FOURTEEN
A GIFT
Talia and Archer had slept in each others arms that night to keep warm, Talia had hardly slept, too scared to after the events of that morning when the bear attacked the careers. Archer however drifted off with ease, tired from the walking and lack of food. Talia knew she'd have to hunt something soon, but the only animals she'd seen were the bear, owls and crows. Plus she couldn't really catch anything when all she had was the knife she's taken, the spear Mason had abandoned had been broken by the bear's brutal strength and the curved knife that Archer had would be no use either.
Finally, Talia had dozed off about an hour before sunrise and she was awoken by the sound of beeping. Her sleepy eyes forced themselves open and she saw the black parachute about a metre away, resting on a boulder. She slowly eases her arms from around Archer and crawls over to it, keeping low as she opened it up and saw a tiny, typed out note inside.
A gift for my little bird - F.O
Talia lets out a deep sigh, her eyes glancing around her, wondering how many Capitol cameras were pointed at her right now. She folds the card in half and places it in her coat pocket. Shivering as she opens the box and sees three pieces that needed putting together to create a beautiful, matte black trident. She puts the pieces together and admires the weapon, she tilts up her head and blows a kiss towards the air, and then mouths "thank you"
She looks over at Archer and sees him snuggled up, sleeping so peacefully despite the horror around him and as Talia moves to wake him, a twig snapping makes her drop to her stomach, clutching the trident tightly. She crawls close to the ground to join Archer and she shakes him lightly, holding a finger to her lips when his eyes open. He nods, understanding and reaches for the spear beside him, he notices the trident but realises the time isn't right to question it.
They press their backs as hard as they can into the arching rock they'd huddled under and Archer clamps a hand over his own mouth, trying to calm his breathing. She sends him a glance, hoping it might help if she looks hopeful. The sound gets louder and she realises this is two sets of feet rather than one, its not the bear, its not heavy enough. She places her spare hand on Archer's arm and gestures for him to shift along the arched rock. He does as she tells him, keeping quiet. Talia follows, but it is her who knocks the rock from its spot and it falls out, hitting the rock hard. The footsteps above pause and Talia cringes. She presses further in and so does Archer. The feet trample to the edge of the rock, Talia pulls in her feet- for once she was too tall.
"What was that?" The voice asks, Talia recognises it, its Darius from District 6. Archer opens his mouth, as if he might speak, but he catches Talia's eyes and she pushes a finger to her lips. His mouth closes.
"Probably just a loose rock falling," Bailey.
Talia's eyes close, silently praying they leave them be, she didn't wish to deal with anyone other than Archer for a good while. Suddenly, a cannon booms out. 10 left. Her heart was thundering in her chest as she let out a slow breath.
"We should move, D," Bailey says, Talia can hear her feet shuffle closer.
"Right, we need to see if we can find her, warn her,"
Talia gulps, who else could they be talking about except for her.
"Wait!" Archer calls out and the feet shuffle again. Archer glances at Talia and the girl shakes her head in reply.
"Archer, isn't it?" Darius asks, "Was it you who made that noise?"
"It was, I thought you might be the careers...Or some creature," Archer says, Talia couldn't fault his bravery, "Who do you need to warn?"
"Talia, we heard Ethan...He...He spoke of doing awful things...Tearing her body to shreds with his bare teeth...We tracked him and the other 3 for awhile, listened to his brutal plans...He wants to...Torture her..."
The words made Talia gag, her small breakfast threatening to spill onto the rock. Another cannon booms throughout the arena and Talia takes a moment before stepping into view. Darius lifts his sword, ready to strike, but his face softens when he sees her face.
"The Pearl herself," Darius admires. He looks to Bailey, who's eyes were glancing around the forest, looking for anyone who might threaten them.
"The Pearl?" Talia asks, her eyebrows furrowing.
"Its what our mentors called you," Bailey says, eyes briefly torn from the treeline.
"We should move," Darius says, "Will you be coming with us, Pearl?"
Talia looks to Archer, "My priority lies in him...Protect him and get him to the end, that's my goal,"
Darius and Bailey share a glance, their eyes searching each others before Darius turns back.
"Very well," Darius replies and Talia and Archer follow them along the rock before finding a good enough place to clamber up, Darius offering his hand, which they both accept. The group of four head towards the cornucopia, Bailey had marked a map on her hand using mud. It took them a good hour to reach the treeline that showed them the looming snow capped mountain, the frozen lake and of course, the Cornucopia. There was 9 people left, and it had only been a few days. Talia knew they had less chance of bumping into another group, but Talia also knew that this meant that trusting Bailey and Darius as she was, was risky. Even trusting innocent little Archer was risky. But out there, in the arena somewhere, Ethan Bomer was waiting to have her blood on his hands, and if Talia was going to die, she was going to do it protecting the little boy who reminded her so much of her little brother who was undoubtedly watching back home.
_______________
Thank you for reading and i hope you enjoyed!
the next few chapters are going to get very gory, just a warning to you that i do enjoy writing horror descriptions and so that'll definitely come through
~lachys-loch
❤️