First off, I must apologise for the delay in posting this... I've had such a manic weekend! ahh well, it's up now XD
Another reason why this took so long is because I've been working on the partner story to this - the Finnick's POV one - so some of that will be posted shortly - look out for it! Still deciding on a name... let me know if you've got any more ideas ;)
Anyways, as always, enjoy xx
EDIT: I've added a little extra scene here and slightly changed the river scene since it was first posted.
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE - THE THINGS TO COME
"Oi, Cresta." A foot thuds into my side. "Time to get moving."
I lift my head from the warmth of my sleeping bag, feeling fuzzy headed and achy, to see Ash glaring down at me.
"What?" I mumble, wiping a hand across my face.
"Time to get moving," he repeats slowly and deliberately like I'm stupid. Maybe I am. I'm feeling all confused and detached. When I don't move, he kicks me again. "Get up!"
"Leave it, Ash," I hear Ethan interrupt as I slowly start to sit up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Ash shoots him a scowl.
"We want to get moving."
"Yeah and we will... Just cut her some slack, okay?"
What is he talking about? What happened? I think backwards through the fuzziness...
And then I remember.
Jasmine, her sobs, the morphine and little purple flowers. I have to take a deep breath because I suddenly feel like I'm drowning.
"Annie," Ethan crouches beside me. "Are you alright?"
I nod.
"Yeah." When I speak, my voice is croaky and my throat hurts. Not surprising really since I'd cried most of the night after Jasmine had died. After I'd killed her.
I must have cried myself to sleep too, although it doesn't seem to have been a very restful one. I'm absolutely exhausted and want nothing more than to curl up in my sleeping bag and sleep forever.
But apparently Ash won't let me do that.
"Get up," he growls impatiently. "Seela's found a trail."
...
It's not a blood trail, this time, just a faint track - a footprint here, a broken twig there – through the dense forest heading in a round about route back towards the river. We've been hunting for nearly an hour without coming across any tributes.
I don't understand. There are still seventeen of us in this arena and it's not one of the biggest arenas the Gamemakers have designed, but we haven't really seen anyone – except for Belle and briefly, Sneaky Eyes. Everyone else must be keeping as far away from us Careers as possible.
Can't say I blame them really, I'd be doing the same.
"How are you feeling?" Ethan appears at my side, looking concerned. I shove my hands deep in my pockets, glancing sadly towards him.
"I'm okay."
"You sure?" he ducks under a low lying branch.
"Yeah. I guess so."
And then it suddenly hits me that I gave Jasmine those pills and it's my fault she's dead, and it doesn't matter that she chose to take them, because she was hurting and scared and couldn't have been thinking straight.
"I killed her," I say, my hands lifting to cover my face. "Oh god, I killed her." Tears blur my vision. "I killed her."
"Oh Annie," Ethan says softly. "Annie, don't."
"I killed her," I whisper again.
"And I killed Mia," he says. "And the boy from 12. It's just what happens here."
Something catches in my throat and I can't talk again. We reach a particularly dense patch and Ethan falls behind me. I stare ahead, feeling my chest constrict tighter and tighter like there's a snake wrapped around my rib cage.
"Annie?" Ethan asks as the bushes thin a little and he pulls level with me. I rub my hand across my chest forcing myself to breathe and shake my head.
"No. No." I wipe at my eyes with the cuff of my jacket. "I'm fine," my voice catches and I cough. "I'm fine."
"You sure?" he leans down a little to look at me. "Because you know it's not your fault. Jasmine agreed to take those pills. It was her choi..." And then I see he's about to walk straight into a branch if he doesn't duck now. My eyes widen.
"Ethan!"
He turns, but he's not quick enough and he walks nose first into the branch with a thud.
"Oof!" he staggers backwards, his hand lifting to his nose. "Oh damn!"
I giggle suddenly and it sounds so wrong, because I'm in the Games and Jasmine is dead and so is Preese and I'm probably going to die soon, but Ethan is rubbing his nose, looking so forlorn that I can't help it. I laugh again.
But then Ethan is grinning back at me and his smile is infectious.
"I'm sorry," I say. "I shouldn't have laughed. You okay?"
"Yeah," he laughs. "I'm fine."
"You sure?" I smile at him through my tears.
"Yeah," he says again. "I'm fine."
...
