Chapter 10 – Untimely Reunion
Anonymous POV
Their feet pounded heavily on the floor. Branches cracked and snapped at their touch.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
They had an extraordinary sense of smell. They could smell the young from a mile away. In the dead of night. Their jet black coat made them undetectable. Their eyes a shade of coal black. They move silently now. They have come across a field. No more twigs. No more branches.
Pad.
Pad.
Pad.
They are silent, deadly.
They can smell him. He's nearby now. Through the blue in their vision, they see a spot of red. Yes, red. They see his heat, smell his blood. Feel his pulse. They creep up on him now. They are behind him. But they won't attack, they will play.
A thick, black gas fills the air around the boy. It surrounds him, engulfing him in it's silky touch. He doesn't notice, he's looking for food. He is facing them now. He is clueless. They see what he sees now. There's no escape for him.
I smile. This boy.. He will be destroyed by his own creation.
They smile too. Finally showing themselves. He sees what I see. He sees 12 sets of luminescent teeth in front of him. Stretched into a grin. Please come play with us, boy. Come and play, we only want to play.
He takes a step backwards. And another. They step forward, their yellow grins replaced by deathly darkness. He turns to run, but then a pair of teeth light up in the direction he wishes to leave. They know where he wants to go. They see what he sees.
Everywhere he turns, they are there. He does not look afraid. Why he does not look afraid, I do not understand. There's no need to be afraid, boy. A chase. They want a chase. They circle around him. They show their bright grins. He sees there is only one escape. He takes it. He runs, runs for his life. They follow. Now it is him, him whom is cracking, snapping the branches that litter the floor.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
Say his feet, they are running towards the lake, I see it now. Why the lake? He thinks he can out swim them maybe. They cannot swim. But he cannot stay in the water forever, and when he does, they will be waiting for him. As he comes into the clearing, his gaze drifts to a sleeping form in the grass.
'IVORY!' he screams, leaping out from in the trees, my beauties following closely behind him. Yes. They see it now.. He likes her. He wishes to protect her. He thinks of her as more than a friend. They see it, yes, they see it, and they shall play with their food. They will play and they will never stop playing. They do not like the taste of human.
They hear all, they see all. She stares into his eyes, a familiar longing in her own. I know that longing. She wants him. They will play. They will play. They will play and they will never stop playing.
'You scared me there' Says she, she who has the voice of an angel. Her soft whisper makes him loose where he is for a moment. Love shall be the death of everybody in this arena.. It killed the boy from three.. The boy from two.. It will kill her too. Only one may escape the Hunger Games.
'Shh, stay down.' He says. He is frantic. He covers her body with his. They will not attack. Only play. He wants her to run. He will run. They know. I know.
She speaks quietly. She knows. She knows they know. They know she knows. They will chase. So she speaks. They can hear. She doesn't know.
'What is it?' They smell fear. They will chase.
'You know how I said there's no such thing as deathlets..?' Yes.. There was no such thing.. Until you say. You gave us inspiration. I made your fantasy come to life, boy, and now it shall consume the woman you lust after.
'..Yeah?' She knows. She has forseen this.
'Well it would appear I was wrong.' He is scared now. He wants to protect her. They know.
'How wrong?' She asks. She is scared. Very scared. Her heart beats fast. He feels it. He feels her heart beat. He is scared. She is scared. They are scared. They will play.
'Very wrong..'
This is their time.. Their time to show themselves. A circle of bright yellow grins surround the two children, slowly getting closer. One scratch. One scratch is all they need, and she shall come home. Home to us. Where she belongs.
Ivory's POV
I look around, and all I see is bright, yellow teeth. In every direction. So bright that they even cast light onto the floor around them. The second I see them I instantly miss looking into Finnicks eyes. I know I have no time to waste laying on the floor, so I push him off me. It's easy, as I'm strong, and he wasn't expecting it. He flops on the floor, and I grab him by his hand, getting to my feet. I don't give him choice, and I drag him up, starting to sprint towards the wall of teeth.
