6th Chapter – This is not "snakes and ladders"
Forest seems to be sleeping with us, but it's just a fake calmness, danger could hide everywhere, behind bushes or in the wind's blowing; after force fields we can expect anything.
We're all awake now, in silence, Andrew is the only one to fidget, because of tiredness, hunger, and the knees's aching.
I'm trying to focus on instants, second by second, because if the future occurs me, the clamp of anxiety squeezes my stomach, which's already rumbling enough itself.
" What time will it be?" Peeta breaks the silence and my thougths, which is for the best, since I didn't like where they were going.
" Does it really matter?" I did say that Finnick'd have got worse in the arena, so it's better to ignore him and slip back to silence. Silence that is broken up in pieces by a thunderbolt a second after.
" Do we have storms too, now?" Katniss comments with boredom, the storm seems to pass by before starting though, and sighs of frustration is the only thing to be heard between us.
Andrew gets up, attracted by Finnick's trident glittering, so he grabs it, I'm not sure it's a good idea, the last time he did it he found himself about a metre up from the ground.
"Andrew get back here" he's obviously too distracted to hear me, but Finnick doesn't say a word, being too tired and, I guess, too hungry.
"Look how beautiful it is" he seems almost enchanted by that thing as he slues it in his hands.
" yes, it's amazing, now put it back" I tell him in a rush, looking forward to him getting rid of that trident, which he could get hurt with.
For the second time he ignores me, and focuses his look more.
" what's written up here?" he points at the part where the wood and the iron collide, frowning.
" what are you talking about?" what can be written on a trident, the metal alloy? But Finnick stands up in a rush as he feels Andrew's curiosity and seizes the weapon back.
" nothing, the brand I suppose" he nervously seats back where he was. Why being suddenly so upset? What's wrong with that trident? I already found it weird the first time I saw him with that thing, but I've been told that he earned it from his many sponsors,and it's been a huge present for a 14 years old tribute, but everyone seemed to accept that; but now what else might it have more? When I'm about to ask him something, a roar bursts in the dead of night, and I can make sure it's not as poetic as it grow worried, you can never expect anything good here.
"What's going on now?" Peeta asks in vain, no one can really answer him. I hold Andrew against my chest as we all stand up and take a look around.
And then, everything happens in just a second. What was solid below us starst to get oozy, making us sink down.
"out !out! go away! " Katniss calls us back and paves the way to run, we all follow her in a rush, foundering our feet here and there. The muddy puddles seem to widen, we see whole trees being swallowed,not rising to the surface. As I turn around I see Mags and Finnick on the ground, he must be really exhausted, his body can't stand such an effort.
" Peeta" I call him back to give me a hand and help them, and he arrives in a second; I try to pull Mags out, leaving Andrew to Katniss, and Peeta helps finnick out, but this stuff starts to burn on us, and abrades our uniforms,we must hurry up or we won't make it until tomorrow.
I hold Mags' hand and the trident too, trying tu pull her out, but my legs are seriously burning. Meanwhile Katniss holds Andrew in her arms and encourages us to hurry up.
Peeta manages to hold up Finnick for a while, but he can't really do it neither, he has not recovered yet. It all ends up in sharp screams and bones aching.
"Peeta, go!" Finnick pushes him towards Katniss, who helps him and stretches her arm to grab him. We've walked down for less than five metres when the ground slides forcefully down our feet, I hear Finnick groaning behind me and turning around I see him immerged until the waist, trying to keep Mags on his shoulders, but he's only making things worse, the more he moves the more he sinks. Instinctively I grab him by the arm and pull him toward safe ground, and it' s really toilsome since my feet slide down on the slush. I'm not particularly successful, because I can't endure the weight and I tent to go down too.
" Let go of me, you're making it worse!" he rails. Nice as always.
"Shut up and hold the grip" I hiss biting the bullet, trying to cope with pain. Katniss and Peeta are further than us, and it's difficult for them to come back and help us because of the ground, but Andrew has a rope in his hand, taken from who knows where, and he hands it to Katniss, who sets it around a bulky tree. She gazes at me because I'm the closest one.
"Keira, grab it" as the rope comes to me, I tie it around my waist, caring not to lose contact with Finnick and Mags.
