Chapter 12 – Allies

Somewhere in the hovercraft overhead, a gong sounds for us to take off and I don't hesitate. My heart's pounding in my chest and I breathe heavy to keep up with it as I run off my pedestal, remembering my training. I'm fast – I know I'm fast – I'm probably faster than anyone here. I'm not dying yet. My eyes are set on that forest. If I can make it there alive, I know I've achieved something.

I'm so close to that backpack, now. It's getting closer… closer… almost there. I can feel the blood pounding in my ears with anxiety and anticipation. I can hear the heavy huffs of my breath as I run for my life, and feel the Earth beneath me shake with the rhythm of my heart as my feet pound the ground. People are dying around me. I hear screaming, blades thrashing, people yelling in agony, flesh tearing… I've never seen this much fighting – this much blood. People are losing things that are meant to stay inside of them, and it makes me sick, even with a quick glance. I feel a pang of nausea, but I need to keep going. Suddenly, something wet hits my pale and horror- stricken face. Just inches from the backpack now, I skid to a halt in terror and turn my head to meet whatever is coming at me.

A Hufflepuff drops to his knees a look of complete shock and fear taking over his young and innocent face. Blood gushes heavily from his mouth as he makes spine chilling gurgling sounds. He has a blade in his hand – probably just about to kill me. I pant in fear, looking around for the person that killed him. When the boy's body hits the ground, I notice a spear in his back. My heart lurches and my breath slightly hitches as I forget to breathe. Harry.

He quickly runs over to retrieve his weapon from the Hufflepuff's crimson back. Blood from his body begins to stain the green grass in red, stretching a pool around him. His body is still twitching and he's still gagging. Eventually, he stops his suffering and goes limp against the ground. Harry's green eyes meet mine and I swallow the hard knot in my throat at the look on his face. His green eyes are full of remorse and I can see his hand shaking while he holds the spear in his right hand. Regret takes over his face, but I can't help but hint a slight pang relief. Maybe it's becasue he just saved me from getting stabbed to death. He gives me a curt nod before taking off for the woods, not even bothering about anything else.

Quickly, I snatch up my backpack and run for it. As I'm running I can see the scene around me. Goyle took my advice and already has his sword from the cornucopia. I almost forget to breathe when I see him slice a Hufflepuff's stomach open, freeing the intestines, and spins quickly around to cut a Ravenclaw's throat just before she has time to rise up her spotless, silver knife. I don't know what possesses me to stop, but my legs won't move. I'm horrified. Did he really just kill two tributes at the same time?

When his eyes meet mine, I feel an unpleasant shiver running up and down my spine. He smirks that famous grin of his. "MALFOY!" He pushes the Ravenclaw's bloody body away from him, making her corpse hit the ground; blood spewing and spitting from the slit in her throat. He finally bolts over to me.

RUN! RUN!

I stagger, slightly hesitant, and run into the woods, where I'm finally covered by trees and bushes. I take a glimpse over my shoulder to see who we lost. Neville, Seamus, all the Hufflepuffs and most of the Ravenclaws, all covered in blood. Some look gutted… some without limbs. Neville has throwing knifes in his back and – wait – I almost skid to a stop. Throwing knives? Pansy?

Suddenly I hear something rustling in the underbrush near me and I turn my head away from the blood bath, but before I can even see what's going on ahead of me, a flash of red hits me and I stagger to stand. I hear a deep grunt from whoever rammed into me and I lose my balance. Both my attacker and I go down a deep hill. I grunt in pain when I feel something smash my shoulder on the way down. I can't see who my attacker is, but whoever it is, they're not attempting to hurt me. When my body thumps the solid ground hard, I feel slightly winded. Nevertheless, I push myself up to see who ran into me. My blood goes cold when I come face to face with Ron Weasley. We both stare at each other, horrified, like one of us is waiting to kill the other. Neither of us attempts it. Ron jerks away when he hears rustling near the top of the hill. We both jump to our feet, hesitantly, as if one of us will kill the other without warning. But instead, we part away from each other without looking back.

