Fire is catching
Chapter 24
Authors Note: Yaaaay, new chapter! Find out what Lucy and Wendy are up to. Have fun!
"Lets go, Lucy"
We nod at each other and walk toward the tunnel. Before we enter the mysterious darkness Wendy grabs my hand and holds it tightly. Her fingers are so slim and small, her hand feels tiny in comparison to mine. It feels good to have something to hold onto while the black darkness brings back my claustrophobia. In the last days I noticed more than once, that Wendy is like an anker, keeping me from drifting away into complete madness. Ever since I met her, I felt more stable, safer and the terror of the hunger games wasn't omnipresent.
We stay close to the cold stone wall, if anyone came across us right now, we would be totally screwed. Luckily, nobody disturbs us and we pass the tunnel without any incidents.
There it lies in front of us, the Cornucopia. The endless stairs that lead to the square platform are completely empty, not a single item is left. Instead of backpacks, ropes and other packs, the stair case is now decorated with blood. Dried, dark red blood is splattered everywhere, turning the stairs into a frozen river of death. I can't help but remember Lisanna's dead body, lying on my lap while she painfully leaves this world. The terrible memories almost make me vomit.
I can hear Wendy drawing in her breath next to me and I squeeze her hand once to tell her it's all right.
"What should we do now?" she whispers, her eyes filled with a mixture of disgust and sadness.
"I guess we should check the Cornucopia, maybe there are still some things left inside. And we could see if the labyrinth is any good"
Why am I even whispering? Nobody seems to be here, in that lonely place marked with death. Although it is a part of the arena, it seems like nobody thought of it that way.
We both trot towards the grey stairs and begin to climb them, careful not to step in any bloodstains which is way easier said than done. Finally, after my breath getting heavy of all that walking, we reach the silver Cornucopia and to my surprise it is still filled with all kinds of stuff. Weapons with shining blades, food that makes my mouth water and all kinds of survival kits. I see Wendy's eyes sparkle with delight and we both lose control and dash forward.
Maybe we should've been more careful, wondering why this valuable place still contains so many items of great importance, but we were desperate.
Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god food! I was able to keep myself from starving the last days by eating those tasteless fruit and some dry crackers that stuck in my throat, but other than the rabbit I caught, my feeding was pretty monotone. And seeing this marvelous buffet built up in front of me is enough to make my stomach rumble. Cheese, sausages, fried chicken and other delicacies are placed on a big table and a small fridge contains even more! I can even get my hands on some soft baked cookies, a dessert we sometimes had for special occasions. I grab my backpack and stuff as much food as possible into it while taking a few bites here and there. I can't remember ever tasting anything more delicious!
But I try to be at least a little rational and go through the survival kits next. I find blankets, lighters and other items that might come in handy. Who knows when a situation like that will show up again, so I try to fit as much as possible into my pack.
And of course there are weapons, long and short knives, daggers, swords, speers, bows and various other metallic objects that I can't even name. I carefully place a dagger and a thin sword unto my belt, maybe they'll be of some use. Although I hope I won't need them, this are the hunger games! You'd better be armed, the more weapons, the better.
Between all the torture instruments I find something that I wouldn't have expected to be here in a million years. Squeezed between a sword so big I doubt I can even lift it and a speer that looks way too sharp I find a book. A real book, made of old paper. How the hell did a book get into the arena? That question flashes up but is immediately suppressed by the spreading excitement. I've always loved books, digging into new worlds, where everything was better and every problem could be solved by a glorious hero. My fingers run through the thin pages and the feeling of paper under my fingers makes me shiver. I stick my nose into the book and inhale deeply. The smell of ink and paper fills my nostrils, after days of the soporific smell of that cursed arena this scent is like heaven. I flip the book to see the cover. It's completely black. In golden italic letters the title says "Fairy Tales". The word sends a warm feeling through my body. I used to love fairy tales when I was a little child, my mother always read them to me, but it's been ages since I entered the world of Snowhite or Cinderella. Although it still strikes me as extremely odd to find a book in this place of ultimate terror I carefully place my little treasure in the pocket of my skirt. The weight of it against my hip feels pleasant and my mood is automatically lifted just by knowing that I own a book now.
Meanwhile Wendy is stuffing more and more stuff into her bag she brought. Suddenly I see something that I don't like at all. On the table stuffed with food I find an apple. You might think that's nothing special, but the thing is that the apple was missing a piece, somebody took a bite of it. And I clearly recall that this somebody was neither me nor Wendy. As the apple is still fresh, it must have been eaten not a long time ago which means that somebody else was here.
How couldn't I notice this earlier? I was so greedy and focused on all the items in front of me that I let my guard down completely.
"Voices", Wendy whispers, panic written all over her face. I can hear them to. The cold determined voices of Erza Scarlet and her companions.
Of course! This place has to be their base, that's why it's filled with all those luxurious items.
We're totally screwed.
Wendy's face turns paperwhite and her whole body is shaking uncontrollably. "It are the careers, right?" she murmurs. I wish I could lie to her. "We're so going to die." And again, I wish I could lie and tell her we would be okay. I hear the muffled sound of Erza's boots climbing up the stairs, coming closer to us.
Okay Lucy, stay calm, there has to be a way out of this.
Hiding somewhere in here? Not a good idea, who knows how long they'll stay in here before leaving again and Gajeel's super sensitive nose would most probably find us within minutes. This only leaves the option of running away from this place, but how? The careers are already climbing the stairs, which means that we would be running into their arms, no thank you.
I back of to the end of the Cornucopia and search the wall for a secret exit or something like that, and I actually find one at the left wall of the buliding. Behind a shelf is a thin door that's almost invisible, I wouldn't have noticed it in a million years if I hadn't looked for it.
"Wendy, come here, I found an exit", I call in a hushed voice and the small girl is beside me within seconds.
"Okay, this has to be quick. We're going to step through this door and we'll then have to immediately turn left and start running as fast as we can. We're going to use the stairs on the opposite side of the entrance, so that the careers won't see us. By the time we get downstairs they should've entered the Cornucopia already, so that we can safely leave though the tunnel. The important moment is once we get outside the door. While we stand on the left side, the careers could be able to spot us from a certain angle, so we have to be really quick, got it?"
Wendy gives me a nod and I squeeze her hand reassuringly: "Together?" I ask.
"Together."
Authors Note: Oh damn, she did it again…Lucy is facing the careers! Will she be that lucky again or will the team of experienced killers be able to catch her and her ally? Read all about it in the next chapter…
Natsu: Seriously though Author? The careers, again? Why do you keep using the same characters, it's getting boooooooooring.
Author: Because there is a limited number of characters that didn't already die, dummy! And the ones that are still alive aren't that scary…
Natsu: Well I'm really scary and cool and evil and I never even occurred in the story since the games started. What the hell am I doing all day?
Author: Well…uhm…idk…
Natsu: See I thought those hunger games were going to be difficult, but it's just pretty damn boring…
Lucy and Wendy: *scared to death* YOU WANNA CHANGE PLACES?!
Natsu: Oh come on, I don't think that Erza will be thaaat angry unless you ate her cake or something… *laughs*
Lucy and Wendy: *nervous gulp*
Natsu: Oh no, please tell me you didn't….
Lucy and Wendy: *shrink in size*
Natsu: No way…you wouldn't…
Lucy and Wendy: *hesitant nod*
Natsu: You did?
Natsu: RUN! LEAVE EVERYTHING BEHIND AND RUN! RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN THE WORLD IS GOING TO END!
*mass panic*