Me: Do it.
Caius: Why?
Me: You promised them…
Caius: I did not.
Me: Oh yes you did. Now DO IT.
Caius: *hangs head, blushing* Okay… *gives CR3ATIV3, A Stargazer's Lullaby, and krikanalo hugs because they reviewed*
Me: *snickering*
Caius: *scowls* What are you laughing at?
Chapter 19
Faster than they had ever run before, Iris and Lystria fled through the forest. And, especially for Lystria due to her… *ahem* width, it was pretty fast. Both of them were too scared to look back, and they knew that if they did, they'd slow down and might get caught by whoever might be following them. This question of who was pursuing them was answered when suddenly, Iris felt an almighty tug at her jacket sleeve as her legs were suddenly swept out from underneath her. The silver arrow that had pinned her jacket sleeve to the nearest tree ripped through the fabric, but it had been enough to abruptly stop her journey. As Iris tried to scramble up and draw her own bow, Cynthia drew and fired in the space of a heartbeat. This arrow grazed her shoulder and pinned her coat and shirt to the tree behind her, and Iris couldn't pull it out. She watched, frozen in her terror, as Cynthia stalked forward contemptuously. Her hand drew back the bowstring, and without a hesitation she released it.
This, Iris knew, was to be a lethal shot, point blank range by Cynthia's standards. She watched the arrow fly at slow motion, as if it was traveling through syrup, and awaited the burning sensation she knew would soon come. But somehow, it never came. For, right before the arrow reached Iris's body, Lystria jumped. The arrow pierced her stomach, and she fell to the ground.
Iris yanked out the arrow that pinned her to the tree and took out her own bow, drawing and firing at Cynthia before she could do any more damage. But Iris's shot was rushed and she only startled Cynthia, sending the arrow whizzing a few centimeters over her head. In unison, Cynthia and Iris both drew arrows and aimed them at the other. It was the perfect definition of an impasse. Point blank range, and neither of them doubted the other's skill.
"If I lowered my bow," said Cynthia with the hint of a sly smile lingering on her lips, "would you shoot?"
"I would if it meant I could save my friends," replied Iris boldly, not without a telltale waver in her voice.
Cynthia smirked. "But if we were alone," she continued. "If it was just us left, would you be able to shoot?" Iris did not reply. Cynthia's smile only grew larger. "No, you wouldn't. You are hardly able to shoot when you are confronted by a deer. You are reluctant to take the life of anything, but you do so to provide for those you love. But if we took it another level, and moved from deer to humans, do you know if you would be able to shoot? Granddaughter of the most evil man in Panem, and you do not know if you would kill one of your countrywomen. I thought so."
She had barely finished her sentence when something small and dark barreled into Cynthia, knocking her to the ground. The figure had managed to shove the taller girl's bow hand aside, sending the stray arrow harmlessly into the ground. The newcomer wrestled with Cynthia on the ground for a moment before yanking her up, the point of his black-bladed sword a few inches from her neck. The boy glared at Cynthia for a second before saying coldly, "If you know what's best for you, you'll run."
With that, he released her from his grip on her jacket and lowered his sword. Cynthia could not seem to get out of there fast enough after that. She grabbed her bow and bounded off into the trees with the grace and speed of a deer. The strange, dark boy regarded the second archer, Iris, momentarily. She was pointing her arrow at him, her bow hand shaking a bit. The boy smirked and then said calmly and sarcastically, "You're welcome."
Iris lowered her bow. But before she could say anything, he turned and sprinted off in the direction of the river. She would have called out after him, had she not remembered Lystria's sacrifice.
By the time Iris reached her, Lystria already seemed to be slipping away. Her breath was labored and faint. She only stared at the arrow sticking out of her stomach uncomprehendingly, as if she didn't know what was happening. "Can you fix it?" she asked in the faint, thin voice of a scared child. The arrow had pierced her stomach, and even with all of Iris's medical knowledge she didn't know of anything that could seal a wound like this.
Iris knew she was shaking, but she did not care. "I…I'm not sure. I…d…don't think I can fix something like this. I…I'm not going to p…pull out the arrow, okay? If I do, you'll lose too much blood." Iris choked back a sob. "I…I'm not sure of anything I can do."
"Will Romulus and Artemis come for us?"
Iris closed her eyes to blink back the tears. "I'm sorry, Lystria. But I don't think they're ever coming."
Romulus and Artemis had flashes of the same thought, or thoughts similar to it as they battled the Elites. Romulus had proved himself to be surprisingly swift with his small, light spear, taking on the hulking Marius by himself. The disadvantages to having a heavy club such as Marius's was that even though it was a strong weapon and devastatingly lethal to anyone who had the misfortune to be standing underneath it, it was unwieldy and hard to maneuver. Once it was going one direction, it would not stop until it had made its full stroke. And it was often easy to predict where it would be going next, simply by the way Marius lifted. Being so small, Romulus was very fast and quite agile, weaving in and out between the larger tribute's legs and striking every once in a while with his spear.
