She crawled through the forest, clenching her teeth to keep from whimpering. She leaned up against a tree, tears filling her eyes. For the first time, she looked at the gaping slash on her thigh. It was bright red and the blood around it had dried to a sickening brown color. She couldn't remember how it had happened - only running away and the pain. She remembered the cold, green eyes of the girl who had done it, her teammate, her ally, the pretty young District One girl she had trusted. And she remembered the sapphires and the cobalt crystals emblazoned in the handle of the weapon. Not the length or the blade. Flashing through her mind she could only see the jewels on the weapon, the ladylike, unscarred hands of the girl who held it.
She squeezed her eyes shut and cupped her hand over her mouth, one loud sob escaping from her lips. She heard leaves crunch beneath someone's foot, perhaps a long way away, but Becke just let the tears drop to the ground, washing over the wound. The salt stung and she drew back, shaking. She placed her hands together in front of her and closed her eyes. "Oh, Lord, of the sea and of all things living, please take mercy-" she drew in a ragged breath and tears dropped down her cheeks."-Oh, Lord, I don't want to die. Not now, not here," she breathed.
The crunching of the leaves got closer as Becke buried her face in her knees. "Are you praying to your sea god?" the blonde girl sneered, swinging a sword in her hand. The blue gemstones caught the light seeping through the trees and danced bright shadows on the ground. "Or your fish god?"
Becke shot her head up and whimpered, pressing her back into the bark of the oak tree. "W-we only have one g-god in Four," she stuttered, wiping a tear from her eyes. "They t-tell us about Him in the c-career training centers."
"You're not a Career," the girl remarked. "You're a pathetic excuse for a Four girl." Laughing to herself, she ran a finger down the length of the blade, nonchalant, as if the blood flowing down her finger wasn't an object of pain in the slightest.
"I-I was born and r-raised as a career," Becke retorted, but the girl laughed at her. She set her jaw and clenched her fists. "Stop it, Hadley. You're barely a Career girl yourself," she seethed.
Hadley raised her eyebrows, somewhat humored by Becke's remark. "I have been a career for seventeen years," she said, standing up straighter, looking dignified. "But you will never be one."
Becke didn't have the energy to shout back. She just scrambled to her feet and ran as fast as she could, squealing from the pain every step. She fell a few seconds later, clutching her leg in pain. "You are pathetic." Hadley chortled and raised her sword. "And I don't much like pathetic people."
Becke tried to scream but her breath was caught in her throat. She tried to crawl away but all she could do was place a hand over the gash on her thigh. She tried to pray but her hands felt frozen in place. She felt helpless and she knew she was going to die. "Please," she breathed, her eyes red and her cheeks stained with tears.
Hadley stood motionless in front of her, sword just inches from the girl's throat. She stuck it in the ground behind her and knelt in front of Becke. "Actually, I think the rest of the alliance might like to watch this spectacle," she said with a smile. She gestured for Becke to climb to her feet.
Becke stood quickly, looking up at Hadley, baffled. "I-I don't understand," she said quietly, hastily wiping tears from her eyes. She was stained with dirt and blood and tears. She felt like a beggar, not the rich girl she was back in District Four.
"Cass and Fleur and Julienne want to watch you die. How can you not understand?" spat Hadley. "It's so simple, you religious imbecile." Hadley's cold words stung across her face but Becke said nothing more, just pursed her lips and stood in reluctant silence.
They walked slowly through the woods, Becke limping, and Hadley's fingernails digging into her captive's shoulder. When they reached the edge of the meadow, Becke glanced back at the girl. Her face was blank, no emotion flashing across it. For a moment, Hadley gazed up into the sky through the leaves, no longer looking at Becke.
Becke turned rapidly, clawing at the girl's pristine, unscarred face. Hadley growled and kicked forward, but Becke was already darting towards the clearing. Her leg burned with every step she took, and even as she willed herself to run through the pain, she knew she was going to fall. The blonde girl drew her sword and chased after Becke full-speed. The smaller girl knew she had three seconds before she, half-limping, would be overtaken.
She mouthed the numbers silently - three, two, one - and braced herself. As soon as one formed on her lips, she glanced behind her to see a pair of angry green eyes and a glinting sword blade. She didn't feel it, not at first, but she saw the blood trickling down her side as she glanced down.
Hadley smiled. "I've always hated you," she said softly. Becke clutched her side, tears filling her eyes. It would start to hurt soon, and she would double over screaming in pain until she bled out.
Slowly, Becke stepped backwards, her hands shaking and tears filling her eyes. She let out a muffled cry of pain and the last thing she saw before she squeezed her eyes shut was Hadley's smug smirk.
She fell eight seconds later, her hand hanging out into the grassy clearing, the sunlight flooding into the arena reaching her hand, and she let out her last breath as the warmth kindled her hand. And for one single moment, it felt like home: wrapped up in the sunlight, warm.