Firefly Light

Chapter 2

Keika watched the brothers climb to the top of the hill. Their horses had seen her, and had come to a stop, but the men had been so engrossed in their discussion that they were unaware of her presence. She was concentrating her hearing on the hill and could make out every word. The argument was something over which course they should take to their objective, which was apparently the long abandoned town. The older brother's orders were to stick to the woods and avoid the old roads. The younger one felt that the weather conditions called for them to use what was left of the road to conserve on the men's energy and that any risk was minimal. The area ahead had already been scouted and should be clear.

Well, maybe not so much.....

The rest of the troopers now came into view, all of their eyes upon her, wide in surprise and wondering who she was and how she got here. They also made some other, much cruder comments. Keika tried to not listen to those. The brothers were finally looking at her now and they had given her pretty much the reaction she had wanted, at least as far as her appearance. She was still unsure of the other question, the real one, which had to be answered before she left this field. The older brother was saying the right things and she liked the way he had jumped to her defense, "...and will treated with all due respect." was a good line, she approved. She didn't like the younger brother. He was arrogant, impatient and borderline insubordinate. In her judgment, he probably couldn't be trusted.

The test came when they decided to "detain" her. If they stopped when she asked them too and were willing to talk, then she had her answer. If not, if they insisted on arresting her without listening to her first, then she also had an answer; it just wasn't the one she wanted. When the captain's orders came and she verbally responded to stop them, she could see agreement in his eyes. He was even beginning to open his mouth to stop his men, when his lieutenant spoke first. Her hopes that the handsome captain would take the correct action were dashed when she saw the agreement in those blue eyes turn to resignation and his mouth clamp shut.

The soldiers continued to approach her. So be it, she thought disappointedly. Very well, then, let's give them a show. She loved being on stage, with everyone watching her; this would be almost as good.

Keika smiled.

Standing beside Devin at the top of the hill, Eric was watching her closely; calm on the outside, but inside his mind was racing. What would she do? So far, she had not moved. That girl was not here by mistake, there was a reason behind her appearance, but what could it be? Our unit showing up here was no surprise to her, she knew we were coming, had picked the location of the encounter and was waiting on us. If she knew we were coming, then she would be prepared. Was this some sort of trap?

Then she smiled.

If there would have ever been anything that he could think of that could have improved on that face, it would have been a smile on those full lips, or better yet, laughter...........but this smile, at this moment sent a chill through him. Grown men nearly twice her size were walking up to take her into custody, and she does not turn to run, she.........smiles? She revealed absolutely no fear, instead seeming to be supremely confident, as if his men amused her. His better judgment told him that he should halt those men and begin a discussion as equals with her before any further action was taken. That smile.....all of his instincts were now screaming that she was not what she appeared to be. This was no lost little girl in a fancy uniform, she radiated danger.... do not touch for risk of your life. Her eyes met his, just for the most fleeting of moments, and he knew he was right. His decision came too late, however. Just as he opened his mouth to stop what was about to happen, it began.

The nearest soldier was now just a few feet away. Switching her perception to AP, which Professor Yin had finally been able to teach her how to control, her brain now perceived reality at twice the speed as a normal human brain. While working with her, Yin had come to name the ability simply Accelerated Perception, or AP for short. Even at her normal perception level Keika was much quicker than others to see and react. AP was a totally different plane. The soldier, and the world for that matter, essentially went into slow motion for her. She watched as he approached, the smile never leaving her lips. Glancing about, yes, all eyes were upon her, she returned her attention to the oncoming soldier. In the passing scan her eyes had lingered on the captain's...such pretty eyes, kind and intelligent. She saw in them that he knew, he had realized and his mouth was opening to make things right. Oh, how she wished he had made that decision sooner, but he hadn't, he had hesitated too long. He would never be able to say the words in time. This show must go on.

The soldier was starting to extend his right hand and she could see that he was about to lunge to grab her left arm. She let him start the motion and waited until his hand was a couple of inches away and the stepped to the right. To the soldier, her arm had practically disappeared out of his grasp, his hand closing on thin air. And she was no longer right in front of him; she was to his left, still smiling at him! In shock, he continued his motion forward, stumbled and fell face forward into the grass. As she turned and began walking toward the officers, two men now tried to seize her, one from each side. A second before they would have had her, she performed a forward flip and they collided head on into each other. Both fell to the ground, one unconscious and the other stunned. Another man was coming from her left, she stepped right....he fell, and then one from the right....she flipped over him, still moving in the direction of the hill. Three men converged on her and, again, just before they had her, she hopped forward ten feet, out of their grasp.

The sergeants angrily shouted orders. With surprise and disbelief in their eyes all of the remaining men tried to rush her at once. Keika, continuing to walk forward, waited until they are just about upon her, took two quick steps, vaulted out of the rushing mob and landed lightly right beside the brothers on the hill. She shut down AP. They were frozen in place and in total shock. Amazement and awe showed in their eyes. Their jaws were slack. She was very pleased. Her smile widened further. She met each of their gazes momentarily, lingering again with the captain's for a long second.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen. I must say you are both really quite handsome," she said brightly, "I wish I could stay and play with your soldiers longer, but I must go. Be careful, there are grizzly bears about." Her smile fell. "....as well as other dangers. It would be best if you continued no further. Goodbye." With that, arms outstretched, she launched herself into a flip over both of them, her head intentionally clearing theirs by scant inches. Landing on her feet and facing away from them, she darted into the woods Eric's unit had just marched out of and disappeared.

Within twenty yards of the edge of the woods, she scaled a tall tree and stealthily slid into a spot near the top. It was covered by the foliage, but had a good view of the field below. She couldn't miss this....plus, really, she did need to know what their reaction was and what moves they would make next, for.... you know, intelligence.