A/N: Hey guys! VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY IMPORTANT NOTE MUST READ PLEASE!
Right. Now that you're reading this, I need to tell you that I will be putting this story, along with my other Hunger Games SYOT on hold. Until September 30th. After that, I WILL STILL UPDATE THIS STORY AND THIS ISNT ABANDONED BY A LONG SHOT. I really apologize for the hiatus, but I have my exams, and I hope you guys understand. This is an extra-long and hopefully good chapter before a long break, so I do certainly hope you enjoy it. I'm extremely sorry for this, but please understand. :)
Lee: *looks over chapter* right. Here's the award for Author-who-has-a-strange-interest-in-torturing-their-characters
Me: Hey, dude, this ain't that bad!
Aidan: Oh no, not at all, nope.
Me: -.-
Lee: I've given up.
Aidan: Correction-We've given up
Me: ...
Me: With thy permission, mayest I continue?
Aidan: Thee shalt
Me: Thank thee
~.~.~.~.~.
The dirt splattered over Gail's face, making her splutter. Keith let out a small laugh from beside her. "This really isn't your thing, Gail." He said, plucking out another tomato. Gail threw down her shovel. "Damn right it isn't." she sneered. Her gaze travelled towards the girl sitting beside Keith, and her eye darkened. Keith followed her gaze and felt his own features morphing into confusion. Why in the world was Gail looking at Astrid like she wanted to bite her head off?
But Gail's look passed before he could ask her anything, so he assumed he must've imagined it. He shrugged and looked at Astrid again. He'd drawn her aside and explained the whole situation to her before she could contradict him. It would've been mighty strange had that happened.
Sure, Astrid had stuck out her tongue at Keith when he explained the reason he'd hit her head with the rock. But he supposed that had been better than having her obliviously blutter out their adventures of the night prior. He'd simply accepted it.
"Fertilizer. We need more fertilizer." Newt muttered. He looked up sheepishly. "I'd ask, but the last time I did so…" his voice trailed off. Keith couldn't help but laugh again. The last time someone had gone in to get fertilizer, Astrid and himself had almost been killed and Ben had been condemned to banishing. Of course Newt would be a little hesitant.
"I'll go!" Astrid pumped her hand in the air, looking like someone had offered her a free ticket to some paradise. Newt looked unsure. "Um, Astrid, it's not safe and you probably don't-"
"I'll go." She repeated, firmer this time. She had that look again. That look in her eyes that told everyone that she wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer. Fixated on Astrid, both boys missed the sneer that was forming on Gail's lips.
She hadn't even had to think of a way! This was more than perfect. She wondered for a moment whether some God above had a hand in this. It seemed unreal that everything was falling so well into place without her having to do anything. She fingered her waist, where she felt the outline of the dagger she'd stolen from the Map Room just the previous night. It had been too easy. She almost wanted to laugh.
"But Astrid, you don't know where it is!" Newt said. Astrid stuck out her tongue (seriously, the girl had a strange habit). "I know fertilizer. Newtie bad. Newtie doesn't listen. Astrid wants to help. Newtie not letting Astrid help." She complained. Newt sighed. "Fine, I'll come with you." He said. Gail took this as her cue.
"Hey, Newt, stay here. I'll go with her."Gail offered, stepping up. Newt gave her a funny look. She laughed good-naturedly. "Relax Blondie. I won't chew out her heart. I know where the fertilizer is and I'd rather climb to the top of one of those walls and jump off rather than continue this klunk any longer."
A look of darkness passed over Newt's face at Gail's words, but no one managed to catch it. He glanced once more towards his sister, before looking at Gail again. He nodded. He trusted the girl. He didn't know why, but he did. He supposed it was because he could relate to her. She only acted weirdly because she felt protective of her brother. Newt did just the same for Astrid.
Astrid leapt up from her place and grabbed a basket. She threw her arms around Newt's neck , which led to the basket bonking him on his arm. "Thank you Newtie!" she exclaimed. Newt was visibly surprised at this, but when she pulled away, he simply nodded. The girl ran up to Gail and held her hand firmly, beaming. Gail adjusted her eye-patch once more and shot Newt a somewhat unsure look before heading off into the forest.
