The Renegade

Chapter 4: A Dagger and a Frown

Mike walks up to me and hands me my dagger. When he came over, it looked like he was sizing me up. I snatch the dagger from his grasp and rip off the leather cover. It was surprisingly comforting to see it again. This was the dagger that helped me escape, after all.
"Well?" I hear Jeff cough.
"What?"
"Are you going to show us what you can do?"
"I don't know, princess. Am I?"
She crosses his arms sternly, "I hope you know you have to actually know how to fight to be in the tact team?"
"And I hope you know that I could kick your ass."
A chuckle emerges from a couple mouths. "Alright, smart-ass," Jeff says. "Get on with it."
In a brief second, I toss the dagger and a few gasps gather. Jeff ducks right before the dagger could fly into his eye. He chuckled, "You missed."
A smirk spreads on my lips, "Did I?"
Jeff raises an eyebrow and I point behind him. The dagger had landed in the middle of a red and black target on the wall. A couple eyes widen at this sudden realization.
"Accuracy," Kylee whispers, "check."
"What else can you show us?" Schiffs questions.
I think for a second. "Got a sword of any kind?"
~~~
After my 'demonstration,' I'm welcomed with applause. "Welcome to the team!" Schiffs says happily. Not all parties, however, were too happy.
I sigh, remembering my promise to myself. "As fun as this was, I think I have to turn down your invitation. And uh. I don't think I should join the tact team. Even further, The Renegade."
"What!?" a few moan.
"If you guys could just give me a food ration I can make it to my old home and I could probably hide away in there for a while. I'll just take my dagger and I'll be on my way." I start to head for the door when a hand lands on my shoulder. It was Mike.
"You seriously think you can make it by yourself?"
"Totally." I retort.
"Yeah, what if you get hurt again?" Nikki said, concerned.
"Not a problem. I know a few things, I can patch myself up."
"Or if you run out of food?" Maansi intervenes.
"I've survived this long."
"Or if they find you? You were on the run, weren't you?" Shawna inquires.
"Irrelevent. I'm more sneaky than you think. I have connections."
"You have to stay here," Riley adds.
"It's your safest bet." Mike says calmly.
Then, as fast as he said it. Something... snapped. "Safest bet? Safest bet!? Are you joking? How many of you have gotten killed in the last month? Hell, the last week! I'm sorry, I just don't want to be a part of that statistic."
"Don't you hate them? Don't you hate the Govern?" Nikki inquires.
"With a burning passion."
"Do you have any friends? At all? Any allies?"
I hesitate, "Sure," I nod, thinking for a second. Did I really? "I don't know." Where was she going with this?
"Let me ask you something then. Would you rather die alone or with your friends?"
"I don't have any 'friends.'"
A sad smile briefly appears in her lips. "Let me rephrase that, then. Would you rather die for something you believe in or die trying to survive?"
"I-uh..."
She comes closer, "Would you seriously allow them to win?"
I look up and she's right in front of me. "Are you joking?" I yell. "Look around you! Your underground, hiding from the people you want to stand up against! Who's the predator and who's the prey? Answer me that! What the hell have you been doing?" I glance at Jeff, "Shoot everyone you see out on the streets?
"If this your attempt at saving the people, you doing one hell of a job! I really must congratulate you! I'm serious! Congratu-fucking-lations! Because by the looks of it your obviously win-"
Then a sharp and quick pain emerges from the side of my face. I turn back to her. "What the hell?" I growl.
"Your senseless arguing is a defense system, isn't it? You can't attack us physically or else you'll be killed. So you fight back verbally instead. Your afraid, aren't you? Your afraid you won't be good enough. That you'll end up alone." Our noses were now centimeters apart.
Something wet trickles down my cheek, but I quickly bring up a hand to wipe it off. "I've been alone all of my life. I've had no one besides them. And I lost them. My... sem'ya. How do you... family? My family?" Something hitched in my throat. "I lost them. I don't have them. I don't have anyone."
