Kill School: Slice (13 page)

The Hunter hands Mateo a new rifle. The rest of us get in
line as Mateo and the Hunter talk about guns. Mal goes second, and then Aisha.
I am stuck in last place. Just where I will end up anyway.

“You’ll take four shots each.” The Hunter points to several
targets of varying distances. “One shot each target. Walk down this horizontal
line and stop at the mark for your shot.” She pauses to watch us and sighs.
“How many of you have shot a gun before?”

Mateo and Aisha raise their hands.

“Besides you, Mateo,” the Hunter says. “I know you can
shoot without you even shooting. We’re still better than average. Usually no one
knows how to shoot a weapon.”

The Hunter points to Aisha and Mal. “You two switch
places.”

Aisha and Mal switch places. Mal grumbles and kicks the
dirt.

“Don’t look down there,” the Hunter says to Mal in a testy
tone. “Watch these two and see if you can figure it out. Aim and shoot.” She
steps back. “First one. Go ahead.”

Mateo steps forward and raises his rifle. He shoots each
target easily and steps down the line as if he has done this before. I am so
amazed, that I forget to watch what he’s doing with his hands. He turns to the
teacher and smiles at the end.

“Great job, Mateo.” The Hunter almost pats him on the back,
but changes her mind. “You know your guns and you’re a great shot.”

“My dad’s a smith,” Mateo says.

“Well, Mateo. You’ll be in my class, for sure.” She takes a
Flatpad from her pocket and makes a note. “Next up.” She waves to Aisha.

Aisha holds the gun to her shoulder.

“Watch this time,” the Hunter says to me, as if I wasn’t
paying attention.

I watch carefully as Aisha aims, and pulls the trigger. It
doesn’t look that hard, as long as I can forget why we are practicing. Aisha
isn’t as fast or as accurate as Mateo, but the teacher still asks her name and
puts it on the list.

Mal is up next. He shuffles his feet and paces back and
forth. He picks up the gun, aims at the first target, and puts it down again.

“Shoot now, or walk on,” the Hunter says in an impatient
voice.

Finally, Mal shoots. He aims and shoots at each target
several times in rapid succession. His bullets fly all over the place. I drop
to the ground before I am hit. Mateo and Aisha follow me down. The Hunter
scolds Mal several times, but it doesn’t help.

Mal’s results are mixed. I can’t imagine Mal at home with a
gun. Unleashing his lousy aim at everyone. He’d probably shoot up the whole
school. The Hunter looks like she’s contemplating her choice. Finally, she
shakes her head and ushers Mal along without asking his name.

“Next,” the Hunter says.

My turn.

“Safety first.” She disengages my safety with a
dissatisfied look. I knew that. I was going to do that step.

I bring the gun up to my shoulder and stare at the target.
I can’t do this. I don’t want to do this. The Hunter shifts her feet and
grumbles. I put my finger on the trigger and hold the rifle up once more. The
scope makes it easy to see the target.

“Shoot,” Mal yells.

I lower the weapon again and glare at Mal.

“Maybe something smaller,” the Hunter says. She takes the
rifle and hands me a handgun from her holster. “My personal gun. Be gentle with
her.”

Gentl
e? This gun is
lighter, but it’s impossible to aim. I grit my teeth and pull the trigger. The
force of the gun throws my arm back so hard that I almost drop it. The loud
noise makes my ears pop.

I didn’t hit the target, but I’m not going to be a spaz
like Mal. I move on to the next target and miss. Two more shots. Two more
misses. The Hunter doesn’t bother to ask me my name. I have failed another inclination
test.

“Where’d you learn to shoot like that?” Aisha asks Mateo as
we head to the next test.

“Like I said, my dad’s a smith. He makes guns. Mostly for
hunting. Sometimes for other stuff.”

 Other stuff. I don’t bother to ask. No one is allowed to
have guns, except for those who live outside the city limits and certain jobs.
The Regulators’ force. Agents of control. Kids who do well in the Hunter’s
class. Mateo will get a gun when he graduates—for sure.

