"Oh my god!" Vera shouted as she rushed over to Arachne's bloodied body, stabbed by her tribute, Brandy, with her own knife.
"Arachne! Arachne!" Vera called out, watching as the girl stared up at her with tears in her eyes. Vera's hands shook fiercely as she tried to stop the blood, but all it did was smear all over her.
"Someone help her, please!" screamed Vera as she pressed her hands to Arachne's wound, blood everywhere. But no one answered, everyone just watched in shock. And then, Vera heard a gargled whisper.
"Vera," Arachne tried to call out to the girl holding her. Vera panicked as she watched Arachne lose consciousness.
"No. No. No. Why isn't it stopping?" Vera begged, turning her head back to Brandy for the first time, only to regret it when she watched Brandy get shot by Peacekeepers, so close to Vera that her blood splattered all over the girl. Vera's whole body began to convulse at the sight, slowly losing the ability to hold her hands still enough to keep the wound pressed as she let out a horrid shriek.
"I've got it, Vera. Festus, take her," she heard, though his voice was muffled by the ringing in her ears as she stared at the blood. A second later, she felt herself be dragged off the ground, held up by who she presumed to be Festus, but her mind was too clouded to be sure.
Then, Coryo began to yell, screaming for a medic as Vera stared at her hands, drenched in the blood of her classmate.
"Let's get her out of here," yelled Clemensia, running over to a crying Vera and shocked Festus.
"Wait, I need to check on Treech," Vera mumbled as she tried to move on her own, frantically scanning the exhibit for the boy who had been watching her the entire time behind one of the boulders.
Vera began to panic more when she was unable to find him, wobbling in Festus' grasp. Festus held her still, catching her as she almost fell from trying to move so much.
"He's fine, Vera. We need to get you home," Festus insisted, dragging her away from the crowd.
-
The walk home was quiet and bleak. Vera continued to stare down at her hands in silence, eyes stuck on the blood that stained her skin.
"I couldn't save her," Vera heard Coryo say, voice quivering.
"It's not your fault," Clemensia reassured him, "It's neither of your faults. You both tried your best to save her. There was just too much blood."
Festus nodded, grip tightening on Vera's shoulder as they approached his apartment. But Vera could feel the way his hand trembled. For a moment, Vera thought about putting a hand on his in comfort, the same way he had been doing, but then stopped and remembered Arachne's blood coated her hands.
"Come on, let's go to my place," Festus said, beginning to invite the group in, but as soon as they reached his doorstep, he couldn't hold it anymore, breaking out into loud sobs.
"Get some rest, Festus," Coryo instructed, taking Vera's arm, "Come on, let's get you cleaned up."
-
Vera spent the rest of the night crying and most of the next morning in shock. It wasn't that Vera was going to miss Arachne that made her upset. Arachne and Vera never got along, especially not when it came to the Hunger Games. But Vera couldn't get the way the blood looked on her hands out of her head, sickeningly red.
So that night, Vera made her way over back to the zoo. By now, the blood had been washed away, but the eery feeling still remained.
"Vera, what are you doing here?" asked one of the Peacekeepers standing at the entrance. Vera recognized him from the Academy, though he was a few years older than her.
"I'm just here to visit my tribute. I brought some food," Vera admitted, opening her bag for him to see.
"You shouldn't be here, it's dangerous," the man warned, but Vera waved him off as best she could.
"He needs food. And I need to get my mind off of things," Vera begged, eyes pleading.
"Fine, but you can't touch him. Stay out of reach. I mean it, Vera," he said, moving aside so she can walk in.
"Treech," Vera whisper-yelled, trying to get his attention without waking any sleeping tributes. From the corner of her eye, Vera saw someone begin to stir before sitting up to reveal Treech.
"Vera? What are you doing here so late?" he asked, wiping his eyes as he made his way over to her.
"I'm sorry, I just wanted to bring food. I'm sure you haven't eaten since yesterday," Vera apologized, sliding the food through the bars quickly.
"You should be resting, yesterday was-" Treech began to say, but Vera cut him off.
