Merry Christmas everyone! I hope everyone got awesome presents and spent some nice time together with their families! 3
My Christmas present is hitting 300 views, you are all so awesome! 3
My thoughts were cut off by the sound of approaching footsteps nearing the bridge. Limiter dragged me beside him quickly against the darkest wall of the underside of the bridge. My heart started to fasten its pace, but my mind was telling me it was okay to die here, if they found us. The people had gained on the bridge, making their way over it. It was just when they stopped at the top that I realized it was Shine and Jedrek, and they were not happy. It was clear the tension was high between the two of them.
"This is pathetic, where is everyone hiding?" That shrill voice was Shine's, and she sounded very agitated. I could just imagine her perfect nose crumpled up in a dark scowl, her sapphire eyes gleaming viciously. Jedrek was silent. There was a pause in the air, and I could see Limiter looking around for the best exit. He started to crawl towards the other side of the bridge, when the sound of scuffling footsteps and a slight shriek froze him in his efforts. It seemed as if Shine had tried to attack Jedrek, because she was begging him to let go of her.
"That was the stupidest thing you've done yet," The dark, gravelly voice of the District 2 boy came from above us, and then there was a loud crack. Shine's body startled us as it fell from the bridge, smacking on the ground suddenly. Her eyes were lifeless, and they were staring right through me. I felt myself shake involuntarily, and I was frozen by her face, twisted in her death. Her cannon sounded. I shuffled back, mainly to get near Limiter, for some form of support, but he was gone. I heard more footsteps, quickened ones, and I knew what he was doing. He was going to take Jedrek on.
I got up quickly, my mind urging to me escape, scaling the side of the ditch, leaving behind my belongings in my haste. I turned my head sharply, just in time to see a sword make its way through Limiter's body, his cry hitting me like an arrow to the heart. Jedrek's head turned towards me, and I realized I was screaming. His almost black eyes watched me, and I didn't wait around. My legs powered me as fast as I could, stumbling and nearly falling multiple times as I charged onwards. I waited for Jedrek to gain his distance on me, but I realized he hadn't followed me. He didn't chase me. The cannon for Limiter went off loudly.
Somehow I ended back up in the place I had first found, the field with the willow trees and the lake. I hobbled over to the lake, avoiding the purple flowers once more. I could always use them to kill myself, I could, but… that would be a horrible way to die. I was starting to wish I'd remembered to grab my bag, because I could have easily hung myself in one of these trees instead. It was as I was washing down my leg carefully that I heard something. It started off softly, but got increasingly louder, flooding my mind with the sound of Thread's voice. My head jerked around, trying to find him, but I couldn't see him anywhere.
His voice was calling out to me, I swear. The words were hard to make out at first, but the more I listened, the clearer it was becoming. He was asking me to come to the tree. I looked around to the tree, but still…. No one. I felt like I was going mad. I knew Thread was dead, I had watched him die, but this…. His voice…
I took my time, getting up slowly, following his voice to the tree that I hid in my first night, opening the strands of leaves, hoping to find him there. Of course he wasn't there, but I felt like I could feel him around. I felt like he was touching me, beckoning me. Then I realized it wasn't him speaking, but it was myself. I was singing. I was singing about the Hanging Tree.
Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Where they strung up a man they say murdered three.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.
Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Where the dead man called out for his love to flee.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.
Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Where I told you to run, so we'd both be free.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.
Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Wear a necklace of rope, side by side with me.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree
I hadn't sung that song in years, because it was incredibly depressing, and I suppose it reminded people of the Dark Days, where many people were hung in District 8. My mother once told me her uncle was part of the rebellion, and he was hanged publicly. People in District 8 are touchy on the subject, so when I started singing it while working, I was quickly corrected.
I was worried at the fact that I couldn't even tell whether it was me or someone else singing, my sanity was the last thing I had left to lose, and I was clinging to it with every ounce of my soul. Still, I could still feel that strange presence around me, and I knew I was going insane. Soon, the names and faces flashed in the sky, but I didn't watch. There were four of us left now. My stomach growled fiercely, but I didn't want to eat. My body trembled from the cold as I sat in the tree, shivering, my breath coming out as white puffs of air.
I didn't sleep at all, my eyes wide and staring, listening to the sounds of the night, the soft rustles of the leaves, the night birds cooing at each other. My eyes were heavy, and I knew they must have looked very dark underneath, but no matter what I did, I couldn't sleep. I was probably taking on the appearance of an insane person, my hair mattered and knotty, and my eyes baggy and crazed, singing to myself, thinking I could see Thread. I wondered if my home had given up on me yet, if they were watching, waiting for me to die. I was hoping I might freeze during the night, but I wasn't so lucky.
I lay still in the tree for what seemed like days, but I knew it was only the next day and probably around mid-afternoon. The sky was starting to tinge with yellow and oranges as the day sped past. They were probably trying to end it quickly. They wanted the games to be over now. My thoughts were interrupted by a cannon, shocking me into jumping down quickly from the tree to escape. I found it strange how my entire being wanted death, but I suppose I was honestly still afraid of it.
As I exited the tree, I saw someone emerge on the other side of the river, sword in hand. I took off before Jedrek could spot me, my lungs aching as I pushed myself to continue on. I stumbled into a field I hadn't seen yet, a field filled with red poppy flowers, flowers that are very high in demand to embroider. I tripped a rock while cutting across it, falling into a patch of the sweet smelling flowers, hearing a triumphant yell. My head snapped in the direction, and a bloody bronzed boy ran at me, his spear, dark with fresh blood aimed at me. He must have killed his district partner.
I felt my body tense, waiting for the impact, but it never came. Before my eyes, Jedrek's sword swung almost in slow motion, taking off the Goldie's throwing arm, watching him fall in agony. He took the spear from the ground, and skewered the Goldie right through the chest against the floor with both hands, the wooden pole sinking at least a meter into the dirt. The boy's cannon signalled his end, and Jedrek turned to me, picking up his sword menacingly.
He approached me slowly, his eyes dead set on mine, and I tried to cry out, but my throat was closed up. Jedrek killed quickly though, so I was sure I wouldn't be in pain for long. He stopped a few feet from me, his dark stare breaking through my mind, tearing me apart inside with fear. I could sense the sun starting to go down slowly. They knew this was it. They were about to have their victor. The red of the setting sun made Jedrek look almost demonic. The tension between us as he stared at me started to hurt my chest, my panic setting in painfully. What was he waiting for?
"Aren't you even going to try?"