The Beast Within (The Elite Series) - By Jonathan Yanez Page 0,66
runs. It made him a star athlete and never let him down. Now he not only had full access to this power, he understood what it was.
“What makes you angry, Connor?”
“People who talk in movie theatres, people who leave their cars parked in the middle of the road with their hazards on when there’s not an emergency.”
“No, I mean really angry, like you’re going-to-stab-someone-in-the-head-with-a pickaxe angry.”
“You haven’t been too hard on him, have you?” Laren’s voice was like a school bell signaling recess.
“Of course not. Our Judge has to be in perfect condition for his Tests.”
Laren arrived on the scene, and much to Connor’s dismay, she was wearing running shoes, black shorts, and a tank top.
One glance at his knuckles and she turned a disapproving eye at her brother.
“What? They’re already healed, and technically the tree did that to him.”
“I’m fine. So training’s over, right? Dinner time?”
“Well, it’s over for me,” Lu said, gathering his shirt and throwing a peace sign to the two of them over his back. “I can smell a steak calling my name.”
“Kind of,” Laren replied. “I was thinking this would be a great chance to work on your speed and teach you how to survive off the land. Since we don’t know where The Tests will be taking place, it’s better to prepare for everything.”
“Can food be involved in this exercise somehow?”
She helped him to his feet and handed him a backpack filled with his own running clothes. “Yes, I think we can manage that.”
“This isn’t what I meant when I was asking about food.”
“Shhhhh. You’re going to scare it away.”
The next two hours were spent roaming through the forest. Laren was instructing Connor on how to find water, what plants were edible and which were not, and how to track small animals for food. Connor and Laren had picked up the tracks of a rather large rabbit and followed his trail.
Now they hunched behind a fallen tree, yards from their prey. He was a brown fellow with a white tail, a twitchy nose and equally twitchy eyes.
“Always stay downwind, and when the time comes to strike, don’t hesitate.”
“This is all great stuff to know, but how do you expect to catch it when we don’t have any guns or bows?”
“With these.” She raised her empty hands, gave him a wink, and was gone.
Connor looked around, not believing how fast she’d moved. He stood up, all thoughts of the rabbit lost. It was impossible that she’d just been there next to him.
“Connor, I’m over here.”
Connor turned his head. She was standing twenty yards away, half obscured by a tree, holding the dead rabbit in her hands. “Poor guy thought he could get away.”
Connor ran to her side, still trying to understand exactly how fast she was. He’d run with her once before, that was nothing like the speed she’d just exposed.
“How did you do that?”
“I snapped his neck.” She held up the rabbit for him to see. “It’s the fastest and most pain-free way for them.”
“No, I mean how did you move like that?”
“Let’s eat and I’ll teach you.”
She chose a place by the river, and producing a small hunting knife from her pocket, showed Connor how to skin a rabbit. Connor had never been in the Boy Scouts. He imagined that this was close. He learned how to make a fire, spit a rabbit, and the best way to cook outdoors.
It was getting dark as Connor reclined against a tree stump eating his meat. He couldn’t help thinking it was the best thing he had ever put into his mouth. He devoured his portion in minutes and Laren laughed as he timidly eyed the remaining meat on the spitted rabbit.
“You can have it, Connor, I’m already full.”
“Thanks.” Connor finished the remaining rabbit in record time and laid in the cool grass, stretching.
He looked up into the sky. The sun was gone now and only the moon and stars illuminated the forest. Soon he was nudged by Laren’s foot. “Ready to go? We haven’t even started your speed training yet.”
She helped him to his feet and pulled a rogue leaf from his hair. “Connor, I’ve been thinking about you and me and everything that’s going on right now. I don’t want you to feel pressured or obligated to try to put a word to the bond that we share. I understand. There’ll be plenty of time to sort it all out when everything is behind us.”
“Thank you,” Connor said, looking her deep in the eyes