I am the storm

Chapter 5 | The meeting

The next morning I awoke at eight fifty six a.m. in the morning with a sense of relief, for the first since this nightmare had begun I felt 'good' or 'happy' I had a chance! I could survive with the strangers help I could survive! I would survive and I wouldn't leave my friends my family!

I had around eleven hours until I had to meet Shadow at the edge of the woods behind my house. So what could I do? Still I was petrified to leave my house, if I did it could end up being like yesterday where I'd be attacked by another participant but this time I may not be so lucky and I would be the one in a body bag.

So what could I do?
Watch TV?
Search the internet?
Listen to music?
Message someone on social network?
Do anything?

All the tasks I could think of we're to boring! What could I do something productive maybe?
Clean my room?
Clean the house?
Clean the dishes?

'Why am I so mundane and boring!' Was the only thing I could think.

Then it hit me! My genius Eureka moment! I was worried that if I would go out another participant would easily over power me because I was weak and didn't know how to defend myself and I had no way to defend myself!

I decided to get dressed into a pair of black and purple workout leggings and workout top and started my search on the internet.

I started my search with 'Self defences tactics' which yielded war time battle tactics modern and old fashioned.

So I modified my search to 'Self defence techniques' which came up with techniques suited to wielded small and large weapons such as knives and long blades which was weird and unusual but still could be useful if I had a knife which aren't that rare.

Next I modified my search to 'Hand to hand combat self defences techniques' the search came up with videos and descriptions on how to protect yourself in a close combat hand to hand situation.

For the next five hours in the living room I watched and copied a multitude of techniques and fighting tactics to protect myself incase of being attacked by someone. By the end I was fairly confident that I could at least ward off someone if they tried to attack me.

After that I searched the house for some means of defending myself. Until eventually I found a small compact quick folding knife, it folded out with a simple click and folded closed easily with little effort this could be perfect for protecting myself it was small enough to hide in my clothing's pocket.

So for the next two hours I practiced once again in the living room swinging the knife offensively and defensively equally to ensure I could protect myself in many different ways and combat situations. By the end of the two hours I was less confident with the knife but I felt I could defend myself if it were ever needed.

The next hour I spent cooking and eating food which was scrambled egg on toast with bacon no beans though. Why I was having a breakfast at five p.m. I had no idea but it still was a good and large meal.

I had around three hours until I had to meet Shadow, but what do I do for three hours!

Well I could check the news. So I looked on the computer I read about the most recent stories on the news in my area were about; a missing cat called George, a fire at the local Pine Wood Valley corner shop, a local boy went missing aged thirteen James Willis went missing last week and was last seen leaving his home on the night of he was reported missing by his parents, a brake in at the local hospital no one was hurt and no one saw the thief!

Also in the news featured a story on the man who attacked me it said the mans name was Tom Anderson but thankfully the article did not mention my name!

By now it was five forty three p.m. and it was about two hours and seventeen minutes until the meeting with Shadow. What to do until then?

If I was going to meet Shadow I should go prepared I couldn't go out in sweaty workout clothes. So I decided to wear a pair if black jeans and a white t-shirt accompanied by a dark grey raincoat with a thin waterproof hood (incase it rained later.)

Around two hours until my meeting but as I was pondering what to do while I waited for the meeting the full length mirror in my room caught my eye. What I saw was a thin scrawny looking form that was small in height with mousey brown hair down to my shoulders. Also the form was accompanied by light hazel eyes, thin lips, a small nose, trimmed eyebrows and pale white skin that crinkled on my forehead as I frowned. My body looked plain, there was nothing unique about me, I had always hated that about myself I had always wanted something to be different about me like a scar or a birthmark or even some unique talent only I had so I could deal special.

After I snapped out of my frozen melancholic state I realised I had wasted about half an hour just staring at my own reflection!

One hour and twenty eight minutes until the meeting. So the next thing I decided to do was have a nap so I could be alert for the meeting so I laid down on the couch and set a time for seven forty five p.m. just in case I didn't wake up in time, I closed my eyes and began tried to sleep.

I awoke at seven forty eight p.m. the alarm I set beeping loudly, so I turned the alarm off. For the meeting I grabbed: my knife from my practicing session earlier, my mobile phone, the PTD and placed them into my coat pockets.

I then waited a few minutes until it was seven fifty seven p.m. three minutes until the meeting so I walked out the back door locked it behind me and started walking towards the edge of the woods behind my house.

When I approached the edge of the woods, roots on the ground twisted and overlapped making the ground uneven. But I waited and within five minutes I heard a rustling of leaves behind me and I turned to see Shadow standing behind me.

Shadow started the conversation off by saying "hello" in a deep serious tone.

I replied with "hello, di-did you find a solution?" In a nervous and shy voice.

"Yes" he replied as he reached behind his back and grabbed a small gun looking object and my mind ran to a dark thought. The thought were of 'Was he going to shoot me?' Or 'Could he only find a lethal method?'

My worries quickly disappeared when Shadow began to speak "to put it simply this is a taser, if it did have a professional name I don't know it! But this weapon can either be used as a traditional taser so when the trigger is pressed and touches someone's skin it electrocutes the person it is in contact with, or it can be fired by one of the two probes launching at the target and sending an electric shock down the cords and into the target electrocuting them the taser can fire only up to seven metres, these modes can be switched between by flipping the switch between the 'fire' symbol or the 'apply' symbol or it can be switched to the safety." As he said that he motioned to a switch on the weapon.

He then carried on explaining "the taser also has a laser light that helps with aiming this lasers intensity can be increased and decreased to be easier to see with the naked eye. The taser also needs to be recharged as it can only be used around ten times before recharging, it can be charged using this," as he said that he pulled out a charger in his other hand.

By thus point in the conversation it had started to lightly rain and I decided to put my hood up on my raincoat, Shadow then continued to speak "do you have any questions Alexis?"

"No you've explained everything about the taser but have you figured out a non-lethal method of disposing of participants?" I asked in response to his question

Shadow bowed his head slightly and replied with "I have a running theory but I have to test it out first" he then handed me the taser and the charger and said "okay if that is all I should be going and you should go inside" I nodded in agreement and we both parted ways as I went inside and Shadow disappeared into the darkness of the woods.

After I entered my home I locked the doors and went up to my room, I emptied my pockets putting everything on the bed including: my mobile phone, the PTD, the taser and it's charger and the knife.

So while I went to bed I got changed into my pyjamas and placed my phone, the PTD and the taser on charge and quickly brushed my teeth (trying to ignore the scar on my neck) and went to bed trying to forget my predicament as I drifted of into a deep sleep...