I wake up in the same position I've slept in, drenched in sweat.
I eat the leftover food from last night and drink the rest of the water. No one seems to be nearby. I know I'm at a great height, I climbed a lot of hills on the way. So the current plan is to stay alive around here, where no one can find me. Maybe they'll all kill each other and I'll end up winning. Who knows? During the 67th Games, Angelica Jones won by hiding until everyone else died. Maybe I can Angelica Jones them. It's pretty stranded around here. You can't blame a guy for dreaming.
After packing, I walk around to find another stream for water, and surprisingly, I find it almost immediately. I scan the area for anyone else. Nope, still just me. I begin to fill my bottle. I wonder how I missed this stream yesterday. It's a lot bigger than the other one, and it seems to be closer to the tree I slept in. Maybe I was just tired and didn't pay enough focus. I try not to overthink it. Yet, I can't help but notice that the water level has increased ever since I came here. I know streams don't always have a certain flow, but the change seems a bit too drastic for such a short amount of time.
Something feels off, I just can't figure out what it is. I keep walking, but I stop when a sound echoes through the woods. It's definitely caused by another stream, but it's stronger. My initial guess is a nearby waterfall, but it gets louder each second. There's too much echo, and I don't like it.
Suddenly, I take notice of the wetness below my feet. Water runs all over the ground, and the level increases every second. Afar, I spot a gigantic wave.
Flood.
I run for my life while considering my options, what to do during a flood? The first thing people tell you is to go somewhere high, but water is already running down the mountains; so that's not an option. I could try climbing on a tree, but I've gotten far from them. The water is above knee level now, so I give up and start swimming. While I look around for something to hold on to, a big wave comes, and I'm completely submerged.
I'm not a bad swimmer, but I've never been a great one either. I try to swim above, but the force pulling me down is too strong.
I've never noticed how silent it is underwater until today. I can only see the light the water refracts, and the leaves that swim around. I consider giving up, briefly. Just let the stream take me away. Fill my lungs with water. Aren't we all better off dead? We've all killed like savages, and we won't stop doing so until we stop fearing for our lives. Until only one of us is left. I could just give up now, early on. It would save me a lot of trouble. At least I wouldn't die from being speared by Brian, or sliced by Betsy. It would be the closest thing I could get to a natural death. Drowning. It would be the most peaceful death in the arena, once my lungs were completely filled with water.
No.
I need to stop doing this. I promised them. Mom, Alex, Gabriel, Jean. I need to fight.
I begin to swim upward, using the final bits of strength I have left.
Mom, Alex, Gabriel, Jean.
Come on, I think. Just a little more.
Just when black spots begin to appear in front of me, I make it out and gasp for air. The sky almost blinds me, I need to blink a couple of times before regaining my vision. But of course, my relief doesn't last long. The water throws me around like a stick, and pushes me down the hill, into the lake I saw yesterday. The lake I have avoided like the plague.
Anyone can find this lake. It is the biggest water source in the arena, which means it's the most dangerous place. I need to go up the hills again. I swim to the land to get the hell out of here. I hold onto the weeds and pull myself upward. I cough the water in my lungs onto the ground.
"They're allies, Monet and St. John. I bet they'll try to lure the underdogs from Twelve and Thirteen to join them. Uh, no offense." I hear someone say.
"You know what that means, Gracie, your boyfriend," Someone else teases. I recognize that voice. Selene. "What would you do then?"
Gracie?
"I told you not to call me that."
Emma GraceFrost.
"Hey, it's him!"
Fuck. My. Life.
They all stare at me in disbelief, then I begin to sprint into the woods.
"Come here, loverboy," Shaw yells at me. "We'll be gentle!"
The last time I ran away from this many people was when I was in elementary school, running from a bunch of bullies. While I was being chased, I remember running past Emma while she played hopscotch with Astrid Bloom. And now she's chasing me with them. Life's funny that way, isn't it?
An arrow flies past me. How did I forget? Megan has the crossbow.
