4. Chapter Four #2
Eli replaced the cap on his water and tossed it to Nik. “I didn’t know I’d have company today. I only brought the one.”
After quenching his thirst, Nik rose to his feet again. “What’s next on the agenda?”
Eli propped himself up on in a plank position and began his first set of pushups. Nik watched, and although he’d love to find fault in Eli’s form, he had to admit he was in semi-decent shape.
While Eli kept busy with his exercises, Nik took the opportunity to dig through his bag. Eli grunted when he heard Nik rustling through its contents, but he didn’t move to stop him.
Inside, Nik found two nearly identical metallic cylinders. He pulled the first one out and tested the weight of it. Though it was only a foot long and a couple inches in diameter, it somehow weighed the same as one of the old wheelbarrows in Rysburg.
“What is this?” he asked.
Eli shot a quick glance over his shoulder. “Dunno,” he grunted. “We haven’t figured out the purpose of that piece yet. It’s”—he paused as he pushed away from the ground—“from the junkyard in Jellico. They had a dozen of them in a variety of colors.”
The one in Nik’s hand was a shiny silver, while the one that remained in the bag was more copper in appearance. He rolled the object around in his hands before walking toward Eli and plopping it on his back.
Eli’s arms almost gave out at the sudden increase in weight, but at the last moment, he was able to press back into a plank. “What the fuck?”
“I’m supposed to be helping you.”
“You call that helping?”
Nik shrugged and made a gesture pointing in Eli’s direction. “This thing you’re doing right now doesn’t seem like enough.”
Eli slowly lowered to the ground and rolled to the side, the weight falling off his back. “Then what do you suggest?”
That was more like it. If Nik had to suffer through this day, then Eli should at least be interested in whatever advice he had to offer. He was not some nuisance tagging along like a lost puppy.
Nik peered at the pit of mud. Around the sides, the clay had begun to harden and crack in the heat of the sun, but the mud in the center glistened with moisture. “Functional training.”
“Huh?”
“Exercises that mimic what you’ll need to do during the first round. You need to get in the mud pit. Practice moving, finding your footing, identify the deeper or shallow parts of the pit…like a rehearsal.”
Eli looked at the pool of mud with a disgusted expression. It came as no surprise to Nik that he wouldn’t take this seriously.
“There’s a reason we came here, right?” Nik asked, gesturing toward the pit. “If you’d rather fuck around with scraps of metal, be my guest. But your time will be better spent working on those scrawny leg muscles by wading through the mud.”
A fire lit in Eli’s eyes at Nik’s casual insult, but he didn’t argue.
Although Nik and Eli were about the same height, Nik probably sported an extra fifty pounds of muscle.
He assumed everyone from Andus must’ve been on the slender side, but if Eli didn’t want to get knocked around in the first round, he needed to bulk up a bit.
“Fine,” Eli conceded. Rising to his feet, he reached behind his head and pulled his shirt off with one hand. “Let’s do this.”
A few hours later, Eli was covered in brown muck and panting from exertion. Nik had tossed a rock the size of his palm into the mud pit while Eli chased it. Over and over again.
Nik could’ve gotten in the pit with him to increase the difficulty by fighting him for the rock, but it was much more fun to watch as Eli trudged through the thick mud seeking the hidden object.
Once or twice Eli stumbled and his face dipped below the surface of the pool.
He used his shirt to clear the mud from his eyes before carrying on.
“See, that’s what I mean,” Nik said when Eli roamed too far to one side and his entire head disappeared beneath the surface. “Now you know to avoid that corner.”
Eli climbed out of the pit, using his hands to feel his way forward. Nik grabbed Eli’s shirt and brought it to him. Before wiping his face clean, Eli spat on the ground. “I’ve had enough for one day.”
“Good thing. There isn’t an inch of clean space on that shirt. If you dunked one more time, you’d have to go blind.”
“Or you could lend me yours.”
Nik smirked. “Not likely.”
Slowly, Eli rose to his feet. He was clearly worn out despite only a few hours of training.
“Do you plan on training again tomorrow?” Nik asked, packing Eli’s bag and slinging it over his shoulder. It was the least he could do, so the mud didn’t transfer to all of Eli’s belongings.
“Definitely. My boss has given me some time off to prepare for the Rite and I intend to make the most of it. Why? Are you going to keep me company again?”
“Depends on whether Grace needs me,” Nik said. Grace had mentioned an orientation of sorts, but not whether he’d be expected to start right away.
Eli nodded. “Thank you, by the way.”
“No need to thank me. I was practically forced into it by Grace and Ali.”
“Not that. Although I do appreciate the help. Thank you for keeping Grace safe.”
Nik furrowed his brow. “I’m surprised you approve of me becoming a guard again.” His previous position as guard in Rysburg hadn’t earned him any favors with Eli before.
Eli shrugged. “I may not like you, but I don’t doubt your ability to protect someone.”
Protect. It was the same word Ali had used to convince him he wasn’t a villain. He didn’t really need to embrace his role as guard…he needed to embrace his role as protector.