Without thinking, I just leap over it, and drag Finnick behind with me. I hear a yelp from one of the things that is following us, and we sprint, forgetting everything apart from this very moment. Our feet pounding on the grass, our heads pounding, we just run, the wind blowing through our hair. Finnick stumbles slightly, and I have to pull him up multiple times. We tear through bushes, our clothes getting ripped to shreds, but we don't care, we just want to live. Suddenly, I feel something grab onto me with the force of a thousand men. I scream.
Not letting go of Finnick, I fly through the air. The figure that holds me is now my life line, as we three run, we have been pulled in a completely different direction. I have no idea what's going on. I can't see anything, all I feel is this figure, pulling me away from them. The figure stumbles slightly, and falls to the ground, causing me to loose my grip on Finnicks hand. Before I have chance to find it, I'm being pulled up again, and I'm whisked far away from that spot in less than a second. Somewhere in the distance, I hear a loud scream. Finnick.
'FINNICK!' I scream, not caring who hears me as I fight against the strength of this person. 'FINNICK!' I scream again, but it's no use, I can't break free. We come out the trees, I think, and the person holding me throws me onto the ground. I hear a splash behind me, and a booming voice shouts to me.
'GET IN THE WATER!' I don't pay attention. Finnick, I have to get to Finnick.
'FINNICK!' I scream, running blindly back into the forest. 'FINNICK!' I scream for a fourth time, looking round frantically. I hear him before I see him, and soon a very strong force is grabbing my arm, dragging me backwards through the forest. That's when I see them. No more than a metre away from my foot is a set of yellow teeth, gnashing out, trying to bite me. I scream, and let Finnick pull me away. A flash of light pops before my eyes, and I barely have time to see the large, yellow claw swipe in front of me. I don't have time to see where it landed though, because everything goes black.
Before I fade away, I have just enough time to hear a voice in the back of my head, slowly echoing around.
'IVORY!'
'Yes but she's going to be okay, right?'
Huh..? Who will be okay..? Was that Finnick?
...Finnick.. I sit up straight, not sure of my surroundings, and reach out in front of me. My fingers clasp round somebodies shirt, and I pull them over to me frantically.
'Finnick?' I say, my eyes barely adjusting into the darkness. An unfamiliar voice replies to my plea.
'No.. He's sleeping.. I'll wake him for you.' Who is that..? I quickly let go of his shirt, and he walks all the way over to the other side of the island.
Wait.. Island? I look around, and see that we are in some sort of small camp, on a little island completely surrounded by water. All I see on the other side of the water, is various sets of those yellow grins, surrounding the island completely. I move, aiming to get up, but a surge of pain shoots up my leg, and I whimper in response.
'Shh shh.. It's okay.' A figure comes out of the darkness, leaning down beside me, and wrapping two very warm, and very strong arms around me.
'It hurts Finnick..' I whimper, resting my head on his chest. I've no idea how I let myself become so vulnerable around him but.. He's just so irresistible. Would Emi be mad at me? I don't know.. Probably. She made it quite obvious how she liked him. But we're nothing more than friends. We just have been pushed closer because of the situation.
'I know.. Shh.. Go back to sleep..' He mutters into my hair, and then I realise how tired I really am. I feel terribly weak, and very worn down. I do as he says, and I soon find myself drifting off into his arms, feeling like there's nothing that could hurt me in this moment.
'I have no chance anyway..' says a quiet, female voice.
'I have nobody to go home to.' says a stocky, male voice. I recognise it as the person who I woke up to.
'Well, I will be a victor, to protect my families honour, but I guess I can spare bringing her to 2nd place. She seems a worthy opponent.' Now that voice I recognised, considering I spent a lot of time around it before Finnick broke the alliance. But what I wonder is.. What is Eleanor doing here? More importantly, why is Three here? She's the only female left as I doubt Lucieina is here and Eleanor is here.. Wow..
'So it's settled.. We help her.' Says Finnick and everybody mumbles in agreement.
