Survival of the Fittest - Clato fanfic (Alternate ending to NTI)

Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Clove's POV

A violent gust of wind rips through the trees, and I take the opportunity to dash through the large, open space in front of me, counting on the sounds of the wind to mask the loud noise I'm making. Immediately upon reaching the opposite side, I crouch down behind a clump of dense shrubbery.

As my breathing slows, I listen intently to the sounds around me. The wind dies down quickly and the other sounds of the forest begin to fill my eager ears. The chirping of a bird, the scurrying of a squirrel in branches overhead, the rustling of leaves in the now gentle breeze. All of these natural sounds, elements of the world I've been thrown into.

I dare a peek over the top of the bush I'm hiding behind, hoping to catch a glimpse of Ginger. Nothing. But I know I'm getting close. I've come full circle and am now within forty yards of where I left Cato. She's either extremely close, or long gone.

I suppress feelings of frustration that begin to rise up inside my chest at the thought of my quarry escaping so easily and focus all my energy on finding her. She has to be here.

Slinking from one tree to the next, I slowly and steadily skirt the circumference of the general area I hope she's hidden in. But although all my senses are on high alert, I see and hear absolutely nothing. Once I get back to my clump of bushes, I'm ready to give up on the whole thing. I glare down angrily at the stupid plants at my feet. She could take forever to find. Why isn't she stupid enough just to walk straight into some kind of trap? Why do I have to make such a ridiculous effort to find her? She's not worth all this time.

A wave of uncontrollable frustration washes over me, and I pick up a large rock at my feet. Intending to chuck it blindly into the woods, I rear back, stone in hand.

But then I see her. Out of the corner of my eye. Something that is distinctly not a tree. I almost throw myself off-balance in an effort to stop the throw. But it's too late. My arm is already moving forward, and my hand is releasing its grip on the jagged rock.

I watch in despair as the stone falls to the ground less than thirty feet away from me, my efforts at the end of the throw causing it to fall short of my original target. Ginger whirls around when she hears the noise, and I'm able to disappear just in time to avoid being seen. Between the gaps in the branches, I watch my prey intently. She's just out of range for me to send a knife into her.

And now she's moving. Less than two seconds go by in the time it takes her to start running after she hears the rock. Too bad she ran the wrong way.

Knowing she can't move away from the rock – Cato would greet her eagerly if she went that way – she's forced to travel perpendicular to her supposed enemy. And she's heading straight for me. At least, she's traveling in my general direction.

I let her pass my clump of bushes, though she's still a good twenty yards away from me when she does so, and then I jump out to pursue her. She sees me immediately, but it does her no good. I'm quickly within throwing distance. Still running towards her, I send a knife into her right calf.

She screams loudly in pain and falls to the forest floor. But she's up again just as fast, now toying with something around her waist. “I've got her, Cato!” I shout as she continues to push forward. Not that this is necessary; he would have heard her scream. “I've got her.”

Knowing that I'm in hot pursuit of her, Ginger ducks, brakes, and turns in random patterns all through our chase. Combine this with the abundance of trees, and I am completely unable to get another knife into her. I try to anticipate her movements, but she always manages to cut at just the right message, and my knives fly by her ear, leaving her completely unharmed.