I don't stop running and I don't look behind me. I'm so out of breath, my throat is dry and my shoulder hurts like hell. The pain is holding me back, I know it, and my pace beings to slow down with exhaustion and panic. No! Keep running! He'll find you if you stop!

Forcing my legs forward, I keep pushing. The cameras are on me now I know it, but I'm not worried about that, I'm worried about what might have happened to my shoulder. What the hell did I hit on the way down that hill? It feels dislocated or badly bruised.

I don't know how long I've been running, but I can't anymore. Panting heavily, I stop by a tree to catch my breath. I lean against it and wheeze to breathe; clutching my chest, feeling my legs tremble with exhaustion from under me. I can't stay here; I feel too out in the open. Looking around, I notice a small ditch beside the tree I'm near. My legs are shaky, partly because I'm tired, but mostly because I'm terrified.

I use the tree to hold me up as I make my way down the ditch, fearing me legs will buckle from under me if I don't have any support. When I'm finally out from the open, I try – more than ever to get myself to calm down. I'm surprised I still have whatever is left of my sanity in tack after what I saw back there. Okay, calm down, you're alone now. Just breathe. I tell myself. I throw my head back against the dirty, rock hard barrier behind me and shut my eyes for a moment until I hold myself together.

Neville. I can't believe we lost him, and… Pansy – she's the only one who would use throwing knives, but part of me doesn't want to believe she killed him. It does seem like something Pansy would do, I just… don't want to admit it to myself she did. Seamus looked like he was trying to cover Neville and from what I saw, he got a sword in his stomach. Since after he died, he landed relatively close to Neville's body. I'm guessing it was sacrifice. Seems like a pretty noble and brave thing for a Gryffindor to do anyway.

I finally begin to feel my breathing become shallower after a long moment of silence, when suddenly, something makes me shoot my eyes open and jolt my head up.

The cannon.

After a Tribute dies, the Capitol sounds off a cannon to announce that a Tribute has fallen. At night their pictures come up on the hovercraft so we can see who we lost. I'm counting the shots – 1… 2… 3… 4… 5… 6… 7… 8… 9… 10… 11… 12.

Twelve dead – twelve alive. Including Goyle and his little followers.

Once I finally catch my breath, I can dig through my backpack. I slide it off my back and set it down in front of me.

When I open it I find: a tin can of medicine, some bandages, sun glasses… I shrug... Maybe they could be of some use. What else do I have? A water bottle. I grab it quickly, and unscrew the top as if desperate for even a drop of water. But when I lean the bottle to my mouth I sigh in aggravation. Empty… Of course it's empty; no one's nice enough to give us poor unfortunate souls some damn water. They expect us to find it ourselves… but I don't know how to look for water. I'm surprised I even made it this far.

Great… Now I'm getting thirsty with just the thought of it. Most of us will die of natural causes out here anyway… I don't want that to be my death row. If I die, I want to know I fought for something.

What else…

A rope… I guess I can use this if I sleep in a tree like a god damn fugitive. No fires and I'm not sleeping on the ground. I can be killed very easily in my sleep and found much faster with a fire. So… fire and ground is out for me. I'll just find a nice hard tree for my boney ass. I miss my bed back home…

I'm not leaving this spot either, although I should soon. This whole arena is operated by Mad Eye and the other Game Keepers. That means they can make it day time or night time whenever they want; they have a whole operating system in the Capitol where they see and control everything in here. It's actually a very big arena, but for some reason it's so easy to find everyone. I think it's because we all tend to migrate on the same side of this place. But whenever something weird happens, you can assume it's Mad Eye's doing. He tells the other Game Keepers what he wants, and they make it happen. So it might get dark soon, which means I should pack up and be on my way, anxiety or not.

I also haven't heard the cannon for a few minutes. I'm surprised Cho is still alive – at least I think she is; I couldn't get a clear look at all the fallen Ravenclaws back at the blood bath, so I'm just guessing. Lavender too. I'm really shocked she's still around. She seems all to pretty and perfect to be in something like this.

