All through, the months of June and July Kate continued to study what the snails ate. She was testing every kind of seaweed known to grow in Alaska. It was the last week of July and Kate was looking forward to a break. It was her first training camp and she was excited about it. That morning Kate sat outside at the plastic table on the patio, sharpening her government issued army knife with a wet stone. No one had told her where they were going for training camp. She thanked Ben when he told her that she would be riding the four-wheeler to camp instead of running like the rest of them.
“You simply wouldn’t be able to keep up us in our Warrior forms,” he informed her. The opportunity to collect plants to study was also on the fore front of Kate’s mind. Her plan was to get samples of anything they ate while camping to study.
They were only able to bring what they could carry. The guys had nothing on but their gear strap and protective garments which showed all of their muscles on their upper body. The bottom of the garment was loose fitting and only showed off the calf muscles, their feet were bare. Kate’s eyes wandered around the group her mouth opened as they one by one came out onto the patio adjusting their gear straps. Of course Kate had seen them dressed in their protective garments before when they are sparring. But now she was able to see them in the bright sunlight and up close. Ben noticed her eyeing all of them with a strange smile on her face.
“What’s with you Kate?” he asked.
“I am amazed at all the good looking guys I live with here on base. Wow!” She raised one eyebrow.
Mesmerized by Ben’s strength she reached out her hand to touch his chest. Ben backed away from her, eyeing her suspiciously. She bit her lip. “This really shows off your physic!” Kate smiled at him. “It’s a toss-up between you and Rueben for having the most muscles. All of the sparring must be the reason you all look so good.” Kate looked down at her own body and frowned. “I still have a long ways to go to be in that good of shape,” she said admiring them for the effort it took to get the body in that kind of condition. Ben was worried that she was lusting after them. Instead she was comparing her lack of fitness to theirs.
Levi drove the four-wheeler to the back patio. It had a large white cooler and a first aid kit attached to the back of it. Ben grabbed Kate’s bag and shook it. Bending down to Kate’s eye level he fixed his eyes on her.
“You don’t have any surprises in here do you,” Ben accused. Everyone stared at Ben and Kate.
“What do you mean Ben?” Kate asked staring back innocently.
“I mean sleeping serums, poisons, things of that nature to use on us. I can smell them on you.”
Kate reached into her pocket and pulled out a small plastic container with about twenty sewing pins in it and placed it into Ben’s out stretched hand. She frowned up at him.
“I want all of them,” he said. He bent over and started smelling her shoes and then smelled all the way up to her hair taking in several long sniffs of her scent. She took a pin out from behind her ear and two tacks from her shoes and placed them in his palm.
“That’s all of them,” she whispered looking up at him, her lips pouting. He turned away from her and smiled. Carefully, he placed the items on the table. Tricking her into thinking he could smell her serums, he smirked at his success. Standing at attention in front of him with pouting lips, her cuteness made it hard for him to keep his composure. Everyone but Kate could see Ben smiling. A couple of the guys coughed to keep from laughing. Then Ben pulled his face into a stern look again and turned back to Kate.
“I can’t believe you don’t trust us and that you feel like you need to protect yourself from us with these.” He gestured to the items on the table. “Levi does Kate have any explosives on her or in her bag?” Folding his arms he stood in front of Kate and he bent down until he was right in her face. “I wouldn’t want her to blow anyone up while we’re training.” He looked at her intensely.
Levi sniffed the air where he stood. “She’s clean,” he said seriously.
“Well, Kate what are we going to do with you?” He said as he held his hands behind his back. “Does anyone trust Kate enough to have her on their team?” There were only two teams Ben’s and Rueben’s. Pleadingly, she looked at Rueben. He didn’t look at her and said nothing. Ben waited for a few minutes. “It seems no one trusts you Kate. I guess you’ll have to be in a group all by yourself.” Casually he strolled into the garage and came out with a tent and a sleeping bag. “We will be sleeping on the ground. However you are a female and I can’t allow you to sleep with the rest of us.” He handed her the tent and the sleeping bag. Brusquely, Kate took them and attached them to the four-wheeler with a bungee cord.
“So we have three teams. Rueben you are the blue team.” e handed him several blue ribbons. “Kate you are the yellow team.” Smiling, he handed her one yellow ribbon. “And my team will red.” To each of his team members he gave a red ribbon. “Dan will be our referee to make sure no one cheats.” Looking directly at Kate when he said the word cheats. “Tie your ribbon where ever you want and it must be in visible. If it comes off you’re dead,” Ben explained to Kate. “The team with the most surviving members left before we get back to base wins. The teams who loose will have grounds cleanup for the next month. The game starts as soon as we get to camp and not before then.” Kate knotted hers around her neck and let out a huff of anger as she grabbed her back pack.
“Great I guess I’ve already lost, but at least I will have another team helping me,” she whispered under her breath as she started the four-wheeler. They ran as men bare footed across the main highway. They quickly changed into their Warrior forms as they entered the forest and were away from human eyes. Ben led the way running at full speed up an old dirt road.
Kate thought, this is crazy to be on a four-wheeler with a pack of lions running around me. I would never have imagined such a thing. She shook her head in disbelief. Their faces focused forward as they ran. Sometimes they would run off the road into the forest as Kate sped to keep up with them. They looked like mountain lions except for the fact that they were more muscular and had a leather strap on their bodies. The odd coloring of most of them and the fact that they didn’t have tails was another factor that set them apart from a regular lion. Rueben, Zeb, Ash and Simeon colors matched real lions the best. The more muscular they were the larger the body and paws. The Warriors who were leaner were faster and able to jump higher. As they moved together in a pack they would jump over each other as they jostled for positions.
Rueben ran beside Kate the whole way. When it came to Kate, he always took a protective position. To him she was like his little sister and he felt he needed to keep an eye on her while the others reveled in the freedom of their Warrior forms.
