Chapter 48 The mother of all monsters in the North Block

Luke drove back on his scooter and sat down on the couch at home. His stomach growled, he got up and looked in the fridge, which was empty. He sighed and made his way to his grandfather's house, maybe he would find something there. He went into the house through the patio door. 

"Mum forgot to do the shopping, Grandpa, can I get something from the fridge?" he asked as he walked in. Alex was sitting on the sofa. 

"Go ahead." 

After a few steps, he noticed that Liz was snuggled up to him on the couch.

" Zen time?"

He laughed, she grumbled.

" Aunt Liz? I'm sorry about the photo..."

She sat up, no longer blushing. 

"It's okay, nothing ever stays secret in the family anyway."

Luke went into the kitchen, found a sandwich and a Pepsi in the fridge and took them both back to the living room, where Liz was adjusting the cuddly toys.

He sat down at the table and ate.

"Grandpa, did you know Sarge was at the ball?"

Alex looked up from his tablet.

"Yes, I knew that. If he told you about his past, it's not all true. "

" He said he was a teacher at a high school when it started."

" It's true elite school for girls. "

Liz grinned. 

" And that he was then in a gang and escaped from the north block."

"That's only half true. We picked up his gang back then, he was pure terror in the neighborhood where he was. They terrorized the survivors just for booze, gasoline and motorcycle parts. But they didn't touch anyone and kept the area free of infected people and other gangs and bandits. 

Then they worked for us. Hunted gangs, bandits and warlords for us, his story that he escaped and ended up in jail. He got lost while scouting an area and was captured by a local group of survivors. He played his part".

He lit a cigarette. 

Luke mused.

"Is there really a lot of blaspheming going on in Hydra Command?"

Liz looked at him.

"Yes. They're all girls. But why do you ask?"

"Sarge said he had to clean because he lost at poker and Grandma Babsi called Grandma Gitte and ..."

Liz looked at him.

"Sarge to clean?"

"Um, yes. And Grandma Gitte said she asked him to go on."

Liz looked at Alex.

"Voice Gitte sent that."

"He said they're all predators..."

Liz looked at Luke.

" He's the predator, not the girls."

Luke sipped his Pespi.

" He wants to get us dance instructors and he also wants us to go to the parade ground and the shooting range..."

The thought of all that sport made him lose his appetite.

Liz's cell phone had rung and gone. Luke finished eating and wanted to leave.

"Luke, your mother won't be home often. You can come here for dinner."

"Is that okay with you, Grandpa? I mean..."

" No, your aunts come here often anyway."

" Okay, thanks grandpa."

He went home and immersed himself in his drawings. After an hour, the doorbell rang incessantly downstairs. Luke went in annoyed. When he opened it, Mei was standing there, smiling innocently.

"I hope I'm not disturbing you?" 

" Um... yes..." 

She grinned. 

" Good." She grabbed him with an iron grip and dragged him to a jeep, where he was loaded into the back seat.

"Objections? "

Mei grinned at him as she sat behind the wheel.

"Denied." 

She stepped on the gas and sped through the streets. As far as Luke could remember, they stopped in front of the army training hall. They were dragged out and hauled inside. Inside, it was air-conditioned and lively. It wasn't until they were inside the hall and placed on a mat. He was able to look around in peace. It was the first time he had been in here.

"And what am I doing here? " he asked.

Mei grinned.

" I found a trainer for you." 

He raised an eyebrow.

"But the guy from the dojo association said there isn't one..."

" True, but he was referring to your dan."

He looked at her questioningly, suddenly felt himself pressed against something soft and his breath was taken away.

"Uhh, he's gotten even cuter," it sounded.

"Then let him go or you'll suffocate him," came from Gitte.

Luke gasped for air again and breathed heavily. He just looked at the woman who, apart from his mother, had almost cuddled him to death the most times in his life.

Luke looked at Mei.

"What, she has a teaching license and nothing to do right now."

"I have a plantation."

"Which is currently being overrun by infected." 

" Actually..."

Luke looked at Gitte.

" Tes ..."

Luke looked at Tes again. She looked 0 aged, just as he had always remembered her. She was wearing the typical clothes you saw at the gym, had Eurasian features, clear green eyes, long dark hair that was combed back. And a beaming smile.

She pulled him close again.

"Anyway, this way I can apologize for not seeing him."

The bad thing for Luke was that she had an iron grip.

"It's fascinating that you're only infatuated with Luke besides your husband," says Gitte.

"I can't help it, he's just too cute."

He regained consciousness and breathed heavily. 

She looked at him with a smile.

"They said you need training so you don't get lazy."

"Uh ... the last trainer said I should just do the exercises ..."

"Phew, what kind of Dan do you have?"

"I don't know..."

She looked at him sternly.

"Eh... the last thing I know was 6 dan in judo and eh... Karate," he had to think. 

" a 5 dan..." 

" and in taekwondo he made it to 2 dan. "

" Could be..." 

Tes continued to look at him, pulled him up and began to pat him down.

"Good, now let's have a practice match so I can see how good you are."

