Fortune Cookie

Part 5

When he went to grab me, I reacted with a tachiwaza move, pinning him to the ground. It was then that I realized that the area around him felt like a freezer. Perplex, my grip loosen slightly allowing him to break free and throw me off. Before Seth could get to his feet, Cody grabbed his shoulders and slammed his knees into his stomach. The impact sounded like ice cracking.  Clutching his stomach, Seth fell to his knees. He wasn’t getting up any time soon.

Cody pulled me off the ground and we hurried onto the train. The doors shut behind us. As the train left the station, Cody lifted my hat to make eye contact and gave a huge grin that sent my heart racing. “You’re full of surprises. You’re quick on your feet, you don’t have to be told when to act a part, and you know aikido. Any other surprises?”

I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly. On the inside I was glowing from the compliment.  Cody gave the impression that he wasn’t easily impressed. “Not that I’m aware of. Although I think that you’re the one who’s actually full of surprises.”

His eyes glowed with mischief. “In more ways than you ever could imagine.” Then his face went somber. He slid his hat back forward and down. “It seems it’ll be more difficult to get out of the city than I anticipated.” He pulled my hat back down to hide my face.

I slide my hood back on. “What do you mean?”

“The easiest way to get out of the city is to take the passenger train that’s heading across the country in the morning. Once we’re in the train station, we should be fine. The problem is getting there.”

“Sorry, I don’t see the problem since I’m absolutely clueless as to what’s going on.” It was obvious Cody had a much better understanding of what was happening.

Cody was silent for a minute. “When you took Seth down, did you notice anything odd about him?”

“That he felt like a freezer?” Cody nodded his head. “Yea, so? The moment we stepped into the station it was colder, the guy had to be there a while to be that cold,” I told myself.

“If you say so.” Cody wasn’t going to enlighten me on why he brought it up. “I’ll just give you fair warning that your small world is about to be blown to pieces before we leave the city.”

“And it hasn’t already?” Cody just shook his head. I try to get him to elaborate on the subject so I knew what I should expect but he wouldn’t say anything more on the subject. Frustrated and feeling defeated I took a seat. Our section of the train was empty, so I sat where I could keep an eye on the door and glare at Cody at the same time.