Hola guys, did you enjoy that overall dramatic A/N at the end of last chapter? Ya... I'm one for dramatics. Anyways, this chapter isn't piss yourself horrifying, rather tame compared to later stuff, but I still hope you enjoy.
By the way, try saying this chapter's title five times fast. You'll say 'The Thing in the Thong', I know you will :)
Chapter 33 The Thing in the Fog
Day 4 of the 76th Hunger Games
"If you think we are truly ready for this than you are a bigger fool than I imagined you were, Dr. Novella."
"All I said was that my department had done its job, Dr. Sinclair." Dr. Novella said in an irritated tone. "It's a shame that the mutations department can not do there's."
"How dare you!" Dr. Sinclair screamed, face turning red. "Do you have an idea what tasks we were given to us this year? We have made what should be impossible possible!"
"Yet not on time." Dr. Novella muttered.
"The price of perfection!" Dr. Sinclair said dismissively, before turning his attention back to his superior. "And where, might I ask, is Head Gamemaker Crane?"
Plutarch sighed, "He's busy at the moment with the broadcasting department." Plutarch lied. 'He's probably passed out drunk in his office.' Plutarch thought bitterly to himself. 'Better that than dealing this these two.'
Dr. Sinclair and Dr. Novella were not exactly the best people to be around when they were together. Nobody was exactly sure why, but everybody knew that the two academically brilliant minds hated each other. Of course, since nobody knew the real story that lead to plenty of juicy gossip, the most prevalent being they were scorned lovers. The thought of those two in bed though made Plutarch want to hurl.
"So we are stuck with you?" Dr. Sinclair spat, "How insulting."
Plutarch stiffened but refused to fight Dr. Sinclair. He was in charge and had to act like it. "How much longer until the mutts are ready then?"
Dr. Sinclair scoffed, always offended when his works of art were referred to as mutts. "The first batch of mutations was ready on time, they were easy enough. It's the second batch that's causing trouble."
"How long?" Plutarch repeated.
Dr. Sinclair huffed, not bothering to hide his annoyance towards the help. "We should be ready by day seven, maybe day eight if we can't get the neural mapping down in time."
"There are twelve dead already." Dr. Novella said. "Do you really think the other twelve will last until then?"
"Have you never watched the Hunger Games before?" Dr. Sinclair mocked. "Of course they'll make it until day eight!"
Plutarch allowed the two of them to bicker as he thought over things himself. He usually had a good feel over how long Games would last, but this year he was unsure. As of now, eight tributes were in the swamp and, depending on how unlucky they were, most of them could die in there. The only ones who weren't in the swamp were Daira, Ivy, Isabella, and Raven. Daira had been enjoying the comforts of her new home while the others were still recovering behind the waterfall. Normally Plutarch would have ordered action against those tributes to keep them interesting, but with all the excitement that was about to occur in the swamp, Plutarch figured they could rest for a little.
As the two doctors argued, a nearby team of Gamemakers took an unofficial break. "Do you think Dr. Sinclair's going soft on the tributes?" the first one said in a hushed tone, his back leaned comfortably against a wall.
The second rolled her eyes. "Of all the words I'd use to describe Dr. Sinclair, 'soft' would not be one of them."
"I'm just saying that since he's from District 3." The first said.
"So are most of the scientists here." The second said. "But give them a taste of Capitol privilege for a week and they forget all loyalties to their District."
"True." The first said. "But District 3 has a capable tribute this year!"
"You really think so?"
"I do! I can see Ivy becoming victor."
"Don't get ahead of yourself. She's a good survivor, I'll give you that, but we still haven't seen how well she holds up in a fight."
"I bet she could kick everybody's ass."
"Even a Career?"
"Do they even matter anymore? All of them are in the swamp and probably about to be massacred. It's not like they've been particularly effective this year."
"Thanks to us of course."
"Yeah, poor kids."
Both Gamemakers looked at each other and began to laugh. Being a Gamemaker brought along a feeling of being God, a feeling that felt very good quickly after starting. Both stopped though when they heard the two doctors shouting increase in intensity.
"Do you think the mutts are going to work?" the first Gamemaker asked.
"Of course they will." The second responded quickly, almost offended by her peer's lack of confidence. "Both of them are just arguing because they like to argue. Dr. Novella's serums have already taken effect on the tributes and Dr. Sinclair's mutts will destroy them."