We
arrive at a table full of swords and knives on top of a white tablecloth.
Slice. A heavyset bald man with a bandana tied around his forehead stands
before us. He looks more like a chef than a swordsman. His cheery smile and the
glow in his cheeks make me like him without him having to say a word.

“I can see you like my wares,” the man says. “My name is
Alexandro Messier, but you can call me Messier. Not to be confused with messy
when you have food on your shirt.” He is the only one that laughs at his joke.
“Here you get to choose. I can help you out a bit, if you like.”

Mateo, Aisha, Mal, and I line up in front of the table and
look at the assortment of sharp objects on the white linen tablecloth.

Messier points to me. “You there. I have something very
special for you. Switchblade. Automatic swing, pearl handle.” He hands me one
of the knives on the table. “You try to come at me as if you mean it. Come
here. Out in the open.”

Messier steps around the table and brings me a few feet
away from it. I catch Mateo’s eye, and he shrugs his shoulders. Mal is picking
up the swords and swinging them around dangerously close to Aisha’s back.

“Stab me, right here.” Messier taps his chest.

“I can’t do that.” I don’t want to hurt him.

“Of course you can’t,” Messier says. “I am too fast for
you. However, you try. Now. Make your mom proud.” He winks at me. “Try not to
wet your pants like that one over there.”

Messier cocks his head toward Mal who looks down at his dry
pants and then fumes. I suppress a giggle as Messier winks at me again.

I try to do my best although slice is the last thing I
want. I would rather shoot or strangle someone any day over a stab wound. I set
my feet apart and lower my body. The knife feels cool and comfortable in my
hand. I press the button to release the blade and take a slice at Messier.

“Good job,” he says as he easily steps away from my swing.
“You almost tickled my rib. Just like your mother. One more time.”

“My mother?” I press the button on the blade and it
disappears into the handle.

“Yes, a wonderful girl,” Messier says. “Not a girl any
more, eh? Look at you. Her daughter is all grown up.” He pats his chest. “Now,
stab me here.”

I smile, release my blade, and lunge at Messier chest. He
catches my wrist and spins me around. The knife falls out of my hand.

Yay. I have failed again.

“Don’t worry,” Messier says. “You did well.” He picks up
the blade and hands it back to me. “I think you should keep this one.”

I take the switchblade reluctantly. I don’t want slice. I
don’t want anything to do with cutting people open. Messier seems to sense my
reluctance, because he tells me to cheer up and promises to go easy on me.

“Big needles,” Messier says. “Maybe that’s what you need.”

Mal approaches with the longest sword. The sword is almost
as tall as he is.

Messier laughs. I cover my mouth to suppress my own giggle.
I don’t want someone like Mal seeing me laugh at him. He might drive that sword
right through my torso. Mal walks over to Messier swinging.

“You think I’m going to let you practice on me?” Messier
asks. “We have dummies for swords.” He clicks a button in his hand and a doll,
which must have been flat on the ground, blows up in front of Mal. “Let’s see
what you can do.”

We spend a few minutes watching Mal hack apart the doll
before Messier stops him.

“Poor Gertrude,” Messier says, holding up the remains of
the doll. “I hope no one else likes swords.”

Mateo and Aisha take a turn with the knives. Aisha chooses
a butcher knife because she likes to cook. She does quite well hacking up a
watermelon. Aisha, so cool on the outside, really can hack and punch things.
Mateo takes two thin blades. Messier lets him do whatever he wants with them,
so he juggles. In the end, Mal is the only one Messier doesn’t choose for his
class.

Mal storms off to the next activity.

“It takes a special kind of person to cut with a knife,”
Messier says as we watch Mal go. “And that young man is special in a different
way.”

I wish he had rejected me, too. Only grace and stealth
remain. Neither one will teach me to kill. I guess I am stuck with slice.

