Day Seven, Night
Delilah Fauve, District 11, 16
Even though the thought of amputating my leg wasn't pleasant, as Lexie continued dragging me forwards I realised that it would best if we had amputated it. At first, though the cut was deep and disabling, it didn't seem to be too major. It definitely wasn't infected. But then when I had been attacked by the mutt... demon... ghost... whatever the hell it was the wound had reopened. Since then it had been a recipe for disaster. My ability to use my leg had been lost completely once the leg started to swell, but now I think whatever had infected it had entered my bloodstream in the last hour.
I could barely comprehend what was happening around me, never mind walk. My vision was blurry at best and would fade into static at worst. Sometimes I would dip in and out of consciousness, but I forced myself awake, sometimes by using mental will, sometimes by recognising the pain. In my new state of mind I would sometimes think I could hear my family talk to me. I hoped to god that they were okay...
"Almost there," Lexie had been virtually carrying me for the past few hours. She seemed extremely tired and worn out, but thanks to me being both small and skinny she could manage to take my weight. I weakly managed to smile up at her. I felt bad for Lexie. It was only days ago that I had tried to kill her, and yet she was doing everything she could for me; she would even trust me with a secret. I felt bad for virtually exploiting her, but now that my time was over I would do whatever I could to protect her. The Gamemakers would ensure I would die, which meant Lexie deserved a chance.
"Thank you," I managed to say, weakly. We turned a corner, though I could barely make out what it looked like. I think there were candles, because some of the light really hurt my eyes.
She didn't look in my face.
"You know, it's usually the big, strong men helping the small, fragile women."
"I think we both know that isn't always true," I smiled. Lexie kicked an old door open. I heard wood splinter as she struggled to put me into a room which I could barely see. I could make out the whiteness of the walls, ceilings and furniture. That hurt my eyes. Or maybe everything was hurting my eyes. I think if something wasn't done soon I was at risk of dying...
And yet death didn't seem scary. Funnily enough, it seemed most scary when you were alive. I wasn't dead, but I could almost feel death around the corner, beckoning my name. And death wasn't something that was violent and brutal - not right now. Its voice was gentle, soft and welcoming. Its home a refuge from the misery that had plagued my life that past few days. I just lay there, feeling so distant and numb from a world that was so unfair.
I didn't want to die two weeks ago. I even hoped that I would make it out of the arena alive. I had hopes and dreams. I wanted to marry, or to make enough money to give my family prosperity. But life sucks, and I knew the moment I was reaped that the chances of me doing that were very slim. So now life wasn't for me, but maybe death could be? I had given Nate another shot at life, and if Iopian had managed to tuck Nate away maybe that prospect wasn't a slim one for him. So if I died now, maybe I could die happy. Lexie settled me onto the bed as my thoughts were elsewhere.
The only regret I'd have if I died was to be dishonest to Lexie. After everything she did to me. And on the surface it felt like she had no doubts until very recently. She had tried snooping for the letter in my pocket, and though it angered me at first I really did step over the line. I had done stupid things, but I did them all to save my twin brother. I just hoped Lexie would understand. I hoped everyone understood.
"Lexie..." I started. I felt Lexie shove something into my mouth, silencing me. This was followed by some water.
"Hush," Lexie smiled as I instinctively swallowed, feeling my throat hurt. "They were anti-biotics. I don't know much about medicine but they were apparently strong, maybe they'd help," I tried to talk but she forced more water down me. "We need to get you hydrated and I'm going to try and disinfect your leg and wrap it in proper bandages. You'll be fine in no time, okay?"
It seemed like I had no choice. I felt like asking Lexie to save these medical supplies for herself. She may need them later; I was on a train track to death, and after all the lies and deceit I certainly didn't deserve this kindness from her. Just as I had begun to accept death, I realised that there may be another few days added to this miserable life. Too weak to protest, I slumped back.
Lexie's hands tore the material from my leg, and my wound suddenly felt exposed to fresh air. My nose was too blocked to see if it gave an infected kind of smell. I didn't even know the severity of my injury. There was a moment of faded pain where I whimpered, too weak to even writhe around. After that, my wound was wrapped up tight again. And then the pain faded back into a numbness.
"You need to rest," Lexie told me.
"I need to tell you something," I glanced up at her face a little bit. She looked at me back, though I couldn't discern if there was sympathy or not.
