peacekeeper•coriolanus snow ✓

𝟎𝟏𝟐. inevitabely caught

chapter twelve
inevitabely caught

Avery never feared for her life more than now.

She was sprinting through the woods with Coriolanus Snow catching up to her. He shouted as he ran, demanding that she come back to him.

There was another gun shot. Avery looked back as she was running, her eyes scanning the woods for Coriolanus.

She wasn't paying attention and she tripped over a humongous branch that was on the ground. Avery knew that Coriolanus was going to find her.

Avery let out a small cry as she fell over the branch and then tumbled down the hill. She tried to get up, but her left ankle ached so badly. This really wasn't the best time to sprain an ankle.

Despite the unbearable pain, Avery climbed to her feet, limping through the forest as fast as she could go.

"Avery, when I find you..."

The footsteps kept getting closer and Avery kept getting slower as the pain in her body increased. She wasn't too far from the lake, maybe she could just jump in there...

Avery picked up her speed a bit. She didn't want Coriolanus to find her, but at the same time she did... She wanted to be in his arms again.

Avery has always dreamt of escaping the cruel life the districts had, but she found herself missing life in the districts.

Avery missed her and Coriolanus sneaking down to watch the Covey perform together. She missed tucking her sisters in at night and hanging out with Jessie on her couch afterwards. She missed having Otto over for dinner. She missed her small chats with Sejanus.

Even though Coriolanus seemed less innocent and sweet, Avery still saw good in him. She prayed and strongly believed that he wouldn't actually kill her.

And if he did...

Avery tried not to think about death because she still has so much to live for. She hoped to live a peaceful life in the woods and make things better with Coriolanus. Maybe one day she could return to District 12 and reunite with her family. Maybe she could make change in the world of Panem and magically erase the Hunger Games from existence.

"Avery."

Coriolanus's voice echoed through the woods until she realized the source of it was behind her. She limped and turned around to face him.

Coriolanus looked at her with all of his beauty and also a gun in his hands. The look in his eyes scared her.

As he began to advance, Avery's ankle gave in and she fell. She crawled backwards away from him.

"Look at me."

She couldn't look at him. She couldn't.

Avery's back clashed with the back of a tree. She stopped moving and realized that she had nowhere to go. She looked back, realizing that there was a cliff directly behind this tree.

She would either fall to her death or have to move forward towards Coriolanus. Coriolanus took a few more steps forward. He was standing directly in front of her and looking down at her.

"You tried to run away from me," he said quietly but angrily.

Avery truly didn't know how to respond. She did leave partially to avoid him, but she wasn't running away back to the districts. She needed to be away from him when he looked that furious and was armed.

Part of her believed that Coriolanus would never kill her, but Avery wasn't so sure anymore. He had shot while she was running; he could have killed her then. She was just lucky.

"Coryo please," Avery gently whispered, a single tear staining her cheek. "This isn't fair."

"Not fair?" He laughed to himself, but it was a ticked off laugh. "I want to be with you, Avery. But you tried to kill me and then run away. You thought I wouldn't find you..."

Avery was shocked at what Coriolanus said, despite their two passionate kisses. He really wanted to be with her.

He wanted her and she wanted him. But it isn't that simple anymore. Coriolanus is furious with her and she is stuck in a position where she is unsure what to do. Are her feelings or her instincts stronger? Why does Avery feel like she wants to stare at his beauty for the rest of the day while she also feels like she needs to get out of here because he's dangerous?

"I didn't try to kill you," Avery tried to explain.

"Really? The scarf I gave you lying over a poisonous snake isn't you trying to kill me? You ran away after too."

"I was trying to pick katniss until you tried to shoot me like a maniac!" Avery shouted.

When Coriolanus's eyes turned even crazier, Avery regretted her choice to yell at him. Avery felt a stinging in her ankle again and clutched it with her hands as she grunted.

Coriolanus was now more focused on her being in pain. "What the hell happened to your ankle?" He was definitely still angry though.

"I think I sprained it."

"Because you were running from me!" he proclaimed loudly, causing Avery to jump.

It was a rather dumb way to be knocked out, but her head hit the tree behind her harshly, sending her pain into a downwards spiral.

She felt a panic attack coming on because of Coriolanus.

Everything was going black. Avery was out.

Coriolanus smirked before thinking about his next actions. He took her in his arms and quietly made his way back towards the cabin they were making shelter in.

The regret was leaking out of him. Why did he shoot at Avery? His internal need for power was taking charge of his emotions and causing him to harm everyone he loves.

Sejanus is dead and it's all because of him, and now he's almost killed Avery. How can he fight these demons anymore?

He looked down at the brunette girl who had her beautiful eyes shut. Nothing else mattered at the moment. Avery was his, and that was what he decided on.