I need to do something. It's only a matter of time before Selene begins throwing her blades, which she's extremely good at. They're seven, and I'm one. I can't keep running, they'll catch up soon enough. I need a plan. What to do, what to do... If Emma was in my place, she'd definitely play a mental round of chess right now to outsmart them. That's what I meant when I told her she could fight the others in a way I couldn't. I have arena skills. But she's smart. I'm not calling myself stupid obviously, but Emma is at another level. She can read others in a way I can't and knows how to deliver. She'd definitely play to their weaknesses right now, or she'd... Wait a minute. That's it!
What would Emma do right now?
I take a look at them. If I can put a little bit of distance between us... I speed up, even though my lungs are close to giving up. My eyes land on a pine tree. Climb! Emma would climb. She told me pine trees are not the easiest to climb during training, but I take a chance and get to work. I briefly stumble, but hugging the tree keeps me from falling. They circle the tree.
"Like that's going to help you!" Selene laughs.
"Shoot an arrow," Shaw orders Megan. I hear the sound of a crossbow being loaded and wait for the outcome.
Hah! It doesn't even get close. Selene throws a blade, but she misses as well. Not so good vertically, are you? Megan keeps shooting arrows, but at this point, she's just wasting them. Brian roughly takes it from her and shoots as well, this time the arrow gets closer, but it's still a miss.
"Maybe you should come back after you learn how to fucking aim," I say, and keep climbing. It's a difficult climb, but I had a good teacher. Emma watches me, arms crossed. Shaw begins to climb after me, with a machete in his hand.
Emma said the careers were good at everything. But can he climb? He's slow but he's going good so far. If he makes it, I'll have to fight him on a tree, and I don't know how I will do that. I climb faster.
"I'm coming," Shaw says, with a sinister smirk on his lips. He falls right after he says it. I would laugh if my life wasn't in danger. Brian offers Shaw his arm.
"I'm fine!" Shaw hits him and gets off the ground.
"You," Selene says, pointing at Emma. "I saw you climb. You're good. Get him."
Oh no.
"This is getting interesting," Betsy smirks.
Shut up, Betsy.
Shaw approaches Emma. "You can climb?"
No, Emma, no.
"Well, I-"
Shaw drags Emma in front of the tree. "Climb." He takes a blade from Selene and hands it to Emma.
It's not just about killing me, it's the ultimate loyalty test. I'm certain that she'll die before me if she refuses. But if she doesn't…
Then Emma Frost will kill me.
She looks at the blade, at the careers, then at me. She begins to climb. There's a high chance that I'm a dead man. She's better at climbing. She's faster than me. She's going to get me. And I taught her how to throw blades, so she won't have to get close after a certain distance.
So perhaps I was right all along. I did shake hands with my killer during the reaping.
Emma follows me ambitiously, at an even faster pace than mine. I don't know how long we can keep this going. We're both pretty high and lost among the branches. I'm certain they can't see us now.
I can't keep climbing like this.
"Emma," I mutter, only loud enough for us to hear.
My thoughts race. What if it was all an act all along? How she had been with me ever since we got to the Capitol. What if she was pretending to be scared so that I'd teach her some stuff? So that I wouldn't be a threat to her at the arena. The personal things she revealed while we trained, the other night; was it all just a game? Was I no different to her than another person she could manipulate?
Wouldn't it make perfect sense? It explains a lot. She's with them now, and she's done with me. It was all an act, like everything she did. We were right about her. Maybe she is just Winston Frost's daughter. Just as cunning, just as manipulative, just as vicious. Like father, like daughter.
I've been so stupid. I let her get into my head! She made me think she actually cared about me! I let her play me like a violin. But it's okay. It's fine. Two can play this game. Once she reaches me, we'll see who plays who.
Emma won't kill me, I'll kill her.
Emma raises her head. Her hair is somehow disheveled, she has some minor cuts on her face. She's okay, but she looks tired. I recognize the look on her face immediately. It's the same look she had on the train, she's calculating. But this time, it's to kill me. Maybe that was her intention all along, who the hell knows when it's her? We're only separated by a couple of branches. She's close enough to throw the blade and end it all, with the right aim. I wonder if she'll do it now. It would take her a second. She taught me well, but I taught her well too. Except for the birds, the rustling of the trees, and the barely audible cheering coming from under the tree, the silence between us is like a tightrope. I don't know what she's waiting for, and I don't know what I'm waiting for either. This is bound to happen, isn't it? I draw the axe in front of me.
