The 150th Annual Hunger Games

Day Four (Afternoon Part Two)

Ace Dawford's P.O.V. (D2)

It's a terrible feeling, being frozen in place and to have something taken away from you so easily, and being unable to do anything to prevent it. All I can do is watch intently, praying that Fynn and Scarlett won't do something stupid.

The vial is so close, hovering less than a foot away from my face in Geo's fist. I want to reach up and grab it so badly. How can something that seems so simple be so difficult for me to do?

There's nothing I can do but stand by and hope Fynn and Scarlett can get the vial and bring it back to Elsa, even if it means leaving me here.

If Scarlett is right about the red stones being the cause of this, that would mean that they just need to push me off it. I can't move, but that doesn't mean I can't be moved by someone else.

My feet become numb, and I can feel the numbness creeping up my legs, stiffening them. I can also feel faint pulses of electricity running through me. Then I realize how it works. They must've done the same thing to the red stones that they did to the ladders on the hovercrafts that carry the Victor out of the arena. I heard they were built with an electric pulse that freezes you to the ladder once you grab one of the rungs. That way, if you're too injured to climb, it'll just freeze you and carry you up to the hovercraft. They had to have used the same technology when they designed this island.

Clever.

At least I can still breathe, think, hear and see.

Fynn makes a move towards Geo, but Geo jerks the knife in the air and nods to me, " another step, and I'll slit his throat."

They stop short. Fynn appears to be calculating a plan in his head, while Scarlett is just staring with wide eyes as if she knows we've lost and just doesn't know what to think about it. I think Geo is hoping they'll run off and leave me here, but I don't believe they will. I certainly hope that if it comes down to choosing me or the cure, they choose the cure. I can't bear the thought of returning to Elsa without that vial and watching her die slowly.

Geo seems to be getting impatient. He asked a step closer to me and points the knife at my neck. I just stand there like a statue, but inside, a million things are running through my mind. My friends, my parents, Elsa, the vial. How can I go down so easily?

Scarlett's eyes grow even wider, if that's possible, but then Fynn starts talking, "What are you waiting for, Geo? Just take the vial and leave. It's what you came for."

"No, you two will leave first. You'll just try to get the vial back from me the moment I step away from your ally here."

"Hmm true," Fynn shrugs, "But you also have allies here. Both of them are going to die if you don't do something soon. The real question is, who are you going to save? Clark, or Jada?" he makes a click sound with his tongue and crosses his arms over his chest, "Ooh, tough decision for you. Better not take your time on this one."

Geo's anger piles up as Fynn speaks. He glances at Jada, who is still motionless and watching the scene with her shoulder still spilling blood out onto the ground, then at Clark, who is collapsed on the ground breathing in quick, raspy breaths.

"I'll save them both! I have the cure for Clark, and I will carry Jada out of here safely! You're the ones that have lost! Not me!" Geo insists.

"If you say so..." Fynn says with a roll of his eyes, "But how exactly do you expect to get away when we're here? We'll easily catch up with you if you're carrying Jada, if she hasn't died of blood loss by then. Just make this easy for all of us and hand the vial over now, and we'll let you go."