"Tell me soon, but first you sleep," Lexie stroked through my hair.
She hummed some kind of song. I didn't realise that her voice was so beautiful; it wasn't the voice of an angel, or the kind of voice you'd expect from a Capitolian art display. What made it beautiful was that it seemed real. The emotions in it seemed real. It put me at ease, to hear somebody sing a song filled with hope in such a time of despair. And that, along with the feeling of Lexie's dainty fingers making their way through my hair, put me at a kind of ease. Slowly I faded into a comfortable sleep, not knowing (or caring) if I would wake up again.
Lorelei Draven, District 2, 17
Pullox, Jericho and I stood together and glanced at Honora's unconscious body. At first there was a hot debate over what we should do. I wanted Honora alive to torture her, whereas Jericho believed it was best that we just killed her and were done with it. Pullox was also quite eager to kill Honora - he was of the opinion that she was dangerous and needed to be disposed of. It was strange; Pullox used to be so loyal to Honora, now he wanted her thrown into the scrap heap. I guess I understood why. She poisoned me. She killed my baby. That was disgusting even by Pullox's standards.
"It'll be the merciful thing to do, to just kill her now," Jericho eventually broke the silence. She had been out cold for a while. She was leaned forward, bound tightly to the chair by her hands whilst blood continued running down her pale visage. Her hair, which had gone dark at the roots, almost blocked her face.
"It'll be the sensible thing to do," Pullox interjected, glancing at me as if he expected me to take his side. "I only managed to knock the girl out because I had the element of surprise on my side. When she wakes up, she'll be on high alert and she'll be ready to fight."
"She'll be tied up," I argued coldly. "And we have two guns. What's the worst she can do?"
Pullox's lips seemed to tightened, he seemed quite displeased with my desire to get revenge. Jericho also gave me a particular look. I didn't know what it was, but it was concerned. It made me feel isolated and even more angry. Jericho was my friend. He was supposed to support me through this. So why was he looking at me like I was the crazy one? Like I was the one who was evil?
"Go on, big boy," I told him. "Tell me I'm wrong."
"I just think it'd be the wrong thing to do..."
I purposely stretched myself taller, trying to match my height up to Jericho. Naturally, that wasn't exactly easy. His posture tightened a little bit and he glanced down at me as I placed my hand on my knife belt.
"Do you think I care about right or wrong anymore?" I hissed. "Did Honora care about right or wrong when she poisoned me, when she killed an innocent foetus? Do you think any of us volunteered in this stupid game to give two flying fucks about right or wrong?" I removed one of the knives, pointing it towards Jericho. I hoped I'd get some kind of reaction, but I didn't. I glanced at Pullox and Jericho in turn. "I don't want to give Honora the glory of a quick death. I don't give a shit about safety," I glanced at Pullox, and then shot my angry glare back at Jericho. "And I certainly don't give a shit about mercy. Honora's actions will make me suffer for the rest of my short, miserable life. Don't I deserve to inflict a fraction of the pain she's given me?"
I realised that I was crying. It was strange, how I felt inside. I felt so hollow and melancholic, sometimes it felt like I could never feel anything again. But at the same time I felt a burning fire. Rage. I craved Honora's pain, I craved revenge. It was like I could feel the strongest emotions whilst being numb at the same time.
"And if I have to fight you or kill you for my revenge, so be it," I snarled.
Pullox blinked once.
"Fine," he said. Jericho was about to talk but Pullox glared up at him. "Let her have her revenge, it's not worth the bother."
Jericho just nodded, sitting down in the corner of the room and saying little else. For the first time, I smiled at Pullox. I still thought he was a weasel, but he was complacent. As long as he survived or benefitted in some way, he'd go along with the flow, and I didn't want or need Jericho's moral crusade. I just needed revenge. I knew deep inside that the pain I felt would go on forever, but to see Honora scream and cry would alleviate that pain for one second. And that's what I wanted.
"When are you getting your revenge, then?" Pullox said, stuffing food and other goods into a rucksack.
"In a minute," I paused. "What are you doing?"
"I don't want to be around for the show," Pullox told me, checking that the pistol he had contained a decent amount of ammo. He slipped the gun into his belt and smiled. "Blood has never been my thing," somehow I found that difficult to believe. "So I'll just go hunt for the next couple of hours. You'll stick around the room after you're done with her, right?"
