Scripture

The axe head missed Ethan's shoulder by a centimetre, so close it almost caught on the cotton of his shirt as it swung down.

Time seemed to stop when Ethan leaned back from the blow, almost like during his karate tournament days. Unlike back then, he was certain of the assailants' follow up move... so certain he felt like he was watching a ghostly 'fore-image' of the beastly man follow up with a spin that would end in a vicious horizontal swing at neck level.

Ethan was already moving, spinning into and below the strike, rising behind him and delivering a surgical kick to the back of its knee. He must have been 7 feet tall, but, on his knee, Ethan easily grabbed his hair with one hand and pressed the edge of a wicked looking blade to his neck. Ethan had pulled the blade from its sheath so fast, he thought his hand might have blurred a little. He smiled in spite of himself.

"Enough!", Miri shouted. Though her voice sounded harsh, those blue eyes sparkled with pleasure. "I swear you were moving faster than should be possible."

"What can I say, I'm a highly trained warrior," Ethan said with a smile. He held out a hand to the kneeling man, who eyed him with a grimace, but good naturedly accepted. Ethan was immediately pulled off his feet.

"Hah!! You deserve that, you sneaky bastard," the giant man known as Liam said. "As if you could help me up, I'm 3 times your size."

"Don't be a sore loser. You've been mopping the floor with me all week," Ethan sighed, getting up from the ground. "Most kidnappers would have the decency to keep me locked up, not fight with me for sport". Ethan walked to a table along the far wall set up with food and drinks. The space was large, well lit, and functional, but austere. There were areas for sleeping, lounging, cooking and, of course, training.

"We are protecting you, you ingrate. Might as well toughen you up while we are at it," Miri exclaimed. "Look, I know this was a lot to accept, but you saw the crazy surveillance on your friends and family. Staying away is hard, but you'd all be in danger if you went back. At least now your family does not know about the bad actors watching them."

"True, wouldn't want to burden them with the bad news that I'm alive," Ethan said, a bitter twist in his voice.

Miri touched his cheek gently, "Hey, I told you, there will be a time and a place to let them know. That time is when you can all be safe, and go back to life as you know it ".

She smiled then, not beaming, but, with her hand still pressed to his cheek, it sent a little thrill down Ethan's spine.

"If I hadn't literally woke up in a legit morgue, I wouldn't believe anything you've told me. I mean, I still don't believe you, but I don't have any other explanations," Ethan said.

"Explain this then," she said as she pulled the trigger of her pistol. She had drawn it from the holster in the small of her back while Ethan was talking and aimed it at his head.

To Miri, Ethan was somehow both moving in slow motion and teleporting a few centimetres to her left. Neither made sense, since the bullet should have hit him faster than she could see.

Humans are interesting machines; their brains are processing reality not quite in real time, desperately trying to present a cohesive whole. This creates a measurable gap in our perception of reality, 80 milliseconds. It doesn't sound like a lot of time, but the brain is constantly compensating for our lack, stitching the present together so sounds and motions line up, or letting you remember the path someone took even when you blinked. However, in 0.08 seconds a handgun bullet will have traveled nearly 30 metres... the mind can't fathom these speeds.

Ethan was experiencing life or death deja vu. He felt the impact to his forehead, a sense of explosive pressure ... but it was more like the memory of something painful. Because, he also remembered deciding to sidestep towards Miri when her arm started to move.

"Gwahhhh" Ethan yelled as wrenched the gun from her hand, standing to her left. Panting, anger and fear fought for dominance in his expression.

"What the fuck is going on over there," Liam yelled, running towards them with a drawn pistol.

"I was proving a point," Miri said calmly. "Ethan is the boy written about in the Scriptures and he needs to accept it. The fact that he is even possible means the rest is true too, or at least some version of it is."

She walked away, not caring that Ethan had her gun. She was a striking beauty, but Ethan knew from their sparring that her lithe, muscled form wasn't just for show. She was dangerous. He smiled a little, inappropriately probably, considering he was holding the gun she nearly killed him with.

"Are you ok?" Liam said, concerned wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. "Miri is intense, but honestly, I've never seen anything like that before".

"I bet, that gun came out of nowhere!" Ethan exclaimed.

"Not that. She's not afraid to pull her gun. I meant you", Liam said, while looking sidelong at Ethan.

"I was watching you flirt, so I saw the whole thing. One second you're being lovey, and then Bam! She whipped her gun out and fired... but you were a freaking ghost man"

"What the hell do you mean man? We weren't flirting," Ethan said a little too loudly, but he was smiling.

"That's what you focused on" Liam said, a little stunned. "Dude, you were like the Flash, for a second I saw two of you. Like an after image. Then I heard the gunshot and you were beside her, safe and sound."

Ethan smiled at Liam, "Aww, you lose one sparring match and now you think I'm a super hero. I am pretty fast, like a ninja cat...." Ethan paused for a laugh, but, when none came, continued, "but I was moving before she even started to draw the gun. I don't know how, but she tipped me off somehow." Ethan smiled. "It was pretty fast, but not super hero fast. Your brain just jumbled it up."

Liam started to walk away, grabbing his gear bag. "Whatever man. Remember though, Miri has been searching for you for a long time. And that isn't the only crazy shit we've seen you do... after you rose up from the dead". He waved casually while turning away, leaving Ethan alone, the room still smelling of gun smoke.

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