Dangerous Game
By: Alicia Maxwell Winner
Song:
Dangerous Game, by 3 Doors Down
Aisha's heart beat faster and faster as the inevitable drew near. She and Suzuka had had a horrible dispute and neither would give up. So it came to this- an old-fashioned shootout. In less than five seconds it would be twilight and the shootout would commence. Suzuka looked unconcerned, almost smug. Suzuka thought she was going to win; Aisha wouldn't stand for that though. She'd wipe that smug look off Suzuka's face if it was the last thing she did.
"Time for the showdown, Clan-Clan," Suzuka loaded her bullets into her gun. "Why we decided to do this the Gene Starwind way I'll never know."
"Because this is the one area where we're closest to equal in skill," Aisha said loading up her own weapon.
"One of us will die on this field today, Aisha," Suzuka said, "And I guarantee it won't be me."
"You keep thinkin that Suzu," Aisha grinned showing off her medal for bravery before the match.
"You aren't the only one," Suzuka showed off her own medal. "Time to die Aisha. Ready… GO!"
The two pulled their triggers, shooting simultaneously. Aisha watched on and she saw something she didn't want to see- someone got in between their shots, sacrificing himself to save them.
What happens to us at the
end of this bloodlust game?
You stand before me
Now we stare eye to eye
Before another second ticks away, one of us will die
You reach for your medal as I reach for mine
The sound of bullets flying through the air is followed by a cry
And the cry...
What will we do, what will
we say when it's the end of this game that we play
Will we crumble into the dust, my friend
Or will we start this game over again
It's coming back to me
"JIM!" Aisha cried out. Yes, Jim had been the one who got in between their shots. Aisha ran to him but there was no hope. His last breath ended before she even reached him. All she could do was cry.
Aisha had cried two times previous to that moment. One was her grandfather's funeral and the other, when her mother died. Both of them were close to her and so was Jim. There was no point in hiding the tears.
Suzuka walked over slowly. When she reached the dead boy and the crying Aisha, Aisha felt like she could just slash her throat that very instant. She almost did it too… until she saw something…
A water droplet fell on Jim's bloodstained jacket. And another. It wasn't raining, no. Suzuka was crying as well. They could do nothing but stand over Jim's dead body and cry.
Was it worth it Suzuka?
This young man lies
alone dead fast into the ground
The sound of fleeing feet and the crying eye will be his last sound, yeah
But do we gain from all this?
Now, was it worth a life? No
We throw all of our hopes away
And set our dreams aside
Now we're crying
They stood there at Jim's wake. They kept out of sight but they were there the entire time. They wept alone in the corner.
"Was it worth it Suzuka?" Aisha asked.
"No, it wasn't. I'm sorry Aisha. I know you were really attached to him. I'm sorry Jim."
"He died to save us but not from each other," Aisha said.
"What do you mean?"
"He died to save us from ourselves. We were becoming different people- bloodthirsty people- and he saved us from that horrible transformation by sacrificing himself. He really did consider us his family if he was willing to lay down his life to save us."
"I do not deserve to be a family member of the man I killed."
"Is that why you have no last name?"
"Precisely. I may not have done it but my actions lead to the death of that family I called mine."
"Jim once told me something Suzuka."
"Hmm?"
"'Love is a powerful thing but there's one problem with it- true love can never stop forgiving.' They forgive you Suzuka. They all forgive you. Jim forgives us both."
"Sometimes you're wiser and more sensitive than you act, Clan-clan."
"I know."
What will we do, what will
we say when it's the end of this game that we play
Will we crumble into the dust, my friend
Or will we start this game over again
It's coming back to me
It's coming back to me
It's coming back to me
It's coming back to me
It's coming back to me
What will we do, what will we say when it's the end of
this game that we play
Will we crumble into the dust, my friend
Or will we start this game over… again
What will we do?
What will we say?
We'll go to Jim's grave,
Pay our respects and go on our way.
Life won't be the same without him,
And the Outlaw Star isn't the Outlaw Star without Jim
So we depart
I say this from the heart-
I love you Jim…
You were truly both a friend,
And a savior.
The End