As the duo entered the lining, Gail'shand found its way into her pocket, where she fingered the metal wire she'd nicked from Frypan's kitchen. It was amazing, what items the cook had in there. Gail had an elaborate plan, and the location of the fertilizer being in the middle of the forest simply complimented it. She sneered again. The Creators would be happy with her.
"How far is it, Fairy?" Astrid asked, skipping. Gail didn't reply. They were close, but she wasn't about to tell the girl that. She needed the element of surprise. Astrid, however, demanded an answer to her question. "Why didn't Fairy answer?" she asked again, innocently. Her big blue eyes were almost enough to make Gail hesitate. But not quite enough.
"Oh I'm sorry Astrid. Maybe it's because I have a little surprise in store for you." The older girl said. A wave of confusion washed over Astrid's face, but Gail wasn't about to let the moment pass.
As quick as lightning, she swept out her knife and lunged at Astrid. She was quicker than Gail had anticipated, though. She leapt out of the way, shrieking. "Fairy, what's wrong!?" She exclaimed, obviously fazed by Gail's behavior. Gail just snarled.
She grabbed Astrid's hair and pulled her forward. She could feel a few strands being pulled out of their roots, and Astrid screamed in pain. Gail could simply hope her screams weren't loud enough to reach the Glade. She dragged Astrid forward by her hair and smashed her head against a tree. She needed the latter weakened; she might've fought back if she wasn't. Astrid was screaming wildly, thrashing, trying desperately to get away from Gail. She wasn't going to.
Gail rammed the butt of her knife onto Astrid's forehead, where the wound made by Keith was already fresh. Astrid let out another wail; the girl was sobbing violently now. But she wasn't one to give up so soon. She brought her left hand up and hit Gail as hard as she could on her blind side. Her fist connected with Gail's temple and the latter cried out in pain, dropping her.
Astrid didn't waste time. She jumped to her feet and ran behind a thick foliage of trees, where she was obscured from Gail's view. Gail yelled in rage. "Why do you have to make this so difficult!?" She screamed, rubbing her head where Astrid had hit her. She was about to advance, holding up her knife, when from nowhere, a huge figure emerged, stopping Gail dead in her tracks.
For the first time since she could remember, Gail found herself face-to-face with a grizzly bear.
Gail took a step back, out of sheer shock. There weren't supposed to be any wild animals in the forest. Where had this bear come from? And where was Astrid? Nevertheless, she raised her weapon. If this bear was going to stop her from killing Astrid, she was just going to take it out too. Nothing was going to stand in her way.
Yelling defiantly, she charged forward. The bear swiped at her with its claws, but Gail was quicker. She dodged the first wave and rolled out of the way. As the bear brought its paw down on her once again, she raised her knife in an attempt to block it. However, she didn't see the bear's left hand coming up on her blind side.
BAM
Gail found herself throw sideways. She threw her knife at the bear, but she could see stars in her eyesight. For the millionth time, she damned her cursed bad eye for this. The part where the bear's paw had hit her head was throbbing so badly, it put her in a world of pain. She started seeing red, and for a second, entertained the fact that she might be having a concussion.
No. She couldn't afford to break down like this. She needed to kill Astrid. Otherwise Keith would be taken away from her. Putting every ounce of her will into clearing her vision, she propped herself up onto her fists, using the force of her arms to lift herself. As her eyesight returned to a normal color, she searched the trees for any sign of the bear or Astrid.
She saw nothing. Gail got to her feet, staggering slightly. Her mind was spinning from all the weird things that were going on, and frankly, she was starting to get a little overwhelmed. The sheer horror of her state was enough to make any sane human being snap. She let out a laugh which scared her much more than it probably had Astrid. But she couldn't help it. She was being sucked into a void of panic and helplessness, the only way out of which was to kill Astrid. She was human after all. She could feel her brian succumbing to the stress, slowly nearing the stage of snapping.
"Astrid…. Oh Astrid! Come out come out wherever you are! I just wanna play!" Gail cooed, her voice musical yet tinged with malice. Her sneer was enough to make even the bravest of Gladers pee their pants; never had she looked quite so menacing. "Doesn't Astrid want to play with Fairy? I'll give you a treat Astrid…" she said, her eyes darting back and forth, trying to locate the girl.
