Chapter 12
Farley, Ezra, Cleo, and I all have our backs pressed together as the three Careers inch in closer like a pack of wild animals circling their prey. They kind of remind me of the big white wolves I fought not too long ago.
"Ok, here's the plan. As soon as they pounce, go fucking mental and don't let them overpower you, understood?! I'm not about to be fresh meat!" Cleo aggressively whispers to us. Thanks for the boost of confidence there, Cleo. Great plan, too.
As they continue to back us into a corner we start to pull out our weapons, which is all they needed because before we know it they are charging at us at full speed. I take out my crossbow and use it to guard myself as the boy from District 2 tries to swing at me with his axe. It's made entirely out of metal, so it holds up very well against his weapon.
As he's busy trying to swing at me with the axe, I kick him right in the ribcage, sending him stumbling back the other way. I then use the butt of my crossbow to knock the axe out of his hand and into the snow beneath us. He hasn't given up just yet, as then he charges at me ready to throw a punch, not even giving me time to retrieve an arrow from my quiver.
I notice something on his hands as he comes at me. He seems to have on gloves dawned with sharp claws on the knuckles. I can't deflect with my hands, so I use my crossbow as a shield again and knock his fist back. He tries to swing with his other fist, but I'm too quick and knock that one back too.
I can't keep defending like this forever. If I take my eyes off of him for a second, he could drive those claws right into my gut and that would be the end of me. I need to come up with some sort of plan to get this kid out of my hair. I think for a bit while fending off his attacks, and then it comes to me. I'll move out of the way of his attacks, and then hit him over the head with my crossbow. The only problem there is I'm leaving my upper body completely exposed, so he could drive his claws right into me if he's quick enough. Even so, it's a chance I just have to take.
I put my plan into motion and stagger back from his attacks. He looks at me confused for a second, and I use this opening to charge back at him. I then slam him over the head with my crossbow just as he manages to jab the side of my right leg with his claws, and I reflexively grip my leg in pain. Luckily, I was successful in knocking him out, as he falls to the ground almost immediately.
There is only one thing left to do now. Ignoring the pain in my leg, I take my crossbow, load it with an arrow, and shoot him right in the heart. A cannon then goes off in the distance.
I look around to see how everyone else is doing. Cleo and Farley are both taking on the girl from District 2 while Ezra is fending off the boy from District 4. The District 2 girl keeps Farley and Cleo at bay with a mace while the District 4 boy is going to town with his trident. I remember one of the past victors being very good with a trident, and I think he was from District 4 as well.
What happens next seems to go in slow motion. I go to help Ezra as it seems like he needs the most help. Ezra turns around and smiles when he sees me coming. The District 4 boy sees this as an opening and prepares to attack.
"Ezra! Look out!" I scream, but I didn't get to him in time. The District 4 boy digs his trident right into Ezra, and he falls to the ground immediately as a cannon goes off, signifying his death.
I waste no time going after the District 4 boy with my crossbow in anger, and shoot an arrow at his head. He dodges and runs after me with his trident. I also dodge his attack, and he runs his weapon into a nearby tree.
Just as I am about to take him off guard as he pulls his weapon out of the tree, the District 2 girl throws a knife at me. It just misses my face as I look back at her in alarm. Somehow she was able to break free of Farley and Cleo's attacks, as she is now charging straight at me.
This gives the District 4 boy time to retrieve his weapon, and before I know it they're both gaining on me. I shoot at them, but they're quick to dodge my arrows.
Cleo and Farley both come to my rescue, giving both Careers a distraction so I can get my head back in the game. I then join them in fending off the two tributes.
Now that I am getting a closer look, I see that both of them are also wearing the claw gloves that the District 2 boy had on. Where did they find all of these gloves? I have never seen them used by any tribute in all of my years of watching the Hunger Games.
As the three of us try to fight the two Careers off, the District 2 girl manages to bend Cleo's spear in half with her claws, and drives her mace right into Cleo's throat. She falls to the ground as a cannon goes off in the distance.
"Cleo!" Farley and I both exclaim as we watch the District 2 girl kill her.
"Looks like your friend wasn't quick enough" the District 2 girl says as an evil smirk makes its way onto her face.
I go after her and manage to tackle her to the ground. We then wrestle for dominance in the snow as the District 4 boy goes after Farley with his trident.
As we wrestle, the District 2 girl manages to get ontop of me, trapping me in a straddle. She notices the wound on my leg left by the boy from her district, and digs her nails into it. I cry out in pain as she tightens her grip.
"I watched you kill Jeweliana during the Bloodbath" she tells me. Jeweliana. That must be the girl from District 1.
