Chronicles of a Runner Ch. 01

**This is the second part of the story. Your feedback will keep this story alive and keep me posting chapters.**

Chapter 1

As the Boeing 747 made its final descent into the Los Angeles International Airport I felt my stomach begin a dance around my ass. I clutched my notebook for all it was worth, like my thoughts on the paper would protect me from what was coming. To most people what I was doing would be considered minor, but to an eighteen year old country boy from rural Missouri it was like stepping into another, very hostile, world.

I had turned eighteen only the day before and my parents decided that it would be good for me to and stay with my grandparents for the next year. I agreed, if for no other reason than to get out of Rolla, Missouri. I had been home schooled and had never really had any friends growing up so I thought I was ready to go out and meet the world.

Even as I sat in the airliner's seats, that happened to be too small for my large frame, I was regretting getting on the plane in the first place. I held tight to my notebook, full of miscellaneous writings and sex stories, as the pilot made a perfect seamless landing and broadcast to the entire plane that we had arrived in Los Angeles.

My stomach sank into my knees as I rose and gathered my few carry on items. I forced my self to remember that this wasn't all bad. There was Nicole, a friend of my grandparents. This woman is a vision of perfection.

A small five foot two inch frame topped with blonde hair touched with natural highlights of brunette. Soft looking skin that curved into perfectly round breasts and tapered to a firm fleshly backside. From the time I was first budding as man I had been infatuated with Nicole.

She was probably seven years older than me putting her at a perfect twenty-five. The bitch was her husband Daniel. He was the classic case of little man syndrome. An out and out prick. Many a time in the past and through out this story I have had to keep myself from flat laying him out.

My heart skipped a beat as I stepped off the causeway and saw her standing there. And there was fucking Daniel. I stopped just out her line of sight and collected myself. First all this leaving home for the first time shit and to top it off Nicole was picking me up from the Airport. I took a second to admire her tits confined by a very tight, very low cut shirt.

"Oooooh, Bear it is so good to finally see you again. You have really grown up." First of all Bear is a family nickname, I am a junior. Secondly, she was right, I had changed. The man she saw was tanned and well muscled from years of hard work and Martial Arts. I was three and a half feet wide at the shoulders and stood at six foot five inches.

"It's good to see you too Nicole." I said.

"How was your flight?" Nicole asked in her bubbly way.

"Don't ask. Hey, let's get out of here. I have been stuck on a plane for four hours and I could really use a cigarette." I replied.

"That sounds like a good idea." toned Daniel. He is always in a hurry to leave anyplace but home.

A few minute later we had collected my check baggage and were heading for the car. As soon as the sliding doors opened into the waning California sunlight I had a Camel Filter out and light, much to the dismay of the other patrons. I could tell that this was going to be an interesting year. Modern California law says that is illegal to smoke outside. I would have had a record as long as my arm.

While we made the drive back to Nicole's house we made idle chit chat and just generally caught up with each other. For the full hour we were in the car Daniel never said a single word. Like I said we have had our disagreements and I was sitting there chatting up his wife and half ass flirting with her. What really pissed him off is that she was flirting back. A lot can change in six years.

We arrived at Nicole's apartment complex in Ontario at about seven that night. They set me up on the couch for the night and then we started making dinner plans.

"So Bear, where would you like to eat on your first night in California?" asked Nicole after we had gotten settled in.

"This is your turf, I have no idea what is here or what is good. And by the way what ever happen to Gramma?" I asked referring to my grandmother.

"They will be here in the morning to pick you up and take you back to Cat city." she said, "I say we go to Marie Calendars."

Without skipping a beat Daniel chimed in with "I don't want to go to Marie Calendars. Let's just stay here and eat."

"I think Marie Calendars sounds great." I retorted. I'll admit I did it just to piss Daniel off. He knew it and he looked at me like 'I will set you a fire right now.'

In the interest of my time and sanity I am just going to say that we went to dinner and Daniel did nothing but bitch. The conversation was the basic bullshit chit chat all through dinner. It was about ten o'clock by the time we got home. Daniel went straight to bed.

Nicole and I stayed up for about another half an hour catching up on the six year gap since my parents had moved from California. I told her about my jobs. All cooking and most of them were bullshit fast food joints. The one that I am really proud of was the college.

Rolla houses the University of Missouri -- Rolla, the formost engineering school on the face of the planet. I worked in one of the dorm cafiterias in a Benny Hanna kind of thing. Next came the martial arts talk.

"So, how did you tone up so well?" Nicole asked me as we sat on her living room couch, aka my bed for the night.

"I have been doing martial arts for about five years now." I said.

"Really, so like what kind of karate? And can you like kick peoples butts and stuff."

