Chapter 2 - Brenda Gasser

After dropping Henry off, Zaire took a long way home.

He passed by the streets he was most unfamiliar with, trying to get a good idea about the setup of Reston – it would become important later on.

Every corner…

Every avenue…

Every building top and desolate yard was a possible jump location so Zaire made sure to remember it all…

His experiences in Africa had taught him the best places to hide were close to the enemy.

And such knowledge had saved Zaire many times in the past, but being a Jumper often worked against such instincts… when one could go anywhere, why stay close?

Actually, even before Zaire discovered he was a Jumper, he had the tendency to venture to new places, mapping out everything as if some innate instinct.

It wasn't until he had accidentally jumped to Reston at the age of ten did he understood that he hadn't just simply reincarnated into another world, but into his favourite show.

Well, one of his favourite shows.

Since then, he simply worked on getting to Reston from South Africa… he once spent a summer in Reston and befriended Jenna – something he was glad she didn't remember.

As for how he ended up in Reston on a permanent basis – well, a well-timed ambush from an enemy tribe burned Zaire's village to the ground.

Ideally, he should have been able to save his mother and two younger siblings but he was too scared… and being scared as a Jumper meant you would be taken to every corner of the world but the place you want to be.

By the time he had controlled the fear – nearly a day later – all Zaire found at his home was the charred remains of the only family he had in this world.

That was when his training started…

Needless to mention, that branch of The Sotho Tribe didn't have a particularly happy ending…

Zaire shook his head, trying desperately not to recall the darkness of that time… the only line he didn't cross was killing the children.

Reincarnating from a child allowed him to see the world as it truly was and not as just another series waiting to be conquered or however a transmigrated person might see it.

After his mother died, Zaire was able to get a VISA to come to the Americas, and a scholarship to come to Reston, which helped him get a green card a couple of months later.

As of now, he had been in Reston for two years, though it was only over the past year that he dated Patty Yang and started to involve himself in the matters of Reston.

۞۞۞

The woods were a quiet place.

Zaire's cottage was situated in its own little corner of the wooden boundary.

The place couldn't be considered inside the woods as much as on the border, hidden behind the first couple of large trees.

Still, such a location offered tremendous privacy.

The only thing Zaire had to worry about was the occasional bears, foxes, and very angry raccoons.

There are also considerable incidents concerning mythical hunters searching for Big Foot, or normal hunters searching for bears, only to end up as prey instead of predator.

Thanks to Zaire's intervention, only one of the hunters ended up in the bear's maw, and he was rewarded with greater privacy after taking care of said bear.

.........…

Zaire's hummer slowed as it turned down the dirt road that led to his wooden-fenced cottage – it was made from wooden planks and barbwire – it did nothing to deter the snakes but it worked well enough against the bears, deer, and mountain lions.

When the road came to an end, Zaire hopped out of the running car, jogged to the fence, tossed it open, and jogged back to the car before driving through the gate.

The action was completed with practised ease.

The yard was muddy.

The hummer wheels sat in the same mud indentations it had caused in the morning.

Zaire parked the vehicle, uncaring of whether it was locked or not, and hopped outside – then, he spent the better part of fifteen minutes examining the mud.

There were no footprints in the mud.

Once, around a year ago, there was a set of footprints that didn't make any sense – it was imprinted in the mud all around the house.

Obviously, someone had been snooping.

Since then, Zaire had become paranoid about checking if the footprints ever returned.

It never did, but it didn't make him any less cautious.

The steps leading to the door were as dusty as it was in the morning, and an unused broom and duster rested silently on the veranda.

The key to the door was under the mat and it was accompanied by two other useless keys – a final attempt to ward any intruders away.

Still, the keys were only ever meant to be diversions since Zaire retrieved the primary key out of his pants pocket and inserted it into the door.

The handle took a bit of effort to shake loose, not that Zaire needed to open the door to enter the cottage but Patty did – her visits kept him sane in a lonely environment.

The inside of the cottage was as simple as it could be.

Zaire preferred to live with the little he had.

