I swallow hard, my eyes darting from one savage face to another. There seems little chance that Tantore and I will make it out of this alive, but I slowly draw out a knife from my jacket anyway. If I'm going to die, I'll sell my life dearly. Perhaps my companion can get away and have a chance at winning.
"Bird-girl, run," Tantore says softly. He, too, has drawn his weapon, and is surveying our opponents. "Now."
"No." I narrow my eyes, looking for an advantage. There is none.
"Bird-girl, run. Get away from here now. Get to the river."
"No."
The eleven Careers are spreading out, circling around behind us, cutting off all escape. The girls look as dangerous and cruel as the boys, and the array of torture devices they're brandishing at us is doing nothing to raise my morale and hope of survival. One of the boys from One, obviously the ringleader, leers at us.
"What's this critter you've got hanging onto you, Tanty boy?" he says tauntingly. "It looks like a plucked chicken. Oh, of course," he adds, "it is a plucked chicken. The Chicken Girl." He grins nastily as all the other laugh uproariously.
Lackeys.
I tighten my grip on my knives as he comes forward, just out of arm's reach. "Your precious stylist isn't here to save your skin now, girly," he sneers, wicked delight evident in every syllable. "Or doom it, as the case may be. If it weren't for him, we might never have noticed you." He grins, and I notice with distaste that his teeth are rather more pointed than should be allowed. "Idiot. Or did he want you to get killed? Seems that way to me." I think of the stone that Terrence smuggled for me, and the words he carved out on it so I'd know what it was for. Hot anger rises up in me. I set my boot in District One's stomach and shove him with all my might, sending him stumbling backwards into his companions. Beside me, Tantore's deep chuckle rings out scornfully, further infuriating our adversary. He snarls at us, straightening his jacket. "Fine. You asked for it!"
Tantore slides around, putting his back against mine as the Careers move in for the attack. For a moment, it looks like we're done for. I raise my weapons, whispering a prayer that it will be quick, that they won't capture Tantore alive, that Laterose will be alright without me. Our attackers close in, and I prepare for the end.
And then, without warning, they stop. All eleven of them freeze and peer around fearfully. I pause, thoroughly bewildered, and look around to see what's preventing them from slaughtering us. Nothing seems out of the ordinary at first, but then a noise reaches my ears. It sounds like flowing water - lots of it. We're too far from the river to be hearing it, especially when it wasn't audible a few minutes before. Some ominous feeling tells me I should recognize the noise, but I can't quite place it.
Until the hissing starts.
It sounds like a dozen teakettles boiling over, and the stark terror on the faces of those around me assure me of what it is. There is a mad scramble as all the Careers start to dash away, banging off of each other and stumbling over tree roots in their haste. One of the girls from Two staggers into me, sobbing with horror, and I unthinkingly set her back on her feet before she falls. Tantore has been knocked away from me in the stampede, and I turn to look for him, desperately hoping he hasn't been killed.
A cool, lithe body, fearfully strong, whips around me from behind and constricts, pinning my arms to my sides and holding me helpless. I know better than to struggle, but my instincts take over, and I strain against the coils around me. The muscles of the snake tighten, cutting off my air, and I feel as though my arms are going to fuse to my sides.
"Hang on, Bird-girl!" My heart leaps - Tantore is alive! I hear the whistle of a blade slicing the air, then the mad hissing of an enraged snake. The coils around me slacken a bit, and I yank my arms free, holding them above my head. Alerted by the movement, the serpent bunches up again, and I'm sure my ribcage is going to be crushed. Behind me, Tantore yells, and I'm yanked off balance as the snake jerks away from him, all the while constricting it's coils tighter and tighter. Spots dance in front of my eyes, and I force myself to remain conscious. Reaching behind me, I pull a thin, almost dainty, skinning knife from it's hiding place in my braid. As the serpent's head slides around within reach, I make a hasty guess and lash out, sticking the blade into it's neck.
Luck is with me, stronger than it's ever been. The snake is instantly paralyzed, and I go limp with relief. "Quick... knock it... out!" I call to Tantore, gasping for breath. "Can't...get loose...till I take...the knife...out." I hear the dull thunk as he deals the creature a sharp rap with the hilt of his hunting knife, and I pull my blade from the serpent's nervous system. The coils around me go slack, and I push them off, sucking in lungfuls of wonderful air before turning to look at the downed beast. Tantore is making his way over to me, but I take no notice, staring in shocked fascination at the monstrous reptile laid out before me. At least fifteen, perhaps twenty feet in length, it's as thick as an anaconda, but the markings are different.