"Yeah, we'll stay here," I told him.
He gave me a sharp nod and stood up. Then he made his way to the doorway. He glanced back at us one more time, giving us the most peculiar look. Then he was down the corridor. I watched after him for a few seconds, before I turned towards Honora's unconscious form.
I wondered what I would do first. I slid my knife back into my belt, deciding that the sharp, pointy kind of fun would come much, much later. Jericho was sitting in the corner, eating some chocolate and looking anywhere but me.
"I thought you'd go with Pullox, Jericho," I told him as I approached Honora's limp body. "Torture never seemed like your cup of tea."
"It's not. But you know I'll support you no matter what, Lorelei," he was looking at me pleadingly.
I decided to ignore him. Soon Honora was before me. She was usually so strong, so powerful. Now she was nothing. She was just an unconscious girl who sat beneath me, looking weak and vulnerable. I slapped her cheek lightly and she mumbled something in response. Then I slapped her harsher. I think her eyes jolted open and the force was enough to wake her up, but for good measure I scrunched my fist up and punched her where her nose had been broken. She whelped, blood splattering across the floor with the force of my blow.
"Wakey wakey," I said to her as she turned to face me, her face bloodied and bruised. She looked kind of shocked, looking at me.
"Where the hell am I?"
I got onto the knees, grinning right into her face.
"In the Hunger Games, still, don't you worry," I gripped onto her hair, tilting her head back and spitting in her face. She barely reacted as my saliva congealed with her blood, slipping down her chin. She was awfully calm. "But I like to think that this is hell. It's the place you go to suffer when you make other people suffer." I yanked her hair, feeling frustrated when she didn't cry out in pain. "And you definitely made people suffer, didn't you?"
"Fuck you," Honora growled, still refusing to cry out in pain.
I let go of her greasy blonde hair, watching her head immediately slip towards the floor limply. She had so much pride - it would be fun to repeatedly blow into her pride until she was reduced to the real person she was: a big lump of nothingness.
"You killed my baby," I told her, walking around her in a circle. I caught a glimpse of Jericho who was watching the show. I knew he hated Honora as much as I did. He even tried to attack her mere hours ago. Maybe he was enjoying the show, but he didn't want to admit it. "So I'll kill you." I stomped on her foot. She gritted her teeth and her jaw clenched, but she didn't react. "But this won't be an easy death. I'm not going to make things easy for you, because you don't deserve easiness. All you deserve is suffering and pain!"
"I didn't fucking kill your baby," she said neutrally. She glanced up in my eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you?"
I took a step back, analysing her features. "It's funny, Honora. I always admired your honesty. But you're just a filthy liar, aren't you?" She shook her head, prompting me to angrily raise my foot and smash it into her face. The force of the kick almost sent the chair toppling backwards. She still refused to cry out in pain as more blood ran down her face from her eye. "Liar, liar pants on fire. You know what you did, the audience already know what you did, but before you die I'm going to make you cry out for the whole world to hear. You're going to tell the world just how despicable you are."
Honora sneered at me. "You're a little girl playing a big girl's game, Lorelei. Go on, make me cry. I dare you."
I got down on my knees, facing her again. I saw her hands, nice and tied up, rendering her useless to attack me. Pullox had definitely learned how to tie ropes efficiently. Honora struggled in the chair, but had failed to even move. I gripped onto the fingers on her left hand - the hand she didn't use very much. After I brutalised that, I would ruin her right hand, making her unable to even use a weapon.
"Lets play a fun game. You'll know it," I said, gripping onto Honora's thumb. "This little piggy went to market," I twisted her thumb back and it cracked out loud for all to hear. Honora didn't expect me to bend her thumb back so that it rested against the back of her hand. She closed her eyes, obviously hurt but not willing to express her pain. "This little piggy stayed home," I moved onto her index finger and snapped that, laughing at how there was nothing she could do to stop me. She exhaled as I broke her second finger so effortlessly. "Are you going to tell the world what you did?"
"I am not telling the world a lie," Honora snapped at me furiously.