"Well now you do. You don't have to be alone."
I shift my weight onto my right leg. "How do I know you guys won't betray me?"
Everyone moves, adjusting an article of clothing to reveal a matching symbol. They all had an omega symbol in a circle with a couple extra lines thrown in.
Nikki continues, "We're family. We're all family. We don't betray each other - we trust each other. I can't prove to you that we won't betray you. The only thing we can offer is our trust and good hope that you will learn to trust us in return. What do you say?"
I nod slowly, "Fine. I'll join you guys."
A soft smile arrives on Nikki's lips. "Good."
My chest lights up. Maybe this will be good for me. Maybe this will turn out for the good. Maybe they will be my sem'ya... family.
"Now let's go pick out your weapon."
"My... weapon?"
~~~
"Anything catch your eye?"
The wall was adorned with daggers and guns and swords and multitude of other basic weapons. It also had some other odd out-of place objects. Like, for example, a deck of cards, sausers and tea cups, a broom, some ribbons, a hose, some gardening gloves, and other random things like that. Kylee catches my expression of confusion and explains.
"So you may be wondering 'what the hell is all of this junk.' Well, you would be shocked what could be turned into weapons. With our technology, you can practically make anything a weapon. Just in case your not in for a regular gun or sword. Of course, everyone personalizes their weapon to make it their own. I mean, it could be stickers or something like that but you know what I mean. Really, you want to chose carefully. Usually, the people are drawn to their weapons. You'll feel it."
I glance at her and back to walls and shelves. I reach my hand out. I look down and see two hand fans. Instead of wood, the sticks were a black steel, the slips were also black and has golden spirals and designs on it. I was always interested in cultures from before the war and before that. I would learn about that in my school and we would do old dances. I remember one time we did a dance with these hand fans. I already had experience with these. If I could turn it into a weapon...
Next thing I knew, the fans were in my hand. I look around and grab a handful of burgandy colored blades. I also grab a few black metal rods and screws. Once I throw it all together, there's two fans with blades on the end of the leaves of both. Thanks to my mechanical smarts from when I was back in school, I'm able to work some "magic" on it. With the touch of a built-in button, the fans combine into a sturdy scythe. I turn towards the squad and they nod in approval.
"Very personalized," Nikki says in a mocking tone.
"Yes, no one here has fans -or a scythe- as a weapon," Kylee taunts, sticking her tongue out at Nikki.
"Would you like to go test it out?"
~~~~
The armory was linked to the training room, so within a couple steps we were back on the first floor of the training room. Riley presses a button and a couple dummies pop up.
"Once your done," Kylee announces, "You can spar with one or many of us."
I nod and get into a fighting stance. Feet shoulder length apart. Knees bent. Right foot in front of the left. Alright. I can do this.
I flick my wrist, opening the slips, which then unfolds the blades. With a few more twists and flicks, the dummies are in shreds on the floor. A few more pop up, and this gives me a chance to test out my scythe. I press buttons on the handles of both of the fans, and they come together like magnets. The black steel connects to make a rod, and the blades fuse into a larger blade, forming the scythe. The cloth on the slips folds into a bandana-looking mask that covers just my nose and my mouth. I slip it on and prepare for artificial bloodshed.
The scythe cuts through them easily. After they're down, I revert the scythe back into the two fans.
"So we will get you two holsters for your two fans. Unless you want one."
"No, two is fine."
"Alright. We'll also give you a regular pistol and a holster for that, and -if you want- a holster for when your fans are combined into a scythe. And that would go on your back. Unless you want a sword instead of a gun?"
I think about it for a second. "How about just the sword?"
"Are you sure? You already have two blades weapons?"
"Now that you mention it, a gun doesn't seem that bad."
"You can pick a gun out later," Kylee deduced. "Now, would you like to spar?"
I nod.
"Alright. Everyone grab your weapons," Schiffs orders.