The Living Games
A/N Hello! I really need to stop dancing and start writing. It's becoming a habit to dance for half an hour and then start writing. Oops. Well anyway, I'm back again! Halloween has past and now I'm preparing for Christmas. I know Thanksgiving is next, but we don't really do much for it. What are you doing for your Winter Break? I'd like to hear about different cultures on holidays, so let me know if you'd like! I don't have an uploading schedule and it's actually fun. Hope you enjoy this chapter, since things are really starting to happen. Aubrey and Josh are getting a little too happy. I'd better do something about that soon. Also, this chapter includes a little violence, so be warned! Enjoy!
Chapter Twenty Two: Friend or Foe?
Aubrey was very thankful to wake up to clear skies and sunlight, a much needed sight after the previous night.
She rolled her shoulders and stood up, stretching and yawning. She looked over at Josh and smiled at him. He was doing jumping jacks in the most energetic way possible.
". . . 44, 45, 46 . . ."
Aubrey walked from under the shade of the tree and realized for the first time how thirsty she was. It was basically the fourth day, and she was very glad she had downed those two glasses before going into the arena. But she knew if they didn't find water soon, they might as well be over already.
Josh stopped at 50 and jogged over to her, a smile plastered on his face.
"Morning, sleepy head!"
"What's got you so happy?"
"Morning exercise. It can never hurt."
She rolled her eyes. "It hurts everything. And how long have you been awake?"
He scratched his neck.
"Uh, a couple of hours? I don't know. I've just been doing some stretches and I feel great!"
"Yeah, yeah. Today is the day, deer boy."
"Deer boy?"
"Yes. You hunt, do you not?"
"Well, yeah. But we don't see deer very often, unless we go deep—"
"What-ev-er. We're going hunting today, unless you're down to die from dehydration and starvation."
"Dehydration and starvation. Has a nice rhyme to it."
"So will your headstone engraving if you don't get on with it."
With a little more hustling, Josh and Aubrey were packed up and ready to hunt.
"I'll look for water, you look for food," Aubrey directed.
"Aye aye, Captain."
"We'll meet back here in about three hours."
"How are we supposed to tell—"
"Just come back when you're done. If you're in trouble, well, you've got a sword and you know how to use it. Good luck."
Josh nodded and lingered around for a bit.
"Josh . . . ?"
Aubrey trailed off when Josh hugged her tightly.
"Please be careful. I know you always are, but I just have a feeling . . ."
He shook his head.
"And with all the other tributes in these woods, I just want to know you'll be safe. Promise me."
"I promise."
"Now stick to it."
Josh let her go and walked away with a nervous smile.
Needless to say, Aubrey was very unnerved while hunting for water.
Usually when Josh got weird feelings about something, they proved to be true. Aubrey just hoped this wasn't the case this time.
After about twenty minutes of walking round and looking for signs of water, Aubrey found approximately two drops of what might've been pee. Whether or not it belonged to an animal or a human she couldn't tell, and she didn't want to know.
Aubrey thought she saw a few muddy foot prints going in one direction, and when she followed after them, she found a rotting rabbit.
She shook her head and went another way.
She started to notice different types of flowers growing on the ground, and she knew she was going the right way.
Aubrey ran excitedly towards the flowers, following along as the air grew clearer and the ground grew softer.
Aubrey just about jumped for joy when the sight of a river entered her view. It was about as wide as her body, and it was water. Water!
Aubrey took the two jugs out and filled them up with water. She almost forgot to put the water purifier in it, but she did, and she could feel her mouth becoming thirsty for the water.
After about fifteen minutes of waiting, Aubrey oddly felt like she was being watched.
She took out two of her knives (both made for slicing through human skin!) and crouched on the ground, peering into the treeline.
She was just about to turn around and call herself crazy when a dark shaped hurtled out of the woods and towards her.
Aubrey slashed out with one hand and rolled out of the way.
She knew her knife had hit something, even though the cut was most likely shallow.
A girl was kneeling where Aubrey was, an ax imbedded where her head would've been.
The girl turned towards Aubrey, her curly red hair caked with mud and a ferocious look in her eyes.
Aubrey briefly recognized her as the girl from District Six (Kelly or something). She looked a lot more deadly now than she had during training.
The girl got up and hissed at her, "Give me the water or die, Twelve."
As scared as she was, Aubrey gulped and mustered up a stupid comeback.
"There's a river right in front of you. Are you picky?"
Kelly screamed and swung the ax towards Aubrey, clearly more experienced than she had seemed to be.
Aubrey rolled to the side and got up standing, her two long knives poised and ready to strike.
Who knew District Six could swing an ax?
Aubrey slashed towards Kelly, hoping to deepen the earlier cut, but Kelly spun away and laughed.
Kelly swung at Aubrey and the two went at it, swinging and dodging and ducking.
Kelly put a lot of force into her swings, but she wasn't very fast and she didn't think about where she was swinging, clearly showing that she hadn't been using an ax for long.
Aubrey managed to land a deep stab on Kelly's right shoulder, but she just switched hands and kept swinging.
After a few minutes, Kelly seemed to get frustrated. She dropped her ax and grabbed Aubrey by her neck and slammed her against a tree with both hands.
"Give me the water!"
Aubrey screamed and squirmed under her hand, but she was a lot stronger than she looked.