"Then, this little piggy had roast beef," I sneered. Honora closed her eyes, preparing for the inevitable pain. I gripped her middle finger, bending it back slower this time. It slowly twisted backwards, the cracking of the finger being so much more slow and satisfying. Honora still refused to show any pain, but was trembling noticeably as the agony coursed through her. I stroked my hands across her ring finger, immediately eliciting a response. But that was only a joke. Just as Honora relaxed, still in pain, I gripped her fourth finger and snapped it as if it were made of wood. She bit so hard into her bottom lip to repress a scream that blood was drawn.
"Lorelei, stop it!" I felt strong arms grip me. I knew I couldn't fight against Jericho and kicked and struggled in his arms as he dragged me back. "This is going too far!"
"I haven't even started!" I wiggled uselessly in his arms.
He released me and I turned around to face him angrily.
"Come on, Lorelei. We should just slit her throat and call it a day!"
Honora laughed loudly and evilly at Jericho's suggestion.
"Still being the good guy, eh Jericho?" Jericho gave her the most resentful, angry look I'd ever seen him give. It was obvious that he hated her just as much as I did. "No, let her play this little piggy. I'm sure she'd have played it with her baby had she not been stupid enough to take a foetus into the arena. Go on Jericho, you know you want to see me struggle," she cackled again. "Play your game, Lorelei. It'll make up for lost baby time."
Maybe the audience would've sympathised with Honora after seeing her plight, despite the pain she'd inflicting upon others. But even when she was on the losing side she showed time and time again that she was a disgusting person who deserved every second of misery. Jericho furiously glanced at Honora after her comments. I felt tears swim in my eyes, but refused to cry despite the deep anguish that stirred around inside my thoughts. I gripped onto the handle of one of my blades.
"And this little piggy goes..." I whispered and then slammed the knife onto the pinky. It split through the skin and immediately sent a scream out of Honora. "Wee, wee, wee!" With each word I cleaved into her finger until it was detatched from her body. Blood was squirting out of the stump at her knuckle, spilling onto the floor. Honora shook and continued writhing and screaming as I flicked her little pinky onto the floor where it lay shrivelled in a pool of blood. "All the way home," I wiped the tears from the corner of my eyes and smirked, satisfied.
"This isn't right..." Jericho protested as Honora finally stopped screaming. She was still holding in her howls, but she'd managed to repress the reaction that made me feel alive.
"I'm not giving up until she admits she did it."
"I didn't do it!"
I moved to an empty stash of wood Pullox had culminated into our cooking spot. The same fire where the soup that would poison my baby was cooked over. I was sure I knew how to get Honora to admit what she had done. She was a strong girl, but the pain I felt inside was much more potent. I lit the fire and Jericho and Honora glanced after me as if they didn't know what I was about to do. But judging by the horror that dawned across their expressions, they knew that it was bad.
I held the blade that had cut off Honora's finger, slipping it into the fire and watching the flames lick over the metal blade hungrily. I could see my eyes in its reflection, fiery rage flickering around the irises. If she wasn't going to talk, I was going to make sure she'd never be able to talk again unless she fessed up for once in her rotten, useless, evil life.
"You're going to admit that you did it," I said as the metal started to emit an aura of orange.
Honora desperately flailed her legs around. She was writhing around uselessly in her chair. It shook around but she was unable to get away. I think Jericho was looking at her sympathetically by this point, but he was going to be compliant. His loyalty was still with me, even if I had to use fear to keep it intact.
"I didn't do it!" Honora thrashed around, looking terrified for what was to come. She screamed over and over again: "I didn't do it! Listen to me for fucking once, I didn't do it! I didn't do it! I didn't-"
I walked up to her.
"I didn't do it!"
"You talk too much," I said, carefully inserting the hot blade into her mouth.
The reaction was instantaneous and delicious. Honora screamed and the blade hissed once it contacted the wet inside of Honora's mouth. She opened her mouth wide and screamed wildly, thrashing around and giving the most agonised noise I had ever heard in my life. As she screamed, steam rolled out of her lips as I burned the inside of her mouth and her tongue brutally. I was sure it would be all sufficiently blistered and blackened. She continued trying to fight but it was useless. Blood poured out of her mouth as the edges of the blade probably bit into any flesh. Any potential wounds would probably immediately be cauterised.
I removed my dagger from her mouth, the last bits of steam and blood dribbling out of her mouth as she gave a haunting moan. She then slumped forwards, staring at the floor emptily. She was paler than I had ever seen anyone turn. Just imagining the pain that she went through gave me excited chills. Revenge really did feel good - and contrary to popular belief it was best served hot.
