Winter's Edge

Chapter 8 - Training

Ian

THE next morning, I was thrown into training, which was fine with me. The faster I trained, the faster I'd leave. But a part of me didn't want to leave the safety of the city. And part of me didn't want to leave Abby behind, either.

I sat with my legs out, holding my feet to stretch my hamstrings. "How long will it take me to learn to control my powers so I don't kill anyone...or myself?"

Several people around the room prepared for training.

Abby sat on the ground beside me in the same stretch. "Depends on how well you control your emotions and how quickly your endurance increases. It can take several months or sometimes more than a year, depending on how severe a person's childhood was. Some people learn emotional control quickly, but for others, it can be dangerous to bring up old emotions."

"My childhood wasn't bad." I sat up and relaxed for a moment. "I mean, I don't think my dad accepted me once my powers came out. He was pretty hard on me after that." I ground my teeth, still shocked that he'd kicked me out. "But a lot of people have it a lot worse than that."

She nodded. "There are only twenty-five of us here, but most have horrible stories from childhood. Most were just kids on the street when the Watchers found them. Parents had kicked them out or they'd run away from home. You're lucky. It'll probably only take you a few months to control your powers well enough."

I twisted to my right and held the stretch. "I don't have months."

"I wouldn't worry about it. Just do the best you can. When you're ready, you'll know it." She stood, arching her back to stretch.

I could've watched her stretch all day, but I caught myself staring and pulled my eyes away, not wanting to be obvious. It killed me that I was attracted to her. I just wanted to be mad at her, wanted to be cruel to her. But something inside of me knew she didn't want to do what she'd done and she truly felt sorry about it.

A guy who looked strikingly similar to Jesse, only slightly taller, walked to the front of the room. He clapped his hands together. "Everyone find a seat."

As I followed Abby to find a spot, the man stopped me.

"Ian," he said, thrusting out a hand.

I nodded as we shook.

"I'm Reilly. My brother Jesse and I are the trainers here. It's good to finally meet you."

I just smiled, unsure what to say.

"After seeing you fight during the test, I'm curious what you can do." He motioned toward the center of the room. "Come on. You're up first."

I cocked my head. "I thought I'd just be watching today."

"Where's the fun in that?" he said, then headed into the center of the mats.

I followed, wondering what exactly awaited me.

Reilly gestured to Abby who met us there. She placed herself directly in front of me.

My eyes widened. "You want me to fight...her?"

"Why not?" Reilly said. Amused laughs came from the onlookers. "Scared of a girl?" The laughter grew at his taunt.

"No." Heat rose in my cheeks—all four of them, I think. "I mean— It's not that. I've never hit a girl in my life."

"What if she hits you first?" he said.

"I'd do my best to restrain her, but I'm not gonna hit her."