They ran for a full hour on the dirt road. The trees thickened as they went deeper into the forest. “Ben was right I wouldn’t have been able to keep with them,” Kate murmured. The road narrowed and turned into a trail and then nothing. Kate slowed as bushes and trees whipped and tore at her skin. Rueben roared and Ben stopped to let Kate catch up.
“Are we almost there?” Kate asked Rueben. He bowed his head and clicked his teeth. She stopped for a minute and pulled some leather gloves out of her back pack. “I’m so glad I thought to bring some gloves I need protection from the bushes,” She said as she slipped them on. “Funny that he could smell my pins, but he didn’t say anything about the snacks in my back pack,” Kate mentioned casually to Rueben. The weather was nice and the forest green and beautiful. Rueben nodded his head towards the others. “Okay Rueben!” Kate sighed as she revved the four-wheeler and took off popping a wheelie. “Woo who!” she yelled as she flew through the air.
They headed down into a ravine with a large stream at the bottom of it and followed the stream until it emptied into a river. There was a nice small open area just right for a camp. They ran through the stream and headed for the open area. Kate and Rueben followed. The bank on the opposite shore was covered with lots of bushes and small trees. With narrowed eyes, Kate gathered her strength before she drove the four-wheeler through the water into the thinnest group of bushes. “Ouch!” she yowled as one of the tree branches slashed her right cheek and it began to bleed badly. By the time she reached camp she was a sight to see with one side of her face dripping with blood. When Ben saw her he ran forward to the four-wheeler forcing her to stop. He placed his paws on the front of it and looked intently at her face making sure she didn’t need stitches. Relieved to finally be at camp, Kate got off of the four-wheeler and wiped her face.
“Crap! There’s blood all over her hand,” she said as she looked at it. The guys stood around her as Ben grabbed the first aid kit in his mouth and walked over to Kate with it. Calmly, she took off her gloves and put them back in her backpack. “Thanks, Ben,” she said as she took the first aid kit out of his mouth. There was a mirror in the lid and Kate used it to clean the blood off her face. “It’s just a scratch, see. It doesn’t even need a bandage. Face wounds always bleed a lot.” When the cut was clean Kate put antiseptic on it. Then she cleaned a few others scratches she had on her face and neck. Her hands weren’t hurt bad enough to treat.
Without any help Kate set up her tent while the others went fishing. “I guess we are having raw fish for dinner.” Kate said to Levi. Clicking his teeth he bowed his head. She thought she saw him smile. After she tossed her sleeping bag and backpack into her tent, she surveyed the area. Izzy came over and sat by Levi they both looked at Kate. “What?” she asked looking at them. “This is going to be hard because I will have communication issues for the next two days,” she said frowning down at them. Izzy went into the open door of the tent. With his teeth he pulled out Kate’s backpack and brought it to her. She patted his head. “Oh, I know what you want. How come Ben didn’t make me leave these at base?”
Dan was in his human form, leaning on the four-wheeler. “You can bring anything you can carry. Everyone knows that you hate raw fish. We can’t have a fire so no one wants you to starve while we’re out here. Levi and Izzy just want you to share your treats. That’s all.” As soon as he finished speaking he changed back into a Warrior again and bounded back to the river.
Kate held up different packages of the instant energy snacks she had brought. They clicked their teeth and bowed when she held up the ones they wanted. She was about to open one when she stopped and looked at them through squinted eyes. “Why should I give these to you when you’re both my opponents?” She frowned and then thought for a minute. “I’ll make you a deal tomorrow you need to cut me a break. You can’t let anyone know if you catch my scent and you can’t follow it either.” They clicked their teeth in agreement. She opened the treats and removed the wrappers before throwing the treats to them one by one. “I’m going for a walk,” she said as she turned to grab her back pack. Levi and Izzy laid in the shade and slowly ate their treats. They skillfully used their paws to hold the snack bars while they took bites out of them.
Kate wandered up the stream alone, looking at the trees and rocks that formed the water’s edge. She was developing her strategy. Then she crossed the stream stepping on stones to keep from getting wet. One of her feet slipped off a rock. “Ahhh!” Kate screamed as her upper body fell into the cold water. She stood quickly. “Oh, that water is freezing!” Kate flipped her hands up and down. Levi, Izzy, Zeb and Gad where sitting on the bank of the stream laughing at Kate. Their faces pulled into a grin and their bodies shook as they laughed. She flung the water that was dripping from her it at them. Then she ran out of the water splashing it everywhere on purpose. She grabbed Zeb by the flanks and pulled him back and wrapping her arms around his neck. Zeb didn’t fight her as she give him a big hug making him wet too. Playfully she petted his head.
“You are so cute,” she cooed at him. Teasingly, she nuzzled him rubbing her face on his as though he were a big stuffed animal. Zeb smiled enjoying her cuddling. A loud growl broke through the laughter as Ben bounded over to them. Instantly Kate understood-he was angry.
“Oh Ben I was just having a little fun,” she moaned at him. He took a swipe at Zeb with one of his large paws. Kate held up the red ribbon she cut from his forearm and grinned.
Dan stood in his human form and sighed. “Ben wants me to tell you that you had better watch your back.” He rolled his eyes at Ben as he changed back into his Warrior form.
Kate laughed, “Bring it on Ben! I figure I have no way to win anyway so why not have some fun in the process.” Zeb growled his disapproval at Kate for tricking him and she patted his head. “All’s fair in love and war,” Kate said smiling at Ben.
Growling slightly at Kate’s contact with Zeb, he continued to growl and didn’t stop until she was away from him. Ben didn’t try to control his growling anymore and he was clearly upset with Zeb for the rest of the day. Rueben thought to play this to his advantage using Kate to get to Ben’s group then take her down.
