Uprising (49 page)

He does the most extraordinary things. Sweet one minute, cocky the next, teasing then kissing then talking about Keepers then rubbing noses? It’s fascinating.

“I am too. I just don’t want you to think that I would think that you’d be over her in a week, ya know. I can be realistic. Patient. In fact, I still feel confused about Mitchell myself so.”

“You do?”

“Yes.” Seeing his frown I hurried to explain. “No, not like that. I just still really feel bad about, ya know, him thinking like he did. It’s scares me a little bit. I did like him but...” I steeled my courage, “not the same as I feel for you. Not even close.”

“I don’t think you have to worry about Sherry anymore,” he whispered firmly.

He bent down and kissed me again, his hands immediately came up to my face. We kissed for only a moment and then he reluctantly released me, keeping his face close.

“I really do have to go.”

“I know. Go,” I said and laughed at his pained expression. “I’ll be here when you get home.”

He laughed too, which was my intention. Where exactly would I go?

“I’ll come check on you when I get home...but I’m not so sure it’s a good idea for me to sleep in your room anymore,” he said looking pensive but happy and I smiled up at him.

“Why? Worried about my self control?” I teased.

“Nuhuh. I’m worried about mine.”

He pressed one last quick soft kiss to my stunned upturned lips and turned to go, smiling smugly.

I walk into the kitchen in a daze to start supper wondering how in the world I could have such an array of feelings for someone after such a short time.

Easy Does It

“Good of you to join us, slow poke,” Sherry goaded as I walked in, well after everyone else had started the training lessons.

She was sparring with Miguel. Well I wouldn’t actually call it sparring. More like dodging because Sherry refuses to take a hit, insistent that she doesn’t want to hurt anyone. No one has the heart to tell her she couldn’t actually hurt one of us, even if she wanted to.

“I was talking to Cain...and Lillian.”

“Really. Well, I’m sure Miguel is tired of doing basics with me when there are plenty of others who need his help. So I’m glad you’re here.” She smiled and walked over to me and pulled me down to kiss me. “Now, are you ready to hurt?”

I laughed and shook my head at her.

“Sure. Let’s go over here.” We walk over and I try to explain as I go. “Ok. Now. When someone is coming at your head with their arm, duck down,” I corrected because she bent down at the waist instead, “no not duck, bad word, squat. Then you punch his groin. See.”

I demonstrated the move.

“Oookay. But for the record, I’m not really thrilled about punching some Lighter’s junk.”

“Junk?”

Her eyes glanced meaningfully down to below to my belt and I got it. I laughed and had to chide her. We’ll never get any work done like this.

“Honey. I need you to focus. Be serious, ok. We’re gonna practice this move. I’m gonna swing at you slow first, then fast. I want you to squat and punch each time, ok? Punch my leg for practice.”

“Ok.”

I admit, it was a little hard for her to squat with a walking cast on, but we still needed to try. We took a stance in front of each other and I swung slow motion. She squatted and punched like I told her to but she hit air, not my thigh.

“What’s the matter?”

“I just want to practice like this. I don’t want to hit you.”

“You won’t hurt me. I want you to know what hitting feels like. You’ll hurt yourself in a real fight if you’ve never hit anything before. Now hit me.”

We went again. She barely tapped me.

“Honey...”

“Merrick.”

“Come on. These sessions are pointless if you’re not gonna try.”

“I am trying! I’ll remember everything like this. I just don’t want to hit you.” I sighed and she came up to me and hugged me around my midsection. “We talked about this. I know I can’t hurt you. I’m not stupid. But I don’t want to hit you. I don’t like how it makes me feel. Please. Let’s just practice.”

I scrub my face with my hands and sigh again.

“Fine. Let’s practice this a few more times, then we’ll practice kicks with the pillows.”

“Ooh. I love the pillows,” she said and smiled, taking her defensive stance again.

