"ONCE TWICE THRICE"


Chapter 2

Ion flicked his eyebrows high. No words were needed, only the face, and Ki had to reluctantly back down. Of course he was the one who would get caught. Tall, clumsy, loud: what hope did he have of sneaking away quietly? But the meeting had to be held and he would not disappoint his friends. It was their mission, their secret.

"Are we ready now?" Gore asked. He was a middle-aged man who often looked at Ki too closely. His unwanted attention was never upsetting, just uncomfortable.

"We are ready," Ion said, dropping the ball onto the floor of their makeshift pitch. Really it was nothing more than the ground floor of their abandoned building home. The desks and cupboards had been moved to the back of the room and now they ran up and down it every Sunday, kicking a ball and shooting it at the blue-paint lines that had been drawn on the wall.

"On my whistle," Fin said, smiling a secret wink at Ion. Their secret meetings had not yet been found out either and of that she was very grateful. Ion was the only boy of her age who was still alive. Although even then he was four years her junior.

When the whistle rang out Ion kicked at the ball, sending it to Jez who kicked it straight passed Ki towards Bella, an overweight widower. She took a shot at goal but Laz, a very tall and well-experienced goalie, caught her effort. Laz was thirty-one and was the only person in the family who had been found after Ki, Jez and Ion had joined. He threw the ball back out into play and Ki, using his height to his advantage, head-butted it. He did not know which direction he had sent it spiralling and saw too late that instead of Jez, Ion or Bella catching it, Deima lifted her dark head to bring it down to the floor. She passed it quickly to her best friend, Core; both women being in their late-twenties had quickly struck up a friendship; Ion teased that more than just friendship was between them but Ki did not believe him because he had seen Core kissing Laz.

The ball bounded forward again and this time it was Ed who stopped it from reaching its intended target. A tall, dark-skinned man in his mid-thirties, he threw the ball down the pitch and it landed with a bounce against Hun's forehead. She was in her forties and useless at football. Taking advantage of her weakened state, Ion strode forward, stole the ball and kicked it down the pitch. Gore came at him with a hard tackle and he had no other choice than to kick it high, aiming for Ki. For once Ki reacted well. His dark mask of course limited his view but he refused to take it off even if everyone else in their family was scarred; he claimed his was worse than everyone else's and they all knew he was right. His blonde hair soared through the sky, made contact with the ball and knocked it down towards Jez's feet. With a twinkle in his eye, Jez ran forward, aimed and kicked the ball hard. Laz tried to catch it, his fingers brushed against the bruised leather, but the aim was too high and it hit the goal perfectly.

With a roar, Jez threw his hands up high in triumph. Ki ran at him, scooped him easily up into his arms and hoisted him high. Still smiling and roaring, Jez wrapped his delicate legs around Ki's broad waist. They bellowed happily into each other's faces, forgetting their composure in their excitement. When he looked down he saw that Ion had disentangled himself from Ki and was waiting for the taller man to lower him back to the floor. Grudgingly, Jez slipped down from Ki's embrace and let Ion hug him in celebration.

"We rule!" Ion roared, grabbing Jez's face in his hands. "You rule!"

Jez only laughed.

"Come on," Deima complained, her hands on her hips. "Are we playing or are you three just going to stand around hugging?"

The ball was rolled back to the centre of the court and play continued again. Up and down the pitch the eleven men and women ran. Working up a sweat, keeping their bodies active, forgetting for just a few blissful minutes that the torture of the world had happened. Many points were scored. They drew level and with everyone tiring they knew that the next point scored would be the last. The losing team would have to cook tonight's meal and Ki, Ion and Jez had other plans already made. It all rested on this act.

>> next page [3]