Artemis was agile in her own way as she took on Lucius and Julius. For close-quarter fighting, Julius had replaced his large battleaxe with a broadsword, which actually worked in Artemis's favor. She had trained for duels against swordsmen, and here she was with her favorite weapons in her home court. With both her long fighting knife and her smaller throwing knife, she had managed to give Julius and Lucius several minor cuts on their arms, legs, and torsos that they would not forget easily.
And then came the moment when she swung her larger knife, which was really more like a short sword, at Julius. The swordsman caught it on his blade and flicked his sword, twisting Artemis's right wrist so that the knife fell out of her hand. In her brief moment of distraction, Lucius came up from behind her and forced her to her knees. Julius raised his broadsword over his head, preparing for a devastating downward stroke that would mean her death.
And somehow, as the blade went up, Artemis was perfectly calm. She actually smiled as she locked eyes with Julius. The blade kept going up. And up. And…up. Up until it went so far back that Julius fell backwards, completely unconscious.
The round white river stone that had thumped into his skull right as he was drawing his sword back for a death blow clattered to the ground.
Artemis had been the only one to hear the faint and brief buzzing noise as the sword went up, but she was not the only one to hear it the second time. After a couple seconds of the strange buzzing Marius went down. The noise stopped, and both Artemis and Romulus turned to Lucius, the only Elite left.
Then they all heard a sharp whistle, and inadvertently, they all turned. Across the river, a tribute was whirling something over his head. That something was making the buzzing sound, Lucius realized dimly before the boy released the stone inside the sling. The stone made contact with his head with a satisfying clunk, and Lucius hit the ground, out cold.
"Duck and cover!" shouted Romulus, but Artemis yanked him back up by the wrist.
"Don't be an idiot," she said, kneeling down next to Julius. The large tribute was drooling, and with a disgusted eye roll Artemis stood back up again. Lifting the two fingers of her right hand to her forehead in an informal salute, she signaled to the boy across the river and yelled, "Great timing, Cai!" The black-clad boy only saluted back and disappeared into the trees. "The dude's gone now, Romulus. You're safe."
"Not yet," said Romulus. "Where's Cynthia?"
Artemis frowned. "She probably went after the girls. I wonder if they're still alive with that mad markswoman running loose."
"Well, we can't just stand there. Let's go find them!"
With Romulus taking the lead, they raced across the river and into the forest, the same direction the two girls had run. And before they had gone far, they found them. A pale-faced Lystria was leaning against a tree, with Iris hunched over her. Artemis let out something like a gag as she stared at the bloody arrow sticking out of Lystria's stomach. She swallowed another gag and hid her mouth behind her hand, but her wide eyes gave her shock and fear away. "Lystria!" cried Romulus, rushing to her side. "No, no, no!"
Lystria reached up and brushed some of her brother's dusty brown hair out of his eyes. "Hey," she comforted weakly. "I'm all right. You're just going to have to do this without me."
"Can't you save her?" the boy begged Iris. "You must know something that can help her…"
"I've done all I can," Iris admitted, not meeting his large blue eyes. "That arrow hit something vital. She's slipping away."
"No," Romulus sobbed. "Lystria, you can't leave me alone."
His older sister caressed his face and wiped a tear from his eyes. "I don't want to," she said, "but my journey is over. You still have a way to travel in yours."
Her big blue eyes glittered with tears, but the light in them was quickly dimming. "I'm sorry for leaving you," she whispered before her eyelids fluttered closed.
"No," Romulus gasped, clutching her limp hand. "Lystria!" He barely heard her cannon fire.
Agonized cries rang throughout the forest that day. They were the cries of a broken, helpless boy losing the only thing he had left.
*sniffles* I cried as I re-read this… can't say it… will you do it, Cai?
Caius: No.
Me: *whining* Why not?!
Caius: You stole my blueberries. And made me give three random people hugs.
Me: Come on, you can't be still mad about that!
Caius: You also put me on a blueberry diet.
Me: That wasn't even mentioned…
Caius: No blueberries until Chapter 26! That's what you said! Hence, I will do no more for you. Why is it always me, anyway? Why can't you ask Artemis or Petronius or... yeah, one of the Elites. I'm sure they'd love it. *sarcasm sarcasm*
Me: *gives death glare*
Caius: *trembles under the ferocity of my condescending gaze* Er… um… all right! I'll say it! Review! There! I said it! Give me back my berries!
Me: *mischievously* That was wimpy. Now come and get them… *prances away being chased by a blueberry- and sleep-deprived stalker* Remember to review!