Kate crossed the stream this time not bothering with the rocks she just plowed through it to the other side. Then she walked up to an out cropping of rocks that were un-shaded and climbed on them until she find a warm, comfortable spot to dry off. Taking off her shoes, she dumped the water out of them and turned them over to dry. This spot looks good. I can spot any of them if they try to snick up on me. I’m so glad I brought extra clothes and left them in the tent. I would be real cold if I had to sleep in wet clothes tonight. Then she took off her socks and lad them on the rock also. I like this rock. It’s just like a lounge chair, perfect for taking a nap. Drowsy, she put her arms behind her head and socked up the sun. Before long she was dreaming. In her dream she saw Ben running in the forest in front of her. The ground was covered with a thick layer of snow. Running up to her, he changed into his human form and grabbed her around the waist. “I love you,” he said as he looked into her eyes. Then glints of sunshine started to rain down on Kate face. She blinked her eyes in puzzlement and woke from her nap as small pebbles continued to fall on her. Quickly she brushed them off and sat up. She looked up to where they came from. Rueben was standing on the ledge above her.
“What are you doing Rueben?” she yelled.
He jumped down from the out cropping and landed on the ground far below Kate. Growling he looked towards the camp. It was almost dark and he was worried about her being all alone and away from the others. Kate looked off in the distance towards camp. “I can’t believe I slept so long. Aren’t you tired too?” she asked as she reached him at the bottom. Slowly he nodded his head and clicked his teeth. Kate put on her shoes and folded up her now dry socks. She placed them into her backpack before following Rueben who was now waiting for her by the stream. When she reached the bank, Kate rolled up her pants and took off her shoes then she waded across the water. For support she put one hand on Rueben’s furry back for balance, until she reached the other side of the creek. With Rueben by her side they walked into camp together. Dan stood in his human form again near her tent.
“The camp is neutral Kate. You can’t attack anyone while they are in the camp. Ben wanted me to clarify that rule to you. Tomorrow Zeb will be referring with me since he is already out of the game,” he spoke only to Kate. Dan turned to the others. “Kate got first strike.” Waving a red ribbon, he held it up and then tied it to the front of her tent. “Good luck tomorrow Kate,” he said and shape shifted back into his Warrior form.
Leaning on the four-wheeler Kate took out the first aid kit and treated her cuts again. She noticed that there was a nice piece of tubing in it. When no one was looking she stuffed it into her pocket and climbed into her tent.
All alone in her tent she sat and ate two health bars and a bruised apple. Everyone else quickly fell asleep on the ground huddled in a group. They were all tired after the long run and they slept soundly with their bellies full of fresh fish. At about two in the morning, Kate still couldn’t fall asleep. Finally, she gave up and pulled on her gloves. Then she took a long rope and a very large fishing hook out of her backpack. “I’m so glad I found this hook the storage room when I was helping Naph take care of Ben’s garden while he was in Afghanistan,” she whispered. Kate carefully attached the rope to the fishing hook and tugged on it hard to make sure that the knot was tight. Then she took the rubber tubing she stole out of the first aid kit and sliced open a small section just large enough for a small rock. Promptly she stuffed it into her backpack and pulled it over her shoulder. Then she checked her pocket to make sure she still had her knife. The moon was full and it lit the forest so that Kate could see rather well. “I think I’ll get the jump on them,” she plotted as she climbed out of the tent in search of rocks and the perfect fork shaped stick. Kate snorted with laughter when she saw Ash sleeping. He was lying on his back and his belly was so full it was bulging. “Where’s a camera when you need it,” she chuckled softly.
When I get home I’m going to test the fish they are eating for D-14. Maybe the reason they like fish so much is because the fish eat D-14 too or they produce it. They wouldn’t have any D-14 in their blood system if they weren’t getting it from somewhere in small amounts, Kate wondered to herself. Silently, she walked down to the stream’s bank picking up small rocks and stuffing them into her pocket as she went. I’m sure they’re all sleeping soundly so I won’t have to worry about any of them discovering me. She walked quiet just in case. Her search for rocks took her to the place where the stream and the river came together. A grove of large yellow cedars grew near the bank of the river. Gently, she touched the bark of the largest one and peeled a big chunk of it off. It made a soft crackling sound. “This smells heavenly.” Kate whispered as she took a big sniff of the piece she was holding. This is the place where everyone was fishing. They left their imprints all over the muddy bank. If someone was out here hunting I wonder what kind of animal they would think made these tracks, Kate mused almost laughing.
Several branches of the large trees hung over the river. Kate had an idea. What if I tossed my rope onto a branch? Could I pull myself out of the water and into the tree? Would they be able to find my sent then? She thought to herself. Taking the rope carefully out of her bag she threw it hook end first up at a strong branch that hung over the water. It looped once but the hook didn’t catch on the rope and it fell into the water with a splash. Her gloves got wet as she pulled the rope from the water. What if I try to climb out of the water with wet gloves it would be difficult to get a good grip. Pulling the rest of the rope out of the water she tied several knots in the rope measuring the distance between them with her arms. Think things out, use your mind, she thought as her plan started to solidify. After tying several knots, she tried again to wrap the rope around the branch. The hook finally caught the rope. She tied her backpack to it and tossed the remainder of the rope out into the water. The backpack hung a couple of feet above the water. “Perfect!” she said.
