Chapter 13- We Are Broken
Nicki POV
I won't lie: the Careers were big. Big and scary.
I was pinned to the ground by one of the girls, who might be twice my size. Why she had me pinned down, I wasn't exactly sure. Things were going in slow motion. I heard their voices: arguing over who was going to kill me, but my brain couldn't process all of it.
"Let me," a girl from District 1 or 2 (I wasn't sure which) instructed.
"No, I'll do it," a big boy insisted. Part of me wished they'd just do it and quit being such kids about it. I mean, who fights over who will kill someone?
I saw the boy raise the knife. I squeezed my eyes shut, and all I could hear was a scream. Was it mine? No, it was deeper than my voice. It must be the Career boy.
I opened my eyes, and the first thing I saw was Roan.
Haymitch POV
Did that just happen?
The boy from 5 was sinking to his knees, a knife in his hand and another was shoved through his stomach. You could see the blood ooze through his coat and stain the sand. The Career was on the ground too, but he seemed minorly wounded at best.
The boy from 5, however, wasn't as lucky.
Nicki POV
I recovered as I heard shouts of "Go, go!" and footsteps fading. I jumped to my feet and ran over to where Roan had sank to the ground. The red that surrounded me was surreal. I had only heard this happen in horror stories. He was drowning to death.
His killer was his own blood.
"Hey…" he said seeing me as he gave a faint smile.
'Hi,' I barely whispered, tears springing to my eyes, and a few even falling on to his cheek. I tried to wipe them away when he grabbed my hand.
"Don't. It feels… good."
"Why did you save me? I should be dead anyway," my voice choked.
"Because… you're my… friend."
Oh, now I was in serious danger of sobbing. In fact, I knew there was no way not to. In fact, I was probably going to bawl. "Really?"
"Yea… yeah. And I…"
I couldn't pry him on, not when he was dying for me. I waited.
"I… like you… a lot. Did you know that?"
I shook my head.
"Nicki…" he, amazingly, managed to prop himself up on his elbows. We stared at each other without saying a word. Then, he looked like he was going to go in for the kiss, but he fell back and breathed no more.
The tears were relentless.
Remembering what Katniss had done when her friend Rue had died in the arena, I took Roan's lifeless hand and I started to sing:
"I am outside
I've been waiting for the sun
With my white eyes
I've seen words that do not belong.
We are broken
What must we do to restore our innocence?
I'll keep you safe inside
My arms tower over you
Tower over me
I'll take the truth at any cost."
'I'm so sorry Roan," I whispered, "I never wanted you to die for me."
This weeping I was doing now, I was singing his requiem with my tears. Sometimes we had to break, but in the end, didn't we all end up broken anyways?