Timesurfers (28 page)

Chapter 21

Training

“S
it down,” Rose said between mouthfuls.

Cate remained frozen in her fighting
stance.

A tall silhouette loped through the bush,
pushing branches aside as it advanced. The man raised his hands in
surrender. “I give up—don’t hurt me.”

Relief flooded through Cate. Jonah was
dressed all in black, his V-necked T-shirt pulled taught across his
broad chest. As he moved closer, Cate and Rose both gasped. His
face was bloodied and bruised.

“Hey.” He stepped toward Cate, arms
outstretched. When his eyes fixed on Rose, he hesitated, indecision
etched on his face. His arms fell back to his sides. “Hi ladies.”
He nodded at each of them.

“What happened to you?” Cate asked.

“Mortez is none too pleased with me.” Jonah
smiled and then spoke directly to Rose. “I had to keep something
special safe for her, and I lost it.”

A
big
silence
followed before Rose spoke. “That’s a pretty big thing to
lose.”

Jonah shrugged. “I think someone took
it.”

Rose continued to eat, her eyes fixed on
Jonah. “I’d be making some finding plans ASAP.”

“What did you lose?” Cate asked.

Jonah grimaced. “It’s complicated.”

Cate dropped her head into her hands. “Isn’t
it always?”

Rose walked over and placed her hands
tenderly against either side of Jonah’s head. In seconds, his face
was again beautiful and unmarked. The blood smears remained though.
When Cate had healed him, all the blood disappeared and it was like
his injuries had never happened. Rose must have a different type of
healing power.

“Thanks,” Jonah said.

“You better find what you’ve lost, or
there’ll be another beating around the corner.” Rose dropped her
hands.

Cate shuffled her feet and settled
cross-legged on the ground. She grabbed a stick and drew
absentminded circles in the dirt. The connection between Rose and
Jonah made her stomach twist. She grappled for some words to break
the silence. “So...how’d you find us?” Her voice sounded tinny and
overly bright.

He pointed to his wrist, where Rose had
pressed the gun at the Shack. “Quantum microchip. Remember?”

Cate banged her hand against her forehead.
“Of course, what was I thinking?”

The corners of Jonah’s mouth tugged up in a
near smile.

“Lunch is over.” Rose brushed off her
trousers, drawing attention to her long, athletic legs. Jonah
followed her every move. “I want to see some board breaks, and then
you have an afternoon hike.”

Cate motioned toward Jonah. “But...”

“UP!” Rose barked.

“Are you staying?” Cate scrambled to her feet
and grabbed Jonah’s arm. He flinched and moved ever so slightly. He
had distanced himself from her to show Rose she had nothing to
worry about. Confusion and annoyance shot through her.

Jonah glanced at Rose, who shrugged. “Sure,
I’ll stay.”

Cate’s irritation gave way to something
surprising. Jealousy. She had a serious case of the green-eyed
monster. Austin might be her kryptonite, but she was peeved Jonah
preferred Rose to her. She loved Austin, but she also desperately
wanted Jonah to choose her over Rose. Just because it was,
well...Rose.

“Do fifty knuckle push-ups while I prepare
the boards.” Rose upended the black canvas duffel bags from the
Shack. Assorted knives and deadly-looking metal objects clattered
onto the rock. A pile of pine boards fell out last.

“You want them in lots of two?” Jonah
rummaged around among the weapons and produced black duct tape.

“Yep.” Rose lined up drums along the
ground.

Cate started her push-ups on the grass.

“Do them on the rocks,” Rose yelled. “The
grass won’t condition your knuckles, and get off your knees and up
on your toes, child. Warriors never do knee push-ups.”

Cate stomped over to the rocks, which bit
into her knuckles, breaking the skin the instant she started. She
gritted her teeth and continued.
Do it for
Xavier
, she chanted.

Rose placed one set of boards on the ground
across some bricks, she and Jonah held the second set, and a third
set lay at the end of five forty-four gallon drums lined up next to
one another. “Spinning heel kick for the boards we’re holding,
hammer fist for the boards on the bricks, and flying side kick over
those drums to break the last ones. We’ll get there to hold the
boards before you jump.”

Cate had never broken two boards together
before. “Do I keep going if they don’t break?”

