Chapter 11
Training Day One
I
Henry walked out of the school building, he checked for bullies, and when he found none walked towards where the visitor parking lot was. Amica was standing near the rear of the car leaning against the side. The day was warm, and sunny for the time of year. Her black trench was open, and she was in a pair of blue jeans, and a black V-neck that showed a lot of skin. The black of her top really set off the pale pinkness of her skin, her snow white hair hung around her face in soft curls, as opposed to pulled back into a ponytail like he had seen it before. Henry took a moment to take in her beauty. She was next to the car presumably so he could find her but there really was no need, he had seen the car the night before, and it was not the kind of car you forgot. It was low, sleek, and sporty; he had wanted to ask her about it the night before, but had not had the chance. It was a green Tesla Roadster, it was a nearly as attractive as its owner which was saying a lot. A small crowd of the school’s gear heads had noticed the car as well, and stood around the car. Henry thought that Amica’s presence had not hurt the growing crowd as well.
Amica noticed him as he approached, and walked away from the guy who was attempting to chat her up with out a look back. Henry noticed the looks of regret on the faces of the boys who had been talking to her, and smiled a little. He saw many of the most popular guys in school drooling over Amica, and her car; probably more her than the car. She walked straight to him with out even a look back. He thought about how much his life had changed over the last week, or so.
“Henry right on time as usual,” Amica said giving him a friendly hug, and a kiss on the cheek. She pulled back holding his arms as she had done last night looing into his eyes. Henry thought about how nice a feeling it was.
“Are you as excited as I am,” Amica said in a voice almost so giddy that Henry almost didn’t recognize it.
“Apparently not as happy as you. You sound like a little kid on Christmas morning,” Henry teased. “I’m hungry. Let’s eat; we don’t have a lot of time. Roberts said the trainer was even less pleasant than her. I can’t even imagine what that must be like,” Henry said. The two of them walked past the open mouthed group of gear heads climbing into Amica’s car.
“So are burgers okay?” Amica asked pulling out of the parking lot.
“Yeah,” Henry replied. Amica drove through a drive through asking Henry for his order, handing him the bag of food, and drink holder. She drove them to the Chicago Terminal and parked.
“You can leave your back pack in the car if you want. I’ll give you a ride home when we’re finished,” Amica said.
“That sounds great, thanks,” Henry said. He passed the food to Amica who was standing next to the car, and climbed out himself. The roadster was very cool, but not exactly easy to climb out of holding a bag of burgers, and fries.
Harold and Justin were at the desk in the same position they had been in yesterday. They had the same stern look that Henry had seen before. That in combination with the uniform gave them the impression that they had not moved since he had seen them last.
“Harold, Justin, so very nice to see your lovely smiling faces,” Amica said walking between the two of them to the locked door behind the desk. She waited only a moment before the door buzzed open. Henry thought he saw that same barest glimpse of a smile from the pair.
“Thank you, have a nice day,” Henry said to the sphinx like pair. He was just about to walk through the door allowing it to close behind him, but paused at the last minute turning to the gentlemen behind the desk.
“Hey I think I’m gonna stop, and get food on my way here again tomorrow, if you want I can pick something up for you two as well,” he said. The two men swiveled in their chair simultaneously. It was the first movement besides page changes he had seen. They looked at him with the same expression with which they read their books.
“Well, if you change your mind you can let me know on my way out,” Henry said. He looked over to Amica who stood holding the door open looking at him like he had gone nuts. He walked through the door allowing it to close behind him. As the door closed the pair returned to their original position.
“What was that?” Amica asked
“What, you talked to them yesterday. I just thought I would offer to bring them something. What?” Henry asked again when she had not said anything.
“They actually looked at you,” she said.
“So,” Henry said.
“I’ve never seen them actually look at anybody before,” Amica said.
“That’s ridiculous, they must look at the clients they check in, or customers who come in accidentally thinking they are a real glass shop,” Henry said. Amica stopped dead at that thought.
“I’ve never considered that,” Amica said thinking hard.
“Just because they do not talk to many people, does not mean they do not appreciate the courtesy,” Henry said getting into the elevator doors that had just slid open. Amica walked in after him.
“You are a very interesting human, do you know that,” she said pleasantly surprised.
