Becoming Miss Visible

Chapter 25- training

Chapter 25

Training started soon after saying goodbye to those that I had loved. It was hard, but I knew it was the only choice until all of this was over.

Dalton started teaching me the tricks that he had learned from his years in the gang that we were going to face. We told me that we were going to be outnumbered by at least ten to one if they all came at once, and to learn to take on as many opponents as possible. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do this, but looking into Dalton's eyes, I knew that this was where I was meant to be. He needed me. He also needed seventeen other crime fighting partners, but what could I say? I was one person... I couldn't do it all, and neither could he.

Dalton was so driven, he refused to let up on training, even when I complained and cried about being tired, even puppy dog eyes didn't phase him. He would make me do the drill again for attempting. He told me I didn't understand what we were up against and I have to admit he was right. I had no idea, they were just some thugs to me, and it was now my mission to beat them, no matter what the cost.

"They are crafty, Callie. If you can't fight them, you have to outsmart them, which in itself is almost harder than fighting them off. You can't run from them, they will catch you. You can't hide, they will find you. You destroy them before they destroy you." It was at that moment I knew what he was really asking of me. He wanted them dead. I wasn't sure I was capable of taking someone else's life, but looking into Dalton's fierce eyes I found myself nodding my head. It was hard to try to grasp my mind around the mission since it seemed so vague. We could plan all we wanted to, but until they came for us we really had no idea what we were working with. We were blind, and I think they knew it.

It was hard to try to go about business and train, trying to see if anyone is out in the dark studying your behaviors and patterns as you tried to keep to a routine. We changed up our schedule, so if someone was following us, it would be hard to figure out our patterns. But, if these guys are as smart as Dalton sys they are they will pick up on us pretty quickly. I tried not to show fear, but it seemed to pulse through every movement that I made. It was at times like this when I really wonder if all of this would be worth it in the end. But I knew Dalton needed me, and therefore everything else didn't need to matter as much. Life would go on no matter what the outcome of this match and I would go on right along with it. Fear was going to be hard to overcome, I was sure of that.

I was hoping that when they arrived I would have this adrenaline rush so I could fight off so many at once. I wanted to be supergirl, Dalton needed me to be. I wanted to be like those people who lifted cars off loved ones in the heat of the moment. I wanted to do that. Once and for all I refused to be invisible. Being invisible was so easy, it was going to take courage to be strong and stand out, but if that's what I needed to be, than so be it. I was up for the challenge.

A week of full training and exercise passed and I felt the adrenaline slowly drift from my system, but the gang was always in the back of mind. I was falling into a false sense of security that I knew all there was to know and that this would be easy, but it was going to be a fight for my life. Dalton knew it, he could sense that we were in trouble when I started getting complacent and he started working me harder, throwing curveballs that I wasn't expecting and always taking me down. He said that if I felt I was ready to fight then we could be done, but he said this while I was on the ground with his body weight easily pinning me to the floor. It was at that moment the fear and urgency returned.

After being embarrassed for being complacent, I trained harder worked longer and mentally grew stronger until I couldn't stand on my feet. Dalton looked thoughtful and I was afraid for the words that were going to come out of his mouth.

"You're ready" he said. Those two simple words change my thought processes. How could I be ready? There was no way I countered back, but he insisted that I had finally gotten enough passion for my cause and my training could go no further, even though I'm sure it could. Looking back to that conversation I feel a though Dalton was sabotaging us, for he knew that I truly wasn't ready. But that was the night that we started having someone follow us. I would like to think Dalton stopped training to look like he wasn't preparing for an attack, although I'm sure that they knew we were.

Our relationship was put on hold and I knew it was for the best. I also knew that I still loved him even though we were technically no longer together. We were now partners against something so much bigger than ourselves. We knew we couldn't stop it, but we had to try. It was the only way for Dalton to have freedom.

One night we were sitting on the couch watching a movie and Dalton looked over at me.

"I can't thank you enough for staying. It really does mean a lot. And I know I have been very distant, but I'm worried about the outcome of this. You don't know what we are up against, but I do. They fight dirty, Callie, and I'm afraid something is going to happen." He looked guiltily into my eyes an I knew he thought all of this was his fault. I wrapped my arms around him.

"Don't worry Dalton. It'll work out the way it is supposed to. Don't worry. If something happens to me I'll know that I died fighting for a good cause, but hun I'm not worried. We will be okay, okay?" As the words left my mouth I knew they were what he needed to hear, but I also knew that they were the thing I feared most, but he was never to know that.

"Okay Callie, let's get some rest. I have a feeling that they will be here soon." His words haunted me in my sleep, so much so that when he woke me at five in the morning I thought it was a nightmare. His words were simple once I was awake, but the spread fear into my very core.

"They're here"