Free Falling for June: A Novel by Ryan Winfield Page B

been on fire was peeling off his protective clothing and mask. Men beside him held fire extinguishers. The rest of the group stood staring at David with smug, satisfied expressions, as if they were enjoying his discomfort—looks David recognized from decades ago when he was in school; looks that could have only belonged to students.
    “What were you thinking, comrade?”
    The man asking him the question had a firm grip on David’s shoulders and was looking right into his eyes. He was tall and thin, with dark eyes and dark skin. He spoke with a slight accent. David thought he might have been Mexican, but he was Spanish.
    “I wasn’t thinking,” David said. “I just saw someone on fire and I acted.”
    The man appeared as if he were about to chastise David, but then he caught himself with his mouth half open and cocked his head, as if considering David’s answer. Then he smiled. “You know, comrade, that’s a satisfactory answer. Most satisfactory.” He released his grip on David’s shoulders and reached up to take his face in his hands, just for the briefest of moments. It felt like a sign of affection to David. Then the man turned and addressed the gawking crowd. “Students, what you have witnessed here was courage in action. Action devoid of thought. The body and the mind fused into one. You have seen displayed the very nature of what I have been teaching you.”
    The students all began to nod, as if they’d known this all along. There were nearly a dozen of them, mostly men, with a few women sprinkled in, and they all looked to be half David’s age. The young man who had been on fire was just getting his last leg out of the burn suit, and he stepped over and shook David’s hand.
    “That took real courage, dude. Sorry about your jacket.”
    David looked down and saw his coat smoldering on the ground. “Oh, it’s fine,” he said. “That old thing.”
    “Students,” the instructor said, “you’ve seen true bravery, a rare thing in this world. Now, please help me welcome our new student.”
    “It was nothing, really,” David said, blushing. “Wait. Me? A student?”
    The instructor stuck out his hand. “I’m Sebastian.”
    “Okay. Yes. Sure. Hello. I’m David.”
    Sebastian’s handshake was firm but friendly, and he didn’t immediately release David’s hand. Instead, he held on to it and said, “There can be no indifference between courageous men such as us. We will either be great enemies or good friends.”
    David had no idea at the time just how true this statement would become. All he knew was that he was very, very confused.
    “But for now,” Sebastian went on, “we are student and teacher. Come with me and we will get your paperwork sorted out.” Then he turned to address the students again. “Practice your high falls, but keep an eye on one another. We’ll be back en un momento .”
    Before David could even protest, Sebastian put an arm around his shoulder and led him away toward a trailer. “It’s nice to have a mature student,” he said once they were inside and sitting down across from one another at the small desk. “The others will look up to you. Especially after your fiery entrance.”
    David looked around the cramped trailer. There were diagrams and drawings of falling dummies and choreographed fights and detailed car crashes covering the walls. Sebastian opened a desk drawer and took out a pack of cigarettes. He offered one to David, but David declined. Sebastian shrugged and lit one himself. “We had begun to worry you wouldn’t show, like the others,” he said, blowing out smoke. “It means a lot to thecamp and the sanctuary that you’ve come. We need the press desperately to help us raise money.”
    “I’m sorry,” David said, “but I seem to be a little confused. Do you happen to know the woman who runs the animal rescue? Echo Glen, I mean.” He pulled the flyer out of his pocket and unfolded it on the table. “Her,” he said, tapping his finger on the