PJ approached Adah, her heart pounding in her chest. How would she phrase it to not sound suspicious? But, wouldn't it be natural to ask a question like this?
The blonde girl cleared her throat and Adah faced her. "Adah," PJ started, clasping her hands in front of her, sweaty palms feeling like the air above a marsh, "can you teach me how to fight?"
Adah blinked, not suspecting it of the ulterior motives she harboured but nevertheless surprised by PJ, whom she considered to be largely a stationary person who was all bark and no bite.
Well, I guess she wants teeth so she can bite, Adah thought.
"Alright," Adah said once the shock had worn off. "I'll teach you. In fact, we can start right now!"
PJ warily eyes the people around her and Adah announced, "Clear out. Me and PJ are going to have some girl talk." Everyone left except for Miriam, who was in a dark corner playing Candy Crush in her phone.
"Let's start with some stretches," Adah said. She began stretching, and PJ followed suit, using the maneuvers she'd learned in her countless years in theater.
In a way, they were similar. Both of them could dance in a way, and actually met through a dance studio. When PJ's parents decided to move out of their apartment, it was only natural to go closer to the one friend PJ had at the time.
But slowly, PJ lost her interest in the preppy girl and started having eyes for her nerdy brother. Now, she and Adah were definitely not close enough to be considered best friends.
Adah announced after three minutes that that was enough and then said, "Alright. Lean against a wall if you need to. We are going to do kick-touches."
She showed PJ how to do a side kick first, and then lead her through a drill of side kicks where whenever you set your leg down it was only a tap before you fired off the next kick. After a while, they switched legs.
After that they did a jab-slip-cross-slip pattern. Adah noticed that PJ was struggling and announced, "That's enough."
"I'm so tired," PJ panted. She hadn't had this much activity since play practice ended in March. She rested her hands on her hips, almost doubled overs.
"Stand up, PJ. There's no air down there for you to breathe," Adah told the blonde girl. She looked better - she'd hardly sweated at all.
I'm competing against her to get the next device. I better improve - and fast! PJ thought.
"That makes no sense."
"What I mean is, it's just not a good posture for recovering breath," Adah clarified.
She blinked. "Oh, I almost forgot! We have to cool down."
They did some stretches and then realized the boys were gone.
"What do you think they doing?" Miriam asked as she slipped through the door.
"Asher's probably back in his lair, and Cain is likely shooting," Adah said. "Let's see how much of it holds up."
Miriam got on the back of Adah's four wheeler since Cain had been cleared to drive. They zoomed away and as they approached the Tree Camp, all of them could feel like something was off.
Nevertheless they parked and trudged through the building puddles. Miriam was about to go into the one true treehouse that the Tree Camp which had a roof before she looked into the shooting areas.
There was Matthew. Cain stood to the side of him, helping his aim.
Her heart began to pound. How could he have found us? She thought. Then, she felt like facepalming. The tracks in the mud! Of course!
"Adah, big situation here," the redhead said, placing a hand on her girlfriend's shoulder.
"What is - ohhhh," Adah said. "Well, it seems like Cain has it handled."
"No, I think that Matthew knows what's going on in a way. He knows that I'm hiding something. The fact that he was able to find this so soon only scares me. What if he finds out?" Miriam fretted.
Adah took Miriam's hands in hers. "Don't worry. I think the satisfaction of knowing what's happening will be enough to… deter him from doing anything."
Meanwhile, PJ was in the top of the treehouse. "So, what are we going to do now?" She asked Asher who sat beside her, his legs dangling off the edge.
"I don't know," Asher mutedly said. "We have to wait."
"Wait? That sounds like a plan," PJ commented.
"We need more power. Knowledge is power. But what would be enough to sway them?" Asher asked.
"We should open up the back rooms while they're not there," PJ said. "Hold that above their heads."
Asher grinned. "That's actually a pretty good idea."
PJ looked away to hide her blush. "Thanks," she said.
"With what they have in the front rooms, the locked back rooms might be even more important. If we're the first to get our hands on it, then the balance won't just be changed - it'll be flipped," Asher said.
"So when are we going to do it?"
Asher repeated himself, "We just have to wait."
PJ narrowed her eyes. Waiting. The one thing she hated about Asher. Always saying he was going to do something and then dropping out.
But PJ trusted herself. She could follow through. But why use the back rooms when you could still use more traditional methods, she asked herself. And she decided that she would no longer stay still.