'Help who?' I mumble, my face still buried in Finnicks chest, and I settle back down into him. He gently kisses the top of my head, and whispers into my hair. His breath is so warm, so settling.
'Nobody. Is your leg okay?'
'No.. It hurts.' And hurt it does. I open my eyes, to see that me and Finnick are sat leaning against a tree, and in front of us are Three, Eleanor and an unfamiliar looking man. I stare at him for a moment, and he stares right back, before catching onto my cluelessness.
'Stock.' He says. Oh, yeah. Shit how did I forget about him? It must have been all the stress of the last few weeks.
'Oh.. thanks.. ' I say, frowning. ' I look down at my leg, to see the bottom of my trousers has been cut up, and has a fresh, white bandage wrapped around it tightly.
'So.. What happened to my leg? And where did you get the bandages?' I ask, not caring that me and Finnick are getting some odd looks.
'Those little fuckers got you before we could get you in the water. You were being stupid and were trying to run back into the woods to get Finnick, even though Finnick was already in the water.' Replies Stock, looking at me with a concerned expression on his face.
'But.. Finnick got lost in the woods! I saw it myself!' I say, leaning forward, and instantly regretting it. A sharp pain runs up my leg, and I fall back into Finnick, who wraps his legs protectively around me. Stock shakes his head at me, resting a hand on my thigh.
'These.. Whatever they are, Deena reckons they release a strange hormone, like uhm.. What was it?' he turns to face Deena for a brief moment, addressing his question to her.
'Evaporated Nightlock juice.' Says Three, looking up from her book, and pushing up her glasses. Hold on.. Book..? Glasses?
'Book? Glasses?' I say, staring at Three. Before Three has a chance to speak, Eleanor butts in.
'Me, Stock and Finnick are good on supplies, and we had a load of sponsor money. Deena's mentor hasn't sent her anything, and she's bored as hell so we thought, why not. So we asked what she wanted then told our mentors to send it her.' She explains, and I nod.
'Oh, nice. Elena sent me a lot of stuff, I'd be surprised if I had any sponsor money left. The thing about having a birthday in the arena. I was surprised I had any sponsors in the first place.' I say.
'If I could have anything in the world.. It would be my bear.' Says Eleanor, sighing.
'A bear?' Questions Three, raising an eyebrow at Eleanor.
'Yes, it's a very expensive bear I've had from when I was just a girl. My mother gave it to me.' She replies.
'Why is it so valuable to you?'
'Well shortly after my mother died, my father seized control of everything. He forced me to split up with my girlfriend and set me up in an arranged marriage with the mayors son. I refused, and was outcast from the family. The bear symbols the end of my life. If I become a victor, this shall signal the beginning of my second life.' She finishes, clasping her hand round the necklace she bears around her neck.
'If you don't mind me asking.. How did your mom die?' Asks Stock, his voice devoid of any signs of pity.
'She died two years ago, giving birth to my little sister Marigold.' She replies, sighing.
'Oh. You said you had a girlfriend? Like... A girl best friend or..'
'No.' She cuts in. 'A girlfriend. I was in a relationship with a girl.'
'Oh..' Says Stock, sighing.
'So.. Who was your arranged marriage to?' Asks Finnick.
'Didn't I just say? The Mayors son.' She retorts, rolling her eyes.
'Yes but what was his name.' Says Finnick coolly, but I can tell he isn't feeling cool. His grip on me tightens a little, and I instantly realise he doesn't do well with people being rude to him. Eleanor looks hesitant, looking down at the ground, then she looks me straight into the eyes.
'de Rosé.'
'You mean..?
'Yes.' she says, and I frown.
'Why did you both volunteer then..?'
'His mother wanted to get back at my father, for cancelling the marriage. So she sent him into the games to make sure I didn't come out alive. Little did she know that father had disowned me from the family, so it wouldn't affect father at all. She sent her son to die for nothing.' She says coldly now, venom in her voice.
