When we woke up, I found Yarn, already awake, and she seemed to be searching for something. When she saw me up, she looked a little disappointed. Had I upset her? Did she decide that she didn't want to trust me after all? I began to panic.
"You weren't supposed to wake up! I was making turkey for you, as a surprise!" she sighed.
"Turkey?" I was bewildered by how this little girl could find, let alone kill a turkey. "You found a turkey?"
"Oh, no." she said. "I had a turkey leg in my backpack, when I got it!"
I felt ashamed for waking up. "Well, maybe we can make it together, and then split it in the end."
"I am still going to please you!" she cried in haste, and waved her hands around as if pleading as I began to stand up. "I am going to go get some firewood, let me at least do that!"
Her desperate little face, I didn't know how anyone could possibly say no to that. But I was still worried for her.
"I'll be fine, Kayla, I promise." she urged on.
"I know, but I at least want to know that you're safe." I looked around the area, found my spear and handed it to her. "Here, take my spear. Then you'll at least have some protection."
"Fair enough." she said, seeming slightly relieved she was able to reason with me a good bargain. "I'll be back soon."
She looped around a tree, and then not even one of her little pigtails was in sight. No matter how hard I resisted them, my eyes began to drift shut. I was soon shut out from the world temporarily...
Gah! I woke up, still under Yarn's blanket, and looked up, expecting to see her. But, she wasn't there, she had left a small stack of firewood on the ground. It was some, but nowhere near enough to start a fire. However long I slept, it should've been enough for her to finish. So, where was she?
That was when I heard the scream, and she was the only one in the arena capable of letting it out.
I immediately rose to my feet, grabbed our supplies, and rushed off in the direction she went. Wherever she was, she had gone a long way from our camp, especially for her little legs. I heard her wail again, and began to run faster, desperate to save her. I didn't care if it was some sort of trap, or if someone was using her against me, I had to know if she was okay! The howl happened one more time, and then all there was was silence. I finally managed to track the scream, and found her, lying on the floor, clutching my spear, with many different wounds all over her body. How had this happened?
"Glitterbomb...", she croaked, "found me. She recognised... your spear. She said... if I didn't tell her where you were... she'd wound me until I die."
"You won't die, I won't let you!" I tried to convince her, and myself, however the truth was seen by the amount of blood coating her skin. She was a goner.
"Don't let her win." she whispered, though I knew she was fighting to speak louder.
"I won't, I promise."
She had just enough energy to nestle down beside me as tears spilled from her cheeks.
"Don't worry." I wiped her tears away, though I couldn't stop mine showering down me. "You are going to a better place, now. You are going to leave this cruel world and someday your mother will go visit. You two will set up your shop again, and then you can still sew pillows for her. And then, one day, maybe you can own the shop."
I swear I saw her smile slightly, however she did not respond. I quickly put my hand on her heart. It had stopped pounding. Glitterbomb was going to kill everyone I loved, as long as it meant weakening me. But how could she have been so cruel to kill this little thing? Yarn didn't want any of this to happen, all she wanted was a chance at life, to go back to her mother, so she could work in the store again. Meanwhile, Glitterbomb was this so bloodthirsty and vengeful, she went out of her way to hurt me more. And all because of what? Because I wounded her shoulder? Because I outshined her in popularity with the audience? Because all she would ever be was this demon? I cried beside her corpse, however I tried not to let it dig into my mind too much, because then Glitterbomb would have her triumph. And I wasn't going to let that happen.
Slowly, I recovered from the loss enough to stand and walk away. And then the list of people who had died these last two days showed up in the sky. I stared up at them, trying to make sense of who was dead.
The boy from District 3 was dead, he must have been the one who Glitterbomb stabbed, Ader.
The boy from District 6 was dead, I didn't know how that had happened.
The girl from District 8 was dead, that girl was Yarn.
They were the only three dead. That meant that Lola's trio of allies were all still alive, and that Lola had not decided that she needed to kill them yet. Glitterbomb probably thought it was best to lay off on killing another one of her lovers yet, or else things may become suspicious. I was confused by the list, though, Colin hadn't died. But then, where was he? What had that witch done to him?
I made that my mission, to go look for him. And find out what shape Lola was in. They were now my only friends in this arena, and so I would have to protect them from danger.