Ugh, sorry for the short chapter. It's kind of a filler, I know..!
The water drips down the side of the cave, and I hear the footsteps coming closer. My whole body trembles because I know I'm in trouble; there's only one way out of this cave and that way is now blocked by another tribute. I cross my fingers, 'please don't let it be a career,' I think desperately. They're always the ones who go out of their way to make a death painful. The footsteps come closer, and my eyes find a shadow on the wall. My heart pounds almost painfully in my chest as I press myself against the wall as if it will somehow make me invisible. He stops dead when he sees me –he's a fairly scrawny, dark haired guy. Someone who, like me, will never have been seen as a serious contender in these Games. I can tell from the look in his eyes that he wasn't following me into this cave. He was probably just searching for a place to hide, like me. I almost think about asking his if he wants to team up, it might give us both a better chance of surviving this. But then the scared look in his eyes morphs into fury and before I know what's happening, his hands have closed round my throat.
Fire, that's all I can feel. It's all I can see in his eyes too. I try desperately to claw his hands away from my neck, but he's cutting off my air. I panic, air gasping in and out of my mouth, but none of it making it down to my lungs. Spots start forming in my vision. I keep... breathing... but it's not... helping... hands searching... My hands find the rock and before I know what I'm doing I bring it down hard as I can onto his head. Then I pass out.
This is when I wake up, scream ripping from my throat. I can still feel his palms on my throat and I have to touch my neck to stop myself yelling, and reassure myself that I'm safe. I can still see the way he looked when I whacked him with that rock. He wasn't expected some skinny little girl to hit him that hard. But my survival instinct had taken over. That's what happens to you in the arena. Noble ideals gone out the window and you just want to stay alive. You have to keep breathing.
I must have gone back to sleep at some point during the night because when I wake up the next morning I don't feel quite as shattered as the night before. But my eyes feel heavy and want to droop shut. Silva however, has other ideas. I think it was her pounding on the door like a maniac that had woken me up and I throw a dirty glance in her direction. Of course, this is slightly wasted seeing as she can't actually see it, but it makes me feel slightly better and I push myself out of bed with a groan. "Ryla!" Damn, this is the rough bark of my mentor; Silva has obviously called for back-up. While I might be able to ignore her, Spark is a different story. I don't have the energy to get into another argument with him so I yell out meekly, "Sorry, I overslept. I'll just get ready and I'll be right out."
"You'd better be," he retorts, and I can hear the anger boiling just beneath the surface, "Because we'll be there in two hours."
My stomach does the strange back flip it always does when I think about home. I force myself to push the worry to the back of my mind, and instead focus on finding something to wear. My fingers scrabble through the wardrobe until I finally find something that isn't sickeningly bright and cheery. I slip into the navy dress, and pull on my leggings from the day before. Then I shove my feet into a pair of boots and wander slightly hesitantly down the hall to face Silva and Spark.
My escort and my mentor glare at me as I walk through the door. Silva normally couldn't care less about anything I do, so I'm surprised she's so annoyed with me. But then I guess it would make her look bad if we arrived back late. If she can't even escort me back home on time then she wouldn't be that great at her job. I'm wondering how she actually got the job in the first place when I realise they're both staring at me. I plonk myself into a seat and pull a plate towards me. "You know the plan for today, right?" Silva demands, narrowing her eyebrows at me.
Ugh, why has she got so authoritative all of a sudden? "Sure," I tell her, "Train station; seeing my family and friends." Again, my stomach twists.
"And photos," Silva reminds me.
"Mmhm, and photos. And then it's dinner at the mayor's house with family and friends. Then back home, right?"
I think Silva agrees with what I've said, but I stop listening to her because I've gone back to worrying about what my homecoming will be like.
I spend the rest of the train journey perched on my bed, biting my nails and trying to prevent myself from thinking. "Ryla!" A voice suddenly echoes through the train, "we've just got into the district." I push myself into an upright position, and suck in a deep breath. Don't be a wimp, I tell myself sternly and stumble to the nearest window.
I watch as the rolling hills and wide open fields of District 11 flash into view.
I'd be very grateful for any reviews. Because I feel quite rejected at the moment :( !
Ta.