“Yes,” Rose and Jonah chorused and braced
behind the boards, holding them at about hip height.

“Clear your mind. If they aren’t broken in
your head, it’ll never happen. This is all about technique and
commitment,” Rose said.

Jonah smiled. “Hard, fast, and loud.
Ready?”

After a deep breath, Cate nodded. She kicked,
and nothing happen.

“Again!” Rose and Jonah yelled.

This time the boards splintered, but didn’t
break all the way through. The third time they snapped. She knelt
on the ground in front of the boards resting across the bricks. She
struck hard with a hammer fist and a searing pain shot up her
arm.

“Get your weight over the top of it, or
you’ll break your arm. Straighten your wrist. Now, go again,” Rose
commanded.

Her fist broke the boards clean. Jonah and
Rose held the last boards at the end of the row of drums. She
needed to jump about six feet to clear them and smash through the
boards.

She sprinted and jumped. Her foot hit the
boards with a thud and she bounced butt first onto the drums. Epic
fail.

Rose screwed her nose up. “The speed was
fine, but your leg was way too low and straight. It’s not a flying
leg raise. Technique is important. Get your knee bent and foot up
and flexed, then kick out hard through the board. That’s what’s
going to break it.”

“Show her how it’s done, Rose.” Jonah gave a
mischievous smile.

“Add two more drums and hold up the boards.”
Rose sauntered away and pulled hair into a high ponytail.

Jonah chuckled. “She
loves
a demonstration.”

“That’s because she’s an attention seeking
warrior-goddess.” Cate hated Rose but the woman had perfect
technique.

“Rose also likes to use her badass sparingly
for maximum effect.” Jonah’s eyes twinkled. “You two are more
similar than either of you would ever admit.”

“I hope that means I could kick your butt
like she can.”

“I can match it with Rose in a fight, but
Naitanui’s the only person who could take her down on any given
day.”

“He’d be like a smooth black panther. No! A
deadly tiger snake, all black and yellow. He glides around and
bam
! He strikes! You’re dead.” Cate danced
around as she spoke. “Does Naitanui have a power?”

Jonah cleared his throat, and his eyes darted
left. “He can erase memories. When Timesurfers are cast out or
choose to leave, he erases their memories and sends them to a
suitable time and place to live out their lives.”

“Impressive.” She thought on that for a
minute. “What about the immortals? People would catch on that they
weren’t aging.”

“Naitanui erases their memories, and they’re
all sent to Isle de Pantheon to live. The North Island is for
Timesurfers sentenced to incarceration, and the South Island is for
immortals who want out of their Timesurfer duties.”

“Ready?” Rose called.

Jonah nodded. They braced behind the
boards.

Rose ran with a fluid grace that masked her
speed. When she jumped, her position through the air was flawless.
The boards gave a sharp crack and ripped like paper. She landed
perfectly balanced.

“Impressive,” Cate said reluctantly.

“Not perfect though.” Rose picked up a single
board. “I want to check your speed. Shut your eyes. When I say,
open them and pick the most appropriate kick to break the board
based on how I’m holding it.”

Cate closed her eyes.

“And go!” Rose called.

Cate opened her eyes and panicked.
What kick should I use? When should I time
it?
Seconds ticked by and she hadn’t moved.

Rose groaned. “Yes, do nothing...that will
protect you from death. It’s time for a hike. Head south 125
degrees for about an hour until you see a huge cave. Tiger snakes
hibernate there. Head east 125 degrees until you reach the
ring-lock fence. There’s a thousand volts running through it. Head
north 125 degrees to the rock shaped like a donut, and finally west
125 degrees. You should be heading in each direction for about an
hour. Use the sun and this compass as a guide.” She handed Cate a
shiny oval object.

“Rose...” There was a warning in Jonah’s
voice.

“She’s mine to train,” Rose cut in.
“Questions?”

Cate flipped the compass open. “How will I
know I’ve finished?”

“You’ll know,” Rose said.

“Are you sure you don’t have any other
questions?” Jonah pressed.

“No.” She marched off without a backward
glance. The compass face glowed, mocking her.
You’re missing something
, a little voice chirped in
her head.

