Fire is catching
Chapter 17
Authors Note: I can't believe that we're already on chapter 17 of this story! :o Lucy is in great danger because the careers are close. Will they spot her? Will this situation end in a fight in which death can't be avoided? Find out by reading this chapter!
Oh no…,this is bad. Just go on!
"Nothing…,it's just I thought I smelled somebody, but I guess it's the arena's smell trying to trick me. Like I said, it's nothing"
The redhead nods silently and looks around searching for a potential victim. Then she lifts her head and looks into the sky getting a dreamy expression. For one moment her eyes flicker with what I believe is loving longing, as if she's deeply missing a person she cares about. But after blinking, her gaze hardens again and she stiffens, getting into her familiar warrior posture. "I wish they had strawberry cake in here" she says, still lifting her head, looking in my direction. A sentence that would've been bizarre and even funny coming from any other person sounds like a death threat out of Erza's mouth.
Don't see me. Look down. I'm not here. There's nothing interesting up here.
Just. Continue. Walking.
I press my hand on my mouth, suppressing squeaks of panic.
A million images flood my mind. Erza stabbing me with one of her swords, Gajeel smiling, his eyes full of satisfaction as my blood stains his clothes, Saphir cutting my ear of with his sharp, glittering blade…, I feel like I'm going to throw up, right on Erza's head.
Finally, after seconds in which I almost passed out due to a lack of oxygen, the group finally gets going.
Only Mirajane stays a little behind and takes a step towards the oak tree I'm sitting in.
My heart skips a beat.
She looks up, straight into my eyes.
Oh shit, it's over.
That's it, she saw me. Now she's going to call her friends and they're going to drag me of that tree and have a big slaughtering party where everybody gets his turn torturing me and my blood will be on their hands, I'll be overwhelmed with pain, my journey will be over, the games, that nightmare, will finally be over and maybe, maybe after feeling so much pain I'll be brought to heaven, a place where I can see Lisanna and apologize to her, a place where I can be reunited with my mom, where I can be free and happy, a place without suffering, and…
I wait for Mirajane to call my name with her sweet, soft voice, but the girl just gives me an innocent smile.
"Mira, hurry up!"
The girl from district 1 turns away and runs to her allies without saying a word.
I'm a 100 per cent sure she saw me. Still, she didn't rat. She could've killed me, my life was in her hands, but she didn't give it away. Instead she let me be, let me exist. She practically saved my life.
Saved by a career.
Who would've thought that?
My heart beat slows down, regaining its normal rhythm but I still wait a way few more minutes before I let my body relax and a sigh of relief escapes me.
That was close.
Too close.
I can't be in a situation like that another time. I can't always be that lucky.
I have to be more careful.
The sky is slowly turning dark, I can even see some stars, waiting for their big show at night when they'll be the rulers of the sky.
I slightly shiver and think about finding shelter for the night. I look around from my tree, having the view over a large territory, but nothing special, nothing that seems safe enough, catches my eye.
I wouldn't like to sleep on the ground, it's too obvious, too dangerous, I would expose myself too much. But what other possibilities are there?
A silly thought crosses my mind. Of course, it's too easy! I lean against the strong trunk of the tree I'm sitting in.
I could just stay here, maybe that idea isn't even that stupid…
Nobody will see me easily, especially not in the protection of the dark, and I'll be safe from wild animals or other surprises the game makers designed for us.
Suddenly the branch doesn't feel that weak and I'm getting more comfortable with the idea of staying here, surrounded by the whispering leaves.
One day has passed already, only one day.
District 8 seems incredibly far away, my normal life just a dream, all memories from my life before the games seem a little blurry, like waking up after a pleasant dream and trying to hold onto it, but being unable to prevent it from fading away.
I look at the sky, now dark and full of glittering stars and I immediately scan it in order to find the constellations my mom taught me when I was a little kid. It's weird to think that somebody else, all my friends and my family may look at the sky right now just like I do, it's the only thing that connects us.
It's so unfair that my life has been stolen from me just like this. And all that in order to punish me for something I'm not responsible for? I wasn't the one starting an uprising, I never did anything wrong, so why is it me? Why am I the one dying?!
Lisanna's last words flash through my mind again, stuck in their forever, I won't be able to forget them. "All living things eventually die", the cruelty, the coldness and the beauty of that saying suddenly hits me. It's true, so shockingly true.
I will die, no matter how hard I try to avoid it, I can't escape death.
The only thing I can try to change is the way I die. And I certainly know I don't want to die as one of the capitol's puppets. I don't want my death to be that useless. If I die now, I'll just be another one of the countless fallen tributes, that's not what I'm supposed to be.
I want to die after having a full, long life, being surrounded by my friends and family, not in an arena where everybody can see me being tortured, where everybody can see me fall. I don't want that….
An image flashing into the sky brings me back to reality. The sign of the capitol is broadcasted onto the night sky and I lean against the tree and look up. Now I'll see who made it through the first day and who died already.
I feel my palms getting wet and hold my breath.
The capitols anthem fills the arena with its glorious sound and I get goose bumps, that's how much I hate that stupid tune.
All of the careers survived today, the first image flashing up is the boy from 3.
I'm glad Levy made it, glad she's safe for now.
