...Checkmate

Chapter 3: Is It Enough To Die?

I felt their eyes boring into my back as I sat there, temporarily paralysed. We don't have a Nothinghamshire. No-one's gonna help us. I've let my team down. No wonder they all hated me and made fun of me.

"Newbie? Hey, newbie? You okay?" I heard one of them ask.

I looked up to see Gillam's warm brown eyes igniting the warmth in me. I couldn't take it anymore. I really couldn't. They put their faith in me and we were a team. I let them down and there's nothing I can do about it.

"Newbie?"

"Erm, I- I-" I started, but I couldn't seem to finish off my sentence. My eyes were waterlogged and they couldn't suppress the pressure any longer. I stopped refraining and burst into tears, "I'm so sorry!"

Everyone edged closer to me for comfort - everyone except Leo. He just stood there, watching me, unsure of what this must mean. He was still coordinating his mind. He hasn't figured it out yet - but Rowlands had.

I stared at the mousy boy with the fiery hair and his eyes bored into mine. He looked like a mouse that has just found cheese in a mousetrap. But it knows that there's a trap, the only problem is, it can't help itself anyway.

"We're doomed!" he squealed, nibbling at his fists like an actual mouse would. His eyes were bulging from their sockets and I really wanted to just hold him to calm him down - or ram my fist into his throat to make him shut up.

But it was too late.

Three pairs of eyes lingered away from me and my useless tears. I didn't try to fight them now. I wept continuously until my eyes were so red and sore that it was impossible for me to cry any longer. But they were unavailing.

 "What do you mean, 'We're doomed'?" said Gillam. Poor boy, he doesn't know what is in for him.

Rowlands eyed me carefully and gulped, "There's no Nothinghamshire - is there?"

I felt sorry for him - I really did. His knees were buckling and his teeth were chattering. I haven't seen anyone panic like that before. I really haven't. But why was he so scared? Why would they be scared just because they were caught in a garden?

I was the one they should be worried about.

Mind you, I'm supposed to be in a first aid room for this.

'She's got a scaphoid fracture of the wrist; she fell seven feet - what do you expect!?'

Rowlands voice was recurrent in my head. It was like having a ticking time bomb. I felt ill and my head felt so sore. I wanted to see a nurse, afterall I did break my leg - well, maybe not break, but something!

But no.

They were all hesitant and frantic over the fact that they were caught in a garden.

"I want an answer!" cried Rowlands, it looked to me as if he was starting to sweat. I decided to put the poor boy out of his misery and tell him the truth.

"No. There isn't." I squeaked in the quietest voice I could possibly fabricate.

Wrong move.

"The little bitch!" roared Ellis, marching towards me in a murderous manner. "Don't you see what she is, Leo? Don't you?"

Leo stood there, still gathering his thoughts, hovering over the pond where I recently made my first kill in front of my team mates.

Come on, Leo. You're team captain. Get yourself together. It's like one plus one. Don't make me spell it out for you.