I helped Alex for the next hour or so, as both of us gave the trainees tips and advice. Alex eventually turned to me. "Well, did you learn any new tricks on your adventure?"
I knew that tone of voice. He was teasing and attempting to keep a straight face. His offhand words were a subtle request as he tried to get me to show off some of the more advanced training tricks for the trainees.
Trainees sometimes began to think that their Group Leader's abilities were at a level that regular group members were simply unable to reach. Often, it only took a few displays by other experienced members to dispel that myth. I grinned at him, my sense of humor stirring at the invitation.
I had picked up quite a few new techniques during my month of wandering. I was far more comfortable around zombies now and knew just how far I could push them before things became dicey. The rule we were given was fifteen meters, although ten meters was acceptable if we were above it.
Most people opted for more distance between them and the deadly creatures if at all possible. My personal safety range was three meters, and, sometimes, I would push that boundary if I was in full control of the situation.
I doubted that Alex was aware of this.
I shrugged out of my backpack and picked up one of the walking sticks that were taller than me. Alex quickly climbed up the ladder to the observation post, glancing between me and his group members in anticipation of the upcoming training lesson.
Once upon a time, I had been as cautious and as scared of close contact with zombies as my group mates had been. As any sane human rightfully was. Back then, fifteen meters had been a cause for concern and six meters was serious.
The events during the last month had driven all fear of zombies out of me. Were they still capable of killing me? Yes. But so was a dog or a bear. While wandering, I had tested my limits and practiced a lot to break up the boredom. Now... now, I knew their limits, and I knew how far I could push them without true risk to myself.
It might be a good thing that Alex didn't know what I had in mind to shock his new trainees.
Without my extra awareness, speed, and stamina, I would not have done it. If I hadn't practiced this very thing numerous times in the last week, I would not have attempted this with more than one zombie.
Alex was going to have a fit by the time I was done.
I grinned as I trotted towards the nearest group of trainees. There were some gasps as I got closer than the prescribed safety zone. This attracted attention from the other two groups as well. I hoped they did not lose track of their zombie in their distraction.
I came up behind the oblivious zombie and tapped it between the shoulder blades with the stick before quickly darting off at an angle. It turned around with a snarl; zombies really did not like to be touched. They would often chase the one who had touched them even if they came within closer range of other targets.
It came after me, and I temporarily lost it in the obstacle course. The four trainees that I had interrupted were not sure what was going on and had gathered beside the fence in the confusion. Alex called them up to the observation post. The whole group could fit up there and still be able to see clearly.
I went to the next group. Those in my way parted with my approach. This zombie was also facing the other way, so I poked it in its side. It was also not impressed with my greeting and came after me. I led it towards one of the posts with a rope tied near the base and leaned down to grab it as I went by. I waited for the zombie to approach as I ignored the whispering from above.
I quickly circled the zombie twice, making it turn more or less on the spot, before running away. I pulled the rope tight around its ankles. Zombies weren't that smart and would usually flail their legs until the rope loosened. If the rope had been tied, it would flail for about a minute before using its hands to tear at the rope. With the rope just looped around its ankles, it would come loose quickly enough. It would be down for about fifteen seconds.
The first zombie came out of the obstacle course. I went towards it and quickly circled it. It tried to spin to keep me in its sight. Zombies and coordinated actions rarely went hand in hand, and this one was no exception. Zombies were slow when they tried to make quick turns, especially if they attempted to turn on the spot.
I darted in, stretching out my staff as far as it would go and hit the back of its knees. It went down in a heap; one of its legs had previously been broken and didn't bend well. It would take it some time to get back up. By now, the second group had joined Alex in the observation post. The trainees were watching with confused interest. A faint frown adorned Alex's face.
I moved to the last group. At this point, they had all scattered to safe spots as they watched me with wide eyes. One was safely on top of the slide with the zombie below watching her. I jogged towards the zombie, and it saw me coming.
