School for Assassins (Rewritten) - Complete

Chapter 1 - How it All Started

Ely:

Curled up in a darkened corner of my room, I clutched a bloody knife in my fist. The blood dripped on the floor, but I couldn't seem to make myself drop it. He might come back for me, and I wanted to be prepared.

Gaze darting around the room, I searched the shadows, terrified by what I might find. I had shoved the knife under my pillow earlier, hoping I wouldn't need to use it but feeling safer with the weapon nearby. When my foster father decided to visit my room in the middle of the night, I'd half expected him. Since being placed in this home, I hadn't slept well, and now I felt grateful to still be awake when he'd come.

Unable to stop shaking, my teeth chattered. Barely aware of my surroundings, Gracie took the knife from my hand, tossing it across the room once I'd released it. Pulling me onto her lap, she whispered in my ear, trying to calm me. "He can't hurt us anymore, Ely."

I felt frozen inside. Part of me was relieved he hadn't gotten to me like he had Gracie.

Moving her fingers through my hair, she hugged me tightly to her chest. Minutes, or maybe hours, later people rushed into the room.

Had there been sirens? If so, I hadn't heard them. Paramedics filled the room. Words began to filter through the haze over my brain. Jasper had been stabbed. Self-defense.

Stomach rolling, I swallowed hard. A female paramedic with bright red hair murmured, "He's not dead, but I imagine the pain was enough to make him pass out and stay that way for quite a while." Leaning over the man, she tsked. "Genitals still intact, but I imagine they'll never work the same again." Wrinkling her nose, she placed a gloved hand on the portly man lying at the foot of my bed. "Bleeding's stopped."

A tall woman with her blond hair in a tight bun strode into the room. "I'll be taking the girl with me. The social worker will be here for the other kids shortly, but since she's the one who stabbed this..." Turned her glacial stare on the man being moved to a stretcher, she wrinkled her delicate nose and shook her head lightly. "I'll need to take the girl with me for questioning."

The paramedics didn't seem to question this command, and when she moved closer, I could see why. The uniform she wore indicated she worked for the police.

Kneeling down next to me and Gracie, her voice was soft, her blue eyes locked on me expectantly. "Hey, Sweetie. How are you?" What did she expect me to say? That I was fine? That I looked forward to going with her? My whole body started shaking again. "Don't worry. I'm pretty sure we can piece together what happened here. You were defending yourself, weren't you?" Could I trust her? Usually, when someone seemed nice, they wanted something from me.

Moving closer, she spoke again. "My name is Mrs. Smithinson. I'll need to take you with me, Sweetie. Can you tell me what your name is?"

Before I had a chance to say anything, Gracie spoke up. "Her name is Ely." She didn't seem phased by the glare I shot in her direction. "Ma'am, she's only ten. She didn't know what she was doing!" Gracie sounded desperate for the woman to believe that I was innocent. I wasn't innocent, though. When I stabbed Jasper, I knew exactly what I was doing.

Mrs. Smithinson nodded. "I understand. I'll take good care of her." Gently, she lifted me off Gracie's lap and carried me downstairs. Once we were out front, she slid me into the back of her police car. "Buckle up." Her voice was harder now, although not unkind.

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

Dominic:

My skin felt itchy, and I broke out in a cold sweat just thinking about what I planned on doing. As soon as my foster parents were in bed, I'd steal the keys to their car. Just because I wasn't old enough to drive didn't mean I'd let that stop me from doing it. It got under my skin, like a compulsion I couldn't ignore. There would be consequences, but I wanted, no, I needed to take their car for a joy ride.