"No!"
Aubrey kicked at her stomach and fell to the ground when Kelly let go.
She was done playing games now, and she knew even though Kelly seemed strong, she was well trained.
Aubrey grabbed the ax off of the ground and threw it at Kelly's hunched figure.
It sliced her arm, spilling a lot of blood and falling to the ground.
Kelly screamed and turned towards Aubrey, but Aubrey had already grabbed Kelly by the neck (karma) and stabbed her knife into her back.
Kelly gasped and fell, but Aubrey had to be sure she was down. She grabbed Kelly's hair and yanked it back, slicing her neck.
Aubrey dropped her when the cannon sounded and fell on the ground. She grabbed at her head and screamed a bit, trying to get the image of Kelly's surprised face out of her head.
After a few minutes of screaming, Aubrey picked herself up and grabbed her jugs, but they slipped out of her hands due to the bloodiness, and Aubrey held back tears.
She remembered what Josh had said before the training scores. Back then she hadn't thought about it, but after killing someone, she felt the affects. "We have to become murders. We have to kill people. Even if it is for survival, does that make it any better?"
It didn't make it any less hard to deal with.
Aubrey decided to stop wallowing in her feelings and get back to the tree.
She wiped the blood off of her hands on the ground and picked up her jugs, stored them in her pack, and picked up her knives. She put those back into their packs and stalked off without another glance at Kelly.
Kelly Marshall.
Back at the tree, Aubrey calmly took sips of water and waited for Josh to come back. She hoped the cannon going off hadn't scared him.
Aubrey looked down at her hands.
Murderer's hands.
She closed her eyes.
I'm sorry Kelly, Kelly's family.
Even if Kelly had tried to kill Aubrey first, she couldn't help but feel despicable. At the end of the day, Aubrey knew she had done what needed to be done. But she didn't feel better.
When Josh walked into the clearing an hour later carrying a stick with some animals on it, Aubrey almost burst into tears.
She ran towards him, tackling him into a hug.
Josh dropped his things and hugged her back.
"I was so worried . . . I thought it was you—"
Aubrey cut him off by shaking her head and squeezing him.
"I—It wasn't me. But it almost was."
Josh pulled back and grabbed her shoulders.
"What? Aubrey—"
"The girl from District Six—Kelly, she attacked me. I . . . I killed her. I'm a murderer."
Josh pulled her close and shook his head.
"No, you're not. She attacked you. If she had killed you, that would've made her a murderer. But you're not."
"I killed someone. That makes me a murderer."
"Aubrey, someday we'll all be murderers. When I kill someone, we'll be in the same boat. The Capitol is a murderer, not you. You had to kill her, you didn't have a choice. Don't beat yourself up about this like I know you will. Please."
Aubrey choked down a sob and nodded.
"Okay . . . okay. Well, I got water, and you got food. Let's get cooking."
Josh had managed to catch a two rabbits and a squirrel.
"Do you know how hard it is to hunt with a sword? Wish I had brought one of your knives."
"I do have one for animals."
"Amazing."
They couldn't eat the meat raw, so they decided to start a fire.
"Starting a fire is the best way to die in the arena, I know, but we don't have any other choice. Unless you feel like going back to the desert just to cook this."
Aubrey agreed, and they started a fire.
They made sure to cook it for as little time as possible, and they even went farther into the woods to make sure they couldn't be tracked.
They finished off half the rabbit and part of the squirrel and half of one of the jugs.
It was midday when they finished, and they didn't want to be in the same spot because of the fire.
"Our best bet is to find a tree for tonight."
"I've always wanted to sleep in a tree."
They packed up their stuff and headed off, going deeper into the forest.
They were nearing the cornucopia when Aubrey heard a weird sound, like the denting of metal.
She stopped walking and looked at Josh, mouthing, "Did you hear that?"
He nodded and they both hid behind a bush, peering into the clearing.
The cornucopia was there alright, and so were the Careers. They were laughing and throwing weapons at the surface, which was soft due to the afternoon sun.
All of the Careers had survived the Bloodbath, and they were all there.
All of them, including Andy!
He was sitting on the ground looking cautiously at the rest of the Careers.
One girl threw a knife at the ground, and it missed completely and hit a tree.
The guy from District Two laughed and said, "Yeah, Crystal, you should just stick to spears I think."
Crystal sneered and mocked him.
Andy mustered up a smile, but Aubrey knew he was uncomfortable.
"We all have things we're good at. Like, Gem is good at being stupid and I'm good at throwing tridents," Andy joked.
Gem glared at him and huffed. "Why did we beg you to join us again?"
"Because my amazing charms and along with Crystal's good looks will get us sponsors."
Crystal tilted her head.
"Are you hitting on me?"
Andy grinned.
"Maybe."
"You know I'm gay right?"
"Correct. We are in the same boat, except I'm not quite as gay."
Crystal shook her head and smiled.
"You'd better be glad you're funny."
"You think I'm funny?"
"Shut up!"
They all laughed, and for a moment, Aubrey felt worried that Andy had changed, but then the smile slid off his face and he continued to look at the ground with a guarded expression.
Aubrey knew he was a good actor, but not that good.
Aubrey smirked at him, even though he couldn't see it, A plan already forming in her head.
Don't worry. We're coming.