“Thanks,” Henry said not bothering to restrain his smile. “Let’s eat I’m starving,” he said. He was very happy with the turn of events with the pair in the lobby, maybe in time they may actually speak to him. They went to the break room, and Henry took the food out of the bag while Amica got some paper plates out of the cabinets near the refrigerator.
“So what do you think the new uniforms are gonna look like?” Amica asked.
“I didn’t even given it any thought, they’re just clothes.” Henry said. He really did not understand people’s need for specific clothes. He had received a lot of teasing about what he did, or did not wear over the years.
“I don’t know I thought if we had an idea what we needed to wear, I would have an idea what we are going to be doing. I don’t understand why you are so calm,” Amica said. She was looking at Henry with a frown on her face. Henry was caught off guard; he had not expected this reaction. He thought carefully for a moment before speaking, the last thing he wanted to do was say the wrong thing, and make the situation worse.
“I have not spent my whole life looking forward to this like you have,” he said pausing to take a breath.
“But, I don’t understand,” Amica started to say, but Henry stopped her.
“I wasn’t done. I had no idea any of this world even existed till Monday morning. My whole life, not that it was a great life to begin with, but for what it was worth, my whole life has been turned upside down. I guess, I am just tired, and not ready to be excited about something that until two days ago I didn’t even know was real. Don’t get me wrong, I am happy I met you, and stumbled into this whole world, but I am still having a hard time keeping up,” Henry said. He had not meant to get upset, but Amica’s agitation had spread to him as well.
“Listen, I’m sorry Henry I… I didn’t mean to… I’m sorry, okay,” she said reaching across the table, and holding Henry’s hand. “If you get overwhelmed just let me know okay, I’m your friend. I’m here to help you find your place in this world,” Amica said. He looked down at his hand nestled within hers. And although her skin felt dense it was warm, and comforting.
“Thanks, I will. And if you need help with an opening, let me know. I don’t know what we’re in for, but I think we got a better chance if we tackle it together,” Henry said.
They finished their burgers, and separated to go change their clothes. Henry opened his locker, curious about what he would find there. His stomach dropped a little when he saw the uniform. It was a black sleeveless work out shirt, with the logo of the ITS silk-screened on the center. The orb was gold and the letters across the front of it were blue. Behind that he found a pair of black tactical pants with the same logo. In the bottom of his locker he found a pair of socks, and running shoes in his size. He put everything on, and it fit comfortably. He had to give Uktu credit sh
e did a good job of providing his equipment. The only down side, was the top. It showed off many of the bruises that covered his shoulders, and arms. He tried to rack his brain for any explanation for Amica. He was very upset as he sat down to tie his laces. Just then he heard a voice from the door.
“Henry, you okay? You’ve been in there a long time is your gear okay?” Amica asked.
“The gear is fine, I guess. It’s just not what I am used to,” Henry said. He decided that he would let the chips fall where they would. He put his clothes in the locker, grabbed his pad from the top shelf, and headed out into the break room.
“Oh my god are you okay,” Amica said when he walked out of the locker room.
“I’m fine, why?” Henry asked hoping to play dumb.
“For starters your face is all red, and blotchy not to mention you are covered in bruises,” she said the concern in her voice growing. Henry touched his face, and realized he had been crying. He had not noticed until Amica pointed it out.
“I was just upset about the clothes. I don’t normally show this much skin,” he said. Amica came over, and placed her hand on the bruises on his shoulder tracing the out lines of them trying to distinguish one from the other.
“I can see why, what happened?” she asked.
“There are two boys I go to school with and,” Henry started saying, but was interrupted.
“Two of them, those cowards, and they did this to you?” she said. Henry could hear real rage in her voice now.
“Not everyday, just when I’m not fast enough to avoid them,” Henry said. Even to his own ears the excuses sounded pathetic. He couldn’t imagine what his words must have sounded like to a strong minded women like Amica.
“I thought the healing pattern looked funny, now it makes more sense. Are there more of them,” she asked. Henry nodded yes; he decided to get things over with, and raised his shirt so Amica could see his chest. She gasped.
“I don’t really want to talk about it, okay. Besides I think we need to get going, soon,” Henry said. He had checked his watch, and the time was starting to get close.
“Okay Henry, but if you want to talk you just say something, but I won’t bring it up. Okay?” she asked. Henry pulled her close into a hug.
