73rd hunger games chapter 10 – saving Keeko
'He's alive' is my first immediate thought. They obviously have him here to lure me in to the career camp hoping for bloodshed. ' Well there not getting any' I think angrily. He is tied against the pole nearest me, but he's still 30ft away. I have my sword, I could cut him loose. But what if the careers wake up, Keeko can obviously not fight, or run very fast if at all. 'oh shit, this is going to involve bloodshed' I think grimly. I think back to Lily, I said I'd go back if I found him. But what if they're awake by then. This could be my only chance, my only good chance. It'll much harder, no, impossible, if one of the careers are awake. And they're all sound asleep, two deep inside the canopy and one with his back away from me. I could do it. Deciding to go in before I lose my courage, I slowly walk forward.
15ft...10ft...5ft..."Keeko?" I whisper "no not again" he mumbles hoarsely as if he's lost his voice "I don't know where she is, leave me alone" he continues. "oh Keeko what have they done to you?" I say solemnly. I immediately start on trying to untie the ropes "what are you doing?" he asks hoarsely. "It's me, Taylor" I whisper back "stay quiet, all of them are asleep but not for long, Lily is fine and safe" I continue. He doesn't reply but I hear him breathing knowing he is ok for now, I don't have time to treat his injuries. I'm still trying to untie the ropes 5 minutes later. 'damn, Ethan must have tied these' I think. It's another 10 minutes before he's untied. I help him up slowly, realising his right leg is very injured, as well as left arm and cheek, and he also tells me he has a large bruise on his stomach. "We have set up camp in a cave in those rocks over there" I point towards the rocks "that's where Lily is" I whisper. I help him hop to the edge of the hill "where's your knife?" I ask "they took it off me" he says hoarsely. "ok slowly use your right arm and left leg to crawl down the hill, I'll come down beside you in case you need help" I whisper, he starts to crawl down on his back, wincing but getting down at a reasonable pace, just as I'm about to follow him I hear footsteps.
I whip my head around "Ethan" I breathe "and where do you think you're going Taylor" he whispers, for some reason he doesn't want to wake the others up. It's still pitch black but I can see he has a huge cut along his forehead. "Back to camp" I state, I know Keeko can hear, I just hope he keeps moving, I may be able to take Ethan on but I can't defend both of us. "Oh really? And you think I'm going to let you go?" he asks, I can tell in his voice he isn't quite sure if it's a threat, he sounds tired and weak. "What have they done to you" I ask trying to buy time for Keeko. "we had a..." he pauses "disagreement, you see, they wanted to lure you up here so Jerome and Benet could kill you for Killing Sasha and Zoey" "but they said you wanted me, to kill me yourself, it was as if you were the leader" I interrupt "pah! They've been keeping me here, trying to lure you in because they believed you were the biggest threat" I know what he means, I got the highest score in training "for some reason they think all district partners get along, and that you'd eventually come to me and want to form an alliance against the other careers. At first I played along, because I wanted to kill you for showing me up. I even interrogated some girl to try and find you. But then I realised they were using me. Just like Finnick said. They don't want me for my strength, they want me to get to you. I hated them for that, so I started a fight, and lost" he points to his head "I promised not to rebel again and that I'd try to find you to stop them from killing me" he concludes "Oh" is all I say. Neither of us are sure what to do next. It's clear to me that these games have changed Ethan. He's not as stuck up as he used to be. I think he's more angry at being used than he is at me. "If anyone deserves to win, it's you" he says, this completely shocks me and clearly my expression shows it "I know it's surprising to hear me say it. But if you win you'll bring pride back to our district. What I've done, well It won't go down well if I win" he says, then he turns around and walks back to his sleeping bag. I'm still in a state of shock, its Keeko's loud whispering that pulls me out of it "Taylor, come out we need to go!" he says.
I snap out of it and practically run down the hill. Once I get to the bottom I see Keeko is already at the start of the rocks. I put his right arm around my shoulders and he hops quickly while I walk fast back to the cave where Lily is. It's still pitch black, I put him down on top of the roof, knowing it will be hard to get into the cave, and I need the moonlight to cure his injuries. As soon as he's lying down I look back up to the top of the hill. A low scream echoes through the arena, I see a black figure fall to the floor holding its chest. "Ethan" I mutter in a solemn tone. I expect to see figures running down the hill to find me, but none do. 'What did he tell them to make them kill him?' I wonder. I see a silhouette of a figure sit back in a chair and one disappears from site. 'Must be Jerome and Benet' I think. The hover craft comes and goes. I look back down at Keeko, suddenly remembering his injuries. I go into the cave, see Lily is safe and take the bag out with me. I kneel down beside him. I put on cream and bandage his leg and arm. He will be injured for a while but neither are infected.
As I'm cleaning his cheek wound, Keeko puts his right arm to back of my head, and pulls my ear close to his mouth "thank you for saving me, it seems I'm always in danger hey?" he then lets my head up slightly but catches my mouth with his lips. I'm surprised (once again) but kiss back. It's a long passionate kiss, which makes me completely forget where I am and what I'm meant to be doing. After a few minutes I pull away; upon suddenly remembering Will. I say nothing to Keeko. I finish cleaning his cheek then help him into the cave. I put him down next to Lily. "Get some sleep" I say. "Tay?" he says, I ignore him and go and sit outside the mouth of the cave. I scan area, see no one around and sit crossed legged in front of the cave. I unleash my sword and set it down next to me. I lean my back against the cave, I look up at the moon. 'what did I just do' I think.
I stay up all night thinking about what the repercussions of the kiss could be. 'Will will be devastated. What if he did love me. I've just ruined it.' I think. 'Keeko kissed you, it wasn't you who started it' I think nervously back. 'yeah but I let it happen! I could have pushed him away! But didn't! I liked it!' the last part of that thought shocked me...I liked it? No I can't have, I love Will! ' you may love Will but you do feel something for Keeko. The sooner you admit it, the sooner you can move on!' I think. He was obviously just a bit delusional from all his injuries and kissed me for saving him, yeah that was it. So what if you like him a little, it's just a little crush, it won't last. As soon as you see Will, it will go away. 'What if you don't get out of here alive' I think. Me and Keeko probably aren't getting out alive. Especially after what I just saw happen to Ethan. The careers will find us. Even in the unlikely event that I get to the final two, I will die. If it's with Jerome or Benet they won't have any problem killing me. With Lily I will sacrifice myself, same with Keeko. 'What about the other tributes, the girls from 5 and 7, the boys from 6 and 10, and all of 12' I think. I could take them out...maybe, if they haven't got any hidden talent that they didn't show in the training days. 'Oh I give up!' I think as I put my head in my hands. I start to cry, feeling everything that has happened in the last week all at once.
"what am I going to do" I mumble. "You're going to get out of here alive" a voice comes from behind me. "I can't do that" I say whilst crying. Its dawn now, so I can see Keeko's face a bit clearer, he looks very beaten up. "I promised myself I'd get your sister home" I say weakly, still crying. He sighs and puts his right arm around me whilst sitting down. He pulls my head to his shoulder and holds me. I feel teardrops on my hair. I hear the canon go off. "She's dead Taylor".