I smiled too, rolling my eyes at her and we set off. We practiced that move more and then moved on to kicking practice pillows. Then punching practice pillows. Then she did some maneuvering with getting out of holds with Miguel as I worked with Lily on her gift.

Whoa. That choking thing is no walk in the park. She doesn’t even concentrate. Just thinks of it. Touches you anywhere and instantly, you start to feel it. I’m not sure I want to do that with her again. Besides, she seems to have it down anyway and she was extremely cute asking me if I was ok. Apparently, she can’t stop it. It has to run it’s course.

I turned back to watch Sherry. She was working with Ryan and Miguel now. She was trying to knock their feet out from under them. Again, refusing to make any real contact. Then Ryan grabbed her around neck and shoulders. She wiggled and squirmed, tried to turn, tried to jerk away and push at him but to no avail, so she gave up letting her arms go slack to her sides and pouting slightly, all disappointed in herself. Then Ryan whispered something in her ear from behind and tickled her side with his free hand, sending her into a giggling fit.

I laughed and just kept watching. Everyone loved her. Everyone loves each other. Most put their differences aside to be able to coexist, even though it’s not easy. It’s the most human I’ve ever seen people act.

When I came here before during crisis, no matter what decade or century, the humans are always the same. Self centered, reckless and greedy. There are always good ones too, but in a majority of people, that’s the traits that come out in times of trouble. The gift of free will lets them choose to be pitiless and callous. But this group is different. I guess this crisis is different.

Now Miguel and Ryan are coming from both sides with Celeste and Sherry in the middle. Celeste’s gift is all in her mind so she needs just as much physical training as Sherry does. Miguel grabs Sherry’s neck and I wince at the memory of the Lighter in Phillip’s body doing that to her. She slams the inside of his elbow with the heel of her palm hard, like he showed her before. He was testing her and she passed.

That loosened his grip enough for her to twist and duck under his arm and kick him in the back of the knee with her heel from behind, forcing it to buckle. He fell forwards down on the floor and she looked horrified. She ran over and fussed over him, like she actually hurt him.

“Oh! Miguel! I’m so sorry,” she said patting him and turning him over.

“Don’t be, love, I’m fine. That’s what I wanted you to do. And it was awesome.” He saw me walk up behind her. “This is one tough Sheila you got here. She just kicked my arse.”

“I saw.” I helped him up with a hand out. “It was highly entertaining.”

“Miguel, I’m so sorry. See! This is why I don’t like hitting for real!”

Sherry still looked stricken at actually having put down Miguel. If she would just look up to my face and stop freaking out, she’d see how proud I was of her.

“This is training, I wanted to see what you could do. I want you to hit me, kick me, push me, whatever. Make me look like a fabulous teacher. And you, trying to look all innocent walking in here. You’re a real conch at this, aren’t ya?”

“Did you just insult me, Miguel?” Sherry asked, putting her hands on her hips but she looked on the verge of laughing.

“No, love. It means smart.” He grinned at her. “Ok, now let’s go do some more holds. You can practice on Danny next. We all know he could use a good kick in the rear.”

I see Lily chasing Celeste around the punching pillows and when I look back, I see Sherry being thrown over Danny’s shoulder in a blatant show of machismo. She’s squirming and doing that little girly scream. You know, half scream half giggle. Miguel, Ryan and Celeste, holding Lily, are laughing. Even Lily is giggling at the show.

I walk over and decide to help the once again in distress Sherry.

“Hey! Put her down boy or there might be trouble,” I yell playfully.

“Make me, grandpa!” Danny stopped still and yelled back.

“Don’t take that, Merrick! Make him pay,” Calvin yelled and ran over like he was about to join into the fray.

“Yeah,” Franklin joined in. “Rip his arms off!”

“Ouch. That’s harsh. I give,” Danny said laughing and put Sherry’s feet back on the floor.

“My heroes!” she yelled in a southern belle accent and chased to kiss Calvin and Frank.

