The Knife Thrower

Chapter 15

He tells everyone to move back and stand against the side wall. My heart beat accelerates and a feeling of suspicion and cautiousness clouds my mind. What does he mean? He circles me slowly, eyes trained to mine. I place my hands over my stomach, hoping it looks like I am innocently playing with the hem of my shirt, not getting prepared to put up my guard. I square my feet as well, my right foot slightly behind my left. He doesn't notice, for he is too busy staring into my eyes like he is deciding what he is going to do.

I look out the corners of my eyes to see where the rest of the rebels stand. Most of the rebels are standing with the rest of my classmates, but two stand to me left, two to my right, three in front including Arnold and two behind. I force myself to breath normally, focusing my mind only on the people around me. Arnold stops moving and stands a foot infrong of me.

"Do you know how to fight Kyra?" He asks, eyes still trained on my own. Thank goodness I brought along my knives, though I hope not to have to use them yet.

"Why would I know? Is it not illegal for a women to know how to fight?" I try to bide myself time, mind going over my possible options. Only three that I can think of. Fight, escape, or pretend. Only one sounds practical.

"Yes, it is illegal. But the law did not stop your parents, so why should it stop you?" My feeling of cautiousness is suddenly replaced by anger and I feel my nostrils flare.

"I am nothing like my parents." I bite out, trying but failing to keep my anger in check.

"Oh?" He feigns innocence, "Then you are admitting to being on the governments side of this war."

"I am admitting no such thing. If you insist on twisting my every word than I shall be obliged to stop answering your questions." When I'm upset I tend not to think straight, often meaning I start to sound like a historical novel. He takes a step towards me and I force myself to hold my ground. No one else has moved yet so I focous on the man in front of me. I keep a wary eye on his muscle movements, watching for a surprise attack. I have a feeling he doesn't like me much. But the feeling is mutual.

"Then maybe, I should stop asking questions." He whispers and throws his left arm in an arch towards my jaw. I drop to the floor and hook my left foot in between his feet with my right next to his left. I twist and roll out of the way. He drops like a rock and I quickly get up to my feet. I sense rather than see someone rush at me from my left and I turn, blocking his punch and sending one of my own. He drops to the floor unconscious. I spin around in time to see another rebel rushing at me. As he gets into striking range I kick him in the gut, pushing him backwards so he knocks over the rebel behind him.

Someone grabs my left arm from behind and I swing it forward, using the momentum to elbow him in the nose. He cries out in pain and stumbles backward, tripping over Arnold who is trying to get up of the floor. The giant rebel lands on top of him and I let out a laugh, but quickly get back into focus. A pair of strong arms wrap around me, squeezing me and trying to lift my off my feet. I let out a wheeze and throw my head back, hitting him in the mouth. He screams in pain and I feel his grip on me slacken. I drop into a wide stance and twist myself to the left out of his grip. I punch him in the gut and tip him backward. He throws his arms out in an attempt to stay standing, but his weight pulls him to the ground.

I wait for another attacker to come at me, sweat pouring of my brow and blood pulsing in my ears. No one comes. I turn around and see with a shock that six rebels lie on the floor, two unconscious and almost all bleeding. I guess I go into a 'zone' whenever I have to fight for my life. Only had to bout four times though so I can't be certain.

Arnold has managed to get out from under the other rebel and is crawling towards me, a gash over his eyebrow that is leaking blood. He wheezes and tries desperately to catch his breath, the wind having been knocked out of him twice. He glances around at his fallen soldiers and looks towards those standing at the wall.

"Go... get... her!" He manages to choke out between taking big gulps of air. I look over at my classmates and the other rebels, pulling my hands up to my face in anticipation of another fight. Bring it on! But they shake their heads viciously, stumbling away from me like I'm a poisonous snake. Which I guess I kind of am. They stare at me with a mix of horror, shock and fear, which gives me the unexplainable urge to laugh. The only one who doesn't look like he is going to have a seizure is Blake, who just stares at me. Though I think I can see a slight flicker of admiration in his eyes. I'll have to worry about that later.

I slowly walk over to Arnold and place the tip of my boot to his chest and shove him backward. He gasps and falls onto his back, hands weakly coming up to defend his ugly face. But I'm not going to attack him again.

"I did not think a rebel army, who say they are on the citizens side, would attack a younge women. I guess I stand corrected." I keep my boot lightly on his chest and turn to face the rest of the rebels, "I am not a spy for the government. You have no reason to question my motives. Though remember this - I may be entirely on the RSA's side in this war, but I am a dangerous enemy to make."

I turn back to Arnold who is still to winded to speak and wait till he looks me in the eyes before I continue, "I ask agian. If we are done here, I would like to leave." He stares up at me with a mixture of embarrassment, hatred and new found respect. Odd combination. He gives a slight nod and I release him. Turning on my heal I walk out of the cold room without looking back, into the shadows of the starless night.