"Now, you're going to tell me you did it," I said. "Or I'll do it again." I was lying; I'd do it again regardless.
"I did it," Honora admitted, barely being able to move her mouth to talk. She stared at the ground emptily, her tears dripping onto the puddle of blood at her feet.
"What did you do?" I asked.
"I killed your baby," she scowled, moving her lips was too painful for her. "I spiked the soup."
"Good girl," I patted her head, standing up and walking away from her. Jericho followed after me.
"You've had your fun, she's admitted she did it even though we know she'd done it all along," he said anxiously. "Do we have to carry on?"
I stiffened, acknowledging his question though refusing to respond to me. I turned to Honora, who was still crying, and gave Honora the most hateful look I'd ever given in my life. Then I smiled again. It was weird, how much I had smiled despite the utter despair and sadness I felt.
"I will stop with the torture stuff once I'm satisfied," I bent over and dipped my blade into the flames again, immediately leaving Jericho looking weary and Honora looking panicked. "Then we'll move onto more fun activities. Like killing."
"When will you ever be satisfied?" Jericho rose his voice at me for the first time and I flinched. "We both know that no matter what happens you're never going to feel okay. Hurting Honora is not going to quench your sadness, even if it feels like it," I stood up, considering stabbing him for a second. No. Jericho was my friend. He just didn't understand. But if he was going to fight me to stop me from getting the revenge I (quite reasonably) wanted, I would hurt him. "Come on Lorelei. We just kill her and get it over and done with."
"I will stop when I get my answers," I glared at Honora. "Are you going to tell me why you did it? Or am I going to have to make you scream like the pathetic little girl you are?"
Honora's eyes widened. She immediately went into life, glancing up at me, forcing out an answer.
"You were weak," she immediately spat out. I turned towards her and she began to stumble over her words, eventually forming a coherent sentence. "I didn't ever plan to kill the baby," I gave her a skeptical look and she looked at the floor, at anywhere towards me. She burst into tears again. "I didn't! B-But when Magnus came into the room and I heard that he almost killed you... It was a miracle you survived... And afterwards you were so upset... I... You..." She continued alternating between words, struggling to reach coherence. "The baby made you weak. I knew that I was only doing good for the alliance if I got rid of it. If I made it look like an accident."
"Good for the alliance?" My hands trembled. I wanted to throw a knife into her skull there and then, I was just absorbed into anger. Suddenly I didn't feel like Lorelei Draven anymore; I was the epitome of fury. "What the..."
"You made us all weaker!" Honora screeched at me, the wounds in her mouth making her speech slurred and jarred. I felt as if she was being honest for the first time ever. "You were dragging us all down with you, and I didn't want to die for a stupid fucking bunch of cells in your womb!"
"Holy fucking Panem," Jericho explained, shocked. It was as if he was only just beginning to believe it was true.
"I did it for you, Lorelei! I wanted to make you stronger! I told you that we had to help each other!" Honora was thrashing in her chair desperately. I turned around, blubbering uselessly and letting go of my knives. They clattered on the floor and Jericho, as kind as ever, gripped onto me and held me sympathetically as I sobbed. I felt myself just lose control. I almost collapsed in his arms.
"You ruined my life," was all I could scream.
"You're a fucking monster," Jericho told her sternly. He stroked a hand through my hair and tilted my head so that I was looking up at him. I could barely see him through the tears, but knew he was giving me a kind smile. "I know nothing I can do can help you, not for now..." Jericho pulled away slightly, but still held me for support as I sobbed. "But I'm going to kill her. Okay? A-And then..." He paused, as if he couldn't quite believe the next words he was going to say: "And then I'm going to find a way to get you out of this arena. You can't play these Games. It's too cruel. You're going to get out of this arena and back home to District Two, okay?"
Poor Jericho. Despite being a Career and a killer, he was very naive in his own way. There were so many kids who had fought and died in the arena, not even volunteering. Some were only twelve or thirteen. Some were weak and weedy. Some were even fucking disabled. But that didn't matter. The Gamemakers weren't going to make exceptions for me. Even if the headlines made me out to be some kind of important exhibition, I knew that to the Capitol I was nothing beyond my entertainment value. Which was enough to keep me alive for a while, but not enough to pardon me from the terrors of the arena.
