The Xatian Games (TXG)
Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games; All credit goes to Suzanne Collins.
Constructive criticism is always appreciated; Any flames will be used to roast marshmallows.
"Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favour." - Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
[A/N: Sorry I didn't get this uploaded sooner; I've been busy. ;-; Please don't hate me]
Chapter 3
"One day I will save you" whispered a child.
There came no reply, but outside the window the child could hear the sounds of the tributes fighting for their lives in the Arena.
High in the branches of large oak tree sit two female tributes. They are similar in looks, both blonde haired-blue eyed with sharp features. The smaller of the two sits near the trunk, clinging to a branch in fear of falling, while the other dangles her feet fearlessly off the branch, peering through the forest canopy for any other tributes. She looks up from scanning dark the forest floor and smiles at the smaller girl who's looking back at her nervously.
"I'm Madelyn." She says, "What's your name?"
"M-Maddie" the little girl replies.
Madelyn smiles reassuringly. "Hello Maddie! It's lovely to meet you. Too bad it couldn't be under better circumstances." She reaches for her skillet, which has been balanced precariously beside her on the branch. All of a sudden, the skillet is gone from underneath Madelyn's outstretched hand and is tumbling down through the canopy below. It lands with a heavy thump onto the forest floor. Maddie shuffles back along the branch until she is pressed against the trunk of the tree.
"What was that for?!" exclaims Madelyn angrily. She pauses for a second as she sees the fear in Maddie's eyes, and then sighs as she understands. "I wouldn't have wasted energy bringing you all the way here and making sure you were safe if I was going to kill you." She explains.
Both tributes jump as they hear a cannon go off in the distance, shortly followed by another.
"Well, that's two less tributes we gotta worry about" points out Madelyn, putting her hand in her pocket and pulling out some rather squished berries. She picks out the fluff from a couple of them then offers some to Maddie. Without hesitation the child leans forward and takes them, tucking in gratefully.
"Thank you." Maddie murmurs around a mouthful of berries. A trickle of berry juice escapes from the corner of the child's mouth and runs down her chin. Madelyn chuckles softly and looks down at the dark forest below.
"Oh my, oh dear, oh Lord, oh Christ, SWEET BABY JESUS." comes a deep male voice from the dark bushes at the bottom of the tree. Both tributes look up sharply and peer through the canopy to see a young male tribute struggling through the bushes. As he exits the bush triumphantly, his foot catches on the handle of Madelyn's skillet and he stumbles and falls face down on the ground. He lets out an ear-splitting scream as he tumbles. "I SURRENDER." He squeals, covering his head.
After a few moments his body twitches and he looks up. After realizing there's no danger, he slowly gets up and brushes himself off. "Come on Joey, get a hold of yourself." he mutters, before murmuring something, his posh British accent making his words inaudible.
"Well, he doesn't look too dangerous" Madelyn says to Maddie, before climbing down the tree and dropping into the forest floor below. Joey squeaks and grabs a stick from the forest floor. He waves it around in the air like a wand and tries to look threatening. Laughing, Madelyn turns away to pick up her skillet.
Maddie pokes her head out from behind the tree and glares at Joey, who is edging forward towards Madelyn while her back is turned.
"HIYAAAAA!" He shouts, bashing Madelyn on the head with the stick. The stick breaks and drops to the floor pathetically, and the blood rapidly drains from Joey's face.
Madelyn goes very quiet and turns around holding her skillet, slowly, furiously.
He looks at Maddie who is closing in on him as well. "N-no alliances!" he stammers, backing off.
"Help! Someone help!" comes a cry in the distance. The three look in the direction of the noise.
Madelyn and Maddie glance at each other. They nod silently to eachother and the pair take off in the direction of the cries, leaving Joey on his own to nurse his self-esteem.
Suddenly, Marie tumbles out from the bushes and crashes straight into Madelyn, who whacks her away with her skillet. Marie lands heavily on her behind, dazed for a second before scrabbling back up again.