Quickly, she darted up the stream and sat on the bank to remove her shoes and socks. She stuffed her socks into her pockets and held onto her shoes as she wadded up stream for about fifteen minutes. Then she slipped her shoes back on and ran into the forest. “They will for sure know that I was here,” she laughed as she took a pee in a group of bushes, knowing that they would find it. Then she ran around through the trees and doubled back the same way she had come. Removing her shoes again she carried them as she wadded up stream for about five minutes. She sloshed water as she climbed up the bank and walked in a semi-straight line. Then she ran as she doubled back to the water again and wadded up stream again. The water was so cold that each time she got out of it or into it she had to adjust again. Her feet were numb the third time she got out of the water. The out cropping of rocks that she had slept on earlier as behind her now and she was done leaving trails. Carefully Kate wadded down the stream to the river walking as quickly as possible while trying to remain quiet. The water was so cold that her feet ached and she began to wince with each step. Morning would soon be here and she had to act quickly before they found her.
At last she reached the river it was swifter than the stream and quickly knocked her feet out from under her. Her shoes flew up into the air as the current took her under. Gasping for breath she surfaced and struggled against the cold raging water. She spit water out of her mouth as she looked for the rope. Quickly she swam to it and grabbed a hold of it. The branches in the tree made a rustling sound as she pulled on the rope. The current wasn’t helping as she attempted to climb out of the river. Her feet were still numb, but the river was warmer. The rushing water pulled on Kate and she bobbed down into the water again like a bobber on a fishing line. Clinging tightly to the rope she finally found a knot with her hand. She placed the rope between her toes just above it and push with all her might out of the water. Rope tightened and stretched a little bit. Desperately she searched with her other foot under the water for another knot. Finding it she continued to climb up the rope. “This is harder than I thought it would be,” she said through gritted teeth as she slid her toes over the next knot and pushed up toward her backpack. A breeze pushed its way through the trees and blew across Kate’s wet skin. She didn’t feel cold yet, adrenaline coursed through her blood as she climbed past her backpack. The rope swung back and forth as Kate shifted her weight. Her toes were irritated by the fibers in the rope and they began to ache in rebellion as they began to thaw. There was a thick branch a couple of feet below the one she had her rope tied to. It looks sturdy enough to hold my weight, Kate though and swung the rope to reach it. She had climbed high enough that she could touch the branch she was on. That lower branch would make it easier to get off the rope, she mused. With her free foot she stepped onto the lower branch and held on tight to the rope with one hand and with the other she grabbed another branch that was smaller. It was just above the one she had her foot on. The branch bowed with her weight as she balanced herself on it. She untied the rope and pulled her backpack up to her. Like a tight rope walker she walked closer to the trunk of the tree still holding onto the rope. “What should I do this rope? I don’t want it in my backpack it will get all my dry clothes wet and I can’t carry it because I need both hands to climb this tree,” Kate whispered as she thought. She pulled up the rest of the rope and began winding it around her waist and looped it securely in place when she was done. “It makes a pretty good belt though,” she said proud of her ingenuity. The branches near the trunk of the cedar were bare of prickly leaves and spiraled up like a stair case. She started climbing the tree, shivering uncontrollably. When she could clearly see the camp from her perch high above, she stopped. “I can see you, but can see me?” She said as she unwound the rope from her waist and tied one end of it to a strong branch beside her. A large pair of orange eyes watched Kate from the cover of several bushes. He smiled to himself forming a plan of his own as he slunk back to the group while Kate was busy securing herself to the tree. Her teeth chattered together as a breeze blew. The tree limbs swayed. In an attempt to get warm she striped off her clothes and put on a dry pair of socks. Then she pulled out a hooded sweatshirt that was too big and put it on. Neatly she laid her wet clothes on her branch to dry. “Maybe I could win this thing after all,” She said smiling over her accomplishment. “All I have to do is stay up here until there is only one left.” She wrapped the rope around her waist and tied the other end to the tree branch. “Oh, that stinking Ben, if only I had one of my pins left, it would so be too easy to win.” She tucked her legs under her sweatshirt as she watched the Warriors sleeping in camp and pulled the hood over her head. As dawn broke she closed her eyes and leaned back against the trunk of the tree.
The sun soon woke everyone in camp. Dan went to Kate’s tent and stuck his head in. “Kate it’s time to get up.” He smiled when he saw that she was gone. “Good job Kate,” he whispered as he looked around and sniffed the air looking for a fresh sent, but didn’t find one. Swiftly, changing back into his Warrior form he joined the others. Upon her perch Kate had fallen sleep with her legs now crossed and stretched out in front of her. A brand supported her head. She continued to peacefully sleep with her hands resting in her lap. A breeze caught her shirt and pulled it out of the tree. It flittered down to the water.
Rueben looked up at her and smiled.
“What are you smiling about?” Gad whispered in his native tongue. Rueben nodded towards Kate’s tree as his team huddled around him.
“I don’t see anything,” Levi quietly growled.
“I got up last night to get a drink and I saw Kate walking down the middle of the stream. When she stepped into the river, the current took her under and I thought I was going to have to save her. Then she climbed up a rope out of the river into the big yellow cedar right over our favorite fishing hole. Before she entered the river she must have tied a rope to a branch with her backpack attached to it. Look, she’s asleep right now,” he whispered to them. They took turns looking up at Kate. If she was awake, she would have known that they were watching her.
“What’s the plan?” Izzy asked.
“Gad do you think you could climb that tree.”
“No way, the bark on that tree will just shred under my claws.”
“That’s right, I forgot.”
“Let’s go after the twins, first and leave Ben for Kate,” Rueben said. He and his team headed out to track Ash and Simeon as they followed Kate’s scent. Rueben chuckled out loud at Kate sleeping high in the cedar safe from everyone including him.
Levi and Rueben paired off for Simeon, while Gad and Izzy went after Ash. Ben’s team was searching the bank of the river tracking her sent and they had split up because they found two trails one farther up. Ben was slightly worried that she was not in her tent when they woke up that morning. “These trails make no sense,” Simeon complained. “Another dead end.”
“She set us up!” Ben growled after the second trail ended.