It decided that I was a better target. The girl on the slide screamed as it came close to me, scared for my safety. Ignoring my audience, I used the staff to tap the zombie's wrists a few times while backing up in a circling spiral. The zombie slowed down to a tottering walk as it tried to turn. If I had backed up straight, it would have been able to come at me at a much faster speed. By tapping its wrists with the staff, it was now trying to grab the staff and not me.
This was not something they taught in zombie class.
Then I jabbed it in the shoulder, causing it to fall backwards. The last four trainees quickly scampered over to the observation post and joined Alex.
There. I no longer had to keep an eye on others on the field. I had it all to myself. The first two zombies were en route, and the third was already getting to its feet. I definitely had the zombies' undivided attention at this point. Excellent.
I jogged at an angle and circled around the first two. It didn't take long for the third to catch up. Now that they were all bunched into a group, I jogged towards a cross beam with a knotted rope dangling down. The zombies weren't that far behind me.
As I ran beneath it, I grabbed the rope and ran faster. I held onto the rope, and as my feet left the ground, I kicked off hard to the side - sending me swinging into a large circle with the zombies almost in the middle.
With the occasional kick to keep my momentum and direction, I spun around them a dozen times. By now, they were all in the exact center as they had tried to follow my movements. I was spinning faster than they could turn. They were jostling each other, and as riled up as they were, they even snarled at one another. One cuffed another one across the face.
Until I had seen two zombies fall into a pit and get riled up, I had never known that zombies would harm or even bother each other. In close confines with elevated aggression after a close-range chase, they had snarled and struck at each other with open hands until they calmed down. They didn't do any damage to one another, but it had been startling to see.
I gave a high-pitched whistle, which gave me their immediate attention again. Getting a good grip on my staff, I let go of the rope. My staff had been pinned between my arm and my body, and as I dropped down, I jammed one end into the ground and used it to pole-vault myself even further out.
I landed in a somersault and grabbed a rock before whipping it at a fourth zombie that was approaching the far side of the fence, proving that its arrival had not gone unnoticed by me despite my acrobatics. I even hit it – my hand and eye coordination must have also gotten better.
My current location wasn't far from the observation post. A rope dangled down from a wooden beam that extended past the observation post roof. The rope had no knots and was meant for a quick descent, not for climbing. Like that was going to stop me.
I sped forward and jumped up to grab the rope to climb up. I had aimed my jump up, not forwards, so I wouldn't swing as much. The floor of the observation post was far above the ground, and the elbow-high railing had several openings in it to allow people to come and go.
I climbed until I was level with the deck and wrapped my leg around the rope for extra support. I hung there for a moment as I looked down at my three dedicated followers. They were in loud disapproval over the fact that I was abandoning them. I reached over to grab the handle above and swung over to the platform.
Yeah, I was showing off. I was barely breathing hard.
I turned to look at Alex. He was beyond words. It was the calm before the storm.
Alex was standing in front of me while the rest of the trainees were scattered behind him in a loose semicircle. Other than the three musketeers groaning below, there was complete silence.
Alex was still speechless. His body was stiff, his hands were shaking, he was breathing deeply, and he was glaring at me. I stood calmly and waited. The three below might not mind killing me, but I doubted that Alex would go that far. Our old group had played pranks before on Alex. Sometimes, if we really caught him by surprise, he needed some time to get it out of his system. This was going to be one of those times.
There was probably a good thirty seconds of silence. The trainees behind him had wide eyes and were not so much as moving a muscle lest it attract attention.
Suddenly, Alex whirled around and glared at his trainees. Many of them jumped at his sudden movement and current expression. Four even took a step back at suddenly being the focus of their Group Leader's glare.
His voice came out like a whip. "If any of you, ever, attempt any of those stunts you just saw with a zombie, you will be inside the barn working with that Swift for a week! I don't care if you practice those moves without a zombie, but do not ever attempt that with a zombie, or–or, I will tan your hide for you! Are we clear?!"
A couple of the trainees started stuttering in response to his fierce and sudden words. I was somewhat amused considering that some of the trainees were in their thirties and were just as shocked as the younger ones.