The first Gamemaker nodded his head, remembering the briefing they all received about Dr. Novella's serums she was giving to the tributes before they went into the arena. It was only because of those doses that the mutts would have a full effect on the tributes.
"ENOUGH!" Plutarch roared over the two doctors, staring at them both with angry eyes. He began talking in a more controlled tone once more to the doctors.
"Looks like they're wrapping up." The first Gamemaker said, readying to go back to his station.
"Yep, are you going to Margaret's later?"
"Probably, I hear she got some cute new Avoxs."
The first Gamemaker rolled his eyes. "Such a sucker for Avox lovers, aren't you?"
"What can I say? They're better than most of the guys around the Capitol."
"I'm offended." The first Gamemaker said in a mock hurt tone. The second rolled her eyes and planted a kiss on her husband's cheek before both of them returned to their posts.
Plutarch was now standing up, issuing orders to the Gamemakers on what the plan was. After he finished, Plutarch returned to his command post and sat back, awaiting the horror show.
The tributes were about to suffer in ways unimaginable.
Anastasia had learned in school how people before the founding of Panem and the massive geographically changes used to live near or in swamps.
Why anybody would put themselves through such suffering was beyond Anastasia.
The swamp was horrible. The air was muggy and smelly, mosquitos and other insects constantly swarming her and Willabeana, and the surrounding area was constantly filled with fog that made moving around a scary and slow process.
Not that there was much solid ground to walk across anyways. Most of the area was flooded with water that could be as shallow as a tribute's ankles all the way up to their necks. Anastasia couldn't swim but Willabeana was able, sometimes carrying the younger girl on her back through the deeper parts of the water. Their clothes were soaked, but their waterproof boots and dry suits kept them warm.
"It might be easier just to forget our clothes." Willabeana said as the girls rested on mangrove trees. "The dry suits keep us covered and the clothes are only a hindrance at this point."
"What about the jackets?" Anastasia asked, poking through the bag for water. The water in the swamp was fresh water, but the dirty look didn't make it a preferable choice to drink.
"We can hold onto those." Willabeana said. "Is the bag dry?"
Anastasia nodded her head, pulling out a bottle of water. The bag had also been a problem as it wasn't waterproof and contained their food. Willabeana had been holding it above her head, keeping it as dry as she could.
Anastasia passed the water bottle to Willabeana, who noticed that it was almost out. She passed the rest back to Anastasia. "You finish it." She said.
Anastasia shook her head. "I'm fine."
"You need you're strength."
"So do you!" Anastasia insisted. "More than me! You're the one doing all the work while I'm just a bother."
"Ana…" Willabeana said, moving closer to the younger girl. "You're not a bother."
"Yes I am! You would be better off if I wasn't around to slow you down!" Anastasia shouted, tears forming in her eyes.
Willabeana hugged Anastasia tightly, saying comforting words. 'She's just tired.' Willabeana thought.
Both girls were exhausted. They were well feed and had been receiving all the necessary nutrients for survival, but the pressure of the Games after four days had gotten to them. They were also filthy, despite wading through the water. The Capitol's cosmetic products were also starting to wear off as Willabeana could already feel her face becoming oilier and prickles of hair returning to her legs.
After another minute of hugging each other, the girls broke apart. "Come on sweetie, time to get going." Willabeana said, lifting Anastasia up off the ground. She grabbed the bag and threw it over her back before drawing her sword once more. Willabeana didn't feel safe without having it out and ready to attack with.
Before they left though, a silver object descended through the fog above and landed in front of Anastasia. She stared at it with a stunned look, looking to Willabeana for guidance. "It has a nine on it, so it's for you." Willabeana said, pointing to the engraved 'D9' on the capsule.
Anastasia opened it carefully, pulling out a black bag. A note came with it that Willabeana picked up. "Says the bag is water proof." Willabeana said.
Anastasia's eyes lit up, taking the bag from Willabeana and beginning to move their items from it to the new bag. Willabeana sat back, allowing Anastasia to do as she pleased. 'I wonder why I haven't gotten any sponsor gifts? It's not like I'm not interesting.' She thought, before coming to a realization on her mentor's thought process. 'Mollie must not want to pick between Kaden and I.'
As soon as Anastasia finished packing and handed the pack back to Willabeana, both girls were on the move again. They only had a rough idea of where they were going; hoping that at some point the swamp would end. As they continued to move through the swamp, the fog only increased.
It was in this fog that they started to hear sounds.
