A/N: As you know…I own very little :-)
Chapter Twenty-One: Alone
I wanted to think that everything was okay and that this was simply a continuation of the dream, but after time and time again of calling out their names…sometimes to the point of hysteria….I knew they were gone. And I felt an incredible amount of guilt at first before I realized that this must have been some sort of act from the Capitol…not me. But had I not pushed to get them to keep going, perhaps they would be still alive.
However, at that moment, I was worried for my own life, as well. Quickly, this deadly substance, which surely wasn't water…was filling up the room and if I wasn't swift in my thinking…I would be in the same boat as Lani and Capri. I tried making makeshift boats out of the few tree limbs I had, but upon contact with the water, they either sizzled to destruction or fell apart upon contact.
It wasn't until several minutes later that I remembered what I had in my backpack. The object that I had laughed at.
Rubber-like shoes that had absolutely no use. Until now.
I pulled them out of the backpack before running over to the edge of the garden and while still keeping a grip on the edge of it, I slid the rubber shoe into the glowing water, which was now roughly ankle deep. To my surprise, the shoes were unharmed…as if they were made for such a substance. I let out a deep breath, realizing what I was about to do may have been one of the stupidest things I had ever done.
Slowly, I pulled my shoes that I had been wearing for the whole length of the Games off of my feet and slid the very stretchy and strange rubber shoes onto my feet. Almost immediately, they clutched onto my skin as I stretched them farther up my leg. I rolled up my pant legs and pulled the shoes nearly up to my knees, figuring this would give me plenty of time to plunge through the courtyard to find a way out of here.
Exhaling again, I stood up, slung my backpack over my shoulder and then moved to the edge of the platform I was on. I stepped down hesitantly into the water, feeling a tingle underneath my feet as I did so.
Before finding my exit, I moved over to where Capri and Lani were lying one last time. If the Capitol wanted their bodies, they would have to come and get them themselves because for one, I couldn't carry them and secondly, that was a courtesy from me that the Capitol, quite frankly, did not deserve.
After becoming familiar with the extremely dangerous liquid underneath my feet, I meandered over to where they were and turned over Capri first. The light-haired girl had been good-humored and faithful for the most part. Though I hadn't known her for long, after days of being forced to live with one another…it felt as though I had known her for ages. Seeing her flesh, eaten away at by the liquid, completely exposed was a gruesome sight. Mentally, I would remember her spirit forever and realize that the manner in which she died may not have been honorable, but her life certainly was joyous and to be remembered. I hope her family knew the same thing…
Then, I moved on to Lani, who between the two, I had been closer to. Her dark hair was the only thing left that made her distinguishable from Capri. She, too, was someone whom I felt like I had known for ages, but I suppose the Hunger Games does this to alliances, forces them to become stronger because they literally depend upon one another in order to survive. She was a little more serious, but I would never forget her last words ensuring me that she would keep a look out. I had told her the same, but…failed miserably.
My only problem with this situation was why weren't there any signs of struggle? They were still in a sleeping position until I turned them over…sure their eyes, or what was left of them, were wide open, but other than that one could mistake that they were still asleep. Without being too graphic, how could one simply sit and watch as they drowned in a burning liquid to their death? Wouldn't they at least try to move?
The sound of the liquid spilling from the fountain reminded me that I was on a time crunch as well.
"Goodbye, Lani and Capri," I muttered under my breath, knowing I couldn't let them see me fall apart any farther.
I swallowed and turned away, looking to all angles as to my own escape. The holes in the ceiling looked promising, but the only downfall was how high up they were. They appeared large enough to fit myself through…but it wouldn't be an easy climb getting up there. I looked back to the original entrance we had came through, the tiny one, to see that it had closed…interestingly enough.
After walking all through the courtyard, searching up and down, I found that the holes in the ceiling were going to be my only way out. I didn't know where they led to, but anywhere was better than here were the liquid was nearly to my lower calf already. Keeping a tight grasp on my backpack, I approached one of the trees directly underneath the hole and took a deep breath in before placing my foot on one of its lowest branches.
I got into a sequence of shifting from branch to branch, being sure not to step on one that would collapse under my weight. Some of the shifts were a little…dangerous to say the least, but I made sure to not do anything too completely stupid. Periodically, I would look back to see the liquid rising at an even quicker rate. They must have really wanted me out of there.