"You must be wondering how we found you. You thought we wouldn't notice one of our own laying dead in the snow?" she asks. As I try to focus on her rather than the searing pain in my leg, I put the puzzle pieces together. She must think that we killed the District 4 girl.
"We didn't kill her" I say as she pulls another knife out of her belt and laughs.
"Right, and I'm president of Panem. This little resistance was cute while it lasted, but now it's a tad boring. I thought you were a threat before, but seeing you underneath me now lets me see what you really are. You're just a little girl with no meat on her bones. How you haven't died yet is beyond me, but I'm about to put an end to your little games right here, right now."
Just as she gets ready to slit my throat, I see Farley making his way over to us in my peripheral vision.
"Leave her alone!" he calls out behind us, and the District 2 girl turns over to look at him.
"Farley, no! STAY AWAY!" I call out, but it is too late. Both the District 2 girl and District 4 boy are on him in a matter of seconds, and drive their weapons inside of his skin. I cry out as I watch him fall to the ground, blood spilling out of his wounds into the snow.
I shove both Careers out of the way and make my way over to Farley. I take him in my arms as he looks up at me with the last bit of strength he has left. The Careers are about to intervene, but then look behind them and retreat. I don't know what they were running away from, but at this point I don't care. All I care about in this moment is Farley.
"So this is the end, huh?" Farley asks as he looks at me. I don't even know what to say to him, as his fate is inevitable.
"Farley, please stay with me, you've gotta stay with me!" I say, even though I know in my heart that his injuries are too severe for him to be saved.
"Listen, Rina. It's ok. Just, promise me something" he says.
"What is it? Tell me" I say, and a smile breaks out on his face.
"Promise me that you will win this thing and go home, for all of us. I'm sure Cleo and Ezra would want the same thing" he says, and I take his hand in mine. I look out at Cleo and Ezra's lifeless bodies, and a pain erupts in my heart. I then look back at Farley as a lump makes its way into my throat.
"I will. I promise, Farley" I say. My vision goes blurry as tears start to spring in my eyes. Farley brings his hand up to wipe one that has already fallen down my face.
"It's ok, Rina. This was inevitable. H-hey, do you want to know what I was going to say to you that time? When we were talking before the ambush?" he asks as he coughs up blood.
"What was it?" I ask as I wipe the blood from his chin.
"I-I…...I love you, Katerina."
I look at him shocked, and tears start falling from my eyes at a breakneck pace. I hold him a bit tighter as I watch the life drain from his eyes.
Farley then reaches up to touch my face once again. "Heh, did you know that your hair glows in the sunlight?" he says, and then his hand drops back down his side, quickly followed by a cannon going off in the distance. All I can do is hold him and cry as soon as the cannon goes off. This is why you don't get attached to the other tributes.
"What happened here?" I hear a voice behind me ask. I turn around to see who it could be with tear tracks now staining my face.
I then come face-to-face with Wyatt, who has an amused look on his face. This must be what caused the other Careers to retreat. How long had he been standing there watching me?
I rest Farley on his back, pick up my crossbow, and stand up to face him properly with a glare on my face. I don't plan on breaking the promise I just made to Farley. Not to Wyatt, or any of the remaining tributes. I don't care how big and scary he is.
"So are we going to do this thing, or what?" I spit at him, newfound hatred making its way into my heart.
"Woah, short stuff. Easy there" Wyatt mocks as he feigns being scared of me.
"Don't play with me, as I guarantee you will not like the result" I say, and a coy grin makes its way onto his face.
"Feisty. I like it. You'll be a tasty one" he says, and I immediately want to throw up.
"I saw what you did to that District 3 girl. Hell, you probably did the same thing to every girl you've killed so far. I do not plan on having the same fate" I say with venom in my voice. Might as well let him know I'm not oblivious to his methods.
An evil grin forms on his face as his tongue comes out to lick his lips. "Know all my dirty secrets, do you? We'll see about that. Let's begin, shall we?" He then pulls his sword out of his belt.
I don't waste any time shooting an arrow at him. He dodges and runs towards me. I roll out of the way and run in the other direction. I honestly didn't plan on having a run-in with Wyatt right now, even though we had discussed the probability while formulating our plan, and I definitely wasn't ready to take him on right this second. I won't last very long going hand-to-hand with him, given he's an over 200-pound monster and I'm a little fishbone. I can't let him get his hands on me, and he knows it, so what I have to do is find a crafty way to retreat, and regroup now that I have no allies.