Unbeknownst to Gail, Astrid was just above her. She'd turned into a bear to try and defeat Gail, but she'd quickly realized that Gail was way too skilled to be defeated by brute force. In a state of panic, she'd hit the other girl and while she was in a daze, morphed into a bird to fly up into a tree and perch on its branch. She'd turned back to her human form, and gripped the trunk tightly. She simply didn't know why her Fairy was trying to hurt her. Fairy had been so kind to her, why would she suddenly try to her Astrid? And the way Fairy was calling out to her, it scared Astrid. It scared her a lot. Fairy sounded less like a fairy and more like a monster.
"Oh come one Astrid, don't be a spoilsport. I just wanted to play! Come on Astrid…" She said again in that sweet musical tone.
That's when things went drastically wrong.
Astrid's foot slipped from the branch and she lost her footing. She flailed, trying to get a grip on a handhold. Instead, her hands brushed thin air. She cut through the leaves and branches, plummeting straight down. She landed on the ground with an extremely painful jolt, and cried out again. She looked up to find herself at Gail's feet, the girl's one eye wide with shock. Her expression quickly went back to her sneer. She reached down and lifted Astrid once again by her hair.
"Don't. Try. To. Run." She said through gritted teeth. Astrid screamed for help, screamed until her throat hurt, but Gail simply laughed. She yanked Astrid up and without hesitation, smashed her face against a tree.
Gail heard the satisfying sound of Astrid's nose breaking. The younger girl was sobbing now, her blood mixed with her tears. Gail could feel her plan almost successful. This was the last step. In a lighting-fast maneuver, she swept out the wire from her pocket and let Astrid drop to the floor, where she held her nose, trying to stop the blood. Gail wound the wire around her palms, stretching it out between her two hands. She tugged on it once to check its strength. "This isn't personal." She said, looking once more at Astrid, who glanced at her with fear-filled eyes. She barely had time to scream, when Gail advanced, wrapping her wire around the girl's throat. This was Gail's first time garroting someone, but she had the fire in her to pull it off. Once again, without letting a second thought cross her mind, she started pulling, blood spurting out from Astrid's neck.
Astrid curled her fingers around the cord, trying to create a barrier between it and her neck, but Gail was pulling it so hard, the cord cut through her fingers. Astrid's screams were physically painful to the ears, the terror in her face was stark and clear. Gail growled and pulled harder. Astrid yanked away with her fingers, the region of her neck now a raw, bloody mess. But Gail could almost taste triumph.
That's when Triumph was snatched away from her.
"ASTRID!" She heard a panic-stricken voice. She turned her head just a little to find Zart, Newt and Keith standing at the edge of the clearing, frozen in horror. From beside her, someone else burst into the gathering. Gail found herself looking at Dusk's shocked visage. She knew she didn't have time. She pulled harder.
Astrid's cries of help were now weak. Gail knew the cord had penetrated the skin of her neck. But before she could finish the job, she felt her hands being pulled apart by a strong grip. She completely lost it.
"LET ME GO!" She yelled, thrashing against the person restraining her. She punched and kicked, trying to get away. Meanwhile, Keith slid down next to Astrid, who was sprawled on the forest floor. He ripped off the sleeve of his shirt and was about to press it onto Astrid's neck wound, when he noticed the wire that was stuck in it. Wincing slightly, he pulled the wire out, at which another scream emanated from Astrid's mouth. It threw Keith's heart into a pool of acid, seeing his sister snap and his best friend almost dead.
Newt was having some serious trouble restraining Gail. They'd rushed into the forest the moment they'd heard Astrid's screams, but it took them a while to find them. When they finally did, he saw Gail garroting his sister with a copper wire. Not a good sight.
Gail struggled against Newt with her whole might, even resorting to biting his arm. He didn't know what had happened to turn this girl into a monster. He tried to keep his emotions under control, but it wasn't easy. He watched with worry as Keith and Zart lifted Astrid up by her arms, her head lolling forward. "NO!" Gail screamed louder, which Newt had not thought possible. Dusk still stood frozen in his place. Gail was watching her chance at killing Astrid slip by. She wasn't going to let it.
