Chapter Eight: Day Four, Part Two
74th Hunger Games Arena
"J-John… We'll find them… We'll find her…" Marissa said quietly.
But I said nothing and we kept walking. Or limping. We supported each other to keep from falling while also using my serrated sword as a crutch. We had left the sword behind. After she woke up, I told her everything that happened and she did the same.
Her and Glimmer had been washed ashore there and both were alive. They fought over the bow and arrow. Marissa killed her but was stabbed in the stomach with a knife. She also revealed she remembered seeing two faces in the sky last night meaning both Clove and Marvel had died yesterday. The former from Thresh and the latter from the fall.
I killed him.
I killed again.
"J-John…" I glanced at Marissa. Her voice was still hoarse much like mine. She was also paler than normal. Her red hair was a mess. "…If she's-"
"She's still alive! I know she is! And we have to find her before Cato and Rue…" I cried.
"We've been searching for hours now… It's almost night…"
"Just a little bit more… We'll find her…"
"John…" Marissa whispered.
"We'll find her!" I shouted angrily.
But Marissa stopped walking, forcing me to stop too. She sat us both down on a nearby log. I hissed from the pain of my right leg coming back to me all at once. I then felt a hand on my right cheek. I turned to see Marissa taking something from her pocket.
Nightlock berries.
"N-no… No…" I cried. I shook my head in disbelief. I tried to look away but she forced my head back. Finally, I saw the tears in her own green eyes.
"It's almost been a day. Clove is dead. Marvel is dead. Glimmer is dead. Thresh is dead. Cato is still alive. So is Rue. But you didn't see Prim with her. Cato…" I tried to look away but she held my head still. "I-if… If she's gone… That leaves Cato, Rue, you, and I… I'm bleeding out… Your right leg… Rue is a child… If she's gone and we find him instead… We could…"
Quickly, I stood. I hissed again but ignored the pain. I couldn't stop crying. I couldn't stop shaking. I threw the serrated sword down. I looked back at Marissa with anger. But she wasn't scared.
She looked resigned.
"No… No! I can't accept that! I can't! I-I can't accept what I've done! I can't accept that I've killed! That all of that was for nothing! That all of this was for nothing! I can't accept that none of their lives meant anything! That none of our lives mean anything! That someone like Prim or Rue or anyone can just die here! That no one can care! I can't accept sitting here and dying! I can't let her die! I can't… I can't… I can't… I…"
I cried harder than I ever had before.
I fell back down on the log and cried. I felt a pair of arms wrap around my neck. I felt a head lay against my own. I cried. She cried too. For a few minutes, neither of us said anything. Finally, we both stopped crying and held each other. Slowly, I turned my head to look at her. She did the same.
And for a few seconds, I felt her soft lips against mine…
Neither of us spoke again after that happened.
But then I did.
"If… If we don't-" I began.
That's when we heard it.
A scream.
Then a call.
"JOHN!"
Prim.
I grabbed the serrated sword and ran. I ignored Marissa calling after me but heard her get up from behind me. I cussed and hissed, ignoring the complete and utter pain I felt in my right leg. I kept going. I ran. I ran faster than I did before when the game started. I ran faster than when the Career Pack had chased us. I ran faster than I had ever ran in my entire life. Finally, I reached a small clearing and slid to a halt. My eyes widened. My mouth opened. I felt my heart beating out of my chest. I felt my heart actually stop.
Nothing in my entire life could have prepared me for this.
Because right in front of me was a frantic Prim sitting on top of Rue stabbing her with a knife. The same knife I had given her. Over and over again. Her hair was messy and dirty, her eyes were closed but filled with tears, her jacket was gone, and her long sleeve white shirt and pants were stained with dirt and blood. And there was a long slash along her left arm...
I heard someone stop behind me.
But I couldn't move.
But then I did. I ran forward toward Prim and pulled her off the dead girl. She tried to swing the knife at me but I caught her hand. She dropped the knife. She then tried swinging her small fists against me. But I just held her. Finally, she wrapped her arms around my waist and sobbed into my chest.
I closed my eyes.
I didn't say anything.
I didn't let go.
But my heart felt so much heavier than before.
Boy. This was a hard chapter to write. This was an idea I had from very early on. I know the chapters are short but this was always meant to be a very short story. The last two chapters will likely come tomorrow or the day after. I'll probably do a long notes on chapter ten as well to address a number of things about this story and a possible continuation. Anyway, next chapter: Day five. The last day.