“She left a strong marker on the first trail,” Ash commented with a smile on his face.
“I agree with you she is leading us away from her using her scent to trick us. You got to give her credit for that Ben,” Simeon concurred. They headed back down the stream towards the river moving quietly along its bank looking for a scent. Finally, they picked one up, but it was older than the others. Rueben and his team waited downwind to ambush them. Ash found her shoe on the bank of the river. Rueben and his team encircled Ash before he could call out to Ben for backup. He joined Dan as a referee.
“Do you think Kate got up in the middle of the night and tried to cross the river and drowned?” Ash inquired, now concerned.
“You and Zeb can keep looking for her away from Ben and Simeon. If she has drowned and you find her body let us know as soon as possible,” Dan instructed. They headed farther down the river to search. Ben and Simeon searched the bank and found her shoe. Ben’s heart began to pound and for the first time in his life he felt panicked. He went to Dan.
“Do you know where Kate is?” Ben asked.
“No, I sent Ash and Zeb farther down the river to see if they could pick up her scent.” Kate was now awake and just above them in the tree trying to pull her pants up while balancing on the branch. Just as she was buttoning her jeans, one of her feet slipped off the branch. As she fell she let out a small squeal and landed in the soft mud below hands first. Simeon turned towards Kate and Rueben’s team quickly attacked Simeon leaving Ben as the only member left on his team. Panicked that she was hurt Ben wanted to go to Kate. All he wanted to do was make sure she was okay, but Rueben’s team stood between him and Kate. Rueben smiled at Ben and growled loudly as Kate stood. She pulled out the sling shoot she made from her back pocket. Pain shoot through her left arm just above her wrist. Carefully she felt her bones.
“Good it’s not broken. It will swell if I don’t get it in some cold water,” she said talking out loud to herself. Cautiously she tip toed in her socks over to the stream and crossed it. Then she pulled all of the stones out of her pockets and laid them near her on the bank. “My arm is pounding,” she hissed and placed her arm into the freezing water of the stream as she waited to defend herself. Ben leaped over Gad and sliced the ribbon on his forearm. The others turned on Ben as he went after Izzy, who was the closest. Swiftly, Ben bit Izzy’s ribbon off with his teeth and headed for Kate again.
Kate winced with pain as she pulled the homemade sling shot back with her injured arm and aimed it at Ben. The rubber tube made a slapping sound as she released it. The rock flew through the air and struck Ben on the forehead above his right eye. It didn’t hurt much but his whole face flinched as if he was confused. It didn’t stop him and he continued to come at her. Rueben and Levi flanked him on both sides. Levi reached out to slash Ben’s ribbon, but Ben jumped over Levi and back tracked. The pain in Kate’s arm was so bad that she had to put it back into the river. She was done. The fight was over.
At least I managed to be one of the final four, she thought. Then she had a brilliant idea. If my dream is correct. Ben has feelings for me, I may be able to trick him and cut his ribbon. I did fall from a tree after all. She smiled as a plan formed in her head. Then she shrugged off her backpack and took off her wet socks.
Running swiftly through the brush, Ben started looping back towards Kate with Rueben’s team following behind him. He leaped gracefully across the stream and headed straight for her. Pretending, she collapsed to the ground face down. She opened the knife in her hand and pulled it under her chest to conceal it until Ben was close enough. Her whole body now was obscured by grass. Ben picked up speed as he raced to her as fast as his legs could go. When he finally got to Kate, he bent his head down and sniffed. As soon as she felt his breath on her, she sucked in a big breath of air. He pushed her body over with his head. Kate laid there with her eyes closed, completely relaxed on the ground holding her breath as he examined her. The others ran to Kate and stood over her too. Ben put his big lion’s face close to hers to make sure was breathing. This was the moment she was waiting for. She reached up and quickly put her arms around his neck and kissed him on the nose. In surprise his legs locked into place as he stood there stunned for a moment. Without hesitation Kate secretly slid the knife under his ribbon and cut it from his arm. The she laid back in the grass laughing triumphantly, as she waved Ben’s ribbon in the air and kicked her feet.
Rueben growled and tried to take her ribbon from her neck. She blocked him automatically with her sore arm she and cringed.
“Ouch! I think it’s broken now!” She cried cradling her arm. Rueben came at her again and she stood immediately in the L stance. This time she blocked him with her good arm and countered with a round kick to the side of his face. He shook his head, as if it was nothing and leaped forward knocking her over with his weight. With both paws on her shoulders he held her down. Ben growled and snarled at Rueben. Slowly, Ben started walking towards Rueben, but Levi blocked Ben with his body. Rueben immediately bent down to pull the ribbon from her neck with his teeth. As he did, he slowly he let out a breath as he opened his mouth. One of his large teeth slid against Kate’s neck.
“It tickles,” she squealed and he released her. Kate rolled over and wiped his saliva from her neck. Her ribbon dangled from Rueben’s mouth as he walked over to Dan. “The game is over. Blue team wins,” Dan called out in his human form.
“That was so not fair,” Kate complained at Rueben as she sat up.
He growled a response and Dan translated. “He said, learn to fight better.” Kate stuck her tongue out at Rueben. Everyone who saw it laughed at her reaction.
“You’re my trainer,” She yelled frowning at his back.
“Then I’ll just have to make you work harder,” Rueben yelled without looking back at Kate. He was now in his human form. Crawling over to the water’s edge Kate submersed her throbbing left arm. Everyone except for Kate was heading back to camp. Ash and Zeb had just returned in time to see Kate and Rueben fight. They threw Kate her shoe and shirt.
“I’m glad to see that you didn’t get swallowed by the river,” Zeb said looking down at her and smiled. Then he slowly turned and headed back to camp.
“Come on Kate,” Ben yelled from across the stream. He stood waiting for her in his human form.
