NOT HUMAN

Chapter 5 - Training

"Where is he taking us?" Andy whispers, tickling Nixon's ear with her breathy murmurs.

"Hahaha, please, don't do that again," He laughed hard, pushing her face away with his hand. "Why are you leaning in so close anyway? Look at all this room." He sways his hand around the area.

"So, I can see you turn red again," She says, coolly. "You seem to do it a lot around me."

"Do not!" He retorted glaringly, masking his blush with his hand.

They were all outside in light clothing for the hot weather. They were hiking up and down the bumpy, uneven dirt path through the woods Blade had hidden behind the mansion.

"I'm tired." Cherry moans like a zombie who hasn't eaten flesh in days. "Are we there yet?"

"Stop you're complaining," Jax snaps. "Or we won't ever get there!" Jax was leading in front of Cherry; she was lagging behind everyone else. Blade led the group and Lily stayed by him with her hair up in a tight ponytail. She wore a white tank top, and athletic shorts, with running shoes. Everyone else's attire consisted of shorts, a tank top, or a t-shirt, well, except Angelica's and Cherry's outfits. Cherry had on her usual mini pink skirt and sparkly top, while Angelica replaced shorts for bright-colored leggings which were better than Cherry's choice.

"We will be there soon, patience," Blade informed her, ignoring Jax's rude outburst.

"You don't talk much, huh?" Zane looks at Angelica, her glossy red hair braided over her shoulder, and her curious green eyes staring back. There is a slight smile on her features.

"Neither do you." She replies, warmly.

"It's a pretty day isn't it?" He smiles back. Angelica raises an eyebrow. 'A pretty day?' She couldn't picture that line coming out of his mouth with that intimidation and cold stare.

"Yeah, it is." She was stepping in step with him.

It was a pretty day, the sun was up greeting them with light, and warmth, and the trees were glowing green, the ground was mixed with green, brown, and black from smashed bark, acorns, and bugs crawling, birds singing. It was early in the morning. Blade woke them up at 6 in the morning. Then, they all ate eggs, bacon, and toast, and Andy had chips on the side. There was entertainment too, with Jax and Zane fighting early.

"We are here!" Blade announced. Cherry's face brightened for a moment before she took in the place. It was an open space, surrounded by trees on the outside. It was a wide circle, fencing blocking the woods, target dummies lined up on one side, then ropes hanging off the other, then a ring, an obstacle course, and lastly weights including some other gym equipment.

"Nice place, I could work some steam off here every day, damn." Jax sprinted to the gym equipment lifting a weight, his biceps flexing as he curled it.

"Show off..." Cherry muttered under her breath.

"Impressive," Zane said, looking over at the obstacle course. Angelica looked overwhelmed by it all. She wasn't good at an obstacle course or lifting heavy stuff. She was a good runner but that was it.

"So, we will be coming here every day to get some training done. Everyone will be doing the obstacle course and the workouts I plan for you all. But there will be certain things on the side I'll have you working on individually. Not everyone is doing the same thing. Is that understood?"

"Yes, it is well understood," Nixon said. "However, I do wonder if I have to participate in it all. I'm not that athletic." His eyes roamed the heavyweights and the high bars that looked like they were meant for pull-ups and he winced at the idea of doing all of that.