The Passing
The next thing I know is I'm waking up and my entire body hurts. Before I even open my eyes I can tell that it's around noon, maybe later, which means I was passed out all last night. My head is throbbing terribly but I open my eyes anyways. As I suspected the beating sun causes my head to throb even worse but I look at my surroundings.
I'm covered in mud and I notice that the river is nearby. I look at my hands and the swelling has gone down drastically and the mud covers my welts from the Tracker-Jackers. Somehow this mud must have been able to help with the swelling. I frown and look around for Jean. I don't remember making it all the way to the river so Jean must have been able to bring me here. But he was just as bad as I was. I sit up slowly. My whole body aches and the mud smells awful. I start to crawl towards the river.
"I wouldn't wash off the mud just yet."
I turn and I see Jean walking towards me. He's walking very slowly though and still walks with a limp. The swelling has gone down in his face but it's still covered in mud. "The stings are still healing and the mud helps draw the venom out." He tells me.
"What happened to me?" I ask, remembering the horrifyingly vivid moments of seeing all those dead people.
"Tracker-Jacker venom somehow makes you hallucinate your worst fears. Tracker-Jackers were scientifically bred by the Capitol and were originally used as a torturing device against the rebels after the Walls were built."
"Did you have any hallucinations?" I ask.
Jean looks away from me, "Yeah."
"And you were still able to carry me all the way to the river?"
"I'm actually not sure how I did that." He admits. He then looks at me concerned, "Are you okay?"
I frown. "What do you mean?"
He closes his eyes and sighs, "Look, Mikasa. I don't know what you were hallucinating. You don't have to tell me. But it seemed really intense, you were crying and screaming and thrashing around and from what I saw from my hallucinations, well, I just want to make sure you are okay."
I close my eyes and I can still see my mother turning into a monster and Eren's mother being burned alive, and Eren's eyes filled with hate. I can see it clearly, just like its right in front of me and happening all over again. I can still hear them blaming me for not being able to save them.
I grasp on to my red scarf tightly. "I'm fine."
A while later Jean says that most of the venom should be out by now and we can wash off the mud. But first we both drink heavily from the river and my stomach starts to growl from hunger. I haven't eaten anything since before the storm and that was just a slice of dried meat and a few berries. We then wade farther into the water to wash off the mud and I notice some fish swimming by our feet. After the mud is mostly washed off I go back to shore and grab a long, thick, branch and with Eren's knife I begin to sharpen one of the ends.
"What are you doing?" Jean asks.
"Are you hungry?"
"Starving."
I wade back into the water and with my perfect accuracy and quick reflexes; I'm able to spear a fish. I give that one to Jean and go back out to get one for myself. "You're amazing, you know that?" Jean says smiling. We no longer worry about drawing attention to ourselves so we decide to start a fire.
"So there are only you, me, Sasha and Reiner left," Jean remarks as we eat our fish.
I nod. There are only four of us left. It's like I can almost see the light at the end of this long, dark tunnel. This nightmare is almost over.
"I think we should split up now," Jean says and I look at him surprised. "There's so few of us left and it will be better if we're on our own."
"That doesn't make any sense, Jean. We'd have a better chance against Sasha and Reiner if we work together," I argue.
"But then it would be just the two of us left."
Realization dawns on me. We both want to win. It's not like with me and Eren where I was prepared to take my own life if it was just the two of us left. Yes, we should split up now.
After we get done eating Jean puts out the fire and looks off into the woods. "I guess this is goodbye," he says turning back to look at me.
"I guess it is," I remark.
Jean then turns to walk away and when he's almost out of sight I call, "Jean." He stops to look back at me. "I hope somebody else kills you before I have too."
Jean smiles, "Yeah, I hope so too." I'm not sure if he means he hopes someone kills me before he has to or hopes someone kills him before I have to. But before I can question it any farther, Jean has disappeared.
This is my first time in the Game where I am completely alone.
Moments later, I notice some movement in the sky. I glance up to see that it's a parachute. When it finally lands I walk cautiously over towards it. It's rather large and when I open it there are the most beautiful double swords I have ever seen. Their blades are black and sharp and the handles are beautifully crafted with red engravings. As I lift them up to examine them more closely I notice a piece of paper fall to the ground. I frown and pick up the paper to read it.