"Do you hear that?" Anastasia whispered, gripping Willabeana's arm tightly.
Willabeana did a three-sixty, looking every direction with her sword extended. She had heard a noise, something that sounded like a splash. It was a uncomfortable sign considering they were in knee deep water.
"What is it?" Anastasia whispered again.
"Shush!" Willabeana ordered, holding Anastasia closer. The fog was only making it worse, limiting their range of sight down to only ten, maybe fifteen feet at most.
Both girls were trembling, waiting to hear more noise. They were only greeted by the sound of flies. Slowly, Willabeana began to move forward away from the site. Anastasia was reluctant at first, forcing Willabeana to drag her forward. "Keep quiet." Willabeana whispered, wading through the water as quietly as possible.
They continued walking, undisturbed for almost ten minutes before another splash was heard. This one closer. Once again they paused, holding each other tightly and looking over the mist in opposite directions. Silence fell over them once more, the eerie feeling of solitude slowly falling over both of them once more.
It was Anastasia who saw something first.
At first, she didn't know what she was looking at. The figures were blurry and undefined, but they were there. Two small figures standing next to each other, backing up further and further into the fog.
"Ana…" two eerie voices range out.
Anastasia stiffened, as did Willabeana who heard the voices too. She spun around, expecting to see something but was only greeted by fog. "I saw something." Anastasia whispered.
"What?" Willabeana asked, stepping in front of Anastasia. "Kaden?"
"No," she responded, "There were two of them."
"Them?" Willabeana asked, unable to keep the fear out of her voice.
"I don't know! It was just shadows that looked like people!"
That did little to comfort Willabeana, who gripped both hands on the sword and stepped forward away from Anastasia. "Stay close to me." Willabeana said.
Anastasia nodded her head, but didn't move closer to Willabeana.
Willabeana moved further into the fog, looking for figures. She gasped when she saw one further ahead, waiting to see if it would move. "Willa!" Anastasia's voice called out.
"Shush!" Willabeana whispered harshly, expecting the figure to move. It didn't though and Willabeana moved closer to it, raising the sword above her head. With one swift movement, Willabeana lunged at the figure, screaming out as the sword hit something hard and stopped in its tracks.
It was a mangled mangrove tree.
Willabeana laughed at her stupidity, turning back to Anastasia.
She couldn't see the younger girl though. Anastasia had vanished into a field of fog.
Jonathan was drenching himself once more in water to combat the heat. Caspian stood back, watching Jonathan and his two other allies sweating bullets due to the humidity. Caspian, from District 4, was used to heat and humidity and was dealing with it better.
"We can't keep stopping." He said at last.
Nicolae looked at Caspian, snorting. District 2 was mostly desert and rocky so heat wasn't a problem for Nicolae, it was the humidity that was the real killer. He agreed with Caspian though, the humidity was slowing the group down. Without a word, Nicolae lead the alliance further into the swamp.
Only five minutes later did they stop once more to strip off their clothes, leaving them in dry suits and boots. They stuffed the clothes in their bags and continued to move. "It's so hot." Jonathan complained for what felt like the thousandth time.
"Shut up." Nicolae growled, before falling into a deep puddle. Nicolae began a string of curse as he lifted himself out of the wet hole, cutting down saw grass in his rage. "This is bullshit! Why would the Gamemakers do this?"
Caspian rolled his eyes. "Sorry the Gamemakers didn't tailor to you're preferred arena."
Auron shot Caspian a look, telling him to stop tempting Nicolae. Nicolae didn't bother to respond though, his eyes instead drifting towards something else. Lights shining through the mist.
Like a fly to a trap, Nicolae began moving towards it. His allies noticed the light too and followed suit, all their weapons raised. As they moved closer to the light, a dark figure emerged with it, surrounded by light. The light was being emitted from torches, which were raised above the water by sticks. They were surrounding a statue who looked to be in agony.
"Cyra." Nicolae breathed, stepping closer to the visage of his fallen ally. The statue was raised on a pedestal, Cyra's chest completely exposed. A long gash ran across it, showing where Kaden has slashed her with his sword. Her face was frozen in a state of horror, mouth open and eyes wide. They could practically hear her screams accompanying the look of horror.
All four of them stood there, unsure of what to say or do. "That's the weirdest shit ever." Jonathan said.
