xxvii. hero / 90 a.d.d
They've never felt more sick than they do right now.
It's a miracle Danube made it through the bloodbath without feeling this way, but that was because the kid they shot in the neck with an arrow was so far away, they didn't have to see her face.
They swore to everybody at the CRAP that they were ready for the killing part of the Games, but as soon as they saw the reaping recap, Danube knew they were screwed. Everyone in here is a person, just like them. What makes Danube worth living over them, especially now as the young mute boy from Nine grabs onto their hand for dear life?
If they let go, Nine will get dragged away into the water's currents and drown. But, even if the arena is what kills him, his blood will forever be on Danube's hands.
He stairs into their eyes with so much hope, like he expects Danube to drag him back onto the dock any second now. If this was the beach they know and love, they'd do exactly that. In Four, people call Danube a hero for the way they're able to save people without breaking a sweat. What would they call them after this?
(They didn't even want the Games. It's just that their mother repeatedly told them their long lost father was waiting for them there. Danube should've known she was lying.)
Is it bad that the main reason they want to live now is so they can scream at her for being dishonest?
Spite isn't a good reason to look someone in the face and watch as they die.
"Danube," they hear Odessa, their district partner screech. "What are you doing?"
They know she doesn't mean to sound so mean. Nobody ever intends to be horrible, they're just misunderstood. Maybe their mother is also just misunderstood.
"I'll coming," Danube shouts back.
They can't even make eye contact with Nine when they whisper, "I'm sorry," and they don't look at their own hand when they let go.
Less than a minute later, a cannon fires. Danube knows that if they ever return to Four, they won't be able to call themself a hero again.