Reunited: Against the Odds

Chapter 15

Timothy's P.O.V.

After taking our round about the mountain, Maggie and I made our way back to the others. The day seemed to be longer than normal, prolonged time outdoors taking its toll on me. I could feel a pain in the back of my neck, whether from sleeping wrong or a sunburn I didn't know. The others seemed to be holding their own fairly well for possibly traumatized individuals, so I made sure I didn't appear to be the weakest link in the chain. As the eldest as well as the most authoritative and experienced, it was my job to keep the others well-protected, and as of right now, I wasn't doing too good a job at that. 

"Are you sure it's this way?" Maggie inquired, the slightest bit of complaint in her voice. It could easily be noticed that she was getting tired out, therefore rather whiny. Having accustomed to it, it didn't bother me so much as add only the slightest bit of annoyance into my response. 

"Of couse it is. We turned left here," I say, pointing to the left path of the mountain. We had come to two diverging points, the left being a smooth slope leveled slightly downwards. It seemed to be a straight path and a bit narrower, but it was clearer. The right one, which Maggie must have thought was correct, was a lot rockier, seeming to twist around the mountain.

"Noooo, we turned right. I remember," Maggie replied, a little more forcefully. "Plus, it looks a lot easier to trek, minus the rocks."

"You shouldn't make rash decisions just because you're exhausted," I respond, the annoyance creeping into my voice. "Now, we have to get back to Charlotte and Verena. The sun is setting." With that, I pointed to the sky, the sun a mild, hideous orange. The blonde and redhead were most likely waiting on us, having already gotten some food of sorts. 

"Well, what if you're wrong? Then they'd wonder where we went, and then we'd all be split," she retorted. Sensing a heated argument on its way, I took a deep breath, trying to stabilize my voice as well as the emotions affecting it. 

"We can only make one choice. We won't have time to make both paths. We'll take your path, not because you're right, but because if you're wrong, we can at least look down and see where they are." With that, I take the lead, walking towards the path. It wasn't very steep at all, but the rocks shifted almost immediately after being stepped on.

Maggie giggled a little as she began to follow after me. "You're just saying that because you know I'm right."

I'm saying that because that's the best decision, I think to myself. But to keep the two of us at peace, I simply nod and continue going, mumbling a false agreement. 

~~~

Not much time had passed, but it seemed like forever. We still had quite a distance to travel, not having seen the clearing we had stopped at. An unsure feeling had begun to rise inside of me, unsteady as the rocks beneath my feet, of which I had slipped on at least five times so far, an unpleasant word coming out each time. It went unnoticed the other times, but this time it slipped out a little louder. I stopped, hearing an exaggerated gasp from Maggie, knowing what was coming next. 

"You said-"

"Yes, I know. I'm sorry," I had muttered. 

"You owe me twenty-five cents for that."

Rolling my eyes, I let out a small chuckle, then continued going. After winning her Games, young Maggie was the baby in comparison to the rest of us. The five main Gamemakers at the time- Charlotte, Bacchus, Delilah, Wynter, and I- had agreed that if any of us swore in front of Snorlypuff or Maggie we would have to pay them a quarter. Having used to swear like sailors, most of us quickly adjusted to the new rules. Wynter and Delilah, racking up quite the debt, resorted to stealing from the money Maggie made and just gave it back to her. By the time Verena had won two years later, the rule had been left in the dust.