"Come, Bird-girl, we go now." Tantore has come up behind me, but I ignore him, walking around the snake and picking up it's head.
"No. Way," I whisper in awe, running my hands down it's smooth neck. My ally follows me, sighing in irritation.
"We should really be moving..."
"Tantore?" My voice cuts him off, and he pauses. "Tantore, do you know what this is?" Momentarily forgetting just where I am, excitement is coursing through me, ringing in my voice. Tantore glances at the unconscious reptile, dislike etched on his face.
"Big. Deadly. Should be avoided by humans. Including us. Specifically us. We should go now." I pay no attention to his grumbles and look up at him with glowing eyes, my voice a whisper.
"It's a scaleless ball python." I look back down at the limp snake, running a finger down the slick skin. "I had no idea they could be this huge!" In spite of himself, Tantore draws closer, peering down at it distrustfully.
"It's creepy. No scales? Unnatural." I shake my head.
"It's a genetic mutation; exceedingly rare, but perfectly natural." I raise my head and gaze at the length of the creature. "It's how long it is that's unnatural. They usually reach only about six feet, maximum. This one has to be close to twenty." I grit my teeth. "She must have been hatched in the Capitol's clutches."
"She?"
I turn her over and point to the anal spurs protruding by her vent. "Look; they're too short and blunt to be a male. She's definitely a girl. " I beam.
Tantore looks as if he couldn't care less.
"We really need to be going," he says, his deep voice stern. "That...snake...will be waking up at any moment, and there might be other tributes nearby." I don't respond, still studying the giant reptile before me. Lifting her blunt snout, I silently survey the inside of her mouth, still covered in bright red blood.
My eyes widen and I look up at Tantore, noticing for the first time the crimson stain soaking his right side. "She bit you?" He looks down at his shirt.
"More like snagged me. It's not that bad." He starts to staunch it with his jacket, but I stop him.
"Don't. Let it bleed; it'll help get out the bacteria." I stand up, remembering where we are, and becoming painfully aware of my own injuries. My ribs ache abominably, and it hurts to draw deep breaths, but I turn my attention to Tantore, who is beginning to look unsteady. I lift aside his jacket and shirt, wincing at the sight of the ragged twin gashes running along his side. "You're lucky, it's not fatally deep. I see what you meant by she snagged you." I stand back, wiping my hands off on the grass. "Fortunately, ball pythons aren't venomous, not even this one bred by the Gamemakers. I saw her fangs, they weren't hollow." I look back at the smooth-skinned serpent, struck by her beauty anew. I set my jaw, making up my mind.
"I'm bringing her with me." Tantore stares at me, clearly thinking I'm out of my head.
"No, Bird-girl, you're not."
I thrust my chin out defiantly. "Yes I am. You just try to stop me."
"I don't have to." He points to the twenty-foot python. "You cannot possibly carry that thing around the Arena, especially once it's awake. We have nothing to feed it, and you'd be endangering yourself; you could never let your guard down around it. It would leave a trail easily followed, by both humans and animals. And Careers." I don't miss the fact that he ranks the Careers as neither animal nor human, but I can't bring myself to crack a smile. I know he's perfectly right, that it's ridiculous to even think of taking her with us. I look down at the beautiful reptile again.
"Ball pythons aren't usually that aggressive. They did something to her," I whisper, distressed. Tantore comes up behind me and gently squeezes my shoulder.
"She'll be fine," he says, his slow voice reassuring. "If the Careers can't even stand up to her when they're all together, nobody else possibly could." I raise my eyes to him.
"You stood against her on your own," I point out quietly. Tantore shrugs, his gaze steady.
"I told you once, Bird-girl, I will not let your flame be quenched. By anyone or anything." He goes over and picks up our packs from where he'd dropped them. I watch him, desperately fighting tears. Tantore had been willing to sacrifice himself to keep me safe, and after I was freed, I was too busy admiring the creature that wounded him to take any notice of him, even to thank him And now, he shows no signs of anger, or even irritation.
Feeling worthless, I go and claim my pack from him, cleaning my skinning knife on a clump of green grass and tucking it back in my braid. "Thank you...for saving me. Again." Tantore looks at me, and a faint smile touches his lips.
"Let's find a hideout," he says, and holding each other steady, we begin picking our way through the woods. I can't help one last backwards glance at the lovely python stretched out on the ground before turning away and forcing my mind back to our number one priority.
Survival.
As you can probably tell, this chapter is a little, ah, out of the ordinary, you might say. XD Needless to point out, I was rather interested in ball pythons - also known as royal pythons or Python regius -
when I wrote this. Don't worry, that's the last of the scientific chapters. XD
