Sofia on a Saturday? He tapped the notification. It had only been sent a couple of minutes ago.

“Hey, was thinking about what you said yesterday. Care for some ‘training’ for your ‘concern’ you shared yesterday?”

Can’t hurt considering the situation I’m in. He tapped a quick reply leaving out the fact he was in a situation involving two, possibly more, vampires.

“Awesome. I’ll see you at Roundhay Park, near the bandstand. 9 AM.”

“Do I need to bring anything?”

“No. Just yourself. Perhaps some water.”

He replaced his phone on the bedside table.

Better get up and ready then.

He reached Roundhay Park with a few moments to spare. Rather than trudge the forty-minute journey on foot, he'd dusted off his old mountain bike from where it leaned against the hallway wall, tires miraculously still inflated enough for the ride.

Sofia was waiting at the bandstand, looking out toward the lake.

“Hey,” AJ called. She looked over and cracked a smile.

“Hey, yourself,” her reply came. She stood up and they fist bumped.

“So… training…” AJ encouraged.

“Right. You got me thinking, maybe our analysts do need a bit of help against these bleeders. Who knows who might be watching us?” she smiled.

“Yeah…” AJ brushed the back of his neck subconsciously.

“Exactly! Let’s begin.” Sofia’s enthusiasm was slightly infectious. “Now, there are a few basics you want to be aware of that Type-V can throw at you.”

“Should I note this down?” AJ joked. The humour was lost on Sofia.

“No, you know none of this can be documented, come on!” AJ nodded, playing along with her. “We’ve categorised them into three different classes. Speed, Strength and Mind.”

“What are the tells?”

“You’ll only really know when they start getting aggressive. Most of ‘em will look as human as me or you.” She punched the air, reiterating her point.

“You look like an alien, though.”

“Shut up and listen before I throw you in the lake.”

“Sorry.”

“Speedy ones aren’t going to be that strong. Maybe a bit stronger than you, but if they get too close you can zap them with the thing I gave you.” AJ nodded, patting his pocket. “Strong ones aren’t going to be that fast, but they’ll hit hard. Proper hard. I’ve seen one cave a fellow agent's head in.”

“Noted.” His mind replayed his encounter near the hospital the other night.

“And Mind, well, they’ll use their tricks on you. Make you see stuff, or hide themselves. They’re not all that dangerous in a fight but you’ll probably not be able to get close to them.”

“OK, got it.”

“The main thing I want to teach you though is what we call the Breath and Distance rule.”

“Now we’re talking,” AJ thought. Sofia's tips had seemed practical enough, but something made AJ's skin prickle with anticipation.

“From what we know, the leeches seem to hunt using the scent of fear. You breathe steady, you make yourself boring. The Devil feeds on drama.” She stopped and sank down into a horse-riding stance. “Copy me, get low and breathe. Four counts in eight out.”

AJ mirrored her stance. Something about training with Sofia transported him back to PE class; her bossing him around, him pretending to hate it while secretly enjoying every minute. They moved through slow, deliberate forms, arms sweeping like willow branches, all while Sofia counted their breaths in a hushed, commanding tone that brooked no argument.

The sun climbed higher in the sky until finally Sofia straightened, her t-shirt dark with perspiration around the collar and underarms. AJ’s legs trembled with fatigue, sweat trickling down his spine.

“Practice those moves every day. Keep it to ten minutes though, I only did that long to drill it into your head. It’ll help control your breathing in any tense situations.”

“Thanks Sofi. Want to grab lunch? I hear the cafe here is good.” AJ asked. Sofia nodded and they headed down towards the lakeside.

The morning melted into afternoon as AJ shared stories with his friend, and they reminisced about the past.

“Remember Mr. Simmons?” AJ laughed, “I’d always win his challenges he set, and the prize was a tube of sweets.”

“Guaranteed, you cheated somehow,” Sofia accused, jovially.

“Nah, I just knew. His questions were always about old sitcoms or something that he assumed we hadn’t watched, but I’d seen them all!”

“Yeah I remember one question you answered, about wildebeests across the Serengeti…” She checked the time on her phone. “This has been fun and all, but I’m gonna have to call it. Got some stuff that needs sorting out. You got any plans for the rest of the day?”

“Date with a Type-V entity,” AJ smiled, only half jokingly. Sofia burst out laughing again.

“Who’s the joker now eh? Catch ya later!”

As she walked away, he caught himself touching the scratches on his neck. Feeding, bonding, breach; whatever Eliza had done, it didn’t feel like myth anymore. It felt like data; something written into him.