The Split

Chapter 16

Southern Indiana, 2019

I turned the corner to see exactly what I expected. Meela was at the bar, surrounded by three greasy looking brutes. They eyed me with amusement as I walked back towards my seat next to her, sick smiles of pleasure on their faces. A smile I returned and gave a knowing look to Meela.

This whole plan had been hers. These were three bad dudes, guys we had specifically tracked down on our trek across the Midwest. The owner of a bed and breakfast in the center of the state had been beaten and robbed by these men. She had told us one morning over breakfast, unable to stop her tears. Meela and I had made instant eye contact, the same thought having occurred to us both. We assured the kind lady that we would get her money back, and from the information she provided, they weren't difficult to track down.

There were many people on the road who would try to accost a young couple, many of those people carrying cash and drugs like the men we had robbed several months prior. Funding our journey with similar robberies, we had traveled through Ohio and Indiana, sleeping in state parks and campsites. We had invested a good portion of our money wisely in survival supplies, a large tent, and a solar generator.

To keep ourselves sharp, we sparred every night when we stopped for rest. Meela was stronger than she looked and much quicker than I ever could be. Underestimating her could be deadly and had rewarded me with several bruises and black eyes. Lately she had been complaining about soreness through her arms and legs, telling me they were "growing pains". At her insistence, we bought a measuring tape, and it turned out she was right.

When I had first met her, she was 5'6. Four days ago she was 5'10.

I felt like an idiot for not noticing, but attributed it to my seeing her everyday and the distraction of surviving on the open road. I had begun to notice her body changing in other ways though. Even during nights of passion lit only by a single lantern, I could notice the changes. Her torso had lengthened and narrowed, the slight amount of fat she had before had ironed itself out completely, which I assumed was the product of not eating, like I had noticed on myself. The muscles on her arms and legs had toned as well, even displaying a size they had not had before.

When we had to fight together, we were unstoppable. She was now a tall girl, 5'10 with long legs strong enough to break bone when she kicked. I was 6'4 and well trained and practiced, but even compared to me, her skills were exceptional. Meela swore she never fought or trained before the incident and her strange vision. She claimed that all of her ability came from her injury and this supposed "Moment". I still didn't know what to believe, she still didn't wish to talk about it at length, but I certainly enjoyed watching her perform her supposed new talents.

Meela winked in my direction as a man broke off from the three and walked towards me. He had a shaved head and a stringy goatee, with a lip piercing that bobbed up and down as he moved. He was short but moved confidently, planting his hand in my chest as I got in his path.

"Hang on there bud." He smiled and his piercing protruded slightly, "We were talking about things when you went to the bathroom, and your lady friend over there is coming with us. You can say goodbye or somethin', but then you gotta go."

I looked around the room. Outside of a few scattered patrons in the booths beyond, we were entirely alone, just as Meela had planned. On the counter next to me were a set of glasses drying on a towel. To my left was a table and a set of tall chairs.

I smiled. There were so many options.

I gave him a chance to be civil, inclining my head and moving to walk around him "Let's just see what she's got to say about that."