AN: I'd like to apologise for how long it has taken for me to get this updated, a mixture of personal circumstances and everlasting writers block prevented anything from being written for a long time. But I have managed to turn the odds in my favour and get this chapter to you as soon as I could.
All errors are mine, I apologise if there are a few, another late night edit probably didn't help. If you see one let me know by review or PM and I'll fix it a.s.a.p
Warning: This chapter contains violence, blood and dark themes, you have been warned.
Chapter 11
Stranger Than It Seems
Flora didn't know which of the emotions and physical responses she should focus on the most. Either the pounding headache and sore throat caused by her long and sleepless night or the physical exhaustion of running for so long with no sign of water in their sights. Her lungs felt heavy, probably owing to the fog that tried to kill them the previous night, and her eyes were itchy and red. It had been a long sleepless night for the nature fairy who hadn't managed a wink while Helia and Anagan rested peacefully on the sandbank behind her.
Anagan was an interesting team member, he had proven himself to be useful and had saved Helia's life, but Flora hated the idea that, because he had done so, they owed him something later during the games. Maybe they would have to let him live right at the very end, a life for a life. Or maybe he would betray them, turn his back on them during a moment of crisis or stab them in the back, either literally or figuratively. She wouldn't blame him if he did. It wasn't in Helia or her own nature to go against what they believed, or the deals that they had made, but if she hadn't had such a loving mother and upbringing and had suffered most of her short life only to be thrown into the hunger games arena and come out the other end standing…well, picking off the new victors would be a no brainer; killing, in all its forms, would become second nature.
But she was lucky enough to never know what true suffering was and she prayed that, although she never truly got to understand or know Stormy, she hadn't suffered too long in the end. The ship had flown overhead in the middle of the night to pluck her lifeless body from the undergrowth, like a toy or chocolate bar from an arcade game. Another victor was gone – they were either another step closer to going home or another step closer to their own demise.
Suddenly something flew overhead, casting a shadow over her head and a small silver container landed in the sand to her right. She looked to the number, twelve, and detached the parachute and opened it. Inside was something she had never seen before. It looked like a long sharp spike with some kind of opening at the other end, a square hole for something to leak from. Was it a weapon? Probably not, the end was sharp but not sharp enough to cut human flesh. Was Faragonda trying to tell them something? Was she trying to give them a clue?
"Hey," Helia greeted, shuffling to sit beside her, he noticed the bags under her eyes, the red lines of exhaustion in her eyes, the way she released a barely audible 'hello' without parting her lips. "Did you get any sleep?" She shook her head honestly, still staring at the strange object in her fingertips. Helia brought his left arm around her shoulders and she leaned into his secure touch, her head resting against his shoulder. "What's that?"
"It's a gift from Faragonda." Helia took it from her and inspected it, blowing in one end to see if it would make some sort of noise but it didn't. "What is it?"
"I have no idea," she admitted.
"It's a sap spike," Anagan spoke, kneeling in front of the two of them and taking it into his hands. He held it horizontally, so the spike was dead straight to his left and the strange square piece with the hole was pointing downwards. "We make them back in Quantum, you stick the spike into a tree and the sap comes through the square end for collection. We use the sap for medicine."
"But what kind of sap would be in these trees to make Fara-" Flora stopped, her eyes opening suddenly with realisation. The spike, the trees, the lack of water; how were all these trees still living without a single drop of fresh water to be found? How was it so humid inside a rainforest desolately dry from the ground up? She took the spike from Anagan's hand and stood to her feet excitedly, looking to the sky and muttering a thank you to whoever had sent them the precious gift.
"What is it?" Helia asked, standing next to her as she smiled.
"Water!" Her feet ran through the sand towards the nearest set of trees where she plunged the spike into the trunk as hard as she could. It didn't make it very far.
"Here let me try," Helia replied, telling Flora and Anagan to stand back while he used his naginata to try and stab a hole to weaken the exterior. Flora nervously held the spike in her hands, her tongue tingling with anticipation, tingling with excitement that her mouth might finally be moist again, that she could finally quench her thirst.
A strange but loud zap caught their attention, making them stare at a dark black tree further up the ridge behind Helia, close to where the barrier prevented their escape. White lightning struck it for a moment and disappeared, making both of them shrug their shoulders and not pay too much attention - until they heard a roar.
"What was that?" Helia asked, looking to his right when Flora watched something black fly through the sky and bring Helia to the ground. He struggled to kick it off him only to see fifty or more others all coming his way.
"Helia!" Flora yelled, about to change into her enchantix to start blasting away at the beasts when they heard something, a melody sweeping through the trees and a bright golden light in the distance. Helia fended off another beast when it suddenly stopped attacking him and he had a chance to get a good look at it. It was a demon dog, a thin beast, similar to grey hound in stature with sharp teeth that drooled continuously and sharp spikes over its back and legs. He scrambled to his feet when the demon raced toward the light and the sound of a fight broke out.