I shimmy my way up a nearby tree. Wyatt runs straight over and starts to shake it vigorously. "You can't stay up there forever! Evergreens aren't the best trees for climbing, mousey!" I want to gag at the nickname, but I swallow my pride and just focus on not falling.
While keeping a steady balance, I manage to leap into the tree next to me, and then continue leaping from tree to tree. Whether he'd admit it or not, Wyatt definitely is having a hard time keeping up with me now. If I keep this up then maybe I can lose him.
As I jump over to another tree, I lose my footing and almost slip right down into Wyatt. I grab onto a branch just as I am about to fall and hold on for dear life as I steady my feet. Wyatt sees this as an opportunity to strike a blow, as I then feel his sword pierce through my boot and into my left foot. I bite back the agonizing pain now consuming my foot, and launch myself onto the other tree.
I then get my momentum back and keep jumping. I look behind me to see that Wyatt is now uselessly trailing behind me. Feeling comfortable with the amount of distance between us, I slide off the tree and sprint like my life depends on it. The cold snow under my feet luckily eases some of the pain of the gash in my foot, which is all of the relief I need to keep going.
I find a convenient little hollow in the ground and basically swan dive inside, hoping to hide myself in case Wyatt somehow managed to follow me here. Then again, running with a bleeding foot probably didn't do much for me when it comes to covering my tracks. Shit, that was stupid I think as I mentally facepalm.
As I sit down to catch my breath, I look around me and see that this dip in the ground is more like a little cave. I mean, caves are usually bigger, but it serves as a good hideout to utilize for now. I then drink some water I scooped up before breakfast this morning to hydrate myself and soothe the dull ache in my head. I then realize how little water I've drank these past few days. Note to self, drink more water.
Now that my adrenaline has stopped pumping, searing pain returns to both my leg and my foot. I look to where the District 2 boy clawed me earlier to see that the whole right side of my pants is now stained with blood. The wound is probably all infected now, too, seeing as the District 2 girl dug her dirty fingernails into it. I then look down at my foot to see a little puddle of blood forming at the bottom of my now sliced boot. I start to panic thinking about all of the blood I could have lost already, and hoist myself up to stand.
I stumble over to the slim opening of the hollow to try and scoop some snow to put on my injuries, but the pain in my left foot is so bad I can barely move it. I place my hands on the edge of the opening to steady myself, as my good leg starts to wobble from exhaustion.
The tears start coming before I can try and stop them. I just stand there and cry for what seems like hours. I cry from physical pain, emotional pain, fatigue, and homesickness. I have never felt so hopeless and scared in my life.
I told myself I was going to be strong and power through until the end, but at this point it is getting difficult. Cleo, Ezra, and Farley are dead because of me, the Careers are still out there, and Wyatt could still be hunting me down right now. I think of Mulvain, who is probably watching me openly bawl like a baby right now. He's probably so disappointed in me.
I think of my family, who I promised I would come back to no matter what. My eyes drift down to my neck where my silver locket rests. I open it up and look at the pictures inside. Grammy, Grampy, and Petra look so happy as they hug in this picture. Cress and Bil seem to be in the middle of talking about something really funny, as they are playfully slapping each other on the shoulders with huge grins on their faces. Mommy and Daddy are looking at each other with small smiles on their faces as they hold hands. My vision starts to blur again, and I close the locket and hold it close to my heart.
As I'm trying to collect myself, I hear what sounds like a footstep right outside of my hollow. My heartrate starts to pick up again in fear that Wyatt has found me, and is ready to tear me apart. I hesitantly look out to see what it is when I spot a parachute not far from my reach. I quickly grab it and start working on getting the container open, causing me to almost fall onto my bad foot.
I pull out a little tin of some sort of ointment. I try and work out what it could be used for when my eyes catch sight of the trail of blood left by my foot. A light bulb then goes off in my head. This must be medicine for my injuries. I stumble back over to my initial resting place, sit down, and rip my left boot and sock off.
I apply the ointment to the wound on my foot, and sure enough the pain fades almost immediately. I give a sigh of relief while thanking Mulvain silently in my head for the incredible gift. I get up again, pull down the right side of my pants, and apply some to the claw wound on my leg which is now burning with infection. I walk back over to the entrance of the hollow and scoop up some snow to ice the wounds with.
I sit back down and pull out my wooly blanket from my backpack. I didn't even notice the sun go down. Today's events have left me absolutely shattered, and this hollow is as good a place as any to get some sleep. I drift into a restless sleep filled with nightmares of Wyatt and my allies getting killed as Cleo, Ezra, and Farley's faces illuminate the sky above my head…
Part 3: The Climax
