Rick grinned down at me, "So, how have you been? Are you enjoying your travels?"
I nodded, "I am really enjoying being with Roland's group. I have been doing very well."
"So tell me more about Sanctuary. You mentioned it in your letters quite a few times. Did you ever get that zipline up?"
"We have almost everything we need built already. All of the animals' shelters and pens have room for a lot of expansion. We finally have enough homes built that no one is sleeping outside. Everyone has their own home. Yes, we got the ziplines up a few days ago and they are really fun to ride in."
We arrived in the training room and the evasion obstacles were already set up. It was like I had stepped back in time. Rick rolled his shoulders as he loosened them up, "So, did you forget everything I taught you?"
I grinned up at him, "I bet that even if you tried your hardest, that you wouldn't be able to catch me for at least five minutes."
I skipped sideways as Donovan went through the patch of air where I had just been standing. I giggled as I did a little ballerina spin. My Heartfire reactions were far better than his ambush attempt. I squeaked and took off running as Rick charged forward with a grin.
That man was fast when he wanted to be, but he wasn't as fast as Diane or those who had been fired for some time. I felt the heat rise as it came to my aid in this intense game of keep-away with two highly trained people. It flowed through my blood like a friendly warmth that increased my speed and sharpened my reflexes.
I could still fit through places that they couldn't, and I made excellent use of that fact. It was two against one, and none of us were holding back. Neither of them was a match for my turn of speed or maneuverability. I could corner very well since I was so much lower to the ground.
They must have been excited for my visit since they had set up the entire room with tons of obstacles and hiding spots. I almost entirely ignored the hiding places as I showed off my newfound abilities and skills.
It took only seconds for Rick and Donovan to abandon any ideas of holding back. Rick was one of the better trainers here, but minutes later he was breathing heavily as he still failed to catch me. He looked almost confused as he tried to work out a tactic that would allow two grown men to catch a child scampering around fences and hedges.
Rick finally came to a stop as he huffed and puffed, "All right, I give. I don't know how much sugar they gave you earlier, but I am positive that they did it just to torment me."
I turned my easy run into a twirl, "I didn't even have any sugar. Just food from the mess hall."
"Well, you are definitely in good shape. A regular zombie doesn't stand a chance of catching you in the open. I have a feeling that you also get a lot more practice with zombies than anyone here does."
I shook my head as I came back to them, "Not anymore really. The last month, we have mostly been at Sanctuary and we got the palisade up right away. There are not any towns nearby, so there are very few zombies around."
"So you are staying in Sanctuary instead of traveling with the traders? How are you enjoying that?"
I grinned at him, "It is really fun. We get to choose what we want to do and we can do something different every day if we want."
"What is your favorite part?"
"I really like collecting the eggs from the chickens or feeding the horses or sheep. There is big tame bull there too, he is fun to pet."
Rick blinked slowly, "I will take your word about the bull. I can't exactly see myself scratching such a big creature behind the ears."
A zombie didn't faze Rick, but the thought of petting a tame bull did. Yes, bulls were big and could be very dangerous, but this one was very friendly. There would be no way to convince Rick of that though.
I shrugged, "So what game are we going to play now?"
"One that involves less running on my part. How about you show us what you have learned and we can see if we can possibly teach you a new trick or two."
I clapped my hands in excitement, "Okay!" I turned and jogged towards the obstacle course to show Rick how much better I had gotten.
Rick took a seat on a bench and gazed at me in disbelief, "How are you not tired yet? It is absolutely unfair that you aren't breathing hard either."
I grinned at the middle aged man, "I spent over a year trying to keep up to Diane. It rubbed off."
He chuckled, "Ah, yes. I can believe that one. I think I can count the number of times I have seen that lady tired on one hand. Those times usually involved a full out sparring session with half a dozen of the best fighters."
"I hope that Ace and them can give her a good workout because no one else has been able to."
Rick grinned, "Well, why don't we go see if they have given Diane a run for her money?"
I giggled and nodded. If Diane had gotten slack from the lack of good practice partners, Ace would be the first to take advantage of it. I walked between Rick and Donovan down the hall to the room that Diane usually sparred in. It was at the end of the hall and people rarely came down here.
I heard the sounds of their practice before I got to the open door. I assumed that it took a lot of force for a padded sword or dagger to make a thump noise when hitting thick padding. I also had a feeling that they were going to be sore after this. At least Diane's bruises would be mostly healed by bedtime and just a memory come sunrise.
The moment we passed the doorframe, eighteen sets of blue eyes from the spectator's bench glanced at us. The traders were clearly enjoying the show. They even had a video recorder out to film the event. We went to take a seat on the bench to observe the match that had their almost-complete attention.
Diane was surrounded in a fast paced whirlwind of motion as her six opponents tried to take her down. I recognized Ace, four Guard Group Leaders, and a Raider Group Leader. They were the best of her old sparring partners, but she was holding her own. Somehow. Even with my Heartfire, I was having a hard time keeping track of everything that was happening.
Diane wielded a padded sword in one hand and her padded dagger in the other as she moved at insane speeds. Most of her adversaries also used weapons in both of their hands. Both Diane's speed and her glowing blue eyes showed that she was relying on her Heartfire abilities to get her through this session.
All of them were breathing hard. Diane somehow managed to block four different strikes before managing to get out of the circle of people. Ace and the Raider hung back as the four Guards spread out to try and circle her again.
