I'm back, everyone! Time to continue the story once again. Will Thresh succeed in finding the medicine? And will his team manage to stay safe? Let's read and see.
Clove's Crusade Of Persuasion
Twenty-five minutes had passed since Thresh had gone into the hospital. Still nothing serious had happened, and the longer his teammates waited, the more tension built up in the hovercraft. To pass the time, Nessa, Katniss, and Rue began discussing whose loved ones they were going to pick up first once they left the Capitol, going off of some valuable information unexpectedly provided by Foxface: how close each of their districts were to their current location.
"After my first day in the Training Centre's gymnasium," she weakly explained, "I…found a crumpled sheet of paper on the floor. It displayed…the entire nation…"
After she also explained the locations of each district, their schedule became clear. First they would go to their closest intended destination, which was District 8, judging by the fact that the rest of their destinations couldn't be accessed without having to pass through another district first. Then they'd go to District 3, which was ironically situated right next to 8, then to District 12, which was next to both of them, and finally to District 11, which was next to 8 as well.
"Are you sure you don't want us to pick up anyone from your district, Foxface?" Nessa asked.
"I am sure," she replied. Another ironic thing was that District 5 was actually closer to the Capitol than District 8 was, but it was also miles away from her allies' clumped-together districts. Not that she was about to admit it though; the last thing she needed was for her allies to be more tempted to go to her district and pick up her untrustworthy family. If she really was going to survive, she didn't want to have to deal with them again. Not after all the betrayals she'd experienced from living with them.
"So, who are we picking up?" said Nessa.
"Definitely my parents, brother, and sisters," assured Rue. "Thresh's sister and grandma too. Then there's Geolo's mom…"
"And my sister and mother," added Katniss.
"And my parents," finished Sonia, who was entering the cargo bay at that moment. "I wish we could rescue my uncle since we're here, but sneaking an Avox onboard probably isn't something we can get away with."
"I'm sure we can find a way to save him later, Sonia," Nessa said. "Maybe I can come back after you're all safe in Brasília and—"
Sonia's eyes widened. "Uh, actually, no way that's happening," she quickly told her, "I uh…um…" She groaned and covered her face with her hands, grimacing as her arm throbbed even more. "Man, this hurts…my arm too..."
"I hope Thresh is okay," Rue commented. "He's been in the hospital for a while…"
Inhaling deeply, Sonia turned and headed back to the pilot's cabin. "Yeah…that is a good point. In case we have to make another huge rescue or escape or something soon, I've got to stay focused. For everyone we can save."
"Focused?" Katniss asked.
"Focused on reasoning with Geolo. I'd just convinced him to show me how to work the hovercraft when I heard you talking about who we'd be picking up and thought I'd chime in. So that once Thresh comes back and it's time to get out of here, I can drive us away even with my um…booboo. Then when Geolo sees I can do that even with a really painful injury, he'll realize pain can be tolerable during driving and let us cut his tracker out."
In the hospital, things couldn't be more chaotic. The good news was that Thresh had succeeded in finding and taking one of the things he had come into the hospital for: a hypodermic needle, still with exactly the right serum in it. Really, the only hard parts about searching for it were finding the right room and avoiding being spotted or heard by any medics, nurses, and patients who happened to be passing by (which he accomplished by hiding in closets, vacant rooms, and the stairwell, which nobody ever bothered to use because they preferred the elevators).
Once he'd found the correct place, he had learned that the needle was currently in the hands of a doctor, who was giving a group of nurses a presentation about the serious ailments and injuries the serum currently inside of it could cure. A list that included all stages of blood poisoning. Seriously! Were employees at the Capitol's hospital really that foolish? Who would give such a presentation out in the open without removing the serum from the needle first? Obviously, these unprepared medics wouldn't be hard to take by surprise.
