A Dangerous Game
Chapter Sixteen: Flood
Kurt awoke to the sound of moaning. He blinked his eyes open, "Blaine!" He had his arms around him; they had been keeping each other warm though the night.
"Kurt? Where am I?" Blaine mumbled, hissing when he twisted the wrong way and aggravated his injury. "What happened?"
"Shh… Lay still, you'll hurt yourself more." Kurt kissed Blaine's cheek. "Oh! I thought I had lost you. Don't scare me like that again!"
Blaine pushed himself up, leaning against the trunk of the tree. "What's going on? The last thing I remember…" he frowned trying to sort out what had happened the day before. Actually, is that right? How long has it been? "We had separated and I was walking and then…" everything after that was a blur… he remembered the girl confessing to being the one who killed his sister… getting shot… that was about it. "What happened to her? That girl. She killed Chels…"
"She… She isn't... She's dead." Kurt bit his lip, not making eye contact.
They sat there in silence. Kurt's words sinking into Blaine's mind. "You killed her?" Kurt said nothing. "Kurt I don't want you to…"
"Quiet!" Kurt hissed.
"Kurt! I…"
"For goodness sakes Blaine! Quiet!" Kurt stood up hurriedly. "Rachel," he nudged the girl, "Wake up, quick!"
Rachel blinked sleep out of her eyes, mumbling "What's wrong?"
There was a strange rumbling that was growing louder by the second. Without answering, he started stuffing their makeshift tent and Rachel's blanket into the backpack. He slung the backpack over his shoulder, kneeling by Blaine. "Do you think you can walk?"
"I was shot in the chest, not in my leg."
Kurt rolled his eyes. "You're unbelievable," he said fondly. He helped Blaine to his feet, putting his arm around him. The rumbling was getting closer. Oddly it sounded like a river, but it was louder than the thrum of the machinery in the factories back in District Eight. They hurried off in the opposite direction from the sound, Rachel and Kurt helping Blaine along. "Do you even know where we're going?" Kurt asked.
Rachel looked over at him, "No clue, I haven't been this way yet."
They made their way as quickly as possible, still not knowing what was pursuing them. "In here," Kurt guided the others to the mouth of a cave he had just noticed. It was a tight fit but they managed to squeeze in, it opened out more as the climbed down. There was only a little bit of light, but Kurt could see that Blaine looked slightly pale by the time they reached the bottom of the cave.
Rachel and Kurt helped Blaine sit down. "What if it's another fire?" Rachel slipped on the loose rocks, catching herself on the cave wall.
"In that case I'd much rather be in here, then out there surrounded by trees and bushes. Don't you agree?" Kurt said.
"Good point."
Kurt settled down on the ground, his head resting on Blaine's shoulder. "We should be safe in here. We'll just stay here until whatever that is passes."
"Well if we're going to be here a while…" Blaine put his arm around him. "You have anything to eat in that backpack of yours?"
"Hmm? Oh yeah, I think so." Kurt passed him the backpack.
Blaine ruffled through the pack, pulling out a loaf of bread and devouring it. He offered some the others, but quickly turned back to eating it after they refused. He swallowed, "That sound is coming closer."
No sooner had he said that, then water started to flow into the cave. Suddenly everything made sense. The sound of a river, but louder than machinery; it was a flood. And they were trapped.
Rachel shrieked as the water started to pool around there feet. The water was filling the cave, the level rising at a horrifying rate. They hurried to the mouth of the cave, trying to climb out. The water was gushing in, pushing them back forcibly. To make matters worse, the loose rock were becoming slick, making footing hard to keep.
Kurt waded back, the water up to his waist. "This isn't working." The pressure of the water coming into the cave made it impossible to get out, and to make matters worse it had reopened the wound on Blaine's chest, which was bleeding freely again. Kurt wondered what the Capitol was making of this; they were probably eagerly placing bets on which of the trio would drown first. "Wait 'til the water has stopped coming in. We might be able to get out if the cave fills up."
"That's called drowning, Kurt." Rachel glared at him, "Drowning!"