"I repeat, am I clear?" This time his question got the answers he was after, as "Yes!" and "Yes, sir!" filled the air.
He turned back to me. His glare had faded some, but he was still upset.
"What did you think you were doing? You could have been injured!"
I decided honesty was my best route once again. "Alex, I will be honest. We watched those zombies for an hour. If one of them had shown any signs that it might possibly react unpredictably, I would have locked it up first."
"And if you had tripped or gotten into other difficulties?"
I nodded in concession of that possibility. "If I had any inkling that something was going wrong, I would have yelled for help. Then I would have done my best to get outside of the fence."
He wasn't letting it go that easily. "And if you had tripped? What was I going to be able to do from up here with those things practically breathing down your neck?"
"Then I would have yelled and rolled to the side. They slow down in order to turn. You would have grabbed that sling you call a belt and whipped a rock at it. It may have only distracted the zombie for a few seconds, but that would have been all I would have needed to regain my feet and get to safety."
Most of the trainees blinked and looked at his belt. They probably hadn't been aware that it was actually a sling. Then again, most of my old group hadn't noticed either.
Alex took a few more deep breaths while he considered my calm response and open honesty. He held up his hands and crinked his fingers into claws as he walked towards me. I grinned in amusement as he approached. In our old group, if we pulled a particularly mischievous prank, he would pretend to choke us for a few moments as he lightly pushed us back and forth while we faked choking noises.
I wasn't disappointed. I let him wrap his hands around my neck while I grabbed his arms near his elbows while he pretended to shake and choke me. I saw Alex subtly glance behind him. The trainees looked horrified, so I suspected that none of them had tried to pull a big prank yet. I made a few choking noises before both of us fell into peals of laughter.
He released me as he slapped me on the back. "Give me some warning next time! I almost had a heart attack. Then again, how about we don't try that again at all?"
I simply grinned at him without a response. The trainees now looked completely confused as their formerly fierce Group Leader, who had been ready to flay me, was suddenly acting like I was an old comrade. I had a feeling that my little display and the aftermath would be their main source of discussion for a while.
Alex mock glared at me. "You should be glad that I am no longer your Group Leader or else you would be doing extra work for such a stunt."
"I still respect you enough that I would probably do it anyway."
He blinked in surprise before shaking his head in amusement.
We ensured that the trainees understood they shouldn't allow a zombie to get so close to them. They continued training for another hour before trapping the zombies in the stalls. I walked back with them.
The sentry greeted us at the gate, "I see you found them. I hope the trip was uneventful."
"Oh, yeah. The trip there was uneventful."
Alex and I both started laughing, causing the sentry to look between the two of us in confusion. We didn't even bother to try and explain it.
Parting ways with Alex's group, I headed for a shower. The one I usually used was full, so I went to one on the third floor. I was surprised to see that no one else was here but appreciated the quietness. After a quick shower, I got dressed in clean clothes from my backpack. I grabbed my hairbrush and started brushing my hair.
My bangs were starting to hang too low and needed another trim. Digging around in my backpack, I found a small pair of scissors. This bathroom had a mirror secured to the wall, although it was fogged up from the humidity. I wiped the condensation off with one hand and looked at my reflection. I froze.
My eyes were blue. Bright blue. I hadn't seen a mirror since my checkup yesterday, and since the Nurse had been waiting for me, I hadn't bothered to check my reflection. How had nobody noticed that my eyes had changed color? Going from dark brown to bright blue was a huge change.
I was glad that there was no one else in this shower area with me since my behavior would have caused them to ask if I was okay. I leaned forward for a closer look; my face had a nice tan, and I was glad to see that I didn't have any pimples. My hair was wet and hung straight down, although it would fluff up as it dried. My bangs were hanging past my eyebrows and needed a trim pretty badly. My eyes were blue.
No one had commented on them. Then again, no one had commented on my lack of glasses either. They must have changed the week my vision changed. They were quite a striking bright blue color.
I stared at my reflection. This was going to take some getting used to.