The Last Wars by Bianca Gray (suggested reading txt) 📖

was close to the wall. So, I threw one of my knives and pinned him against the wall. Then I threw the other one, which pinned him on the other side of him. A bell rang.
“What?” He cried out. “REMATCH!” he yelled. I’m guessing I won and he didn’t like that very much. They handed us knives again. I traced the tip of my knife.
“I told you I would win,” I said. I could feel him glaring at me. Then a voice yelled, “Go!” and we both lunged for each other’s throats. He pinned me to the ground and I kneed him. He rolled off of me, groaning. I got on top of him and then he pushed me off. I got up quickly before he could get on top of me again, my knife ready. Then he ran after me again. He knocked my knife out of my hands. It slid across the floor, a good five feet away from me. Damn. Maybe I can run for it. He grabbed my wrist and I punched him in the jaw, knocking his helmet off. He rubbed his jaw and stared at me curiously with bright blue eyes. I stared back at him. He was really handsome. I shook the thought out of my head and kicked his knife out of his hands and caught it, the blade cutting my hand. I turned it around so I was holding the handle of it. I just made a cut on his hand so he would let go. He did. He made a dive for my knife. But I got onto his back and straddled him. I held the knife to his neck. But then he swung around, my knife cutting his neck. And then he used his knife to conveniently tilt my helmet off and then put his knife to my neck, he looked smug until he looked down and noticed that my knife was at his upper abdomen. My helmet fully came off and his eyes showed how shocked he was. A bell rang. A man came in clapping. We still stared each other down.
“Good show, good show. Now, now, no need for hostility towards each other. It’s a tie. You both won,” he said looking at us. But I still stared into his bright blue eyes and he stared into mine. Neither of us moving.
“Let’s care for those wounds. Especially for you, Nick. That’s a pretty big gash in your neck,” he said tugging on Nick’s wrist. Nick didn’t move for a little while and then he flashed me a smile.
“You’re really a tough opponent,” he said smiling. I nodded and then he walked away with the man. The lady came in.
“So, I have been assigned to be your mentor. My name is Jane,” she said smiling. I nodded again, even though my mind was going mentor?? Why the heck do I need a mentor? But I just nodded and didn’t ask questions. She rubbed her stomach.
“God, I’m hungry. Aren’t you? You can meet the others in the cafeteria,” she said. I mouthed ‘Cafeteria?’ to myself when she turned her back. We walked out of the training center and down the hallway. We passed a lot of doors that had people’s names and sometimes crudely drawn pictures that I guess were supposed to make people happy. Finally, we got to a big room that you could see into the inside because the wall facing us was made completely out of glass. There were a lot of kids there. Some animatedly telling a story.
“Now, what shall we call you?” asked Jane.
“Why do you need to call me anything?” I asked. We were just standing outside of the Cafeteria.
“Well, the kids will want to know what you’re name is…” she explained. I just stared at her.
“In other words, you need a name besides ‘New Girl’ because you won’t be the ‘new girl’ forever,” Jane said.
“Uh…” I said. I couldn’t think of any names.
“I know, how about Isis? From that Egyptian Goddess back in the day. Ancient, ANCIENT times,” Jane said.
“Isis?” I asked. I didn’t think it suited me. I shook my head slowly.
“Okay, hmm, how about…well, you’re sort of small. And for some reason, there is something very musical about you… How about Viola?” she asked. I thought about it. Viola. It ringed all right I suppose.
“No? Okay, um, Blaze? Fawn? Bliss? Valarie? Valora? Zanita? Annika? Ida? Irina? Silvestre? Fayre? Bambi? C’mon SOME of these I’m throwing out have to fit you,” said Jane getting exasperated. I thought about the names she just threw out there.
“Annika. I like the name Annika,” I said.
“Thank GOD,” she cried out. Then she pushed me into the cafeteria.
“Ta-ta!” she called out. I walked into the crowded cafeteria full of kids who probably know how to fight way better than I. Then a girl came bouncing up to me. She was young with big brown eyes. She was tugging another girl, by the arm, which looked exactly like her and seemed to be the same age.
“Hi! I’m Bambi!” she called out looking up at me with big brown eyes.
“And she’s Fawn!” she said pointing to her identical twin sister. I bent down to see them.
“Hi, I’m Annika,” I said smiling. Bambi beamed and then grabbed my wrist. She dragged me to a table with some other girls.
“Whose this Bambi?” asked a tall girl who had scars all over her face, that formed sort of like a design. She said it sort of territorial. Hmmm, raised by wolves? I thought. That would explain her scars.
“This is Annika. She’s new,” she said stage whispering the last part. I gave a half-heartedly wave.
“Well, why doesn’t she just sit down then?” asked a petite girl with white blond hair and dainty everything. The scar girl glared at her. The petite girl just kept eating her lunch, quietly. A girl with wavy caramel colored hair looked up at me.
