My feet pounded against the hardened sand, tinged red with blood. I'm pretty sure they heard me before they saw me, because volleys of arrows flew by my head with no direction. One arrow, amidst the chaos surrounding us, found its way towards Ryker. He flung his hands up to protect himself, getting an arrow through his hand. I heard him cry out, but I couldn't stop. If I did, I would become an easier target.
My hair whipped around my face as I continued dodging arrows. A brown haired tribute rushed at me when I reached the mouth of the Cornucopia, wielding a blood soaked dagger. I dodged her easily, looking behind me to see her get taken out by the archer's wild shots. They were all going to end up dead if they kept shooting like that.
Hearing Ryker shout, I spin around, just in time to see him snap a smaller tribute's neck. The sickening crunch of breaking bone echoed in my ears, causing my stomach to lurch. Why must the world be so cruel?
The fight was going quickly, blurred at the edges from the blood I lost earlier in the morning. Another tribute came to me, this time with a sword, coated in blood. He caught me in the throat, barely touching me, but very close. I didn't move, sure he would drive the sword into my neck if I did.
"Time to say goodbye, little girl. Too bad Panem won't survive without you." He hissed in my ear. I squirmed to get away. He pressed the sword against my throat even harder. I felt a small trickle of blood run down my neck, the wound stinging as he pressed harder. I spat in his face, and he got angry. Really angry. His face turned bright red, and he started to grind his teeth.
" I am NEVER going down without a fight!" I growled, struggling against the point of the sword. I grabbed the sword with my hands, the blade biting into my fingers. I groaned from the pain, biting my lip to keep from screaming. Blood ran down my hands, dripping on the ground, adding to the red in the sand.
I shoved the sword back as hard as I could, the edges slicing my fingers open. The blade embedded itself in the tribute's head with a sickening crunch, the body crumpling onto the ground. To my surprise, the damage to my fingers wasn't that severe. The tribute's skull, however, was split in half right between the eyes. The weight lifting during training really paid off. Hearing shouting coming from the other side of the Cornucopia, I sprint to Ryker's aide, only I find a circle of dead tributes around him. Besides his bleeding hand, he seems fine, which was the best thing that had happened all day.
The fight seemed like it had lasted hours, but it was really a couple of minutes. My ears rang from the shouting and the canons that went off as tribute after tribute fell. Kicking a stray body to the side, I strolled over towards Ryker, who was panting heavily and leaning up against the Cornucopia. I ran over to him as quickly as I could. Sand had gotten in my mouth, making my voice hoarse and gravely.
"Ryker, are you okay?" I croaked, putting my slitted hands on his shoulders. He nodded, trying to catch his breath. Suddenly, his eyes widened.
"Ashlar, look out..." He barely had time to warn me before something sharp pierced my back. It felt like a hot poker had been shoved into me. The pain made my vision blurry, my feet falling out from underneath me. I could just make out Ryker killing another tribute, before my vision got really fuzzy. Somewhere inside me, I knew I was dying. I tried to call for Ryker, but instead I made a strangled gurgle, blood streaming down my chin from my mouth.
Ryker was right beside me. He gently wiped the blood off my face with the hem of his already stained shirt, starting to sing to me. The song was that of love and never ending light, one that I had never heard before.
Underneath the willow tree,
We will sing,
Just you and me.
The sun will shine,
And birds will sing,
And we will have everything.
When light fades,
And all is dark,
Still sing,
Does the lark.
When all is gone,
And quiet,
You'll still be by my side.
Underneath the willow tree,
We will sing,
Just you and me.
When all is gone,
And all is dark,
I will always remember,
The willow tree.
A tear trickled down his cheek, his eyes glistening as his voice caught on the last word. My eyes also welled up with tears. Though I knew I shouldn't, I reached up and wiped the tears off his face with my thumb, the sudden movement sending a jolt of pain through my body. Ryker took my head in is hands and leaned over to kiss my forehead. I let out a ragged breath, my vision becoming dark and cloudy, no longer able to feel the pain from the knife, nor blood drenched sand around me. The pressing darkness overcame me, and I knew it was of no use to resist, so I fell into the dark chasm that threatened to drown me. All I saw was darkness and was no more.