*I know I haven't updated in a really long time. I apologize, things have been crazy with my life lately, between grading, dealing with a sick family member, work and anxiety attacks it has been rough trying to find some time to write. It doesn't help that I wrote and then rewrote this chapter probably five times. I had to get it exactly how I wanted it, to set off the rest of the story and I really think it'll pay off. Thank you for being patient with me, you all are the best! I have the next chapter all ready to go, but need to go tweak a couple of things and do some fine tuning to it before posting, so hopefully I'll have it up before Monday or Tuesday. Please let me know what you think about this by hitting that review button! xoxo*
"Run, run, run away Buy yourself another day. A cold wind's whispering secrets in your ear So low only you can hear. Run, run, run and hide Somewhere no one else can find. Tall trees bend their leaves pointing where to go, Where you will still be all alone." -The Civil Wars "Kingdom Come"
Lamb to the Slaughter
I kept watch over night. Coincidentally, so did Gunner. I kept Gunner occupied for as long as I possibly could. I flirted with him, teased him and kissed him. At one point we were sitting, facing each other, with our hips touched, kissing. Gunner started to kiss my neck, I looked up at the dark grid. He stopped for a minute, taking my cheek in his hand. I looked at him, confused.
"You're not thinking of me." He stated, reading my face.
"Of course I am," I lied. We were less than an inch from each other.
"That's fine. I'm not thinking of you either." He admitted. I ran my fingers over his head. He smirked. As long as we both knew it, I guess it was alright. I nearly jumped on him, attacking him with kisses. Gunner reciprocated back. I think we were both so desperate to hold onto the person back in our districts that we loved. I held onto him and buried my head in his shoulder. His arms were wrapped around me. His thumb was rubbing the back of my neck.
"I have to sleep," He said. He was mocking me for what I had told him last night.
"Yeah, yeah," I replied. I kissed him again, this time with my eyes open.
"You just don't want me to try to sleep," He joked. I nodded and smiled, kissing him again. He sighed and leaned into me. We played this game for at least another hour before he really did lie down and go to sleep on me. I ran my hand across his back, as he slept. Once he was asleep, I got up to stretch. Guess I was the only one keeping watch tonight, after all. I grabbed three bags and started to make sure they were packed with things that we would need: rope, knives, water, any leftover medicine, bandages, and matches. I could throw my blanket that was currently wrapped around me in it in the morning. I heard an unnatural snap in the field. I immediately stood up and found the knives that I was so apt to throw. I couldn't see anything but I had definitely heard something.
"Something out there?" Glitter asked, I did a double take when I heard a voice.
"I think so, I just can't tell what." I told her in a hushed voice.
"Where's Gunner?" She asked, curious.
"He fell asleep," I explained.
"Typical, he never was good at paying attention or following directions." She laughed. I smiled. We sat for a while by the fire.
"You don't have to stay up; I won't fall asleep like someone else we know." I told her.
"I couldn't sleep," She admitted. Glitter asked about the noise that I had heard earlier. I explained that I hadn't heard it since then, and that it was probably some type of animal in the Arena.
"Hi there," Gunner said, wrapping his arms around me and kissing my neck.
"Glitter, what are you doing up?" He asked, surprised.
"I couldn't sleep, unlike you."
"Oh relax; it was just a cat nap. I'm up now."
"And I had everything under control." I added.
"You should go and try to sleep. You need your beauty rest." He teased her.
"I need beauty rest like you need to hook up with her. This is not what you were trained for Gunner." She sneered. I get it already, you don't like me. I get the message loud and clear. Glitter got up and went to the tent we had made earlier in the day.
"What does she mean by trained for?" I asked, curiosity getting the better of me. I knew how 4 had prepared us, but I wondered how 1 trained them.
"We go to a special school for training. I've gone for the past four years, Glitter for the last three." Gunner explained.
"She is such a gem." I told him. He laughed.
"Glitter's just bitter." Gunner told me.
"What do you mean?"
"She comes from a line of Champions. Her two times great-grandfather, then her mom." He trailed off.
"Her brother volunteered four years ago. Glare was the favorite, but he didn't make it out." Gunner explained. . My mind went blank. No wonder why she hated me. Gage won those Games. Now that I think about it, he had killed the boy Tribute from 1. It had come down to the two of them. Gage was with me in the halls, he took me to training. He was with me before the chariot rides; we had talked a lot in public places. There was no way she had made the connection between us. No one had. There was no way a girl from 1 had made the connection. I had to put it out of my mind.
"That's too bad," I told him, slipping into his arms. We stayed like that for a while. I was thinking strategy the entire time I was in Gunner's arms. Our move had to be made tomorrow. There was no way around it. You could tell Glitter was nearly seething when she was around me, Onyx wouldn't hold up much longer. How was I going to stash my backpack? There wasn't any way to exactly seduce a guy by taking him into the woods with a backpack on. A)Not sexy, B) too suspicious. Then it hit me, I had to pee. I got up and stretched for a minute. Sitting for long periods of times, made me antsy, stretching helped to calm me down.
"I'll be right back." I said, grabbing the bag. I held it out in front of me, hoping to somehow shield it from his view.
