Sorry it took so long! But thanks to my new beta Sunshine011 we have a great next chapter for you guys!
I wake to soft, warm ray of sunlight shining through the branches above me. It doesn't seem fair, the day looks to be so beautiful and Demetri and Jackson are dead. Dead like all the other tributes and more of them soon to be dead. Dead like I would be if I didn't find any food or water soon.
I look up to see what blocked the sunlight from shining in my eyes and see a basket attached to a parachute. I climb to my feet and reach to the top of the grouping of bushes and stretch out my arm and grab the basket. Inside there is a black tank top much like my dirty one I was wearing now, and also a pair of long pants and underclothes. There is also a roll of bread, still warm, and a bottle of water. Exactly what I need right now.
I change into the clothes and eat half of the bread and drink the remainder of the water in my other bottle. I bag the rest of my belongings and cut my way through the thick foliage with one of my axes.
After only a few minutes I am panting from the obnoxious heat the game makers have set on us. I understand that I'm in the fire element of the arena but that is no excuse. As I glare up at the oncoming sun I reach back for my water canister and apparently I wasn't being as careful as I thought I was because when I opened it up there wasn't one drop of water left. Not one. Just my luck I think to myself but before I can get too dehydrated I spot a cold water spring up ahead.
I sigh in relief and hurry forward. I wade right into the icy water and float on my back in relief and gulping down a few cups. I welcome the freezing water and feel so relaxed that I could just go right to sleep-"Argh!" I yelp as I feel something pinch my thigh. "Ah!" I cry as something else pinches my arm.
I fail about in the water before I see my attacker. Light colored blobs are attaching themselves to my body and I recognize them as leaches.
I get a closer look and see a white triangle on their back signaling these aren't regular leeches. "Oh no" I mutter looking down again these are Piknee Leeches. A special capital product made when the second rebellion started. After the Capitol won they set these leeches off in the water to take care of any rebels left over.
You see Piknee Leeches inject a poison when they bite you. It targets your nerves and gives you a almost unbearable pain. The poison also targets your brain and makes your worst memories and fears come alive. I'm not sure about the exact detail of it, but I'm fairly certain I am about to find out.
I am thinking of this as I struggle to get out. Then suddenly a tall blonde haired boy appears on the river bank in front of me. I immediately recognize him as Jax from district four.
A career. I don't remember him being with the others when we were attacked on the riverbank before. I do remember him from training, he could make fish hooks from anything and hold his breath for several minutes. Not to mention his collection of spears he had strapped to his back that he could use amazingly well.
Everything was so painful, it felt like acid was being pumped through my veins and my head felt s if it were on fire. Every part of my body felt as if it was being cooked and I couldn't remember a time when something did not hurt. This was the pain part of the poison but I'm sure the visions would be worse.
"Rose" I hear a muffled voice say. I gasp noisily and all I really want to do is stay quiet and die. I start thrashing around as my body fights the poison "ROSE!" I hear again but this time it sounds more like an order.
I struggle harder to get out of the cool spring that has quickly turned itself from an oasis to a deadly trap. It's to not use I already feel woozy from the poison and things are starting to get blurry.
I feel my body slowly sink beneath the cruel icy waves and that's when the hallucinations come.
First it is a warm spring day and I am in a cemetery, I am there alone and I am there with a bouquet of multicolored flowers grasped tightly in my palms. I come upon a first grave and see the etched name of my mother in the head stone.
I gasp and stumble away just to come face to face with the tombstone engraved with my father's name. I am hysterical when I see a small headstone between my parents bearing the name Xander. My eyes lose their glazed over state but not before I see Joeys tombstone in the distance and mine right beside it.
I catch a glimpse of rushing water and a shirtless chest before everything goes dark.
000
I feel my breath coming out fast as I push my legs faster and faster. "I'm sorry!" I cried out "I didn't mean to, I tried but it was too late!"
"You could have stayed" Joey said in a mechanical voice.
"You could have tried to save us." Demy and Jackson say together their voices full of venom "We could have been alive if you helped us".
"I didn't mean to run I wanted to help!" I said back my eyes filled with tears.
