Destiny [D.H.]

99

Eliana's POV:

Malia, Scott and I joined Deucalion in the center of a metal shipping container lot. Deucalion stood on one of the containers and asked, "Either of you know the term for what I'm doing?"

"Echolocation," Scott and I replied.

Deucalion gave us a small smile. "You two did your homework."

Scott nodded. "Yeah, Ella and I looked a few things up."

"And now you think you can learn in just one day what took me years to master?"

Malia shrugged. "We were hoping for maybe a few highlights."

"Yeah," Scott agreed, "or anything that can help us fight the Anuk-Ite without looking at it."

"Fighting blind is one thing," Deucalion began. "You haven't even learned to walk yet. An Orientation and Mobility specialist has to practice blindfolded with a white cane for at least a hundred and twenty hours before becoming certified. I can't teach you to walk and fight in less than twenty-four."

"Look, we know the odds are bad," Scott admitted. "But Gerard's got an army, There's a creature that can scare ordinary people into becoming killers. The creature now capable of you with just a look."

"You saw them, didn't you?" Deucalion asked.

"We saw people turn to stone," I said.

"So why aren't all of you running for your lives?"

"Because we don't run," Scott replied.

Deucalion nodded in approval. "Now that sounds like an Alpha. Let's get started."

He looked between us. "Unfortunately, there's one crucial difference to teaching you how to fight blind."

"We're not really blind," Malia noted. "Why does that matter?"

"Unless you spend the next few days walking around wearing a blindfold, all the Anuk-Ite really has to do is get you to open your eyes."

Malia shrugged. "So we keep our eyes shut."

"You think it's that easy? What happens to your eyes when you're afraid? They open wide. To gather more light and send more data to the brain so you can better handle whatever threat lies in front of you."

"I can keep my eyes closed," Malia said.

"Well, go ahead, close them."

She did so and Deucalion picked up a rock and threw it at a container, causing Malia to open her eyes. "You're dead."

Malia nodded. "I get it. It's gonna be a lot harder than I thought."

"But not impossible," Scott added. "What's next?"

"In schools for the blind, it's called "sleepshade training." We'll use regular blindfolds. And we'll start with echolocation. Sound. Then I'll show you how to use thermoception. Heat. Equilibrioception. Balance. And proprioception. Pressure."

Deucalion began his lesson on echolocation. He clanged metal and Scott said, "I definitely heard that."

"But does it tell you where I am? Don't listen for me, listen for the echo, for the sound reflections. Use it to find me."

He clanged metal again and we tried to listen and turned to his voice. "You both have superior hearing. You need to focus it like a weapon."

Scott let out a sigh. "I'm not feeling so superior right now."

"Find me," Deucalion demanded. He clanged metal again. "Come at me. Find me."

I heard Malia grunting and figured she ran into something.