"When all is said and done
Where will you be?
You'll be staring right back
Right back at me
Never, never talk back to me
Quiver at the sound
That we scream." -Broken Frames, Eyes Set To Kill
I own nothing
Before I can even react, Ash knocks us both out of the way, and onto the forest floor. We tumble across the forest floor but quickly get up and recover. He has his throwing knives in his hands instantly, and I take a dagger from the belt around my waist. Our attacker looks at us for a moment, obviously angry at how we dodged her ax. I'm about to talk to her, when she runs off to the side, and back into the forest. Ash puts his knives in his pocket.
"We killed her allies yesterday" He says. I put the dagger back on my belt.
"She's from district seven" I state.
"I figured as much" He mumbles, walking over to the tree where the girl's ax had stuck. He finds a way to get it unstuck, and hands it to me. I take it and strap it to my back. Neither of us wants her to take it back for herself, because we know she'll kill us if she does. Plus, I could use a good throwing axe anyway.
"She's gone insane" I mumble, as we start walking back towards camp. I think back to seven girl. She was tall, and strong looking. Her short, choppy hair was a darkish brown-red color that reminded me of blood, and her eyes were an empty blue void. Her clothes were already ripped in several places, and she had two slash marks on her left cheek. Who, or what, was she fighting that gave her those marks?
"Should we tell the others?" I ask. He shakes his head.
"No. It's not like anything can be done about it now." He says. I look behind us for a second, before shaking my head.
"Yeah. You're right." I say. It's silent for the rest of the walk back to camp. One there I mentally note that the others got more water. I'm about to go back to my spot under the tree trunk when Ash grabs my arm. I give him a questioning look, and her gives me a stern one back. Pulling me close he puts his lips close to my ear.
"You should be more careful from now on Naida. Meaning you really shouldn't be alone much. I'll bet you anything the gamemakers are pissed off at you for figuring that water thing out. Understand?" He keeps his voice low and his eyes out for anything that might hear us. He releases my arm and puts some distance between us. I take my time to process what he's said, but eventually I shiver slightly and nod.
"Come on. Let's go strategize with the others." He smiles, as if he wasn't just whispering in my ear mere seconds before.
"Okay" I mumble. We go over to where two girl, one boy, and two boy are sitting around a small fire with canteens beside them. Ash and I drop down beside them.
"Where'd you get the throwing ax?" Two girl asks, moving to touch it. I move out of her grasp.
"I got a parachute." I lie. One boy whistles.
"Lucky. That ax looks pretty fucking sweet" He admires. I shrug. The others move their attention away from my additional weapon and begin to chat amongst one another. I don't really join. The conversation doesn't really spark my interest too much.
"Oh my god. Leona, what happened?" One boy asks, looking behind the rest of us. We turn to see a ragged looking one girl coming towards us. She sits down beside one boy and huffs. Leaves are in her hair, and she's covered in scratches. Did she get in a fight with another tribute?
"It looks like you got mauled by a bear and somebody tried to disinfect the wounds with some tree sap and a bunch of poison ivy" Two girl snickers. Two boy chuckles, making one girl glare at the both of them.
"I fell out of the tree while trying to get water. Needless to say I guess I'll be the one on watch while the rest of you are out hunting." She grumbles, attempting to pick some leaves out of her hair.
"I guess not" One boy says. One girl dismisses herself from the conversation after that, and goes over to her sleeping bag to sort her knives.
"Well, the person on watch was pretty much the only thing we needed to decide before going hunting. I guess we should start getting ready, considering that it'll be night soon already." He says, getting up from his spot on the floor.
"Wait, so no strategy?" I ask, unsure.
"How about this, we walk around, find tributes, and kill them. There. Now we have a strategy." Two girl says, also getting up. Everyone else, including Ash and I, follow suit. Speaking of Ash and I, we look to each other. We both know that this is probably the worst strategics in the history of the games.
"We're leaving after the anthem." One boy states, before we separate and go to to our stuff. Ash and I grab our packs from under the tree.
"Well, these guys have some pretty elaborate plans for the future." I mumble sarcastically. Ash laughs.
"You wanna just ditch these guys?" He whispers, so the others don't hear. I look around at all of the careers before turning back to Ash.
