Sentinel

Laughter filled the air. Chatter emanated from every corner. The courtyard was packed with thin, pale children. At first glance they appeared to be normal adolescents, however, the longer you stared at them the more eerie they appeared. They were too long, too thin, and too pale. They’re hands were like large spiders; too large for their bodies, and they’re eyes, although seemingly happy on the surface, were fierce and seemed to glow faintly from within. Their faces were angular and sharp, and they moved with a smoothness and precision that rivaled a normal human.

The game that was taking place in the middle was fast paced and complex. Two teams of four fought tooth and nail in the center, one team trying to hit six consecutive targets with a small pistol within fifteen seconds, the other team trying to stop them. Eyes flashed and cries rang out as Linnea’s team successfully defended the targets, and was passed the pistol. The game began again. A score board drawn in the dirt was tracking the points earned by hitting the targets.

Allen was struggling with a sandy haired boy, attempting to hit him in the face with the butt of the pistol. There was a shriek as the handle connected with the boy’s jaw, and he fell to the ground. Allen took aim and fired six quick shots, hitting four of the targets and missing two. He was re-aiming, when he was hit from behind, and toppled over with the sandy haired boy on top of him.

Linnea was grappling with a girl on the other side of the ring, each trying to kick the feet out from under the other one. Linnea, gasping for breath, pulled her head back, and with a sickening crunch brought it down again on the other girl’s nose as she looked up. The girl dropped like a stone, and Linnea looked around to survey the battle. Another boy had joined the sandy haired one in trying to pry the pistol from Allen’s hands. The small girl who had woken Linnea up in the infirmary was crouched nearby, snuffling through a nose filled with blood. The boy with the ponytail was rolling around on the ground near the edge of the circle with yet another opponent.

“Seven!” Linnea shouted at the small girl with the bloody nose.

She looked up. Linnea motioned with her hand and she looked over to see the chaos near the targets. She nodded and jumped up. She and Linnea sprinted toward Allen who was now covered in blood himself from cuts and gashes on his face caused by rocks on the ground. Linnea reached them first and aimed a powerful kick at the sandy haired boy with the bruised jaw. He yelped as her foot connected with his ribs and he flew across the courtyard, bouncing several times before skidding to a stop out of bounds. He was out of the game. At that moment Seven arrived beside Allen. Allen looked up, and with massive effort threw the pistol into the air. The other boy wrestling with Allen reached up as he did, and Seven dived forward to receive it. A spit second of uncertainty passed through the crowd as to who would catch it first. However, Seven was faster and made a spectacular mid-air catch taking the gun from the fingertips of the boy, rolling to a stop and firing six times, hitting six targets before the whistle sounded and the game ended.

Cheers and groans echoed through the courtyard as the teams helped each other up and shook hands. Other children ran into the ring with cold rags and ice to assist the injured. Linnea handed Allen a towel for his face. The boy with the ponytail crouched next to Seven and began to examine her nose.

“It looks broken Sevie.” He said.

“Can you fix it, Kai?” She asked thickly.

“I can try. Are you ready?”

She nodded and Kai carefully placed his fingers on either side of her nose and pulled. She winced and sniffed, but took the towel that was offered to her and began to clean the blood off her face without comment.

The team surveyed each other and smiled. Already their wounds had begun to scab over, and they had won again; another addition to their undefeated winning streak.

“Hey, Linnea!” The boy with the sandy hair had begun to limp across the field calling as he went. “I heard you ran into some trouble in the last battle. Lose your focus did ya? Let some good for nothing son of a bitch enemy take you from behind huh?” He sneered.

Linnea’s eyes narrowed. “Shut your bruised mouth, Anderson, before it causes you more pain.” She snarled.

“Ha! No no! We want to hear the story about how the legendary Soldier Linnea let some mother fucker Rebel sneak around behind her. What had you so distracted that you forgot where you were?” He laughed, which sounded painful and forced.

“Shut your fucking mouth, Anderson!” Allen retorted, starting toward the sandy haired boy. “You’re just mad because you have always been a looser, and today proved it again!”

“What was it Linnea?” Anderson called. “Did you see some cute Rebel you were thinking about fucking? Got distracted did we? Is the best of us getting soft?”

“Linnea!” Kai yelled reaching for her, but it was too late. She had begun to move toward Anderson, taking huge strides, bridging the gap in seconds. Too late, Anderson realized that she was too close. Linnea pulled back her fist and stuck him a blow that sent him crashing to the ground. She then stomped hard on his bruised ribs. There was a cracking sound and he rolled over moaning in pain as she pulled back for another kick. Her team reached her in time to pull her back as she brought her foot down again, inches from Anderson’s head.

“It’s fine, Linnea. You’ve done enough.” They said to her as they pulled her back toward their corner, but she wasn’t listening. She was thinking about a little golden book stuck into the breast pocket of a dead enemy’s jacket. Its gold edged pages shone in the moonlight and she had reached down to pick it up. She knelt on the ground looking through it in fascination as behind her, one of the soldiers on the ground came to life and raised a knife to strike. She turned around and the knife caught the light, reflecting it in her wide eyes, too late to avoid injury.

It was forbidden for them to read, and very few of them could anymore. However, there was something about that tiny book with the golden pages that fascinated her. She thought of it, now hidden away at the bottom of her trunk. A contraband gem stone, waiting for her. She was at once fearful and thrilled. A slight smile crept over her face.

“Linnea. You know that he was just mad he lost. He doesn’t mean what he said.” Linnea blinked and looked at Seven who had spoken.

“Huh?” she said.

“He doesn’t mean what he said." Seven repeated "He’s really not that bad of a guy. He just can’t control himself sometimes.”

“Oh,” Said Linnea. “yeah.”

The group stared at her.

“Are you alright?” Allen asked.

For the first time, Linnea realized that her fist hurt. She looked down at it. The knuckles were swollen.

“Oh…yeah.” She said again, rubbing them. “It’s fine. His frame hurt my hand. That’s all.”

“Are you going to be ok?” asked Kai apprehensively.

“Yeah. It’s just a bruised hand. Nothing to worry about. It’ll be better in a few minutes.”

“That’s not what I mean. You’re acting strange.”

“Oh. Linnea felt a little ashamed. “Yeah. I mean, sorry. Yes, I’m fine.” She pulled herself back to the present, and smiled at her teammates. “Let’s get out of here. This place is getting boring.”
They laughed and arm in arm, they left the courtyard.