Exterminators Infected (The Exterminators Book 1) (25 page)

Nick turned around. “How the hell are we a workable team?” he muttered under his breath. He thought about what weapon to use. No one on the other team made a weapon yet, they too waited for Nick to make his. It was a game, something they weren't used to. Unknowns attacked based on instinct. Humans don't operate the same. Nick knew this. Daryl's team knew this.

Fred created the Zoran weapon and darted forward without saying a word. Nick formed his pole-arm and dashed to the left. Marshall already aimed at Ali, ready to fire once he made his move. Peter formed his glove and was already forming a nice sized ball of fire. The girls departed and went separate ways. Nick followed Rachael, watching closely what she made. He already saw the glove. He knew she'd use the same tactics as Peter.
Fred was already in Daryl's face. He swung a punch but Daryl swiftly moved his face to the side, causing Fred to miss. Daryl counteracted with his own punch, planting it right in Fred's face. Fred's speed made him swing back further then he should have. Daryl still hadn't created a weapon. He was still able to take down Fred without one.

Peter threw the first ball of fire at Sam. She already formed a huge iron shield and placed it in front of her. The ball of fire exploded into tiny flames. It was big enough to hurt anyone on full contact; however, against a shield it did nothing. Peter gritted his teeth. He knew he failed on the first attack so he began looking for a different target. Once he looked to his side it was too late. A ball of water came flying at him. It splashed him hard in the chest and forced him back over twenty feet. He hit hard on the gym floor, feeling a huge amount of pressure on his chest from the water ball. Rachael had gotten him before he even saw her.
Marshall took a shot at Rachael. He saw the opening. She wasn't fully recuperated from her attack. She was hit with a bullet, the second the bullet hit her, it exploded, forcing her back. Impact bullets the boys called them. It was a great weapon in training, helping to improve accuracy without hurting anyone...much.

Sam was running forward towards Marshall. She had her shield below her hips, readying it for an uppercut. “Sorry lady, gonna have to be quicker than that.” He raised his gun and aimed at her. Shot. She lifted the shield up and blocked the incoming bullet. The force of the bullet pushed her back some but not enough to stop her movement completely. She lowered the shield and kept charging. Marshall already hoped she'd do that so he shot another bullet towards her leg. She wasn't expecting it and it made her trip forward, slamming her pretty face on the back of the shield. “It's best you stay down,” he told her with a grin as he stood above her.

A mechanical hand grabbed his shirt at that moment. He looked at it, seeing it tighten the grip around his shirt. He looked at the line it started from behind the arm. It slithered all the way to Ali who had his arm changed into the new weapon. “Oh...this is gonna hurt...” The hand retracted and dragged Marshall along with it.

Nick watched as his friend was getting dragged across the gym. He was on the attack already though, no time to intervene. Fred was slowly regaining his stance but Daryl stood there waiting, as if he wanted someone to attack him. Nick was glad to oblige.
He ducked to the side of Daryl and brought his pole-arm towards the back of Daryl. Daryl moved in perfect sync with the attack. Dodging just enough to the left, grabbing the pole-arm, and flinging Nick forward. Nick tumbled over but was back on his feet. No pole-arm in hand. Daryl held his weapon.

“Not bad,” Nick said.

“Almost had me. You aren't bad yourself. A little more training and you'll be something fierce for sure. Yet, you rely on weapons too much.” Daryl threw the pole-arm to the side. “It's time to see how you are in a fist fight.” Daryl stepped forward and swung a hard right. If Nick hadn’t moved back in time he would have been knocked out.

“Whoa, okay tough guy.” Nick put his fists up in fighting stance. He had never boxed in his life and Daryl seemed to be a natural. This disadvantage was huge. Nick had stamina but no experience in a fist fight. The odds were against him.