"Yeah. If we stick with these guys we'll be dead in a couple of days." I whisper back. He smiles.
"Okay then. After everybody else is asleep we'll grab the stuff we need and leave. Sound good?" He asks. I look to make sure nobody heard him. After I make sure none of the others did, I nod.
"Yeah. Sounds good." I agree. We both fall silent as we rummage through our packs for the weapons we're going to use. I take off the belt, there'll be no use for it if I have two axes. As I put the belt in my pack I notice my blowgun and darts. I pull them out and look them over.
"You think I should take these as a back up weapon?" I ask Ash, showing them to him.
"Yeah. But the darts probably aren't that strong so go for the neck when you use them." He instructs. I mock salute him.
"Aye aye Captain Evans" I mumble, sliding the darts and blowgun into my pants pocket. He laughs, After we gather up all of our things we go over to the others, who are all standing near the barely burning fire. The small flames kind of look like the sky right now, illuminated in oranges, yellows, and soft reds. It's a lot like the sunsets from home.
"Today went by fast" Ash comments, kicking up some dirt onto the fire.
"Yeah. It did. And so did yesterday, for that matter." One boy agrees.
"Why do you think the gamemakers are making the days so short?" One girl wonders. She pokes at the fire that Ash almost put out. It starts burning a little more as she does.
"Probably to fuck with us" Two girl snorts, twirling a knife between her fingers.
"They can make us have one hour a day and twelve at night if they wanted to" Two boy mumbles, throwing some dried fruit from his pack into the air and catching it in his mouth.
"Feh. They'll probably make it rain tonight just because they can." One boy says.
"If it hails tonight just because you said that Robert I'm going to kick your ass" One girl threatens, standing and pointing a small dagger at one boy. He just laughs it off. It begins to get a little colder as the sun begins to set more, making the sky become pink and purple. I shiver slightly.
"Here" I hear Ash behind me. I look to see him holding my jacket.
"Thanks" I say, taking it and putting it on. He stands next to me.
"You sure about this?" He asks. I know what he means. He wants to know if I'm sure about leaving the careers.
"Yeah. I'm positive." I respond, giving him a small yet reassuring smile. He ruffles my hair.
"Okay then." He mumbles. I nod.
I'm about to say something when the pink and purple of the sky finally floats into a dark deep purple mixed with navy blues. Stars can be seen for miles above us, and the moon becomes a slightly visible thing the shape of a fingernail. I'm in awe at the sight, nights were never this clear in District Four. And since it rained last night, we couldn't see such a beautiful sight. Sadly, the beautiful sight is cut off by the Capitol seal in the air, and the anthem blaring out around us. I look away from the sight and pull the jacket around me more. I think of home for the briefest second, making my heart ache and the night seem colder than just moments before. The anthem ends soon, and the seal disappears from the sky, grey clouds filling the expanse of the early evening sky.
"I guess we should be going." One boy says, before grabbing a spear from somewhere and walking into the forest. We all follow him, none of us really saying anything. I feel Ash's hand give me a reassuring squeeze on my shoulder. It makes me wonder, did he feel the same homesickness that I did just now? Did he feel the same aching and longing of the heart and coldness of the air around him like I? I shouldn't feel homesickness. I shouldn't feel anything. This is the games, emotions will only be my downfall. Yet, despite the ending result, I still feel an empty loneliness deep within my heart at the mere thought of home.
"Hey Ash?" I speak in a low tone, so the others can't hear our conversation. They're talking amongst one another, which means they probably won't, but I'm a cautious person.
"What's wrong Naida?" He asks. I look down at my hands, imagining the blood of seven boy still drenching them.
"Who do you think would make a deserving winner?" I ask, staring at my hands intently. Out of my side view I see his puzzled look.
"A deserving winner? Well, I'd like to think that you are." He asks. I shake my head and put my hands in my pocket.
