A Dangerous Game

Chapter Thirteen: Not Alone

Night came, but Kurt dared not sleep alone. So he continued on, trekking through the woods in no particular direction. Every sound seemed to his mind like a cruel tribute or a bloodthirsty creature. There was a rustling in the tree branches above his head. He drew his sais, stiffening, ready to run at a moment's notice. It was just a small bird, visible only by the light of the moon, looking down on him from above. He sighed. "Hello there. Where's your mate? or did he chase you away like Blaine did to me?" The bird cocked its head then flew off. "See you later then." The momentary sense of companionship the little bird had given him was gone in a moment.

Two more cannon shots had gone off that day. Each one terrified Kurt, and he prayed to a god he didn't believe in that one of those shots had not been Blaine's. The sun had set ages ago so it couldn't be long until the faces of the tributes would be projected. Kurt nestled himself in between the roots of a tree, pulling his jacket tighter around him. Kurt's stomach growled, reminding him that he hadn't eaten since the night before.

Rain started to patter down, shortly before the Capitol's anthem started. Kurt sat up, finding the spot in the sky where the emblem was being projected. It seemed like an eternity, especially since the water had soaked him through. He sat there shivering as Santana's face was projected into the sky. She was from District Four, Blaine was from Three. He had survived the day, or his face would have been projected before hers. Kurt whispered an apology as the face of the boy he had killed was projected into the sky. Karofsky was followed by Mercedes from District Nine, then Brittany and her fellow District Ten tribute, Joe.

Joe's face disappeared and the sky plunged into darkness.

Kurt shivered, feeling like he was submerged in ice. The ground was turning to mud. Thunder rumbled and occasionally the sky would light up with a flash of lightning.

Kurt awoke the next morning much warmer than he had been the night before. He opened his eyes slowly. It was still raining lightly, he could hear the patter. A tarp was stretched between the tree he was under and one a few feet away and a blanket was spread over him.

"Good morning," the voice was surprisingly cheery and wonderfully familiar.

Kurt smiled, "Rachel!" He sat up, stretching. "How did you find me?"

Rachel laughed, "It wasn't hard. You're not exactly a master of camouflage." She handed him half a loaf of bread that she had dug out from her backpack, which he gladly accepted. "I was surprised to find you alone. Weren't you allied with that boy from District…"

"Blaine."

She nodded, "Yeah."

"He… um… its complicated. We decided it was best to go our own ways. Well he decided that. I guess he was mad; I sort of broke a promise."

"What? What promise?"

"I promised him I wouldn't kill. But Karofsky had him pinned down so I…"

Rachel gently put a hand on his shoulder, "It's okay. I understand."

Kurt nodded, taking a deep breath. "So what about you? What have you been up to?"

"Well," Rachel took a sip of water from a bottle, which she then offered to Kurt, "I didn't really encounter any other tributes until I found you. I managed to somehow get on the other side of the arena by the ocean… Anyway, I raided the Careers' base, got some supplies. I think Sebastian is guarding it now though, seeing as he is only Career left. Other than the nasty weather, I have actually been doing rather well."

Kurt raised an eyebrow, "Did you say there is an ocean?"

"Yeah, yeah. It's amazing, Kurt! Just like the pictures. I can show you. It is about two hours walk from the Cornucopia. I guess no one else went that way. It's awesome though." She studied his face, noticing an increasing dampness in his eyes. "I'm sorry about what happened with your friend."

"He was more than just… he is… he… I don't know. It was his choice. Come on, let's get moving."

Blaine had found a small outcropping of rock to shelter him from the rain, but by the time he awoke mud was caked to his pants and the sleeves of his jacket. There was a bitter cold to the air and it smelt like rain was still hanging in the air; a smoky freshness.

He hoped with all his heart that Kurt had found somewhere safe to spend the night. Did I do the right thing? he wondered. He had had no choice; they couldn't keep on pretending that they could leave the arena together. The Games just didn't work that way. He couldn't stand having Kurt take risks for him and he didn't want to think about Kurt killing. In his mind Kurt was pure, and the events of the previous day had threatened to shatter that.

What if he's hurt? the voice in the back of his head whispered, What if he's out there somewhere? Bleeding and dying in a ditch somewhere. Wishing I'm there with him or cursing me for chasing him away. Oh god! "Kurt!" Blaine scrambled to his feet. What had he been thinking? He ran back to where he had last seen Kurt the day before, it didn't take long as he hadn't covered much ground. "Kurt!" he yelled as loud as he dared. The stream had become a raging river from the rain, washing away Kurt's footprints.

"Damn," Blaine swore under his breath, heading in the general direction he thought Kurt had gone.