Final Reality (THG Fanfic)

Chapter XVIII

I hear Primrose growl behind me as she releases her arrow, which buries itself into Deven’s shoulder, but her growl doesn’t overpower the killing scream erupting from Jaeda. Cathal blindly throws his spears at Ayano, who has appeared on the opposite corner, but she skillfully dodges every one of them. Ayano manages to stick a knife in Zara’s arm before disappearing around the corner along with Deven. Quent, Pommel, Primrose and I chase after the two careers, but both of them manage to escape on a spoke before we feel the ground beneath us jolt. The four of us fall to the rocky floor beneath us, hanging on for our dear lives as centrifugal force tries to throw us off the island. I grab hold of Primrose’s waist and wedge one of my knives into rocky shore to keep us from plunging into the ocean. Around us, everything blurs as we spin. I close my eyes and grit my teeth hard as my birthday feast threatens to make a reappearance, and I can see Primrose doing the same. There’s not much we can do but hold on before, without slowing, we slam to a sudden stop, sending us rolling across the shore.

No one really moves after that, just a few coughs and snorting here and there. Feeling queasy, I drag myself onto a spoke, far away enough from the cornucopia, and vomit shellfish and bread into the salt water. It burns my throat as it comes up and the bitter taste lingers on my tongue. I wash my mouth out while I slowly walk back to where my group has begun to gradually make their way to the mouth of the cornucopia, where two injured girls lay. I break into a slow jog, scooping up a waterlogged Primrose on the way. Quent and Pommel are already up, slowly walking with their hands against the cornucopia, just in case the gamemakers decide to take us for another spin.

Back to where we were before the ambush, Jaeda twitches on the ground with a bloody trident next to her, and Zara is trying to grab the knife from her arm. Cathal sits on his heels, trying to calm Jaeda, assuring she’ll be okay. Primrose runs to her aid and assesses the damage. Pommel and Quent appear behind me, and they stand either side of me, watching the horrid scene. My eyes are glued to the blood, which seeps from Jaeda’s shoulder and Zara’s arm, even though I don’t want to watch. I snap myself back to reality, knowing I must do something. A teary-eyed Zara calls for my help, her fingers shaking as she cautiously tries to grab hold of the knife in her arm. Quent helps me pull the knife from her as she let’s out a piercing scream, followed by a round of sobs.

In between sobs, she manages a few words. “Wire … my … give my … wire,” she shivers as Quent cradles her precious body. I stand and look around, trying to find that spool of wire she would never let go of. I find it wedged in between rocks on the shore, that’s when I realize it’s nothing like the wire I’ve seen before. It’s thin as a strand of hair and gold and shiny. I don’t bother to ask Zara about it, not in the state she’s in. I place the spool by her hands and she lets out a breathless thank you.

I turn my attention to Jaeda, who continues to twitch and shiver uncontrollably. Primrose has cut away Jaeda’s jumpsuit, revealing the gut-wrenching wound. Cathal has retreated back to the shore, unable to stand watching his friend die. I want to tell him that Jaeda’s not going to die. Even though I’m not a healer, I know that this sort of injury won’t kill her, unless it gets infected. I want to tell him that she’ll live, but I leave him in his peace. Personally, I would love to join him. I just can’t stand seeing someone you know, let alone love, struggle. And then I realize what he might be thinking about, more accurately, who. I think back to our last night in the Capitol. My dream with JD, then finding Cathal disturbed about a nightmare. A nightmare where Faizal, his older stepbrother, threw a knife at him, instead the knife found its way into Lorna’s back. There’s no doubt that that’s currently haunting him.

“We have to get off this island, and get back to the jungle,” says Primrose, snapping me out of thought. “We’ve no medicine and I’m positive what we need lies amongst those trees.”