Chapter 12-
My eyes widened in shock as the knife came down. I pulled myself up a little on the branch I was dangling from and grabbed a tight hold of Troy’s ankle tugging hard on it. I managed to catch him off guard. He lost his balance and slipped. I fell from the branch entirely and landed on the cold hard ground below me. Troy caught himself on the branch I was previously hanging from. My leg still hurt but I scrambled to pick up the knife I’d dropped.
I quickly reached it and the minute I reached out for it Troy jumped down standing on the knife. I pulled my hand back and threw a kick at Troy. He stumbled backwards giving me a chance to get my knife. Unfortunately he recovered quickly and as I stood up he kicked the knife out of my hand then jumped on me. I tried to dive out of the way but it was too late. Troy had me pinned to the ground. I struggled but he was stronger than me.
He hovered above me with a smirk on his face. I have to think quickly. His knees pinned the legs down so that I couldn’t move them without having his knees dig into me. One of his hands pinned my arms up over my head. His other hand brought a knife out towards me. I glared at him refusing to show my fear. “You don’t have a way out of this?” he asked amused. “Hold on a minute and I’ll come up with one” I growled annoyed. He chuckled and said “Fine you have a minute.”
I glanced around trying to come up with some kind of plan to get out of this. Troy’s laughter was pissing me off. Out of the corner of my eyes I spotted Kurt hiding behind a tree. I held his gaze and looked from him to my knife. He got the message. He slowly moved from behind the tree and picked up the knife. “Got it” I smirked at Troy. He raised an eyebrow amused when the knife zoomed right past us both. It managed to land a scratch on Troy’s upper arm and it landed right by my head. The sudden attack made Troy loosen his grip giving me a chance to free my hands. I used all my strength to throw him off of me. I reached for the knife, stood up quickly and was ready to throw it at Troy when I heard Scott scream.
I spun around to see Spark standing over Scott laughing hysterically. Blood was dripping down his forehead and lip. Elra’s spear was in its hand and the point was currently digging into Scott’s chest. He screamed again. Out of the corner of my eye I saw troy stand up and head my way. I held my breath and with as much force as I could I threw the knife at Spark. As the knife left my hand I felt myself get thrown to the ground. My body slammed into the cold ground very hard and I groaned in pain as my chin slammed against a rock.
I glanced up from under my lashes to see my knife rip the wooden spear in half and dig into Spark’s shoulder. I cursed under my breath at Troy for slamming into me. That knife should have gone into Spark’s heart. Spark stumbled back and I glanced behind me to see Troy trembling backwards. A loud growl made my eyes widen. Spark came towards me but paused the moment the large mutated bear came into view. I quickly stumbled to my feet. The bear stood on its 2 hind legs and roared. It was taller than any average bear. It was at least 13 feet standing up. I pulled the axe off my back and cursed.
This one looked far worse than the one Drex and I fought. Weren’t the current 2 fights enough action for the damn game makers? Oh no. God forbid they let us escape peacefully. They had to bring in another monster instead. “Kurt, help Scott and run. I’ll distract the bear” I yelled knowing Kurt was still around. I knew he was injured but Scott was more injured and in no condition to fight right now. I was down to my last knife and this axe. I cursed. “No Sky! You promised!” Scott yelled angry. The bear roared and moved towards Spark and me. I dove out of the way.
Troy wasn’t one to run from a fight so he threw a knife into the bears back making it very angry. “I’m sorry Scott but you have to win!” I yelled running at the bear with my axe raised. It turned towards me and lifted its giant paw. I swiped the axe out in from of me. The bear roared in pain and its eyes turned blood red with anger. I fell on my back at its impact but luckily I had managed to cut its front left paw clean off.
“GO!” I yelled at Kurt. Kurt helped Scott off the ground and threw Scott arm over his shoulder. Scott was a lot bigger than Kurt so it was definitely hard but I could see Scott trying to make it easier. Troy’s arm looked broken and Spark was on the ground in a mess. The bear started moving towards Scott and Kurt. “No!” I yelled and matched its speed ignoring my leg that screamed in pain. I jumped in front of Scott and Kurt and ran at the bear throwing the axe straight into its neck hoping to kill it.
The axe hit him but didn’t decapitate him. Somehow this monster still kept moving. It raised its other paw at me and I screamed in pain when it made a clean cut into the flesh on my shoulder and chest. I fell on my back and the bear approached me. I glanced behind me quickly to see Kurt trying to get Scott away but Scott yelling my name angrily. I could have sworn I saw tears in his eyes.
I was suddenly very terrified as the bear approached me. But it suddenly stopped and I saw Troy jump off its back. A sword stuck out of the back of the bear’s neck. The tip of the sword had made it the whole way across. I glanced at Troy in confusion. “W-Why?” I managed. Why did he save me? He saved me just like Drex had. He just stared at me and held his bleeding arm. I walked up to the dead bear and pulled my axe out of its neck.