"Damn it,Finnick, hold on!" it seems he's going to give up with a weight on the shoulders, it was difficult at the start too, but now it's three times worse with the skin bruised.
"Come on guys!" Peeta yells, moaning for the effort of pulling such a weight. There's no way out of it, we keep sinking, and it's like vacuum-sealed effect, you can not get out. My body's burning everywhere and I feel Finnick's grip weaken.
" Strive a little guys, please! We won't resist much" Peeta keeps screaming, Finnick holds my waist tighter, but it seems useless.
" we can't do better than this" the situation gets solved in ten second, but with a turn for the worse. The weight suddenly unburdens, Mags lets herself slide in the mire, just after caressing Finnick's cheek, who tries in vain to get her back, desperately screaming. His movement just makes us go more under.
"Finnick, Finnick, don't move we're going under!" for a moment his gaze seems scared, but a second after he gives it a try to climb again.
Peeta and Katnis manage to get us out, but we have to go back to running in a rush. Tears are raising in my eyes, that look was heart rending, he must have really loved her. We get to lean a foot on the shore, and luckily the sand stays solid under our exhausted falling bodies.
"Andrew are you ok?" he just stays there, turning the sand over.
"yes.." he's been lucky to remain in Katniss's arms, his body's not bruised nor scorched.
"Thank you Katniss" I tiredly smile at her, I've never thought she could do something like that honestly, I was sure she'd had been focused all on Peeta.
"don't mention it, you saved Peeta" I see Andrew standing up and going towards Finnick, even if he wanted to steal the trident and took a rebuke for that, I wouldn't have the strenght to hold him back.
He just sits next to him though, leaning his head on Finnick's shoulder to comfort him. It brings back the tears I was trying to hold so hardly. Andrew got affectionated to Mags too, and after not even a whole day, he already has to lose someone.
Finnick just roughly caresses him.
"We have to find something to.. drink" Peeta says almost breathless.
" are you able to stand up?" he asks. Katniss is the first one, the she goes help Peeta, who leans on her to support himself. She follows every single little movement to make sure everything is ok.
I step by Andrew, stretching my arms towards him. Before he can make a move in my way, Finnick gets up and holds him up in my place. He notices my confused gaze but he doesn't seem to care at all; altough I have to admit that knowing him closer to Finnick makes me strangely safer.
"I'll do it" he sounds as coincised as always as he goes away leaving me there with nothing to say.
" are you okay" I just ask, he barely nods before starting to walk again.
After some steps, I feel pain rising all over my body, invading me so hardly to make my legs lose strenght.
"What's up?" Peeta steps back and checks me out.
"nothing, I'm fine" I try to get on my feet disguising the grimaces of pain. Everyone seems to believe me and we get down to the way again. The night is softly fading and paving the way to a light flare.
Andrew keeps an eye on me, throwing looks behind Finnick's shoulders, is that how thing are going to go now? He's the one who looks after me?
"Keira are you okay?" he asks me, worried to see me limping a little.
"yeah, honey. Everything's fine"
There's a screech in the air, similar to the sound of an elevator, we all freeze where we are, holding the ear out to catch noises, but in the dark it's so hard to see or hear a few inches distant.
"What is that?" Andrew points at something in the air. We all look up and Katniss starts tossing.
"it must be something coming from Haymitch" we wait for it falling down, but the evening wind makes it get caught on a tree branch. Amazing.
" we have to go get it" Katniss says in a rush, taking off his bow and arrows.
" no Katniss, I'll go, it's fine" I'm less stout than her, and that tree seems quite thick and unstable.
" oh great, look honey this ain't snakes and ladders, we have to be fast" Finnick complains, annoied. It seemed weird to me that he hadn't got in the way yet somehow.
" that's why I'm going, Barbie" I shut him up as I get close to the tree and take off the impediments.
I start climbing in the compact foliage, and I still feel my skin burning everywhere, but I don't care, I must grab that thing no matter what.
"on the right, Keira" Peeta guides me from below, pointing at somewhere higher.
