10 feet Under

Chapter 12

Marino listened as I told him about the two lives I'd so carelessly taken. It was the first time I'd seen him look at me with...pity.

"So you're telling me...you killed them with  a single blow? No knives, guns...nothing?"

I simply nodded my head, too shaken to speak.

I watched his face knit in confusion.

"The only way that that could be possible is if...if...My God."

He looked at me in awe, his mouth slightly open.

"Dim Mak."

Dim Mak literally means "press artery" in the traditional Chinese language. It is a secret body of knowledge with techniques that attack pressure points and meridians, said to incapacitate or sometimes cause immediate or even delayed death to an opponent.

When I was just under 10 years old, my father had hired a man to teach me different ways to paralyze my opponents. After six years of weekly lessons, it was obvious that I had mastered the technique, and that was that. Prior to today, I've never used this attack method on anyone; I knew just how fatal it could be.

Marino continued to gaze at me, his expression exposing his deep thought process.

"What...are you scared of me or something?"

He chuckled.

"No it's just...that day I saw you on the ship. Held you hostage. You had so many opportunities to kill me. Why didn't you?"

"I guess I didn't find you to be...threatening."

He frowned, and I held back a giggle; it was apparent that I had insulted his ego.

"Oh yeah? Well...what was your impression of me?"

I pondered the question for a bit, before answering.

"I thought you were a self-centered asshole that had no regard for anyone but himself."

He frowned. It was silent for a while, before he spoke again. His voice was barely a whisper.

"Well...what do you think of me now?"

Without thought, I blurted out my answer.

"Well, Ithinkthatyou'rereallygenuineandsweetwhenyouwanttobe, andalthoughyoutrytoactallmanlyandmachoitdoesntreallyworkbecauseinsteadofbeingintimidatedbyyouyoumakemefeelsafeandsecure."

I could feel the blood rush to my face, as I reviewed in my mind what I so carelessly blurted out to Marino.

OH MY GOD WHAT WAS WRONG WITH ME TODAY.

I tell him he looks like an angel, and then I tell him he's genuine? Sweet? Makes me feel safe and secure? What was I, some damsel in distress?

Oh hell no.

I won't ever give him the satisfaction that I needed him, more than he needed me. This has got to stop.

I watched Marino's face, as he continued to take in all the words I had just thrown at him. We were already pretty close, but he inched closer to me, our faces nearly touching now. He reached out with his left hand, and touched my cheek.

"You're blushing."

I swatted at his hand, blushing even more in return.

"Don't flatter yourself. I-it's hot in here."

He raised his eyebrows at my stupid lie. It was actually really, REALLY chilly in here. Although I would never admit it to him, I appreciated his close proximity; the heat he radiated was doing a swell job of keeping me semi-warm.