Flora stood dumbfounded, not sure of what to think as Helia made his way back to them. The trees moved from side to side as the beasts roared and fought, their howls and their victims shrieks filling their ears and providing a wake-up call to the other tributes - another deadly day had begun.
Then they suddenly stopped and Sibylla staggered from the bush and onto the sand, her hands clutching over her stomach, a large gash spilling blood onto the ground below and staining it red. Her breathing was staggered and harsh as she fell face-first onto the sand. Helia quickly ran to her side with Flora, the pair helping to turn her over. Her injuries were extensive and Flora had to stop herself from being sick as the sight of the young woman's intestines, visible through the multitude of bite marks that pulled flesh from muscle and muscle from bone.
"Why did you do that?" Helia asked, making her smile ever so slightly. He didn't understand why she had attracted them to herself, taken the beating for him. She lifted her left hand and placed it on Helia's when he felt something passing between his fingers. Looking down the blood stained paper he unfolded it to see a single photograph of Galatea and Derrick, both happily smiling for the picture.
"F-f-for t-t-t-them," she stammered, coughing a substantial amount of blood from her throat. Her breathing quickened once more as Helia held her hand. Then she stopped, her eyes glazed and body lost the last of its colour, the red across her face and body contrasting against the white canvas of her skin.
BANG!
The canon fired.
Helia drew a deep breath into his lungs before placing his forefinger and thumb over her eyelids and pulling them closed, thankfully they rested where they should have.
"We need to get out of here," Anagan explained, "They'll want to pick her up." Flora nodded and forced her shaky legs to make her stand. Helia did the same, not uttering a word, the bloodstained photograph still held firmly in his hand.
Heading west with Anagan as their guide the group decided to stay on high alert and keep away from the trees. First poisonous fog and now demon dogs, what other hazards had Sky's father created for them.
For a moment Flora wondered whether the crowds in Magix were enjoying themselves, enjoying seeing the trauma, enjoying the feast of experienced tributes fighting one another to the death in the largest blood bath she had known. She supposed they would be, while those in the districts…well, they probably weren't feeling the same.
For a moment she took a glance at Helia who was pale, his forehead beaded with sweat and mind obviously somewhere else. She wasn't exactly sure what Sibylla's uncharacteristic sacrifice had meant but she did know that if anyone from district four had done the same for her because of Mirta she wouldn't feel worthy. Self sacrifice was the greatest expression of love or dedication to a cause, so what did Sibylla's mean for Helia? What did it mean for them? That they were to be protected against the elements? Why did Stormy too sacrifice herself to save her when she knew very little about the witch and probably would have died in the fog herself.
So many unanswered questions rolled around her head, making Flora wonder whether Faragonda knew the answers or whether she would live long enough to find them herself. Either way she knew that they needed to keep on going, to lift their heads high and keep playing the game, keep surviving. Because if Bloom, Daphne, Stormy and Sibylla had all died to protect them, they owed it to them to make sure their sacrifices were not in vain.
Before Flora could take another step an ice shard landed in the ground just before her toes, she lifted her head immediately to see Anagan with crossbow at the ready and to see Helia holding his naginata, another ice shard sitting neatly in the wooden staff.
"How are we doing this fine morning?" Icy taunted, floating from above and landing on the soft sand, two other figures following her side. They were the two tributes from Zenith where Tecna and Timmy were from. Flora could recognise that orange hair and pale skin tone anywhere.
"Fine, you?" Anagan replied, in a sort of friendly way that made Flora slightly suspicious.
"Fine, bit of a rough awakening, huh, another one down already and its only day two." She didn't sound sincere but Flora didn't mind her trying to make their situation a little more everyday and comical, it shouldn't have been like that, but anything had to be better than drowning in the unanswered questions and ideas that wouldn't go to rest.
"What do you want?" Helia barked, cutting to the chase.
"An alliance," Icy replied seriously, "tributes are dropping off like flies." Another canon fired the moment she finished the sentence, punctuating her point. "See?" she emphasised. "We have more of a chance to get through this thing if we stick together as a team than going it alone in our separate groups."
"What could you offer us?" Anagan asked and Icy's eyes shifted to meet his. "We've been doing just fine so far so what are you offering us?"
"Other than my immeasurable power and skill?" Icy laughed, but the group before her remained silent. "Wow tough crowd."
"This is serious!" Helia yelled, stepping forward with staff in hand. "Tell us why we shouldn't just kill you all right now?"