When Wendy's face doesn't appear I slowly exhale a little. That's good, very good. It may be silly, but I want her to live although I know that's not possible if I want to be a victor.
Suddenly Sebastian's face appears in front of me and I stumble back in surprise. A feeling of guilt rushes through my body. I haven't thought of him the whole day, haven't even considered looking for him. It's not that big of a surprise that he didn't make it, but still. He was the last person from home. My last connection to district 8. Now he's dead.
And I'm not even that sad. It must sound horrible to you, but I don't feel so sad about his death. I didn't really know him and his chances of winning weren't that high in the first place. I expected him to die early. Sebastian always seemed to be a ghost. For me he died when his name was drawn out of the crystal bowl in district 8. I knew he wouldn't make it back home and he did too. He surrendered immediately, gave up the moment he became a tribute. So maybe it's better for him to be dead, being released from all the terror he went through.
I silently whisper a prayer I know from home. It's the last blessing we give a beloved person that passed away.
I remember choking on those words, trying to press them out between all the tears when I was younger, at the funeral of my mom.
Seeing his face in the sky doesn't seem real, I can't settle with the thoughts that all of those people, all those tributes are really dead, gone, wiped out, lifeless.
It's only when Lisanna's pretty face is displayed that I truly understand the meaning of that ceremony.
All those people, people with hopes, wishes, dreams, families, they're all gone for good.
A lot of families will sit in front of the screen crying over their losses, but somehow they'll go on with their lives and the faces will disappear from the sky and nobody will ever talk about those tributes again. They're just the chaff that needs to be separated from the wheat.
The hunger games will end somehow and only one out of all the 24 of us will still be alive. And after one year new tributes will be chosen and everybody, everybody will forget about the 23 that left their lives in the arena. Just as we all forgot about the fallen tributes of the 70th ,69th and 68th annual hunger games. They flash up for a few seconds in the night sky, just to be forgotten afterwards. Those few seconds of remembering is all there's left of them. Their bodies are all lifeless, smeared with blood, deathly silent after going through so much pain and I can see them in front of me and it's only then that I truly get the horror of the games.
Nothing. All this dying is for nothing.
"I'll remember you…I'll keep your face in my heart." I promise Lisanna as she slowly disappears. Tears are running down my cheek and all I want is to get out of here, out, out, OUT!
I silently sob as I notice that I'm already forgetting her. We met only a few days ago, I don't know anything about Lisanna. I want to prevent her from being forgotten, I want to remember her, but I can't even recall the color of her eyes.
Lisanna is fading away right in front of me and although I want to hold on to her, I can't, I'm losing her, she's gone. Gone, forgotten, as if she never even existed.
"I'm so sorry" I speak the words so silently that I'm not even sure I said them at all.
The face of the girl from 12 is the last one to be in the sky for today. Nine tributes left their lives in the first day of the 71st hunger games.
After that the animation goes off and the sky looks blank, as if nothing ever happened.
A strange feeling mixes with the incredible despair and horror I felt earlier. It is light and warm, as if I had a small fire in my stomach.
Fire…
Natsu's face didn't show up in the sky, right? That means he's alive, wandering around somewhere in this arena.
Somehow that thought lifts my spirit, I can't explain why.
It's incredibly stupid to be delighted about him still being alive. I should be intimidated, scared, and afraid of him. Although the boy from 12 was quite friendly during the training sessions I bet he lost that nice attitude the moment the gong went off.
Nobody is friendly in here. There is no such thing as compassion in the arena. Charity begins at home.
So why am I happy about his survival? Why is a part of me even hoping to see him again (although meeting Natsu would most probably mean that I die)?
Must be the stress. Too much emotions swirling around inside of me. Too much happening.
Sleep, sleep will help.
Authors Note: Aww, Natsu finally made an appearance. Even if it wasn't physical, he at least appeared in Lucy's thoughts.
Gosh, that chapter was kind of depressing…writing it made me sad. :`(
Please tell me your thoughts about it. Read you next time!
Natsu: Well, duh! What kind of appearance was that? You told me I would be a super awesome hero fighting everyone and saving the world!
Author: Natsu, be patient. You will be able to play out your role, but the story needs to be developed first…
Natsu: But I'm tired of waiting! What about the food you promised me when I agreed to be a character of your story?
Author: Well….,
Natsu: And what about the anti-motion-sickness-flying-carpet you promised?
Author: Uhm, you see…I didn't have the time to…
Natsu: And the fireworks spelling "Gray is an underwear ice princess"?
Gray: Wait what?! Author, how could you! You promised me you would make Obama say that I'm the strongest mage ever and Natsu is a good for nothing flame brain.
Erza: What? She told me that I could have five strawberry cakes a day! I haven't gotten any of them.
Lucy&Levy: You promised us a new library!
Wendy: Wait, you all promised them stuff so that they would work for you?
Natsu: Yeah, awful, isn't it?
Wendy: Then why the hell did I do it for free?!
Author: You see,…
Everyone: *angry glare*
Author: I'm just a poor author…what else am I supposed to do?
Everyone: *angry death glare*
Author: Guys, we're all friends, right? *starts running*
Everyone: AFTER HER!
Author: HELP!