Mateo and Aisha chat quietly as we walk over to the giant
wooden pyramid setup for grace. I am so exhausted. This feels like the longest
day of my life, and it’s not even half over. All I want to do is take a nap,
but the cool air and sense of responsibility keeps me moving.

We walk over to where Vladimir Korchev waits for us for grace.
He stands in front of the array of logs stacked twenty feet high in a pyramid
with a flat platform on top.

Vladimir greets us with warm mugs of coffee. I take mine
and swallow a giant gulp of the hot brew. It burns my tongue and perks me up
right away.

“Well, Aria Nova. How are you feeling today?” Vladimir
asks.

“Tired,” I say, pleased that he remembers my name from our
first encounter on the bridge. “Thanks for the coffee.”

“Yes, I heard about your early morning adventure.” Vladimir
acknowledges Mal, Mateo, and Aisha. “Unfortunately lack of sleep makes one
dizzier than usual, so we may have some falls today.”

“What are we supposed to do?” Mateo asks.

Vladimir waves to the pyramid of logs. “Why, climb that, of
course. To the top if you can.”

“That’s easy,” Mal says. He snickers.

“Wearing these.” Vladimir reveals a bunch of scarves. He
brings Mal forward. “Arms behind your back, please.”

“No problem,” Mal says. “I can climb that thing with my
eyes closed.”

Vladimir smiles as he ties Mal’s wrists together behind his
back. “Too tight?”

“No, sir,” Mal says.

“Great,” Vladimir says. “Because I like your other
suggestion. I will give you a blindfold as well.” Vladimir takes one of the
other scarfs and ties it around Mal’s eyes. When he releases Mal, he staggers
toward the pyramid and falls to his knees.

Vladimir picks Mal up. “Not yet, young man. We have to
blindfold everyone else first. You will all go together.”

Vladimir instructs Aisha, Mateo and I to turn around. He
then ties each of our wrists together and blindfolds us as well. I can’t see
anything with the blindfold.

“I’ll lead each of you to the pyramid,” Vladimir says. “And
then I’ll meet you up top. Remember; use your whole body to balance. I promise
you no broken bones if you fall down. Just bunches of bruises.”

I feel Vladimir’s hand on my back, encouraging me to go
forward. The last time I walked around with a blindfold was when Sebastian and
I played a child’s game with our friends. I’m nowhere near a grownup, but I am
no child either. For the first time in my life, I feel neither old nor young. I
just feel like me.

In the circus, the performers walked on tightropes high in
the circus tent. I hunch over and step forward slowly, trying to remember how
they did it.

“Straighten your back,” Vladimir says. “Carry your weight
with your legs. Think of yourself as a seesaw. Never throw too much weight in
either direction.”

My toes hit the edge of the pyramid. I bring my first foot
up to the wide and flat surface of the bottom log.

“Not yet, Aria dear,” Vladimir says. “Wait until I get the
others.”

A few minutes pass. I hear noises, Aisha’s soft voice.
Mateo’s laughter. Mal next to me, kicking the log in front of us. I muster up
my inner child and smile. My dad tells me smiling makes you feel better, no
matter what obstacles you face. He is right. I feel a little better about my
blindfold.

“You are ready now,” Vladimir says. “Go, please. I time
you.”

I place my foot on the first log and step up. It feels
solid under my feet. This won’t be so bad. I take another step to the next log
and pause to regain my balance. Two more steps. I can do this. I hear someone
else pad up the logs quickly by my side. He overtakes me in no time. Must be
Vladimir.

I take three more steps, this time faster. The logs have
become narrower. I have to turn my foot slightly sideways to fit it on the
surface.

Someone curses. I think it is Mateo. I hear a tumbling
noise and more shouts and groans. I wait. I can’t move forward until Mateo
shuts up. I hope he hasn’t broken an arm.

“Are you alright?” Aisha asks. Her voice comes from right
next to me.

“Fine,” Mateo says. “Except for my ego.” He rubs his head.
“And my head.”