He looked at Gitte.

" Do I have to? I want to."

She looked at him.

"I can also ask Tes Mann to send one of his soldiers."

"No, no, no." Tes intervened.

" Come on Luke, show your godmother what you can do." 

Luke sighed and began sparring with Tes, only to be mercilessly shut down by her. 

"Wow, Tes, you've gotten even nastier."

" Hr hr, but I still don't stand a chance against Uther, so if you want to see Alex cry, Gitte. "

"Hhmm, as usual against Sergeant?" 

Tess pondered. 

" Who was that?"

" The one Liz is always hung up on."

" Oh him, he's a bit worse than Alex and Lee, if he had his two buddies with him, he might be able to flatten Lee and make Alex sweat." 

Gitte grinned.

"And you against Alex? " 

"No idea," she patted Luke's head.

"But I already have a training plan for Luke."

The weeks flew by for Luke. He was only partially aware of the second evacuation. They knew that the evacuation plans were working and that, unlike the first outbreak, they had the situation better under control. The only difference was that the evacuation took longer simply because of the size of the north block.

Lina had invited him over sometime after class because she wanted to thank him and hadn't been able to make it before. Luke had hoped for hot dogs and Coke, but no. Her thank you was a quickie and then it was over.

He wondered what kind of thank you that was and pondered women on the way home. to no avail. 

Every day he was picked up by Tes and put through the wringer, running, fitness training, agility exercises, movement sequences, practice fights in the holoprojector and against people in the hall.

At least she always drove him home afterwards.

He didn't see Liz during those weeks, and he rarely saw his grandfather either. Sarge led the lessons and, to Luke's relief, the sport was different from what he knew from class. 

They drove to a military training area, where they were welcomed by soldiers who helped them. They were also given an instructor to show them how to shoot weapons and had to shoot several times with soldiers at the same time. 

What struck Luke was that the old hands in the armed forces were relaxed. The new recruits who came to fight the infected were stubborn and over-serious. Luke learned that the whole army was in Hawaii, he also learned that Leonore only lived 3 houses down from him. So he gave her a ride on the scooter.

Sergeant was often late for class, completely exhausted. The class called it Hydratage and then Liz would sit on the windowsill like a cat again. That changed when they had to practice self-defense on the training ground. 

Everyone sat in a semi-circle around Sarge, who stood in the middle.

"It's important, whether you're here in the armed forces or not, that you can defend yourselves. Whether you're infected or human."

He pointed to the other soldiers behind him, they were men and women.

"I asked for help so you can actually learn something."

Lina raised her hand.

" Sarge why men and women?"

" So that it's fair, Lina. "

" Uh-huh ..." 

Luke flinched, because suddenly Liz was crouching next to him, staring at Sarge. 

"Sarge, how about a demonstration?" came from Eddi.

"Fine by me," he looked behind him.

"Who's up for it?"

"Sarge, someone snuck into your class."

" Huh?"

He looked back at the class and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Liz, you want to explain what this is about?"

The girls giggled.

Liz stood up and walked over to him.

" I want to demonstrate something," she said.

" Okay, and why did you bring the hydras?"

Luke turned around and froze, behind them were thirty women in BDU.

" It's just a few."

Sarge rubbed the back of his head.

" Good. What do you want to demonstrate?"

" Well, they think I can beat you."

" Liz is better than us," said one of the women. 

" You guys are really bored. Fine we'll demonstrate and you help the girls here in class. "

" That's good for us."

Liz smiled.

" How serious are you, Liz?"

" To the bone."

Sarge sighed, took off his uniform jacket and put his things from his pocket on top of it.

"Sarge, can we film?" one of the male soldiers asked.

" Filming for what?"

" Troop morale sarge hydra vs. griffin."

" Fine by me. " 

" He's the best sarge. "

Sarge walked back to the center where Liz had been warming up, he looked at her.

"Luke come here."

" What? Why?"

Sarge looked at him.

" I want to see why you have so many bruises."

Luke groaned, stood up and came forward. 

Liz looked at him confused.

Sarge pulled out a north block t-shirt and handed it to Luke.

Luke groaned again.

"Why? He pointed to the T-shirt his father had sent him. It was a collection of patterns that looked like they would give him eye cancer. 

"Just to make it look right," he pointed at the soldier with the camera.

"They just want to film your fight with Liz ... "

The sergeant nodded. 

" Do it anyway, your shirt is a bit.... ." 

Luke grinned.

" And now hop" Luke was handed the shirt and groaned. 

"Why me... why does Ted have to be sick... he should have..." he grumbled to himself.

"You want to say something Luke?"

" Um... no..." 

He took off his T-shirt and his classmates stared at him.

Thanks to Tes, he was covered in bruises and marks.

"Old Luke, since when?" came from Eddi. 

He pulled on his T-shirt.

"Since when what Eddi?"

" Eh the six-pack? "

Luke shrugged his shoulders. Lina already knew that.

"George, I want to fight you!" came from Liz.

He looked at her.

"Good, then the best of your girls."

