Chapter 8
Zara POV:
I moved through the darkness without a known path. I stopped running when I was halfway away from the Cornucopia. I tried to block out the images of all the dead bodies and blood on the ground.
A loud canon noise fired.
I looked around to see a holographic screen show all the fallen tributes. The screen showed Teal Kowen and Colton Kline from District 3. The next tributes were Axis Eyles and Pilar. The last tributes shown were Bain Sultana and Saffron Melba.
The screen faded. After realizing the number of tributes left, so did my hope.
I felt like I had been walking for days, when it was only a several minutes. I passed by the tall, narrow trees in the boreal forest. I could barely see or focus through the frigid still air, but I heard the sound of rushing water from a nearby waterfall.
The slender trees had ice sickles hanging from every branch, and I decided to rest my tired legs.
I sat at the very bottom of the tree and unzipped my bag. I pulled a dull sickle weapon out of the bag. I remembered watching my father use his sickle weapon at work many years ago.
I placed the pointless weapon back into my bag and moved my hand through it hoping to find something useful. I grabbed a small glass vial. The vial was empty and sealed by a tan cork.
I heard footsteps move against the snow. I threw the vial back into the bag.
I quickly stood on my feet and ran until my heart trashed against my ribcage. I breathed out precipitation from exhaustion and right before I could collapse; my eyes fell on something in front of me.
There were small bushes of white flowers arranged in an umbrella shape. The plants are called Water Hemlocks. The flowers were covered in snow, but I could still recognize them.
I pulled my sickle out the bag and chop down the stems on the Water Hemlocks. I grabbed my vial from my bag and uncorked it. I lightly grazed the flowers with the sickle, allowing the petals to fall into the vial. The Water Hemlock petals resembled white dust in the vial. I placed sickle back into my bag and I held the vial of dust in my hand.
One split second before I sealed the vial, a weapon soared swiftly above my head. I kneeled towards the ground and I saw a Caltrop weapon logged into a tree in front of me.
I turned around and stood up to see my new attacker. It was the girl from Kai's District, Rhea Dalca.
Rhea ran towards with me sharp fingernails pointed towards my face. I dodged every swing she threw at me hoping that she would eventually grow tried. Rhea continued to try to scratch out my eyes and she managed to kick me in my side. I tried to pull at her lilac hair but that only made her fight more fiercely. Rhea scratched me right beside my ear and I instantly became furious.
The thin scratches on my face caused my cheek to burn and I slapped Rhea continuously. Rhea became slightly disoriented, but she kicked me in the chest causing my back to slam against a tree.
I saw the vial of plant dust lying on the ground and I quickly reached for it. Rhea pulled the Caltrop from the tree and held the sharp weapon right above my head. When she raised the weapon in the air, I blew the plant dust into her face.
Rhea dropped the weapon and backed away from me. She started coughing ceaselessly and fell onto the ground. Rhea's coughing turned into wheezing and gasping for air.
Rhea did not move a muscle as her back was pinned against the ground. Blood began pouring from her eyes and I assumed that they were supposed to be tears. Her face turned into a pale blue color as her eyes went dark. The only noise I could hear was her labored breathing.
I remembered my mother telling me that the Water Hemlock plant caused people to become paralyzed, blind, and resulted in respiratory failure. I picked the empty vial up from the ground and turned away from the body.
I placed my bag over my shoulders and prepared myself for another long journey into the darkness.
Before my boot could take one more step on the snow, I heard a low tearing sound behind me. The noise became louder and I turned around slowly.
My eyes met a tall ferocious beast with white fur, black eyes, a black nose and mouth, with a muscular eleven foot frame.
The creature had a face like a wolf and the fur and height of a polar bear. I noticed blood was dripping from its mouth and I tried to remain still.
The Polar Wolf bared its teeth and huffed right in front of my face, causing me to choke off the hot breath.
I closed my eyes and ran away not caring about what happened next.
Authors Note: It has been a really long time since I updated this and it shows. I hope this was ok. . The next chapter may or may not be in Katniss POV.
