The Tree of Knowledge by Daniel Miller (room on the broom read aloud .txt) 📕

Chapter 12

Albert rose from his bed and stretched his back, which felt like it had been beaten with sticks by pygmies in the middle of the night. His coddled body was not used to the less than robust support provided by the Travis Farm’s twin guest bed. Looking out the small cross-paned window of his room, Albert noticed that the macabre drip of the farm at night had given way to a lush morning light reminiscent of the horse farms outside of Northfield. Albert could smell the rich scent of azaleas mixed with a faint aroma of eggs and bacon. He heard the bubbling of Ying’s voice below blended with the hum of men’s laughter and hurried downstairs to see what he was missing.

As he crossed the threshold of the Travis Farm’s kitchen, he couldn’t help feeling that he had stumbled into a sequel of The Big Chill. There, sitting and laughing over breakfast at a round cherry-wood kitchen table, was the odd assortment of people from the night before. And at the center of it all was Ying, enthusiastically recounting a story in the fully animated way that was her trademark, with the whole table doubled over in laughter.

Puddles’s eyes first met those of Brick, who converted his broad smile into a menacing frown. Witnessing the sharp change in Sergeant Travis’s face, Turner and the man in the wheelchair stopped laughing and pivoted to see their new guest.

“Maaan, you got some bad taste in ladies, amigo,” shouted the man in the cowboy hat with a smile.

After holding their faces in ill-disguised seriousness, the entire table burst out laughing while looking at Albert.

Puddles smiled the confused smile of a man who knew that a joke was in the offing but had no clue what the joke was. Slowly, he approached the table, socks slipping and sliding along the hardwood floor.

Mercifully, Ying shattered Albert’s befuddlement. “I’m sorry, Professor. I was just telling the guys here about how the love of your life framed you for murder.”

More laughter.

“I’m glad you all get so much joy out of that story.”

“Oh, don’t be so sensitive, Puddles. So, you got your ass kicked by a girl. It’s probably not the first time, and I’m sure it won’t be the last,” said Brick with an unsympathetic smirk.

“Why don’t you join us for breakfast, Albert, and we’ll introduce you to our new friends here,” said Turner.

Albert reluctantly joined them at the table and dutifully shook hands while pulling out a backless chair.

Turner began, “This, Albert, is the Book Club. The man beside you is Gabe Abernathy.”

Albert carefully sized up the man next to him.

“Gabe knows more about cyber-intelligence than anyone in the game. He and Sergeant Travis met in the Green Zone in Iraq and have been friends ever since. He will be teaching you how to use technology to maximize the Tree’s impact during your training.”

“I’m sorry, did you say training?”

“Of course. I’ve spoken more with Sergeant Travis and the rest of the club here about our situation, and it seems that things are even more dire than we anticipated. We may have to fend for ourselves for a while. So we need to immediately undertake the process of whipping you and Ms. Koh here into shape. The Book Club is here to make that happen.”

Turner continued, “This powerful gentleman here is Captain Raphael Salazar, who is an expert marksman and possesses a deep knowledge of small munitions. He’ll be teaching you how to shoot and use other weapons.”

Salazar tipped his hat and twirled the toothpick that seemed permanently attached to the end of his mouth.

Albert fired a look at Ying. “We’re shooting guns now?”

Ying smiled and nodded furiously, her cheeks bright pink. “I know, isn’t this great?”

Turner returned to his introductions. “This lovely lady next to me is Ariel Kelly. She specializes in psychological warfare.” Even when she was sitting down, Albert could tell that Ariel was a tall woman, well over six feet. She sat with perfect posture, and she looked sidelong at Albert through squinted eyes.

“And, of course, you now know Sergeant Travis. He will be training you in physical conditioning and hand-to-hand combat.”

Albert and Ying nodded at their new colleagues.

Brick began. “The four of us were briefed on your situation last night, and since we don’t have a lot of time, we’re going to throw you into the deep end of the pool. Puddles, I understand you’re a chess player.”

“I was.”

“Well, this is gonna be a lot like chess. There are some basic skills you need to learn, but at the end of the day, the best way to get better is to simply play the game. Each day will consist of basic physical training combined with competitions in each of the major fields that you will need to master. I will compete against you in hand-to-hand combat; Mr. Salazar will compete against you in small-arms fire and protection. Ariel will compete against you in psychological operations. Professor Turner will observe and assist you with each of these modules.”

“You mean we’re going to fight you all?” sputtered Ying.

“That’s right. The professor here thinks his special sauce can make soldiers out of you. Frankly, I’m skeptical, but I’ve learned a lot from this gentleman, so I’m willing to give it a shot. We don’t have a whole lot to work with here, but I’ve set up the old farm as best I could. We’ll do hand-to-hand combat in the old farmhouse down the hill. We’ll use the hay bales out back for shooting practice and strategy. And we’ll go into town for the psyops stuff. Now go change, and we’ll reconvene out back in fifteen minutes.”

The Book Club simultaneously pushed their chairs out and rose from the table. Albert watched, eyes darting back and forth. Ying seemed to be genuinely enjoying the pace of military life.

“Puddles, since you were late, you won’t get to eat this morning,” said Brick.

“Oh, I wouldn’t have anyway,”