“We’re hoping you can, Sensei.” Tanya says.
Wei turns to his nephew with happiness in his eyes. “You have chosen well.” Without waiting for a reply, he turns back to us. “Let’s begin.”
We spend the next forty-five minutes learning some basic moves that include a ready stance, a palm-heel strike, a hammer fist punch and the women’s go-to weapon against men, the front groin kick.
The guys graciously allow us to practice on them. We all hold back, because none of us wants to injure our men, but with Wei’s encouragement we land a few hits that they’ll be feeling later.
When the six of us are laying on the mats, panting, Wei ends our session.
“You learn quickly. I’m sure your men will help you practice so that in our next lesson, we can move onto more complex moves.” Wei tells us. “If you want to shower and change, there are locker rooms in the back.”
Each of us had brought a change of clothes in with us. We take our bags and enter the women’s locker room. The guys, who hadn’t planned on getting sweaty, had to return to their bikes to grab fresh t-shirts.
I finish first and am dressing when I realize I hear a distant banging. I pull my shirt on and step to the door just as it opens allowing a man to come running in.
“Deion?” Tanya asks from behind me. I turn to look at her and then back at the man and realize she’s right, although I never would have recognized him. A few day’s worth of growth covers his normally bald scalp. He also has the start of a thick beard. His eyes are wild and focused on Tanya.
I move into the ready stance, preparing to defend my friend when he speaks.
“I need to get you out of here. Quickly. The place is on fire.” He says. “Get dressed. Now. Please. We can go out the back.”
Tanya frowns at him but dons her clothes, as does Ashlyn.
“How do I know this isn’t a trick?” She asks him, her eyes narrowed.
I rush to the door and feel warmth. Carefully opening the door, I peek around and see that he’s right. Flames engulf the front of the dojo.
“He’s right. We have to get out of here.” I say. “Where are the guys?”
“They’re out front. Whoever started the fire locked them out.” Deion tells us. “Please, hurry. There’s a back entrance. That’s how I got in.”
“What about Master Yan?” Ashlyn asks.
“He’s just outside the door.” Deion says. “He’s unconscious. I’ll carry him, but you need to come now. We have to get out of here before he discovers the back entrance.”
I’m desperate to ask him who he’s talking about, but I can see smoke billowing into the room. He’s right, we need to go. Now.
I run back and grab five towels and run them under the water before following the others out. I hand a washcloth to each of the girls before placing one over Deion’s face and hold one over Master Yen’s, who is hanging upside down over Deion’s shoulder.
Deion leads us down the hallway and I can see the Exit sign. Ashlyn rushes forward and opens the door, letting us all fall out behind her.
Someone cocks a gun behind us. I turn, but I fall to the ground, with Master Yan landing on top of me. I can’t see anything, but I hear an explosion and Tanya’s scream.