The living room and the kitchen shared the same space – the living room came first and the kitchen was relegated to the background.

The living room was bordered by the main bedroom and the kitchen was bordered by the guest bedroom, though it mostly served as a workout area for Zaire.

Behind the kitchen was the bathroom.

The living room consisted of two couches and a television that could only process about fifteen channels at a time.

The kitchen had a table with two chairs and a microwave atop the cabinet… the cabinet held some plates, cups, pans, and utensils, and a stove next to the dishwashing area.

The bathroom had a shower to the far right, a toilet near the centre, a shelf for toiletries, and a washing machine stuck in the left corner where the door opened.

Zaire's life was limited to the small 400 sq. ft cottage and he enjoyed it… he had always preferred to live in places small enough for him to see everything as soon as he entered the door.

Zaire slipped out of his jacket and walked into his bedroom, shifting out of his clothing and into something more workout-conducive.

Sports tights, loose pants, and a T-shirt…

"I hope I can get everything right today," He muttered to himself.

Zaire was through the door and down the stairs a couple of seconds later, and this time, instead of using the dirt road, he ventured in the opposite direction.

As soon as he passed through the roadside shrubbery, Zaire had disappeared into the forest.

-------------

It took several minutes of jogging, following the subtle white and red paint splashed on tree roots.

The hints guided him to the starting point of the obstacle course - Zaire had designed it himself.

The woods were his chosen location because he enjoyed isolation but mostly it was because it was the only place he could practice without drawing any attention.

Of course, he had tried abandoned cinemas, foreclosed factory buildings, and a bunch of other places before he settled on the woods as a practice arena.

It didn't help that he was pressed for time…

Zaire had to turn his abilities into a gift instead of a curse and that required far more than just training – he had to control even his most subtle emotions.

His subconscious and conscious minds needed to want the same things and that required a level of honesty within himself that few humans could achieve.

Everyone often said one thing when they meant another – Zaire did not have such conundrums, he couldn't…

That was a part of the reason he was so open with his feelings about Henry.

Most people underestimated the power of a lie – to lie and live with the lie, a small part of the person had to convince their subconscious that it was the truth.

They knew it was a lie but small parts of it would become the truth, and if they lived with it long enough, it would become their truth.

Such were the complexities of the mind.

However, due to Zaire's Jumping gift, he had to keep tight binds on the lies in his mind, constantly keeping them at the forefront of his thoughts lest he becomes confused.

If he wanted to save a woman from dying but he was afraid of water, his Jumping abilities would be affected by his conscious thought to save the woman and his subconscious thought to mind his own business and get away from the water.

It was a coin toss as to which thought would win…

Zaire wasn't willing to make such a gamble again – what if the woman was Henry and Jenna or someone equally important? Could he risk allowing fear or even the smallest hint of doubt to cloud his mind?

"Mom… sister… brother…" He murmured.

His thoughts were quelled by his arrival at a familiar tree – it was one of the larger trees in the woods.

Zaire stood at the edge of a small hill, and a single step would send him rolling down to the shelter of trees below.

While falling wouldn't necessarily mean his death, Zaire imagined nobody would be able to survive the fall without breaking a couple of bones, which could lead to death if assistance was not rendered promptly.

"Let's go…" Zaire closed his eyes to focus.

He imagined the wind rushing through his hair, the sounds of birds dancing in the trees, and the echoes of bat wings departing their caves.

When Zaire reopened his eyes, he was at peace.

The world in his mind had expanded – it was no supernatural gift, just a simple matter of adjusting his mindset.

Zaire bent his knees and threw his body forward and into a dive.

Three seconds…

It took three seconds, the wind rushing through his hair, and the tinge of approaching Earth.

Zaire had trained the sense of crisis from an expected collision out of his mind… There was no need for collision crises when a Jumper could just shift away.

Just before his head would have met the ground, definitely shattering his neck and killing him on the spot…

WHOOOSH

Instead of a bloody affair, with a twist of space – almost looking as if evaporation magnified by a thousand times, Zaire disappeared – he had Jumped.

