Beauty and a Beast

Chapter 10

"He snagged some good stuff," I say to Lily.

It's hard, looking through the bag of a boy who was alive twelve hours ago; a boy I knew fairly well. But I know Marius would want us to have anything he left behind. He's got some throwing knives, bread, crackers, apples; a sewing kit. Very useful. I offer Lily a portion of his loot. As his district partner, it's only fair she gets some, too. We don't take his water bottle. Not gonna risk getting the same infection he died from.

"What are we sitting around for?" Andrea asks, jumping to her feet. "Another lovely day awaits."

"Aye, aye, Captain," I reply sarcastically.

"I'm game," Hal says. Link is all for leaving, too. I could use some walking, myself. My legs feel kind of numb on this crispy cool day.

"Hey, Enobaria," Lily says as we pack. "I love you. You know that?"

"Love you too."

She becomes uncharacteristically timid. "Actually, I-"

"Get your butts moving," Link orders. "We'll partner up by district today. Lily, you can come with me and Andrea. We can all search for food, water, and the last two tributes. Anything we gather up, we'll share."

"Where should we meet back at?" Hal asks.

"There was a huge stone on that side of the hill," I suggest, pointing in the direction I'm thinking of.

"Sounds good," Lily says. Link and Andrea nod.

We roam through the hills all afternoon, and I'm thankful for Hal's company. He hasn't given me a reason not to trust him. Not yet, anyways. I pick berries from bushes- my injured elbow is doing better, thank goodness- while Hal gathers water. He's starting to look gloomier; not so comical. I just hope I don't have to kill him myself. Hal's grown on me, almost like a brother. Maybe I can forgive Jetta for choosing him. Chances are, she's never gonna see him again. Or me. I'm not immortal.

"You ever miss District Four?" he asks me after gulping down some water.

"Sometimes," I admit. "I miss the beaches. They were the most gorgeous beaches you could imagine. I had so much fun fishing. And I miss my friends, especially. I didn't wanna leave them behind."

It's then that Lily's words sink in.

My childhood friend has a crush on me.
*********************************
Hal and I are the first to reach our designated rock, sometime in the afternoon. Link approaches about an hour later. Alone.

"Where's Lily?" I ask him. Like I care where Andrea is.

"Dunno."

"You don't know," I repeat.

He shrugs. "It's not my responsibility to watch out for her. I'm sure she's just lagging behind."

"Oh, and I suppose Andrea's 'lagging behind', too. District One, you bastard!" I shove him to the ground, wishing he would break some bones along the way.

"What?" he says mockingly. "You thought we'd all dance around in sunflower fields and sing about peace? That we'd always be the best of friends? You know, if the Games were nonexistent, I might like you. Heck, I'd probably ask you out, honestly. But we know better, don't we? We're all screwed. It's every man for himself now."

"Then you'd better hope I don't rip your throat out while you're sleeping," I hiss.

"I'd love to see you try, little girl."

"Lily? Lily!" My voice grows more desperate by the second, until it strains me. I keep my eyes on the ground for signs of blood; Lily's bag; her trident.

I find her at the bottom of a valley. Lying on her back and barely breathing, with the trident in hand. Blood gushes from a wide cut across her throat.

"Lily... No..."

But I refuse to cry.

"Who did this?" I ask. "Was it the District One girl? Flip your hand up for 'yes' or down for 'no'."

Lily's hand goes upward.

Just like I feared. Andrea's had it out for me since our fight in training. She won't live long now if I have anything to say about it.

"I figured out what you were gonna tell me, Lily. I'm not... I'm not like you. But I'm glad you're being yourself. Plus," I tease, "you're a good kisser. Don't think I forgot Hal's dare."

Lily tries talking, and all that comes out is a gurgling sound.

"Don't. It'll hurt even more if you speak," I tell her. "Hey, remember when we'd sneak off to the beach at night and take a swim? It was always so cold, but the sky was beautiful. Full of stars."

She smiles, coughing up blood.

"You have to admit, this place is just as pretty. Just look around."

Lily's eyes flutter open and closed, and she squeezes my hand. There's no way I'm gonna let go. She looks at me one last time before her head rolls to the side. Her cannon sounds almost simultaneously.

I lift her head up, sweep hair out of her face. Now she looks presentable for the hovercraft. "'Bye, Lil," I whisper as she's taken up, and she disappears into the air, out of my life forever.

I've been angry. I've been devastated. I've been confused. But these emotions I'm feeling now, because of the Capitol's heartless demands, are strong enough to make me explode like a volcano.

Too bad I can't take it out on them.

Passing a tall rosemary bush, I get a glimpse of bright red hair amongst the branches. It can only be Andrea. No other remaining tribute is a redhead. She slinks from her hiding place when she sees me, grinning.

"You are so dead!" I yell.

Andrea wags her fingers towards herself. "Come at me, District Two."

I begin charging full-force, screaming at the top of my lungs. We cross weapons on the first hit. I try again, but the sword only grazes her good arm. She has great reflexes, I've gotta admit.

She recovers quickly, swinging her ax at my left thigh. I wasn't able to dodge it, and oh man. It hurts. Hey, I'm good, but I can't always win. I'm feeling much weaker than I normally am.

"They gave you a rating of ten?" she teases. "I thought you'd be competition. Guess I assumed wrong."

I make another move to stab her, which she deflects. "Say that again," I hiss. Pure fire emanates inside of me.

"You're a pathetic little b-"

I drive the sword through Andrea's heart. She falls, but I push deeper, past her spine. It doesn't take more than a few seconds for her to die. Pity. I should've taken my time.

Eh. Another tribute out of the picture. As I clean Andrea's blood off of my sword, Link and Hal watch.

"Did either of you guys have a problem with that?" I ask my remaining allies.

"No," they both say.

An evil smile creeps up on me. "Good."