Promises of a Sacrificial Lamb |Destiel x The Hunger Games|

-21-

Acidic rain.  It's the only thing I can think of.  Why else would it sizzle on Cas' skin like that?  And if that one little drop left that much of an inflamed mark...

The thunder rattles my bones.  It's getting darker and windier by the second.  The clouds overhead are rolling closer and closer.  That acid rain is going to start falling, and we're out in the middle of nowhere.

"Move."  I'm surprised at how calm my voice is.  Pure terror takes control of me as I scramble to my feet.  "Move!"

I help Cas up as he throws the knapsack over his shoulders, and we bolt through the foliage.  I don't even think.  Just run.  Hop over the tree roots, broken twigs, uneven terrain.  I can hear Cas' frantic, labored breaths and his pounding footsteps close behind me, and the rumbling thunder even closer.  It's like it's taunting us, laughing at us as we desperately try to outrun the rain that's bound to start pouring down any second.  How are we going to find cover in time?

A raindrop hits the back of my neck.  Searing pain shoots down my spine as it eats away at my skin, but I keep running, searching for something—anything—that could spare us from this harmful acidity.  I'm horrified to realize there's nothing in sight.

I skid to an abrupt stop when I see a wall of rain flanking us from the left.  Cas collides into my back, not having noticed the approaching danger, and almost sends me stumbling forward.  I catch myself just in time and grab his arm, pulling him away from the advancing acid rain and deeper into the darkening forest to our right.

Another droplet lands on my hand.  It stings and burns so painfully that it knocks all the air out of my lungs.  Still, I keep sprinting, tugging Cas along behind me.  How exhausted I was by the pond doesn't matter.  How much my body aches doesn't matter.  Adrenaline has replaced the blood surging through my veins.  All I can think about now is finding shelter before we're eaten alive by acidic rain.  That's not the way I want to go.

I start to panic when I hear the rain falling behind us, slamming against the leaves of the foliage.  It's getting closer.  We might not be able to outrun it.  The thunder booms.  The wind roars.  The lethal storm is creeping up on us, and I'm so blinded by overwhelming fear that I almost miss it.

A small rock overhang, with just enough space beneath it for us to hide under.

I practically dive to my stomach and crawl under the rock, then spin around to help Cas into the hollow.  It's more spacious inside, like a tiny cave, but the ceiling is so low that we can't stand, only sit.  It doesn't matter.  It's a shelter, and that's all I care about.

That's when the rain starts to fall.  Cas pulls his foot into the safety of the hollow just as the first droplets hit the ground.  It turns into a torrential downpour outside in a matter of seconds.  It's terrifying to look at, to realize that if we'd been a moment too slow, we would've been caught in that deadly deluge.  The earth is soaked.  Thick raindrops coat the leaves of the bushes, but the acidity doesn't seem to affect anything except skin.

That was far too close for comfort.  We got lucky.  Again.

"Note to self,"  I say, the rush of the adrenaline making a nervous chuckle bubble up from my throat.  "The rain is not drinkable."

Cas doesn't laugh with me.  His chest heaves with overwrought breaths.  He's borderline hyperventilating.  I reach over to touch his shoulder, to hopefully offer him solace after that frightening near-catastrophe, but then the piercing screams echo through the air outside our little cave.

I freeze up.  Cas flinches next to me.  The two of us dare to peer out beyond the rock overhang, and my heart drops when I see the distant figure of another tribute frantically careening through the forest, in the midst of the acidic downpour.  He's thrashing around, as if he's trying to swat away the rain that's pelting him from head to toe.  His shrieks of agony chill my blood to ice.  I can almost hear the sizzling of his flesh from here.  He stumbles, collapses to the ground, flails like he's on fire, screams to the dark sky above, until he eventually stops moving altogether.  The air is horrifically silent without the sound of his anguished voice.