Brushing herself off, she got to her feet, grabbed her backpack and stuffed her shirt into it as she wadded carefully across the stream. The sticks and rocks cut into the bottom of Kate’s feet as she started to walk back to camp. She winced with every step and finally stopped to put on her only shoe. After several steps she stopped again and looked down at her feet. “Well, this isn’t working. Every time I limp it makes my arm throb,” she complained. Ben was right next to her now and she frowned up at him. Smiling a cute one sided smile at her, he squatted down right in front of Kate so she could climb onto his back.
“You’re not mad at me?” She questioned his gesture.
“No, it’s all part of the game. I’m impressed that you tried so hard. I’m not sure why you felt the need to hit me in the head with a rock though,” he said rubbing his forehead. There was a small red spot on his forehead where the rock hit him.
“You were coming straight for me and I was scared!” She jumped onto his back and wrapped her good arm around his neck. Her breath blew out on his ear as she clung to him.
He closed his eyes for a moment, he then he hefted her on his back as he stood. “I just saw you fall out of a tree and I thought you were hurt. I was worried about you,” he explained as he slowly walked up the hill to the camp.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she apologized. “Thanks for caring about me. It’s nice to know that you care. I’m sorry for using that against you.” Firmly, she hugged him tighter with her good arm.
Ben let out a short laugh at her comment. Yes she did use that against me, but it was the kiss on the nose that got me, he thought to himself. When they were back at her tent, he sat her on the four-wheeler. Ben laid the first aid kit on top of the cooler and opened it. He searched for the cooling gel until he found it.
“Let me look at your arm. Is it broken?” he asked squeezing the gel inside the plastic brace to activate it.
“If it is broken, it’s only a hairline fracture.” She fidgeted examining the bottom of her feet.
“Hm, that would explain the swelling. It could be that you only made matters worse by blocking Rueben’s attack with it,” he said as he wrapped the brace securely around Kate’s wrist adjusting the Velcro straps so it fit snuggly.
“That was a spontaneous reaction.” Kate frowned holding her arm as she inspected Bens work. “Thanks you did a good job of fixing me up.” Then she pulled two Cliff Hanger bars out of her back pack and handed one to Ben. “Breakfast is on me. Thanks for carrying me back to camp.” She smiled at him and he smiled back before he took the bar from her.
“How come your feet don’t hurt as bad as mine do?”
“I have thick layers of skin,” he said crossing his leg and holding it up for Kate to look at. He pinched the skin to show her. She crossed her leg and held it to his. Her toes barely touched the beginning of his toes. They were much smaller all around then his were. For the first time Ben realized just how fragile she was compared to him. They talked quietly as they ate their breakfast and watched the others fish. When he was finished eating his treat he went to fish with his brothers and left Kate to entertain herself. She took it easy the rest of the day and lounged on the four-wheeler or in the tent. Mostly she enjoyed watching the guys fish and spar. Every so often they would talk to Kate as they loaded fish into the cooler. With one shoe on she hopped around collecting flora to study later in the lab. When Ben came up to check on her, he told her what most of plants were. Concerned, he made her take something for pain and left again.
All alone she hobbled over to the stream and picked watercress from the stream to study later. There wasn’t much else in the way of water plants. Sitting by the water’s edge, Kate removed the gel brace from her wrist and shrugged off her back pack. She laid it on the ground to use as a pillow. The she submersed her arm clear up to the elbow in the cold stream to ease the pain. Several minutes later Ben came looking for her. When he found her she was asleep with her arm in the water. He touched her shoulder and shook it gently.
“Kate,” he whispered
Startled her eyes flew open and she quickly sat straight up. “What?” she asked looking around.
“You fell asleep,” he laughed.
“Oh, pain meds always make me sleepy,” she said rubbing her eyes. Grabbing the brace he slipped it back on her wrist.
“Do you want me to carry you back to camp?” he asked. Smiling gratefully she looked up at him. He scooped her up into his strong arms and she screamed, “Wait, wait I need my back pack!” He bent down so she could grab it. While he was carrying her, she started to shiver. The sun was going down and it was getting cold.
Ben sat her on the four-wheeler again. “Why are you shivering?” he asked. “Do you have a fever?” Automatically he leaned forward to touch his cheek to her forehead. The thick layers of skin on his hands make it difficult to feel things that were soft or hot. His cheek was more sensitive. She didn’t feel hot to him.
“No I’m just cold,” she managed to say as her teeth chattered. “Bring me the sleeping bag please.” Quickly, Ben brought it to her with a worried look on his face. Kate unzipped it half way and kicked off her only shoe before sticking both feet into the bag. Everyone was gathered in a circle talking in their human forms further up the hill. Ben pulled the hood of her jacket up over her head.
“Do you feel good enough to sit and talk with us for a while?” Ben asked as he tied the hood in place.
“Sure!” Kate said happy that they were asking her to join them.
Again Ben lifted her into his arms and carried Kate over to the circle in her sleeping bag. She sat between Ben and Rueben. They told stories and jokes. A short while later Kate’s head bobbed as she fought to stay awake. She scooting closer to Ben, and rested her head on his arm. It wasn’t long before she was soundly asleep. Cautiously, Ben moved her head onto his lap and smoothed her hair out of her face.
“Is she asleep?” Levi asked in a whisper.
Gently, Ben shook her and she didn’t respond. “Yes,” he hissed. “Zeb hand me the markers,” Ben commanded.