Still, I sobbed even more fiercely, happy to have somebody I could trust in the arena.
"Okay?" Jericho held me closer as I almost threatened to collapse.
"Just do it," I blubbered, giving him a teary smile. "Just kill her."
Jericho brushed the tears from my eyes and nodded, doing what he had to do. Me, Jericho and Pullox could survive easily without Honora. Considering Pullox was hardly the nicest guy in the arena, maybe Jericho and I could leave him too. We could have always survived on our own - we were capable. I wish I saw that earlier. Breathing was still hard and I was shaking, but I felt a tiny bit better. I stepped away, noticing that Jericho's expression had sunk from his friendly smile into shock.
Before I had time to ask him what had happened, he gripped me and launched me to the side.
Jericho Aylin, District 2, 18
Lorelei yelled, almost being flung to the floor but maintaining he balance as Honora sped towards us. I managed to force myself to the side just in time as wooden chair legs almost rammed into my gut.
Suddenly I realised that Pullox had made a bad mistake by not tying Honora's legs up, too. While I was too busy consoling Lorelei, Honora had stood up, turned backwards and had tried to charge at us while using the chair as a battering ram. The back legs of the chair slammed into the wall, groaning with the force. Lorelei and I were trained to react at danger that sprung up spontaneously: Lorelei was there first, removing two blades. Honora, however, was quicker: she pressed the chair against the wall to hold her balance, lifting her legs and watching as Lorelei's blades were kicked back into the oblivion.
I should have reached for my gun, but found myself gripping my sword instead. I tried to desperately swing it into Honora's throat, but she swiftly bent over and ducked, successfully avoiding a fatal blow. I used my strength to adjust the sword's weight, trying to swing it back and kill Honora. She was too quick, though. She twisted her body, making sure that the legs of the chair jammed themselves harshly into my side.
It didn't hurt much, but it hurt enough to make me lose all concentration. The wind was knocked out of my lungs and my sword was knocked out of my hands. I barely had time to cry out in pain as Lorelei tried to launch a blade at Honora, who span to the side. The blade forced itself into my side, and I screamed as I felt blood splash out of my wound. Lorelei, not wanting to risk hurting me further, rushed towards Honora.
Honora was talented, but I didn't expect her to be this talented a fighter. I shouldn't have underestimated her - even when she was tied up. I should've killed her myself and ignored Lorelei's selfish wishes. It was as if she had calculated every particular move carefully, her reactions so good it were as if she was clairvoyant, predicting our every move minutes before we made them.
Before Lorelei could slash into Honora again Honora subdued both of us with three simple moves: she thrust her leg forward, kicking Lorelei back, forced the chair down so that the legs of said chair had cracked the bones in both of my feet, forcing me to cry out in pain again. Before Lorelei even stood up Honora swung her head in Lorelei's direction, breaking her nose with a powerful headbutt.
Honora stood up again, the legs of the chair slamming into me and forcing me back onto the floor. Lorelei and I lay there in pain, glancing up at the Four girl.
"Come on guys," her voice betrayed her display of strength - it was obvious she was drained and in agony. "You're Careers, you've got to do better than that."
I thrust my foot forwards, landing the first blow on Honora. She staggered forwards, barely showing any pain or weakness. Wanting to end this once and for all, I grabbed for the shotgun and struggled to hold its weight as I aimed it at the back of Honora's head. As if she could see what I was doing, she swiftly swung around, only slightly encumbered by the chair she saw bound to. I pulled my fingers on the trigger just as Honora's foot slammed into the gun, the bullet firing towards the ceiling as the gun was forced out of my hand.
"Fetch boy!" Honora laughed.
Lorelei had just about managed to stand up, mopping the blood on her face with the sleeve of her dress. She reached for another two daggers and I - weakened by the loss of blood that followed me in a trail - tried crawling towards the gun that I had left. I heard both girls scream in rage as they fought, and judging by the noises that they made Lorelei had taken two whole blows before Honora screamed in pain.
As I turned, I saw that Honora was bleeding lightly around the chest area. It looked like nothing threatening. Lorelei struck again, quickly and serpent like, though Honora purposely angled her body so that Lorelei's blade pierced the ropes that bound her.
