The Deviant Underground (Time Bandit) (15 page)

As soon as Susan #1 was down, another Susan was upon her with a quick, hard shove that sent Kathryn flying toward the ground. Before she made contact, Kathryn teleported back into a standing position—a move that she had never done before and one that excited her. Susan #2 was momentarily shocked at what she just saw, and Kathryn took advantage of her hesitation. Kathryn attacked her with an unpredictable combination of fists, elbows, and feet. Susan #2 tried her best to defend herself, but Kathryn could tell that she was winning. Just before she tried to do a leg sweep on Susan #2 to end the fight, Susan #3 kicked her in the back. Kathryn flew forward but did’nt lose her footing, and she immediately turned to fight both of them.

Fighting both of them was difficult and took extreme concentration. As Kathryn tried to defend against one while simultaneously attacking the other, a strange calm came over her. She felt as though she was watching everything in slow motion. She anticipated gestures, projected points of contact, and saw open places of vulnerabilities. It thrilled her. Her body did exactly what she wanted it to do, and she barely thought about it. Her breathing was steady, and her heartbeat slowed from its rapid pace. She defended against a kick, threw a few punches, and connected with a couple of kicks of her own before the other Susan joined the fight. Now, she found herself in a difficult position, defending herself against all three of them. She had to teleport several times out of the way to keep from being seriously injured as all three descended upon her. Kathryn knew she was in over her head. Although she could still see their moves almost before they unfolded, three Susans were simply too many. Something connected with Kathryn's shoulder, sending a wave of pain through her arm and momentarily knocking her off-balance. The Susans took advantage of her hesitation and as one went to kick Kathryn in the head, Kathryn did something . . .

Out of instinct and in the blink of an eye, Kathryn teleported out of harm's way and reappeared behind one of the Susans. Without thinking, she grabbed Susan by the shoulders and teleported with her back to the previous place where Kathryn had been standing. The result was that the kick that was intended for Kathryn now hit Susan squarely in the temple.

In an instant, two of them vanished, leaving Susan on the ground clutching her stomach.

She groaned. “Oh my god, what just happened?” Kathryn snapped out of her fighting mode and kneeled down next to her friend.

“Susan?” Kathryn tried to help her to her feet, but she resisted. “Are you okay?”

“No.” Susan's face looked pale. “I think I'm going to throw up.” Kathryn could see her swallowing hard in an attempt to keep her stomach at bay.

Charge ran to them and also knelt down. “Hey, Susan.” He gently patted her back. “You'll be okay.”

She slowly and painfully got into a seated position, her face still pale. “Could somebody please tell me what the fuck happened?”

“Um . . .” Kathryn hesitated. “I teleported you.” She frowned slightly. “Or, at least, one of you.”

“What?”

Charge stood up. He was beaming with excitement. “Yeah! It was so COOL!”

Susan still looked confused. “What?”

Kathryn couldn't help smiling. “Yeah. I don't know. We were just fighting, and . . . it was like this idea just popped into my head. So, I just grabbed you and teleported you.” She shrugged slightly. “Sorry. I was just trying to not get kicked. You were trying to kick me in the head, you know.”

Susan just looked at her. It was though she was trying to digest what Kathryn had said. After a pause, she whispered, “So,
that's
what it's like.”

Kathryn nodded and smiled again. “Yeah. That's what it's like.”

“What?” Charge eagerly knelt down next to them. “What's it like?”

Susan frowned. “It's like hearing a freight train. And . . .” she struggled for the words, “going through a tunnel. Everything is black. And incredibly loud. And then suddenly, it stops.” She paused again and clutched her stomach. “And then you feel like shit, like you’re going to puke your guts out.”

Charge's eyes grew wide as he looked from Susan to Kathryn. “That's what it's like?”

“At first, yeah.” Kathryn readjusted herself so that she was sitting cross-legged on the ground. “But now, it doesn't seem that way at all.” She thought for a moment. “Or else, I got used to it.”