"You need us," a young male voice spoke, as he stepped from behind Icy and into their view. He wasn't a very big kid, tiny in width and about as tall as Helia. They were surprised that he had lasted this long. "Ophelia has the greatest mind of any previous victor, Icy is super powerful and incredibly strong and I… well I have this." He held up a strange looking cylinder and opened it to reveal a metal coil of wire, it didn't look like much of a weapon but there had to be at least a kilometre of the stuff in there.
"And why don't you want to go it alone?" Flora asked making Icy step forward again. "You've survived this far."
"Because of that." Icy's bony finger pointed to the spike, held in Flora's hands. "We need water and you have the only item in the arena that can give it to us." Helia stood protectively in front of her. "Don't worry lover boy I'm not going to hurt her but I know of a few other tributes who are damn near ready to try."
"Who?" Helia asked and she tutted her tongue.
"Let's just say that this little power duo," she pointed over her shoulder to Ophelia and Glenn with her thumb, "are the strategic dream team, they have intel, they know where everyone is." Flora's eyes widened, to have that kind of information would be vital for their survival. Helia turned to face her and she nodded giving him the go ahead.
"Are you sure they are coming here?" He asked, still unconvinced.
"If Ophelia and Glenn can track the three of you the others will be able to as well, admittedly a little slower than we did, and they won't be friendly," Icy paused. "You hold the one thing that stands between a lot of them and a slow dehydrated death." Helia remained firm; his teeth clenched as Icy lifted her head and released a sigh. "It's up to you, take it or leave it."
"Helia," Flora spoke, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Remember what Faragonda said, we need to make allies. I know you're scared but we can do this together, okay?" He nodded, though was understandably worried for Flora's safety. Every new ally was another possible debt, every new addition to their team a threat to their safety.
"Okay."
"Excellent!" Icy beamed, "first things first, let's make sure that spike does what it's supposed to."
Anagan looked in Flora's direction and she nodded before walking to the tree. She didn't have the strength to push it all the way in and Helia didn't seem to either so Anagan shot a single crossbow into the trunk and took it into his hand, forcing it backwards and forwards to make a gap. With all his might he pulled it back out before taking the spike from Flora's hands and stabbing it inside.
They waited for a long, slow moment before a single drop of water fell into Anagan's hand and he smiled before it started a gentle stream.
Icy quickly cast a spell and formed an ice bucket and placed it below, along with several cups that they used to drink their fill. The combination between the icy cold containers and the water that now dwelt within them was heaven on earth for the six of them who had been waiting so long to taste it.
Flora hastily gulped another mouthful and swallowed savouring the moisture and watching Helia pour some of the water onto his hand which he used to wash his face and neck. She too did the same with the others as they sat down near the tree and drank their fill.
"Well that's the water taken care of, the next thing will be food," Anagan noted.
"And shelter," Icy added, finishing off the last of her cup and waving her hand so they vanished into thin air.
"Why didn't you just melt your own ice?" Helia asked and Icy understood the logic.
"Magical ice doesn't work the same way that normal ice does, it's not really fit for consumption. All forms of magical food or drink are not lasting, in some cases you can end up thirstier or hungrier than before you ate or drank it."
"Maybe we should set up camp," Ophelia spoke, her throat no longer sore and able to produce audible words.
"Good idea, we'll go and look for some stuff to build a shelter," Glenn agreed, helping the older woman to her feet and starting through the bush. The silver container caught Helia's eye for a moment in the young man's pocket but he quickly dismissed his fear. They could have killed them for the spike instead of bargaining them with intel or support. Helia wasn't exactly sure why but he knew that Flora was probably thinking the same thing.
Unfolding the photograph from his pocket he looked at the innocent faces of two people whose lives had been tragically cut short when, as if in his imagination, he heard Galatea's voice screaming his name. His head lifted suddenly and he looked around, eyebrows furrowed in confusion and eyes darting from left to right.
"Did anyone else hear that?" He asked making them stop their conversation and listen.
"Helia!" The scream echoed and he stood to his feet looking around the forest for the source of the sound.
"Helia! Help us!"
"Derrick!" Helia yelled back.
"Flora!"
"Miele!" She screamed in return, dropping the spike and running for it through the sand toward the west, Helia quickly following behind.
"Flora, wait!" He begged.
"Flora! Please, don't let me die!" Mirta spoke.
"I'm coming! I'm coming!" She called before entering the tree line, Helia's own feet skidding to a hault in the undergrowth.
"Where are you?" She asked the wilderness.
"Right here."
AN: Thanks for reading and please review!
Response to Anonymous Reviews:
SparklingFlora – Thank you for reviewing I'm glad that you have loved the story so far and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter as well. I wanted to try and play around with the characters a little and am glad that you liked it. Please continue to let me know what you think, it truly means a lot.