"You've got to help. We need medical help. Please!" she begs, looking pleadingly at Madelyn
"Marie! SHUT THE HELL UP!" comes another male voice nearby. "It's dark and the noise will travel further in the silence"
Marie cringes and begins to walk away through the trees back in the direction she'd come from. She looks over her shoulder to see Maddie and Madelyn following suit. The three push through the bushes and find a little campsite with a little fire burning in the centre. The little clearing looks quite jolly for the Hunger Games until Maddie sees two male bodies laid out next to each other by the fire. She buries her head into Madelyn's jacket and Madelyn puts a hand on her head.
"What happened?" asks Madelyn.
"Max, the other tribute from my district ambushed us." replies Marie quietly. "I should've known he'd try to kill me first" she kneels down by one of the bodies. "Will is going to die unless he gets medical help." She rests her hand on his forehead, checking his temperature. "He took the arrow when it missed me; and then another to the knee." She points at the three bloody arrows leaning up against a nearby tree trunk. "Max has a fatal shot; He killed William, but aimed high on the second shot and hit Will in the shoulder." She gestured to the bandages around Will's shirtless torso. Blood was soaking through the tightly wrapped fabric and it was obvious that he was losing a lot of blood, and that none of them had any medical experience.
"You need to kill him." says Madelyn. "If you don't now he'll just die later from infection or another tribute. His games are over."
Travis and Marie look at each other in stunned silence.
"Or he'll turn on you if you survive long enough." whispers Maddie through Madelyn's coat.
"I'll make it quick." murmurs Madelyn, "He's out cold, and won't feel a thing. It's the most humane thing to do." She takes Maddie to the edge of the clearing and sits her down, whispering something to her before walking back to kneel by Will's side. She takes Marie's knife gently and presses the tip of it against the skin above Will's heart, in the hollow between two ribs.
Will stirs and lets out a small breath, and turns his head to look at Madelyn. Their eyes lock.
"He's awake!" exclaims Marie.
"Hey beautiful. What's your name?" whispers Will weakly with a smirk, not noticing the knife pressed into his chest.
Madelyn slowly lifts the blade from Will's chest and hands it back to Marie. She gets up and walks over to Maddie, who is in a slightly different place to where she originally left her. She looks at Madelyn quizzically before getting up walking to the edge of the clearing along with Madelyn.
"He'll die from infection." says Madelyn shortly. "Or he'll be killed by another tribute." She locks eyes with Marie, then Travis, and finally Will, who still has his eyes trained on her. "And if we meet again, I'll make your ends quick and honourable, because I won't be holding back." she pauses for a moment to let that sink in, then turns and vanishes into the night with Maddie.
"Ouch." wheezes Will, trying to sit up.
"Stay there" says Marie, pushing him back down gently. Travis gets up to grab some food and water from their supplies. Suddenly, he cusses loudly and throws an empty bag to the ground.
"What is it?" asks Marie, getting up.
"That bitch's kid stole most of our supplies." He shouts angrily, stamping around the clearing, raging and kicking things. Marie looks at what is left of their supplies. A few bandages, three apples and a flask of water. She swears under hear breath, and reaches for the flask. She sits back on her heels, sips some water and stares at the ground angrily. Suddenly, she notices a tiny arrow drawn in the ground. It points away from the clearing and out into the forest.
"Hey Trav, stop re-enacting Godzilla and give Will some of this water." says Marie. "I'll be back soon, but if I'm not back by morning..." she pauses. "Don't come looking for me." After handing the flask to Travis, who has calmed down and is trying to catch her eye, she wraps some bark tightly around the end of a stick and lights the end in the fire. She then walks to the edge of the clearing, rubbing away the arrow with her foot and continuing into the dark forest.
[A/N: If I told you there were cookies on offer would you Read+Review? :3 In other news, the next chapter should be up pretty soon. Thanks for reading! ^_^]