Instantaneously, Zaire appeared a couple of feet beneath a large branch but instead of falling to the ground, his direction had shifted and he dove upward for a couple of feet.

His hand hooked around the branch and his body spun – Zaire's feet stuck the perfect landing, distributing the weight to both of his legs.

It was a near-batman-level landing.

An 'x' was painted on the large branch – Zaire had hit the target of his Jump.

WHOOOOOSH

Zaire tossed his body off of the branch, once more entering a dive – a churning of the air and he had disappeared once more, reappearing a dozen meters away.

His hands managed to tap the trunk of the two trees between which he appeared, and of course, the trunks also had 'x' on them.

Just before his feet were about to touch the ground, Zaire used his hands to push against the tree trunks, slowing his descent by a fraction – that was enough time to map his next target in his mind.

Zaire vanished…

WHOOOOSH

Zaire appeared on the branch of a tall tree and without waiting for a moment to catch his breath, he launched himself upward and outward.

His elbows shot up to protect his body and Zaire broke through two semi-thick branches just a step down from each other…

Then, he Jumped.

WHOOOOSH

This time Zaire appeared a few feet away from a pine tree and his legs burned as he landed – he had Jumped a bit too low to land properly.

But the landing could be salvaged.

Zaire leapt off the branch and panic made its way onto his expression for the first time - the target was too far away.

His leap had fallen a couple of feet too short due to his burning legs… Zaire gritted his teeth – it was time to try the double Jump technique.

WHOOOOSH

In an effort to bridge the gap, Zaire willed space to churn, Jumping a couple of feet forward, and then another Jump brought him within inches of the target.

But he had miscalculated…

For all his efforts, Zaire's face was met with the very branch that held his target.

PAS

His face met the branch and he was instantly disoriented.

WHOOOOSH

Zaire's mind spun as he unconsciously Jumped to a location hundreds of meters away – just above rocky terrain that would guarantee a broken back at best.

The worst… instant death.

Thankfully, another part of his training – the training to his subconscious home – worked as intended.

As soon as his mind understood there was something hard and damaging below, Zaire's subconscious jumped him to a place tied to his fondest memories – the lake where he and Henry spent most of their time in Reston.

BURRUP

The water was forced away as Zaire appeared four feet below the surface, just as he had intended.

The chill of the lake jolted Zaire out of his disoriented state, and it took a couple of seconds before he broke through the surface of the lake.

SPLASH

His breaths were hurried – he floated idly in the water as he caught his breath.

Then…

A chuckle emerged from between his lips.

"I guess that part works fine," Zaire voiced, staring at the darkened skies devoid of stars. "I guess that subconscious conditioning is really paying off. I tested it on myself and it worked."

As for the subconscious conditioning, Zaire was referring to – it was more about his Jumping Theory than anything else.

He combined the best of psychology with Jumping Science – at least, as much as he understood it – and succeeded in creating a way to condition the body and mind to react in the absence of conscious thought.

So, it would work even if Zaire was unconscious.

And even without knowing it, his technique was largely successful because he had managed to link his subconscious to various places he had travelled with Henry.

Attachments were profoundly important to Jumpers.

"I guess that's enough for now," Zaire decided, sinking beneath the surface of the lake once more.

The water churned into a whirlpool and the next instant, The Jumper was gone.

WHOOOOSH

...............…

Zaire appeared a couple of miles from his cottage.

SPLASH

The water he had brought along slid down his body, almost knocking The Jumper off of his feet – obviously, he needed more training in distinguishing near-body objects.

Still, he was pleased.

Jumping while submerged in any substance was challenging because it was hard to feel every part of your body but with meditation, Zaire had learned to hone his bodily control.

It was not nearly enough… but he was comfortable with the progress.

This also meant that he required much less effort to jump in any scenario in comparison to other Jumpers.

"And to think all I had to learn to do was wiggle my ears and show my middle fingers with my toes," Zaire chuckled but it was the truth.

Zaire jogged for three miles before emerging on the familiar dirt road that took him home – he always preferred venturing home the normal way.

"A hard-learned lesson," Zaire voiced as he ascended the stairs and opened the door to his small cottage.