Spark wasn’t as merciful as Troy though. He was in front of me too. He pulled the sword out of bear’s neck and took a swing at me. I fell back again but quickly made my way to my feet. My left arm was useless since every movement I made with it hurt my shoulder and chest. Blood seemed to be pouring out like a river. I felt weak as I ran and with each step I grew even weaker to the point where I kept stumbling. I put the axe on my back and pressed the palm of my right hand to the wound that ran from the top of my shoulder diagonally to right below my collar bone.
The bleeding didn’t seem to slow at all. I ran past several pine trees and paused when I saw an oak. I quickly started climbing it knowing that at this rate I couldn’t out run Spark. It took a lot of my effort to climb the tree. My right hand was covered in blood making it slippery yet I managed to get to a decently high branch. I sat on it and sighed. My breath had gotten shallower and I wasn’t feeling too good.
It was only a matter of seconds that Spark caught up. “I’ll kill you” he growled in anger. “Come get me then” I retaliated. He gave me an angry look and stood at the foot of the tree. I knew he couldn’t get me so I sighed and leaned back. Troy came into view too suddenly and stopped beside Spark. Troy offered Spark a knife. Spark grinned and my eyes widened. A knife he could definitely throw up at me and I couldn’t do anything about it. Troy smirked and Spark raised the knife up, flicked his wrist and the knife came my way. I nearly laughed when the knife missed by a foot.
Troy smiled up at me and I understood why he gave Spark the knife. He knew Spark’s aim with a knife was terribly. Troy just gave me another knife. I was still so confused. Why was he helping me? “Give me another knife!” Spark yelled at troy. “Do you just want to hand her all of my remaining knives?” Troy asked suddenly cold and annoyed. My attention was pulled away from their bickering by the smell of smoke. I glanced behind me to see my tree was on fire. I quickly jumped from the branch and hit the ground hard as the whole tree broke out into flames.
I glanced at Spark and Troy then stood up quickly and ran away. My path was soon cut off by another dumb mutation. A pack of mutated wolves stood before me. They were bigger than they should be with the body shape of a cheetah which probably meant they were fast. They’re eyes were a dull grayish white and I knew they were blind. But their noses seemed far more complex than any wolf I’d ever seen. They sniffed the air and soon snarled. I didn’t wait for them to attack. Instead I took off running in another direction. I glanced behind me to see some of the wolves break off and head for Troy and Spark. I was a bit thankful but I couldn’t stop running just yet.
I still had 3 wolves on my back. I picked up the pace and kept running dogging tree branches and vines. My foot though managed to find a vine lying on the ground. My right ankle was quickly tangled in the vine and I fell to the ground. I quickly flipped on my back as the closest wolf mutation jumped into me. Luckily I already had a knife drawn. I raised it and hoped these things were easier to kill than the bears.
I made a clean cut across its neck and kicked it backwards onto another one of the wolves, stalling it for a bit as it tried to remove the body of its pack mate off.
I made my way to my feet and ran again; glance back every now and then to see the 2 remaining wolves weren’t too close. I had made a good distance between us but I was starting to feel dizzy and everything around me started to get darker and not just because the sun was already setting.
I nearly tripped a few times but I forced myself to stay awake and keep moving. I already felt the thick blood run from my wound down my shirt to my stomach. It didn’t seem to want to slow. I slammed my palm over it again in hopes of reducing the blood flow.
I made a sudden and abrupt stop when I saw the cliff before me. It wasn’t the same one Drex fell from but another. At the bottom of this cliff there seemed to be a lake yet it was over 20 feet below me. I heard the wolves’ growls behind me and I had to think quickly. If I know anything about the Capitol it’s that all the monsters they make are persistent and won’t back down until their job is done.
I had to make those things think they killed me or they might just chase after me again. I quickly shrugged off my jacket, biting my lip to keep from screaming as it rubbed against my wound. I twisted the knife in my hand and tossed the jacket up. With a single flick of my wrist I threw my knife at the bloodstained jacket. The knife pierced straight through it and carried it all the way to a tree then pinned it there. The wolves were close behind me and I prayed that I was right about the fact that they were blind and depended entirely on my scent to find me.
I glanced back at the wolves, took a deep breath and dove off the cliff. I felt my arms and soon head hit the water followed by the rest of my body. I kept myself below water just in case they could see me. The water around me started to turn red with my blood and I cursed. I couldn’t hold my breath much longer or I’d definitely drown. The loss of blood followed by the lack of oxygen was sure to kill me.
I kicked my feet and quickly swam up. The moment my head was out of water I gasped and sucked in as much air as possible. I diverted my attention up at the cliff to see the wolves ripping apart the tree my jacket hung from. The knife had cut them because I could see traces of blood. It wasn’t long before they seemed to be finished and moved away from the tree, heading back into the forest. I sighed in relief and made my way to shore. I hoisted myself up and glanced at my shoulder again.