"Why," the confident and sickeningly unsuspecting doctor chuckled, just before Thresh had dashed in there, rammed his head against a wall, and confiscated the medicine container, "sometimes we even use this baby during—"
The bad news was that the nurses who had been listening to the presentation were now chasing Thresh as he (for now) headed back the way he'd come, using the rope tied around his waist to stay on the right trail. And there wasn't enough time to see if he could literally pound these people to death and thereby make his escape easier. For all he knew, another troop of Peacekeepers could be invading the hovercraft his allies—including Rue, whom he would never forgive himself for letting anything bad happen to—were in right at that moment. Even worse, he still needed to find whatever was needed to treat those wounds produced by the tracker-removing. Nobody's lives depended on that part, unlike the whole deal with Five and her leg, but that could change if those deep cuts were left untreated.
After making three turns down the twisty hallway he was in, Thresh headed into a surgery room that he would have checked out earlier if it had been vacant at the time. Thankfully it was vacant now, the procedure that had been transpiring having apparently finished, and the powerful tribute was able to search through it in peace; that is, right after reopening the door just as his pursuers came near it. Too fast for them to stop themselves from running and thereby save themselves from banging into it head-on and knocking themselves out.
After making sure the door wasn't closed all the way (he didn't want to risk getting the rope snapped in two), Thresh walked toward the shelf that sat two feet away from the doorway and examined it. Most of the rows it contained were filled with various surgical tools in different sharpnesses, shapes, and sizes, but the entire top shelf was empty. He could tell it was supposed to consist of many types of medicines and ointments though, because there were several labels glued to the shelf that could only represent medicines. And some of the labels were exactly the same—the third and eighth both read, DEEP INCISION SEALER - APPLY TO THE SECOND-DEEPEST OF INJURIES JUST ONCE, AND SOON IT'LL BE AS IF YOU WERE NEVER HURT AT ALL!
That was it. That was exactly what he needed to find next; for not just Five, but also himself and basically everyone else in the hovercraft except for Nessa. The problem was, if the medicine he was looking for and all the other stuff that was supposed to be here were missing, then where could they be?
Thresh gritted his teeth. The employees at the hospital must have hidden the medicines somewhere nobody would think to look for them after Nessa's outburst in front of the cameras! Which only made that unsuspecting doctor he'd stolen the needle from look even more dimwitted. If Nessa's outburst was the reason why all the ointment containers were missing, he had to have known about their upcoming disappearance. How desperate had that doctor been to make sure his presentation about the needle and its serum stayed on schedule? Were the Capitol's hospital staff really just as shallow as the rest of the Hunger Games fans?
Stifling a groan, Thresh searched the rest of the room from top to bottom, and when he once again found nothing, he returned to the door and prepared to search some more rooms for the missing medicine.
However, not even his close listening to the door to make sure none of the hospital staff was after him could have prepared him for what happened next. The moment he opened that door, he found himself staring into the eyes of the last person he ever EVER would have expected to glimpse in the Capitol's hospital.
It had to be Thresh. Of course. Out of all the evacuees, it simply had to be him.
It was a good thing Clove had had a chance to practice her agility, otherwise the almighty tribute would have either scooped her off her feet or punched her in the head hard enough to knock her out. Thanks to her extra training session in the gymnasium, she was able to think faster than she had ever done in previous urgent situations, duck, and somersault backwards twice. That quick move then allowed her to run for it just in time before Thresh could get too close to her—but of course getting too far ahead of him was impossible. They were both very strong and fast, and as she did all she could to avoid his wrath, Clove was unable to stop herself from getting scared. Still, it was far too late to back out now.
She had to admit, she hadn't expected Thresh to be assigned the task of robbing the hospital, or to be the first evacuee she would be reasoning with. She'd thought one of the physically weaker members of the team would be robbing the hospital instead, so the group wouldn't have to risk losing any of its strongest members. Or maybe it was more of her hoping that would be the case. Because District 11's male tribute was not only three times as muscular as she was; he was also the evacuee that would require the most convincing once she would tell her story and start trying to convince the team to accept her "alliance" with them. Which she suddenly realized she should probably start doing NOW.
"Listen!" Clove yelled. "Hear me out for a second! I swear, this isn't what it looks like!"
"How isn't it?!" Thresh angrily bellowed. "No lies. Too obvious!"