"Okay," I heard replied back. I took a few more steps away from camp.
"Wait, where are you going?" Gunner asked, confused.
"I have to use the bathroom." I explained, looking back at him over my shoulder.
"Why don't you just go over there," He suggested by the outskirt of the field.
"Uh, maybe you can. Girls can't pee standing up, and I don't exactly want you to see me pee, that's weird." I told him.
"Whatever," He replied. I walked away into the woods. I needed a solid place to stash this bag. I cut a mark in a tree, went three trees down and one to the right and buried my pack under some leaves and branches.
I could leave, right now. I have a pack; I could run away right now. I could run and leave them behind. I could hide and wait this thing out. I couldn't think it over to too long. They'd turn on Liam and Bryson in a minute. It wouldn't be right. I won't Bryce. I had to get back before Gunner thought anything was suspicious. The truth was, I had been out in the wood longer than I needed to be, especially if I was only going to the bathroom like I had said. How could I change the subject?
I did my best to saunter into camp. Gunner didn't say a thing but just watch me. It seemed to be warming up throughout the night. He was sharpening his sword. I sat next to him. I saw a bug crawling. I held the knife and flicked it with my wrist. It landed in the center of the bug.
"You think we should hunt down Fury tomorrow?" His question caught me off guard. I looked at him, surprised.
"I think it'll be easiest to bring him down with all of us as a group. Isn't that who we've been hunting down this whole time?" I asked, curiously.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." He said. I moved so I was sitting next to him. Our hips were touching.
"One thing about me is that I'm always right." I joked. He rolled his eyes and laughed.
"I was thinking," I started.
"That's dangerous, don't hurt yourself."
"Oh please," I said playfully hitting his arm.
"Do you think there's ever been a time where they didn't have a winner?" I asked. Gunner looked at me.
"There has always been a winner." He said.
"What do you think would happen if there wasn't?" I asked.
"Is this about what you were screaming about after your interview?" What? Oh my tantrum where I blew up after giving my interview.
"Something like that. How do you even know about that?" I asked. I didn't think he was even there when I went off.
"You were pretty hard not to hear." He admitted.
"Is that so?" I asked softly. Gunner smiled and kissed me. It's sick of me to get some type of satisfaction in him wanting me. Maybe not me, but the two of us were using each other. If I lived through tomorrow, how the hell was I going to handle all the issues that stem out of being in these Games? Don't get ahead of yourself Tate. That means you actually need to make it through tomorrow. We messed around until someone relieved us of our duty. I actually fell asleep on him, he was holding my hand. Someone shook me awake. I had a firm grip on my knife and sat up.
"Relax killer. It's me." Bryson said. I rubbed my mouth. I think I was drooling. I looked back at Gunner; sure enough I had been drooling on him a little. Wow, embarrassing Tate.
"What are you doing?" I asked confused.
"I was going to go get some water. Onyx is going to go with me." I yawned. I didn't like his plan.
"Be careful," I warned him. She wasn't the same as we had seen her so far in the Games. The look I gave him said everything.
"I will."
"Did you tell Liam?" I asked quietly, just in case Gunner was actually awake. Bryson nodded his head.
"Don't take too long."
"I'll be back soon." Bryson promised. I woke Gunner up. He seemed as confused as I was when Bryce had shaken me awake.
"What?" Gunner asked.
"Wake up, you were snoring." I told him. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. We met the others by the fire. We put it out, not needing it. I looked at Liam. His eyes met mine for a moment. Bryce had told him our plan. He shook his head. I glanced at Glitter and Gunner, they weren't paying attention. I nodded my head. This was going to happen.
This was the day to put my plan into action. We would turn the tables on this alliance. If I could kill Gunner, I knew that I could win these Games. Glitter and Onyx would go after each other. Or if not, they would track me and hopefully run into Fury. Let the three of them take each other out. How many were left? 9. Glitter, Gunner, Onyx, Bryson, me, Liam, the girl from 6, Fury and the girl from 9.
How was I going to kill Gunner? That was the big question. I had thought of a brilliant plan, I mean perfect plan but Onyx I'm pretty sure chopped the boy from 7 into little bits. I had stolen an arrow he had tried to shoot me with. I could have killed Gunner, planted the arrow in his back and scream like I had with Leo. Once I had screamed, I could disappear and still blame it on the boy from 7. Maybe I shouldn't have told Onyx which direction that kid went. My alibi and plan went out when she killed him.
Gunner wasn't going down without a fight. It's not like he was going to roll over and let me kill him. Hell, he was a favorite to win these Games. I had to make sure he had no weapons on him and that all of mine were concealed. There was no way that I wanted him to steal a weapon off me and then kill me with it. I would need to essentially put weapons down my pants to hide them. I'd keep my knife with me. Maybe that arrow I stole. My mind was racing. I finally started to tune into what the group was talking about.
"We really need to get him." Glitter said with disdain.
"What about those two girls?" Liam questioned.
"He's more of a threat." Glitter replied.
"We outnumber him. It'll be easier to take him out now." I chimed in, siding with Glitter.
