Chapter 37

NARRATOR | Wyatt Aldridge, District 12

TIME | Day 6

TRIBUTES REMAINING | 13

Time grinds to a halt as Eddie falls to the ground, blood spurting from his chest. All I can focus on is Violet's face, the way her lips curl into a smile as she watches Eddie fall before her. It's the same look I saw when Violet stood over me in the Bloodbath, preparing to deliver the fatal blow, and it's a face I hoped I'd never see again. For some odd reason, that's the only thing I can think of as I watch Eddie die. How close this girl was to killing me back then, and how close she could be to killing me in just a few seconds.

Violet's sword slides out of Eddie's body as he falls, and he hits the ground with a thud. For an instant, I'm frozen in place, my mind screaming for me to run but my legs not following.

Then Ashlyn screams, and I crash back into reality.

My first thought is to find Ashlyn; I don't have time to worry about Eddie right now. I don't go back on my promises, and I haven't forgotten what I told her. If I can pay her back for saving my life, I'll do whatever it takes.

In my brief moment of distraction, I forget that I'm supposed to be pinning Evelyn to the ground. I managed to slice into her leg before the sapphire bracelet almost blinded all of us, but she's a feisty girl, and she clearly hasn't given up yet.

Evelyn lets out a scream as she rolls out from under me, writhing around to shake Ansel away as well. Lucas appears out of nowhere, helping her to her feet and dragging her away. Violet glances around at those of us who are left, making a split-second decision and bolting into the trees; her two allies stumble after her.

I feel my entire body relax as Violet disappears into the trees. I've been through some scary situations - the Peacekeepers in Twelve have pulled their guns on me before - but I've never felt true terror like that in my life. I've never really had anything to lose, so I had nothing to fear. I have nothing to return to back in Twelve, nobody who cares if I come back. The only one who's stuck around is my Ma, and she only cares about me because I feed her.

All of that has changed now. I didn't realize it, but I've grown attached to my new allies. They saved my life, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. That's why I was so terrified of Violet just now - if she'd killed Ashlyn, I wouldn't have been able to live with myself. For the first time, I have something to lose, and that is what's terrifying.

I feel a twinge in my chest thinking about Eddie. I wasn't close to him like I was to Ashlyn, and that was probably my fault - I didn't make much of an effort to know him, but that's just how I operate. Most of the men in Twelve looked down on me, thought that selling myself to Peacekeepers and city women for money was too low even for Twelve. Eventually I learned that it was better to keep to myself than to make friends with people who could turn around and hurt me.

When I finally regain my bearings, I find Ashlyn by Eddie's side. Ansel runs past me, grabbing Eddie's arm as Ashlyn inspects his chest.

After Violet's attack, I'm shocked to see that Eddie is still alive; his lips barely move as he whispers to Ashlyn, and I kneel to get closer to the boy.

"Wyatt," he mutters as I come into view above him. "You take care of our girl, okay?"

Ashlyn is unable to control her sobbing; she grabs onto my hand, squeezing it tightly, and I resist the instinct to pull away.

"I will," I promise. I guess that was always my plan, wasn't it? Without Ashlyn, I wouldn't still be here, and now I owe it to Eddie to protect her.

"I had a good run," Eddie says with a weak smile, tears spilling down the side of his face. "I love you, Ashlyn... and thank you, Ansel. You know why."

Ansel turns his face from me, and I'm unable to see his expression. I know how hard it is, to lose a friend like this; how many friends have I lost back in Twelve over the years? Most of them died of starvation, though. Some fell ill and dropped dead. The ones who were executed, though, or the ones the Peacekeepers picked on... those were the worst. Just like Eddie, they deserved to survive, and everything was ripped from them in an instant.

Ansel leans over Eddie, making sure that he can see his face. "You're a good man, Eddie," he whispers. "Now you're free."

Eddie just offers a nod, his eyes drifting up to the sky. He takes one more shuddering gasp before the life leaves his eyes.

A cannon shot fires in the distance, and Ansel rises to his feet. "We need to go," he huffs, his voice thick with emotion. "The others might come back. If I ever see Violet again-"

"It's over," Ashlyn punches. "Don't talk about it anymore."

Ashlyn wipes her face, reaching down and closing Eddie's eyes for the final time. She glances over at me, and I see her eyes widen as she looks closer.

"Wyatt, what is that?" she gasps, pointing to my leg.

One look down tells me that something is very, very wrong. My wound has ripped back open, just like Ashlyn warned me it would; blood is spilling down my leg and onto the grass below me.

"Shit," I hiss, and a wave of pain washes over me, as if my body is realizing it's injured at the same time as my mind. In the heat of the moment, I didn't even feel my leg rip open, but I definitely feel it now.

For some reason, the only thing I feel is guilt. Ashlyn spent days nursing me back to health, and I ruined all of that progress in an instant. I feel like I've let her down by doing something stupid, and that's the worst feeling.

Ashlyn leans forward, pulling the ripped fabric of my pants away from the wound. "Let me-"

"Don't," I interject, grabbing her hand. "You've done enough, Ashlyn, really. I don't want you to waste any more of your supplies on me. I'm not going to win these Games anyway. You need to start worrying about yourself."

"I don't take orders, last time I checked," Ashlyn says, shaking her head. She pushes my hand away, leaning closer to get a better look. What did I do to deserve this girl?

"Ashlyn, we need to go," Ansel calls, his tone more urgent. "We can't stay here, it's too dangerous."

"Wyatt can't walk, Ansel," Ashlyn insists, digging through her bag for bandages. I can tell that she's avoiding looking at Eddie's body; even now, she has her back turned to him. "Just wait a minute."

"Ansel's right," I tell her. "I can walk if one of you helps me. Let's get out of here and then you can worry about me."

"Fine," Ashlyn sighs. "Quickly, though. If I don't stop the bleeding soon, we could be in trouble."

Wordlessly, we begin to pack up our camp. I decide to strip Eddie's body for supplies; I don't think the others are in the right headspace to even look at him. As I turn to do the same to Declan's body, my stomach drops. Something's not right...

Ansel helps me to my feet, and I take one last look around our camp. Ashlyn is sorting through her bag, still looking for the bandages. Ansel is scanning our surroundings for the other tributes, and Eddie's body lies as motionless as ever. Only one thing is missing.

"Ansel..." I mutter to the boy next to me. I take a close look at the shadows surrounding our camp, but part of me knows that I won't find anything. I've known it deep down, actually, ever since the moment Eddie died. Only now am I realizing the truth.

"Verity's gone," I exhale.

We've been betrayed.

A/N - I hope you liked this peek into Wyatt's mind, he's one of the most complex characters in this story and he has a very rich backstory so it definitely took some time to get this chapter the way I wanted it!

~S