"I'll do it," I say, quietly. "You're your father's daughter, Emma. I'll give you that. I may have bought your act at the penthouse, but don't think it'll stop me."
The moment the words leave my lips, Emma freezes. Her eyes aren't cold or determined like they usually are. Instead, she's staring at me like I'm the dumbest person alive, yet again. She looks disgusted, even.
"I hate you," She mutters, under her breath. The words don't carry a trace of spite, just exhaustion.
I stay still, with the axe still in my hand. I'm shaking like a leaf, and I only notice when I look at the axe.
Emma closes her eyes, takes two deep breaths, and then…
She lets go.
Oh.
The height isn't fatal, but it's bound to hurt. I wince upon hearing the thud.
So... My speculations about Emma in the last five minutes? Yeah, let's scratch all that.
Emma hyperventilates on the ground, she fell on her back. I can only imagine the pain. I feel like an asshole for drawing the axe. I was thinking of harming her seconds before she jumped off a tree for me. But in my defense, she was climbing after me with a blade. It wasn't like she was radiating trust. I just hope this doesn't hurt the act. No, screw the act, I hope Emma isn't severely hurt. I hate myself right now, as I watch her try to sit up but fail each time. She's not okay. I wish she just threw the blade instead. I get that letting herself fall was two birds with one stone, they wouldn't gang up on her for not killing me and I'd stay alive. But we could come up with something else. They couldn't see us, we had time.
"Ah, shit," Jamie says, arms resting on his hips.
"Loser," Selene walks past Emma. "I'll do it myself,"
"Don't," Emma breathes out. "It's a hard tree. I'm experienced and I fell. You'll end up worse."
"Well, what do you suggest, Gracie?" Selene asks her, annoyed.
Emma tries to sit up but fails again. Jamie aids her.
"Let's just wait until he comes down. He has to. He needs food and water. He'll have to come down." Emma suggests, staring at me. "Won't you, darling?" She says between her teeth.
I turn my head around to cover my smirk.
"Good enough for me," Shaw chuckles. "We'll see how long he lasts. Madrox, start the fire."
Damn.
Except for the occasional arrow Megan shoots and Selene's teasing, they don't do much. Shaw hunts and cooks some food, hoping I'll get hungry and give up. I can always eat the crackers in my backpack, but I'm saving those for an emergency. I'm not that hungry anyway, I had breakfast.
Eventually, they all go to sleep next to the fire. Even Jamie, who was up to keep an eye on me. All except Emma, of course. She lies next to Megan, who took a look at her back a while ago. It's bad. Not only it's covered in bruises, but I've noticed that her movements have been slower ever since the fall. She tried to walk it off, but I saw her bite her inner cheek way too many times. All I can do is hope she's better by the morning.
My gaze doesn't leave Emma.
"I'm sorry," I mouth.
We're good at lip reading. We discovered it while training together. We'd walk towards the opposite ends of the training center and could still do it. Emma even suggested we tried out some things from sign language, but I refused. I regret that now. Not that this isn't working, but it'd be another way to communicate. I doubt we are the only ones who can read lips.
She shrugs.
"Are you going to sleep?"
"No. Escape while you can."
I ignore her. "Did you sleep at all?"
"I don't trust them."
I lean on the branch. "Sleep. I'll watch them."
She rolls her eyes, but she doesn't resist it.
Emma goes to sleep, and I'm alone again. The fire crackles. There isn't a lot of wind, just a slight chill. I loved spending nights in the woods back home. Running in them, getting the fresh air. I've always wanted a motorcycle to drive on the forest path, ever since I was a kid. Even the thought feels liberating. But if I do get out of here, I don't think I'll want to be near the woods anytime soon. No. I'll be in bed for weeks. I'll be with my family. With Jean.
I've never seen Emma sleep before. She's so different from her usual self. Most people look peaceful while sleeping. Gabriel. Jean. The rest of the careers. But that's Emma when she's awake. When she's asleep, she looks high strung. Like something's out to get her. She shuffles way too often, and changes positions. I doubt she's comfortable sleeping on the ground with her back hurt, but at least she's getting some rest. She needs it to get better. I'll watch her for a couple of hours, and get down before they wake up.
The fallen aren't displayed in the sky today, no cannons were heard either.
And it's all because Emma saved my life again.