"Deserving is never a word I would use to describe to myself." I mumble. I can tell Ash wants to question me further, but I guess he decides that it would be best to leave it alone. Which is good, because not only do I not want to talk about it, but I know the answer to my question. Truth is, I don't deserve anything. I believe Ash does. He deserves to win, to go home to his loved ones. The only people who will miss me at home are Annie and Finnick. I don't expect Annie to forget me any time soon, but as she grows old I'm sure her memory will become hazy and fade. I mean, sure, she'll have flashbacks of the times we spent together, but they won't last long. Finnick, on the other hand, won't remember me for too long. He'll find another woman, make a life with her, and have children. I'll be that girl from the Hunger Games that he once had a crush on, and nothing more. Ash will have tons of people at home; his parents, his friends, and whatever girls that have fallen in love with him over the past years.
"Hey! You two all the way back there! We're splitting up! If you can't find us in an hour and a half just go back to the base!" One boy not only breaks my train of thought, but also disturbs the silence of the woods. He wants us to be known, to be recognized and feared more than before. He wants to make it clear to every single non-career tribute that our 'pack' is a threat to their lives and that they will not be leaving this arena alive.
"Don't bother shouting back. They don't care." I tell Ash, who looked as if he was about to reply.
"Come on then. Let's turn into the forest here." He mumbles, turning to the left and disappearing behind the trees. I quickly follow, trying not to lose sight of him in the thick trees. I weave in and out of darkness, the clouding night sky providing no help to my sight at all. I'm so concentrated on trying to see where I'm going, that I don't even see Ash anymore.
"Ash!" I call out. My breathing quickens. What if something happens to him? I'll never forgive myself. I pick up my pace and I tear through the trees, branches scrapping against my legs and arms. I feel the weight of the two axes on my back fully as I duck under and brush past trees. I make it to a small clearing, the trees opening up to show the cloudy, yet still slightly starry, sky. The grass is wet and muddy from tributes that must've ran through here or camped here previously. A hand places itself on my shoulder, and I turn on my heel, eyes wild and hair frayed. I almost cry when I see its just Ash.
"Calm down Naida. I'm sorry I got you worried. I thought I saw a tribute and went off course a little." He says. My breathing and heartbeat is erratic still, the sense of nervousness, danger, and worry still coursing through my mind and veins. I look down at his hands and forearms to find them covered in blood. He catches me staring.
"It's not mine. The tribute and I got into a fight. I got a good slash at his upper arm."
"Okay…" I slow my breathing a little, and nod. He nods and puts my hair behind my ears, before gripping the sides of my face.
"There's no need to worry. You and I, we'll make it to the end together. We're partners going into this, and we'll stay partners going out to it." I close my eyes and calm myself completely, before looking him in the eye and nodding.
"Right. We know each other the best here. If we work together, we'll make it." He lets my face go and smiles.
"Exactly. Now come on. Let's go scout some of the area and then go back to the career site." He says, grabbing my hand and pulling me forward. I'm about to laugh at how pointless scouting would be, when something jerks me back by one of my own axes. I feel one slip off my back as Ash's hand let's go of mine and I fall to the floor. I look up to see the girl from seven leering over me, holding my ax high up in the air. I roll to the side as she starts to swing down.
"Naida!" Ash exclaims, and I see him pull out two of his knives, tossing them at seven. She laughs and darts out of the way. She looks as if she's about to come after me again, but then she pauses. I take the chance to scramble up and run over to Ash, taking a place beside him and pulling out my blowgun and darts. I put a blow dart in the gun and hold it at the ready. A demented smile graces her face at the sight.
"You two make me so fucking sick." She spits, "You two are just so nice to each other all the time. As if you were actually brother and sister or something! Well if you didn't know; Your. District. Partner. Will. Probably. Die. I mean, my partner did. But of course you should know all about that four." She spits in our direction.
"Yeah. I do. Put up a good fight. I got two knives through his hands and he still fought me until I got one into his stomach." I say, unsure of whether is could be considered a taunt or not to her, considering that her mind isn't in the right place.
"He was an idiot. The second he saw you gunning for that axe he should've bolted into the forest. You're a career and we're just weak tributes from poor districts. You have an alliance already assigned to you from the moment you're name is picked. We either rely on ourselves or make a small group that is killed off within days. A week if you're lucky. He had no chance." She says bitterly, running her hand up the blade of the axe. Light enough to not make a huge gash, but just enough to make it bleed.