“Thanks,” He whispered in her ear. They broke apart, and Henry saw she still had a concerned look on her face, but true to her word she said nothing else.
“It’s time,” Henry said. Indicating his watch. Amica still had a serious look on her face as if she was having trouble holding back her words.
“We can talk about the bruises while you drive me home, but now we need to get through that gate before we are late. I will not let you be late for your first day, on account of some stupid bruises, they’re the past, that gate is our future. The two of them walked into the terminal just as the gate way came to life. Henry had never seen the other side of an opening before. He watched in awe as the golden out line of the gateway began to glow faintly, the light grew quickly filling his field of vision with the blazing outline of the doorway, then as quickly as it had started the light was gone and the gateway was open.
“Henry, That was a very impressive opening. I know you haven’t seen many opening done by other keepers, but the first time we met I saw you do that. Just thought you’d like to know,” Amica said. Henry looked through the gateway, the room on the other side was pitch black, and yet he could feel something moving in the darkness. He turned to Amica for encouragement, but she wore a nervous expression as well. He reached his hand out to her, and she took it with a relieved look on her face. They walked through the gateway together.
They stood in the light of the gateway, holding each other’s hands, when a deep baritone voice spoke from the edge of the darkness. Henry did not know whom the voice belonged to, but as the voice spoke, there were moments, when he could see the faintest green light of the speakers eyes reflected back at him.
“You have come to me to be trained as keepers,” said the deep baritone voice. It was a resonating sound that Henry felt in his chest.
“I do not take on this task lightly. I have not trained a class of keepers in over two thousand of your earth years. I have not met a potential keeper worthy of my time. The two of you however, caught my interest. Amica, Daughter of Melchiorre, I knew your father, he was a good student,” the voice said. Henry could hear a fondness for Amica’s father in his voice.
“He did not let his ability make him arrogant. He studied, and worked harder than any student I have ever trained save his partner. It is at her request I am considering your training. I understand you do not have his natural ability. Are you willing to work twice as hard to meet my standards?” the voice asked. He paused clearly waiting for an answer.
“I promise to work as hard as I can Sir,” Amica said.
“Mr. Thomas, it has been over two thousand years since someone with natural ability walked through my gate. So many of them take the easy way out; they lack an understanding of the intricacies of an opening. They lack training, and discipline, choosing to work in private sectors.” The voice said. Henry heard real disappointment, and sadness about this fact in the voice of the speaker.
“The path you seek is difficult, and hard; you must leave behind what you think you understand. Can you leave behind your past, and create a new future?” the voice asked. Henry wanted to train, but was on edge. The last year of his life had been unbearable, but he was not willing to just forget it. He still carried the shame of what had happened. How could he prevent that from happening again if he did not learn from it, and move forward? He spoke from his heart into the darkness.
“I wish to move forward sir, but the past is complicated. I was raised to believe that you must learn from the past, to embrace the future,” Henry said. The voice was silent for only a moment before it spoke. Henry had expected the voice to become angry, and tell him to go back through the gate, but it was calm, and understanding.
“You must learn from your past, and move forward; not inhabit it. You are young, and it is sometimes difficult to understand the difference. The heart of wisdom lies in understanding that knowledge is made of all the events in your life, not just the good. To carry forward all of the experiences that have shaped you; good, and bad leaving behind the resentment, and the hurt is not an easy thing to ask of anyone,” the voice said. Henry thought hard; he thought he understood what the voice was asking him to do. To accept his past, and move forward into a new future free of all of the things that tied him to the past, it was very appealing.
“I want to move forward, but I don’t know how,” Henry said.
“You have the potential to be very powerful. I will help you. You both have come here to be trained; this is the covenant I make with you both. I will never strike you, or degrade you, and in return you will not lie to me. If you lie to me, I will teach you no more that day; you may return the following day, but if you are asked to leave again it will be forever. If you decide that you cannot continue, or you cannot do what I have asked you to do, you may quit at anytime. I will not question your decision, or second-guess your choice. If you tell me you are through, I will take you at your word. If these terms are acceptable, then enter, and begin your training. The door will remain open for one minute while you decide,” the voice said.