The three of them were quiet. Kathryn looked up and saw a squirrel scurry up a tree, his grey tail flashing in the afternoon sun. The leaves danced and swayed in response to his progress. She looked back at her friends. Both of them were watching her. Charge with a look of . . . admiration? Awe? Susan with a look of confusion.

“How?” Susan struggled again to find the words. “How do you know where you are going?”

“I can see it.” Susan looked puzzled. Kathryn continued, “The best way I can describe it is to say how do you know how to walk somewhere? You just do. You see where you want to go and you go there. It is the same for me when I teleport. I know where I want to go, so I just go there.” She shrugged. “I can't explain it any better.”

“Well, however you do it,” Susan slowly began to stand up, “that's the last time I do it with you. I really felt like shit for a few minutes there.”

“Sorry.” Kathryn also stood up, brushing the dirt off her shorts as she did. “But hey, you were really trying to do some damage to me. By the way,” Kathryn put her hands on her hips, “how did you do that little multiplying trick anyway?”

A slow smile spread across Susan's face, and Kathryn was pleased to see that she looked like herself again. “I told you I had a few tricks up my sleeve.”

Chapter Seventeen

The next morning, instead of walking with Charge and Susan to the clearing, Kathryn teleported there. After her little trick with Susan yesterday, Jonathan thought that it would be a good idea to practice teleporting with them. As she waited for them to arrive, she sat down on a dead trunk and listened to the sounds of the awakening forest. She heard an occasional rustle as something small and furry scampered along the ground. Above her head, a few birds pounced from branch to branch announcing their progress with loud, sharp chirps. The wind blew lightly against her face, bringing with it the smell of fading dew and damp earth. Kathryn felt calm and at peace.

The past few weeks had been incredible. She felt like she had spent them in a completely different world. She knew that she would have to return to hers eventually. June was quickly coming to a close. “I need just a little more time,” she whispered to the tall trees. “Then I'll go back.”

Finally, she heard Charge and Susan approaching. She stood up. “What took you so long?”

“Hey,” Susan retorted. “You know, we all can't teleport everywhere like you.”

“Well, you can,” Kathryn teased, “if you come with me.”

Susan shook her head forcefully. “Oh no. Not me. Now it's Charge's turn.”

Kathryn looked at Charge. “Are you sure you want to try this?”

“Yeah.” Charge looked very eager.

Susan snorted and sat down on the trunk. “I'm just going to sit here and watch.”

Kathryn looked at Charge thoughtfully. When she teleported Susan, she had put her hands on Susan's shoulders. Charge was much too tall for Kathryn to do that comfortably. She would have to come up with another way. “Give me your hand.”

Charge reached out, and Kathryn took his large hand into hers. She gave it a small squeeze. “You ready for this?”

“Yeah,” Charge answered again, a bit less eagerly this time. Kathryn could see the worry behind his eyes.

She winked at him. “Don't worry. It'll be fine.”

Charge nodded slightly. With that, Kathryn teleported the both of them a few feet away.

Instantly, Charge crashed down to his knees. He groaned softly and all of the blood rushed out of his face. Kathryn was still holding his hand, and she bent down to him. “Are you okay?”

Charge didn't speak for a moment. Instead, he just swallowed hard. Kathryn could hear Susan chuckling behind them. “I hate to say 'I told ya so,'“ she said.

Kathryn ignored her and simply watched Charge carefully. The color slowly returned to his face. “Yeah,” he said. “I'm okay.” He unsteadily made it to his feet. “Wow,” he whispered.

“Freight train?” Kathryn asked.

Charge simply nodded.

“Ya puke yet?” Susan called. Charge shot her a glance. Susan didn't say anything more, but she leaned back on her hands and smirked.

“We don't have to do this again,” Kathryn said.

Charge regained his composure. “No. We have to keep going. It'll get better. Just give me a minute.”