"I HAVE TO KILL HER! STOP!" She turned around and sunk her teeth into Newt's shoulder. It had the desired effect. Newt howled in pain and his grip faltered, but he didn't let her go. Keith and Zart took this as their cue. They started running towards the Glade, practically dragging Astrid behind them. Gail screamed again, her cries not above those of an animal. She bit Newt again, this time on his arm, and she knew her teeth had sunk deep enough from the coppery taste of blood that flooded her mouth. Newt knew this was dangerous, but he couldn't help it. He screamed and let go of Gail, who immediately shot up and stared limp-running in the direction Keith and Zart had gone. Newt knew for a fact that she wouldn't be able to catch up to them in the forest, and once in the Glade, there would be many others to stop Gail.
Seeing Gail limp away was what brought Dusk out of his stupor. He rushed over to Newt, who was cradling his arm, trying to stop the blood. "Gods… here, put your weight on me." Dusk said, attempting to sling Newt's arm around his shoulder. Newt pushed him away. "No. Go after Gail. Heavens know what that slinthead's gonna bloody do next." The boy said. Dusk got up, understanding Newt's concern. Without looking back, he turned and ran after Gail.
Gail was breathing hard. She ignored the throbbing pain in her right thigh, where Astrid had previously kicked her. She needed to find them.. She needed to kill Astrid. Her fingers brought out from her pocket her last weapon. A screw-driver, which she'd saved for last resort. The thing was pretty big, and if plunged into someone's heart, it would probably kill them instantly. Gail gripped it tight as she continued to limp-run after them. Little did she know of the boy running up behind her. Dusk could be pretty damned stealthy when he wanted to.
He grabbed Gail's arms from behind, and yanked her back. This visibly startled Gail. She let ot yet another guttural yell, and without thinking twice what the outcome of her actions might have been, spun around on her heels. She stabbed downward with her whole might, feeling the blade of the screw-driver break through flesh and muscle.
She stepped away, obviously about the run after Astrid again, when a scream stopped her. She hadn't seen the face of her attacker when she'd hit him, but the scream that rang through her ears was all too familiar. Slowly she turned, her eyes wide. Not him… Please don't let it be him… she prayed.
No such luck.
Gail could only stare in horror as Dusk, her only friend in the Glade writhed on the ground in pain, the handle of the screw-driver sticking out of his shoulder, his blood painting his shirt in a red hue.
~.~.~.~.
A/N: There you guys are! A nice little non-cliffanger ending. Oh wait...
Oops.
Sorry! But I will update as soon as my exams get over. hope you understand! Also, since you guys are so awesome and hopefully will understand my situation, I'll give a little gift. I'll be writing a spin-off from Darkness after my exams get over. YES, I DID JUST SAY DARKNESS LIKE HOO-YEAH! It's a small little One-shot, and you don't need to have read Death Cure to understand it. It's just a nice peaceful (yes, I did also just say Peaceful. Something is definitely wrong with me today) moment between Kyra and Aidan. And they're just happy... and remembering... another character... and being sad... and...
I'm gonna shut up now.
Right then.
REPLY TIME!
to Reader Castellan: Man, I really REALLY love long reviews, so thank you so much! And no, I dont get paid to torture my characters, though I wish I did. I would've been a millionaire. XP I must admit I felt a little guilty whilst writing those torture scenes, but hehe. I'm so glad you liked the characters! Thanks for the compliment! Hope the chapter was good!
to double-0-nothing: PLEASE DON'T CRY! I don't intend on making Astrid evil, but I can't say anything about Gail killing her. Hehe. As for their powers, well, if the Gladers got to know soon, it would make them a tad overpowered, and I don't want that. I'm glad you like the story! Thanks for the review! :)
to CheetahGirl9X9: That's okay, I make mistakes in my reviews even though I don't use the mobile. And you're right, that would've been funny XD. Hope you liked the chapter!
to Embers to Ashes: SOMEBODY GOT THE REFERENCE GOODNESSS I AM SO GLAD! I go a little ecstatic when people pick up on my references too. And don't worry, I think I've established my insanity to people by the way I lose it when a fandom reference comes up. And I understand. I recently entered the Death Note Fandom, and now am obsessed and want to kill my friend who introduced me to it. So... yep :P and I hope you liked Gail's 'idea' ! And the chapter! :)
And seriously guys? 22 followers and 21 favs? HONESTLY? DAMN YOU GUYS ARE SO AWESOME! Thank you all so much! Hope to see you after September 30th! Sorry again for the break, but hope you understand...
A Fellow Glader