Henry looked to Amica who had a determined look on her face, he did not have any intention of backing out, they had made a promise to help each other reach their potential, and he meant to keep his word. When the minute was up the voice came again, reverberating out of the darkness.
“If the two of you are sure then Henry, please close the gate behind you,” the voice said. Henry pushed the gate closed.
They stood in the darkness for a moment. Before their eyes could adjust to the dark, a circle of light came up slowly. Before them in the center of the light sat an imposing creature. To Henry it looked like a Bearded Emperor Tamarin he had seen on the Discovery
Channel, only instead of being 35 cm in length he was five feet tall; he could only imagine that after the deep voice they heard, their teacher was male. He was sitting on his back haunches, and Henry could only imagine that should he stand upright he would be roughly seven feet tall. Even with the size difference the first thing Henry thought of was the Emperor Tamarin. The Tamarin as Henry could not help but think of him since they had not received a name yet, was covered in short fluffy grayish brown hair. The fur was mostly gray with just the smallest trace of brown. Henry got a sense of the age of the being before him, he somehow understood that he had started brown, and over the many years the gray had slowly replace more, and more of the brown hair leaving only a few brown spots left. The face had a shortish pink snout whose dominating feature was long white whiskers that formed a large mustache on the upper half of the mouth. The mustache stuck out from the face of the tamarin curling downward, eventually joining more whiskers that hung from the chin forming a beard. The eyes were a deep brown almost blending into the dark furs that surrounded the eyes, and small rounded ears. Amica, and Henry stood in the darkness at the edge of the circle of light, not sure what they should do next.
“Welcome, I am Albert Wilhelm, you may call me Sir. I stand in the light of knowledge, it is time to begin you’re your journey out of darkness. Please step into the light,” Sir said.
II
Henry lay near the edge of a brightly lit circle of light, laying face down on a hardwood floor, his body covered in sweat. He was breathing hard, but felt satisfied with his performance. He, and Amica had spent the last two hours doing strenuous physical activities. The pool of light held two treadmills, and steel rack with a chin-up bar long enough for two people to exercise side by side. His teacher circled them moving in, and out of the light, calling instructions, and encouragement from the line of light. Henry’s body lay near the edge of darkness, his hand felt the comforting feel of Amica’s hand; he laid facedown near the back of a treadmill. He was not sure he could move his body if his life depended on it.
They had started with 50 minutes of yoga, designed to stretch, and strengthen their muscles while relaxing their minds. Henry had never done yoga before, and was pleasantly surprised by how flexible he was. It was not as hard as he had expected to learn the positions, although holding them, and executing them properly was. He was excited, and amazed at first when their teacher had led them to a new circle of light. The light contained two yoga mats, and a semi transparent holographic instructor. The holographic instructor was a woman Henry’s height, wearing blue yoga pants, and a tank top similar to the ones that Henry, and Amica wore. She began to walk them through each position, explaining where his hands, feet, and hips were supposed to be. Henry realized this had indeed been necessary, when he looked at the physical structure of Sir’s body while he exercised with them. His joints, and muscles groups were not similar enough to there own to use as a model. While doing the yoga exercises Sir talked to them about the importance of learning to focus their mind, and body into one holistic being.
“The bridge is opened by the keeper, not the computer, repeat after me,” Sir had said. Henry, and Amica had done as they were told.
“Repeat after me, the energy for the opening comes from the keeper, not the computer. The computer only provides the electricity, as a starting point; with time some of you will develop the ability to open gates with the barest of electricity,” Sir had said. This statement had surprised Henry; it had been his understanding that opening a gateway took special computer equipment to properly modulate the frequencies, plus an enormous amount of power to create the bridge, but Henry understood the truth was as Sir said when he thought about the opening he had done without the computer. It had been just as easy for him as it had been with the computer to help, but the terminal had still supplied the electricity, or had it. Henry did not remember clearly now. He was having trouble focusing his thoughts while doing the various poses, and listening to Sir speak.
“It is important for you to learn to relax your mind Henry,” Sir said as if reading his thoughts. They were holding a pose called downward facing dog that was really stretching the back of his legs, and he was having a hard time moving beyond the pain in his calves. He was having a hard time maintaining the balance that so many of the positions required, and listening to the words that were being spoken around him at the same time.