Three quick jabs towards Nick. Nick couldn't dodge any so he put his hands up in a defensive position. Even taking the jabs to the back of his arms hurt. He could feel the massive amount of strength in each punch. Daryl went for one full swing right into his right arm. Nick was feeling pain but if he dropped his arms he would have taken a hit right in the face. A big slam and Nick couldn't feel his arm anymore. The pain was so horrible it made his arm numb. He trailed backwards, letting his arm hang low. It hurt so much yet he couldn't feel most of it. He let it dangle as he thought of a new plan.

“You're a tough one. Most people wouldn't even have let me jab at them, let alone take a full swing,” Daryl said smiling. “Like it kid. Got some real guts.”

“Kid?” Nick ran forward. “You're not much older so shut up and-” he ducked under Daryl and drove his left fist up. It made full contact with Daryl's chin. “-let me show you guts!” he roared. The hit was perfect. Daryl grunted as his head flung in the air. It would have been a perfect knock out. Nick wasn't a left handed person, though.

Daryl tipped backwards but kept his balance. “Damn it, I was talking!”

“Never put your guard down. Come on where did they teach you to fight?” Nick held his badly injured arm. The numbness was almost gone, replaced with a sharp pain.

Daryl wiped his mouth where a little blood trickled down. “You've got some balls, I'll give ya that.” He put out his hand. Nick shook it. “I'm glad to know other Exterminators out there who are strong willed.”

A flaming ball of fire flew past the two boys and towards Rachael. She grabbed the balls of fire with her glove and crushed it. The fight between Nick and Daryl might have ended but Peter and Rachael were still going strong. Nick and Daryl moved out of the way as the two watched each other, waiting for another move.

This time she threw the ball towards Peter. Peter grabbed it and crushed it as well. “Seems we're tied here,” she said laughing. Peter wasn't angry. For once he was having fun. As if he met someone who was on his level who can use the same skill set as him. Who actually posed a challenge to him. He had found his rival.

“Al lright kids, it's time to call it quits,” the Gada announced. They obeyed without question. They all gathered up near the leaders, shaking hands, commenting on attacks, and laughing about the events that just took place. Then took a seat to rest. The sparing was something they all needed. Both teams seemed to naturally get along with each other. “I'm glad to see how far you guys are coming along. You all have a certain gift, unique to you, specifically. The way you guys flow as a team without any commands is amazing. I'm guessing you practice with each other so much it comes natural now days. I'm very proud as a Gada to see two of my units doing so well.” They all cheered in response, feeling amazing about themselves. They were getting graded as powerful allies to the organization. Their first real recognition had finally come.

After the cheers and the pep talk, the kids began to separate. They found out that Daryl and his group were from New Jersey. They took transportation here from the underground only took thirty minutes. Daryl assured Nick he'd come back and hang out sometime. Their respect for each other was too great to ignore.

Fred commented on Ali's hand. The way he was able to grab Marshall and drag him around was both amazing and funny. Marshall didn't find it that funny but Fred did. Ali did as well. While Sam commented on the cheap tactics used during their fight, Marshall informed her there is no such thing as cheap tactics. There are tactics that work and ones that do not. It's up to the person to use the one tactic to win.

Peter tried to hold his excitement in but he couldn't. The way Rachael fought amazed him. He never felt any kind of feelings towards another person, especially female. He worked as a team with Nick and the others. He respected Carl and Jin. Yet he couldn't help but smile at Rachael. He felt something different for her. Not envy, not respect, but something different. He wanted to see her fight more, fight against her more, as long as he was close to her. He was experiencing a strong desire and he didn't even know it. He shouldn't be able to know it as he never felt feelings like this, never even knew they existed or how to react. They were surfacing though, and he didn't really know how to deal with it. Other than smile at her and nod to everything she said.
“So do you think we can work together sometime?” she asked.

“Yes!” He was so happy he couldn't hold it in. He didn't know the feeling of embarrassment or fear of rejection. All he knew was that he felt something, happiness, and he didn't want to let go of it.

“Awesome! I'll give you my number. We can train sometime. Maybe even-” she began, her cheeks turning red. She had never asked anyone out before. She had never been asked out either. She felt her cheeks were so hot they would burn off. She couldn't stop mid-sentence though. She had to tell him how she felt. “-maybe we can go out sometime. Like a date?”

