Final Reality (THG Fanfic)

Chapter XV

I see him crash through vines and bush, a panicked look in his eyes. He catches sight of me, just for a moment, and yells something at me. I can’t hear but I can make out the word run. It’s then do I see what he’s trying to outrun: a monstrous wave threatening to pull him into an inescapable hug of death. I turn and high tail it out of there. “Run! Run!” I call ahead of me. I catch sight of Jaeda scaling a tree ahead me, just for a moment, and then I feel myself being pulled to my right. At first I think it’s the wave, but I realize it’s Pommel. He pushes me up a tree and clambers up after me. The wave is inching closer and closer, and we’re only a metre and a half off the jungle floor. “I can’t climb!” I shout to Pommel, breathless and exhausted. I don’t think he hears me but he sees me stop. He pulls out a sword and prepares to bury the blade into something. Don’t stab me, don’t stab me, don’t stab me …

Pommel scales the tree until I can feel him pushing up against me. He raises his sword once more and I think he’s going to kill me here and now. I close my eyes, preparing for the pain, and lean my forehead on the trunk of the tree. Instead, Pommel stabs my quivers to the trunk, and he holds on tightly. “Hold your breath!” he says loud enough for me to hear. And feel the wave smash into our backs. My hearing is blocked out as the water travels over us. I grit my teeth hard, hoping rocks or loose branches dodge us. The tree that we’re stuck to juts forward, like it’s about to topple over from the force of the wave. Surprisingly, none of the trees do. I remind myself that this is the Capitol’s creation. Everything in here is artificial. It’s peaceful for a moment. Aside from the vicious current, the calmness of being underwater at least brings some peace to mind. It reminds me of the summers the peacekeepers would open the lake to the public. I would swim all the way to the bottom and look up as the dappled rays of sunlight pierced through the water. It may not be ideal in the situation I’m in now, but it’s a memory – a distraction really. It’s not long before the wave passes.

Pommel and I gasp for air and fall into the shallow water beneath us, our weapons escaping our grasp. We lie there, coughing up salt and sand and water. “Thanks,” I manage to wheeze out to Pommel. He only waves his hand; too busy trying to rid of the water from his throat and ears. I crawl over to where our weapons lay astray. Tossing Pommel his swords, I notice the decrease in our weapons. Pommel only has three swords and two knives. I still have my bow but only twelve arrows sit in my quivers, my knives are still there, however my sickle is lost. I move all my arrows into one sheath and throw away the other, and I wedge my eight knives into my belt. I find scratches and cuts spread around my arms and torso, but it doesn’t bother me.

I help Pommel up, and without discussion, we work our way downslope where we hope to find Jaeda. To my left, maybe a kilometre away, I can hear the sound of crickets or beetles chirping away. I shiver, thinking what mutations lurk around there. Someone jumps down beside us and I have my bow and arrow ready to kill. “Woah, it’s only me,” Jaeda says, her hands by her head. “God, that wave was a bitch. We rarely get waves like that back home. Would be a joy to surf though.” She chuckles to herself, tossing her machete in the air.

Pommel and I look at each other, questioning her nonchalant behaviour. I smile anyway and suggest we find Bleeker. Having our energy drained by the wave, no one bothers protesting. I didn’t see where Bleeker ran off to, but I can only guess he never thought to climb a tree as we did. I don’t think he would’ve had the strength to. He’s lanky and awkwardly tall for his age, not to mention clumsy. He continuously stumbled over steps and spears during training, almost taking out an assistant’s eye. We find the skinny District 5 boy sprawled across the beach, face down. I run to his aid, turning him onto his back. My fingers fumble for his lips and I figure out he isn’t breathing. I put my ear to his chest, where I should hear a heart beat. And I do!