“Okay.” She stood watching as Charge took a couple of deep breaths. He stretched his neck by moving his head side to side. He then shook his hands and kicked his legs. He looked like he was warming up for a race.

Charge closed his eyes and took one final deep breath. He looked at her with determination. “I'm ready.”

“Okay.” Kathryn took his hand again. She teleported them another few feet. This time, Charge swayed but did not fall to the ground.

“Shit,” he whispered as he squeezed his eyes shut. His face went ashen, but the color came back quicker this time.

“Better at all?” Kathryn didn't like seeing him so uncomfortable.

“Yeah, a little.” Charge kept his eyes closed and gripped her hand. Kathryn watched him win the battle against his stomach. He finally took a deep breath and opened his eyes. “Wow. That's a hell of a trip.”

“You know, you don't have to do this, Charge.”

“No.” He said firmly. “Keep going. It was better this last time.” Kathryn looked at him, doubtful. “No really, it was.”

“Okay.” She paused. “Hey, I wonder if it would be any better if you close your eyes.”

Charge shrugged. “I don't know. We could try it.”

Kathryn took his hand again. “Ready?”

Charge took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “Ready.”

Kathryn teleported them again. Charge stood there with his eyes closed for a few seconds. They then flew open. He looked around taking note of where they were. The color didn’t drain from his face this time, and he seemed steadier on his feet.

“Better?” she asked cautiously.

After a moment, Charge broke out in a wide grin. “Yeah. Much better. Let's do it again.” He added eagerly, “And go farther this time.”

Kathryn smiled. “Okay.”

Chapter Eighteen

The next day was Friday, and in celebration of all that they had accomplished, Jonathan declared a day of rest. Kathryn felt positively decadent as she and Charge lay in bed until almost noon, chatting, dozing, and enjoying each other's bodies. It was only pure hunger that finally drove them from their comfortably reclined position. Downstairs was quiet when Kathryn arrived. She started the coffee and was rummaging through the refrigerator when Charge entered the kitchen.

“Sandwiches okay?”

“Yeah, that's fine.” Charged reached into the cabinets and began pulling out plates and knives. They made roast beef sandwiches and took them outside. The high noon sun was warm and the air was dry. They sat down on the patio furniture, which was shaded nicely by the tall trees. They had almost finished their lunch when Susan and Jonathan emerged from the woods.

“Hey, I have an idea,” Susan said as she sat down next to Kathryn.

“What?”

“Don't look at me like that. This is a good idea.” Kathryn raised an eyebrow but said nothing. “I'm serious. I think we should go out tonight.”

Kathryn took a last swallow of her coffee. “Go out where?”

“Go out to the Basement.”

“The Basement?”

“Yeah.” Charge said enthusiastically. “Let's do that.”

“The Basement?” Kathryn repeated. “What's the Basement?”

“It's a club in downtown LA,” Susan answered. “It's part of the underground deviant scene. Charge used to work there.”

Kathryn's head reeled with this new information. “Wait a minute. What? 'Underground deviant scene?' And you . . .” she turned to look at Charge, “used to work in a club?”

“Yeah, as a bouncer.”

“What? Why am I just now finding out about this?”

Charge shrugged nonchalantly. “I don't know. It never came up before. But yeah, I used to work there.”

“Okay, we'll return to that particular piece of information later.” Kathryn turned back to Susan. “What do you mean by 'underground deviant scene?'“

Jonathan chuckled softly at Kathryn's outburst. “My dear, surely you don't think that we’re the only ones who have found each other?”

Kathryn was a bit taken aback by Jonathan's question. They had spent the last month or so in their own little world, and she really hadn't given much thought to anything else, which was unusual for her. Jonathan's question, however, reawakened that intellectual spark in her, and she was determined to learn more.

“No, of course, there are others. But . . .” she paused, trying to process this new information, “ . . . an entire underground scene? I mean, I've read about raids in the paper, but I always figured that it was just hyperbole—newspapers using scary headlines to sell papers.”