One month later:

Kaz throws a punch at me, and I block it with ease.

Balan has been teaching us the basics of fighting just in case we ever run into trouble with anyone from the New World. Balan wants us to be as prepared as possible for when we leave for Lewisville. He has been training us every day, just like he said he would. According to Aiden, Balan’s training has gotten more vigorous since he told him all about our experience when we went back into the carnival.

The Jumpers do not feel safe when Balan is gone. He promised them from the start that he would stay behind to guard the camp in case the New World sent their shooters after them. Because of this, Balan wants everyone going to the other towns to be as prepared as possible.

Today, Kaz and I are working on hand-to-hand combat. This requires us to learn to throw a punch and block one as well.

I have gotten pretty good at avoiding being hit or kicked, but I need to work on my attack. Kaz is from Tundris and has been working with the Jumpers since they escaped their carnival. She has gotten pretty good at attacking and blocking, but I am faster than her.

I swing at her with my right arm. She leans back at the last second, and I miss her. I see her take a step forward to punch me, but I quickly move to the side, and the two of us end up circling each other, watching to see what the other will do.

“Keep your eye on your opponent. Remember to look at your opponent’s eyes. Also, make sure you look at how their body moves,” Balan says.

He always says things like this, but I don’t fully understand. He tells us to look at their eyes and body at the same time. How is that possible? I only have one set of eyes.

“Learning your opponent’s habits and tells are crucial to beating them,” he says.

Balan was a police officer in Tundris, which means that he had to train in the town of Officials. Therefore, he knows the most about fighting. I do my best to listen to him and do what he says since he knows best, but I don’t understand half of it.

Aiden helps me sometimes when I am not getting things, but he is out today with Vesper. Devin and Theon are just a short distance from me and Kaz. They are currently working on learning to disarm a person. Balan took the bullets out of the guns so that we could learn to take or knock a weapon out of our enemy’s hands.

I am about to attempt to knock Kaz’s feet out from under her when someone comes running up to us.

“They are on the move again,” they say. “They are starting to pack up the carnival at Treegrass. At the rate they are going, they will be done and on the move within two days.”

“Okay, everyone knows what to do,” Balan states. “Pack what you need, be ready, be on the lookout, and get the people of Lewisville out of there. You will have to meet up with Aiden and Vesper on the way. Take the ATVs and follow the markings they left on the trees.”

Aiden and Vesper have been trying to find Lewisville on their own by following the map we stole from the shooters. Using their knives, they have been marking certain trees so that we all know which way they went and we could follow them when the time came.

We were hoping to find Lewisville before the New World government was ready to send the carnival out again, but that is no longer an option. I guess we will have to catch up with them and hope we get to Lewisville before the carnival does.

I hope I will not have to use the things that Balan has taught us about fighting, but I think I am prepared if it comes to that. I feel ready. I feel confident. There are butterflies in my stomach that say otherwise, but I ignore them.

I look at Devin, silently asking him if he is ready, and he gives me a small nod.

“Let’s go then,” I tell him.

Epilogue

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