Disclaimer: Ask Suzanne Collins what books she wrote. When she doesn't say "A Strange Sense of déjà vu," you'll know I'm not her.
WARNING: THIS CHAPTER COULD MAYBE POSSIBLY BE SORT OF INTENSE- (But don't let that stop you from reading!)
I wake up with a stinging pain in my leg. I roll up my pant leg and see three long scratches on my calve. I go outside to find that it's way earlier in the morning than I usually wake up. Knowing immediately that I won't be able to go back to sleep, I leave Karma a knife and decide to take a walk.
Ten…. Twenty…. Thirty minutes I've been walking and I'm half sure that I've been going around in circles. I'm checking over my shoulder, expecting Tay to jump out of nowhere like last time and finish me off.
He's dead, I remind myself, gone.
But I still look over my shoulder, just in case.
I'm wandering aimlessly now, and I'm worried that I'm lost, when I see the clearing where Tay died. But that's not what bothers me. I hear a dreamy voice coming from there.
I walk in the mud, as to not make any noise, and peer between some branches. I see a skinny girl sitting in the middle of the clearing. She seems to be talking to somebody, but nobody is there. She has long dirty blond hair that goes all the way down her back, but that's all I can see because she's facing the opposite direction from me.
"No, no, no!" she laughs. "I wouldn't help- what?" Her dreamy voice makes me happy for some reason. "He's behind me?" she asks the air.
I freeze, going rigid everywhere. How does she know I'm here? I made absolutely no noise!
"Is it the District Twelve boy?" she asks. After a few seconds of silence, she talks again, as if somebody were talking to her. "Oh, good. I've been wanting to talk to him." she says. She turns her head upside-down to look at me. "Hello, Twelve!" she says in a sing-song voice. I step out of the branches I was hiding behind, but don't talk.
She stands up and turns to face me. She has a slight tan and piercing, sea green eyes. District Four. Career.
"Who are you?" I ask.
"I am called Aqua." she says. She then takes two clumps of her hair and starts playing with them.
Hesitantly, I reply. "I'm-"
"-Casey," she finishes for me, scratching her chin. "You're… five feet and three inches, your best friend is amazingly less awkward that you, I'm probably starting to frighten you right now, and you're confused about the one you love, Karma."
My hand flies to my cheek. "Shut up!" I hiss. "We're on T.V!"
"Oh, I don't think we'll be filmed right now." she says. "I expect there's a battle going on." her huge eyes widen. "A bloody one, at that."
Not even a split second later, I hear a piercing scream, then a cannon fires.
"I can help you, you know." she says.
I know she means about Karma. "How?" I snap, angry that she found out.
She tilts her head over, her bangs falling to the side. "Let me put it this way. I have a sort of… sixth sense? I'm psychic, some may say."
Then, she reaches into her thin hair and pulls out a sharp knife that I hadn't noticed. At first, I think she's going to try and stab me, but instead, she cuts her arm and sucks the blood that is gushing out. She gives a fierce groan of delight, her pupils turning tiny and her eyes growing wide again.
She must have seen the disgusted look on my face, because she adds, "Pardon me, I love the taste."
I keep quiet, so she takes it as a sign to continue. "Emphasis." she says. She reminded me of a little girl, scary as she is, so it surprised me when she said that.
"I'm… I'm sorry?" I ask.
"Just listen to the emphasis in words today, it will help you sort things out. Understand." she says.
"How will that-?" I start, but she interrupts me.
"Karma is looking for you! I best be off! Bye, Casey!" she sings. "Come tomorrow, you'll understand!"
And without hesitation- to my surprise- she lies down in the mud. Then, she makes herself straight as a log and rolls away.
Yes, she rolls.
I stand in the same spot, not quite sure what just happened. After a minute or two, I her Aqua's voice tickle the back of my neck.
"And sorry about your leg." she says. I jump the other way and look at her, quizzically.
"How do you know about my leg?" I ask.
A guilty, but slightly amused, look spreads across her face, and I understand.
"Aqua, did you- did you suck my blood?" I yell.
She raises three sharp nails that are covered in dried blood and nods before running away.
And thanks to that maniac, I had to limp back to shelter.
When I get back to our shelter, I'm attacked by Karma. She gives me a short, fierce hug, before yelling at me.
"Where the hell have you been?" she hisses. "I have been looking everywhere for you!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" I yell. I'm about to continue, but she goes on.
"Sorry doesn't cut it! I had absolutely no idea if you were okay! I thought that was your scream! Your cannon!" she yells, close to tears. "Tell me where you're going next time!" And at that, she storms into our shelter.