He scooped up his jacket from the floor, tossed it on the bed and sorted through the clothes in his closet – then, he made a b-line for the bathroom.

A relaxing time in the shower ensued.

It was fifteen minutes of absolute bliss that could not be extended longer because the morning was only an hour or two away.

Of course, Zaire had slept before meeting Henry for their usual nighttime escapades, but training always took considerable energy out of him.

"Then again, I always sleep in classes anyway," He admitted.

It started with one class and soon extended to all of them – no teacher had any complaints because his work ethic, and subsequent grades, more than made up for a bit of inattention.

Zaire entered his bedroom and threw himself onto the large bed – it was the only place he could feel a modicum of safety so he didn't mind sleeping in the nude.

As he prepared for some shut-eye, Zaire thought about how well his basketball career was progressing in Reston.

The plot had already been shot to hell, not that he would recognize it since he watched about two episodes from the series some twenty years ago.

Such memories had long since faded from his mind.

After all, to him, this world was more than a series.

"I still have things in Africa to take care of," He mused, rolling over to face the ceiling – it was always more comfortable to sleep on his back.

Zaire reached under his pillow and retrieved his phone.

The contacts in his phone numbered in the hundreds but most of those contacts were only vaguely familiar to him.

There were only ten people he messaged on a daily basis – one of those people was relatively new.

It used to be Patty Yang, but now, Zaire had to settle for one of Patty's friends – someone he knew would keep their nighttime meetups a secret.

It was Brenda Gasser.

And to add to the benefits of being her secret lover, Brenda was far less paranoid than Patty who wanted to know every detail of Zaire's life.

Of course, Patty held a greater affection for Zaire, hence her intense care but he needed someone like Brenda – she allowed him to link their phones together.

Brenda probably thought it was a symbol of their commitment but Zaire had linked their phone so that, should anyone suspect him of Jumping, his phone's GPS would show Brenda's normal rate of travelling instead of his constantly shifting phone signal.

After all, it would look weird to be on the outskirts of Reston at one point and the town over in the next instant.

"Gotta give her some attention if I want to keep fucking," Zaire muttered to himself, pulling up Brenda's contact on the phone.

A text was sent…

'Wat you up 2 2nite?'

She answered almost immediately. [You mean, this morning, lol?]

Tomato – Potato…

[LOL… that's wrong on so many levels. But u always had a way wid words.]

'Coming over 2mrw nite?' Zaire questioned directly – he didn't want to give Brenda the impression that the relationship was more than a complex mix of fuck and hand-holding.

[Of course, I no we said no feelin but it's kinda been 2 months.]

'We R doin dis behind Patty's bck, u no?'

[It's her fault for leaving yah. She stil bitches bout it sometimes. But… I lik where we R and I officially hav a jcket and pajamas ovr @ ur place… daz prime relationship stats ri there…]

'2mrw nite, real tlk?'' Zaire suggested, knowing how much Brenda hated the serious talks in relationships – he was trying to scare her back into friends-with-benefits status.

[ok… nighty…] She replied.

.........

Zaire sighed and stuffed the phone back under his pillow – he definitely wouldn't be taking his phone to school tomorrow.

Thankfully, Brenda knew how much he loathes carrying his phone around so, unless she was brave enough to approach him at school, they would ignore each other like every other day.

"I was just trying to fuck occasionally!" Zaire complained.

Though inside his heart, he knew that his relationship with Brenda had long gone passed regular fucking, especially considering the overnights she spent at the cottage.

Yet… Zaire genuinely wasn't interested.

"A problem for tomorrow…" He determined and discovered the silver lining in the disaster. "And she knows how close me and Henry are… hopefully, that will keep Brenda away."

To lull himself into a slumber, Zaire browsed through the images in his library, not a small amount of which were nudes of girls like Brenda.

And those were only the ones he got for the day – after all, travelling around the world and meeting a bunch of different girls had its benefits.

He deleted the pictures before he slept, not willing to risk anything leaking, especially not Brenda's – she belonged to him after all.