“I don’t see why she can’t sit with us,” she said.
“Well, did she already do training?” asked another girl who was really pretty.
“I don’t know! Ask her! She’s right there!” called out the scar girl grumpily.
“Yeah. I did already do training,” I said. Then another girl came to the table. She had jet-black curly hair and snow-white skin. She had big brown eyes but smaller than Fawn’s and Bambi’s.
“Guess what guys! So, I saw Nick in the waiting whatever nurse thingy doctor room and he had like a gash in his neck! Who could’ve beaten Nick? That kid is FAST,” she gushed. Then the really pretty girl looked at me curiously.
“You did it, didn’t you?” she asked. I felt my face growing hot.
“Um, well, yeah. I wasn’t allowed to kill him…I didn’t know what else to do…Plus, it was an accident! He turned around to get me off his back when I had my knife to his neck. Technically, it’s his fault for being stupid and trying not to lose his pride,” I said sort of angrily. The petite girl looked amused. The scarred girl just looked at me. So did everyone else at the table. Then the scar girl started to nod.
“Yeah, you can sit here,” she said. Like I had just proved my worthiness or something. So I did.
“Fawn? Bambi? Think you could get something for…?” said the girl with snow-white skin.
“Annika,” I said.
“Annika,” said the girl but Bambi and Fawn were already bounding for the food. The scarred girl hit a hand to her chest and bowed her head then lifted it.
“My name is Valora. It means Bravery. My den mother gave it to me,” then she made a barking/growling noise.
“That’s what it actually is though. Translated to this language, it’s Valora,” she said smiling. I smiled back and did some yipping/barking.
“Ah, a fox girl over here,” she said smiling.
“Do you know how to speak it?” I asked.
“I know the important things. Like ‘Don’t steal our food’ and ‘Get out of my territory’. You know, stuff like that,” Valora said. The really pretty girl tapped my shoulder as Bambi handed me a tray of food.
“My name is Venus,” she said giving me a whole-heartedly smile. The petite girl smiled but not before taking a cookie off of my tray.
“My name’s Fayre. Like a fairy? Those mythical flying things?” she asked. I shook my head. I didn’t know what a fairy was.
“Oh,” she said nibbling on my cookie.
“She was raised by flying animals,” said Valora rolling her eyes.
“They’re not flying animals! They’re birds! And not any normal kind of bird, a hawk,” said Fayre.
“Oooo a HAWK! I’m so SCARED! Save me,” said Valora sarcastically trying to open a bag of something. Fayre looked like she was going to go flying into Valora on purpose, but the girl with snow-white skin put her arm across her chest, holding Fayre back.
“I’m Snow White. Like that really old fairytale character,” she said smiling. Fairytale character? I asked myself. But I nodded anyway.
“I’m Ida,” said the girl with wavy caramel colored hair. She smiled warmly at me. I returned the smile.
“We are the elite group in this place,” said Valora.
“That’s just you, Val,” said Venus.
“Oh don’t be modest, Venus,” said Valora teasingly. Fawn crawled up into my lap and looked up at me.
“You all look like you’re my age. But these two, they’re so little,” I said looking down at Fawn. Bambi crossed her arms while sitting in Snow White’s lap.
“We are NOT small,” she argued.
“They’re small but deadly,” said Ida stroking Bambi’s hair.
“How so?” I asked. They didn’t look deadly. But then again Foxita ate that butterfly that was really pretty and cute. Now look at her, she’s dead.
“Fawn and Bambi were found alone with no family. Adopted or otherwise, which is why they were picked up so early. They let them train together against a bigger opponent. But they look so much alike that if you’re focusing on one then the other can come up behind and knock you out easily. Usually you focus on Bambi ‘cause she’ll just talk and talk. Fawn is the one you’ll have to watch out for,” said Venus. Fawn looked up and smiled innocently at me.
“How in the world do they have the strength to knock you out?” I asked.
“Depends on what weapon they get. Sometimes, when they feel like it, they’ll create a crazy design on you. It’s like coloring with knives. If they get darts, well, I suggest ducking and jumping. Plus, because they’re little and cute, they’re opponent doesn’t have the will to cause any harm to them. Now, swords are too heavy for them to carry, so don’t expect to use that. If it’s just your body and no weapons, they know where every pressure point in your body is. They work together to win, no matter who you are. No one knows where they developed these skills, but they have them, and they’re most likely your most dangerous opponents. Hence why they’re on our elite team,” finished Venus. I shuddered. Little girls knowing how to kill, how sickening.
“Why are the rest of you on this elite team?” I asked.
“Does she even need to ask?” asked Valora to Venus. I guessed Venus was the leader of this pack. Venus or Valora. One of those two. Venus laughed.
“Well, I’m very good with poison,” she said very slyly.
“Poison?” I asked. She