7 yrs, Gone and Forgotten

Chapter 12: You, me and the Beginning

       “Are you chicken?” A small boy’s voice rang out through the ring.

       I knew I was blindfolded; I knew I was in the middle of a bunch of adults in the middle of a ring and was fixing to face off with Theo. Running the day back through my head, there were no children present so where was the voice coming. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes behind that fold, readying myself for the next few minutes.

        “I said are you chicken?” The small boy’s voice rang out again and when I opened my eyes, I was standing at the edge of a cliff with rushing water beneath me.

      I looked down and my hands were small, like a child. My feet were bear and like my hands small, I was wearing a pair of worn-out blue jean shorts and my knees were dirty and scraped with little pebbles lacing the bloody areas. I turned quickly and there stood a boy a little bigger than I was, his black hair and chocolate-colored eyes made him look mischievous, but his smile was heartwarming.

      “She’s not chicken, she’s calculating Dylan, now shush while I get her ready.” I turned sharply at the deep voice, it made my heart stop, and I felt a smile spread across my face.

       A beast of a man stepped out from the shadow of a tree, he was all muscle and fit and looked to be the size of the tree itself next to my small body. His dark hair was slicked back bringing out the sharp jaw and muscle line of his face. Looking into his eyes they were so black, but I could also see what looked to be a hint of red in them, to a small child or anyone really, he looked to be terrifying until he smiled at me and knelt down with a ratted piece of material.

      “Daddy?” I whispered.

      He softly chuckled and I couldn’t contain myself, I wrapped my little arms around him and pulled him close. He squeezed me and kissed my cheek, “That’s right princess, you are ready for this next step. Now stand and let me put this on you.”

      I did as he said and soon the everything went dark as he tied the material around my eyes, he placed both hands on my shoulders and I could feel the smile on his face, I don’t know how, but I could feel it, “Now remember what I taught you. You may not have your sight, but you have all your other senses, call to your surroundings to guide you.”

      Hands were suddenly on my shoulders, and I was being shook, “Lee you, okay?” Scott shouted.

     All I could do was shake my head. Had I really just had a flash of my father, and who was the boy, Dylan, that was his name. And why now, what triggered it, the blind fold maybe. The sound of the crowd around me finally triggered my senses and I pushed down all the emotions I was having at the moment about what I had just saw. Things were getting strange and complicated and all in a matter of three days, seven years I spent trying to see things like this, and in three days they were slamming into me like a tornado causing all kinds of emotions.

      I finally moved to the center of the ring and took a deep breath. “I’m ready.” My voice came out much stronger than I was feeling, and I was forever grateful that if nothing else, I was at least able to control my emotions in front of people.

      Scott blew the whistle, and everything became silent, I closed my eyes and tuned in everything. I could smell the scent of Theo’s cologne, I could hear the whispers of the girls, and even the erratic heartbeat surrounding me from the crowd. I could hear the faintest noise, such as the dripping sink in the bathroom, the hissing sound of the rope surrounding the ring as someone had just touched it, and most importantly I could feel the soft movement of Theo as he was dancing around me waiting to attack.

       I didn’t have time to relish in the newfound ability as I sensed Theo coming in for an attack. In a second the most amazing thing happened, even with the blindfold on, I chose to close my eyes, and there behind my eyes it was liking looking at an x-ray, I could faintly see Theo’s form. His fist coming at me, and without a thought about it, I immediately dodged it and threw my leg up catching him in the gut and sending him headfirst into the mat. The crowd gasped and I regained my stance ready for the next attack. I felt Theo get up and like before I could see him coming at me, but once again I dodged and landed my own blow. As we danced around the mat, we took equal turns punching and kicking, and I took a few hits, but not enough to cause any pain, but Theo I was sure was tiring and starting to feel pain. I decided I was bored with it all just like I had with Scott, and it was time to end it, so before Theo could even think about it, I grabbed his arm and like Scott, I twisted and put him on his knees causing him to tap out.

      “That’s my girl.” The deep voice I had heard in the flash or whatever it was rang out through my ears as I let go of Theo and I quickly jerked the fold off.

