by Nik Davies
Chapter 15
Law 6
No Mercy
The girl fell and landed inches away from the firecracker, knocking her head against the rocky ground. Akeem had thrown the M-80 close enough to scare the life out of her but far enough away so she wouldn’t get hurt, but the silly thing managed to land practically on top of it. Akeem jumped up, prepared to pull the girl from harm’s way, but Gideon pulled him back down.
“Get down!” he hissed. Akeem shoved him away and was on his way to the girl when it happened.
The explosion was deafening, and the scream that accompanied it was blood curdling. Akeem rushed forward, tripped, rolled down the slope, and came to a halt next to the girl. She was facedown, blood trickled from her ear, and there was a swelling knot on her head. The other girls were nowhere in sight; they had scattered at the first sign of trouble. Akeem rolled her over. He checked her hands, arms, legs. Everything seemed to be intact. When he bent down to get a listen to her heart, her eyes flew open, and Akeem’s head exploded with pain. He fell over limply. Stars danced across his eyes, and his vision grew dark. He shook his head and looked up to find her standing over him, heavy rock in hand. She raised it slowly above her head. Akeem was too dazed to do anything other than watch as the rock arced down toward his skull. Suddenly Gideon came out of the cornfield, howling. She turned from Akeem and threw the rock at Gideon instead. He dodged it skillfully and charged, landing a meaty left hook to her jaw. She dropped, landing on top of Akeem, knocking the air from his lungs.
“You punched her! My dad told me to never hit a girl.”
“You’ve got loads to learn, mate,” Gideon said, shaking his head. Akeem blacked out then and woke to Gideon slapping him roughly on the cheek. “Oy, wakey, wakey!” Gideon said.
“What happened?” Akeem sat up. Gideon had the unconscious girl bound and gagged and tossed over one shoulder.
“She gave you wot for. You’ll ’ave a lovely headache.” Gideon smiled and Akeem moaned in response. “Ahh, and there it is now.” Gideon chuckled. “Hop to it. Let’s get this wild cat back to camp. Get it up, man!” Gideon demanded as Akeem stumbled to his feet. Akeem’s head was still fuzzy when they finally entered the camp.
“They made it!” Mouse shouted, “And they caught an Angel!” The entire camp erupted in cheers.
“First blood!” Shouts and cheers came from all over the camp, and soon the shout was taken up by the rest. Akeem and Gideon were crowded by excited boys.
“What’s first blood?” Akeem asked Gideon over the din.
“It’s a rite. Your rite, mate. You’re the newest arrival, so she’s yours.”
“What do you mean ‘she’s mine’?” Akeem asked nervously.
“She’ll be your first. We’ll celebrate. ’Ave a feast. It’ll be a ’ellava good show.”
Akeem fidgeted. “My first?” He was thankful that he was too dark-skinned for the heat that was rising in his cheeks to show.
Gideon pounded on his back proudly. “Your first kill, boy-o. It’s time.” He carried the girl into the Trapped Forest and toward the Dog House with every boy in the camp following behind him—every boy except Akeem, who stood alone, frozen in panic. A pair of cool-blue eyes stared down at him in amusement.