“You have the ability to see the truth of the universe Henry, to see the connections that hold all of creation together, this takes focus, and strength of will. When your body, and mind are at peace, and your emotions are calm you will see things that few people in this universe ever truly see. The simplest use of your ability is to see the motivations, and the reasons the people in your life do different things. You have probably noticed this already, the closer the person is to you the easier it will be to read, and understand their emotions,” Sir said. Henry knew this was true, he had accidentally read his parents, and sister on more than one occasion.
“But, when you are angry, scared or upset even these simplest of tasks are still probably beyond you, or the things that you see are only partially true. Amica with time, you will learn to do this as well, to a lesser extent. You will know when you are being lied to, but will not be able to see the truth behind the lie. When working the gates you both will see the truth of the alignment, and how to compensate for the shift of frequency. With my training you will learn how to calm your thoughts even when the surrounding is hectic. Sometimes things will go wrong, you must be able to focus,” Sir talked them through different techniques to calm their mind, and focus as they moved through the different yoga positions. By the end of the hour of yoga, Henry was doing a much better job of finding a balance in his mind. Henry’s favorite part of the experience was at the end when Sir had them lie flat on their back finding a position that was comfortable for them.
“Close your eyes,” Sir had said. “Picture yourself sinking into the floor, rooting you to the ground, all of the tension, and worry seeping into the floor beneath you; leaving only behind a calm, and open mind,” Sir said. Henry did as he was asked, and as he lay there he felt peaceful, and energized. All of his worry about his feelings for Amica, and the confusion surrounding Britney, and Paul; oozed out of him absorbed by the floor below him. He felt calm, and at peace for the first time in years. It reminded him of sitting within his grandfather’s arms as he had during childhood.
“This mental exercise can also be used while standing, if you are trying to work a gate, and none of the other exercises have been able to calm your mind. This particular exercise takes practice, but can also be used to refresh your body on days when you feel drained from the gates,” Sir instructed.
After they finished yoga their new teacher lead them to the circle of light with exercise equipment.
“The keeper creates the bridge, and can maintain the opening for as long as his body can maintain it. There are special gates that can hold the heart of the opening, they can maintain an opening indefinitely once it has been created, but they still require a keeper to perform the initial opening, changes in location, as well as closing the bridge.” Sir said.
“The opening is controlled by the body, and mind. Now we have worked on relaxing the mind, and warming up the body it is time to develop the body to its peak performance. Every day we will spend a portion of our training conditioning, and developing your muscle tone,” Sir said. He had them begin with pull-ups. They did two circuits of 25 with a half-mile run on the treadmill between, and after the circuits. When it was finished Henry was proud of himself, he had always been too self-conscious during gym to really try hard while exercising. He found his body responding well. He had a difficult time during the last 10 pull-ups, but found that having a goal helped him get there. In the end he was thankful he had a low body mass, meaning there was less weight to lift, and managed to finish the circuit.
After the pull-ups they moved to sit-
ups. Henry had an easier time with the sit–ups portion; they did five circuits of 20 with a quarter mile run after each circuit. Henry was surprised when Amica was having a harder time with the runs then he was. She had done such a good job of everything so far, but as he thought about it Henry had been running quite a bit over the last couple of months, and had become very adapt at it. He shouted encouragements to her while they ran. Each run was a sprint, with each treadmill set at a speed designed to bring the run in around a 100 secs. Henry yelled, and cheered for her to stay with him, and other encouragement. They went quickly from one exercise to the next giving them no time between the sit-up, and the sprints. At the end their teacher gave them a two-minute rest, as they lay on the ground panting, Amica reached over, grabbed his hand and squeezed it. It took her a moment to catch her breath, before she could speak.
“Thanks Henry,” she said “I’m glad we’re in this together, you’re doing really good, keep it up,” she said.
After the two minutes was over, they got to the part Henry had the hardest time with, push-ups. Henry had never felt very confident, or comfortable when it came to doing push-ups. He always felt that his form was off; he always felt like he was doing them wrong. This was nothing however compared to the fun of watching Amica do her very first push up. Henry had at least encountered the exercise in various gym classes over the years. Amica however not being into fitness, or the public school system had never done a push-up before. Henry walked her through the form of the first couple with Sir correcting both of their forms until they had it perfect. The amusement however faded quickly when it became time to do the exercises in earnest. Their goal was a hundred push-ups broken again into 5 circuits of 20. Between each circuit was another quarter mile run in 100 secs.