"What I know is called No Ryu Ninjitsu. It's a modern Ninjitsu. I suppose I could kick someone's butt if I wanted to." I said. This is where I am probably going to lose you. People hear all this martial arts stuff and tend to lose interest to prevent that I will give you some background.

When I was thirteen I meet an uncle who had just left California and was an ex-skinhead. One time got into a fight and an old Japanese man called Hitori saw him fighting and took him as his student. He learned a lot of Ninjitsu, some Kung Fu and most weapons. The most prominent being the twelve inch nunchucks and the forty-two inch katana.

My uncle taught these things to me after drastically changing his life in the hopes that I would never use them. I did. So now I am here with illegal underground training. I promise there is no bullshit in that and it will not take prominent part in the story.

"That's like way cool. Can you teach me some self defense stuff?" she asked.

"Sure, I can do that." I said knowing that she would never really learn anything.

"Well it's pushing eleven and I should probably get some sleep. It has been really awesome to talk to you again. Gramma is coming tomorrow and then next weekend Daniel and I are going to Cat City so we will see each other again soon."

"Yeah, sounds good."

"Well good night, Bear."

"Good night."I said and watched her walk up the stairs. It was time for the hard part. I could never sleep in strange place. I mean I was a little more comfortable but I was still on high alert.

I hate to sleep. Even when I can sleep I am plagued by nightmares. It never fails that I wake up at four in the morning in a cold sweat. Always the nightmares come, but nonetheless I pull my shirt off and lie on the provided pillow and cover with the strange blanket.

Get used to it kid, your not in Missouri any more.

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I am standing on a road in the desert. It is so black I cannot even see my hand in front of my face. My mind tells me to run. It's always running. I opt for the right and start moving.

I have no idea what I am running from but I know that I am running for my life. My legs pump as hard as they can and I start to sweat. A sound cuts through the night like dagger and my legs will carry me no longer.

As I fall to the sand I twist my body and fall facing the direction I was running from. If this is the end I will embrace it and meet it head on. It has always been my way.

I look up and see two round headlights aiming straight for me. I'll not fight it. I will not fear it, it is my time and I know it now. Bring it on.

As the head lights grow closer my voice rises in a scream. Not a scream of fear but rage. I push the lights from my mind and I can make out a face.

My mother's face looked back at me from behind the windshield. She seems haunted and pale; she looks at me with a mix of fear and sorrow.

I feel and hand on my chest and my eyes fly open. I am in danger a figure looms over me and I react. My hand shoots for my attacker's throat, but half way through I recognize Nicole and I force my hand to the left and miss her.

"Hey, it's me. Are you alright." Her voice is dripping with genuine concern.

"Yeah, I'm alright. I am sorry about that." I said looking into her eyes.

"Don't be. Do you want to talk about it?"

"No." I said. I sat up and pulled my shirt back on and slipped into my shoes.

"What are you doing?" she asked

"I am going outside to do my workout."

"Do you have any idea what time it is." She asked

"It's four a.m."

"How did you know that? There are no clocks in here."

"It's always four." I walked over to my stuff in the corner and pulled a small bag out of my suit case. These were my nunchucks, I wasn't sure how they would go over here but I was going to give it a shot.

"Why don't you try to get a little more sleep?"

"Because it won't work, once I am up I am up." I said

"Can I watch?"

___________________________

I started with push ups. I let every thing fall away as I moved. After about three minutes or so sheen of sweat began to form. That was sign that it is time to start the workout.

My hands and feet moved in slow motion and I felt my muscles power up. They began a dance and take over me. This continued for a while until my hands deemed the dance done.

I looked over at Nicole to see her reaction. It was warm in the California twilight but not warm enough for the sweat on her skin and hard breathing. Smiled to my self, I was getting to her. I will still swear that it wasn't my plan to seduce Nicole, she did her self. Married to Daniel it really didn't surprise me.

I reached to my back and pulled out the nunchucks I had put in my waistband earlier. My hands pushed them into a quick rotation. They crossed my body and moved into a wrist roll spinning faster.

The wood danced around my body at unreal speeds and my mind was finally free of my mother's face. Nicole was breathing harder and harder, the chucks whistled past my head. I was free and relived.

I wound down the chucks and pocketed them under my right arm. I was standing with my right side to Nicole and the sun was just coming up on my left. I put the chucks back into my waistband and stepped in front of Nicole. I leaned close into her face and grabbed my cigarettes.

I turned away from her and lit one.

"Wow." She said. "That was for real."

"Yeah." I said.

"Well, what sounds good for breakfast?" Nicole asked, trying to sound calm and collected.

"Don't worry about that. I'll make breakfast. Just go have your shower and then it's my turn. I'll make breakfast for everybody."

"No, you are our guest and I can't ask you to cook."

"You are not asking me to cook. I am telling you that I am going to cook. Now go." I said and took a hearty drag off of my Camel.