THE CROYDON GAMES TRILOGY (BOOK 1)

THE CROYDON GAMES TRILOGY (BOOK 1) PART 10

PART 10: THE ALLY

When we go back to where I was when I woke up, he asks me how my hand feels. "Much better, wait, how do you know about the spider bite?" I question him. He shuffles his feet and stares at the ground. "I was the one that tended to the bite that was given to you by the nightmare spider." He tells me as he starts to build a shelter. "Thank you." I say to him, he smiles back. When we have finished building our camp, I rise to my feet and brush the dirt off my pants. "I'm gonna go find us some food." I say to Sam. "OK then, I won't be too far away." He says to me. Nodding my head at him, I gather my bow and quiver of arrows, when I've gathered these, I head into the forest. When I return, Sam has a low burning fire going. "How are you doing that?" I ask him as I stare at the fire in disbelief. "Doing what?" He asks me. "Making the fire produce no smoke." I answer to him. He smiles at me. "The canopy over the fire filters the smokes through it and allows small amounts of smoke into the sky." He says to me. I hand him the food that I've hunted. Two fat rabbits. Sam goes to work cooking these while he tells me about his life, family and the way things are in his region. I know that this stuff is being edited as we speak, so I tell him about me, my family and the way things are in my region. When the rabbits have finished cooking, we eat them in silence. After we have finished, Sam lets out a massive yawn. "Tired?" I ask him with a smile on my face. He nods his head and goes to the tent. Turning back to the fire, I quench the fire down to a smouldering appearance, then head into the tent and snuggle down with Sam. "Hey Sam?" I whisper to him. "Yes." he asks with a concerned tone. "Is Mihi still alive?" I ask him. He turns and nods his head at me. "She's trying to find you, and she is injured quite bad." He replies to me with sadness in his voice. I nod my head. "We better get some rest." I inform him. He smiles and shuts his eyes. I don't shut my eyes yet, because I'm trying to think of a way to get revenge on the Assassin's for what they did to Mihi. Eventually, I give in to fatigue and close my eyes. The golden, sparkling sun climbs over the lush, green mountain ranges. Sam and I have a breakfast of berries and roots. "How many tributes are left?" I ask Sam as we are dismantling our campsite from last night. "Four Assassins, the boy from Hawke's-Bay, Mihi, you and me." He replies to my question. "So, there is eight people left in the games." I say to him as I count everyone that is left in the arena. "Yeah." Sam says to the river. We both know that the odds are against both of us leaving this God-Forsaken place, but we'll cross that bridge when we both come to it. "I thought of a plan last night while you slept." I tell him. He turns to face me with a smile on his face. "Really?" Sam says to me. "Yeah, I have." I say to him, pride in my voice. "What is the plan?" Sam asks me, excited. This boy is fill of so much curiosity, maybe a bit too much. I just shrug my shoulders and tell him my plan. When I've finished telling him. "I know where their supplies are." Sam says to me. "That's great. Tell me where it is." I order Sam. He nods his head and tells me where their supplies are. I'm looking across the field where the blood fight took place, the stench of death still lingering in the grass. My eyes scan the field and fall on the tower of the supplies. I take in what I see and look at the Assassin's group and see the boy from Hawke's-Bay. What's he doing? He must be of value to them, or they would already have spilled his blood. I look to the far trees as Sam emerges from the bushes and gets their attention. "HEY!!!!!" Sam yells at them, his voice echoing through across the field. They all turn and chase after him, talking to each other as they sprint towards the trees. I turn my attention back towards the tower. There must be a way to destroy this tower and make it a pile of rubble. My eyes scan the structure and lights up on some oil. Maybe I can turn it into a fireball. Drawing an arrow from the quiver, I find some flammable stuff, grab my matches out and ignite the fuel. Drawing back the bow string, I slow my breathing down and release the arrow. The arrow ignites the oil and flares into the hungry flame. I watch as the flame becomes a massive bon-fire. When I've stared at it long enough, I take my leave. I'm on my way to the river where I said I'll meet up with Sam, when I hear a scream. Terror fills my body as the scream turns into my name. "Stuart! Help!!!!" The scream says. I rush to their aid, Sam's aid. I appear in a clearing and see the boy from Hawke's-Bay slam a spear through Sam's heart, ending his life. "NO!!!" I scream as I run towards him, my sword drawn, ready to rip him to shreds. He smiles at me. I'm almost there, ready to wipe that smile of his face, when blood starts to leak from his mouth. I stare at him as he falls to the ground with a knife in the back of his skull. I look up from his body and let a surprised gasp slip from my mouth. The person goes and retrieves the knife from the body. The person is Mihi.