"It's obvious that you've gone fucking insane." Ash growls. I give him a 'shut up' look, but he brushes me off. Seven laughs and hold's her axe out as if it were a stick, using it to point at us.
"Insane? Maybe. But you know, that'll just make killing you twice as fun." She giggles, and my grip on the blowgun tightens at the sound.
"It's two to one. What makes you think that you'll kill us?" I ask.
"Because. I'm killing one of you. The other one gets to live and watch the other die. And you wanna know how? You," She points at me with the axe, "can't use that axe properly. You act like you can but you can't. Those darts aren't enough to kill me either. And your partner is sloppy with knives. He throws them like they're fish, typical of someone from district four. So I'll take out one of you. You can choose which one if you'd like."
"We can still manage enough to kill you if we want." I say. She rolls her eyes.
"Shut up already!" She yells, lurching forward to grab me. I'm about to hit her in the neck with a blow dart when she takes me by the shoulders and pulls me to her. The blowgun drops to the grass as she holds my back to her chest with her arm. I bite and scratch, but she just laughs and throws my other axe so that it sticks into a tree.
"You are so fucking annoying. You're all bark and no bite. You threaten people, and you scare them with some fancy weapon tricks. But if you're really as bloodthirsty as you want to seem, then you would've killed me in the time that we were talking back and forth. You just want to take from the hard work of others to get to the top. Then you'll either make a few kills or die a dramatic, seemingly sacrificial death for the cameras. All you are is a show girl." She jerks my head back by my hair.
"Let Naida go." Ash grits out. I can tell that he's trying to find a way to get us both out of this alive.
"Why? She looks like she'd squirm if I kept her and used a few make-shift knives on her. Tell you what, I'll let you live and walk away if I can take her. I bet she would scream and cry. She would beg and bargain for me to spare her life every time I stuck a knife into her arm, or offer me something every time I'd sharpen my axe and stroke it gently across her cheek. Softly though, I don't want a single cut on that pretty face of hers. Not that it would matter. In the end they'd burn her body and send her back in a matchbox, so it's pointless, but just for the sake of leaving a pretty corpse for the cameras. So what do you say? Can I have her?" I struggle more, so she uses the hand with her axe in it to hold me against her. She lets my hair go and reaches under my jacket and shirt to grip my side.
"I said let her go. You can't have her. Kill me instead because you're not getting her." He growls, a fire in his eyes. Her grip on my side intensifies and I scream slightly, involuntary tears start streaming down my cheeks. The pain is unbearable, it feels as if my skin is being ripped off my body by a fire poker. I can feel the sticky wetness of blood on my side from where her nails bite through my skin.
"Does it hurt four? I can tell. It hurts so bad you started crying, even if you didn't want to. I sharpened my fingernails so that they're points, and then I killed this squirrel, and when I tasted his blood it burned the inside of my mouth, so I put that on the tips. I figured I could choke someone, but seeing you like this is just so delicious. Tell me four, how much does it hurt? Beg for me to stop. Beg for your partner to help you." She grips harder and I can't help but scream again.
"Run….Ash…! Please…just run away! She'll kill me….if you run..!" I struggle, desperately clawing at her hand. She laughs.
"Oh how cute! She's telling you to run! Yet not even for your own safety, she just wants the pain to stop. I'll still torture you if he runs four. Your screams and tears are just so fantastic to see! I should've put more of that squirrels blood on them, I bet you'd pass out from the pain!" She lets go of my side and I'm panting now, the tears slowing down. She lifts up my shirt and looks at it. It's oozing blood that feels like fire as it covers my skin.
"You…fucking…psychopath.." She throws me to the floor, and puts her foot on my head. She puts her axe near my neck.
"Something that talks back is no fun. Maybe I should slice up your partner? You can't move to stop me, the pain took all the energy out of you. Then I'll leave you to cry over his dead body. What do you think Ash? Would you die for Naida?" She says our names as if they're poison. I can't see any of what's going on because I'm on my side with seven's boot in my face. I dig my fingers into the dirty soil, and am surprised to feel the beginning drops of rain on my hand. I guess the gamemakers wanted to dramatize things.
"Ash…no…can't trust…" She uses the handle of her axe to hit me in the stomach, and I groan. More rain starts pouring now, starting to soak all of us.