He had a good point there. Clove was currently dressed in a white nurse's uniform complete with cyan gloves (secretly only installed to hide her tracker), pale tights, and silver sneakers, but the backpack slung over her shoulders had a completely different style. It was a big black and dark blue one, the kind that usually only ever appeared in Cornucopias of various Hunger Games. The backpack contained the knives, daggers, and spears that the Training Centre had let her borrow, along with the jar where Wish-Trish was currently trapped—a very important set of items that she now had to keep with her at all costs. Even if it meant wearing the backpack over her nurse's outfit, which was her excuse for the evacuees regarding why she even was at the hospital. But those details wouldn't be nearly enough to get through to Thresh. She had to tell the whole story.
"I'm not lying to you," Clove told him. She briefly glanced at him, in the process glimpsing a rope tied around his waist and a deep-looking wound in his arm where his tracker had been, and gestured toward her backpack and outfit. "This might seem like a weird combination, but there's a perfectly good reason why I have all this on!"
"Can't fool me, Two! You're here to kill us. Admit it! Now!"
Clove veered down another hallway, still with Thresh hot on her heels. They passed a room containing a whiteboard that had ANTI-SEPSIS SERUM-IN-A-NEEDLE PRESENTATION written on it, along with several chairs, an unconscious doctor and a puddle of fresh blood underneath him on the floor, and a table with a thin box in its center. When she glanced behind her and finally noticed the serum-filled needle in Thresh's fist, she grunted and rolled her eyes. Half an hour before encountering her pursuer, she'd overheard some of the medics here talking about how one of their colleagues didn't want to postpone his presentation about an anti-sepsis serum (which had been originally scheduled to be delivered today) despite President Snow ordering him to due to Clove's presence and everything. All the medicine in the hospital was supposed to be locked away instead of remaining out in the open for all to see! That had been made clear, so the evacuees wouldn't have any advantages, and yet that doctor had ignored those instructions? How could someone in his position be so stupid?!
Oh well, Clove thought, at least everyone else here had the brains to hide all the other medicines, including the one that apparently gets used once tribute trackers are cut out. If Thresh has the anti-sepsis serum and still hasn't left the hospital, that's got to be what he's looking for. That meant there was still a chance her excuse would fool him, even though that doctor had made such a reckless mistake.
The problem was, Thresh didn't trust her one bit and wasn't even letting her get the whole story out. If this kept up, which it probably would, she could run out of breath and collapse long before winning him over, and her mission would come to a brutal end. She needed to find some way to lure him into a vulnerable position so she could say everything she needed to say—which couldn't be trickier, since Thresh was, in so many ways, the exact opposite of vulnerable.
They turned down yet another hallway, and once they did, Clove braced herself. There were no turnoffs into other hallways in this one, but there was an elevator straight ahead. An open elevator that two interns were currently walking out of. And instantly, the sadistic girl had an idea. It was a very risky one, but it was her and her mission's only hope. If she made just one mistake, she would be a goner.
The interns made it into the hallway, and as they turned to enter a room on their left, they heard the two tributes rushing forward and turned their way. Immediately Clove screamed for them to beat it, and glancing at her and each other in fear, they quickly obeyed her command. After the interns were in the room they had been heading to, the elevator doors started to close, but Clove gave it all she had, sped ahead, and managed to get to them just in time. She then thrust her hands into the shrinking gap between the doors, which sensed her presence and reopened for her.
Thresh was right behind Clove by the time she rushed into the elevator; she could hear him. There was no time to think. She just did everything that she had planned to do since first noticing the elevator: duck away from the doors as Thresh ran in, press the button to close them, and then press the button that read "22" (the hospital was 25 stories high, and they were currently on the 25th floor).
Thresh realized Clove's last-minute plan as soon as the elevator doors closed on his rope, amazingly without breaking it. He struggled to untie it from himself even before the elevator started moving downward, but it was too late. He was quickly dragged backward, and gasped as the rope tightened around his waist. Caught off guard by the sensation, the needle slipped out of his hand and fell to the floor, and when he tried to bend over to pick it up, he could only grimace as a pain in his stomach forced him to stay standing straight.
