Double Take

Double Take-Chapter 10

Chapter 10

          “Who are you people?” I questioned him.

          “I am a friend, as it said in the note. I was happily surprised when I heard you had decided to come so quickly. I assumed you would not come for a few days.”

          “A friend who attacks me and holds eight guns to my head? I surely don’t want to be your enemy then.”         

          “I’ll be blunt…”

          “Please.”

          “What you just experienced was a test.” He paused and looked over towards Jean. “You see, Jean could’ve easily injured you much worse then what you suffered. And I also know that you could’ve injured her, if you had a chance to hit her. I’m glad you decided not to just start swinging away with unrestricted power. However, I also told her hold back. To see what you were capable of.”

          I wasn’t sure what he meant. I gestured for him to continue.

          “When you entered this house, I bet you wondered why there are metal walls in the basement, and a completely empty downstairs. Well, basically, this is a training area for specialized types of people. People trained in karate, judo, boxing, and weaponry. They come here every day of the week, and train all day. Now, as you can see, nobody is here except for Jean, who participates as well. We kept it empty for you, for obvious reasons.” He took a pause, looked me in the eye, and continued.

          “I know about your powers, Clyde. Your super speed, your super strength, all that. But what you don’t have is training. You don’t have the ability to hold your ground in a fight. Now, I know if you managed to get just one or two hits on your enemy, they would be done. But the day will come when they are too quick, experienced, cunning, and could defeat you. And, if you somehow lose your powers, or your powers seem to disappear for a period of time, and you are returned to normal human abilities, you will still need to be able to fight without relying on your powers.”

          I stared at him. How did he know about me?

          He seemed to read my mind. “Now, I know you’re probably wondering how I know about you, and your powers. But I am not going to get into that now. Right now, other things are important. I’m going to let you go soon, but before I do, I’ll get straight to the point. I am offering you training, for however long you would like, and no cost. You will learn a piece of each martial art each day. You will train with Jean, but of course, because of your strength, some of the training will be against dummies. That is, if you accept.”

          I let it sink all in, and we all stood there in silence.

          He handed me a card and said, “Here is my name and how to reach me. If you haven’t contacted us in a week, we will assume you have declined and we will forget about you. You are free to leave.”

          I looked at him, and at Jean, and went back up the steps, past the dresser, and back outside. I ran out of town as quickly as possible.

          I neared a public park and decided to take a seat and look at what was on the card. There was a name, “Caleb Kane” and a phone number. No address, but I knew where the house was. I rested back on the bench and who these people really are, and their offer.

          Pro’s, I’ll be able to fight better, more agility, reflexes, my form, and all that. Plus it might be fun, and it might be fun to hang around with Jean. Con’s, how am I going to explain why I’m gone so much to my parents, or what if I get injured, and how am I going to continue searching for Kenni? But then again, once I get to see Byron again, he won’t be able to stop me.

          I sat there thinking along these same terms for what seemed like forever. Then suddenly, something clicked. I found the reason. I’m going to give them my answer. Now.

          I tore through the town and arrived back at the house. I ran threw the door that I had previously tried to escape. However, now, the huge center room had training equipment set up. Nobody was there, but it seemed like they were setting up for tomorrow’s training. The door was still open to the room with the dresser, so I approached the dresser, and got out the remote. It was a key pad of numbers 0-9, with an enter button. I tossed it aside and just lifted the dresser up and away from the wall. Not bothering to turn on the light, I hopped down the stairs and kicked open the office door.

          Caleb barely looked up. “Back so soon? I expected you to return, but surely not this quick.” Now he looked up and fixed his gaze on me.

          “I’ve made up my mind.”

          “So I assume.” He smiled.

          Smart aleck. “I’ve decided to accept you offer.”

          He nodded his approval. “I figured you would, but please, give your reasons.”

          “I want to be able to protect and guard my family. Kenni was taken away, and still is gone. I want to keep my family safe, and even with my powers, that isn’t always possible. That is my reason, and the only reason.”

          He smiled and said, “I’m glad you kept it short. I was afraid that you would start going into a long lecture brimming with information I don’t need to know.”

          I stared at him. “I’m seriously reconsidering your offer. This is very important!”

          “Oh, I know, I know, but I’d rather just get started with the training.”

          Wow, I sure hope I get used to him. “Right, so what happens now?”

          “Well, we won’t start today, obviously. So how does…say, a week sound to start?”

          “How about tomorrow?”

          “Ah, eager to get started I see, very good. Yes, tomorrow would be excellent. See you then.” He turned his attention back to his desk and I started back up the steps.

          “Clyde!” I turned around. Caleb was speaking to me. “There is no need to go out that door anymore, now that you are one of us. Here, I’ll show you the shortcut.”

          I went back to him and waited. He didn’t move, just continued reading his papers.

          I knocked on his desk, “Hello, I’m waiting.”

          He looked up, “For what? Turn around.”

          Startled, I turn around and saw that the whole wall had disappeared, and there were a set of stairs leading to ground level.

          “Good day Clyde.”

          I proceeded up the stairs, and muttered, “Yeah, you too.”

          Once I was out, I looked toward the road, then back at the house. The stairs were gone. I shook my head and ran home.