He wrote his name backwards on her forehead in big red letters and handed the markers to Rueben sitting next to him. Carefully, Rueben unzipped her sleeping bag and pulled out her leg. When he pushed up the bottom of her pants - she stirred. Ben held up his hand everyone froze until Ben put his hand down again. Rueben wrote his name in big black letters on her calf. The circle closed in on Kate as they all took turns with the marker. Zeb gave her a mustache. Gad gave her glasses. Ash made stitch marks over her the slash on her cheek in red. Dan made a green smiley face on the other cheek. Levi drew a fancy tattoo on her arm. Simeon made all of her finger nails black and Izzy drew smile lines from the corners of her mouth giving her a big grin.
Ben tucked her back into the sleeping bag and zipped it all the way up. Then he stood with her in his arms and carried her to her tent. He placed her inside it and kissed her gently on the nose. “Goodnight,” he whispered into her ear and quietly left the tent.
Dan and Rueben were waiting for him outside by the four-wheeler.
“She was dangerously scary today,” Dan commented.
Rueben let out a breath of air. “I just about jumped into the river last night to save her, but she had everything planed out, so I just watched.”
“How did she hide her sent?” Ben asked.
“She used the water. She must have tied the rope on the branch from the bank of the river before she headed up stream. She even had enough foresight to tie her back pack to the rope. I started watching her when she was headed down stream towards the river. She fell into it throwing her shoes into the air. I was heading full run to the river when she caught hold of the rope. When I saw that she was okay I froze in my tracks and crouched down. I hid and watched as she climbed the rope out of the river,” Rueben explained. “I don’t know why she fell out of the tree though. This morning I could see her clearly sleeping on the branch she had tied herself to.”
“Maybe she fell when she was untying herself,” Dan guessed. “You have to admit she did try very hard to keep her ribbon. She even faced you with an injured arm.”
Rueben let out a snort. “Foolish,” he muttered. “We better make sure she is on a team next time or there will be no telling what she’ll do. She needs to be watched.”
“Start training her to fight you in your Warrior form so she can stand up us in a fight. It will even the odds for her. Maybe she won’t feel like she has to go to such extreme measures to be successful,” Ben said as they headed back to the group.
“The odds will always be against her. Her body isn’t strong enough,” Rueben argued.
The next morning Kate got up before anyone else and rolled up her sleeping bag. “Ah, my finger nails are black. I wonder how that happened. I’ll find out later, I just want to go home, have some real food and take a shower,” she said as she started to fold up her tent. When she was done her fingers looked like sausages they were so swollen. “I probably shouldn’t have taken the tent down with my arm injured. Naph will no doubt scold me for it.” The sun was completely up by the time she had everything loaded onto the four-wheeler. With one hand she pulled the first aid kit out to take some pain medication. The reflected image of her face in the mirror caught her attention. In disbelief, she moved closer for a better look. “The nails are one thing but why did they write on my face?” Kate licked her finger and tried to rub off Ben’s name. “He used permanent markers on my face,” she steamed out loud.
All of the Rages were in their Warrior forms sleeping on the ground in a group a little ways up the hill from Kate. In a angry huff, she limped up to the sleeping group and stood over Ben. The muscles tighten around her eyes and with all her might she kicked Ben in the flank with her only shoe. He stretched as he rolled over onto his back and stuck out his tongue as he yawned. She got down on all fours and looked into his face waiting for him to open his eyes. Slowly, he opened them until he saw her livid face staring down at him fiercely. His eyes flew opened wide and he pushed away from her.
“What were you thinking last night? This is permanent. I’ll have to wait for it to wear off,” she yelled at him pointing to her face. Swiftly, he rolled over onto his paws and pushed up as if he were about to stand. Instantly he shifted forms and stood in front of her as a man. He crossed his arms and lifted one hand to cover his mouth to keep from laughing as she scolded him. Her ranting woke the others. No longer able to hold back, his laughter burst from him so strongly that he couldn’t stand up straight. Kate swiftly gave him a round kick to the rear and he fell forward to the ground laughing even harder.
Angrily, she limped back to the four-wheeler and started the engine. She drove it back up to them. “I want to go back to base, because my arm hurts and I want some real food,” she said so angry that she spit the words out at them.
Ben sighed. “Let me drive you back to base then.”
“I rather walk than have you drive me,” she said looking at him through narrowed eyes. The corners of his mouth curled as he fought to control his laughter. The graffiti on her face made him laugh as if he was obvious to her anger.
“Who painted my nails?” She asked fiercely looking over the group. Slowly Simeon raised his hand. His eyes shifted between Ben and Kate. “Will you drive me back to base please?” she asked Simeon nicely. His head snapped towards Ben. Nodding he gave his approval and clicked his teeth. This made him clearly unhappy and he was no longer laughing. Simeon climbed on the four-wheeler in front of Kate and Ben gave him a warning look.
“Don’t drive too fast with her. She only has one hand to hold on with,” Ben instructed. Simeon nodded his head and clicked his teeth. The rest of the group quickly became Warriors again and took off running. Putting her good arm around Simeon, Kate laid her head on his back and gently rested her sore arm on the leather of his gear strap. Big tears filled her eyes and she pouted as she held onto Simeon. Beside the four-wheeler Ben stood looking at her face watching her tears fall. Now he was sorry that he had made her feel so bad. Ashamed of her tears, Kate turned away from him only to see Rueben on her other side. There was no way to hide her feeling from them so she closed her eyes and just held on until the ride smoothed out. Then she wiped her face with the sleeve of her jacket and released her hold on Simeon. Kate leaned back and held onto the metal rack that held the cooler and her camping gear. Her eyes closed as she laid back on the sleeping bag. The wind whipped her hair behind her. Ben watched her as he ran. The others were far ahead of them when they hit the dirt road.
