20
The next morning K.C woke up with a start. He had been dreaming something disturbing, but he couldn't quite recall what as he lay for a few minutes to recover. He turned his head to look at the bed and saw Patsy's sleeping frame. She looked peaceful.
He got up, trying to make as little noise as possible and went into the bathroom, carefully closing the door after him. He turned on the shower and got under the steaming hot water. He stood there long enough to let the warmth of the water loosen some of the knots in his back. Then he turned it off, stepped out and grabbed a towel. When he had dried himself he used it to wipe over the fogged mirror and then let it fall to the ground to stand on.
He was brushing his teeth when the door suddenly opened behind him and Patsy appeared. He frose as he realised that he was completely naked. Patsy's eyes widened in shock when she noticed him.
"Oh god K.C - I'm so sorry!" she cried out, covered her eyes and turned around immediately, "I thought you had already left."
"It's okay," K.C said, rather flustered, quickly picking up the towel from the ground and wrapping it around his waist.
"It's my fault - I forgot to lock the door. I don't usually have to. I'm sorry." He knotted the towel tightly at the side, so it wouldn't suddenly just fall off his hips, "There."
Patsy slowly turned around, like she was afraid of what to see. Her cheeks burned bright red.
"Don't worry about it," K.C said as he studied her embarrassed expression, "Down in the mines, there weren't much privacy, so I'm kinda immune." He was mortified, of course, as this was a completely different situation, but he said it just to relieve some of the embarrassement. Patsy just smiled nervously.
"I'm done in a minute, then you can have the bathroom," he told her and smiled back.
"Right," Patsy then said, seeming to snap out of it. She turned on her heel and walked out, closing the door behind her.
A few minutes later, K.C walked out of the bathroom - this time fully dressed in sweatpants and a T-shirt - and let Patsy have it. She didn't take long and soon came out again.
"Okay," K.C said, if we're gonna do this and convince the Technoes that you're one of us, we have to do this the right way. I told Ecko I would try and train you to become a warrior. It was just to get you out of there, but I don't think it's such a bad idea, actually."
Patsy looked worried, "But K.C, I can't fight. I don't know how to."
"I know," K.C said, "But don't worry, I'm gonna teach you. I'm a Sergeant here, remember? It's my job."
"But what if I'm not any good at it?"
"From what I've heard, you've got talent," K.C said with a grin as he remembered the teeth marks on Ecko's arm and his scared expression, "I promise I'll teach you how to. I'll give you private lessions."
"Okay," Patsy said, still not sounding quite convinced, "When do we start?"
"We can start right now," K.C said, "I have some free time before I have to go and take a look at the other arrivals. I've got you some training clothes." He pulled out a bag from under his bed and emptied it on the covers. There were sweatpants and a t-shirt identical to the ones he was wearing and sneakers.
"Here, put this on," he said and handed dem to Patsy. She went back into the bathroom to change and came back out a few minutes later.
"Good, now come with me."
K.C led Patsy down the long corridor. They walked down to the basement floor, past a lot of doors, all the way to the end. There was a huge room, holding severel workout machines, barbells and a punchbag. There was no one there, so they had it all to themselves.
"Okay," K.C said, turning to face Patsy, "The first thing I'm gonna teach you is self-defense. It's probably the most important thing to know when fighting. If you can't get yourself out of bad positions, you lose."
Patsy nodded, feeling slightly nervous. She wasn't some big warrior woman. She was just Patsy. And she used to be a scared little thing.
K.C pulled off his t-shirt to be able to move more freely. Patsy gulped. This morning when she had accidently walked in on him naked in the bathroom, she had been mortified at the awkwardness that followed. However, she couldn't help but scan his body swiftly. When he had wrapped the towel around his waist and stood there bare-chested her eyes seemed to have a mind of their own and they refused to look away, even when she demanded them to.
K.C's body had seemed to stretch severel inches in the last couple of years since she had last seen him. He had lost a lot of weight, due to his time in the mines and put on some muscle. A lot of muscle, Patsy's dully mind reminded her before she could stop it.