"Still betting all my money on you, brat," I read and I can't help but smile. I turn the letter over and notice there's more writing on the back. "Stay strong. –Levi." I hold back my tears and fold the note carefully and place it inside my boot next to Eren's dagger. This was the first I've heard from Levi since Eren's been gone. It's somewhat comforting to picture someone from back home reaching out to me. I don't know who sent me these swords but they look terribly expensive and Levi made sure I would get them and reminded me to stay strong. I look up towards the sky, I don't know if there are any cameras on me but I still whisper, "Thank you."
I strap my new swords across my back and pick up the spear that I made, just in case, and I head in a different direction into the woods than where Jean went. I'm not sure what I'm doing. I don't even have a plan. But I keep walking and if I run into someone, I'll kill them. I don't even know how long I've been walking but the sun has gotten lower in in the sky and is almost set.
All of a sudden, a tortured scream rips through the quiet and multiple birds take off into the sky. My heart rate picks up and I realize that it was Sasha's screams. I hear Sasha scream again and I run in that direction. My joints still ache painfully from the lasting effects of the Tracker-Jacker venom but I push past the pain. I find her lying in a pool of her own blood that's quickly being soaked up by the dirt ground. There's an arrow sticking out of her stomach that's in so deep it's miraculous that she's still alive. It's a terribly cruel shot because it is causing a slow and agonizing death for her. I remember that when they killed Connie, Reiner took her bow. She was shot with her own bow. I go to kneel at her side and she's as pale as a ghost and she coughs up blood. "Mikasa?" she says weakly when she sees me.
"What can I do?" I ask lamely. There's nothing I can do for her now. She's only moments away from death. She must be suffering and in so much pain but I dare not touch the arrow in fear that I'll only worsen her agony.
But she smiles anyways. "Do you know what my father told me before I left for the Capitol? He said, 'At least we won't have to worry about you being a menace and stealing all of our food that we've been storing for winter.'" Tears start leaking out of the corner of her eyes and she tries to laugh but only coughs up more blood. "They're probably happy I won't be coming home." And her voice fades away and her eyes close for a final time. And I hear her cannon.
I just now notice a handmade bow and sharpened branches serving as arrows tossed a few feet away from her. She was able to make her own bow and arrows. "You were brave, Sasha. You didn't deserve a family like that. And you didn't deserve to be in these Games." I then look out at the sky hoping I'm looking directly at a camera and I scream and the top of my lungs, "AND YOU DIDN'T DESERVE TO DIE!" I then pick up her bow and the branches she's made into arrows and sling it across my back and pick the spear I made back up. I look around for signs of Reiner. About twenty feet away I notice a small pool of blood. Sasha must have shot him with one of her arrows but it must not have been a fatal shot.
Reiner can't be too far away and I follow his blood trail that he left from Sasha's arrow. My heart is racing faster. This nightmare is almost over there are only three of us left. But Reiner and Jean were the last people I wanted to fight against. Reiner got an eleven in the Scoring, he's incredibly strong and skilled with not only combat skills but with weaponry skills as well. And Jean. Jean is smart. He's known all about the Game-Makers and how they control the arena. He's known about the Tracker-Jackers and what they do and how to heal their stings. Along with being smart, he's also a very skilled fighter too. Not only that but, I don't want to kill Jean. He's never threatened me and he even saved me. I would not have gotten this far in the Games if it wasn't for him. I hate myself for wishing this, but I hope Reiner gets to him first.
My lungs burn and my legs are cramping up as I push myself faster through the woods. But I don't even feel the pain anymore. I want this Game to be over. I can't stand this anymore. I want all these killings to stop! I can't stand all the blood any longer. All the cries of pain. All the death. I can't stand not being able to save everyone!
Just then, a crack rings out through the brisk night air that freezes me in my steps. I know what that sound is because I've heard it nine times before. Someone's cannon just went off. Someone has just died. And now there are only two Players left in the Game.