"I'm sorry," Clove told him, "but you left me with no choice." But in reality, the only thing she was unhappy about was having to conceal her enjoyment of watching him suffer for the sake of her plan. Thresh was the one and only tribute of the 74th Hunger Games that she knew she could never have been able to beat on her own. And now here he was, in a very bad situation that she was responsible for!
Grunting, Thresh swung his fist at Clove, but she threw herself to the floor and sat as close to the elevator's wall as she could, too far for him to reach her. The pressure the rope was placing on his body increased, and then the elevator stopped mid-descent. Was it because some cameras had witnessed what was happening and the hospital staff didn't want anyone's lives to be endangered on their turf? Or was it because President Snow had let more people in on what was happening than she'd thought? Whatever the reason for the ride's halt was, Clove could only hope that nobody would move them back to the 25th floor until she had done everything she needed to do.
After trying unsuccessfully to touch her and to free himself, Thresh reached behind him and tried another solution: mustering all his strength and forcing the elevator doors open. Unfortunately, as strong as he was, the doors were able to stand a chance against him. Even with a powerful rope caught between them.
Clove sighed and rested her head on her hand. "Can I tell you what I want to say now?"
Her companion ignored her and tried to wrench himself free from the rope again, but could only make it scoot downward by a millimetre. Thresh then grimaced, either from the wound on his arm or a wave of nausea. Or both. It was hard to tell. What was clear was that he was not in the mood to give up.
"You're looking for something to seal up your arm's cut, aren't you," said Clove. It was now or never.
Thresh glared at her. "Shut up."
"Okay, I will," she replied. "But I know where all the medicine was locked up. And I doubt you'll be able to find it by yourself." Which was true, unlike most of the things she was going to say next.
Once he heard that statement, Thresh stiffened. The whole thing was clear now—after learning about Nessa's true intentions, Two had struck up some sort of deal with the hospital and was now using them to help her trick him and the other evacuees into letting her in on their journey. He wasn't exactly sure why she was doing this, but he had a feeling it had something to do with getting revenge on Nessa for accidentally taking her place in the arena. Probably on Eight too, because she was responsible for Male Two's death, and maybe himself as well for refusing her and the other Careers' offer when they had invited him onto their team back in the Training Centre. And now she had him right where she wanted him: trapped, with his only hope of getting out of the elevator being him accepting her as an ally.
"I know," said Clove, putting her hand in her skirt's pocket and squeezing it into a fist to keep herself from smiling. This spectacle was just so beautiful in her eyes, it took all she had to maintain her cover. "I know you're not happy about having to rely on me to get what you need, but I've changed! I'm not that careless, self-absorbed killer that you knew back in the Training Centre."
Thresh deepened his glare. "Stop lying, Two!"
"No, really! Listen, here's what happened while you were in the arena. I had to stay in the Training Centre and have my tracker removed because that lady took my place, and…well, it got kind of boring. Just sitting there, watching the other Careers do everything without me, even after I figured out a body switch had happened and 'cheated,' as my mentor said President Snow called it. It got to the point where I really needed something to keep myself busy until the Games were over. So I took up a job at the Capitol's hospital and started helping its staff a few hours after I sent that note to Cato, and as I was working there, something big happened. I started caring more. Not just about myself, but also about other people!"
Clove's expression and tone of voice were both so convincing, many people would have fallen for her story. But on the inside, the girl felt downright nauseous, even though she wasn't the one with a rope tied around her waist and stuck in between the elevator doors. Lying about her sadism's presence and pretending she was the exact opposite of herself was just sickening! It was like standing on the tallest building in the Capitol and yelling to all of Panem, "Hey everyone! I'm a weak and stupid suck-up! Kidnap me because it'll be the easiest thing to do in the world!" But if she didn't say all this fake stuff, her mission would never be accomplished. She had to press on.
Maintaining her expression that displayed pretend newfound goodness, Clove continued, "Then the hospital's original staff members and I heard about my replacement's plan to bust her and her allies out of the arena, and all the doctors had to hide every medicine there was in a safe place. They just didn't want to get robbed, and they knew they would because that lady who replaced me doesn't want Foxface to die. So they made sure the medicines were all locked away, so you and your allies would take so long to find them that the Peacekeepers could have enough time to capture you. The only medicine that never got hidden was the serum in that needle you stole, and that was because one of the doctors was supposed to give a presentation about it like, right now. And he was so desperate to keep it on schedule that he disobeyed orders! What a dimwit."