It was strange to see him this way. He had always been just K.C - a kid. Of course she had been a kid herself, but now they had both grown up, lost the childish features and become almost - well grownups.
Now she saw him in a different way - a way she hadn't seen him before. She no longer saw him as a boy – she saw him as a man.
"First I'll show you what to do if someone grabs your arm," K.C said, pulling her out of her thoughts, "Here take hold of my wrist like you would if you grabbed someone."
Patsy did as she was told.
"Now, I'll take my left hand and put it over your hand that's grabbing me - then I'll twist my other arm around to grab your wrist and then push you down to the ground, okay?"
Patsy nodded and got ready. K.C swung his arm around, grabbed her wrist and then gently pushed her down towards the ground, "And now I'm free from the grib, see?"
Patsy's heart was slightly racing as she nodded.
"Now I'll try to grab you and you do what I just did, alright?"
"Okay," Patsy said. K.C grabbed her arm and Patsy did what he had taught her. They did this a few times until Patsy did it with confidense.
"Good," K.C said, "Now I'm gonna show you what to do if someone grabs you from behind." He turned his back on her, "Try and grab me."
Patsy walked over to him, laid her arms around his neck and next thing she knew, she was on the floor, swift but very gently. K.C reached out a hand to pull her up, "You okay?"
"I'm fine," Patsy muttered.
"Let's try again a little slower. Put your hands around me again. Good. Now I'll grab your hands with my own, and pull them down slightly, to free my neck, like this. Then I'm gonna squad down a bit, put my legs behind yours and just push you legs out from under you - like this." He grabbed the back of her knees with his hands and picked her up slightly, then put her carefully onto the ground, "Easy."
He helped her on her feet again, "Now you try. Turned around."
Patsy turned around and waited. K.C walked up to her and put both his arms loosely around her neck. This immediately sent Patsy's heart racing and she tried to control her breathing which had became qiucker.
It wasn't fear or nervousness that made her heart pound - it was the fact that K.C had his warm, strong arms around her and was standing so close. He had his head right next to hers. She was glad he couldn't see her face and hoped he couldn't feel her pounding heart.
"And then, uhm," K.C said, faltering. He swallowed and cleared his throat, "Then, eh, then you grab my arms with both of your hands."
Patsy lifted her hands and grabbed his wrists.
"Now pull my arms down a bit, squad and move your body behind mine and push my legs out from under me."
Patsy did as she was told. K.C went down a lot less gently than she had. He landed on the ground with a groan.
"Oh god, I'm sorry!" she cried and kneeled down beside him. K.C got up on his elbows and laughed.
"Don't be, that was exellent!" he said impressed and got up, "Again."
They repeated the exercise until Patsy mastered it perfectly. She was a lot stronger than she'd thought and was a quick learner. K.C showed her how to stand when someone came at you (one foot slightly in front of the other, arms up to defend) and how to grab them and throw them off balance (one hand behind their neck, the other on their arm for total control).
They practised for a couple of hours until K.C had to go and take care of the new arrivals. He encouraged Patsy to stay and practise with herself and maybe work out. Patsy practised all day, only stopping to get a granola bar that K.C had got her.
She was sitting down on a footstool, eating and drinking some water. She was drying sweat off her forehead when the door suddenly opened and Cloe walked in.
"Hi Pats," she said and walked over to Patsy. She was wearing training clothes too. "K.C said you might be down here. I thought I'd come work out with you."
"Great," Patsy said and smiled, "We've got a lot of catching up to do."
They worked out (or mostly talked) the rest of the afternoon. Eventually Patsy had to stop.
"I'm totally knackered," she said to Cloe, "I think I'll go take a shower and then rest for a bit."
"Okay," Cloe said, "I'll just continue here a little bit longer. I'll see you later."
"See ya," Patsy said and disappeared out of the door to go rest in K.C's room.
—
Twenty minutes later K.C walked into the gym, "Hey Clo. Where's Patsy?"
"You just missed her. She's showering," Cloe said, getting down from the treadmill.
"Oh," K.C said, "So how is she?"
"She's okay, I think," Cloe said, "It just takes some adjustment, being here. But I guess you know."
"Yeah," K.C said, "You done here?"