It had started to sting and my vision had started to go black. I laid on my back and closed my eyes when I heard something fall beside me with a clunk. I wanted to keep my eyes closed and sleep but the moment I remember Scott was also injured and 2 Careers were still alive I forced my eyes to open.
A capsule was sitting beside me with a note attached. I sighed and forced myself to sit up. I groaned in the process and grabbed the capsule pulling it into my lap. Before opening it though I grabbed the note and read it.
Forget what I said last time. You really are very stupid. Please Sky, be more careful but I’m proud of your quick thinking. Be safe –Elroy
I pulled the capsule open and saw a jar of that same cream and some more bandages. I held them up and mumbled “Thanks.” I pulled off my wet t-shirt and followed by pulling off my tank top. I felt kind of awkward sitting there on live television with only a bra on but this wasn’t the time to feel embarrassed. I quickly opened the jar and rubbed a bit the cream on my wound keeping in mind that Scott and Kurt were also hurt. Then I quickly and skillfully wrapped the bandages around my chest, right below my bra. From there I wrapped it diagonally from my right rib to my left shoulder. I continuously wrapped it over my chest and back diagonally then finished off wrapping it around my shoulder and tying it tightly in place.
I tried moving my left arm a bit to see the flexibility of my bandaging. I groaned almost immediately. The flexibility was perfect but the wound still hurt. I pulled my tank top over my head and the ripped, bloodstained T-shirt on over it. I glanced back at my jacket to see it was ripped to shreds. I sighed and stood up. I felt exhausted and I wanted so badly to sleep but instead I grabbed the jar and bandages and started moving. My legs ached from all the running but I kept going.
I had to find Scott and Kurt. I had to help them and make sure they were ok. If anything happened to Scott I’d never forgive myself. I trudged forward and each step brought a burst of pain followed by a groan. I was down to my final knife again and Scott’s axe. My knees started giving out but I headed for the ruins Scott and I hid in the first few days. Hopefully that’s where they were. I was soaking wet and my head started hurting. I fell to my knees and grabbed a tight hold of my head. I groaned in pain and felt near tears but I pushed off the ground and stood up, only to fall back to the ground almost immediately. I didn’t want to get up anymore. I wanted to just lay here.
Let Spark come and find me. Let Troy kill me. I couldn’t move any more. I felt so weak and lifeless. “SKY!” It felt as if somebody in the distance was calling me. The blood had already soaked through the bandages and I groaned. My breath had grown shallow and my eyes were starting to close. “Get up!” the pestering voice in my head yelled. “Get up! Get up!” it repeated itself and suddenly the little boy from the story I told Scott popped into my head. I groaned and a line from my story seemed to magically make its way into my thought; People remember hope to keep from falling into despair. I made my eyes open and tried to get up. People bleed to prevent the bloodshed of their loved ones. I groaned and thinking of Scott I pressed my palms to the ground. I pushed up with all the strength I had. Every end is a new beginning and every person wants to be saved but more than anything every person wants freedom and love. I took a deep breath and grabbed onto a tree trunk for support. I made my way to feet and with a new strength I stood up straight on my own, without the tree for support. I took a deep breath and started to walk again.
After what seemed like an hour of tireless walking I saw the ruins. Scott was sitting there holding his side with his hand. I saw the blood that had stained the bandages. When he noticed me and we locked eyes a smile made its way onto my face. He was safe. His wounds were covered in bandages and he looked better. My eyes started shutting again as I saw Scott run towards me. Knowing he was ok was good enough for me.
My knees had had enough because they fell in under me. I fell to my knees and before I could pass out completely and hit the ground Scott dove in and caught me. I felt on of his hands make their way under my knees and the other by my head. He lifted me off the ground and carried me in his arms which must have been hard since he was definitely very injured but I knew I couldn’t walk any farther. I rested my head on his chest and mumbled “I missed you.” My eyes were slowly closing shut but I still managed to see Scott’s face. “Shut up you idiot. Just shut up” he said. His voice was cracking and I felt a drop of water hit my face. I raised my right hand up and placed it on his cheek.
I ran my thumb over it clearing off the tears. Since I’d known him I’d never seen Scott cry. He looked down at me. I must look pretty beat up if he’s this worried. I managed a small smile and whispered “Don’t cry.” That only seemed to make him cry harder because he fell to the ground on his knees and hugged me tightly to him. “I said shut up idiot” he whispered, burying his face in my hair. I wrapped my arm around his neck and buried my face in his neck. “I’m sorry” I whispered. Scott was trembling and I felt his shoulders shaking, his tears falling straight through my shirt. “No Sky. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry” he whispered hugging me tighter but still not hurting me.
My eyes started shutting again but I managed to whisper “Thank you” before my eyes closed entirely and everything around me went silent and the world was black.