Auron and Caspian gave their ally a look while Nicolae continued to stare at his fallen ally's face. He remembered when he first met Cyra at the Reaping, how he thought so little of her. Over the days between that and the Games, Cyra had proven to Nicolae in her own way that she was a strong contender. 'She would have had a chance if Auron hadn't abandoned her and left her to die!'he thought bitterly.
Auron was thinking the same thing as Nicolae. 'I left her to kill Willow… I failed to do that and it also cost Cyra her life.' He thought. Auron didn't know much about Cyra, she hardly ever spoke, but she had been a perspective ally in the arena who no doubt would have proven herself. 'She'd probably also help alleviate some of the tension.' Auron thought.
"We need to keep moving." Nicolae said, turning back to his allies. He was about to continue speaking when a large figure behind the other's caught his attention. "Behind you!" he screamed, rushing forward with sword drawn.
Auron looked at his ally shocked, spinning around to see a horrifying sight. The creature lunged at him before he had a chance to react, wrapping its body around Auron tightly. Auron screamed and pulled his dagger out, stabbing the creature over and over. The creature hissed harshly and slithered away from Auron, attempting to escape. Nicolae caught up to it though and stabbed it through the back, causing it to squirm and fall over dead.
The Careers moved closer to the creature, weapons raised still. Nicolae kneeled down and turned the creature over, face squinting in disgust at the sight. "The mutts just keep getting weirder and weirder." Nicolae said.
The mutt certainly was weird, an oddly fitting cross between a snake and alligator. Its body was thick and well muscled, though lacked legs and only had arms and a head. Scales ran across the creature, dark colored and clearly meant to help it blend in with the water. Its arms were thin and long enough to grab tributes so it's thick teeth could tear through flesh.
"Snake mutation." Nicolae announced.
"A large snake mutation." Caspian said. The mutt was almost six feet, the size of Nicolae.
Auron moved closer to the mutt, chest still tight from the mutt's body wrapping around him. He opened up the mutts mouth, looking at the fangs. "No poison glands." Auron said. "The teeth are still deadly though."
"Obviously." Nicolae said, standing up. "Grab some of those torches, they can help us with movement through the fog."
"Are you sure about that?" Caspian said. "Reptiles are usually attracted to heat and light."
The fact that Caspian had proposed something against Nicolae's wishes only made it seem like a challenge to Nicolae. He walked forward and grabbed a torch. "We killed this one, we'll kill the rest just as easily."
Silence fell over them again as Jonathan grabbed a torch too. Caspian and Auron refused torches, allowing Jonathan and Nicolae to lead the way as they walked further into the swamp, now prepared for mutts to slither out of the water and saw grass for them.
When Willabeana moved forward to investigate the shadow figures, Anastasia had stayed behind out of fear. The fog at that point began to increase in intensity and soon Willabeana was lost from sight.
"Willa!" Anastasia called out in fear.
A loud "Shush" was heard through the fog, only causing Anastasia to tremble even more. Before long, all sound was gone and Anastasia for the first time in the arena felt utterly alone.
Slowly she began moving forward to find Willabeana. "Willa!" she called out, only to receive silence in return. She continued moving forward, before stopping herself. 'Willabeana will find me! I just need to go back to where I was before!'
Turning around, Anastasia rushed back to where she thought she had been approximately. The fog was so thick she could barely make out her hand when it was extended. She stood in the fog and awaited Willabeana's return. A minute passed and she did not appear. Another minute and Anastasia's was shaking violently. "WILLA!" Anastasia screamed out; voice choking up and tears falling from her face.
'She didn't leave me!' Anastasia thought to herself. 'She's looking for me! She'll be back! She promised she'd keep me safe!'
Another minute passed and Anastasia began to break down. Tears were flowing down her face as her lower lip trembled and sounds of fear escaped her lips. Willabeana had left her; it could be the only reason she hadn't found her. 'I'm just pathetic!' Anastasia wailed internally. 'Why would she help me?'
"Help me."
A single voice cut through Anastasia's despair, bringing her back to reality.
"Help me." The voice repeated, high pitched and feminine.
"Willa!" Anastasia screamed, turning to the direction of voice.
"Help me."
Anastasia shuddered at the voice, realizing that it didn't belong to Willabeana. The voice also sounded like it was getting closer. 'Don't move Anastasia! Willabeana won't be able to find you then!'
'It's getting closer!'
"Help me."
'It's not going to hurt you!'
'YES IT IS! IT'S GOING TO KILL ME!'