I give a heavy sigh and walk inside. Karma is sharpening her spear with a rock, and I don't feel comfortable sitting next to her in her mood, so I sit on the other side.
When Karma is done with the spear and the knife, she looks outside.
"Can we get more food?" I ask reluctantly, knowing that she's in the perfect position to yell at me again. But instead, she seems back to normal.
"Oh! I almost forgot, Katniss sent us some stuff!" she yells. She runs outside, and returns with a big bowl and two spoons. "We each get five spoonfuls today."
We each grab a spoon and dig in. Within twenty seconds, my five spoonfuls are gone, but my stomach is still rumbling.
"Can we go get more food?" I ask.
Well, I should stop letting my guard down with Karma.
"WHAT WERE YOU DOING WHEN YOU WERE GONE?" she booms. "I'D FIGURE THAT IF YOU WERE GONE, YOU'D AT LEAST BE DOING SOMETHING THAT BENEFITS US BOTH!"
"I was going to get food," I lie defensively. "I… couldn't find any."
Karma can't find a retort, so she strides out of the shelter, muttering to herself. I follow.
Karma seems to be trying to get away from me, because she's doing her monkey swings on the branches again. I'm running to match her pace, but soon, my hands are on my knees, and I'm gasping for air. Karma, looking as if she just went for a jog instead of swinging from branches for a mile, jumps onto the ground.
"Should I just look for the food?" she asks, looking upset about something.
"Well… do you want to?" I ask.
"Sure. Could you bring me the knife though?" she replies. "Then maybe you could keep watch or something."
I nod and walk back to camp. When I get inside out shelter, I grab the knife and begin my way back. Halfway there, I hear a deafening scream even worse than the first, coming from around where I left Karma. I dash into a sprint, following the sound of voices.
I'm led, once again, to the clearing where Tay died. I see Karma's head on the ground and hands holding down her shoulders. I run to where she is, ignoring the pain in my leg, but trip over a root of a tree, perfectly concealed by branches and bushes. I drop the knife a good five feet away from me.
A girl holding her down bends her face over to greet Karma's. Their noses are touching, and Karma looks revolted.
"So! Here we are." the girl says. "You killed a boy who clearly liked you. Am I correct? You killed Tay?"
Karma flinches at the name and turns green. "No!" she screams. "Get off of me!"
The girl slaps her. "Don't lie!"
Karma struggles to move but, like me, she is immobile. The girl on top of her looks around my age, but could pass off for fifteen.
"Get off of me!" Karma repeats.
"Fine." the girl says. But instead of getting off, she grabs a huge rock and places is on Karma's stomach. Karma's eyes grow wide, and she's gasping for air. Tears trail down my face at the sight of her, always so strong, but now so in pain.
"Now," says the girl. "I am not going to kill you; just cause you unbearable pain. Consider yourself lucky."
Karma's eyes fill with tears as they follow the girl, who is walking over to a medium sized rock. The girl tosses the rock up and down in her hands as she look at Karma scornfully.
Karma whimpers as the girl bends down and places the rock beneath her left elbow. At first, I don't understand what she's doing, until she stands up and raises her foot.
A sob escapes my chest, but it's barley audible.
The girl brings her leg down hard and breaks Karma's arm.
Karma rolls over, the big rock falling off, and screams. She grabs her arm, shaking uncontrollably and crying, tears falling rapidly down her face.
"And as for you." she says, coolly. She walks over to where I'm laying down and grabs the collar of my shirt, dragging me to a tree right in front of Karma. Karma's eyes grow wider.
The girl, I think from District One, slams me on the trunk of the tree.
"Mmm," she says, licking her lips. She moves in closer to me, putting her arms on either side of my head. She bends her arms, her lips barely a centimeter from mine now. My heart is beating rapidly, and I want nothing more than to leave.
"So you're thirteen?" she asks.
I turn my head and nod. She moves her head as well. Her lips are touching mine, and I hate it.
"Interesting," she says. "Interesting…."
One of her arms drops to my stomach, and she starts to trace circles on the thin fabric. Another sob escapes my lips, and tears slide down my cheeks more fast.
She bites my bottom lip before moving her mouth to my ear.
"You know, nothing is illegal in here." she whispers, twirling my hair with her fingers. "Sometimes, we're not on camera. It's amazing what people can get away with in the Games…. I know a place without cameras…." She pushes herself closer to me.
Karma starts crying harder.
"Get… away… from him," Karma snarls through gritted teeth. "Now!"