“Let the others finish,” Vladimir says. His voice comes
from up high, but not that far away. I must be near the top.

I take a few more steps. Slower this time, to make sure my
feet are solid on the step before I try another one. The logs are becoming
increasingly narrower, rounder, and rougher. I am now crouching and bending
forward to keep my balance. I feel like a wingless bird. A Dodo bird. Extinct
and brought back to life. Twice.

“We have a winner,” Vladimir says. “Aisha Khan. In record
time.”

“Good job Aisha,” Mateo shouts from below. “Keep going
Aria.”

I have to be near the top. I hear grunting right next to
me. Mal. This isn’t a competition, I remind myself. I just need to concentrate
on my steps. I can do this.

Mal knocks into me. I don’t know if he did it on purpose or
by accident. My muscles go rigid as I try to steady myself. I can barely
balance on the logs.

“Come on Aria,” Aisha says. “You’re almost here.”

I take another step up. This time, I lean my body into the
logs, and touch the surface with my rear. I feel the corner of the pyramid. The
narrowness makes me think I am almost there.

Then I feel a swift kick in my chest and I know it is all
over.

“Cheater,” Aisha screams.

I bounce down the pyramid with my legs splayed out in
opposite directions. My shoulders and knees slam into the logs as gravity takes
me down. The pain. My shin. Elbow. Knees. Splinters shoot through my knees. I
feel helpless without the use of my hands.

I finally stop and remain frozen in case my movement
triggers another fall. I’m furious that Mal ruined my chances with grace—one of
the only classes that doesn’t involve learning how to kill.

I haven’t reached the bottom. By the width of the log, I
think I am about half way up.

“I come to get you,” Vladimir says.

“No,” I shout. “I am not done.”

I am not going to let a little kick in the chest prevent me
from losing this challenge. I climb the pyramid faster this time. Within a few
minutes, I reach the platform on top.

Aisha shrieks and hugs me as Vladimir cuts the scarf around
my wrists and takes off my blindfold.

I did it. I look out over the camp from the platform. We
are higher than I thought. I look down. I can’t believe I climbed all the way
up here, blindfolded with my wrists tied behind my back. I feel like a hero. I
had fun.

“You pass,” Vladimir says to me. He turns to Mal. “You
don’t. Cheaters don’t pass no matter what.”

“It was an accident,” Mal protests. “I was blindfolded. How
did I know where she was?”

Vladimir smacks Mal on the back of the head.

“You knocked her first, you kicked her second. Don’t be
obvious. Next time you don’t get away with it.”

“But,” Mal says.

“No more whining. You sound like a dog.” Vladimir turns his
back on Mal. “Now you all have to go back down again.” Vladimir dangles the
blindfolds. He grins when he sees our face. “Just kidding. We go down the slide
in the back. Come.”

Vladimir waves to Mateo.

“You down there. Walk around. Perhaps you do better with
stealth, but I think not.”

Vladimir crosses the platform, sits at the edge of the far
side, raises his hands, and disappears.

My knees are stiff from slamming into the side of the
pyramid. The left one crackles when I walk. My rear doesn’t feel much better.
Aisha slides my arm over her shoulder and helps me hobble over to the other
side of the platform. The entire backside is one giant and very steep slide.

Aisha sits at the edge and turns toward me.

“Race you,” she says and then she lets out a high-pitched
squeal as gravity takes her down.

I am left standing next to Mal wondering how I am going to
bend down to sit, not wanting to put any more weight on my rear. Mal approaches
me with clenched fists as if he is ready to throw me over the edge. I need no
more motivation. I swing my legs over the edge and go down the slide on my
stomach. Mal dives down, head first, right after me.

“Stealth and grace go hand in hand,” Vladimir is saying to
Mateo and Aisha. He stops in mid-sentence and turns to us. “Aria and Mal thanks
for joining us.” He goes over to Mal and helps him out of a pile of leaves.
“Not too smart going down head first.”