"HELP ME!" The voice screamed, causing Anastasia to scream. Without another thought, Anastasia turned and sprinted away into the fog, eager to escape the voice. She ran through water, she ran through saw grass, fear had destroyed any rational thought she might have had on the issue. After a few minutes of running, Anastasia came to a stop when she saw something dangling from a tall, dead looking tree.
It was a woman swaying underneath a large branch, her hair long and messy and her body battered and barely clothed. Anastasia looked in horror as she saw the figure had a vine twisted around her neck like a noose. Anastasia began backing away from the woman until the same voice that was screaming for help came back.
"Cut me down." It said.
Anastasia paused, looking at the hanged woman. The vine was twisted around the tree but was attached to a large root in the ground. Cutting it would release the woman and make her fall into the water below.
"Cut me down." The voice said again, this time more desperate and more like a whimper.
Anastasia looked away for a second, making sure the voice wasn't coming from anywhere else. When she turned back, Anastasia screamed when she saw the woman's head was no longer downcast but in fact staring at Anastasia.
The woman's face was rotting and yellow, eyes dark and red from crying. With slow movement, the woman's leather like lips opened to form words. "Cut me down."
Anastasia screamed again and ran away from the woman, who continued her plea for help as Anastasia retreated into the fog once more.
"That wasn't real!" Anastasia told herself, "That isn't possible!"
She was so distracted by her own thoughts that she tripped over a root and fell into a mud pit. Covered in mud, Anastasia felt utterly defeated and began crying. "WILLA!" she screamed, not expecting an answer. "Please help me! Somebody help me!"
She continued to cry, the cool mud embracing her by the second. She felt like lying there forever, not moving and just drifting off into her own thoughts. She was so lost in her own misery that she didn't even realize that tentacles were popping out from the mud, hovering above her body for a moment before engulfing her.
Anastasia screamed as she felt the tentacles wrap around her body. She struggled to escape but the strength of the tentacles overpowered her and she couldn't escape. They started to drag her into the mud, which covered her entire body and threatened the suffocate her. Anastasia continued to scream before closing her eyes, to tired to continue her fight for survival.
Suddenly the tentacles began to disappear and were replaced by battle cries. Anastasia opened her eyes to see the tentacles gone and now replaced by Willabeana.
"WILLA!" Anastasia screamed, jumping out of the mud to embrace her. Willa back up before she could, holding up her hand to tell Anastasia to stop. "Willa?" Anastasia asked in confusion.
Willabeana backed away, looking suspiciously in every direction. For some reason she looked less tired than she did before, less dirty as well. She was also sword less and was not carrying the pack the girls had gotten from the sponsors. "Willa what's going on?" Anastasia asked.
Before Willabeana could respond, a figure burst from the fog behind Willabeana and charged at her. It wrapped its arms around Willabeana neck and with one mighty twist, snapped it. Willabeana's body crumpled to the ground while her attacker stood there, staring at Anastasia who was screaming in horror at the figure now in front of her.
"Kaden!" Anastasia screamed, before screaming out for Willabeana's death. Her mind wasn't functioning anymore, her thoughts lost and blurred. She stood there screaming and mouth agape as Kaden smiled cruelly and Willabeana lay there dead. Fog appeared once more and consumed the District 10 pair. It disappeared shortly after, Willabeana and Kaden gone with it.
Broken, Anastasia continued to scream and began to run away once more into the fog, fearful of every step she took.
Willabeana had lost Anastasia.
She didn't know how, but she had. Terrified for the young girl, Willabeana ran around in circles, desperately searching for any sign of the younger girl. It didn't make any sense, but the fog seemed to be leading Willabeana in different directions than she wanted to go. Willabeana felt as if her sense of direction had disappeared, her internal compass off course radically.
It wasn't long until Willabeana heard the first scream, a scream she took to be Anastasia's. Without a word, Willabeana took off in the direction of the scream, before another scream sounded off in another direction. Willabeana changed course, only to hear another scream erupt from another direction. Willabeana paused, confusion running through her. "Calm down, Willa!" she said to herself. "The Gamemakers are playing with you."
They had to be, using speaker or jabberjays or something to make Anastasia's screams appear from all directions. It had to be a trick, but Willabeana could still feel the overwhelming and irrational fear overtaking her. 'She's ok Willa! You haven't heard a canon yet!' she thought to herself, hurrying off in the direction that she heard the first scream.
