Chapter 9 Day 1 part III
They had to move. They had to move and quick. Alec tugged at Lydia's sleeve and she nodded in response. They had all heard it. Without the witchlight it wasn't that easy. Their eyes hadn't even adjusted to the renewed darkness. They tried to retreat back into the woods. Alec let himself feel out the trees with an extended hand. He tried to step over the bushes the best he could. They probably should spread out. Whatever the Thing was that was stalking the woods, they had to get away from it as fast as possible. They all had a higher chance of survival if they weren't packed together. Alec went deeper and deeper into the forest. His eyes still weren't adjusting correctly. He hoped that whichever way he was taking would lead him out of the woods. They seemed to have been able to draw a certain amount of distance between themselves and their assailant. He noticed Meliorn wasn't far from him.
Alec concentrated mostly on his sense of hearing. He needed to know if someone else was approaching, which didn't seem to be the case. Little by little, feeling safer, he walked closer to Meliorn. It was tedious, trying to avoid stepping on bushes that seemed to pop up from nowhere. But he was managing. They didn't talk, both understanding they had to be careful. He secured his feather-staff onto his back, in case they had to break into a run.
A few meters further the forest came to an end. Glad to have more light to navigate, Alec felt a bit more at ease. However, what appeared in front of them wasn't flat ground and grass. It was a cornfield; the kind of cornfields that sometimes appeared on the television when there were things happening in district 11. The plants were big and high and way taller than Alec. He extended his hand. The plant felt genuine. The smell, however, was strange.
He let his arm disappear in it as if to check it was indeed a possible way forward. It would require effort not to trample the stalks even though they felt sturdy.
He tried to be careful. Meliorn took another path a bit further away. They advanced slowly. Hopefully the field didn't stretch out for hours and hours of walking. Hopefully they would be out of this field quite soon. His vision was fiercely reduced. He continued walking. He often pushed away the plants to the side so he could clear a path. And then Alec noticed a change, slowly but steadily. The moonlight was treacherous but it was unmistakably clear. The crimson red of his robe was changing. He stopped in his tracks to look down to check the rest of his attire. It was as if indeed the cloak was gradually taking over the same green and mud colour as the plants around him.
It was a camouflaging robe.
He raised his eyebrows. He had never seen this kind of gear before. He had been smart not to get rid of it when he had the chance. He froze. The quietness had died. A small humming sound made its way to his ears. He had to escape, continue further. It drew near, footsteps, the rustling sound of plants being trampled and pushed away was drawing near. It was coming from his right side. He didn't think twice. He started running. Meliorn turned himself toward Alec who was making noise behind him. He followed instantly. Alec was glad he didn't have to shout. It would have given away their positions immediately. The humming became louder and the heavy footsteps that didn't belong to either of them broke into a run. Alec used his renewed adrenaline rush to run even faster. The whipping of the plants against his cheeks was painful, but he couldn't care less. One leaf probably cut him in the process. He felt the ground go slightly more upward. He changed the position of his feet so he could efficiently run faster uphill. He caught up with Meliorn. The humming was becoming stronger. But Alec didn't dare to look behind him. Whatever this was, it didn't mean anything good.
Alec noticed that a bit further to his left, someone else was running. He couldn't see who it was. He couldn't see what. It wasn't Meliorn and it was definitely not the thing that was chasing them. Alec took a turn. He needed to get as far away as possible from both. He started seeing the end of the cornfield.
He wasn't relieved. He just hoped it wouldn't be another forest. The closer he got the more he realised it would have been better if it had been a forest. He was running straight up to a wall.
He took a sharp turn to the left. Meliorn swore as he almost collided with him. But he followed. Alec decided to run parallel to the wall. There had to be an opening. A moment where the wall ended where he would be able to sneak away and move on to another area. He heard the running of what was probably the other tribute that was trying to escape their chaser. His lungs were starting to burn and his legs hurt. He felt his eyes water from the speed of his attempted escape. The humming was undeniably close when suddenly Alec saw an opening in the wall. He halted. His body completely disagreed with being stopped so suddenly. He almost stumbled over. It wasn't a full opening. Fuck. It was a dip in the stone wall but it didn't lead anywhere; He didn't have a choice.
He took Meliorn's forearm and pushed him against the dip in the wall. Alec almost slammed himself against him. He felt Meliorn's lungs be knocked out of air. Alec dipped his head down and raised his cloak. He tried to cover them both completely. His feather staff fell onto the ground. Hopefully the camouflage didn't take too long to take effect. If it didn't work they would both be dead.
The humming became louder and Alec did his best to keep his ragged breathing in. He felt his head ache at the effort and his lungs burn for the need of air. He listened. The running stopped and a groan of effort was heard. An ear-splitting scream wretched his heart. Alec opened his eyes. For the first time in his life he felt goosebumps of fear lock him in place. He almost fainted. He was scared. He was really, really scared. The humming didn't stop. Nor did the cries that followed. It wasn't clear what was happening but the sounds that echoed were those of breaking flesh and wetness. The screaming continued, this time weaker. The humming still continued. Another sound of tearing bones resonated and the crying became whimpering.
There was a rustling of plants as if someone had just picked something up. Alec tensed up as the humming came close, too close. It passed their little hiding place. The heavy footsteps reverberated against the ground. Tendrils of fear were threatening to drown his mind. He listened. He couldn't let go. The whimpers sounded painful and broken. The smell of blood was overt. It lingered in his nostrils even when he heard it walk away, even when he couldn't hear the humming anymore, even when the sound of the canon resonated through the arena. He was locked in place. He didn't dare to move.
"Thank you." Meliorn looked up at Alec as he said it. He sounded as scared as him. He didn't move either and Alec felt their breathing mingle. They were both out of breath and fear induced. Alec expected Meliorn to make a joke about it, but he didn't.