They bolted, running circles in the room.

“No! Toxic kisses! Run for your lives!” Calvin yelled and they ran from the room.

We laughed. Calvin and Frank were pretty funny. And Sherry had the ability to put anyone in any age group at ease.

“Eleven year olds,” she scoffed. “Most guys don’t run from my kisses,” Sherry teased and sidled up to me in the corner.

“I know
I
don’t,” I whispered in her ear and picked her up. She wrapped her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck. “You’re doing so well with the training. I’m really proud of you.”

“Really?”

“Really,” I said firmly and her mouth quirked, fighting a smile. “Now. Kiss me, wife.”

“Yes, sir,” she said, letting the smile come.

She kissed me. She always did. It surprised me actually. I’ve seen in histories of my watching women and the strange things they do. I’ve heard all kinds of excuses that girls give to spurn men’s advances. They’re tired, they just ate, not in the mood, not now, not yet, I’m watching my show, I have a headache.

But not Sherry. I think back to our short life together so far and Sherry has never, not once given me an excuse. Not once. If I want her to kiss me, she does so willingly and smiles about it. If I want her, she practically runs ahead of me to make it happen. Man, I love her so much. She’s the anti-girl girl.

We finish up our training and start to smell rice, onions and pork. We make our way out to the kitchen and form our usual line to proceed through and fill our plate. Sherry and I take ours to the wall beside the record player with Lily.

We ate our supper and laughed at Lily telling us about how she beat Calvin and Marissa in tic-tac-toe after her school lessons.

Then Jeff turned on the news and we all sat in stunned silence. Malachi was there. Right there on the screen for all to see. As pompous and dangerously cunning as ever. He was young and handsome making him all the more treacherous.

Jeff shh’ed everyone and turned it up as the new Taker stepped up to the wood podium and began his speech with flashbulbs clicking and lighting in ecstatic fashion.

“Hello and welcome, friends. At least, I hope all who are present are friends today. We have among us, in our cities and streets and homes, traitors. Not just traitors to me, but traitors to us all. Traitors to our beliefs, our families, our needs and lives. Our freedom.

“
I want you all to take a walk with me. A walk in our minds and think about where we are, where our lives are headed. I see independence from the government. I see freedom from persecution from Keepers and other factions that come against us to destroy us. I see a way to live our lives to the fullest.

“
Here me when I say, that the Keepers day will come. I make it my vow and solemn oath that as long as I am a member of the human race, I will not stand by and watch you suffer. These Keepers, if you can even call them that. I call them terrorists, because that’s what they are. The definition of terrorists is simply this - the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce. They want to terrorize you into believing them and giving them your lands, your homes, your jobs, your lives. But we won’t stand by any longer. We have a new way to protect ourselves. The enforcers.

“Who is capable enough to be an enforcer you ask? All people. Anyone who wants to shield others from injustice. We won’t let them take the only thing that is completely free in the world to us. Our lives. We won’t have it. Who’s with me? Who else is willing to stand with me against the injustice of our people. Our mothers. Fathers. Brothers. Sisters. Our children.

“Come! Join us in the fight. Join us in the battle. Join us in this melee of sabotage! Together we can beat this enemy! And to make sure that it gets done with haste and due diligence, I am offering a reward. $1000.00 for anyone who brings me a Keeper or someone who is associated with one. $1000.00 for each one you bring me. Now go, and make me proud.”

And the crowd goes wild. Great.

“Not good, Merrick,” Jeff bellowed and had already started pacing. “Not good.”
“Jeff. Calm down. We knew it could come to this eventually. The need warehouses are starting, we won’t be going out that often anymore anyway and we’ve got the garden. It’ll be alright.”

“I know that but this will only create a different set of problems. People will start hunting us instead of just being cautious of us. There will be people snooping around now. Here. Going through every abandoned place and home. They will find the others who are hiding. And they will find them quickly and there’s not a thing we can do about it.”