After that, Ethan falls behind me again, apparently satisfied I'm feeling a little better. My good cheer doesn't last very long though and my fast-paced, purposeful walk slowly becomes a bit of a trudge. Reuben - who has barely spoken since Jasmine's cannon fired - is walking just a little way in front of me and he becomes my focus. I keep my eyes on his backpack, following him through the forest, trying not to think about anything but his huge figure, moving at a steady pace. It's almost hypnotic.
But I'm dreading the moment we find the next tribute. Ash may have shown mercy when it came to Jasmine, but I doubt he'll risk ruining his reputation by doing so again and I'm pretty certain Seela hasn't got a merciful bone in her body.
And then a low rumble begins below our feet, from deep within the earth. We halt as one, muscles tensed, breathing hitched.
What...?
The ground begins to shake – not much, just a little – and the trees around us shudder and creak. I stagger, thrown off balance by the movement of the earth and the weight of my huge rucksack, but Ethan catches my arm, keeping me steady.
A huge cracking sound resonates around the arena, its echo rolling around the cliffs like a wave.
Nobody moves. Nobody breathes.
And then the world steadies and the forest falls silent as the tremors stop. Nobody moves - it's as if we're all waiting for something bigger, some kind of explosion.
"What was that?" Seela asks eventually, turning back to look at us. But then her eyes flicker upwards and she squints a little at something in the distance.
I turn too, following her gaze, and my heart flutters.
"The dam," I whisper, my mouth turning dry.
And then we're all staring at it, our lips parted in silent horror. Because the enormous dam wall mounted in the cliff face at the edge of the arena – the same enormous dam which I'm sure is preventing millions of gallons of water from flowing uncontrollably into the arena – has cracked.
Right up the middle.
It's still in tact, but it no longer looks the impenetrable barrier it was.
And it turns out I'm right too. When Ash sends me up a tree to get a better look, (I'm starting to think that whenever I hear "Oi, Cresta", I should just turn tail and run) I see that, not only has the dam cracked, there is a lot more water pouring through. The rivers are wider, deeper and as far as I can tell, faster flowing.
It's not a good sign.
While I'm up the tree, I look around at the towering cliff faces – surrounding us on all sides – and suddenly realise we're, in effect, at the bottom of a huge basin. If that dam breaks (and I wouldn't put it past the Gamemakers) then the arena will fill up like a bath, with all of us trapped inside.
I shimmy back down the tree to tell the others.
"So the dam's letting in more water?" Reuben asks. When I nod, Ash folds his arms.
"Why did they crack it?" he asks. "Couldn't they just adjust the flow or something?"
"It's much more dramatic this way," Ethan says bitterly.
Not to mention ominous, I add silently. Maybe the Gamemakers are warning us. Maybe they're trying to tell us that from now on, they'll step it up a notch and that if we fail to impress, then we'll have to face the consequences.
I'm guessing our Career Pack has been very disappointing for the Capitol viewers so far. They were expecting great things – blood, gore, death and destruction – and our grand total so far has been five, plus we've lost two of our own, both within twenty four hours of each other.
I don't want to, but maybe it's for the best that we hunt down some more tributes. It might keep the Gamemakers off our backs for a little longer.
"Let's keep moving," I hear myself say in this horribly calm and even voice. "Those tributes aren't going to hunt themselves."
...
We stand and stare in silence at the rocks we crossed yesterday afternoon, because well, most of them are underwater.
The water has risen nearly up to the top of the embankment and is coursing over and around the rocks, so fast and fierce the river is practically white. The rocks are soaked and slippery, and the route across looks decidedly unstable.
"Do you think we should try further down?" Seela asks a little nervously.
No one answers for a minute. I spot a route across the river, but it'll be tough.
"No," Ethan decides eventually. "We can get across, it'll just be a bit more difficult." He glances between us. "I'll lead. Everyone follow my route exactly."
And so, in single file, we start across the rushing river. Ethan goes first and then Ash. I take to the rocks next, closely followed by Seela and finally, Reuben. Ethan moves slowly across the river, heading upwards onto the jagged rocks stacked high above the water. I follow close behind Ash, my hands slipping slightly on the wet rocks as I push myself over the top.
I turn and give Seela a hand - she's so off her game out here on the water that she takes my hand without a snide comment or even a dirty look - and then we continue slowly across the perilous shelf of rock.
"Everyone managing okay?" Ethan calls over the sound of the raging river. "Annie?"
