The Wild Ones

I can hear my blood pounding in my ears, feel my cheeks growing hot. Andy graciously pretends not to notice, standing a pace or two away from me, his posture relaxed, his expression amused. He just surveys me, waiting for me to throw the knife. I have escaped the F.E.A.R. city, been hunted by them, and run at the shadow men with no hesitation, even though I fully expected to die. So why does this make me so nervous?

“I’m not very good.” I tell him meekly, hoping he won’t think I’m weak. The thought curdles my stomach. Having never had to impress a living soul before, I want to impress Andy now more than I’ve ever wanted to impress anyone. No pressure or anything. He raises one eyebrow expectantly, his kind smile unwavering.

“I’m pretty sure that’s what practicing is for.” He says. I close my eyes, resigning myself, picturing the throw and the way the knife will fly. I raise it to my ear and pause to get my sights. Andy’s other eyebrow raises and he starts to laugh. Hysterically. I’m bewildered for a moment, but he takes the knife from my grasp and flips it around, placing it back in my hand handle first. My face burns with shame. He must notice my expression because he reigns in some of his laughter. “It’s okay.” He says warmly. “Look, I’m sorry I laughed, that was mean. It’s just that I made the same mistake when I was learning.”

“You did?” I ask, some of the mortification fading into surprise.

“Yeah.” He pauses, remembering fondly. “Jake almost had a fit.” He laughs again, and after a moment I can laugh too. Just a little bit.
“You just have to remember that these aren’t kitchen knives. They’re made for throwing. When you’re using them, you grip the handle and not the blade.” He gestures toward the target. “Try it.”

The handle feels to clunky, and I’m not used to these new weapons, but I manage to hit the board relatively near the heart. It sticks reasonably well, but I probably should have thrown it harder.

“What do you know? You’re not a bad teacher.” I smile victoriously. He considers this for a moment.

“Speaking of which… I have an idea.” He says.

“Yeah?”

“Before… In the city, when Skylar was down; You knew what you were doing even before you discovered your power.” He says it like a question, and he’s right. Some of the books my mother smuggled to me were old medical study books. Not exactly gripping reads, or a substitute for hands-on experience, but enough to give me some idea. Besides, I’ve always had a kind of instinct about healing, perhaps that’s connected to my power.

“A little.” I respond. “I’ve read about how to heal people, and I had some limited practice in the desert. Why do you ask?”

“I want to learn how to save people.” His tone is light, but his eyes are eager. “I was hoping that I could teach you about fighting and you could maybe teach me about healing?” He looks slightly uncomfortable, like he’s not used to asking for help and isn’t sure how exactly to go about it. But that’s not the root problem here. He looks almost desperate, almost scared. For the first time I see a Prophet that’s not altogether confident. One who isn’t sure that they know how to be Prophet. And It’s overwhelming. How much he cares about the safety of the people he leads. This is what makes the Legion so different from F.E.A.R.
“You don’t have to offer anything in return Andy. I’ll teach you.”

“Thanks. But you still need to learn how to fight.” He says, all smiles again. As he says it, he nudges me lightly with his elbow. It was just a friendly nudge, but it put an awkward energy into the atmosphere. Like we both weren’t sure if it crossed some sort of unspoken barrier. I can see that he feels it too by the way that his eyes drop to the floor. He keeps his smile though.
“Well, uh, do you want to meet in the library this time tomorrow?” He asks, slipping his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket.

“Sounds like a plan.”

Notes

Freaking finally! :) I had a hard time with this chapter because I knew where I wanted it to go, but not how I was going to get it there, you know? Thanks for bearing with me on this. :)

On the other hand, I've discovered my new favorite playwright. Any Arthur Miller fans out there? I've been reading my way through his greatest hits and I've got to say he rivals Shakespeare in my book. :) Question of the chapter: If you had to create an entirely new world, with a new civilization, what kind of foods would be a delicacy, and why? (Idk where I'm going with this, but mine would include pan-fried toast because it's literally the best thing in the universe. And also dark chocolate.)
Until next chapter;
-BVBfangirlqueen <3