Kurt rolled his eyes, taking Blaine's hand and leading him a few feet from the incoming water. He looked back at Rachel, an eyebrow raised.
"Fine," she grumbled, coming over to stand beside them.
The water had reached Kurt and Blaine's necks now, and Rachel was treading water. But at least it was coming in less forcibly now. "Ready?" Kurt asked.
Blaine and Rachel nodded. "Ready," Blaine confirmed.
All three took a deep breath and they submerged themselves. They squeezed through the opening one at a time. Kurt went last as it was his idea. He scratched himself on the rocks and, because of the sai swords that were still attached to his belt, nearly got caught on them. He gasped for breath when he reached the surface. The water whipped him away and his head was pulled under the water for a few terrifying moments. He didn't know what had happened to Rachel and Blaine, but took some comfort in the fact that he had seen them get out of the cave.
Kurt slammed into a tree, grabbing onto it. Water slashed into his face and he sputtered. He choked as water entered his lungs. His vision obscured by the water being sprayed in his face, he managed to make out a flash of color passing him on the right. He reached out for it, hoping for it to be Rachel or Blaine. It wasn't.
It was the backpack. Reaching for it had given the water the opportunity to pull him from his tree. Kurt clung to the pack. It was floating and at the moment it was the only thing keeping him above water.
A cannon went off.
Then another.
Oh god, Blaine! Rachel!
Kurt tried to catch sight of them, looking for some conformation that they were still alive. But he was being spun so fast in the rapids that it was hard to focus on anything.
"Blaine!" Kurt spit out the water that entered his mouth when he shouted that, "Blaine! Rachel?"
There was no answer. The flood spilled over a steep hill, creating something of a waterfall. Kurt twisted the shoulder strap of the backpack around his hand, taking a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for the fall.
There were a few seconds when everything seemed to stop, then he was plunging down. He hung onto the backpack for dear life. The water didn't let him resurface, and his lungs started to burn with the need for oxygen. Nothing Kurt could see gave him any clue of which was up and which was down; all was bubbles and water and submerged plants torn from their roots.
Eventually he simply couldn't keep his mouth closed any longer. Water flowed into his lungs, soothing the burn, but making him feel heavy. Everything was becoming blurry.
Kurt passed out.
"Kurt! Damn it, Kurt! Don't do this! Breath!"
A pounding on his chest…
Then pressure on his lips…
"Breath!"
Kurt became aware of lips on his own, blowing sweet air down his throat and fists hitting his chest. He sputtered, water flowing out of his lungs. Gasping for breath, his eyes snapped open. He was shaking. His throat and lungs felt raw and no amount of air seemed adequate. Blaine was kneeling next to him, soaked.
The ground Kurt was lying on was muddy; the dirt clung to him as he sat up. "Blaine," he murmured, coughing. He leaned over to him, relaxing in his lover's arms.
"Shhh… it's okay," Blaine soothed, kissing Kurt's forehead. He reached over to the backpack, which had miraculously stayed with Kurt; the strap had been twisted around his wrist so it hadn't separated from him even after he passed out. Blaine dug around in it, finding the blanket and wrapping it around Kurt's shoulders. Wonderfully the waterproofing on the bag had kept the fabric dry.
"Where's Rachel? She isn't here." Kurt realized. "Where is she? I heard a cannon shot… two I think… is she…? Did she...?"
"Kurt, I'm so sorry."
"Where is she?" Kurt said quietly.
Blaine sighed, "Follow me." He took Kurt's hand, grabbing the backpack off the ground with his other hand, and led him a few yards away. There was Rachel, splayed out on the ground. "I found her first. She was already… she was already dead."
Kurt collapsed to his knees next to his best friend, gently brushing her wet hair off her forehead. He sniffed, whipping tears out of his eyes. Blaine kneeled next to him, putting his arm around him. Rachel's eyes were open, blankly staring into the sky. Kurt reached out and closed them. "If I hadn't suggested we go in that damn cave…"
"It wasn't your fault."
"But I should've…"
"It was not your fault."
Kurt buried his face in Blaine's chest. Blaine held him through the tears.