Her feet wobbled on the uneven ground.
“Arrgh...” She landed face first in the dirt and her ankle cracked.
An excruciating pain roared up her leg, as her foot wedged in a
hole. Something furry wriggled against her heel. She screamed and
yanked her leg to her chest. Blue and white stars burst behind her
closed eyelids. The world tilted for a few seconds until she
managed to focus.

A rabbit now lay a few feet from her on the
ground. She’d stepped in a rabbit hole, and on the rabbit that
lived there. “Crap!” Her left foot was pointing in the wrong
direction. Her toes were facing behind her calf. Nausea surged
through her. “R—” She clamped her hands over her mouth to stop
herself calling for help. She would heal herself.

A whimper escaped her lips as a fresh burst
of agony surged up her calf. Should she try to put her ankle back
in the right place before attempting to fix it? With Brittany, she
put her hands on her, and it happened. It was the same after Polka
Dot attacked her ankle.

She counted back from ten and forced herself
to sit. Her ankle screamed with pain as she stretched and laced her
fingers under her injured foot then waited. Nothing. Eyes closed,
she tried again. A quick peek confirmed that there was still
nothing.
Heal, heal, heal
, she chanted in
her head. Bubbles of warmth fizzed along her leg and the pain
vanished. Her eyes widened as her foot rotated inch by inch until
her toes faced the sky and not the sand. The associated crunching
noises sounded excruciating, but she felt nothing. She gave her
ankle a tentative twirl. It was fixed.

A scraping noise caught her attention. The
rabbit was attempting to flee, but its back legs remained limp and
motionless while its front paws scratched desperately at the dirt.
Blood trickled from the corner of its mouth. A poor innocent bunny
was in pain because of her.

She gently picked up the spotted brown rabbit
and stroked its coarse fur. The frantic thud of its heartbeat
pounded against her palm. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. The rabbit
became still. Its heartbeat stuttered and stopped. Her hands shook
as she laid the rabbit on the sandy ground.
Please wake up
. Her fingers stroked the rabbit’s side.
Don’t be dead
. She held the compass near
its nose and mouth. There was no sign it was breathing. With a
sigh, she closed the rabbit’s eyes and rested her hand on its cold
chest. Its back paw twitched.

With a violent twist the rabbit was on its
feet and darted into the scrub.

“Hey! Come back.” Bewildered, but relieved,
she stared at the space the rabbit had disappeared through.
I need some company, come back
.

A bush rustled and the rabbit was back,
calmly contemplating her. The fading sunlight gave its eyes an
eerie violet glow.

“You want to hike with me?” she asked.

The rabbit shook its head.

“I know that wasn’t you actually saying no,
but I’ll take it as that. You can go.” The rabbit obediently hopped
away, and she was alone. That thing she was missing earlier finally
twigged. She wheeled on her heel and sprinted back the way she’d
come.

***

“You sent me in a circle!” she yelled.

Rose sat on a boulder, ankles crossed, by the
campfire, sipping something from a cup. “No, I sent you in a
square. You cheated. You’re four hours early.”

Rose was so...mean. All the time. For no
bloody reason. She smacked the cup from Rose’s hand. The aroma of
coffee wafted through the air. “I broke my ankle and trekked
through the bush for nothing but your entertainment. You can take
your GTs and shove them fair up your—”

“Settle down!” Jonah stepped between her and
Rose.

“She’s awful to me. I could have died!” Cate
put both hands on his chest and gave an enormous shove. It was like
pushing against an immovable brick wall. “You let her do that to
me. Which makes you a son of a—”

“I had you under observation the entire
time,” Jonah broke in.

“Oh.” That knocked the wind from her
sails.

“The zombie rabbit thing was freaky. If you
were more focused, you would have seen through Rose’s bogus
request. Lesson learned. Constant vigilance.”

His condescending tone stoked the angry
flames blazing through Cate. Resentment and frustration trickled
along her fingertips, imploring her to hit him.

“I’m not Zach.” The quiet menace in Jonah’s
voice pulled her up short. “You won’t get the opportunity to break
my nose twice.”

She prodded at his chest. “Are you reading my
mind?”

“I don’t need to. I know you want to smack
me. You won’t move me, so stop with the shoving and poking.”