Tainted Love

Chapter 21

Rose's POV

I wasn't even frazzled as I walked back to the room. I was reprimanding myself the entire way back. Get a conscience, Rose. Some girl just got herself shot right in front of you. Is it that difficult for you to give a damn?!

Sadly, it was; I feared myself because of it.

No matter what, I loved watching people get hurt, and it sickened me.

A knock came at the door, making me jump. I saw they're schedules. No one else would be back for another hour. The door opened, and footsteps followed. Why does this always happen to me? I reached under my mattress. Right next to my money is a knife (yes, I keep a knife under my bed, so what?). I quickly grabbed it as the foot steps come closer. It's defiantly not one of the girls. None of them breath that heavy, and they would have yelled something like 'I need a nap' and 'where's the food?!' if they knew I was here.

I peek my head into the living room. This was definitely not on of the girls. Someone, dressed in all black and a mask, had his back towards me. Like me, they had a knife. No gun. What kind of idiot robs a place without a gun?

I came out of hiding. "Who the hell are you?" I asked. He turned around. Nope. Bad idea. Scary man with a knife. I've set myself up to die.

He just... stared at me - as if I wouldn't know why he was here. He sighed. "Go," he said in deep voice.

I just looked at him, completely confused. What the heck? Without warning he ran towards me. In an act of complete instinct I dodged him, only to come back and slam his head on the kitchen table. This psycho was looking for a fight! Or to kill me... I was just straight up confused on which one.

He turned back, grinning. He threw his knife, which I tried to dodge but it scraped my arm, slicing open my skin. I wanted to see how bad it was, but adrenaline told me to fight. I threw my knife at him, not at his torso but at his leg. Thrown off by where I aimed, he couldn't react far enough, allowing the knife to go right into him. I expected a yell... maybe even a grunt. Nothing. My eyes widened as he ran towards me once again, the knife still in his leg!

I was tackled to the ground, slamming me against the ground. Now he pulls the knife out of his leg, immediately holding it on my throat.

He sighed. "You hesitate too much," he said.

Something inside of me popped. I sneered. "How's this for hesitating?"

I quickly slammed my head into his, nailing  him in the face. He stumbled backwards, giving me the opening to tackle him, slamming his head against the floor. Blood seeped from his nose, as I held him down. I took his knife from his hand, throwing it into the wall, then mine to his throat.

His eyes weren't a killer's. Then I realized something. This was one of those stupid tests.

The door opened. Sir Albert walked in, and his eyes widened when he saw that his man was currently pinned to the ground, not me.

"Nice job, Rose," he said with enthusiasm. I shook my head. "Was this necessary?" I said, panting from exhaustion. I stood up, releasing the man who apparently was just testing me. He grumbled as he did, immediately leaving the room. I heard him quickly say "she's good" as he walked past Sir Albert. Should I be proud?

Sir Albert clapped his hands together. "So, usually, I don't have to explain this. Starting in Combat 1, you are randomly attacked by a Hunter to see how you perform. Since you skipped Combat 1, this was a surprise for you. Anyway, nice job. There's no class today, so enjoy the rest of your evening."

He left the room, leaving me alone and completely baffled.