Chapter 2
Timothy’s POV
Water fills my lungs, and I feel a burning inside. I’ve never experienced the feeling of being drowned, but it’s just as bad, as everyone says it is. I screw my eyes up, and look through the swirling water, until I see a wall. I force myself in the direction of my only hope. When nothing happens, and I begin to exhaust my muscles, I stop flailing, but as soon as my limbs cease to move, the current drags me out again. I need to fight it somehow, but I’m not that strong of a swimmer.
I attempt to swim against the current once again, but the best I can do is fight the current. I have no hope of beating it. My lungs are on fire, and I need oxygen right now. I kick my foot down, and it collides with ground, so I kick with all my strength, and my body propels upward with great velocity. I break through the surface with the deepest breath I’ve ever taken. The oxygen feels so nice on my lungs, but I don’t have time to relish in my victory because the water is stills furiously churning.
The waterfall is throwing an endless brigade of battering water. I’m immediately thrown back under, but the single breath I took has cleared my mind, so it’s easier to think. I kick, for the ground again, but this time, I do it at an angle, so I propel into the stone wall. My shoulder bruises at the collision, but I also latch onto the edge of the wall, and pull myself from the water. I turn around dripping wet, and look for a sign of Seth. When I come up empty, I begin to worry.
I try to recall if he’s a good swimmer, but I can’t remember for the life of me. I scope out the outer shores of this small cove of fresh water. It really is a beautiful place. There are green plants shading hundreds of yards of flat grass. I sweep the large expanse of beautiful greenery with my eyes, but Seth isn’t there. He’s been under for way too long. There’s no way he could hold his breath for this long. Does that mean that he could possibly be dead? I shudder at the thought.
Just, when I’m about to give up, and start him, feet. I immediately roll onto my stomach, and grab ahold of the struggling limb. I begin to pull with all my might, and soon his head lolls above the surface. His face is pale, and his eyes are closed, but I’m not giving up. I pull him over the ledge, and collapse exhaustedly. I catch my breath, for a moment and then I lean over, and begin pumping his chest, while blowing air into his mouth.
At first nothing happens, he just flops to the side, when I release him, but when I try again, he chokes out a cough, and water squirts from his mouth. He opens his eyes, and stares around wildly. I close my eyes, and exhale thankfully. Before I can open them, he’s there. His lips are against mine, and there’s no escaping the allure I feel. The pulling sensation around my chest. I thought I had lost him. Now that he’s okay, I just want to show him how I feel, and that involves kissing him back.
When we finally break apart, he looks at me with those innocent blue eyes, and my breath halts. He is so perfect, but is he worth throwing away what I have with Sean? I’ve already betrayed him with Wesley, should I really add another casualty onto the list? I gently scoot away from him, but his eyes never leave mine. I know he sees the pain there, and I know he wants to comfort me, so I stand up, and turn away from him. How many people am I going to hurt?
“We should get moving, if we want to make it there by tomorrow” I say numbly, as I take a few more steps away from him. He nods his agreement, and we begin to walk through the forest surrounding the swirling rapids that almost claimed both of our lives. They would’ve found our bodies, and everyone I love would’ve been murdered. Everything would’ve come to an end. I wonder where Sean, and Danielle are now. Are the still alive?
I have to believe that they are, or this trip, this crusade would mean nothing without them. What would I be fighting for. I was always told that a man with nothing to fight for is an easy target. I don’t want to be an easy target. Love is what has driven me this far, and what will drive me to the very end. Even if it’s my end. Even if Bruening wins, and I die. Everything I do, I do it for the ones that I love. The faces of my loved ones fill my mind, and I smile gently. They give me drive.
I’m so in tune with my thoughts that I’m thrown off track, when Seth yanks me by the arm, and I find myself behind a bush, and listening to a group of men talking. I only hear a few phrases, but from what I do hear, I know where we are. We are at the perimeter of the lab, the game maker’s technology lab. I look through the holes in the bush, and see that it is heavily guarded. This is going to be very difficult, I think to myself. How are we supposed to get past the guards without alerting the cameras?
Sean’s POV
The door closes behind us, and Wesley greets me with a jerk of his chin. I nod my thanks to him, as he works over Danielle. I had forgotten that he was previously a doctor, so he must be good at this type of thing. He removes her sweater, and I see the bullet wound. The gun hit her. So what was wrong with Bruening? I can still only hear out of one ear, so I walk from the room, and go check on our prisoner. His head is slumped to the side, and he’s still unconscious.
I grab him by the hair, and force his head up, and he blarily opens his eyes. When his face is lifted, I can see that the side of his face is raw, and has skin missing. That must’ve happened during the explosion. He smiles arrogantly, as I tighten my grip on his hair.
“You stupid, stupid little boy. You should’ve killed me, when you had the chance. I have a tracker implanted inside of me” he chuckles, and fear shoots through me.
Could he be telling the truth? Of course he is, I think to myself. Since when is a victory this easy. Just then Wesley comes into the room with a gloating smile.
“Don’t worry I have a signal jammer up, for now. It’ll last just long enough for me to take it out.” He says, with a nasty grin. Bruening’s face grows pale, and I know we’ve won. We finally have the upper hand. We finally have the lead. Now we just need to figure some things out.
“Where’s your boyfriend?” he demands, and I strike him across the face with my hand. My knuckle splits, as does his face.
“Don’t pretend you don’t know” I hiss. “Where is the arena?” I demand. He laughs menacingly, and shakes his head in amusement.
“Him, and his other boyfriend escaped earlier today, but I didn’t get the honor to tell me cabinet because your group decided to charm us with your presence” he says.
Wesley and I make eye contact, and he rushes off to the control room. I know what he’s doing. He’s trying to find where Timothy and Seth are at. Just as I’m about to head into the room to check on Danielle, another face pops out from the door. I haven’t seen her since the end of the last Hunger Games. She looks healthy, and as happy as a survivor of the Games can look. Madi runs up to hug me, and I feel happy to see her. This reunion is long overdue. Now we just need to track down Timothy.
