Chapter 25: Guts in the Snow

Martin and I wake up bright and early the next morning to go hunting for breakfast. After about an hour, I spy a snow rabbit and manage to spear the thing. Cooked raw over our fire back at camp, and it makes a hearty meal. Then we stamp out any vestiges of our presence, and start wandering.

Neither of us is really sure what we are looking for. Fellow tributes, perhaps? Gamemaker traps to dodge? The remainder of the morning provides a decent rest from the non-stop action we encountered the day before.

At what I figure is around noon, Martin holds up a hand. I stop, silent. My ally listens to seemingly nothing. Then -

"Oh no! Careers!" He suddenly lunges at me. "Get down!"

We topple into a thicket of nearby bramble. I push Martin off of me, ready for a fight if it comes to that, regretful though it might be at this early stage. "What's gotten into you, Martin?"

"Shut it!"

And now I hear it. Whoops accompanied by the sharp crack of foliage and underbrush, little cries for help. The sources of the sound emerge into the clearing just ahead. It's two Careers, pursuing a little boy, finally catching up to him and tackling him. I see Martin's eyes grow fearful.

"Jesse," he whispers.

Martin's district partner is now being pinned down by the two Careers. One plants a knee into the little boy's stomach to hold him down as he begins to draw his sword slowly down his arm. Even where I crouch, I can see the blade leave a trail of blood. Jesse's screams are agonizing.

How awful!, I think. They're torturing him!

"Peeta. Peeta!" Martin hisses to me. "I bet you if we sneak up on each one, we could bring them down and free the boy, before the others knew what was happening."

I want to wince. Going up against Careers is a risky bet in any situation; I've watched enough Games to know. And even if Martin and I could pull it off, we'd be stuck with a young tribute who would almost certainly become a liability later. But, this is Martin's district partner. If I help now, and we both make it far enough…. Martin could return the favor by helping me take down Bond. I sigh.

"All right."

If Martin hears the clear hesitancy in my voice, he doesn't acknowledge it. "It's now or never." Then he slips quietly out of the bramble and crouch-runs to a snowbank about a quarter-ways around the perimeter of the clearing, so that he's behind the Career watching the torturing spectacle.

Guess I'm taking the sadistic one. I pull a knife and position myself so that the torturing Career is perfectly blocking my path of the observing one. Then I creep out of the bramble and sneak up behind the bastard.

I trip on a tree root. The Career is just starting to turn his back when my knife awkwardly plunges into his shoulder blade. I continue my fall and roll to the side as he howls in pain.

Epic fail.

The other Career, seeing trouble, starts towards the commotion. Martin has no other choice. He leaps out from behind the snowbank and tackles his target into the white fluff. My ally must know some basic wrestling, for he gets his enemy pinned almost as soon as they hit the ground. A blade slashes across his target's stomach, then his throat.

BOOM.

My wounded Career, the knife still in his shoulder, whips out a scythe and starts for me. I jump to my feet. I dodge the first blow by leaping back, so he slices only air. The Career lunges again with an over-the-head attack, but I manage to stay his hand…. just as I trip over the same tree root again. I fall back, taking my adversary with me, so that we land right on top of poor Jesse. I hear a muffled scream, and I shift myself so I am at least not crushing the boy's lungs.

The Career is trying to bring the scythe all the way down, but I keep it at bay with everything I have. Martin, where are you?

There is suddenly another howl from the Career, and he momentarily swings the scythe back behind him. A bloodied knife blocks the swipe, then a hand twists the larger weapon out of the Career's hand before bringing his arm all the way behind his back. The knife goes to his throat.

The Career's eyes barely register that he has lost before a flash of silver ends his life.

BOOM.

I am momentarily blinded as red spatters my eyes. I wipe it away and roll to the side, pushing myself up into a sitting position.

Our desperate fight has left the snow stained red with blood. The eerie trace of violence, represented by such clashing colors, reminds me of a fairy tale my father used to read to me as a child, about a Queen who pricked her finger and let her blood drip onto the snow.

A choking sound snaps me out of my thoughts. I look back to Jesse and see that he is convulsing; he must have already lost a lot of blood from his arm. Too much blood.

I look to Martin, who is doubled over and panting, my knife still in his hand. His eyes meet mine, tinged with sadness. Even with our best efforts, we were too late. I crawl over to Jesse. The little boy barely has the strength to turn his head, and he reaches out to me.

"Help…. me…."

I want to cry, as I look at this little kid, and imagine what Riley will look like at his age. It fills me with pity. "How?" I ask gently.

"Make it….. quick….."

I glance back at Martin and his eyes are glassy. No way he'll be able to handle killing his own district partner. He's tired enough as it is. I guess I'll have to do the wretched deed.

Gathering Jesse in my lap, I put him in a headlock and look away. I snap his neck sharply to the side and his form grows still. The final cannon sounds.

Martin offers a hand and helps me to my feet. It only now just dawns on me how bloodied we are; never mind the snow. Seeing other people's blood literally on my hands makes me feel…. monstrous.

And one more thing comes to mind as we stumble away: "OK, New Rule - from now on, we come up with a plan before we go into battle. I don't do improvising very well."

Martin can only give a half-hearted chuckle.