"Why didn't you save me Rose? Why didn't you save us?" Xander asked tearfully then everything went black.
"I'm sorry!" I yelled out into the darkness. "I'm so sorry." I whispered once more.
Suddenly I blinked open my eyes. I squinted into the brightness. Shouldn't I be dead by now? Why am I not dead?
"So you're awake? Or is this just another false alarm and suddenly you'll fall back into hallucinations and scream like a mad women again?" I hiss at the unexpected voice and launch myself up making a reach for my ax.
I try to prepare myself for a fight to the death but as I sway I'm sure I don't look that intimidating. "Easy there tiger I'm just here to help." Says the guy from the bank earlier as he grabs my wrist and I unwillingly allow him to pull me to forest floor.
He has a hand at the pressure point in my back but even without that I'm sure that I would be easy to pick off; even with my axe in hand. He isn't holding me down so it hurts but is restraining so I wouldn't be able to attack. He kicks away my axe with his foot but tosses his knife out of his belt too.
"Now if I let you up will you not try to kill me?" he asks somewhat jokingly.
"No promises" I mutter and he smirks.
"I'm not trying to hurt you; I saved you back there, I wouldn't have done that if I were going to kill you later on, I'm not that stupid" he says slowly releasing his hold on me.
He pulls himself off of me and sits to the side. The moment I was able to move I did, even if I was disoriented. I pushed him away and rolled to the side away from him where I tried to stand but stumbled.
He steps closer to help me but back down when I glare at him and steady myself with a tree branch. I could still feel my heart pounding from the traumatizing dreams from earlier and my head feels like it was having war against itself.
I observe the scene before me, a smoldering camp fire produces smoke towards the early morning sky and two sleeping bags were rolled out; beside them our packs. I realize that I must have been sleeping in one of them meaning that he must have lay me there. The aroma of freshly cooked fish floats around the campfire and my mouth waters at the smell.
"Jax." He says holding out a hand for me to shake. I glare it; I'm not in the mood for pleasantries.
"Who are you and what do you want from me?" I ask in a stony voice "Tell me why I shouldn't kill you right now"
"Well I told you who I was..." he says jokingly. I just glare at him. I am so not in the mood. He sighs obviously seeing that "I'm Jax district 4 tribute and currently ally-less. So since you and what's his name...Jimmy...Jonny...Joshy" I snort at the last one.
"Joey" I fill in.
"Right Joey well you guys have some ax throwing skills what do ya say? And also you could try and kill me but you can barely stand. I mean I'm no ninja here but I'm pretty sure I can handle a wobbly fifteen year old" he says half serious.
"First what's in it for me? And second how the hell do I know I can trust you?" I am honestly shocked he would say something like that so casually but maybe that's just how he is.
"Well with more people on the hunting team more chance for survival and I know how to treat that" he says gesturing to my many leech bites. "Oh and I saved your ass isn't that enough for trust?" I look Jax up and down.
He is muscular, almost six feet but his presence isn't intimidating but more like a panda bear, a panda bear with bar jokes. His blonde hair is pushed away from his face and his lightly tanned skin and nicely angled face makes me believe that he was not pour in the least.
"No." I say and Jax gives a big huff.
"Fine us both having a person betting on us isn't THAT enough." I gasp remembering my stylists' last words to me 'I'm betting on you'. I turn towards Jax and give him one nod.
"Yes Jax yes it is."
"Okay so what now?" I asked honestly curious. I mean Demetri was always team leader for my last alliance.
"We'll let's go get Joshy and tell him about our plans." Jax suggests I snort again at him saying Joeys name wrong again but then sigh; I really miss him.
"Sounds great but there's just one problem I have no idea where he is. When we had the earth quake thing Joey and I got separated so..." I trail off will Jax not want to be allies now?
"Well then we can treat those bites and then get searching okay? He says with a smirk, relaxing with no threat of us killing each other.
And that was the start of our alliance.
Did you like it? Did you like Jax the district four tribute? I SO do-mainly because I can picture him in my head and he is SO hot :). Do any of you guys have and good Halloween costume ideas for Thursday? I'm being a zombie nerd!
Thanks for reading and please leave a review?
XOXO -Bellabear & Sunshine
