Not Just A Game

Chapter 8

We finish our breakfast and leave the table. Under the table, Dakota gives me a handful of knives. I nod to her. And stuff them in a napkin.

Everybody heads off to their bedrooms. When I reach mine, I unroll my napkin, and lay out five butter knives side by side on my bed. A picture of President Suzanne Snow hangs above a desk.

Suzanne became President after her ruthless father died a few years back.

Although she rules not out of cruelty, and seeing people suffer, but rather out of fear that she will lose power. Everybody followed the previous president's orders out of fear that he would execute them.

Now that he is dead, she fears that people won't see her as a threat, and be unfaithful to her.

Her biggest fear is to become powerless.

And for that, I hate her most.

I pull my elbow back to my ear, and launch my knife at her nose. It tears the portrait with a solid, satisfying thud. I grin.

If this is the only rebellion and rage I ever have, I'm perfectly fine with that.

Knife after knife I fling them at her head. I've been going for nearly an hour now. My head shouting silently, raging on and on.

My grip around the knives turns my knuckles white.

My anger feeds solely through the blades as they impale her face.

I retrieve the knives and have three lodged in her eyes when I hear a quiet knock at the door. I set my remaining knives on my bed and open the door.

Dustin stands against it with his papers of notes clutched in his hands.

I beckon him inside.

He notices Snow's portrait and raises his eyebrows in suspicion.

"I've started a knife collection." I state, nonchalantly as possible.

"Seems like a nice place to keep it." he responds casually.

"Something tells me you didn't just come here to criticize my training methods?" I ask

He nods, walking forward and sitting on the bed next to me.

"I came to study." he says.

"Fair enough", I say, " math or science?"

He chuckles and gives me a crooked smile that melts me.

"How about survival?"

I nod and ask, "How are we going to win this?"

"Please just, no allies. I can't get close to someone, and just have them get killed. Or what if it's just us in the end, and we have to kill them?" he says.

I just nod.

He's right. The more people we bring in, the more we have to lose or betray.

"So assuming we all survive the first arena, only the strongest and smartest will be in the final games. We'll need tactics. We'll need to study the tributes. Their favorite weapons, how they kill, their allies, do they hunt, can they swim? It'll help us kill them, and stay away from threats." I say.

He nods. But his eyebrows furrow together in frustration.

"It's just.." he shakes his head," I don't understand something." he looks me in the eye and says,"How do I protect you?"

I lace my fingers through his and feel his pulse through his fingertips. Warm and strong.

I say something I didn't expect to say.

"Love is protecting each other even when you can't protect yourself. Dreaming of roses even during winter's worst blizzard."

He squeezes my hand and says,

"Well it's a good thing I'm not afraid of picking flowers in the snow."

I wrap my arms around him and hug him tight. His arms find my waist and he hugs me back.

Authors note

Sorry for the super short update but once again I wanted to update quickly and it's late here so hope you are starting to like my story. Comment what you think and update will be tomorrow I hope!

Xoxo

IRONABBS