Henry made it through the first four sets of push-ups, and the mile on the treadmill, although he struggled with finishing the fourth set of push-ups. He found himself enjoying his time on the treadmill more, and more as he found the right length to his stride, and breathing. Amica was improving quickly with finding her stride, but struggled with her endurance wanting to stop before the time had run out. Henry had begun increasing his positive motivation, counting her down to the end.
It was during his last set of push-ups that Henry’s body hit the wall. He barely finished the fourth set, and the run had only given his arms 100 secs to rest. He made it through the first five, the sixth was barely passable, and the seventh was not even counted by their teacher. He was about to give up, and tell Sir he couldn’t do it, when he heard Amica next to him.
“Come on Henry, over a quarter of the way there, you can do it,” she said. Henry dug deep, and managed another four making it to half way. Again he heard Amica encouraging him.
“That’s right, halfway there come on you can do it,” she said. He struggled yelling incoherent noises as he pushed through five more, his arms feeling sore, and starting to go numb. His body covered in sweat, his fingers feeling slippery as the sweet ran down his arms.
“That’s it Henry, only five more. I know you can finish,” she said. Henry dug deeper than he ever had, trying to focus his mind on willing his body to move. He did the last push-up, and collapsed on the ground, laying face down with his arms splayed out to either side of him. Amica once again took his hand as she lay on the ground next to him, the two of them panting, their chests rising, and falling as they tried to regain their breath.
“Good job,” she said taking deep breaths between each word. “We did it,” she said.
“Thanks to you,” the two of them said at the same time. Henry rolled to his side facing Amica, their eyes met, and they smiled at each other.
“The two of you have done well, you are meeting your potential nicely, as the time goes on we will continue to push your limits. We will begin a muscle cool down exercise, then you may have five minutes to rest, and rehydrate. Then we will begin the next phase.” Sir said in his deep voice.
III
Henry’s body was absolutely exhausted, and Henry was relieved at first when Sir, led them to an area with two desks set in front of a computer screen the size of a chalkboard. Henry found his pad sitting on one of the desks, and Amica’s pad on the other.
“It is time for you to begin the basic understanding of how the gates work. We will spend the next two hours on the basic components needed to construct, repair and maintain the two classifications of gates. As well as the differences between the five levels of a Type Two Variable Destination Gate,” Sir said. Henry only knew about one type of gate. He was very interested in what Sir was about to teach him, but as he sat he began to feel his muscles get sore. He began to have a hard time focusing. Over the next two hours, Sir, lead them through screen after screen of diagrams, and instructions on the mechanics of how the different gates operated.
As Sir talked about the different gates, Henry looked back on his time in the terminal; he realized he had encountered at least two Type One Gates. The door from Roberts’s office to the terminal must be such a gate, because he was pretty sure that her office was in the house on Earth, the second was from the break room in the Chicago terminal. Henry’s head was swimming with new information, to process. Suddenly he had an idea. He raised his hand, and Sir stopped.
“Yes, Henry. Do you have a question?” Sir asked.
“I’m having a hard time processing all the new information, because my body, and mind are swimming. Could we do one of our guided meditation exercises to help us focus?” Henry asked. Sir smiled at him, and Henry felt proud of himself for acknowledging his lack of ability to focus.
“We did many meditation exercises today, you may have a few minutes to calm your own thoughts. If you are still unable to focus, then I will try to help you. Henry closed his eyes picturing himself sinking into the chair, his feet grounding him providing an outlet for all of the tension to escape. He imagined all of the muscle aches, and tension as a fluid filling his body. He began picturing the fluid draining from his feet to be absorbed by the floor below leaving him feeling refreshed, and focused. Henry opened his eyes feeling much more focused. Sir began speaking again, and Henry was able to follow him through the tiny mechanical details of how the gate technology worked. He was just beginning to feel overwhelmed again when Sir told them it was time to go home for the evening. Sir opened the gate for them. He told them they were not allowed to open another gate until he gave them permission to do so. Henry walked numbly through the Chicago terminal; he could not believe that it was only a little past 8 o’clock. He had a hard time accepting the idea they had only been training for 4 hours. It seemed like longer.