Fire is catching
Chapter 23
Authors Note: Hey guys! I'm back with a new chapter! Find out what Wendy and Lucy are planning to do! Enjoy!
The little girl wrinkles her forehead. "I'm not a 100% sure, but I have a general idea."
"It's late though, let's do it tomorrow, right Wendy?" She gives me an approving smile and we both get out our sleeping bags. I give Wendy my extra blanket as she has none and we settle down on the cold cave floor.
"Good night Lucy" she says and then turns away.
"Good night Wendy". I'm not ready to sleep already. Just a few hours ago I thought I was dead and I almost was. That blue haired girl gave me a new chance to live, I can't believe it. I was raised from the dead and now I'm here. Lucy is back in the game. During the first days of the hunger games, I really forgot about the labyrinth. The cornucopia is normally the central part of the arena, but it seems like they changed that a little this year. The cornucopia and the main arena are separated from one another, but it should still be a part of the games. What's happening to the pyramid full of goodies now that everybody is in here? Is it possible to still enter the maze and use it as a hiding place? Those are all questions that will be answered tomorrow when Wendy and I will make our move.
Although I didn't want any allies in the first place, it feels very reassuring to talk to another person without her wanting to kill you immediately. It feels good to know that somebody's sleeping by your side, that you're not completely alone in this world of horror and death.
I'm well aware of the fact that this alliance will have to break up sooner or later and I always keep that fact in mind in order to remind myself of what really matters to me: staying alive. I was incredibly lucky to have been saved by Wendy the first time I practically knocked on heaven's door, but that won't happen again. Not in the hunger games.
After some time the exhaustion and tiredness overwhelms me and I slip away into a world of wild nightmares, blood and purple rain.
Terrible, heartbreaking screams cut through the night and make me sit upright with a start. I hastily blink away the last bits of dreamy nausea and look around the cave. It takes my eyes a while to adjust to the total darkness of the room but as they do I see a small figure tossing and turning, screaming on top of her lungs.
Wendy.
I get out of the sleeping bag as quickly as possible and stumble over towards the little girl.
Her face is contorted in pain as she screams with her eyes closed. Stroking her shoulder gently I whisper: "It's all right, it's all right Wendy. It's just a dream, just a stupid dream." Salty tears run over her face and I can't stand to see her like this. I wrap my arms around her and pull her close to me, her trembling body so small and fragile in my arms. I pet her head carefully as her screaming changes into a soft weeping.
Her eyes flutter open and she blinks her tears away looking a little lost. "Lucy…what.."
"Shhhh, it's all right, it was just a dream. You're safe" Wendy presses herself closer to me and mumbles "I was so scared…"
I don't stop stroking her hair and remember a similar scene. When I was younger I used to have terrible nightmares and scream every night until my throat was sore. My mom used to climb into my bed and hold me exactly like this until I calmed down. Then she would stay with me, squeezed into my tiny bed, watching over me for the rest of the night. And now I'm the one comforting her.
"You should go back to sleep now, we have big plans for tomorrow, remember?" Wendy sighs and looks at me with a scared expression. "What if they come back? I don't want to sleep, I'm too scared." My gaze softens and I squeeze her arm. "Should I stay with you?"
The little girl gives me a slight, shy nod and we climb into my sleeping bag together, putting all the blankets over our heads. The sleeping bag isn't meant for two people, but Wendy is so small that we actually fit in both. She snuggles up close to me and I feel her breathing relax and go steady. Her body heat is making the bag nice and cozy and I feel myself drifting off slowly…
Wendy turns herself around, now facing me, but I keep pretending I'm sleeping. She hesitantly grabs my arm and pulls it over to her, so that it's resting on her back, hugging her. She gets back into her original position my arm lying over her like a safety belt. I couldn't help but smile a little as my arm rose and fell according to Wendy's breathing. It almost felt as if she were my little sister, and it was quite a pleasant feeling to be needed by somebody. Wendy is still so young. The hunger games are terrible for me, but I can't imagine how much worse it has to be for a girl of her age. She already went through so much and still she won't stop smiling and being kind to me. She managed to stay alive for the first few days, all on her own. It's only then that I realise that Wendy, how cute and innocent she may look, is a real fighter and a lot braver and stronger than I'll ever be.