"I want to be here. Just eat with me, please," Vera pleaded. Treech paused for a moment, examining her face, before nodding and sitting on the ground. Vera smiled softly before sitting as well. The two ate in silence for a while, enjoying the rare lack of noise. But once the food began to dwindle, Treech started to speak.
"Did you know her well? The girl who died?"
Vera thought for a second how she should answer. From the way she reacted yesterday, it must've looked like they were close. But, was speaking ill of the dead really the best thing to do right now?
"We've known each other all our lives," Vera replied, causing Treech to nod, "But we weren't close. We didn't even like each other, honestly. I mean, we fought almost every day. But I couldn't just watch her die."
"Vera-" Treech began to say, but Vera cut him off.
"I just can't get the way she mumbled my name right before she died out of my head. And the way her blood stained my hands. It took two hours to scrub off all the blood on me yesterday. And all I could do was sit there and cry as my mother scrubbed," she admitted with a frown as tears began to pool in her eyes. Treech stayed silent, moving closer so that he was practically pressed up against the bars.
"It's like I can still feel it. Both of their blood actually," she whispered, letting the tears fall as she looked at her hands. Treech peered behind her for a second, making sure the Peacekeeper wasn't looking, before reaching forward and gently wiping her tears. Vera looked up at him, slightly leaning into his touch as he ran his thumb across her cheek before pulling away.
"Thank you," Vera mumbled as she let out a shaky laugh, "I think I needed that."
"What about the boy from yesterday? The one holding you up. Didn't he comfort you?" Treech questioned, tilting his head.
"Festus? Of course, he tried. But, he also knew Arachne and so, I couldn't let him ignore his feelings to help me. I actually was going to stay with him, but he got really upset when we reached his apartment and I just couldn't force him to pretend like he wasn't," Vera answered honestly.
"So you two are close?" asked Treech curiously, causing Vera to laugh a little.
"Kind of. We've been friends since childhood," said Vera, confused by the new conversation.
"But you're not together?" Treech asked, oddly smirking at Vera. Vera jokingly scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"What are you talking about right now?" Vera questioned as she watched him begin to laugh.
"I just want to know," he replied defensively, but Vera could see the slight smirk on his face.
"Are you just trying to change the conversation so I'd stop crying?" Vera accused, mouth widening in shock as she tried to hold back laughter.
"Maybe, did it work?"
"And here I thought you cared about my life and my friends," Vera exaggerated, wiping a fake tear.
"I am interested. I needed to know if I had a chance," the boy joked again, causing Vera to raise her eyebrows.
"Not with those bad jokes," Vera shot back, causing Treech to hold his heart dramatically.
"You're just adding to my list here, Darling. First, I've got to win the games. Now, I've got to get better jokes too. The first one I can do. But the second? I don't know if I'll be able to."
"Nope, those are my conditions. Best and final," joked Vera with a laugh, causing Treech to playfully scoff.
"Just you wait, Darling. My jokes will win you over," he teased, winking at her. The two laughed for a few moments before calming down.
"I should probably get home. And you need to get some rest," Vera insisted when she noticed the boy yawn, starting to pack up her bag. When she looked up, she noticed Treech already standing, extending a hand out toward her. Vera quickly checked behind her before accepting his hand and standing up.
"Well aren't you the perfect gentleman," Vera teased with a giggle, wiping the dirt off her clothes.
"There's more where that came from, Darling," Treech shot back, tipping his hat at her again.
"Goodnight, Vera. Get home safe."
"Goodnight, Treech. Thank you. For tonight."
-
A/N:
Hi loves !! Happy Friday !! I honestly LOVE Treech in this chapter, he's just so cute. Anyways, I hope you guys are having a good day,,, all I have left is one more final assignment for classes and then I'm done !! Hopefully, then I'll have much more time to write.
Little update: I'm thinking of adding an extra chapter per week soon (hopefully) but, I'm trying to figure out what day to add it in. So, in the future, I MIGHT be updating 3 days a week rather than just 2 (yay!!)
Anyways, that's all !! I hope you guys have a good few days and I can't wait to read what you have to say lol
Love you guys, Hannah <3