Karina and Alexander are both eighteen, and have been in a relationship for a number of years. What happens when they both get reaped in the 95th Hunger Games? Note: Peeta died in his games, Katniss was the only victor, and there was no rebellion.
Chapter Ten
We heard a crash from somewhere down the street, and I hurried to the window to look outside. Three figures came into view, each holding a weapon. "Guys," I said sharply. "We have company."
The three boys came to a halt as Blaze, Mikayla, Alex and I exited, the latter with difficulty. My husband looked exhausted, from the lack of sleep and the effects the withdrawal was having on him. "What do we have here?" the blonde commented, sneering. "The slut, a little girl, the black girl, and the slut's husband."
I narrowed my eyes. "Watch yourself."
He laughed. "Why should I? You can't kill anybody."
"Want to bet?" I demanded, pulling a knife out of my belt. The blonde laughed again. "You're from eight, aren't you? You and Mikayla."
"Ha! Just because we're from the same district doesn't mean we have to be friends. Hell, most people in these games just form alliances to stay alive longer, they don't last. If you knew what's best, you'd break your alliance," he added.
"Come on Rhett," Mikayla said. "You're my brother's best friend! If you kill me and make it out of the arena, he'll kill you."
"That's why I'm not going to be the one killing you, Kay," Rhett said. He gestured towards one of his companions, who held a spear. "This is Lane. He'll be killing you for me, so I don't have to."
The spear went flying through the air a second later, striking Mikayla in the chest. The girl fell, blood pooling around her. booom.
For a moment, I couldn't move, I just stared in shock. Then a sudden movement caught my eye. Alex had lunged forward, his sword sliced through the air at Rhett. I sprang into action, my knife flying through the air and hitting Lane, just as Alex's sword cut through Rhett. The third boy, who had been still up until now, took one look at us and started running. An arrow caught him in the back and he fell, as three more cannon shots sounded. I turned to see Blaze, with the bow. She slowly lowered it.
"Well... that was..." she said. She paused, and didn't continue, as the three of us stared at the bodies. I turned away after a minute, the smell of blood too strong, and vomited into the grass behind me. I felt someone pull my hair back away from my face, and when I was done, hand me one of the bottles of water. I swallowed, and turned back around. Blaze gave me a small smile. "You alright?" I shrugged, not trusting myself to speak. I had killed two people, and I felt nothing for it.
Had I become heartless? I didn't think so, and yet, I felt nothing when I looked at the corpse of the boy I had killed. Instead, I walked over and retrieved my knife from him. I wiped it off in the grass, then looked over at Alex. He had sat down outside the house, his katana sheathed on the ground next to him, eyes closed.
"Are you okay?" I asked him. He shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut even tighter. "What's wrong?" I sank down next to him, putting my hand on his arm and looking at him in concern.
"I'm…fine…" he managed. I gave him a doubtful look, even as he let out a quick breath before sucking in more oxygen.
"Why don't you take the pill Haymitch sent us?" I demanded, crossing my arms.
"Because," he grimaced.
"Because why?" I questioned. "It will help you! You can't go through the Games like this!"
"Yes, I can," Alex muttered. I sighed.
"You're stubborn you know that?"
"Ya, i know" he said as he coughed.I looked over at Blaze who was watching us, her bow drawn and ready to shoot if someone should come over.
"You two go inside," She said. "I'll keep watch for a while."
"Are you sure?" I asked hesitantly. "I can stay out here if you want me to."
She shook her head. "No, he needs to go inside. It's hot out here." she nodded her head at Alex. "Take care of your husband."
I smiled at her gratefully, then looked back at Alex. "Come on," I said softly, putting one of his arms around my shoulder and my arm around his waist, slowly lifting him up and edging him into the house, putting him down slowly on the blankets still in the living room. "I'm going to go find the pill," I informed him.
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because," He managed, then groaned, clutching at his abdomen. He took a deep breath in, his fingers digging into my arm. "Sorry," he whispered, releasing my arm and letting his fingers dig into his own palm. I took back his hand, using my other to brush the blonde strands out of his eyes.
"Hey," I said gently. "You weren't hurting me. You haven't hurt me yet." In response, he let out a half groan, half cry of pain, his eyes squeezed shut. I let my fingers of my free hand stroke his hair as I watched him, knowing that there was nothing else I could do. I was completely helpless in this.
As time passed, the pressure on my hand lessened, but I knew the pain had gotten worse. I continued to keep his hair out of his eyes, kissing him on the forehead every now and then.
At one point, the sound that came out of his mouth came close to a scream, as the top half of his body arched off of the ground. Tears slid from his eyes as I held back my own, holding him even tighter.
Blaze came rushing through the door. She stared in shock at us for a moment. "What can I do?" She whispered.
I shook my head. "Nothing," I said, just as quietly, as we both watched my husband, groaning in agony. "Actually..." I said, thinking. "Do you know where that pill bottle went that was here earlier?" For I had looked for it, and hadn't found it.
Blaze shook her head. "No, I don't. I didn't know there was a pill bottle."
I sighed in near defeat. Now there was truly nothing I could do, for the likelihood of Haymitch resending that gift was close to zero. Medicine wasn't exactly a cheap gift in the games, and for the first time, I wondered if we really had that many sponsors, if he was able to afford it this early.
The day slowly passed. Alex's pain reached the peak, and it gradually began to get lower, even as the sun began to set. I hadn't moved from my spot next to him, and thankfully, the game-makers had decided not to throw anything our way.
By the time that the capital's anthem was playing, Alex had drifted off into an uneasy sleep. After they showed the pictures of the day's dead, I laid down next to him and finally let my tears fall.
This chapter was extremely hard to write. Part of this story is taken from personal experience, and Alex's pain is one of those things. My fiancee has injuries from a long time ago that cause him pain, and I deal with that on a daily basis.
I hope you're enjoying this story so far, and please leave reviews. I appreciate them!