Killed Killers (NaNoWriMo 2015)

Chapter Eighteen

    The woman at the center of the circle turned to the man, waiting for him to organize things. He stood up a little bit straighter, but other than that, he looked completely bored.

    "I'm going to count you off, ones come with me, twos go with Casey." He proceeded to point at random people around the circle and give them a number, and as they were numbered off, the went to stand by their respective trainer. Ere, Gem, and Cara, by some magic, managed to all land in the woman's group, who Ere assumed was Casey.

    When the numbering was finished, Casey waved her group one way and Ere watched as the man waved his the other. The groups separated, and Ere found herself being led towards the shed on the far right. Gem walked on her right side, and Cara walked on her left, making Ere feel almost like a prisoner that had to be escorted around.

    They stopped for a moment, and Ere watched as Casey pulled a key ring out of her pocket and sorted through them for the one that would open the shed. She found it, somehow, among the mass of keys and unlocked the door. She held it open and ushered everyone inside.

    Ere found that the interior of the shack was a lot better looking than the exterior. It was also air conditioned, which Ere assumed was going to come in very handy later on. The floor looked to be made of wood, although there were so many pads covering it up that Ere was having trouble making it out. On one end hung an array of old fashioned weapons like the ones that she had in her room, and target dummies leaned up against another wall. There was an array of what looked like boxing things lined up agains the third wall, and against the wall that the door was set into there were a bunch of metal things that Ere had never seen before in her life. She had no clue what they did, but by the look of them, she wasn't sure that she wanted to find out either.

    Casey proceeded to the middle of the room, the others in their group trailing behind her.

    "Okay, here's how today is going to work. We have a new student, so I want to figure out exactly how much she knows before I pair her with anyone. In the meantime, I want Tanya to lead stretches. Clear?" Casey ordered, and a blonde haired girl, presumably Tanya stepped forward into the center of the room. Casey searched their small group, and her eyes came to rest on Ere. She motioned Ere forward, and after a few nervous glances at Gem and Cara, she obeyed.

    Tanya began stretches with the others as Ere was lead out of the building by Casey. They walked to the next building over, and Casey unlocked it before stepping inside, Ere in tow. This building was split into two sections, but it had the same padding on the floor and a smaller array of weapons and other fighting equipment. Ere followed Casey into the center of the room, regarding her with a nervous suspicion. The last time she had gone somewhere alone with someone it had ended very badly for both of them and someone else too.

    When they reached the middle of the smaller room, Casey suddenly spun around and threw a punch at Ere's head. Out of instinct, Ere ducked and kicked out with one of her feet, sending Casey sprawling across the floor, clearly surprised by the counter attack.

    "What the hell was that-" She was cut off as Casey jumped nimbly to her feet and threw another punch, this time at Ere's stomach. Ere spun easily out of the way and sent an elbow in Casey's direction, but this time, Casey seemed to have been expecting something. Ere felt her elbow pass through the air where Casey's side used to be, before she spun quickly away from her position, expecting a third attack. She managed to save herself from a kick that Casey had aimed at the back of her knees, and was able grab Casey's leg, flipping her over onto her back in one fluid motion. Ere jumped back as Casey threw a foot out to trip her, simultaneously getting to her feet. Ere blocked a punch with her forearms, and threw one right back, making contact with Casey's cheek. There was a satisfying thudding noise, and Ere spun out of the way just in time to avoid Casey's attempt at a stomach punch. She put her arms up, ready for the next attack, but it never came. Casey stepped back, dropping her hands and rubbing her cheek tenderly.