"Yeah..." I begin, but then Seela lets out a panicked cry and a hand grabs my backpack, knocking me off balance. My words dissolve into a shriek of alarm as my boot slips on the wet rock and I am thrown sidewards.
"Annie!" I hear Reuben yell as I roll down the jagged rock face, the sharp rock scraping my knees and elbows, and then I can't hear him anymore because I've plunged headlong into the freezing cold water of the roaring river. I push up to the surface, but I barely have time to hold my breath before the current catches me and I'm dragged downwards again, tumbling over and over underwater as the water pushes me along. Bubbles swirl wildly around my head as I thrash against the current, trying to find the surface again. But I can't work out which way is up.
And then I smash into something hard and I realise I've hit another rock face. I grasp for a handhold but the rocks are slippery and the current grabs me again, pulling me along the shelf and wedging me tightly between two rocks. I look up to see a glimmer of light and the rush of the surface.
Clinging onto the rocks, I push myself up towards the light, only to be jerked viciously backwards. I let out a squeak of alarm and with a rush of bubbles, lose a fair amount of air. Struggling frantically, I squint through the swirl of the current to see the bottom of my jacket is caught on a jagged rock. I writhe and buck harder, but I can't pull myself free. Panic sets in as I feel the beginnings of pain deep my chest, the pain that means my air is very quickly running out...
But I won't drown. I just won't. I'm district 4 and water is not my enemy.
I sink further into the water, finding the spot where my jacket has caught, and try to work it free. But the water is dark and I can't see very well and my fingers are so so cold and that pain in my chest is swelling...
But then, with one last desperate yank, I feel the jacket tear - yes! - and then I'm free and surging upwards the bubbles.
I surface, gasping with relief, but apparently I'm not safe yet, because another strong current surge sends me crashing back into the rocks and pins me there. Water rushes into my eyes, mouth and nose and I choke, unable to breathe. Unable to see either, I reach up, feeling blindly for a handhold. My fingers find a ridge, but the rock is wet and I can't get a strong enough grip to risk pushing myself up. Beneath the water, I push my boots into the rock shelf, trying to find some kind of groove, some way to pull myself out of the rushing, icy water.
But I can't. I can't find the energy and my sodden bag is dragging me down and I'm going to die.
I feel my fingers slipping.
"Annie!"
Ethan! My head lifts, but there's still water in my eyes and the sun is too bright and I can't see anything... More water surges into my mouth and I splutter, my grip loosening even more.
"Annie!"
And then a strong hand seizes my wrist and I'm heaved upwards. I kick a little at the rocks, pushing upwards, trying to help Ethan, but he's strong, and in seconds I'm completely out of the water and lying face down on the rocks above. I stay where I am for the moment, coughing water to the ground, desperately trying to catch my breath. I'm aware that Ethan is shaking my shoulder and yelling my name, and yet I'm unable to find the energy to do anything about it.
"Annie!" Ethan flips me over, pulling me into a sitting position. His hands grab my shoulders and he forces me to look at him. "Annie, are you alright?"
I try to answer, but my lips are numb and my hands are trembling – partly because of adrenaline, partly because I'm absolutely freezing – and I can't talk. He untangles me from my backpack and my shredded jacket and unzips me from my soaked fleece – undressing me like I'm a child – before wrapping his own jacket around my shoulders and rubbing warm hands up and down my arms.
"C-c-cold," I stutter.
"I know, honey." He kneels up and swings my backpack over his shoulder, before sliding his hands underneath my back and legs and pulling me into his arms. "Let's get you back on dry land, eh?" As he stands, I see that I'd gotten caught in another pile of rocks further down river from the others. I'm pretty lucky, I guess. Ethan would have never got me out if I hadn't got stuck and I don't think even I'm a strong enough swimmer to swim against that current.
Ethan starts towards the grassy embankment and I settle into his chest, cold and wet and exhausted. He holds me tightly as he climbs over the rocks, and I curl into him, still shivering violently and desperate for warmth.
"Wh-what happened?" I tilt my head back against his arm to look up at him, my teeth still chattering. Ethan glances down at me, his expression is grim.
"Seela slipped and took you with her."
"D-did she f-fall too?"
"No," Ethan's jaw sets. "Reuben caught her."
I slump back against his chest.
"Oh."
A pause.
"I lost my spear," I say sadly, suddenly realising. Ethan smiles absentmindedly.
"It's okay. We'll get you another one from the cornucopia."