Those last declarations were the only ones Thresh could agree on. He wasn't going to let his guard down so easily on the part about Two actually being a hospital employee and changing for the better though. With a bloodthirsty Career like her, that was simply impossible. He'd seen her in the gymnasium. He'd seen her interview with Caesar Flickerman. She was irredeemable! This was all a trick to bring him and his teammates down; she just didn't seem like the kind of person who could ever feel care for anyone other than herself, other District 2 residents, and the Capitol.
"The point is," persevered Clove, "as a person who works at the hospital, I know where all the medicine is hidden. And now, I want to make things right. You just have to let me lead you to the right place. Then we can sneak the medicine out when no one's looking, and save the other evacuees before the Peacekeepers can capture them! Look, I even came prepared. This backpack is filled with weapons I snuck out of the Training Centre's gymnasium, in case we have to fight some Peacekeepers."
Thresh strained on the rope again, and when it still wouldn't move, he groaned quietly. He didn't believe Two's claims that she had changed, and he most certainly didn't want to trust her with his entire team's lives. But if he didn't trust her, he'd never find the medicine for the cuts he and most of his allies had had to receive when cutting out their trackers. He might eventually be able to escape the elevator without getting killed in the process, since that rope would have to stop causing him trouble at some point.
But even if he succeeded in saving Five's life, how much of the serum would have to go into her system for that to happen? What if the wounds caused by the tracker-removing would eventually result in everyone who had them developing blood poisoning next? Five might be fine, depending on whether or not the serum cured her arm wound along with her leg. But himself, Eight, Twelve, Three…and Rue…would there be enough serum left to save them too? Or at least one of them? Thresh didn't want to risk the possibility that there wasn't. He didn't want Rue to be in any danger of dying. She didn't deserve to have her fate decided by the Capitol, or to die, or to live such a difficult life back home. The life Nessa was used to was the kind of life Rue should be living. The life she should have been living all along. She was so young, smart, kind, agile, and talented! She deserved everything Nessa had had up until the body switch. And if they succeeded in getting through this…she just might gain the chance to live the gentle, beautiful life Nessa was used to.
Clove, meanwhile, just sat there, her heart racing. She knew Thresh genuinely cared about his district partner, because at one point during their time in the gymnasium, she'd glimpsed him smiling at her in admiration as she observed the other tributes from a distance. And she could tell by the frustrated look in his eyes that he knew the tracker removal-induced cuts were going to cause some problems if they weren't cured—problems that the anti-sepsis serum wouldn't be able to solve because there was only enough of it to heal one person. There was no way he could possibly say no to her now; not if he wanted Rue to live.
Though at the same time, there was still a chance that he could betray her after she showed him where the medicine was. He clearly didn't believe the parts of her story that she needed him to believe. Maybe he had completely seen through her lie and was guessing at least most of what had really happened. Which was the following: President Snow had given a live announcement that only the hospital staff and she herself had access to, saying that Clove was going to come to the hospital and meet the evacuees there. However, in order for the evacuees to even possibly accept her into their team, she would need a story to convince them that she wanted to help them, which only the hospital staff could help with. So when Clove had gotten to the hospital, the staff had been instructed to give her a nurse's uniform and then hide the medicine, but they didn't really hide it because of the rebellion thing. They'd really hidden it just so Clove could lead the evacuees right to it and prove that she wanted to be their ally.
Finally, Thresh reluctantly nodded and grumbled, "Where is it?"
Smiling, Clove punched the 22 button as hard as she could, causing the glass surrounding it to shatter and its light to go out. Next, she pressed the 25 button, and to her amazement, the elevator began to move upward, back the way it had come. Thresh then felt the uncomfortable feeling the rope was giving him gradually starting to weaken, until it vanished altogether when the elevator returned to the top floor and the doors opened. Instantly he reclaimed the needle, stepped out of the elevator, and took a few deep breaths, trying to fight off the urge to vomit that had been bugging him since getting trapped in the lift. Although he already knew there was nothing he could do about it. He could feel his dinner quickly making its way back up, and as Two got off the elevator behind him, he secretly hoped that his newest predicament wouldn't interfere with his focus on his adventure's next events.