Grabbing a hold of Simeon by the waist again, she pulled her body close to him and yelled, “Faster,” into his ear. Smiling, Rueben picked up the pace knowing Kate’s love for speed. Simeon grinned wickedly as he throttled it. “Faster,” she yelled again at Simeon and he throttled it as far as it could go. Kate screamed, “Yeah!” Ben and Rueben were running full out now trying to keep up. Simeon started to slow. Kate smiled just a little knowing that the ride was almost over. Everyone shifted forms before they got to the main road and they ran as men to the base. When they reached the patio they walked around a bit to recover from their long run. Simeon stopped the four-wheeler on the patio to let Kate got off. Naph and Tia were there waiting for them.
“Kate,” he said. “I want to see your arm or would you rather be called graffiti Jane from now on?” He smiled at her.
“It’s so good to be home,” she said as she threw her arms around Naph and let out a sigh of relief.
Ben growled at her. “Remember the no contact rule Jane.” She dropped her hands and glared at him as he walked by.
“Let’s go to the lab so I can get a scan of your arm,” Naph said as he pulled Kate behind him.
“Just a minute Naph,” Kate said. “Who’s cleaning the fish?”
“The yellow and red teams have to clean the fish,” Ben said. “You’re exempt because of your arm.”
“Would you save me the intestinal of the contents of the biggest fish please? I want to test it for D-14.”
“Sure. Where do you want me to put it?”
“In the fridge,” she called over her shoulder as she followed Naph to the lab.
Tia made breakfast for everyone while they got cleaned up.
Kate watched as Naph scanned her arm. She could clearly see the tiny crack in her the bone near her wrist.
“You have a sprayed wrist and a hairline fracture in your ulna. The fracture looks more like you got it from sparring not from falling. The break would have cracked in a different direction if you had fallen on it.”
“I did spar with Rueben trying to protect my ribbon. It was a spontaneous reaction on my part and I had already sprained it,” Kate explained.
“I want you to rotate hot and cold every twenty minutes until the swelling goes down in your fingers.” Naph said placing a very warm arm brace on Kate’s wrist. He pushed a button on the top of it. “When the alarm goes off it will change to cold. Don’t take this off until the swelling goes down,” he warned.
“I want to take a shower,” Kate moaned.
“Press the white button to turn it off. Press the red button to turn it on. I’ll check it at the table later.” Worried he looked at her face. “I was afraid that you going on the training outings would be a bad thing. I was prepared for much worse. Sometimes things get out of hand,” he said looking at the graffiti on her face. “Sorry I don’t have anything to get that off with,” he sighed.
“I learned long ago from a friend who used eye make-up remover that it could remove permanent marker. One day my little brothers used permanent black markers to put black under their eyes to play football. My friend suggested we try it before my father got home and it worked great.”
Back in her quarters Kate worked hard to scrub the graffiti off of her face and used almost half of her bottle of eye makeup remover. Then she took off her clothes and got into the shower.
“RUEBEN!” Kate yelled. The guys could hear her yell all the way to the recreation room.
“I guess Kate found my art work,” Rueben said and they all started laughing.
Ben made a plate for Kate because he was feeling guilty. Her tears earlier were still fresh in his mind. He cornered Tia and asked her what she thought Kate would like for breakfast.
Twenty minutes later Kate came into the recreation room wearing shorts and a sleeveless tee shirt to show off the artwork on her body. The black on her nails was gone and the only visible graffiti was on her arm and leg. She wore full make-up on her face and lipstick. Ben remembered the last time she looked this way. Worried he started to fidget in his chair. Will she tell me that she’s going out? It is still her day off and I’ll have to let her go.
As she walked towards the table Ben lifted a plate and pointed at her. Then he placed in front of the chair next to him. She twitched a smile at him. When she sat down she said, “Let’s play a guessing game.” Everyone at the table looked at her. “I guess that Gad drew the glasses, Zeb the mustache and Ash the stitching,” she guessed and pointed at each of them as she said their names. They each clicked their teeth together in agreement. “I can’t figure out the rest, other than the obvious ones that Ben and Rueben did. Can you give me any hints?” She asked. Izzy smiled big at Kate with his lips closed.
“I see,” she said nodding her head. “Izzy you did the smile.” He clicked his teeth yes. She smiled wryly at him. “I should have guessed that one. The smiley face and the tattoo are the only ones left. Who haven’t I guessed yet?” Looking at all their faces she placed her chin on her fist. “Dan, I guess you did the tattoo,” she said pointing at him. He growled in disagreement.
“Buttons,” Kate said, using Rueben’s swear word. “I thought it was you because you draw maps and this is really cool.”
Levi smiled. “Thanks, it was me.”
“Then Dan drew the stupid green smiley face.” Kate looked at him disappointed. “Not very original Dan.”
He halfway smiled and tilted his head as he shrugged. “I didn’t know there was going to be a contest or I would have tried harder,” he defended himself.
“This weekend during training no one tried harder than Kate,” Ben said. They all clicked their teeth in agreement.
Kate stood and went to the fridge to get a glass of milk. A forgiving smile filled Kate’s face when she saw that Ben had placed the entrails of one of the fish in a plastic bag for her. When she came back to the table she touched Ben on the shoulder and bent over to whisper in his ear. “Thanks for saving the fish guts for me and making me a plate.” Relieved, he smiled and she sat down beside him to eat.
Monday morning Kate was in the kitchen with the fish entrails. She was carving off slices of the flesh of one of the fish too. When she was done she prepared a marinade and placed the fish in it for dinner later that night.
Kate rushed the collection of items she wanted to test for D-14 back to the lab and prepared the samples for testing. She also tested the plants she gathered from the stream and at the camp site. The rest of the week was spent laboring over her samples.
“Naph all of my samples with the exception of the plants have traces of D-14 in them. The highest concentrations are in the belly of the fish. D-14 is a plant that grows in the ocean. We are looking for or a combination of plants or a plant. The shrimp and snails had it too.” Kate sighed. “I know without a doubt that it is a plant that grows in the ocean.”