As she was running through shallow water past some tall grass, Willabeana heard Anastasia's scream erupt from the grass next to her, which was followed by something flying out and jumping on Willabeana. Willabeana screamed and threw the creature off of her, stunned to find herself face to face with a monkey. Or a least a mutated monkey. The monkey had no fur, its body black and dry like it had been severally burned. Its eyes were wide and bloodshot, face ravenous and lips foaming with teeth sharp and elongated.
With another scream it launched itself at Willabeana, who slashed at it with her sword and cut it in half. The monkey mutt let out one final high pitched scream before it died, black blood pouring from its body and staining the dark water.
Willabeana looked at the creature in shock, realizing that she had killed something. Even if it was a mutt, the experience was jarring and left her feeling numerous and overwhelming emotions.'Don't do this right now, Willa!' she told herself. 'You still need to find Anastasia!'
Pushing aside her feelings, Willabeana continued moving in a light sprint. It wasn't long before more of the screams sounded and more monkey mutts launched themselves from the grass at Willabeana. Willabeana stopped and turned to fight them, attempting to stab the agile and quick moving creatures. They danced around Willabeana, jumping from mangrove branch to branch, still screaming in their agony voices. Most of them retreated as one of them launched itself at Willabeana, landing on her back and biting into Willabeana's shoulder.
Willabeana screamed, grabbing the monkey mutt and throwing it off of her. She sliced at it but the mutt was quicker and retreated into the grass along with the others. Willabeana collapsed, pain flooding her body. Hurt, though not paralyzed, Willabeana continued to move forward with her guard raised.
More high-pitched screams cut through the fog and Willabeana prepared herself for another fight. She looked in front of her where the grass was moving, raising her sword and ready to attack. The grass parted as a figure appeared, Willabeana with her sword raised ready to attack it. She screamed and ran forward, bringing her sword down on the figure before stopping within milliseconds of touching the figure.
"Anastasia!" Willabeana breathed, looking at the cowering girl she had almost sliced through.
"Is it really you, Willa?" Anastasia screamed, eyes wide with fear.
"I-it's me, sweetie." Willabeana said. Anastasia looked at her with fear, looking everywhere around her too, and then began to hug Willabeana fiercely. Willabeana stood there stunned at herself, how she had almost sliced Anastasia in half.
'The voice of the monkeys… they were emitting Anastasia's scream.' Willabeana realized. 'The Gamemakers wanted it like that… so I would kill Anastasia!'
The realization hurt as Willabeana knew how close she came to doing just that. She hugged Anastasia back tightly, "I'm so sorry, Ana." Willabeana whispered to the younger girl.
"Willa…" Anastasia breathed nervously. "I-I saw something…"
"What?" she asked.
Anastasia stared at her for a few minutes, clearly traumatized by something. "I-"
High pitched screaming was heard again as the mutts prepared another assault. Without a word, Willabeana grabbed Anastasia and lead her away. "Willa you're back!" Anastasia said in shock when she noticed the wound from the mutt.
"It's nothing! Let's go!" Willabeana said, leading Anastasia tightly by the hand away from the mutts.
Within minutes the mutts were on them, flying out of the grass and tees to attack them. The water was luckily only at the girl's ankles, allowing them to move swiftly through the area and fight back. Willabeana fought off the mutts fiercely while Anastasia remained close by, watching in fear as the red eyed mutts flew at them.
The last of the group of mutts fell when Willabeana grabbed it and threw it into the water. The mutt wasn't a good swimmer, struggling in a doggy style like swimming movement to escape to the mangrove trees on the side. Willabeana didn't allow it to escape though, stabbing the sword through the creatures gut with force. The mutt whimpered and went still, expelling blood onto Willabeana as she pulled the sword from the mutt.
Panting, Willabeana stepped back in exhaustion, conscientious of the amount of blood on her. The water below couldn't be used to wash off however, the mutt's blood contaminating it.
"Are you ok?" Anastasia asked.
Willabeana turned to look at Anastasia, a reassuring smile on her face. "I am, just tired." She said. Anastasia nodded in agreement, stepping forward to look at Willabeana's wounds. The mutt bite on her shoulder wasn't big nor deep, a good sign since that would decrease her chance of infection. It was still possible however, especially given their dirty surroundings. Willabeana also had a few other cuts from the monkey's claws, though nothing deep.
"Let's keep moving." Willabeana said. "I'm not sure what direction we're going now, but moving is probably better than staying in one place."
