by Karen Carr
“Stop,” Yip says. “You two no good for the combat.” Yip waves us away. “Next two. Mal. Aisha. Show me something better.”
Mateo and I watch Mal and Aisha. He whispers an apology to me, but I shrug it off.
To my surprise, Aisha whacks Mal in the cheek, sending him to the ground on the first try. Mal grabs Aisha’s ankles in a furious rage and pulls her to the ground. She kicks him in the head and he punches her in the stomach.
“Stop them,” I say to Yip. “They’re hurting each other.”
“You’re right,” Yip says. “They’re good. Time to go.” With a few swift movements, Yip separates Aisha and Mal. They both look like they want to attack each other again, but before they have time, the whistle blows.
“Next up, go now,” Yip says. “Fire.”
The four of us walk over to fire, which turns out to be a shooting range. Aisha and Mal keep far away from each other. It is clear that I have no desire to hit another human being. I can’t imagine choking someone to death, so I am glad to have failed that challenge.
“That was stupid,” Aisha mumbles.
“No kidding,” I say. “What can they tell in ten minutes?”
“I have never been in a fight with a boy before,” Aisha says, rubbing her hands. “I think I broke my finger.”
“You did pretty well,” I say. “I sucked.”
“You weren’t into it,” Aisha says. She’s right.
“Neither was I,” Mateo says. “I really didn’t want to hurt you, Aria.”
“Likewise, Mateo,” I say. “You don’t have to apologize again.”
The one armed hunter greets us at the shooting range. Her short hair is greased back and a circular scar resembling a bullseye on her cheek. She wears a prosthetic limb where her arm should be, using it to give me a rifle. She moves on to the next person without asking my name, telling me hers, or even acknowledging my existence.
The weapon feels heavy in my hands. I don’t think I can raise my sore arms to aim the gun, let alone pull the trigger. I can’t imagine hurting anyone with this thing and wish I could just give up.
“I don’t like names,” she says. “You can call me the Hunter. Line up.”
Mateo steps in front of the Hunter. “I’ll go first.” He holds the rifle to his shoulder and looks through the sight. “It’s a bit off to the left.”
Mateo grins as the Hunter walks over to him and grabs the rifle out of his hand.
“Can’t be,” the Hunter says. “I cleaned and loaded these this morning.” She checks the sight and raises her eyebrows. A slow grin crosses her face. “We’ll I’ll be… You are right.”
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.”
Gentle? 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.
Chapter Thirteen
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 t
o 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.”