"Are you crazy? Luke is..."

Sarge looked at her.

" Liz since when does your sister drag him to martial arts?"

She looked at him and then at Luke.

" Still ..."

She looked at him worriedly.

" Carol, you're fighting him."

The woman she was talking to stood up and came forward. She was a head taller than Luke. 

" I'll finish you off, boy."

" Yeah, I hope so."

" I'll make you cry..." she said with a diabolical grin.

Luke scowled at her, looking at Sarge. 

" Do I really have to? Sarge."

Sarge nodded.

She got into fighting stance of the fighting technique the north block had taught. Luke got into position.

Sarge gave the signal to start. Luke shot toward her, punching and kicking her mercilessly, aiming for her weak spots on her body. He just wanted it over with, was yanked back by the scruff of Sarge's neck.

"You win."

Luke looked at him questioningly. 

" Really ... " 

Carol looked at Luke in confusion, then looked at Liz.

"What was that?" she said.

Liz cracked her neck.

"Good Luke, you've qualified."

Sarge let go of him. He rushed at Liz, who grinned. He managed to land a few hits, dodging her attacks. Liz grinned, but that changed when he kicked her in the side a few times, she glared at him angrily and struck him down with a blow to the temple.

He blinked as he regained consciousness. Saw Liz's face.

"So? Who? Mei? April?" 

"Um, Tes?"

She felt his forehead, looked at Sarge.

"I didn't hit that hard."

Sarge looked at Luke.

"Hmm."

" Ey Sarge, I've been seeing him around Halle lately, with some fit brunette. Thought it was his girlfriend, because she's always squeezing his breasts like that," came from the guy with the camera.

"So it's Tes after all, the only one who's more infatuated with him than Sue," came from Liz.

"Hhmm," came from Sarge.

"Hhmm?" came from Tes, who came up behind Sarge and grinned. 

Sarge looked at her.

"What are those bruises and effusions?"

Tes grinned.

" I turned down the parameters of the holofield."

" You could kill him ..."

" No. Security is activated. George, don't worry about it." 

Luke had sat up.

Tes turned to Liz.

"Yes. A little more work. "

Liz looked at her grimly.

"Liz, it wrinkles. "

Liz stepped toward, but Tes dodged her effortlessly, grinning. Patting her head.

"You wanted to compete against George, remember that. Luke, I'll see you after class."

Her cell phone buzzed and she answered.

"I'm in Hawaii, no. " She hung up with a grin.

"So kids, have fun."

"One day, old lady, I'm going to beat you."

Tes looked at Liz and smiled.

" Try it, now I have to. Let me give you a massage, plus a happy ending."

" Uh-huh ..."

Tes grinned. Then she squeezed Liz like Luke, which upset her.

Luke couldn't hear what she was whispering in his ear, which Liz acknowledged with a nod. As suddenly as Tes was there, she was gone again.

He stood up and sat back down with the others.

Sarge cleared his throat.

"Liz, are you all right?"

Liz nodded.

"Good. Do you want to tell everyone who Tes is?"

Liz gave him a less than enthusiastic look.

" She's the mother of all the monsters in the North Block, plain and simple, and Luke's godmother. "

"So what?"

Liz groaned.

"My martial arts instructor. "

" When you're ready..." Sarge began and Liz attacked directly, bombarding him with kicks and punches. He dodged most of it and with one grab he threw Liz to the ground. 

He cracked his neck and got into a fighting stance himself, Liz jumped up and charged at him, this time he hammered Liz and punched her in the side. Luke heard it crack several times and saw Liz spit blood, which didn't stop her from jumping on top of him, wrapping his arms and legs around his neck.

Luke expected the sarge to topple over, but he stopped, now seeing that he had brought a hand between his neck and legs as a buffer. Liz let go, cursing, and continued to attack. Sarge grabbed her and quickly switched to a chokehold. Liz rammed Sarge in the sides with her elbows. Until she gave in. He let go of her and caught Liz with one arm.

"Eh Sarge she's foaming at the mouth. " came from a soldier. Sarge looked down at her, put her on her knees and crouched down, grabbed her throat and neck with his hands, squeezed and pulled briefly and then let her go. 

Liz suddenly gasped for air, looked around in confusion and then caught sight of Sarge, who was still crouching in front of her. She grinned suddenly and pressed herself against him.

"Don't stand there, drag her to the hospital," two of the Hydras struggled to pull Liz away from Sarge.

"I do," Liz began, blood pouring from her mouth. 

" Liz, you go to the military hospital first, you lost. "

" I lost... I wanted to fight..." her look was confused, then her eyes widened.

"I lost..." 

She was taken away, not 30 minutes later she was back on the sidelines, bandaged and staring.

Luke later learned from Mei that Liz had several broken ribs, a broken nose, a broken shoulder blade and had been choked unconscious. Gitte didn't want to believe it when Luke told her until Alex whispered something in her ear. 

Then he saw Gitte Min, in pain from the sarge, challenge him to restore honor. They both lost. Luke asked Mei why she didn't try and she said she wasn't crazy.