"The medicine's this way," Clove told her companion. "Follow me."
Thresh reluctantly nodded, and as he allowed her to lead him back down the corridor, he quickly thought about what to do with her after she found the medicine. It was very tempting to knock her out and run off with the medicine once the time came…but what if the Peacekeepers came at the worst possible time and he and Twelve wouldn't be able to fight them off on their own (which would be likely, considering the entire nation's awareness that they'd killed several Peacekeepers back in the arena with Twelve's district partner and Three's indirect help)? They did have a nasty surprise planned for him and the other evacuees, and if whatever it was STILL hadn't revealed itself yet, it had to be the most cruel and dangerous muttation or weapon that the Capitol had ever created.
The male tribute from District 11 clenched his fist in frustration. He hated to admit it, but bringing the girl from District 2 along was probably something he would simply have to do, and not just because of the hidden medicine. Her participating in the journey out of Panem was one thing the authorities probably weren't going to expect, and she was good enough of a fighter to stand a chance at defeating whatever was in store for them. Then again, she was the last person he wanted to trust, and he wouldn't blame any of his allies for feeling the same way…
"I still don't see him," Geolo called. "Whatever the Capitol sent after us definitely found him."
Sonia moaned, half in pain and half in worry. She then noticed Geolo eyeing her with concern and quickly said, "That wasn't a painful moan. Really."
"Right," Geolo mumbled, the sarcasm audible in his voice despite his fear for Thresh's safety.
"No, I'm serious! I am in a condition to drive. And I'll prove it to you as soon as Thresh comes back!"
Katniss stepped out of the cargo bay, holding her bow. "It's been too long. I'm going after him."
"Katniss, no!" Sonia cried. "We're already at risk of losing another one of our own—"
"Do you want all of us to die, or just Peeta?"
Sonia and Geolo exchanged uncomfortable glances as she glared at them fiercely. They understood Katniss's point, but that didn't make the situation any better. She was still in a mentally sorry state due to what had happened to her district partner, Thresh was probably in great danger, and they still didn't have the resources they needed.
"All I was saying," Sonia murmured, "was that I don't want anything bad to happen to anyone else on our team."
Back in the cargo bay, Foxface had fallen asleep once again, and Nessa continued to comfort her as best as she could. Rue, meanwhile, simply observed the scene and nervously listened to what was going on nearby. She had to admit, she agreed with all three of the tributes out there. She didn't want to risk putting any of her remaining allies in harm's way, but she was also worried about Thresh. Anything could be going on in the hospital at this moment, and she doubted it was good news. Sure, Thresh was a very strong man, but even he wasn't invincible. Was he okay by himself, or did someone else have to go in and get him out of the building?
"Okay look, Katniss, just stay in the hovercraft," Sonia finally decided. "At least for now. I'll climb down the ladder and test the rope, and if I can't feel Thresh's weight, then you can go find him. If I do feel his weight, then that means he's okay."
"How will you know that for sure?" Geolo asked. "I mean, what if you only feel his weight because it's actually a Peacekeeper's weight?"
"Peacekeepers don't have biceps as bulky and visible as Thresh's, Geo. Trust me, I'll know the difference."
"Just be careful out there," warned Katniss.
Sonia nodded soundlessly and headed for the hovercraft's exit. She then slowly climbed down the ladder, all the while repeating the word "ow" because every time she moved her arm, it caused her wound to throb. She soon got to the rope and, using her non-injured arm's hand, firmly clasped the rope and tugged on it. It remained rigid, which meant that someone was indeed still tied to it. But was it Thresh, or…? Hmm, maybe if she just tightened her grip on the rope, she'd know.
"Uh, Sonia?" Geolo suddenly called. "Might want to hurry up."
"Just a second!" Sonia shouted. "I'm pretty sure that's Thresh on the other end, but I—"
"SONIA! GET UP HERE!"
