The Knife Thrower

Chapter 14

"Get into two straight lines, boys at front, girls at back." The leader shouts at us. We have been ushered inside the school gym and led down a flight of stairs to a sound proof room the size of a football stadium. One I never new existed. I stand between Vanessa and Maragret, surveying the room around me. The leader of the RSA stands at the front with two men on either side of him. Another twenty rebels surround us with fifteen more behind. Mr Kavelux and another few teachers sit on metal chairs in the front corner of the room, watching. All the rebels wear greyish brownish clothes with a gun holstered to their back.

The leader walks up and down in front of us, taking in each person from head-to-toe. He gets to me and stops. I push my shoulders back and lift my chin up high. He smirks a little before continuing on to the next person. He has short hair that is a reddish-brown colour and dark-brown eyes that are dedicated and arrogant. Finally he reaches the end of the lines and goes back to the front. He claps his hands behind him and squares his feet.

"You all know why you are here. This is no game. We can kick anyone out at any time we want, so listen up!" He waits for a second before continuing, "I have two rules. Follow them and we will get along nicely. If you don't follow them, well, embrace the consequences." He laughs wickedly and so do his soldiers. But no one else.

He gestures for another soldier to step forward. A skinny man probably in his late twenties with red hair nervously steps forward. His blue eyes scare the room and he takes a shaky breath, clearing his throat.

"Rule number one, Trust no one. You never know who is secretly working for the enemy. And rule number two, Behave. Only do what we tell you to do. Never back chat or step out of line. We are here to train you to fight for your country, your people. You owe us, not the other way around." He speaks in a surprisingly deep voice with an English accent. He looks up the the leader who nods his head in approval. The man steps back into line.

The leader continues on, "Okay. My name is Arnold and I am your leader. You can call me Sir. First, girls go over to the left wall and take a seat. Boys, we will train you now. Go!" No one moves.

"Hey. What are we supposed to do?" A high-pitched voice calls out and I strain my neck to see who it was. Kathy Foxen, a chubby short girl with a massive attitude and bad temper, crosses her arms over her chest and puts a 'Who do you think you are?' Look on her face. Uh oh.

Arnold's smug expression fades and is replaced by a look of anger. His eyes lock onto Kathy and he strides towards her. Everyone moves out of the way. He keeps walking till they are nose to nose, both glaring at each other. He lifts a long finger and jabs it under her neck. She takes a small step back.

"What was my first rule?" He says slowly and quietly, voice tight and angry. He sounds even more dangerous and deadly when he isn't shouting. Her tough act brakes a little, nervousness replacing it. She is quiet for a long time. He stares hard at her.

"Behave." She whispers, gaze dropping to the floor. He gives her a cruel smile.

"Don't ever do that again." He turns around and stalks back up to the front. Kathy stares at him in shock and open fear. We look at one another in amazement. No one has ever been able to stand up to Kathy and make her fear them before. We walk towards the edge of the room and wait for someone to tell us why we are here too. Seems like they only want the guys.

*****

I check my watch for the millionth time. 10:30pm. We have been sitting here doing nothing since we arrived. The girls, that is. The boys are doing push-ups and sparring, taking no brakes in between. Vanessa yawns next to me and Maragret is asleep on my shoulder, snoring loudly. I elbow her in the ribs to try and wake her up, but she just says something unintelligible and moves her head to lean on whoever is sitting next to her. Unfortunately, Kathy is next to her and sees her coming. At the last moment and gets up and moves away, leaving Maragret to hit the concrete. She hits it with a thud and bounces back up, dazed. She blinks at me sleepily and lies back down on her side.

Arnold and the other leaders yell at the sweaty and exausted year tweleves to work harder. This is such a waste of time. I turn my head around to face Vanessa.

"I'm going to go ask why we are needed here and if we can go home." She looks at me like she is about to protest but I wave her away. I'm just asking one question. I get up and stretch my sore legs. I walk over to Arnold and he sees me coming. He watches me as I approach, dark eyes cold and slightly annoyed. Like I'm the one wasting his time. I stifle the urge to roll my eyes.

"Excuse me," I say. He nods his head for me to continue, "If we are not needed at the moment, can we leave?" I am aware that everyone is watching us, even the boys have stopped.

"Why are you so eager to leave? Got somewhere to go or something to hide?" He asks suspiciously.

"I have a young brother and sister at home waiting for me." I state plainly, struggling to keep my expression calm and void of emotion.

"No. You can't leave. There is something else I've decided, that needs to be done." He looks at everyone in the room, "In the centre now!"

They all trudge forward, interested in what he has to say. And scared, I can feel it. Vanessa comes to stand on my right and gives my hand a small squeeze before letting go. Arnold doesn't take his eyes of me. My palms start to shake but I force them to be still. When In the presence of the enemy never show fear nor weakness. He may not be the enemy, but he sure is a lion looking for its prey. He waits till everyone's quiet.

"What your name."

"Kyra."

"No, your last name. You look familiar." Of coarse, my dad works with these guys. He is probably Arnolds boss. I bite back a smile at the thought.

"Kyra Avedel." His eyes go wide and his mouth slack. But he gets over his shock so quickly I might have imagined it. He sets his face hard and purses his lips. We are about the same height, him only an inch taller.

"Well, well, well. This is going to be interesting," A slow, cruel smile spreads over his face. "Let's see if daddy's girl can live up to the family name."