Peter was too busy in this euphoric happiness to notice how important the question was. “Yeah, that sounds fine to me!” He just wanted to be close to her. Not really to date her but to fight her. He felt her power like it was his own.

“Awesome!” she yelped. She was so excited. Peter shared her excitement, though for different reasons.

The Gada, her Protector, and the kids all left. Peter and Fred walked out together as well, saying they felt tired. Jin walked slowly out with Marshall discussing the girls. Despite both having girlfriends it didn't stop them from discussing the other females. Especially ones their girlfriends didn't know about. They were arguing over how hot Sam was.

Nick followed Carl into his office. He was rubbing his arm. The pain was greatly reduced after the fight but it still tingled. He was eager to meet up with Daryl more. He never thought of boxing as an alternative. He was so heavily invested in using his Rod that he never thought about the possibilities of using just his hands. It was better late than never to learn.

“I just wanted to talk to you for a few moments about today,” Carl sat at his desk.

“That was fun as heck, I gotta say!” Nick sat down in the chair across. “I can't believe the other Exterminators’ strength. Others just like us, some even stronger than us. Makes me eager to meet more in the organization.”

“I'm glad today was fun.” Carl smiled. He felt the boy was growing to be a fine leader. “You showed great leadership today. The way your team moved, without barely any commands, was exceptionally amazing. You moved for targets based on you seeing an opening. I should be congratulating each and every one of you for today’s showcase of fighting skills. I feel you deserve the most praise, though, simply because you made those plans of strategy. You may sit here and not take the credit but you deserve every ounce of it.”

Nick felt a certain pride in him. The way he set up so many plans in battle and the way his team moved today was great. All his hard work at home trying to figure out plans of attack. Ways to work with each team member. He felt that it finally all paid off. He was even able to show his Gada, the leader of them all.

“I expect to see you guys grow in ways I could of only hoped to imagine. I talked one-on-one with Fred and he seemed to be going through a lot. I look at you and I feel like I have nothing to really talk about with you. You seem happy enough, you work hard, and you show your emotions while fighting. Did you need to tell me anything?” Carl wasn't going to sugar coat questions anymore. His students might need him and he had to make sure he was clear to them that they could come to him for help.

“I think I'm okay. I also worry about Fred...” he let his voice trail off. “But I also worry about Marshall and Peter. They all make me worry ‘cause as close as we all are we all live our own lives. All making either really great choices or really bad ones. We can only do so much to help lead them or help them, right?”

Carl watched as this young man spoke the truth. He nodded.

“So, I am afraid for each and every one of them. Yet they have to live their own life. If they fail or mess up I'll be there for them. Till then, though, I can't help in any other way than that,” Nick gleefully said. He felt that his team would come to him if any problems occurred. Till then, he trusted them.

“You know, Nick you were born to be a leader.” Carl was beyond proud. He felt Nick would be the leader he hoped to always raise.

“Now, I do have some questions about other things,” Nick said.

“Shoot.”

“Girl issues.”

Carl picked up his baseball and threw it in the air. “This is gonna take a while, isn't it?”

“Maybe...uhh...yeah,” Nick laughed.

Peter was walking side by side with Fred. They hadn't said much but he could sense something was off. Fred was outgoing and fun. Yet he kept his mouth completely shut. As if he was afraid of what he might say. Peter waited, and waited, and waited some more. Nothing. Peter looked at him the whole time then spoke up. “Are you doing all right?”

“Yeah, it's just...” Fred let his voice trail off. Only Marshall knew of his problems. He kept quiet about them, despite his temper getting worse. “You've ever seen the Hulk?”

“Like the cartoon?”

“Well, the comic, but yeah.”

“I have.”

“Well funny thing is...” he began looking around. No one would care what he was saying but he felt like it was a special secret. A heavy burden that he carried. “...I kind of become something like that.” He waited for the laugh. Peter just looked at him.