Sun is setting… I should get going.

I stuff everything back in my backpack as neatly as I can and put my water bottle in one of the side pockets so it's within easy reach. Now, I'm off. I get to my feet slowly, still a bit shaken up from what I saw back there. Back on the train I remember Goyle complaining about fighting like a Muggle… he's doing a pretty damn good job at it despite what he said. Solitude seemed to do him well. I mean, he gutted a Hufflepuff and slit a Ravenclaw's throat open in one whole attack… I can't even do that, nor do I want to. The sight of blood tends to make me sick. Or just gore in general. Over the summers when I was younger, Blaise would have us all sleep over his house and watch horror movies, even though he knew I hated them. And at night, when we all tried to sleep, he spent the quietness of the night trying to scare me (Aside from Goyle's snoring, which was scary in itself). I know it sounds childish, but this is how my friends use to tease me. In a strange way, I love those good times and I miss them terribly. But just the thought of them makes me smile, briefly taking my mind of off everything that's happening around me at this moment.

Now, my mind is brought back to hunger. I should have eaten this morning – my stomach is growling by now and my mouth is starting to get dry. Alright, forget food, think about something else.

What if Goyle is secretly following me and I just don't know it? He's huge and his feet are enormous – I would have heard him since he doesn't know how to step quietly, but still… I'm paranoid and I keep glancing over my shoulder for him, not knowing when his sword will go through my chest. I sigh softly at the thought of him. I miss him. Part of me really misses him. I miss Crabbe, and even Marcus – everyone. What were the odds that we all ended up in this together? We've been through pretty much everything imaginable just by staying loyal to one another. Even Harry and me, despite the fact that we were enemies most of our lives, we both went through a lot together. I can say the same thing for Ron and Hermione. We hate each other yes, but even still, they were a part of my life and I was a part of theirs.

I'm trying to keep my mind off water… I miss Pansy – I wonder where she is, what she's doing. Is she looking for me? I smirk at the thought. Probably not. She told me she'd never change and that she'd always love me, but did she really mean that? If or when she finds me in the Games will she kill me or let me go? Will I let her go? Yes. Of course I'd let her go, even if she tries to kill me – I won't fight her back. And Harry. He took a life back at the blood bath. I didn't even see that Hufflepuff come at me, brandishing a knife and everything. If he didn't get to me in time I would have been part of that pile of bodies near the cornucopia. I secretly thank him for saving my life…again… but I've never seen him kill out of protection before – or actually, I've never seen him kill at all.

If I encounter him, will he kill me? Maybe he just saved my life only so he can rip me open himself. No, that's not Harry, but then again, these Games change people. I mean they really change us. I don't know what it is, but there's something about the arenas they put us in that turn the weak at heart evil. It could be dark magic, I don't know, and then again, it could just be our inner greed wanting power, revenge, and victory. I immediately think of Goyle again, shivering when his ugly face pops into my head. But he's just naturally evil at heart, so not much has changed.

We were good friends before all this madness happened; now he's turned into a monster. In order to keep what's left of our dignity under control, we need to learn to fight whatever is trying to turn us away from the light. I wish I knew this before I got my dark mark. I grip my left arm at the thought. Maybe I could have helped myself instead of just letting Voldemort consume me. Maybe… maybe if I was stronger I wouldn't be a one of them. I'd be me… nothing else but me… I wouldn't be the monster – the killer that I am. But even though he's dead I still feel like he owns me. As long as I have this mark on my arm I'll always feel that way.

Everyone wants to win for the same reasons; no one wants to die, but only one comes out alive. Out of the twelve of us that are left right now, one will stand alone and be the victor. There can't be two. If God willing, I do win, I'll lose both Harry and Pansy. I can't live with that. Harry is stronger than me – much stronger. He's lost everyone in his life, yet he still manages to keep that amazing smile on his face.

I'm not like that – I can't handle lose or pain. And honestly, if I do win, I don't know if I'll make it back home alive… Yes… I'm implying that I'll take my own life.