Once more Anastasia looked like she wanted to say something, but kept her mouth shut instead. 'I doubt she'd even believe me, she'd think I was seeing things.' Anastasia thought disheartened.
"There you are."
Willabeana and Anastasia both gasped in shock as they turned to face Kaden. He stood a fair distance away, though his features were clearly definable. His crazed face, a weird mix of sadness and rage, was also very visible. Willabeana stepped forward with her sword raised. "How did you find us?" she shouted at him.
"I heard the screams and followed them!" Kaden shouted back. "I thought Anastasia was in trouble!"
"Well she's not!" Willabeana said, "So you can leave us alone!"
"She's still in trouble though, as long as she's with you." Kaden said.
Willabeana stood there in anger at Kaden's accusation. "She'd be worse off with you! Now get out of here Kaden before I run you through!"
"You're not going to kill me." Kaden said dismissively. "You didn't kill me when you kidnapped Anastasia, you can't do it now either!"
"She didn't kidnap me." Anastasia spoke up in a small voice. "I chose to go."
Kaden looked betrayed, mouth open in shock. "W-what? Why would you do such a thing?"
"B-because I'm afraid." Anastasia managed, unable to add the 'of you' to the end of the sentence.
Kaden didn't pick up on the subtext however, looking shocked at the two of them. "What have you done to her?" he shouted angrily at Willabeana.
"I haven't done anything!" Willabeana shouted back.
"You've messed her up!"
"No, the only one here who is messed up in the head is you, Kaden!" Willabeana shouted back aggressively.
Kaden took a few steps forward and Willabeana raised her sword higher and took an aggressive stance. Kaden noticed this and came to a stop.
"Just leave us alone Kaden!" Willabeana shouted. "Make due by yourself! You don't need Anastasia to go along with you!"
"Don't you get it?" Kaden shouted, face red with anger. "People get hurt because they don't listen to me!"
"Just like with Tianora?" Willabeana spat back, "Did you kill her because she was a bother for you to deal with!"
"I didn't kill her! Tobias did!" Kaden shouted. "I don't do anything wrong, it's always Tobias's fault!"
"Bullshit!" Willabeana shouted. "You're a freak Kaden! A murderous freak who's too much of a coward to admit that he kills people and likes it!"
"I don't-"
"I saw the look on your face when you killed Cyra!" Willabeana screamed, tightening her grip on the sword. "You enjoyed it, slicing her open and watching her bleed out! You sick bastard, did you like it when Tianora died? Did you?"
"SHUT UP!" Kaden roared. "I'M NOT A BAD PERSON! I'M NOT A BAD PERSON!"
"YES YOU ARE!" Willabeana screamed back. "YOU'RE A MONSTER WHO SHOULD BURN IN HELL!"
"NO!" Kaden screamed. "I only wanted to protect her! You don't understand, nobody understands! I'm not a bad person! Dr. Franklin told me I wasn't a bad person! Oliver told me I wasn't a bad person!"
"Oliver…" Willabeana said, shocked to hear his name.
Kaden didn't register her shock; lost in his own mind and memories of pain, saying aloud things only he could fully understand. "He told me not to worry, that everything would be ok! Oliver told me that Dillon wouldn't hurt him! BUT HE DID! HE KILLED HIM! He burned him and branded him and stabbed him over and over again!"
Anastasia and Willabeana stood there stunned at Kaden's meltdown as he cried over his lost friend. "Nobody would do anything about Dillon… THEY JUST LET HIM GO! So I did something… I'm not a bad person and when bad things happened it couldn't have been my fault. But Tobias was a bad person and Dr. Franklin always told me that when bad things happen it was his fault. So I let Tobias beat up Dillon, I let him break his arms and legs and then throw him down the stairs! He fell down the stairs screaming and crying and then Tobias slammed his foot down on Dillon's neck and snapped it! JUST LIKE WHAT TOBIAS DID THAT STUPID GIRL TIANORA!"
Anastasia cried out in horror over her friend's death while Willabeana readied herself for Kaden to attack at any second. "I protected the rest of the children there…" Kaden said. "I told them that I could protect them just like Oliver had. Be their friend just like Oliver was. I can do the same with you Anastasia!"
Kaden began stepping forward while Willabeana forced Anastasia behind her. Kaden saw this and his mood shifted to anger. "FINE!" he roared. "If you're not going to let me protect her than I'm just going to have to kill you before you kill her!"