In fact, it wasn't until I reached the very top of the tree that I made an error nearly lethal. I stepped on a branch that clearly couldn't carry much weight at all, however, I hadn't looked before stepping…I was much too focused on how close I was to my departure. This one little mishap, not only sent my heart into pure panic, but also left my leg badly scrapped from the trees around and sent me falling back several branches. The progress I had made was forgotten as I crash landed against one of the branches a ways back. I hit with a loud thud and as if the situation couldn't be any worse, I no longer felt my backpack upon my back. In the fall, it must have gotten caught somewhere for it was no longer with me. I bit down hard on my lip to fight the pain from falling. A glance down at the liquid rising kept my spirit strong and pushed me to stand back up and reach that top of the tree before the liquids below did.
After many long, painful moments, I was back at the canopy, this time extremely careful of my footing. Hard work must pay off because after several tries of positioning myself in the correct manner through the decent-sized hole…I found that I was out of the courtyard and pulling myself back into what appeared to be…the labyrinth.
Not that I was hoping for anything else but…okay I was hoping for something else.
After pulling my upper body through the opening, I slid my legs through, careful of the wound on my leg. Just as I was reaching for the wall of the labyrinth for support to stand up, my eyes met the tip of an arrow, sitting perched and aimed in feminine hands upon a bow. Blinking several times and daring not to move, I glanced up to see a badly battered Lila standing behind the bow, smirking wildly at her newest find.
"Well, well, well," She said under her breath. "Looks like the grand finale has come upon us."
I smiled to try and break the tension," Grand finale, eh? You killed the other kids? Flux?"
Her smile disappeared," Not Flux…you didn't actually think I'd take out him before you, now did you?"
"You'd take out him, eh?" I challenged, raising my brow. " I thought you two were a joint package. Surely, you would never kill him. You're much too fond of each other."
For a brief moment, she lowered the bow as she scrutinized me," Someone has to win, Savera. And speaking of being fond of someone, where are your two buddies? We heard the canon, but have yet to see the bodies…"
I looked at her for a long hard moment," I did not kill them."
"Really? They…died on their own?" She asked, completely not believing a word I had to say.
"I swear, it was natural causes. There's something in that water down there that-"
Lila literally laughed out loud at this, dropping her bow down completely. I rolled my eyes before sitting my back against the wall of the labyrinth, thinking of just how I was to get myself out of this situation.
"In the water down there? You come climbing out of holes in the maze, alone, then pop back up and say you're alone because the hole killed your accomplices," She barked, still chuckling slightly. "Why don't you just say you needed to get rid of them one way or another?"
"You're completely ridiculous," I scoffed back at her, observing her stance very carefully. She seemed to be a little less, aggressive when she was speaking to me. If only I could keep her in conversation, then I could maybe position myself at a better angle. Anything helped, seeing that I had no weapon and she had the potential to kill me right there. "But since we're on the topic…do tell me, when you kill me…how are you and Flux planning on working out the whole victor dilemma?"
She narrowed her eyes at me," Why should I tell you anything?"
I shrugged nonchalantly," I only asked out of curiosity…I mean, I'm good as dead anyways, right?"
For a moment, I thought she was going to stay silent and any hope I had of talking my way out of this situation was to be lost. Just as I had given up hope, I heard her speak," Flux doesn't know this yet, but…I trust myself much more than I trust him."
"Don't we all?" I smirked, and actually got a smile out of her, as well.
"Until recently, I questioned if he ever even cared about me or if I was simply just an accessory to help him achieve his glory because lets be honest Savera…are any of us even competitors to him? He was born to win these Games and the rest of us are just pawns in his path to victor," She told me plainly and I could see her point clearly. In fact, I thought the same thing for the longest time.
"Not if we don't choose to be, Lila," I said to her, honestly. "If we choose to be losers, then we are, but…a different mindset could change the outcome."
A smile played on her lips," Ah, so you understand a thought process I've had before then."
"We aren't so different, Lila," I said friendly to her, liking how this conversation was going over.
She laughed again at this, but I wasn't so sure it was a humor-filled laugh," I wouldn't say that Savera…in fact, there are plenty of things that make us different from one another. You see, even though I doubt my ally, I still have one which is something you currently do not have. Another thing that makes us different is that, you might actually could act on that thought process that we both have shared at one point, but there is a little detail that would prevent me from ever laying a finger on Flux. I've accepted my fate Savera…my thought process is merely…wistful thinking, if you will, while for you it still could be a possibility. I've accepted that I'm to be killed by Flux. Sure, I would love to think that I could choose not to be a loser to him, but why would I do that to someone who…"
She trailed off, staring off into space. Just when I had liked where the conversation was going, it seemed to take a turn for the worst. I tried saying her name a couple of times, but both times she waved me off as she stared into space. I took advantage of the moment to rise to my feet, but just as soon as I had, another voice entered the picture.
A/N: The next chapter is up! Go, go, go! Just a question: who's the voice? :D
