Grounded

Chapter 26

Chapter 26

By the time David comes to get me, I've changed and had lunch with my father and Jeremiah. They are comfortable but, unlike me, haven't been allowed out of the room. We say little to each other, for fear the Greens are listening.

After Konrad's enthusiasm, I expect David to be in a good mood. Instead his expression is grave.

"Dr. Konrad shared your results with me. He wants to begin combat training."

"Wasn't that what I just did?" I answer. "I fought off an army of blue uniforms. And no electroscurvy." I hold up both arms so he can see. "I did get a bloody nose though."

"You're getting stronger."

I shrug and look away. The confidence and assertiveness I'd shown with Konrad has been replaced by the humility I'm far more familiar with.

"Konrad wants to train you in hand-to-hand combat. You have to be able to defend yourself in the event you are drained or otherwise unable to spark."

I step into the hall and turn right toward the elevators, but David shakes his head. "Let's take the stairs to warm up." He turns left, hugging the south wall.

At first I try to walk beside him, but he keeps stepping in front of me. The tug is back and I stumble at the odd sensation in my body. I find relief by walking behind him, snug against the south wall. My senses are on high alert. David is trying to tell me something.

We reach the stairwell and he pauses, his hand hovering over the Biolock. An electric breeze courses over me and the hair on my arms stands at attention. I glance toward the second door to my right and then at David.

Korwin is in there. I know it. "When can I see Korwin?"

David lowers his chin slightly, almost imperceptibly, and opens the door. "Not up to me," he says. He begins jogging down the stuffy concrete stairwell, and I join him, matching him step for step.

"There are twenty-one floors between your apartment and the training center," he says. "The training center is on the second floor."

"Konrad and I had an agreement. I cooperate and no one gets hurt."

"Take it up with Konrad."

I nod, then narrow my eyes. "Will Natasha be meeting us there?" He'd mentioned his wife yesterday and said she'd help train me.

He clears his throat. "She isn't feeling well today."

My stomach drops and I'm flooded with panic. I miss a stair and trip. David catches my elbow, and the feeling passes as quickly as it came.

"Are you okay?" he asks, but the concern in his eyes is not for me. I am not imagining our connection. His expression pleads with me, but what is he pleading for? What is he trying to tell me?

"I'm fine. Just a little drained from this morning's session." I nod my head slowly, deliberately.

 "Come on. Almost there." He breaks into a jog again and doesn't stop until we reach the second floor.

The training room has an impressive display of padded mats and racks of weapons. Although the space goes on and on, we are the only ones there. "No one else feel like training?"

"Konrad said you needed your space. You made quite an impression this morning. I'm not sure any of the officers want to be in the same room as you at the moment."

Good. Exactly what I wanted.

My eyes fall on the padded floor. The symbol of the Green Republic is emblazoned on the black rubbery surface. "Sustainable Living Through Government."