BANG!
Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a rocket ship flew over at top speed, ramming into the hovercraft's ladder so hard that it split in half. The bottom half of the ladder was immediately pulled along as the rocket surged forward, completely unharmed except for a dent in its front, where it had collided with the ladder. And, being on the bottom half, Sonia was therefore pulled along as well, accompanied by the rope Thresh was tied to.
Sonia screamed as the unexpected event took place, which Geolo heard her doing. Yet he didn't waste a second reminding himself that he'd seen the rocket coming through the windshield and tried to warn her. As soon as he heard his friend screaming, he ordered Rue and Nessa to make sure they were strapped in and then steered the hovercraft after Sonia.
"What about Thresh?" Katniss yelled.
Oh shoot, Geolo thought. He didn't even want to think about what he was probably going through right now.
Clove led Thresh to the hospital's stairwell and lifted up a picture frame attached to a wall inside of it, revealing a shiny metal safe behind it. She then had Thresh pull a knife out of her backpack (wow, she must have really been considering its contents valuable if she didn't want to remove it from her back so she could get the knife herself) and give it to her.
Before Thresh could blink, she had picked the lock with her knife's blade and succeeded in opening the safe, which did indeed contain all the missing medicines and ointments. "There," the Career said with satisfaction. "Now, which of these did you want again?"
Thresh pulled out the first ointment he saw in the stash and read what it said: DEEP INCISION SEALER - APPLY TO THE SECOND-DEEPEST OF INJURIES JUST ONCE, AND SOON IT'LL BE AS IF YOU WERE NEVER HURT AT ALL! Yes; this was the one. He shifted his backpack a little, unzipped its small side pouch, and stuffed the container into it. He was just zipping the pouch back up when a thought occurred to him. Turning to his companion, he asked, "What else you have?"
Clove cringed. "Just weapons. You know, in case we'll have to—"
"Sure that's it?"
"Why do you even want to know? I already told you what was in it back in the elevator. I'm not trying to brag, but I think I was pretty clear."
Thresh shook his head. "There is more." Weapons were valuable, but they weren't so important to have that one ally would try to keep them from another ally. Even if that ally was a Career.
Clove took a step back. "No, there's just weapons in there. I'm serious. You have yours, and I have mine. That shouldn't matter as long as we can both defend ourselves!"
Stepping closer to her, Thresh demanded, "Show me what you're hiding!" For all he knew, she was probably so determined to keep her backpack on her back because there was a tracking device of some kind hidden in one of the pouches he hadn't looked in. Oh, why hadn't he thought of that sooner, back in the elevator?!
"I'm not hiding anything, Thresh!" Clove insisted. "I'm just trying to be careful not to lose my—EEEK!"
Glaring at her, Thresh grabbed her by her backpack and lifted her up into the air. However, just as he was about to find out once and for all what she was trying to hide from him, there was another violent tug on the rope tied around his waist, and the next thing he knew, he was being violently dragged back into the hospital's top floor hallway, back the way he'd come. And, because he was still holding her backpack, Clove was pulled along with him.
They both screamed as they slid backwards at an immensely fast pace, making quite a few sharp turns in the process, and Clove only screamed even louder when Thresh finally threw up, and bits of his vomit made it past her backpack and came into contact with her hair and cheeks. She was just about to yell for some of the medics to come and save her, when suddenly the two of them reached the window Thresh had come in through. Suddenly both tributes were outside, quickly veering downward but still going forward. What was going on?!
Thunk. Thresh and Clove wound up landing on and instantly sliding off of a Peacekeeper truck's roof. Then another one, and another one…and that was when Thresh noticed the hovercraft his teammates were in, along with the rocket ship it was pursuing. Half of the ladder had been completely ripped off from the vehicle, and was that Eight stuck on that half? What was she doing up there?
Thresh's shock and confusion only increased when he glimpsed what appeared to be a five-year-old boy climbing out from inside the rocket and onto its roof, presumably to ask Eight what she was doing there.
Oh man, WOWZERS! So much suspense going on here—what will become of our protagonists? Next chapter coming soon.