'Mrs. de Rosé is a poisonous woman.' And then we all go silent.
'Well, enough probing about my life. What about you, Deena?' At the mention of her name, Deena stops reading, seeming to have not heard the question.
'Sorry what?'
'Your life, tell us about your life.'
'Oh.. Well..My parents died when I was young so..I grew up with my uncle.. I met Joshua when I was 6. We were forbidden to be seen with each other, as we were from the only remotely rich place in district 3, and he was poor. My uncle and his best friend were very insistent on making sure I was brought up to be successful, and wanted to make sure I had the best future possible. We lived in victors village, we ate the finest food in our district, I got the best education, everything was perfect. I even started seeing Joshua behind their backs last year. We came to be soul-mates. There isn't a thing we don't know about each other. Or.. didn't.' She says, pausing for a breath. Everybody is silent now, hanging onto her every word.
'My life was perfect in every way.. I was beautiful, well fed, popular, intelligent. I was a definite candidate to be sent to station 9. It was perfect. Until I was reaped for the games. As I walked up there, Joshua shouted out for me. I resisted crying, because I knew I needed to seem worthy for sponsors. I went up, said my name and looked proud to be representing my district. And then he called Joshua's name. It was like the world collapsed around me.' She starts speaking quietly now, her voice becoming noticeably shaky.
'I choked out what sounded like a cry, and he didn't hesitate to run up to the stage, embracing me. We just stood there on stage, hugging and crying. The whole district knew about us now. A rich girl and a poor boy, stood in front of them, expressing their friendship. My name was ruined but, I didn't care. In fact, I cared that much that I pulled away from him, and then pulled him down to me for a kiss. And well, you know what happened from there..' She says, sighing. Everybody just sits in silence. Complete silence. Watching her speak as tears roll down her face.
'I just.. I just wish I knew how he died or.. Who killed him. Just so I could get my revenge. Or die trying.' She says. Well.. Shit. This isn't good. Eleanor looks at me, I look at Finnick, and Finnick looks at Eleanor, and then back to me.
'What..?' Says Three, a sliver of uncertainty in her voice. 'Is there something you're not telling me?' She asks.
'Emilana held him down.' Says Eleanor, looking down at the ground. At the mention of Emi, Finnick tenses instantly, gripping me rather tightly.
'And.. Iv-..' She continues. 'Ivory dealt the finishing blow.' Three stops in her tracks. And by stops, I mean stops. She stops mid movement, stiffening. She stops breathing. She stops blinking. She just stares blankly ahead of her. Just when I think she's going to sit back down, she's coming at me.
'YOU KILLED HIM!.' She screams. I see it then. In her hand is a very sharp looking, jewel encrusted dagger. My very sharp, jewel encrusted dagger.
'NO!' screams Finnick, but it's too late. She's already upon me. She looks tall, elegant. She also looks powerful. Straddling across me. Time starts to slow. I see Eleanor and Stock spring to their feet, in slow motion. They rise, and so does her hand. I feel somebody bending over me, and a sharp tug at my shoulder. Everything is silent. The only thing I hear is he sound of my own breath.
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
I feel a burning, flash of pain as the knife enters me, If there really is a hell, than this is it. I hear the squelch, as the knife buried its self deep inside me, tearing apart my stomach. I feel pain. All I want to do is scream, but I can't. I open my mouth, and all that comes out is a small whimper. Somebody is looking down into my eyes, and I look back. At that moment, it feels like it's just me and him, me and Finnick. We lock gaze. His eyes and mine, stuck to each other in what feels like forever. Why can't this moment last forever more.. Tonight, eternity is an open door, as I look into his eyes. I feel my life, rushing towards me. Euphoria. Forever until the end of time, forever. Only you and I. This is what love feels. I know it. We're all alone in our own universe. I feel alive.. I feel.. happy.
Then nothing.
Nothing at all.
I grip onto her shoulders, trying to push her back, but it doesn't help. The knife enters me time and time again. But I feel no pain, only emptiness.