My stomach interrupts my thoughts, and I'm suddenly reminded of how hungry and thirsty I am again.

I sigh as I walk the clearing slowly. Suddenly I jump when I hear a scream.

"No, please!" My heart starts pounding in my chest.

"Where you think you're going, Ravenclaw." Who is that? It sounds like… my eyes widen and I instinctively take a step back.

"Goyle." At first I think I say his name in my head, but by the hoarseness and fear in my tone, I realize I'm saying his name aloud and immediately clamp my hand over my mouth. Looking around, I realize no one is close enough to hear me, so I cautiously walk forward.

"No, stop, please!" He said Ravenclaw. But that doesn't sound like Cho...

My heart lurches. Luna!

I quick the walk and run in the direction of her scream, which isn't too far from me. I can't let Goyle see me so I take cover near a few thick trees. Their conversation is getting closer and I strain my neck around the trunk and leaves to get a better look.

I can't see Luna too well because she's being held back by Crabbe and Marcus and their backs are towards me. The only thing about Luna I can really see are her arms being tightly held behind her back, and her long, curly, blond hair tied up in a ponytail, allowing her curly and now, messy hair to drip down the middle of her shoulder blades. Blaise and Pansy are with them too, but there's something off about Blaise. He's smirking… like he's enjoying this…

"Stop… please… don't kill me…" I have never heard Luna sound so terrified. But even now, her voice still sounds shallow and small.

"Goyle stop this!" Pansy says, "Kill her already, can't you see she's in pain!?"

Pain? Luna's hurt. It's then I notice blood dripping on the ground from her waist. She must have been stabbed. I look around for the knife and find a bloody one in Marcus' free hand. It's soaked in crimson to the hilt, dripping blood on his hand while he holds it.

Goyle turns to Pansy and she backs up. My eyes widen and my nails scratch the bark nervously. "What'd you say, bitch?"

Pansy backs up with trauma in her eyes. "I…I'm just saying-" She gives a loud yelp when Goyle grabs her by the hair. "I'm not interested in you yet… I still need to kill your cute little boy friend, so don't make me gut you early!"

Pansy whimpers in pain and finally, Goyle releases her. He turns to Blaise with a nod of approval. "Kill her."

Blaise nods back to him in agreement with a smirk on his face. I shake my head as I watch him. No, Blaise… no…

He twirls his knife around in his hand and slashes it at her throat. He's so quick about it that I hardly know what's happening. I cover my mouth in shock, trying not to yell. Luna gags and gurgles up blood through her mouth. All I see is blood spill on the ground like a full bucket of water. Marcus and Crabbe let her go and her limp, dead body falls into her own puddle of blood.

I shake my head, "Blaise…" I say into my hand. Then the cannon shoots off, announcing Luna's death. I can't take my eyes off of her body. Her back is towards me, but just watching her die is enough to make me lose part of my sanity.

I whimper into my palm, feeling like I might vomit and shut my eyes, leaning my head against the trunk of this tree.

Suddenly I hear Blaise shuffle in the leaves like something startled him, "Who's there!?" My eyes shoot open and I spin around, pinning my back against the back of the tree trunk, out of sight.

"What did you see?" I hear Goyle say. I want to run, but they'll see and/or hear me if I do. I can't take that chance so I press my back harder against the trunk and stay quiet and perfectly still.

"I don't know. I just thought I heard something." Blaise says thoughtfully.

"Come on, let's go, I'm hungry." Crabbe says.

"Whatever it was, it's gone now." I hear Marcus say, "I'm hungry too…"

"We're all hungry you nimrods! Get your weapons and let's go! You people better know how to hunt because The Dragon won't be the only throat I'm slitting." Goyle barks. I wait until their footsteps are out of ear shot before I release my held breath.

What did I just see? I'm still horror stricken – did Blaise really just… I shake my head. He said he would never change. Now he's becoming just as sick as Goyle. "No…" I breathe, pressing the back of my head to the tree. "Don't so this, Blaise…" I say to no one in particular.