       Standing in the middle of the ring and looking around, I didn’t know what to do. I was so unsure of everything; I didn’t know what was real and what wasn’t. I didn’t know how I had done anything that I had done in the last three days, and I sure didn’t know where the confidence was coming from, a part of me wanted to run and hide in a corner, but the bigger part of me, something deep within me, it wouldn’t let me, it made me stand tall, it made me stand proud and it made me hold my head high.

     “I think we found a new trainer.” Scott boasted as he stepped to the center where I was.

      I had been so busy looking at everyone I hadn’t even noticed Theo had stood up and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “I think you are right about that, and I think we should learn a few things from her too.” He laughed in my ear.

     “Alright ladies and gentlemen, shows over. As you can see, we have found our two new members to the Marlette Company. I would like to thank everyone for coming out and interviewing, and I look forward to seeing your faces again whenever we have another spot open. Now you all may go outside to the garden area; we have dinner set up for everyone.”

      One by one everyone walked past us and shook my hand before exiting out the back door to the garden area. Scott and Theo stood on each side of me and soon Eva joined us, standing on the other side of Theo silently shaking hands as well.

      After everyone had left Scott and Theo pulled Eva and me upstairs to the office, I had only been in there a few times, and every time I did, I got lost in all the awards and posters of the different martial art techniques that Scott and Theo had studied in. Eva was last to enter the room while she texted something on her phone and then silently slid it back in her pocket. She was still smiling, but something was off, it wasn’t one of those bad feelings though, but it was something.

    “Take a seat.” Theo pointed to the small loveseat sitting on the wall, and Eva and I sat down next to each other.

     “Let’s get past the formalities.” Scott spoke as he took a seat behind his desk. “First thing is first, welcome to the company guys.” He clapped his hands briefly. “Secondly, Lee, I know you are going to argue, but I still want Lane and Lance with you for a little longer. Evidently you come from somewhere that you have gained knowledgeable training, and however nice it may seem, it could also mean you are from a dangerous world or were expected to be introduced to that world and were trained to protect yourself. “He had a point, I knew it, I didn’t like it, but I nodded in agreement, “Now Eva I would like to know where you studied. I noticed that you have a lot of the same techniques as Lee, not everything, but enough that it raised a question with Theo and myself.”

      Eva smiled back at them, and I just stared at her. Could she really have any connection to my past, or could she be a key to finding more out about myself? “I’m from the states, and I have trained with a little bit of everyone. But” she tapped her finger against her lips and winked at me, “I would have to say I learned most of what I know from my brother and husband, my father recruited one of the best when I was in high school, and she trained them on things they didn’t know.” She slumped her shoulders and her overly happy attitude suddenly changed to sad, “however there is no way of recruiting her now, she died several years ago.”

        Something about her statement made me feel overwhelmed with emotions, I didn’t know if I should get angry, if I should cry with her, I just didn’t know, so I did the next best thing, I pulled her into my arms and held her tightly. “It’s okay, I am sorry for your loss, but things will be okay.” I whispered, before suddenly pulling her away from me and looking her in the eye, “Did you say husband? Why are you here?” I couldn’t believe I blurted that out, but it was too late to take it back.

      She laughed as she wiped the tears away and nodded her head. “Yep, husband of six years now. Love of my life, or soul mate if you will.” She l lightly poked my shoulder, “And like I told you Friday, I am here for a while, this is a training I need, and he had business he couldn’t get away from, but trust me, we talk like five hundred times a day.”

     “Okay, well you answered my questions.” Scott cut in as he stood from his desk, “You already answered my next question, with the loss of your friend.” He cleared his throat and Theo opened the door. “Now why don’t you guys go enjoy dinner. Lance and Lane will take you guys afterwards to collect Eva’s belongings from the hotel and take you back to the house. Mandy has a meeting this evening so she won’t be home, but I have already told her that Eva will be there for a while.” We stood and approached the door before Scott spoke again stopping us, “We have a lot to do before that meeting next Friday, so you guys get plenty of rest, work starts at six am.”

      “You got it boss.” Eva saluted and grabbed my arm pulling me into the hallway with a loud laugh. “This is the beginning of a beautiful thing, you know?” She whispered.

      “Huh?”

     She knocked me in the shoulder as we walked down the hallway, “Me and you, the beginning.”