"Yes. You wanna go get something to eat from the kitchen and bring it to your room? I bet Patsy's starving."
They walked out of the training room and headed for the kitchens. They found some carrots and fruits, a coulpe of canned sausages and some bread. They packed it all in a bag and then grabbed three bottles of water. Just as they were about to leave the kitchen Ved walked in.
He looked at them scornfully and snorted, "That's a lot of food for two little people," he said with a glower.
Cloe could feel anger burning in her stomach. He had been acting like a total jerk these last couple of days.
"We're really hungry," she said sarcastically and rolled her eyes.
"Where are you taking all that food?" Ved asked suspiciously, ignoring her.
"We're taking it to K.C's room to eat," Cloe said coldly and walked around him to head for the door. Ved grabbed her arm as she passed him - not tightly, just enough to hold her back, "I don't think so."
K.C reacted on this immediately, "Look, man, what's your problem?" he said loudly, taking a step closer to Ved. He'd had enough.
Ved turned to glare at K.C, "My problem, man, is that I don't trust you." He too took a step closer and was standing close enough to K.C to be considered rude and possibly threathening.
"Why not?" K.C demanded.
"You're a virt."
"So is Cloe."
"I know," Ved said and looked at Cloe with disgust, "What makes you think I trust her?"
"Hey!" Cloe said, kind of hurt that he didn't trust her - though he was sort of right not to.
"Well you did try to escape. That makes you kinda untrustworthy, don't you think?"
"We already talked about this," Cloe said. She knew at that moment that she had to do something to regain his trust.
"And I definitely don't trust you," Ved said, ignoring her again and turned back to K.C.
"Well you're alone on that," K.C said confidently, "Apparently someone at the top seems to trust me. Otherwise I wouldn't be here."
Ved snorted scornfully, "I bet it's that brother of mine - he's such a softie! Always wants to see the best in people, the trusting fool." He said this like he thought this was Jay's biggest weakness.
"Well I'm here now, so you'll just have to get used to that, 'cause I'm planning on sticking around," K.C said, stepping even closer to Ved, "Whether you like it or not."
Ved's jaw thightened and his eyes flashed a warning, "We'll see about that."
"Yes we will."
They were standing so close their noses were almost touching. Both were glaring at the other with all the menace they could muster.
"Look, you really don't wanna mess with me," Ved said threateningly.
K.C moved his head, if possible, even closer, "What if I do?"
Cloe didn't like the scenario playing infront of her. It reminded her of two aggrevated stags in mating season. She rolled her eyes at them, "Guys common - stop it."
Neither of them seemed to hear her - or they were ignoring her, because they didn't give her one glance or reacted to her words.
"Alright," Ved said to K.C, "have it your way. Tomorrow at noon. You and me in the courtyard - no stunguns."
Cloe's eyes flew open in disbelief. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, "Oh common!"
"You're on," K.C said to Ved, "Let's settle this."
"This is completely idiotic!" Cloe fumed, looking from one to the other.
Ved and K.C just glared at each other for a few more seconds, then Ved turned around and walked out of the kitchen.
"God! What is wrong with him!" Cloe exploded as soon as the door had closed behind him, "I can't believe this!"
"Well I did kinda provoke him," K.C said, not sounding too guilty about it, "So I guess it's sorta my fault."
"He started it," Cloe said, refusing to let Ved off the hook that easily.
"And tomorrow we end it," K.C said and shrugged. Cloe turned to look at him with concern.
"Is there really no other way? I don't like this at all. You could get really hurt."
"Now you're kinda hurting my pride," K.C said with a laugh, "This is what I do now. I'll be in my element. It's really Ved you should be worried about."
Cloe just snorted and rolled her eyes. Truth was she was worried about the both of them. She didn't want to see either of them get hurt.
"Look, it'll be alright," K.C said apon sensing her worry, "No stunguns remember? It'll just be a good oldfashion fight-of-the-fists. Nothing too serious."
Cloe decided to let it go for the time being. Tomorrow she would seek out Ved at try to talk him out of it. Right now, she just wanted to get back to K.C's room and get something to eat and then crawl to bed.