A brunch breaks under my feet, but the tree is so thick that it makes no difference. I stretch out my hand, with the goal in front of me, but something clasps my waist, then my legs and then my entire body. They all seem snakes, twining around me and cutting my breath off. I make an attempt to catch the sword but my arms are tied. I hear Andrew screaming down there, that reminds me I'm not there alone, they're in danger too. With a suffocated scream I try to warn them to get away, brunches are like tentacles and that could hook them too.
"Keira" the sound of Andrew's voice calling me is an indistinct sound, my sight is about to get hazy.
" we need to do something" Katniss' order is the last thing I can almost clearly hear, then I just see Andrew in her arms before it gets dark and whirling around.
I hear Katniss's voice in the my noisy head, far, close and then far again. I try to open the eyelid, which are so heavy, and her voice gets more solid. I feel a weird pressure on my face, but I'm so confused, I can't see or hear decently. Luckily for me my eyes start to clear up and voices are next to me and no longer lost in a limbo. I feel touches on my cheeks, my eyes, my mouth; as I comppletely open my eyes I distinguish Katniss and Peeta's worried faces then I see Finnick, so close to me, and this makes me budge instantly. Andrew literally jumps on me, hugging me so that I can hardly breathe. His eyes full of not shed tears.
"Are you okay?" this phrase has become our motto by now. I hugely smile to him and kiss him on the cheek, sighing.
"What the hell happened?" I ask still dazed. No one answers, they just weirdly gaze at each other.
"Finnick brought you down and reanimated you" Katniss finally decides to spill something. What? Why on earth did he save me? No valid reason comes to my mind. Hang on, the pressure on my face was he reanimating me? Fantastic. I shake my head to get rid of these unpleasent thoughts.
" and that thing.." I don't finish it up that Katniss shows me a weird iron object.
"we found water" she explains me. It can be used to catch water from the inside of trees. Peeta is busy making containers as the cannon fires again.
"I hope it's Brutus and Lady vampire"
" I wouldn't count on it so much if I were you" Katniss answers me. Actually it's more probable that Enobaria had killed someone by biting their head off. She's freaking creepy. Everyone around here is doing something though, but Finnick, who, on the other hand, is absently staring at his trident. I get close to him silentiously.
"Why did you do that?" he just shrugs without meeting my eyes.
"Because if someone has to kill you, that'll be me. And then who would take care of Andrew?that'd be a chore more than saving you" he's holding the grip on 'I'm tough so leave me alone'
" well thank you, even for looking after him"
" don't get used to that. I've already been a babysitter and look how it ended up, I'm not going to try again"
"I'm sorry for Mags, but it's pointless to tell you, cause you'd act scornfully and would get on my nerves, so know that if you need.."
" I don't need anything" he dismisses me with a cold tone, standing up.
" exactly" I slobber to myself.
"time to go, we're too exposed" Katniss and Peeta resum the march, and for the third time I try to grab Andrew but he shakes his head to my face chuckling and goes after Finnick, and pull him by the sleeve. Great, it seems that Andrew found a new love.
" ehi child did you exchange me for a taxi?" Finnick's tone is lighten by the smirk on his face and by the fact he holds him up.
" you're taller than Keira, I can see more things" Andrew tells him while he's climbing on him.
"Fine, but I'll start to get paid now, take this" he hands Andrew the trident that'd have been a hindrance otherwise. Andrew from his point of view sees it as a chore, so he tries to give the weapon to me.
" don't you dare little brat" he cheerfully threatens him, so Andrew snorts and keeps it leaned on the shoulder.
"do you trust a kid more than Keira?" Katniss intervenes some inches ahead, and I can sense her smirk.
" you can bet it" I roll my eyes following the rest of the group.
"Finnick don't be rude" Peeta scowls him without turning around, as a daddy would do.
"She'll forgiv e me if I'm rude since I saved her life" he'll throw that to my face for the rest of my life.
"I'm right here I can hear you. You wanted to kill me, now you saved me. We're even"
"Correction, I still want to kill you, just waiting for the right time" I don't buy it anymore, he could have killed me several times, bu he didn't. it must mean something.
" you're not very believable nor scary with the child hugged to your neck" Katniss points out, he just smiles back ruffling Andrew's I really start to understand the importance of having allies, Ethan was right as always.
A.C:HEre it is, sorry for being late, hope you like it!:D