Okay, I need to pull myself together and get out of here. I sigh and look around the tree at Luna's body. I hesitate and bite my lip before looking around at my surroundings carefully. Good, no one's coming, so I quietly make my way into the clearing.

As I get closer I try to ignore the feel of being sick. There's so much blood – her whole body is practically swimming in it. I swallow the lump in my throat as I kneel down beside her face. Her eyes are open and bloody. I look at her with sympathy for a moment before gently shutting her eyes close. "I'm sorry, Luna…" I whisper.

Suddenly I feel a strong a wind and look up above the trees to see the hovercraft readying to lower its large claw to pick up Luna's body. I back far away to give room and watch as she gets lifted into the hovercraft. The wind is still strong as the hovercraft starts to leave, and I quickly scan the area before leaving the clearing to continue my search for water.

I wonder where they even put the bodies after the Tributes die. In some part of hovercraft, yes, but where?

I still can't figure out why Blaise would ally himself with Goyle and his Nazis. That's what people tend to do in the Games. They become allies for a little while until someone decides to cut the string. I had a feeling Goyle would end up with Marcus and Crabbe, but Blaise? Pansy looked like she was forced to join – she seemed all too scared to just walk in on her own.

But, Blaise… Why? I know him, and Blaise would never kill. I knew he looked out of it this morning; he must have been trying to pick which side he's on. I'll need to steer clear of him from now on; so now out of the eleven tributes standing, I have four enemies. Four. If I'm ever so unfortunate to encounter all four of them at the same time –

I don't even want to think about it.

The sky is getting a bit darker. The sun is setting and I still haven't found any source of water or food. My arms wrap around my waist as my stomach starts to growl again. I'm so hungry… Thirsty…

There's got to be something to eat in the woods. I've heard some types of bark and roots can be okay… leaves too, even barriers, but I'm not taking any chances with barriers. I have no idea which ones are poisonous and which ones aren't.

I groan as my stomach snarls again. Food and water would have to wait for the night; I need to find a place to sleep before it gets too dark.

I walk around a bit more until I find the thickest tree with as many leaves a possible. I dig a toe into the bark of the trunk and reach my arm up to grab a branch. There's a piercing pain in my shoulder and I pull back with a grunt. I forgot about falling down that hill and now I'm just reminded of how bad my shoulder hurts.

I hop down from the tree, pressing my back against it and holding my shoulder in agony. It hurts so badly, but I don't think it's broken. I give myself a few moments for the pain to ebb before turning back to the tree. Then I suddenly hear rustling, like a million footsteps.

"There he is!" I hear a voice yell.

Oh no… No….

I spin around and there they are. All four of them, running towards me – wait… Four…. Where's Blaise? My heart starts to pound as they laugh and yell – eager to kill me.

My feet don't move for some reason. I'm frozen.

"DRACO, RUN! RUN!" Pansy screams. That must have been what I was waiting for because I take off.

"Where you think you're going, Dragon!?" I hear Marcus taunt behind me.

No, I won't stop running. Goyle's laughing insanely. I don't want him to kill me. He'll torture me. I can't let him get me, not yet, not now.

"DRACO!" I hear Pansy scream again, but she sounds like she's in pain. I skid to a halt and spin around. Goyle has an arm wrapped around her waist, binding her arms to her sides. His free hand is holding his sword, that's held up to Pansy's throat.

I take a step forward, feeling the fire build up inside me. He pulls the sword closer to her and I stop moving at the sound of Pansy's yelp. "Ah, ah, ah. Don't come any closer." Goyle says.

I freeze and look at Pansy nervously. "Goyle, please… Let her go…"

"In a moment. Blaise, grab him."

I look around for Blaise, but I don't see him. Suddenly I hear rusting in the bushes and something tight wraps around my throat. I grip whatever it is to let me go, squirming.

"No, no." A familiar voice says in my ear. Whatever is wrapped around my throat tugs on me, making me gag. It's Blaise. He tightens his hold around my throat and I pull his arm so I can breathe.