With a loud battle cry he charged at Willabeana, who pushed Anastasia back and raised her sword to slash at Kaden without hesitation. Kaden saw the move coming and slowed down, raising his arm in defense. The sword sliced lightly across Kaden's forearm arm, his adrenaline and rage keeping the pain at bay. He grabbed Willabeana's sword arm and applied pressure, making Willabeana scream and strike out with her other arm to hit him in the face. Willabeana landed a blow but Kaden powered through it and used his other hand to grab Willabeana around the neck and lift her in the air.
Willabeana dropped her sword as Kaden held her high above the water with only one hand, the other still holding her right arm. Willabeana struggled for breath, feeling light headed as Kaden's grip tightened.
"STOP IT KADEN!" Anastasia screamed, staring in horror at the District partners turned on each other.
Kaden looked at Anastasia with confusion. "Tobias is doing this for you Ana!" he shouted, throwing Willabeana into the water. Free of his grasp, Willabeana struggled to catch her breath before Kaden once more fell on her. Willabeana screamed and struggled to escape, but Kaden was much stronger and easily controlled Willabeana's body.
With one swift motion, Kaden adjusted her hand to grasp the back of Willabeana's head, slamming it down into the murky water to drown Willabeana. After a few seconds he pulled her out of the water and with her remaining oxygen she screamed out. "RUN ANASTASIA!"
Kaden yelled once more and forced Willabeana's head underwater again. She felt the fight escaping her, the lack of oxygen slowing her movements and blacking out her vision. 'This is it Willa…'she thought to herself. 'You did you're best.'
Before it could all end though, Kaden's grip on Willabeana loosened entirely, freeing her from his grasp. Without hesitation, Willabeana brought herself up out of the water and gasped for breath again. She looked around, completely drenched, and saw Kaden laying belly up in the water, moaning in pain. Above him was Anastasia, her hands wrapped around a heavy mangrove branch.
"I'm sorry I wasn't faster!" she said to Willabeana, arms trembling from the weight of the branch.
Willabeana laughed in relief, beginning to cough from the effort. "T-thank you!" she managed to get out in between coughs. Anastasia ran off and began searching through the water, finally finding Willabeana's dropped sword. She handed it back to Willabeana, both girls then looking to Kaden before looking at each other.
There was an unspoken agreement between the two girls, both of them realizing what one of them had to do. Before they could preform the necessary deed though, the water parted in front of them as a new mutt emerged. It was larger than the monkeys, reptilian in nature and in movement. It had the thick body of a snake, along with the fangs and eyes of one. The mutt though had arms and a flatter face than a snake, giving it a human like appearance.
At the same time, Kaden began to stir, eyes opening and stunned to see Willabeana alive. Willabeana grabbed Anastasia's arm, realizing that they would not survive if they stuck around, and sprinted off with her in hand.
"He'll get what he deserves soon." Willabeana said to Anastasia, who silently nodded in agreement. At that moment, another snake mutt burst from the water and slithered towards the girls. Willabeana, beyond fear of the creatures at this point, turned and stabbed it through the chest as it hissed loudly.
Another splash as another snake mutt appeared in front of them, leaping at the girls with fangs out. Both girls side stepped as the mutt flew past them, landing in the water nearby. Willabeana rushed forward and stabbed the creature through the head quickly, struggling a little to remove the sword as more mutts, monkeys and snakes, made their way out of the swamp towards them. The fog had largely lifted, giving the girls plenty of room to see the creatures full, terrifying features.
Seeing an opening, Willabeana and Anastasia dashed away from the mutts further into the swamp into a clearing where the water had largely disappeared and was replaced by solid ground. The fog had lifted as well, leaving only a thin lair of mist. Willabeana turned to make sure than none of the mutts had followed, also realizing that no canon had sounded for Kaden.
'DAMN IT! I should have killed him!' she thought. 'If I did though, we might not have gotten out of there in time!'
Suddenly Anastasia began to scream, directing Willabeana's attention back to her. Had Kaden found them? Were there even worse mutts and creatures waiting for them?
A sole figure stood out from the mist, a young girl with striking blonde hair. In her hands was a shiny curved axe, the words 'Revenge' clearly printed on it. Her face though was the most terrifying aspect, as her eyes lit up with excitement and her mouth formed into a happy, white smile.
"Hello ladies!" Willow Bark said with her trademark demented smile. "Tell me, which one of you wants to die first?"
Next chapter : WILLOW SHOWDOWN!