Suddenly the adrenaline surge came. Honora bound was dangerous enough, but now she was completely freed I forgot about the gun. I even forgot about the deep cut in my side which was making me lose more blood by the minute. I forced myself to stand, charging towards Honora as the ropes fell to the ground limply and the chair that was pressed against Honora's back like a shell clattered to the ground.
Honora saw me speeding towards her from the corner of her eye. Lorelei slashed into Honora's chest again, the girl cried out in pain before gripping Lorelei's hair and flinging her away like she were a pest.
As I managed to reach her she gripped onto the chair, swinging it up with one arm so that it slammed into my skull.
Bells rang into my head, almost blurring out the pain as I was forced to the ground. Lorelei, who I just realised was a better fighter than me in terms of skill, had launched three knives forwards quickly and successively. Still gripping the chair, Honora swung it forward and used it to block the first two. Then she hissed in agony as the third one sunk neatly into her collarbone.
I could do nothing but groan, my vision turning blurry and split as I crawled towards the gun. Honora screamed, tearing the knife out of her shoulder and then I heard the clash of blade against blade. As my head rang I subtly tried to make my way towards the gun, trying to find it but failing.
I turned to observe Lorelei and Honora's fight again.
And turned at the wrong moment:
Honora looked like she'd taken a beating in the past few minutes, but she slaughtered Lorelei like it were nothing. She had been rendered weaponless once again, but used her trusty chair and forced it into Lorelei's face. Just as Lorelei fell onto the ground Honora made the final move, ramming the leg of the chair into Lorelei's windpipe. There was a horrific scrunch as Lorelei tried to scream, but any noise she made was completely sealed when Honora sat on the chair like a Queen on the throne. I stood up desperately, screaming out her name:
"Lorelei, no!"
The wooden leg of the chair had completely sunk into Lorelei's neck, a minimal amount of blood squirting out. Lorelei spent her last seconds with shocked, wide eyes. She tried to use her left hand to grip onto the leg of the chair and tear it out of her neck instinctively, but it had been crushed by the second leg of the chair. She twitched uselessly and everything froze.
It sounded so distant, but the cannon fired.
It felt as if the world was collapsing around me. Honora laughed nastily, glancing down at Lorelei's corpse. The corpse she was basically sitting on.
"Choke on your own blood, bitch!" She spat on the body, which was slowly accumulating a pool of blood.
Lorelei and I, together, couldn't take on an Honora that was tied and bound. Lorelei couldn't take on Honora when she was prepared like she was now. How the hell did I have a chance, especially since I was bleeding and injured? I forced myself to keep upright as I patted my hands around my body, looking for a weapon - looking for anything. Just like Lorelei, I wanted Honora to suffer.
I had nothing. When I glanced back at Honora, hatred in my eyes, she was clutching onto a shotgun.
"Looking for something?" She smirked.
Sensibly, my fury collapsed into fear. I looked at the exit of the room directly behind myself and jumped out of the shotgun's aim, hearing the most fierce bang as I avoided the bullet just in time. Purposely rushing in zig zags as to avoid any aim, I heard a succession of gunshots as I forced myself out of the room. I stumbled into the large corridor and ran away from it as Honora's loud laugh trailed behind me.
Eventually the sound of gunshots and Honora's laugh both faded, and suddenly I was from the hunter into the hunted. I had no supplies. I didn't have anything. I didn't even have time to care as I rushed away, not stopping until I had passed multiple corridors and a flight of stairs. Even once I had stopped I didn't linger on the upset that I felt. I didn't linger on all that I had lost. I grabbed onto a doorframe, desperately trying to keep myself stable, before I collapsed. I lay there, glancing at a painting of a feast.
... I didn't even fall unconscious.
I was just numb, staring into nothingness and refusing to process everything that had happened.
YES, THAT REALLY JUST HAPPENED.
I know Honora has had a lot of bad luck lately, but yeah, don't underestimate her, ok? Wow. So, basically everything has kind of gotten a little wild. As we can now see, the relationship dynamics in the arena are going to change a lot. And I'm psyched for it.
Also, by the time you're reading this, I am all happy and exam free! I'm setting off to Italy later, but will have wi-fi, so maybe I'll be updating from somewhere in Italy? Who knows :)
Also, this fic is 300,000 words. Makes me worried for the final word count, considering we're only like 60% through the story in terms of chapters XD
~Toxic