The eighteen traders were silent, but their glittering eyes told of their excitement. Rick was amused as he watched Diane fake a strike to Ace's legs before landing a blow on his ribs. He darted back out of reach as two others tried to get their own touch in on Diane. She somehow managed to block or dodge their blows.
Diane was pulling her blows so her enhanced strength didn't do major damage, but the others weren't pulling their blows. The thought of a high energy exercise appealed to me, but not quite like this. I loved games of tag and they helped me increase my speed and agility. Playful wrestling was exciting, although it was hard to wrestle with adults if you wanted a fair game.
Trying to whack someone with what was basically a padded stick was not my idea of fun. It was almost like the goal was to inflect the most pain. Yep. I never wanted to be a fighter. They looked as if they were mostly enjoying themselves, but it didn't interest me.
The Raider took a decent blow to his upper leg before Diane managed to knock the wind from him with an elbow to the chest. He retired from the field soaked in sweat and exhausted, but he still started his cool down exercises.
Diane managed to get out of the entrapping circle again and kept on the move in an attempt to keep them from surrounding her again. She studied her opponents and eyed up one of the Guards. I could see that he had a limp, probably from an earlier blow.
With a lightning fast move that made Diane blur, she lunged forward to land a solid strike on the side of his sore leg. The other four closed in with a flurry of blows as they tried to protect their partner. I held my breath as one or two of the moves got through Diane's guard. Even she couldn't fend off six weapons at once at such a fast pace.
The Guard had a really good limp now and retired from the field. The odds were in Diane's favor now. Four against one was a much slower pace and they were unable to get through Diane's defenses at this point. Diane's breathing slowed down slightly as she started to catch her breath. The others were not so fortunate as to have the helpful Heartfire and the amazing physical abilities that came with it once it was fully established.
One of the Guards threw in the towel and walked off of the field in exhaustion. The two remaining Guard Group Leaders and Ace exchanged a look. The one Guard panted, "So, do we throw in the towel gracefully or sign up for more bruises? She is going to outlast us no matter what we do now."
I grinned silently. They clearly remembered her stamina regardless of how much time had passed. Diane had exhausted all six of them and still had more energy than they did. I hadn't seen her this tired in a very long time though. A sheen of sweat ran across her forehead and parts of her shirt were sweaty.
The traders also noticed that she was sweating and were amazed since they had never seen her sweat like this before. The remaining three opponents came to a unanimous decision within seconds. They all lowered the weapons and started their cool down stretches.
Diane chuckled as she put her own weapons aside to start the cool down exercises as well. Diane did some careful stretching as she tested for any strained or pulled muscles, "Not too bad. I did better than I thought I would," She turned to mock glare at Ace, "and you are just evil for digging up the best fighters in the base to help you avoid bruises."
He chuckled at her teasing tone, "I needed some sort of backup."
Rick chuckled and I grinned at him. Rick always enjoyed seeing his old friend taken down a peg or two or being put in a tough situation. The group of observers started chattering quietly about what they had just seen. The guy with the video camera stopped recording and started going back over the video as several others looked on.
I heard Diane's quiet voice, "What do you mean?"
I turned to see her speaking with a Guard Group Leader. No one else was around them and I doubted that any of the other traders could hear them. My hearing was still better than theirs.
He shrugged uncomfortably, "While you were gone he was not quite... himself. He was upset at how the Commanders let you go instead of kicking out the troublemakers. Perhaps seeing you happy with the traders will finally allow him to put the past events behind him." They must be talking about Ace. He had carried his sweaty padding to a back room to dry since I didn't see at the moment.
Diane was looking at the Guard in shock, "Nothing in my letters from Ace seemed out of place. He didn't do anything. There was no way he could have known that Desmond was going to show up in that fight like he did. It was the zombie bite and Heartfire that spooked people. He did everything in his power to try and reason with people."
"We all know that, but either way, he knocked out several who attempted to ambush him for his opinions and he nearly killed a guy who tried to tell him that you deserved to die during the bandit attack down in Bethany Fort."
Diane looked stunned and I didn't feel much better. Ace had always been so cool and collected, unless they were in a sparring match, then he was like greased lightning. What exactly had that guy said to anger Ace so? I had never seen Ace ever try to harm someone before.
Diane shook her head, "I never heard that one before."
The Guard shrugged again as he continued his cool down exercises. Ace re-entered the room, still stretching while cooling down. He headed over to look at the video recorder and the replay of the match. He seemed very intrigued by the video he was watching.
Diane went to put her own padding away and returned. Her eyes were dimmer than usual, showing that the workout had tired her very well. She watched the group around the video camera as they kept pointing out various things. Most of the comments were about Diane's technique and moves.
Diane wandered closer, "You better not be making fun of my moves. I still have enough energy to chase all of you around this training field once or twice."
Most of the traders chuckled and Ace grinned at the threat. I giggled, but I wasn't sure if Diane could actually make good on her threat. Those eighteen traders had been fired for almost three months now, and they had a good chunk of the physical abilities already. Her sparring partners had put a pretty good dent in her energy levels the last few hours and chasing 18 fired people around may even cause Diane to throw in the towel.
Diane glanced at me. I grinned to show my thoughts, but remained silent. She grinned in response before stretching, "Feel like heading back?"
I nodded and stood up. The rest of the traders also got to their feet, still obsessed with the practice they had watched. I had a feeling that they were going to wear out that recorder by replaying it so much.