Hello hello, lovely readers. Yet another chapter written for this fic-which is turning out to be surprisingly long. And we are only, like, halfway through, right? Oh well-at least half of my goal with this is just to practice finishing long pieces, since as you may have noticed, I'm particularly bad at that.
Anyway, this chapter is another example of my struggle with action-heavy scenes. Hope it doesn't come across too awkward.
I hoist the stick like a bat, both hands slick on the rough wood as bits of bark peel off under my fierce hold. I shuffle my feet-there's nothing I can do but wait and watch his approach. If I turn to run, he'll stab me in the back-I have no doubt his powerful, long legs would catch up to me. If I try to attack him first, I'll just give him an opening. So I wait. My eyes burn-I'm afraid to blink, and I scan his form for any sign of a weakness. He's small for a guy-probably only 5'5" or so-but that's still several inches taller than I am. Not to mention the thick polyester of his suit does nothing to hide the lean muscles apparent in his shoulders, or the awkward width of his chest. He's young and gawky-but probably about a small ladyfish heavier than I am, and it's all muscle.
"Happy hunger games, four," he growls, no more than a foot away from me, and spins the axe once in his hand, adjusting his grip. Here it comes, I think, and feel a prickle in the corners of my eyes. It's just from not blinking, I tell myself stubbornly, waggling my stick as threateningly as I can. Finally, he raises his arm to strike, and I can't suppress a flinch and an embarrassing whimper.
"Hey, over here-I found one!" I hear a sudden crashing through the undergrowth behind me, followed by a burst of laughter and excited hoots. I don't dare take my eyes off of Five...and I don't need to. The voice was Cato's, no mistake, and the rest of the career pack accounts for the elephantine stampede behind him. Five, on the other hand, is instantly distracted, and I watch his eyes widen in fear as he stares past my tree and grimaces.
It's the only invitation I need.
With a bark of effort, I swing my branch down and across, nailing him squarely in the side of the head. He crumples, face scrunched up in pain, and for a moment I stare at him, horror-struck. A trickle of blood dampens his ear and runs out to trail his jaw. Is he dead..? A horrible, monstrous part of me hopes he is. After all, I watched him kill someone, and saw his determination to kill me, as well. He deserved to die.
I'm going to be sick. I clap my hand over my mouth as his whole body twitches, and I resist the urge to thwack him again and again until the grotesque motion stops. As it is, he opens one eye and glowers at me from the ground, one hand rising to hold his ear. So it wasn't enough to kill him...I'll have to work on that eventually-I can't go around half-killing people. The careers won't always be behind me to finish the job.
The pack has almost reached my tree, and I realize with a jolt that if they find me, there's no doubt I'll be deader than Five in seconds. Part of me almost wants to stay and find out exactly what face Cato will make-will he give me that bitter, almost sad stare, or will his blue eyes glint hard and glassy like slits of steel? Better not wait and see.
With that I drop the stick like it burns-the far end is adorned with a splatter of blood-and spin to run past the tree. If I hurry, I can just miss them.
As I sprint past, scattering leaves, Cato bursts from the undergrowth. For an instant, I slow down, and we lock eyes. His blue orbs flicker almost imperceptibly, face open in something between surprise and regret. Then I hear Five let out a low moan as he shifts, probably trying to stand up, and Cato's killer gaze flickers to where he's still on the ground. The ghost of a smile plays across Cato's features, and I suppress a chill. Of course, I'm lucky-Cato will take an easy kill from someone he probably views as a lot more threatening than me, and I will live a few more hours.
I move to take off again, not about to waste my good fortune, when a second figure emerges from the bushes and nearly crashes into Cato. The blond career ignores the newcomer, moving to dispatch Five, but the other career hesitates, and my heart sinks.
Clove.
In a fraction of a second, her onyx gaze has landed on me, and she bares her teeth in a feral grin.
"Well, if it isn't fish breath from district four," she sneers, taking a slow step toward me. I take a measured step back, biding my time. Unlike Five, Clove I know I can outrun. The only problem is her damn throwing knives. An image from the cornucopia plays through my mind-Katniss, taking one of Clove's knives in her pack. If I can just hold out until she throws...I may get a weapon out of this. After all, I won't survive much longer without one. Might as well take the gamble.
Suddenly, as Clove stares me down, I realize that probably most of the cameras are on this group right now-maybe a few are following Katniss, but with the career pack around, this is definitely getting some coverage. Finnick is probably on the edge of his seat, yelling at the screen for me to run, maybe clenching his hands together like he does when he's desperately worried, but helpless. I wonder absently if he saw me take down Five, and realize that I really hope he didn't.
"Ready to die, four?" Clove drawls, twirling a knife around her finger.
"Any reason I should be?" I ask, taking more careful steps away from her. We've been moving steadily away from my tree, where Cato has cornered Five. I can hear the voices of the other careers back the way Clove came, growing louder by the second. If she doesn't throw soon, I'll have to just give up and run.
"It's fine with me if you struggle. I just thought you'd want take a moment and remember how pitiful and pointless your life was." Clove is positively ecstatic, if her wide grin is any indication. There's something wrong with you, I think, disgusted. No one is supposed to get this much pleasure out of killing.
"I think I've got some time," I shrug in a thin attempt to appear casual. In reality, every muscle in my body is tense, screaming at me to move. I clench my fists and move my weight onto my toes, ready to bolt. Clove twitches her hand into a throwing position, her smile once again hardened into something vicious and predatory.
"Think again!" With speed like a snake she flicks her wrist forward, and I barely have time to whip my pack around to snag the knife. As it is, my timing is off, and the blade nicks the back of my hand before sinking into the stiff canvas. I release a sharp gasp, but no amount of pain could have stopped me from turning on my toes and sprinting away into the forest.
I hear a furious yell from Clove, and another knife thuds into the ground at my feet. No time to snag it. For a few minutes, I hear Clove crashing behind me, but she isn't as fast, and her rage isn't nearly as motivating as my fear, so it isn't long before I hear her stop and turn back. With a quick glance over my shoulder to make sure I can't see her, I catch hold of a thin tree and swing my body around and into a crouch behind a thick clump of bracken. I stare back the way I came.
A moment later, a horrible scream of agony rends the air and raises goosebumps all over my skin, followed by a soft but sinister chorus of laughter. It's my fault he's dead, I think, breathing hard with my heart in my mouth and my stomach doubling into itself. I as good as killed him. But the thought is instantly followed by That could have been me.
With tears pricking the corner of my eyes, I double over and vomit into the bracken, producing a horrible mixture of foam and bile that burns my through and leaves me gagging on my fear. I wipe my mouth, stand up, and pray the cameras didn't catch that.
Here we are again, everyone. And of course, the obligatory spiel: reviews are not only immensely gratifying, but also (and now, in particular) exceedingly helpful. This chapter is very action-heavy, something I have a lot of difficulty writing. I would HUGELY appreciate any feedback as to how this works-is it awkward? Boring? A little too much, or not believable? Anything is good to hear.
Thanks, as always, for reading :)
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