Maybe it was the rush of adrenaline or a fight instinct, but Gift became acutely aware of the sai sword still tucked into his waistband. He slid it free just as Aspen got a handful of Gift’s hair and wrenched his head back painfully. Gift maneuvered the sword so the blade pointed backwards, just like Park taught him.
That was when he felt it—the much smaller serrated blade held to his throat. “I could have killed you with the sword, but I prefer my kills up close and personal. Besides, slitting your throat will make a real mess, assuring my employer you’re actually dead. It also has the added bonus of your precioushiafinding your mangled little body in a pool of blood. Very cinematic, don’t you think?”
“E-Employer?” Gift asked, swaying like he might pass out, stumbling a few steps. Aspen made a noise of disgust, yanking him upright once more. “Who would want to kill me?”
Were these the same people who had tried to kill him at school?
Aspen grunted, pressing the knife harder against his skin. “I’m not going to give you some big villain speech while you wait for Park to rescue you. He has no idea you’re even here. Nobody is coming to save you.”
Gift didn’t care about Park coming to save him. He was focusing on the math. He wished he’d been better at math, or at least geometry. Had Gift stepped to the side enough to expose Aspen’s heart? At what angle did Gift have to jam the blade back to penetrate it? Did he even have the strength? It was only a training blade, just like the katana sword had been.
“Say hi to your bitch mother for me,” Aspen said.
Gift tasted metal in his mouth, the blade biting into his neck. He was out of time. He didn’t think. He didn’t hesitate, just jammed the blade backwards with as much force as he could muster, wrenching his hair from Aspen’s hand.
Gift’s arm shuddered as it met resistance, then made a wet sound. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the heavy weight of Aspen’s body fell against him before crumpling to the floor, the knife clattering to the ground to join the two swords. When he heard the thud, he spun on his heel, unsure of what he would find, blinking rapidly as he attempted to process the sight before him.
Aspen lay on the ground. Gift had missed his heart, the dull point of the weapon entering a full five inches below. Still, a significant portion of the blade had entered Aspen’s body. Enough for the man to start emitting a strange gurgling sound, blood foaming past his lips. He watched, frozen, as Aspen attempted to paw at the weapon, horrified as he managed to grab it and pull it free, tossing it away.
That was all he could do. He was too weak to stand, too weak to attack Gift.
Gift stumbled away, barely making it three feet before he puked, somehow both hot and cold, his head swimming. Was he going to pass out? He couldn’t afford to pass out. He needed to call someone…to tell someone. He needed to call his mom. He was shaking so badly, it took him three attempts before he managed to slide his hand into his pocket, fingers closing over his phone. He pulled it free, fumbling to unlock it and find help. He pressed the first number on his recent calls.
Park answered on the third ring. “Hey,ouen. I won’t be able to make it for dinner, I have a meet—”
Gift didn’t even recognize the frantic words or his own voice as he said, “I think I killed someone.”
The silence on the other end of the phone seemed to last an eternity but was likely only a few seconds. “Where are you, baby?”
“The gym,” he said. “I think… I think he’s dead.”
Gift listened to muffled voices frantically volleying over each other as he stared at Aspen. He wasn’t dead. Gift could see each wet, panting breath he tried to draw into his lungs as he fought for air.
No, Aspen wasn’t dead.
But hewasdying.
Gift would make sure nobody helped him.
“Say hello to your bitch mother for me.”
Gift choked on the pained sound that left him as those words sank in. Did that mean… Was his mother… Had Aspen somehow killed his mother, too? Had someone else? Gift crawled back to the dying man, crouching beside him and yanking the sai sword free. “Did you hurt my mom? Did you hurt her? Did you?”
Gift shook the man, but his head simply lolled on his shoulders with each jarring movement until his glassy gaze met Gift’s, his blue lips parting as if he was speaking. Gift frowned, leaning in to hear his words. But they weren’t words. It sounded like a rattling hiss, but that wasn’t what it was. It was laughter. Aspen was laughing. At Gift. Even as he lay dying.
An eerie calm fell over Gift. He watched as his hand reached over and picked up the hunting knife beside Aspen’s body. Something thrilled within him as he saw the older man’s eyes widen in fear. Gift placed the tip of the blade over his heart, making sure he held the man’s gaze as he slowly pressed all his weight against it.
Gift felt the blade as it moved through muscle and sinew like melted butter until the only thing still visible was the hilt. He felt himself twist the blade, then wrench it free, watching as blood welled from the wound and puddled before spilling free, blooming across Aspen’s once crisp white t-shirt like watercolors. He numbly watched the life drain from the other man’s eyes.
Just before he was truly gone, Gift leaned in close once more, spitting in the man’s face.“If my motherisdead, I hope you never know a moment’s peace in any life. I hope she finds you and kills you every time.”
Only when Aspen lay still did Gift fall backwards, sitting on the cold concrete. He drew his legs to his chest, then set his forehead on his knees, curling in on himself as he waited for Park and the others. He needed to call his mom. He should take his phone out right now and call her…just to know for certain. But fear held him paralyzed. What if she answered? What would he say?I just murdered my attacker and he said you were dead?
What if shedidn’tanswer? What if his father answered and told Gift that his mother really, truly was…
He shook his head, tears welling in his eyes and dripping onto the fabric of his pants.
He didn’t look up again, not even when the gym door slammed open and several voices began to swirl around him, talking over each other. He didn’t even acknowledge them until Park grabbed him by his shoulders and hauled him into a crushing embrace.
