"You're not ready. You need to put your feelings aside. This is all a big mistake." He threw his hands up and glared at me, shaking his head.
I walked over to
him and looked into his eyes.
"What's the problem?" I said.
I put my hand on his shoulder, pricking him with a needle I'd palmed, and looked over at Kaja staring back at me. Zak winced but quickly recovered his glare.
"Are you afraid to let me leave? I've gotten pretty good. I should be able to take care of myself." I pulled my hand from his shoulder and dropped the needle to the ground. He smacked at his shoulder like he was warding off a bug that had just bitten him.
Zak spoke gently, but his breaths were deep and heavy. I could see a vein bulging in his neck. The same way it did anytime he grew flustered.
"Emotions will get you killed. You can't let things like a rabbit running past distract you. Of course I don't want you to go. But I certainly don't want to send you out there unprepared. I'm sorry for yelling."
"Don't be." I turned around and walked toward the house but turned back. "Actually, maybe you could just give me one more chance. Perhaps I can prove you wrong?"
"How?"
"You and me, old man. Hand to hand. I beat you and you agree I’m ready to go out into the big bad world." I smiled and winked at him.
His laugh echoed through the hills and startled wolf dog.
"You want to fight me?"
"What's wrong? Scared of little ol' me?" I batted my eyelashes at him.
He mocked me. "Very afraid."
We glided over the tops of the grass out into the field, circling, arms up in striking position. Zak kept smiling. He had never actually tried to hit me before, just dodged my strikes during training, mostly to piss me off.
"Don't cry to Kaja when I pop you in the face," said Zak.
I chuckled and steadied my breathing. It was going to be hard to say goodbye to my best friend. Focus, Maggie.
In the blink of an eye, Zak sped toward me. I blocked his hand and countered with a strike which he also blocked. We separated and eyed each other carefully once more. In an instant there was a fury of fists and open handed chops, all blocked. Wolf dog whimpered, but neither of us looked in his direction.
Zak spun and kicked at me, hard. I dodged it and narrowed my eyes at him. Jaw tightening, I threw a jab at his midsection that he slapped away. He appeared dizzy, his reaction time slowing.
For the first time, he missed one of my hands and I connected with his jaw. He stumbled backwards and started to fall. I caught him just before he dropped. He couldn't move his legs or arms. He stared at the smile on my face.
The Matriarch: An Erotic Superhero Romance (The Matriarch Trilogy Book 1) Page 7
