“Kill me then,” says Cody. “I’m done. I’m out. I’ve seen my life flash before my eyes so many times in the last three days… I don’t want to see it again! Just end it! The sooner the better.” He drops to his knees and lowers his head in defeat. David walks over quietly. He scans the area for witnesses and sits down in front of Cody.
“See? You wish you were dead. You wish you’d been in that fire. I’m a psychic.”
“David, are you going to kill me or not? I’m not in the mood for banter.”
David sighs. He leans in close to Cody’s ear, and whispers. “I’m not. I need your help. You said you’re willing to die, right?”
Cody looks up. “Well, that was when I thought you were about to kill me. I’m not a kamikaze. If I help you, you have to promise not to kill me.”
“Alright, but you have to promise not to kill me, either. I’ve got enough people looking for me.”
“Deal. Now, how may I be of assistance?”
David stands up. “Like I said, I’ve got people looking for me. At least three of them. Kenton gave me a head start after I accidentally killed his sister --”
“You killed Mikayla?”
“Accidentally. I was aiming for Mesa; she’s the one that tried to kill me in the first place. Her and Madeline set Medlin on fire. Mikayla jumped in front of the bullet.”
“Wait -- isn’t that a Nerf gun?” Cody points to the orange and green plastic gun in David’s hand.
“It is.” David turns the gun around and shows Cody the ammo. “I took those rods from one of the bunk beds in Medlin. I used one, though, so I only have three left. It won’t work from far away; Mikayla was only a few feet in front of me. I didn’t even expect it to kill Mesa. I was just hoping it might hit her head and knock her out.”
“What would you have done if it had? Shot her again while she was down?”
David turns his head around and stares at the Chapel. “I know I come off as a douche, but it’s all an act. I don’t actually want to kill people. I feel just as bad about it as everyone else does.”
Cody shrugs. “Like it matters. We’re killing each other whether we wanted to or not. At least you’re consistent.”
David shakes his head. “I’m not, though. I killed Mikayla, but I didn’t mean to. I’m still just trying to stay alive. If I die now, everyone will remember me as the guy who deserved it.”
“So what? You’ll be dead. You won’t care.”
Before David can respond, they hear a gunshot.
“What the heck?! Was that a real gun? Who got a real gun?”
David shakes his head. “I don’t know, but I know I don’t want to be around it. It sounded far away, though. No one else has wandered this far from the center of campus. Follow me; we can hide in the library.”
“The library… Kairos Games… Yep. That seems appropriate.”
As the two boys hack at the lock on the back door of the public library with one of David’s bullets, the cannon explodes, once again.
“Sounds to me like the gun works. And I bet it has better range than yours.”
“All the more reason to get out of its way.” David pockets the remains of his makeshift bullet and shoves the door open.
YOU ARE READING
The Kairos Games
FanfictionIn this thrilling spin-off of the Hunger Games, twenty-six lonely college freshmen face up against their worst nightmare: death, at the hands of each other and cafeteria food. Who will win the dreaded Kairos Games? Will it be Becca, with her yellow...
