Author Games: Age of Rebellion

Task Two - The Citizen - Females

“Now that I think of it, it does sound familiar. I think the girl from 3 mentioned it,” I said, looking away from him and down. Lie. He made a funny sound with his throat.

“No mind. I’m sure you had nothing to do with it. Every war has casualties.” Nevertheless, he swallowed hard.

“This is a sturdy base you have here,” he noted.

“Yes. It also used to be a beautiful little seafood place,” I said, perking up again. “One time when I ate here, I ordered mussels and one of them had a baby crab in them!” Lie.

“That’s amazing!” He gawked in return. “Forgive me for asking, but didn’t you say you were from District 1?” He asked.

“I’ve had frequent trips here my whole life. Rich parents, you see.” Lie.

“Of course. Forget I asked.” I secured the end of the last bandage and placed his arm across his chest to sling him up.

“Do you think there might be room for me in here?” he asked slowly and carefully. I started to answer, but he cut me off. “Only if you have some space. I’m sure you know that all the safety bunkers are officially closed, and because of the sudden war, I don’t have a home, or anything.” He choked up at the end, like he might start crying. That would be annoying.

“Well,” I started, “We might.” I tied off the ends of the sling, still standing behind him, and rested my hands delicately on his shoulders. “I’m certainly glad you came though, Acanthus,” I said, dropping my voice and volume by a tone as I started lazily trailing my hands down his back. He stiffened up.

His breathing quickened without him moving or resisting, but rather relaxing into the chair. One of my hands trailed back up and started drawing circles on his shoulder. My other hand quickly slipped into his pocket, pulling out a small handgun.

“I’m glad this was a gun,” I whispered into his ear. I pulled back from him and held the muzzle on his shoulder, both hands holding the grip and a finger on the trigger. He started chuckling.

“No, I’m just glad to see you,” he laughed. He slowly stood up, taking a step away from me and turning around. I let him. After all, I was the one with the gun. We were both smirking.

“So what gave me away?” he asked.

“Several things,” I replied.

“Like?”

“You certainly got over your wife’s death quickly, since you have already thrown out the ring, ‘Acanthus’.”

“Well, I’ve never heard a giggle so fake, ‘Eleanor’,” he replied.

“I’ve never seen a wound so fake.”

“You play the idiot role well, dear. It suits you.”

“Emotional blackmail is too smart for an average Capitol citizen,” I threw in.

“You hurt me with your words and stupid stories!” He gasped.

“And you have a stupid accent,” I sneered back.

“This is my normal accent, idiot.”

“Oh, I know.”

We were at a stand off. I held his weapon up, and he stood still. A chair separated the two of us.

“You wouldn’t be a half bad accomplice,” he said.

I played along. “Neither would yourself.”

“Could I trust you though?” He asked.

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“Ahh, but you know what I want. I’m simply in it for fun. That’s what sociopaths do. But you?”