After spending way too much time thinking about the past and upcoming events I finally manage to fall asleep while Wendy mumbles some nonsense next to me. She looks peaceful and relaxed with her eyes closed, almost like an angel. There was no more screaming that night and I can't remember to have ever slept so calmly in the arena.
I wake up to warm sunlight stroking my face and tickling my nose as my eyes flutter open. For the first time in weeks I actually slept well. No nightmares, no walking trees, no fear, just sleep. A dreamless, calm sleep.
I turn my head expecting a small figure beside me only to realize the place is empty. The blood freezes in my veins and I can feel the cold feeling of fear crawling up inside of me.
Wendy…
Where is she? What happened to her?
I get up with a start and walk around the cave until I finally decide I can't wait any longer, I have to look for her, save her if necessary.
It has been days since I last was outside, so the light seems incredibly bright at first, blinding me. I put my hands above my eyes protectively, squinting them as they finally adapt to the daylight. I start wandering around a little, not knowing where I am mumbling Wendy's name. I speak louder and louder as I still can't find her.
What could have possibly happened? The concern for her makes my legs shake and I decide that I'll have to search her in a wider area. I go back inside the cave and grab my backpack, my whip and my knife, just in case.
As I make my way through another part of the woods I tense as I hear somebody moving in the undergrowth. My hand wanders to my whip and I take a few steps towards the noise.
A figure jumps out of the bushes and I throw my arm back in order to bring my whip down on whoever is standing in front of me. A surprised "Lucy!? It's me!" makes me hesitate and as I identify the person I immediately let my whip drop onto the floor throwing my arms around the small bluenette. I feel my eyes tear as relief overwhelms me.
"You're safe, you're really safe" I let go of her and grab Wendy's shoulders looking straight into her eyes. "Never ever scare me like that again" I say putting pressure in every word.
"I was just getting breakfast" she says pointing out the fruit she held in her arms.
"How was I supposed to know?" I stammer "I just woke up and saw that you were gone and I looked for you but you weren't answering so I thought, I thought that…" my voice cracks.
The other girl's face flushes red as she looks at her feet "I'm sorry I put you in that much trouble" I let go of her shoulders and smile. "It's all right. Maybe I overreacted a little. Just tell me the next time you leave so I won't have to turn the whole arena upside down again." I quickly pet her head and start going back in the direction I came from. "Now let's get back to the cave and eat. I'm starving and today is a big big big day" I say mimicking the strange capitol accent. Wendy giggles and together we take off into the woods finding our way back.
After we both squeezed ourselves through the tiny entrance of the cave we settle on the ground and have breakfast. Normally I wouldn't have eaten that much in the morning, but Wendy reassures me to eat up as I'll need the strength.
I really don't know who is supporting whom more and although I've not even spend a day with the girl from 6 , I've already grown fond of her. She makes the horror of the games more bearable, gives me something else to concentrate on.
"I've never been so happy for ages Lucy-san" Wendy says as she takes another bite of the poisonous-or-maybe-not fruit. I showed her the trick with discovering the illusion. At first she didn't manage to see it but after some practice and failed attempts of trying to describe how I do it, she finally worked it out and now she's able to pick the water fruit all on her own.
The girl gives me a big smile "Thank you for letting me be your ally"
My mouth curls up a little "It's Lucy, forget about the 'san'. And I'm the one to thank you, Wendy. You're my life saver"
Her cheeks turn red and she mutters something about it being nothing under her breath and I can't help but to grin.
She's so shy and modest although she really has amazing powers.
"Should we leave? The earlier, the better. I don't want to be outside when it's noon and the sun is burning straight down on us."
Wendy gives me a nod and gets up to pack her things. The curiosity is bubbling inside of me, it feels good to have a clear goal in front of you. Find the Cornucopia and the maze to see what they did with it. Maybe it's completely useless, but it gives me something to do. Way better than sitting here all day, because doing nothing gives you time to think. And if you have time to think, the dark thoughts and the fears will rise again, focusing on a task and keeping yourself busy is better.
There were no deaths yesterday, which isn't good. The last days were too quiet, too calm for the hunger games. The capitol can't afford its citizens getting bored by the annual torturing festivities, they'll have to keep it interesting.
