Chapter 3
Timothy’s POV
The guard closest to us, looks over, as I step on a twig. I hold my breath, heart hammering in my chest, as he takes a few steps over to me. I squat down quickly, before her rounds the corner. I’m sitting there like a criminal hiding from the police, and he keeps getting closer and closer. Just, as he looks down into the brush, where I’m hiding his eyes widen. He looks at me, and a smile forms on his face. Here we go. I’ve been caught, and there’s no getting out of this one.
“All clear over here” he says into the walke-talkie. My body relaxes, and I flash him a grateful smile, and he motions for me to follow him. I’m not sure if this is a smart decision, but he did just save my life. I crawl through the underbrush, until we come to a stop outside of a small hut. He pushes the door inward, and a smell of decaying plants fills my nose. I’m expecting it to be damp, but when he closes the door, and turns the light on I see a well-kept sitting room.
I stand up, and take in the room. Someone’s sitting on the couch, but before I can panic I realize it’s Seth. How did this man discover both of us? Are we really that careless? I rush over to sit beside Seth, and he puts an arm around me. The man looks at us, for a moment.
“Wait a minute! You’re the winners of last year’s hunger games, aren’t you?” he questions loudly, and I cringe with fear. We could be discovered at any time.
“Don’t worry the perimeter is far away from here. Nobody will be able to hear you, unless they sneak off the trail, and we’re not allowed to do that. Just don’t leave this one, for too long” he says, switching the lights off with his hand, and then he turns to leave. I want to rush forth and thank him, for saving us, but something doesn’t feel right. Why is this man helping us? Why didn’t he turn us in, for the reward, and benefit himself? Maybe I’m just being paranoid, but I have a bad feeling.
The man opens the door, and goes to walk out, but something reflects off the wall. I almost don’t realize what I’ve seen, but then I focus on the corner, where the light switch is. There’s a tiny silver circle on the upper right corner. In his hand is a button. I can see his fist clenched around it, and his thumb is an inch away. Before I even know what I’m doing, I aim my loaded bow at him, and release. I don’t want to kill him, so I aimed for his hand. The button clatters to the ground, and he screams with agony.
I rush over to his writhing body, and kneel beside him. I pull out a knife, and hold it to his throat. I see his pupils dilate with fear, and I gently push the tip of the blade, just deep enough to break the skin. A small bead of blood runs down his neck.
“Why?” I demand, and he just looks at me with utter fear in his eyes. “Fine, don’t cooperate, but listen closely. You’re going to go back inside, and set this on the table. Can you do that for me? If you give any warning, then I’ll kill your family” I say, hating myself.
He nods with terror on his face. I can tell he thinks I’m a master, but I can’t concentrate on that right now. I need to take down this establishment, so I can go rescue Sean, and my sisters from Bruening. Seth looks at me like I’m crazy, as the man walks out of the building. I hold the speaker to my ear, so I can hear every word he speaks. I wave Seth’s expression off, and point to the detonator. He swallows hard, and looks at the light switch. He takes off at a run.
“It’s gonna blow!” he shouts, pushing me through the open door. We roll down an embankment, and come to a stop, all tangled in each other just inside the cover of the trees. The explosion lights up the sky, and I can tell by the flickering light that some of the trees are on fire. I stand up, and Seth and I dash across the lawn. I’m looking around for soldiers, but for some reason the perimeter is empty. I hold the speaker to my ear once more.
“Beau? You okay?” a man asks, and the guy with the mushroom grunts his acknowledgement. I hear him unfolding the package, and then there are gunshots. I take off for the front door, and pass through the threshold, just in time to see his body collapsing to the floor. The mushroom is lying on the table. Blue spots are vivid against the brown table. I pull out my bow, and shoot his killer right through the right eye. I see Seth pull out his gun, from the corner of my eye, and then we’re off.
A guild of soldiers comes running down the spiral stairs, and they all have machine guns in their hands. I shoot the top one, and he topples forward onto the others, and they trip on each other. I dash behind a wall, as the next wave comes forth, and bullets fly in every direction. I look for Seth in the chaos, but he must be in another room. I pull the gun from my belt, and jump, from behind the wall. I fire a round, and bullets fall like rain. There is smoke building in the air, from all the gunpowder. This isn’t going to be easy.
Sean’s POV
Wesley stares intently into the screen of his small laptop. I can tell by the way he’s biting his lip that he’s doing some mental math. I want to leave him alone, so he can concentrate on whatever problem he’s trying to solve, but my nerves won’t allow for me to be patient. I angrily turn away, and begin pacing the room. I need for him to succeed. I need to know where the arena is, so we can break him out of there. It was hell the first time around, and now he’s in there again without me.
“Did you find him?” I ask, not able to stay quiet any longer. He shakes his head quickly, before turning back to the equation that could help us find Timothy. I wait, and wait for Wesley to find my love, but the longer we sit here, the more confused he seems to become. I’m about to berate him, for being so incompetent, when he mutters something troubling under his breath. I know what I heard, but I ask him anyway, mostly because I need another second to comprehend.
“What did you say?” I ask, and he looks at me sacredly.
“He’s not in the arena. I tracked down the coordinates of the arena, and did a sweep of body heat, but there is nobody alive. There are dead bodies, but for some reason, they’re not being taken. I did however get a lock on Seth’s location. Timothy’s isn’t working, so I have to assume that they’re together. If they are, then we need to hurry” he says, signaling at the screen.
I look at the screen, and my stomach drops. I see a hundred green dots, representing humans, but the one that’s labeled Seth is in the midst of them I look at the title of the location, and see that it’s where they control the games from. Why are they there? How did they get out of the arena, and why are the bodies still there? What is going on out there? I need to get to him, and find my Timothy. I need to get to that building and save Seth. He will lead me home.
I look up at Wesley, and he sees the challenge in my eyes, and nods agreeing with my thoughts. He straightens up, and punches some numbers into the steering panel, and the ship turns around. We zoom off in the direction of the fight. The place where Seth, and possibly Timothy are being overruled. I need to get there, and save them, so I can save him. He needs to be in my arms, and I need for him to be okay. I turn away from the screen, and leave the room. I walk to where Danielle is still resting.