"I'm glad the capitol can see just how weak you are four. Screaming and crying over intense pain. Not even fighting back when you can easily gain the upper hand. Then again, you're pretty smart. Maybe you're just secretly plotting something." I grit my teeth to keep myself from saying something to her.
"Let her go. I'll die for her if you want me to, but just let her go." Ash, you're such an idiot.
"I…thought I told you…to run…dumbfuck..! Run…and leave me…here to die…already!" Seven kicks me in the back, but I barely feel it because my body has started to become numb from both the previous pain and the freezing cold rain.
"Okay. She'll live, and you'll die. Though, I will miss those wonderful screams of pain she lets out when I dig my fingers into her stomach so hard that I can feel her organs. It's her own fault though, being so skinny." She giggles, before swinging her axe over her shoulder and stepping forward. Acting on pure impulse I grab her foot, and make her land on her stomach. Her axe lands beside her, and I use the chance to scramble onto her back and take one of my darts and stick it in the side of her neck. She struggles under my weight, before going limp. I stare at her unconscious body for what seems like forever. Once I realize what I've done I laugh and stand, only to collapse on the other side of her.
"Are you okay Naida?" Ash runs forward and leans in front of me to check the damages.
"I'm fine. That sadistic bitch dug her fucking needle like nails into my side like I was a pin cushion. I felt like she was pouring hot, melted lead into my body." I complain, ripping the bottom of her shirt and wrapping it around my middle. It's wet from the rain, so it calms the irritation.
"Come on. I'll grab your axe out of the tree, you grab your blowgun." He says, helping me stand. I nod and stumble towards my blowgun, scooping it up from the floor and gripping to it for dead life.
"I'm done with this hunting shit. I can't wait to leave this fucking group." I mumble, turning on my heel. I look at Ash, only to have my jaw drop
"Na…ida.." Ash spits up blood, and a scream rips from my throat. He collapses as the axe buried right above the crook between his shoulder and neck is ripped from it, a cry of surprise and pain ripping from his throat. Seven looks up at me, a dizzy smile on her face as she pulls out the dart I left buried in her neck. Blood is everywhere on her, and I can barely react before she runs off into the forest again.
"Ash!" I scream, running over there and flipping him over onto his back. I press my hands to his neck, blood covering them within seconds. Rain beats down fast and washes most of it away, but they're covered just as quick. I'm screaming so loud that I bet everyone in the arena can hear. More blood comes out of Ash's mouth as he struggles to breathe.
"Please don't die Ash. Please. We were gonna make it to end together. You're my district partner. Please don't die. Please." I start to cry, but the rain makes it impossible to tell. I hear the rustling of branches in the distance, and shouting. I just keep screaming. Ash reaches up and grabs my wrists, weakly trying to push my hands away.
"I'm not gonna let you die! I'm not gonna let you!" I'm screaming more and more, and soon the other careers rip out from the darkness of the trees, weapons at the ready. They take a moment before they realize it's me, and they put their hands down.
"Holy shit." I hear two boy mumble. Ash looks into my eyes and squeezes my wrists, before coughing up more blood and closing his eyes. His strangled breathes slow, and I faintly realize that I keep screaming 'no' at the top of my lungs. Soon his breathing stops all together, and his hands go limp. A few seconds pass, before his cannon sounds. I stare at his body, before letting out a choked sound and falling backwards. The other careers just stare at my blank expression for a minute, before two girl points at me with one of her knives.
"Come on one. Grab her. And don't argue. Just do it." He comes over and grabs me, but I can't get enough energy to struggle against him. Before I know it they're carrying me through the forest, and I can see the hovercraft that's supposed to be taking Ash's body behind them. My breathing is labored, and all the screaming I did has taken all the energy from me. But it doesn't seem to matter.
Because Ash is dead.
The one person I trust, and only friend, in this arena is gone.
Rain: Hi! I'm finally back after my super long hiatus! I hope you guys aren't mad at me for being gone so long! While I was gone I tried to improve my writing style, I hope it shows. Anywho, I don't want to annoy you guys with a long author's note!
R & R! I accept constructive criticism and advice, not meaningless hate! :)