I can picture the game makers planning some kind of events that will bring some blood; I just hope Wendy and I aren't involved in this.
We step out of the protecting darkness of the cave and….
"Well, what now?" I say feeling a little dumb. I have no idea which direction we should go. I don't even know in which part of the arena I currently am. Maybe I should've thought about that earlier.
"The tunnel to the main part ended on a meadow full of flowers from which you could see the forest as well as the high grass, then I…" Wendy mumbles some words under her breath with her eyes closed in concentration. After some time her eyes flash open and she points her finger north (or was it south? I really don't know)
"It's in that direction. Let's go"
I look at her in surprise. "Um Wendy, may I ask why you think so?"
A soft smile spreads over her face and a light breeze makes her blue hair fly around her little face. "I just know it…trust me. The wind told me."
"The wind…told you?" I ask hesitantly. Is she losing it?
"I can interpret the flow of air. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before but I'm actually a sky dragon slayer"
What? I look at Wendy incredulously. She can't be serious right? There's no way a fragile and young girl like Wendy uses one of the extremely rare and powerful kind of magic that has been forgotten long time ago, Lost Magic. I read about it in some of mom's old magic books. Dragon slayer magic is one of the Lost Magics, how can Wendy possibly possess powers like this?
But come to think of it, how should I know? She may seem weak but in the last days the girl from 6 has shown more than once that she's capable of a lot and shouldn't be underestimated.
"You are?" I stammer sounding like an idiot. Why should she lie to me?
"Yes. Apparently nobody ever believes me, not until I show them at least."
"No. It's fine, I believe you. I trust you. And if your power helps us to find the cornucopia, it's even better, isn't it?"
I give her a reassuring smile as we take off into the woods, literally following Wendy's nose.
The trees pass by, twigs brushing my arm as we stamp through the dense forest. I feel lost and insecure, always looking around for somebody that might discover us. Wendy however walks straight forward, not looking back once. She seems to know exactly where to go, so I simply follow her and let her take the lead.
I feel a little useless, following a little girl through the woods into an unknown space, but what other choice do I have?
My feet are starting to get heavy, but Wendy doesn't slow down, it's like she's in a trance. What exactly is she doing? Is this part of those mysterious dragon slayer powers?
I stumble forwards, the trees passing by. One half of my brain always focuses on my surroundings, are there strange noises, maybe footsteps? Are there any shadows, or other tributes awaiting us in the forest? My fingers are clenched around my whip, always ready to move in case it's necessary.
Suddenly Wendy stops moving and I almost run into her. "What is it?" I ask a little confused. She turns around and gives me one of her kind smiles "We're here".
And really, here we are. I'm standing on the same hill I stood on only a few days ago. From that point I have the perfect overview over the arena. Now that I know what nasty surprises hide inside the arena, it doesn't seem that beautiful anymore. I can smell the soporific scent, I can see the big thorns of the once so perfect glamour. It's like the whole arena is like those poisenous fruit. It may look promising and pretty at first, but once you see past the illusionary shell, you'll understand the true horror of it.
The dark tunnel through which I and the other tributes entered is right in front of me and beyond that the labyrinth and more importantly the Cornucopia is awaiting me and my ally.
"Wow Wendy, you really made it!" The bluenette blushes and looks at her feet: "We made it."
"Well I didn't do a thing."
"But you had the idea of coming here in the first place!"
"I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for you!"
"Lets go, Lucy"
Authors Note: Ugh that was quite a long chapter, wasn't it? Find out what awaits Lucy and Wendy beyond the boundary…uhm…I mean beyond the tunnel haha. See you next time!
Eren: I WANNA KILL ALL THE TITANS!
Author: Eren? What the heck are you doing here?
Eren: I came here to save humanity and avenge my mother!
Author: Well, that's noble but I think you're in the wrong story.
Mikasa: Eren let's go back.
Armin: So that's what lies beyond the wall!
Natsu: What are those strange people doing here? They're wearing weird capes! Can I fight them?
Mikasa: If you even try to hurt Eren I will kill you peasant.
Levy: What is even happening?
Levi: I'm sorry, this seems to be a misunderstanding.
Levy: Hey! Your name is Levi too right? And you're short as well!
Levy and Levi: *fabulous high five*