I take a stilted wobbly breath.
Th-thanks," I say. "You know... f-for..." I trail off awkwardly, my gaze lifting to meet Ethan's. He doesn't reply and I take my bottom lip under my teeth, chewing it anxiously. "You-you didn't have to come and get me."
"I did," he says simply, and it effectively ends our conversation. I don't dare say anything else.
We fall silent as Ethan has to put all his concentration into navigating the rocks. When we reach the edge of the river, the others are already there to meet us and as Ethan puts me down on the grass, Reuben pulls out a blanket from his rucksack and tucks it around me.
"You alright?" he asks gently. I nod, still shivering, and he bites his lip apologetically. "I'm sorry... I tried to catch you."
"No," I say emphatically. "N-no, it's fine."
"You were underwater such a long time..." He shakes his head as if he can't believe I'm still alive, I'm still breathing.
"I guess being able to hold your breath for an eternity has come in handy, after all," Ethan says, crouching beside me. I manage a weak smile.
"Yeah, I g-guess so."
Ash suddenly appears in front of me, dropping my rucksack into my lap.
"Let's get moving," he says sharply. Ethan's head shoots up, his eyebrows lowered into a frown.
"What the hell, Ash?"
Ash returns the glare.
"We should keep moving."
"Annie just nearly drowned."
"Yeah," He folds his arms across his chest. "Seems like she's been slowing us down a lot recently."
My heart stops and Ethan explodes, leaping to his feet.
"What the hell are you talking about?" he snarls. "Annie was managing fine on those rocks until she-" and here he jabs an angry finger in Seela's direction "- threw her off."
"It wasn't deliberate," Seela protests angrily.
"Uh yeah," Ethan draws out the sound disbelievingly. "Right."
"It wasn't!" Seela shoots me a sneer. "It's not my fault she fell."
"She was careless," Ash shrugs. "You should have just let her drown."
Ethan's face floods with angry colour and his fists clench.
"Don't you d..."
"It's fine," I interrupt, anxious not to give Ash a reason to turn on us. "It's fine. Seela knocked me in by accident and it doesn't matter now anyway, because I'm fine." I tug on Ethan's trousers and he looks down at me. "I'm fine, Ethan, really."
He stands for a moment, every muscle tensed and I suddenly wonder if this is it, if this is the moment the Career Pack implodes... But then I see him take a deep breath.
"Fine," he says through gritted teeth. "We'll move on." He crouches down beside me again. "Are you okay to walk?"
I'm not really – I'm still feeling all wobbly – but determined to prove I'm not slowing us down, I nod. Ethan and Reuben help me to my feet and we all head off again, following the tribute's trail which seems to be heading eastwards along the edge of the river.
As we walk, Ethan helping me along every so often when my tiredness threatens to get the better of me, I spot Ash and Seela eyeing us confusedly. I think they're genuinely perplexed as to why Ethan saved my life. I'm pretty sure neither of them would have risked falling in the water to get me out. I'm also developing sneaking suspicions that if it had even been Seela in the water, Ash would have let her drown. And vice versa.
After a while, I start to feel better, although Ethan won't take back his jacket. As we trudge along, him a little ahead of me, I eye the back of his head thoughtfully. He turns, as if realising I'm watching him, and gives me a little smile. As I smile back – naturally and easily, without even thinking about it – I realise something that sends little shards of pain through my chest.
When I leave the Careers (and I'm starting to feel like it'll have to be soon), I won't be able to take Ethan with me.
Finnick and Mags had told me and him to split up eventually, of course, but I guess I thought we'd stick together. I don't know how I'll survive without him, but I do know that if we leave together and form our own alliance, he'll carry on protecting me, even putting his own life at risk to save my life and I can't have that. He could have let me die in that river and no one would have blamed him, but he didn't, he saved me, and he'll carry on doing that, because that's the kind of person he is.
What happens if we survive this together – if we fight off everyone else – and then it's just the two of us left? What do we do then? Because if Ethan dies protecting me and I have to go home and face his family – face that little girl with the curly blonde hair who'll have lost her big brother – I don't know what I'll do.
With a sinking heart, I realise that me and Ethan have become friends... And in the Hunger Games, that's a very dangerous thing to be.
...
Sooo, relations in the Career Pack are getting more and more strained... expect explosions soon :/
Thank you for reading and please review, I love to hear your feedback xx