"We should get moving," Alec disengaged their bodies. He rearranged his improvised sheath for his feather-staff on his back and picked it back up.
They both assessed each other for injuries. Alec had indeed been cut in his cheek by one the plants' whipping leaves. For the rest they seemed pretty okay. Meliorn took the lead, senses on alert. Alec made sure he had eyes on their back. They followed the stone wall in hope it would lead them to another part of the arena. It was too high to climb without any rope.
Yet again hours passed. Alec's mind wandered towards what had just transpired. The crumbling house had clearly been a trap set by the gamemakers to lead them toward each other. There was no such thing as resting in the arena. Alec was learning this lesson quite fast. So when they walked, they rarely took a break.
His head started to ache as the time passed. His eyes were heavy as well. He reached for his pocket to get a piece of chocolate. He would probably hate sweets before he made it out of the arena.
Meliorn halted. The sound of conversation was reaching them. He took out his knife and Alec readied his staff. Two tributes were approaching a bit further away. The corn plants were getting pushed aside. Alec recognised the voices immediately. This could go both ways. Either he talked and there was a risk of getting a knife to his head or he incapacitated them both. A combination of the two seemed more secure. He gestured to Meliorn to stay where he was.
He evaluated where they were. He walked as soundlessly as possible to their level. He was surprised he hadn't yet been spotted. Until he understood that one of them was injured.
"You're being too loud," he commented. As soon as he said it Lydia dropped Kaelie on the ground and she attacked him with her staff.
Alec blocked the first and second blow. He didn't expect Lydia to start using her feet so he got a knee to the stomach. Ouch. He almost doubled over. He managed to dodge her vertical lethal attack on his head. She was fast. But he noticed that she wasn't stopping even though she had understood it was him. He dodged the next three attacks. He didn't use the point of his feather-staff. He didn't actually want to hurt her. But doubt was sowed in his head as Lydia didn't seem to keep her blows back. He countered the next series of blows. He turned his weapon around and started to attack her with the blunt side. Her reaction time was equal to his. She almost had him cornered against the wall until he finally decided to break away from the fight. He ducked and rolled over behind her. She swept him off his feet. Alec stumbled onto the ground face first. He kept his staff in front of him to block any other blows she was going to throw at him. She didn't.
"Don't' startle me again Alec, I could have killed you." She stood over him. He would have laughed, hadn't he just been bested by her in combat. She had clearly been letting off some steam. She extended a hand and helped him back up. He still felt sore to his stomach.
"Are you guys alright ?" He asked. Lydia shrugged at his question.
"Kaelie twisted her ankle. I couldn't leave her behind. You ?" They made their way back to where their allies were supposed to be. She told him they hadn't been able to take a look at the humming assailant either.
"We came close to the thing chasing us. But we managed to hide. It killed someone else instead." She nodded in acknowledgement.
Meliorn had dragged Kaelie out of the cornfield to make her rest against the wall. She didn't look particularly weakened. Maybe a little pissed off ? It was hard to see in this darkness.
"You guys haven't killed each other yet ?" She sounded annoyed. As he approached, Meliorn asked her what happened. "Tripped over a root," she answered. "But I'll be okay. It just needs some rest or something. I already twisted my sash around it for more support." She was gesturing toward her foot.
Alec took out the witchlight and they all collectively groaned at its bright light. He extended it to Lydia. "Come, I'll help you up," he said. He hoisted Kaelie up. She weighed more than he expected. She grunted in discontent, probably hating that she was encumbering them. Alec would have felt the same, which is why he had proposed to be her support.
They put themselves in motion. Lydia took the lead, then Alec with Kaelie, and Meliorn kept his eyes on the back. There was a comment that it was still dark out there. They all wished dawn would break soon but their wishes stayed unanswered. When the wall finally stopped, they were left with a choice: to continue the way they had been going, or to go to the path upwards from the opening in the wall. They took a break to eat, but not to rest. Alec felt his joints and muscles ache. His stamina usually kept up but his headache was starting to seriously inconvenience him even more.
They agreed to go upwards. The cornfield made it hard to anticipate any possible ambush. Right when Alec was going to pick Kaelie up again he was stopped by Lydia. She was extending her bottle of water to him. He tried not to look as baffled as he felt. He didn't know how to react and she gave him a knowing look that she wouldn't let him refuse. He mechanically reached for it, uncapped it and drank. One swallow. He wouldn't take more than he needed.
"Keep it," she said. "You lost yours during the house collapse."
He looked at her. He had indeed lost a bottle when he had almost crash-landed in the house. He hadn't said anything about it but she had noticed it. He knew better than to refuse. But he didn't wave it off. Sharing water was something that had meaning in district 2. It was a sign of friendship, care, but most importantly it was a sign of trust. He didn't know if it was a good idea. If she really meant it. If it was ploy for her to then backstab him later. But somewhere in his heart he knew. It was a promise of an alliance that would stay until the end. He wasn't sure if he deserved that yet. They didn't speak of it either. It was a silent, wordless promise, like a lot of things in district 2.
The pathway up wasn't steep. In the earth irregular cobblestones started to appear, which made walking easier. Alec felt Kaelie trying to walk as much as she could on her own so he let her. She wasn't complaining even though he could feel her wince. He admired her willpower. She still had energy to spare.
It didn't take long for them to understand what they were walking up to. In the distance the shape of a two floor house was drawing itself against the moonlight. Another set of trees was circling it as if to make sure that any escape would be slowed down. Yet again Alec felt like they were walking right into a trap. And yet again they decided to go up that way regardless.
It was a bad idea and they probably would regret it later.