"Don't want me near your boyfriend?" she asks, not turning away from me. Her fingers are tracing my abs now.
"Now!" Karma screams.
The girl laughs and doesn't acknowledge Karma any further. She puts her thumb on my jaw and turns me back toward her face. She moves in closer than she already was, and there is no space left between us. I feel my lips being crushed into hers…. Her mouth forcing mine open….
Karma cries even harder, screaming and shutting her eyes.
"Please, stop it!" she screams.
That's too much for me; I break free of the girl and push her off. Using the girl's shock as an advantage, I take a swipe for the knife, but the District One girl is too fast. She raises the knife and stabs me in the stomach.
With all the adrenaline coursing through my veins, the pain isn't as bad as it should have been. I scoop up Karma and run as fast as I can to our camp.
After five minutes, I'm starting to feel lightheaded because I'm loosing too much blood, but I keep going until we get to camp.
When we're by our stream, I drop a shaking Karma and fall down.
"No!" screams Karma. I'm starting to see double, but I still see Karma unzipping her suit, taking off her undershirt, leaving on her bra- and making me uncomfortable even though I'm on the brink of dying-, zipping up her suit again quickly, and wrapping her undershirt around my stomach tightly, stopping the blood flow all with one arm.
"Katniss!" she yells. "Can I have something for my arm?"
A minute later, a small white parachute falls from the sky. Karma rips open the box with her teeth and takes out a cast, putting it on her elbow.
Her eyebrows are creased and she's frowning.
"What? What's wrong?" I ask. Karma sniffs.
"N-nothing," she says. Then she stands up and builds a small fire. Then, she closes her eyes and blows it out.
"Casey?" she says. "Do you know what today is?"
"…No." I say.
She gives a small, humorless chuckle. "Today's my birthday."
My heart sinks. Today is Karma's birthday, and she spent it almost getting killed.
"Happy birthday," I say quietly. "Thirteen…"
"Yeah, happy." she looks at the fire's remains. "Real happy."
She stands up and dusts off her hands, then walks over to where I'm sitting. She lies down in my lap and looks at the sky as the anthem plays. A girl from District Three is dead, but that's it. When the anthem is over, and everything is quiet, Karma starts twisting her eyebrows in her fingers, as if concentrating.
"Well how was it?" she asks.
"What?" I reply.
Karma grows rigid and I can see her blush scarlet. "Your kiss."
"Oh!" I say, turning the same shade of red. "Nasty."
I'm not sure, but I think I see Karma's mouth twitch upward in a smile.
"How did it… feel?" she asks awkwardly.
"Well… wet… and- er- not good…." I reply.
"Really?"
"Yeah." I say. And before I can stop myself, I add, "I'd rather it was you."
"Me too." she says.
I can't believe my ears. Did she really just say that? I have to be sure, so I lean down, but she continues talking.
"I mean it's one thing for a friend, but not some stranger." she says. "But can you imagine how awkward that would be?" she gives a shaky laugh.
I stop moving. Of course, she just didn't like that she was a stranger. Nothing to do with me. I need to stop getting my hopes up.
I go into the shelter and sit far away from Karma; I don't think I'll be able to resist the urge to kiss her, so I need to keep my distance. I see Karma's expression and feel guilty.
"Remember that first night on the train?" she asks.
"Yeah."
"Worst ever." she says.
"Why?" I reply.
"I was still scared."
I sigh. Missing her heat, I move over and wrap her in my arms. I'm weak; not able to resist her for two minutes.
She laughs. "Not ever going to recover, Casey."
"Well, looks like we're going to have to sleep like this for a while then." I say.
"Good."
I kiss the top of her head, keeping my lips there for as long as I dare.
We stay in silence for a while. I'm almost asleep, Karma's heartbeat as my own melody, my lullaby.
Before I fall into a deep sleep, I catch a whisper in Karma's voice:
"It's real."
Then, unable to keep my eyes open for one more second to try and understand what she means, I fall out of the real world.
A/N: Hey! I'm so sorry for not posting! I've been busy with some things, but, believe me, I wanted to write so bad! Y'see, this is my last year at my school before I go to the next grade, so our grade is having a whole bunch of events. We have spirit week- hope I win queen!- and picnic and urban hike and water park field trip and graduation! No it's not a high school graduation. But I have to buy a dress! I don't like dresses! Well, not on me. Not my style. So yeah…. So I'm forgetting more things, so I guess that's it…. Please review and see you guys next update! Ciao!
~Telling Time Backwards