'I didn't know who he was..' I whisper. But she doesn't hear me. She just stabs, stabs and stabs. I feel feint. I have lost Finnicks gaze. I feel a great weight being lifted from me, and I sigh at the relief. But at that moment, it all comes back. All the pain. All the sound. I scream. Three is no longer on top of me. She is nowhere to be seen. I have Finnick and Eleanor on either side of me.
'What do we do!?' She shouts, her hands shaking, and a very wild look on her face.
'I don't know! I don't know I don't know I didn't do first aid. I don't know what to do, what if she dies?!'
'Well don't ask me!' I feel a drop of water fall onto my face. At first I think it's somebody crying, but then I feel another drop of rain hit me. Soon, we are under a full downpour. A parachute makes it's way down to us, and it contains some bandages and anti-septic wipes.
'How the fuck is that going to help?!' screams Finnick as he rips open the parachute. Then I see what I never wanted to see. Eleanor looks Finnick right in the eyes, and shakes her head, frowning.
'No.. No.. No no no.. No..' Says Finnick. He is shaking. No.. no I don't want to die..
'Finnick..' She says, sighing. And he shakes his head, starting to pull up my shirt. He grabs an anti-septic wipe.
'This is going to hurt Ivory..' He says, running a soft finger along my cheek. I just stare up at him, too tired to do anything. When did I get so tired? I have no idea. I smile up at him, and he runs a wipe across one of my wounds. I instantly cry out in pain.
'Shh, shh it's okay. It's okay Ivory don't cry.' He repeats this over and over again, every time I cry out, and every time he calms me down with soothing words. He then wraps my torso in bandages, and props me up, resting my head in his lap. He softly strokes my hair, and I look down. What meets my eyes shocks me terribly. How..? Did she really do that much damage?
The bandage on my torso is completely bright scarlet red, covered completely in blood. Considering Finnick only put the bandage on about 5 minutes ago, I must be bleeding it out quite bad. This is why I feel so tired.
'If she doesn't pull through this, you're dead.' I hear Stock mumble in the background. Oh god.. I'm so confused. I have no idea what happened. I just said that.. and then she.. then.. Wow I'm tired. I snuggle back into Finnicks lap, and close my eyes. A little nap can't help. Wow it's very warm..
'Ivory.. Don't you fall asleep on me, you might not wake up.' He whispers, him raking his hand through my hair. It's very soothing.
'I'm tired Finnick..' I say. This is the Hunger Games.. I have no chance now. Not with these injuries. 'Let me sleep..'
'No Ivory you won't wake up again. You need to win.' He says, cupping my face in his hands and looking right into my eyes.
'Finnick.. Let me go.' I say, and lift my hand up, searching for his own. He takes my hand in his, and I smile up at him.
'I don't want to let you go..' He says, and I hear Eleanor stand up. I don't look though, I'm too busy gazing into his eyes. Eleanor makes her way back over, and places something on my chest. I bring my hand up, and feel the handle, realising that it's my dagger. I smile at her, before going back to Finnick.
'Win for me, okay?' It's all getting fainter now.. It's just like falling asleep..
'I can't promise that..' It's so peaceful, so.. happy.
'Promise me Finnick.. Promise me.' I whisper. My eyes are starting to droop now. I yawn lightly, snuggling further into Finnick.
'I promise.' Everything is hazy, it's all escaping from me. All I feel is a dreamy bliss.
'On the victory tour, tell Elena I love her, okay?'
'I promise..' He says. I can hear his voice is starting to crack.
'Goodnight Finnick..' I say, my voice barely audible.
'Goodnight, Ivory.' He replies. I close my eyes, and take a deep breath, exhaling happily.
BOOM.
Heyy guys. If you recognize some lyrics here it's because I was listening to Euphoria and I thought it fit with the moment. I don't remember who reviewed but I'll shout you out in the next chapter. 3
edit: I edited some spelling mistakes from this chapter that I just noticed!x3