"Now, Draco…" Goyle says, stroking Pansy's cheek with his blade, "You can either do what I ask, or your pretty little slut dies."

I try to wrangle myself away from Blaise, but he tugs on my throat hard, making me yelp, tossing my head back against his shoulder with a heavy hitch of my breath. "She doesn't have much time…." Goyle taunts, bringing the sword back down under Pansy's chin, readying to cut her throat. She cries in pain.

"No! Stop!" I gag. Blaise loosens his hold on me so I can speak. "Okay… Okay, I'll do what you say – whatever you say, just please don't hurt her!"

Goyle smirks and let's Pansy go, "Good boy. Let him go, Blaise. But don't' be gentle."

He releases me roughly and leaves to join Goyle and the others. Pansy whimpers and runs into my arms, desperate to get away from them, and I don't blame her. I hug her tight and let her cry. "It's okay. You're okay…" I say in her ear panting in fear. Goyle laughs and taps his sword on his shoulder.

"Now, what do you want, Goyle?" I say as I push Pansy behind me. If anyone is getting hurt here, it's me.

Goyle turns to the others and they all start to smirk like they're all thinking of a secret plan and it amuses them. Slowly, he starts making his way over to me, and I back up, keeping Pansy close behind me.

"Potter." My eyes widen in shock. "And you, pretty boy…" He gently strokes my cheek with his blade and I stay perfectly still, not taking my fear filled eyes off of his cold and evil ones. "You are gonna lead us to him."

I swallow hard, "What do you want with Harry? It's me you're after and I'm standing, alive, right in front of you."

"Right." He leans in and presses his blade closer to my face, making me pull away slightly. "I'm saving the best for last."

"You're a coward, Goyle. You won't kill me – you can't."

He scowls at me and lowers his blade. Just when I think he's finished he grabs my throat with his thick, fat hand. I gasp for air and grab his arm, forcing him back, but he's way too strong. Pansy squeaks in horror behind me and grips my shoulders.

"Oh, I can't!? Say one more word and you'll see how fast I can snap your neck like a twig."

"Goyle, he didn't mean it!" Pansy says from behind me, "Please just let him go! He'll take you to Harry!"

I feel my heart slowing down. I can't breathe and I can't even gasp for any air – his hand is wrapped around my neck too tightly. It feels like my throat is actually caving in, not allowing any air in or out, like I'm being strangled by a snake. He looks down at me and smirks, pulling me closer. I cough, looking away from his hideous grin.

"You will lead us to him. Understand?"

I can feel every bit of life draining out of me, but I still manage to nod my head. "Good." He sneers and lets me go. I can't stand upright and have to grip a tree trunk to keep my balance. My hand slams onto my chest as I gasp for the air I lost.

I feel Pansy rub my back and hear the others laughing. "You okay?" Pansy asks. I nod when I start to catch my breath.

"Someone make a fire." Goyle orders. Marcus and Crabbe run off for fire wood, which leaves Pansy and me alone with Goyle and Blaise.

We sit against a tree, waiting for the others to return. Across from us, Goyle and Blaise are having their own conversation.

I sigh and hug my legs to my chest, rubbing my arms to keep warm.

This will be a long night.

AN: Well, here we go, the first chapter of actually being in the Games is here. I feel like it's been a while since I updated, and I apologize, but college just felt like throwing so much to me at once. But luckily I got this weekend to write. I also hope this one is good enough. It took me awhile to edit. This chapter has been done for awhile, but it didn't read well to me, so I did some major editing to it. Maybe it was becasue I rushed it at first since I had so many ideas. But nevertheless I think it's good enough to post now! I hope you like it. I'm very sorry if there are still some minor errors. It's been one looooong day, and tomorrow I can finally relax. But I just really wanted to get this chapter up tonight. Well, I hope you like it! I need to go get some sleep before I use my laptop as a very uncomfortable pillow. Lol. Chapter 13 will be up soon! Hope you keep reading and that you're enjoying it so far :)