Chapter 6

Donnie swings at me, precisely clipping my cheek, just milliseconds before I block it. But that punch was just a distraction, because before I can react, a sidekick barrels my way. My cheek stings, my muscles ache, my lungs burn- but I'm not complaining. This is my game. This is living, and win or lose, it's exhilarating.

I narrowly miss being slammed with a roundhouse, and actually manage to hit him with a surprise snap kick. He answers my kick with a right hook. I can hardly get a hit off him. My unusually sharp senses are mush- it's like he can read my movements before they even happen. It's freaking scary! I throw a jab, which lands inches away from his chest. No, not even that- maybe an inch, at best. I gear up to throw a sidekick, but overturn my foot and lose my balance. I try to put my foot down, but that's when it's over. Donnie sidekicks me in the solar plexus (oh, the irony), ending it all.

The padded mat I hit feels like solid concrete. Regaining the breath that has been knocked out of my lungs will be a chore. Elsie blows the whistle, signaling the end of the match. Yes, she's not only the cook; she's also a self-defense teacher. She has a second degree black belt in Aikido, a style of martial arts (it's a style where you take the energy of your attacker and redirect it to your advantage). She's tough, too. Push-ups, crunches, various stretches, jumping jacks, basic kicks, strikes, and combinations are among our training schedule. I'm in pretty good shape, so I'm not hurting too bad.

Elsie rushes over to me and helps me sit up.

"That's it, nice and easy. Now just breathe," she instructs me. Not in a bossy tone, but soft. Is there a really nice, motherly side to Elsie I don't know?

"Ok... I'll-," I try to say that I'll try to control my breathing, but Elsie claps a hand over my mouth a growls, "Shut up and breathe, DANG IT!"

Where'd that of motherly-ness go?

"Are you okay?" Donnie asks me, not looking all that surprised, although I can see a hint of concern in his eyes.

"Yeah... I think so." I huff. Elsie rolls her eyes at me not listening to her, then gets up to get some water.

I look over at him, wondering how he could read me like a book, when he says,

"You're wondering how I could react to your moves so well."

I nod. "Okay, let's hear it."

"The ability I have is that I can very carefully analyze things, very quickly- it can range from tensing muscles in a fight to decoding a scrambled word riddle -anything, really. The only way I couldn't use this is if my opponent had super-sonic speed."

I blink. "Did you by any chance have some sort of episodic breakdown because of it," I hope that Sebastian wasn't fibbing about this happening to everyone, hoping to make me feel better.

Donnie studies his chewed-down finger nails. "I was out for a few days. Then, everything felt louder, every shade brighter- more enhanced. But people react to it differently. Some people vomit, some faint, some just lose it completely. You blacked out because it was your Awakening. Did you have any unusual cards beside the Dealer card?"

I think back on this; I got the fountain, meaning long life; I got the Dealer card (doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure that one out), and, "I got the fortune card," I think out loud.

"Did you experience anything weird before you passed out?"

I nod. "These weird images were flickering through my head. It was like a movie, and the person I saw looked a lot like a small version of Elsie."

"Were you with anyone at the time?" he asks.

"Yeah, I was with... Elsie. Wait, did that have anything to do with that weird thing that happened?" I reply. I start to describe what I saw.

Donnie looks at me with troubled eyes "That wasn't a random vision. That was a flashback… of Elsie's past."