"I'm glad someone has some common sense and agrees." She said, looking at me. We made plans to wait until the others get back then hunt down Fury, if we happened to run into the two other girls that would be a consolation prize. Onyx and Bryce came back with water. I looked at him and hoped he could read my mind. This was it.
I was as flirty and seductive as I could possibly be with Gunner. At one point I was sitting on top of him while we were kissing. I pulled back. He opened his eyes and looked at me. I glanced towards the woods and bit my lip.
"Let's go," Gunner said, jumping up and grabbing my hand. I giggled as we ran off into the woods.
"Where are you two going?" Onyx called.
"We'll be right back." I yelled as we ran into the wood. I made sure to find a spot near my pack but far enough away that the others couldn't see us. He pushed me against a tree as we kissed. I opened my eyes as we made out. This was it. This was the moment. I reached behind my back and grabbed the arrow. I plunged it into his shoulder blade. I saw the look in his eyes when he opened them. Hurt, pain and shock all in a single look. As I reached down to grab a knife he grabbed my head and threw it against the tree. I kicked him in his chest, but he caught my foot and twisted it, so that I twisted around and fell to the ground. I jumped up quickly, as he removed the arrow from his shoulder.
"Are you kidding me?" He asked me. I looked at him. Gunner was in attack mode. He struck first this time. I blocked his blow with my arm and kicked him in the ribs. I went to run to my pack. Gunner grabbed me by my ponytail then threw me against the tree. His massive hands closed in around my neck.
"It's cute that you think you can kill me, sweet cheeks." He said. I punched him as hard as I could. His head snapped to the right but he shook it off. I reached down for a knife but he lifted me up, off the ground. He kissed me, maliciously. This caught me off guard. My hands wrapped around his wrists so I could at least partially hold myself up. I flailed my legs trying to get him off me. With my right leg I managed to hook my toes in between our bodies. I wiggled my foot in between us and kicked him backwards, right in the groin. Gunner dropped me to the ground and flew backwards.
"I'm not going to die and certainly not at the hands of you." He said.
"I hate to disappoint you but you're wrong." I replied. We stood, facing each other, ready to go again. It was me who made the first move this time. I jabbed him in the jaw and he grabbed for one of my knives. He got swiped me across my cheek then went for a kill shot. I jumped out of the way and roundhouse kicked his head. I went to grab the knife from his hand but he had a solid grip on it. Gunner grabbed me and pulled me close to him. He went to stab me in my chest but I caught his wrist. It came down to muscle and strength at this point.
"You're not going home Tate, I'm going to win this." He whispered in my ear. It was taking everything in me to keep the knife away from me. Gunner moves quickly. He drops his left hand from the knife, taking it in his right hand. He finds another tree to shove me against; with his left wrapped firmly around my throat again, his right hand drops to stab me. I somehow catch his hand again and struggle to fight. I can't kick him. I claw at him with my left hand but it barely does a thing. I can feel the oxygen starting to cut off. The knife is getting closer by the inches now.
Not like this! My head is screaming. I have to go home. I have my sisters waiting for me. All I can think about is my family as I feel myself desperately craving air in my lungs. Something happens and I can't register what it is but I know that I'm on the ground. One second Gunner's hand was wrapped around my throat and he was just about to stab me, then, I was thrown back from the tree and fell to the ground. I hear a high pitched ringing noise. I push myself up from the dirt, gasping all the air I can. Gunner is on the ground, not really moving. The knife is a couple feet in between us. I grab it and nearly dive for him. I stab him in the chest, near his heart for good measure.
"I have to go home." Gunner's grey eyes glare at me.
"I'm sorry," I tell him as he shuts his eyes and dies. I can hear a sizzling sound in my left ear now. I grab the knife and stand up. Gunner's dead. I look to my right, things are on fire where the field was. The explosion must have happened in the field that threw me to the ground. I run towards the pack that I had stashed hours beforehand. The cannon goes off. I hope Liam and Bryson know what to do at this point. I grabbed the pack and can see a head with long black hair heading my way.
I run as fast as I can up the hill diagonal, trying to put as much distance between Onyx, Glitter and I as possible. I hear a scream, a very distinct female scream and know it's my head their after now. I'm the one their hunting. I run faster. Minutes roll by and I still can't get the ringing out of my right ear. I run as fast as my legs can carry me. I glanced behind me to see if I could see Onyx or Glitter coming for me. I run straight into something. I fall backwards from the impact. I grab a knife immediately, out of instinct. I push myself into a sitting position. It's the flower named girl from 9. She looks petrified. I look behind me again and jump to my feet. Flower girl and I make eye contact as she gets up. She takes off in one direction and I take off in the opposite. I don't want to fight her, I want to get as far away from my broken alliance as possible.
I lose track of time but eventually find my way to the cave Bryson, Liam and I agreed to meet at. I whistle out two notes that anyone from District 4 would know. I didn't get a response. I peered in the cave but nothing, no sign of the boys. I climbed a tree to see if somehow I could see them.
It was getting warmer now, like the springtime in 4. I waited up in the tree for a long time. As the sun began to go down, I knew two things. One, I had killed Gunner, and two, something had gone wrong, the boys should have met me by now.