Another Tribute

"It was after you left for the Career camp. That's when we started to hit it off," Eli says to me. His words lightly echo in the cave, which makes the story a little eery. It's raining outside, which adds to the darkness of his words. Wait, did I really just think his "dark words"? That's rather odd.

"So...what happened?" I ask, shyly. Not sure if I want to know.

"Little things. Like, she was a good listener when we were alone. And, I liked hearing about her too," he says, looking distant. I can't tell if he wishes she were here, or if he's embarressed by it.

"What else? You said it was complicated!" I say, chuckling. He sighs.

"Oh. Well...one night she told me that she liked me. And, since nobody was around...I figured why not. So I kissed her...and she never let me forget it," Eli describes.

"What do you mean 'she never let you forget it'? What are you talking about?" I ask.

"The next day after our kiss, I regretted it. I never really liked her, I was just lonely. I tried to tell her, but she kept saying how 'If you kissed me, you must feel something' and stuff like that. She tricked me into it. It makes me feel so stupid," he admits.

"I know what you mean..." I mutter, wishing I hadn't. Bad feelings start to surface again. Eli notices the look on my face, and takes my hand gently in his. The bad feelings immediately go away, of course. We sit in silence, and I find myself staring at our hands together.

"Kind of weird how that works isn't it?" Eli asks.

"How do you know it does? I mean, I could be faking," I question. He looks a little embarressed, but he answers.

"It makes me feel better too. Calmer, and...nevermind it's to weird," Eli says, laughing.

"No, tell me!" I insist, giving him a puppy dog look.

"Well...like....warmer. Happy. Does that even make sense?" he asks. I nod, and begin to get nervous.

"Eli...why is that?" I ask. Eli looks more nervous than before.

"Hey, the rain stopped. Let's go hunt," he says, getting up. He lets go of my hand, and we leave our new home. I'm annoyed he didn't answer my question, but I'll let him get away with it...for now.

As we search for some game, I realize for the first time how beautiful this forest is. A cool breeze caresses my cheek, and I let out a sigh of relief. Maybe this day won't be so terrible.

Well, let's just say it goes downhill from there.

"Hey, I think I see a bird!" Eli says, pointing to a medium sized turkey-like bird. He looks very pleased, because he doesn't usually spot the prey.

"Nice, Eli. Why don't you take the shot?" I suggest, knowing this will make him happy. Wow, this world is so twisted when shooting prey is exciting. I hand him the small bow I have, that I hardly use since I'm not usually a good shot, and he grins. Carefully he notches one of our precious arrows, but the bird suddenly gets spooked and runs off.

"Crap, was I too loud?" Eli asks. I shake my head, getting nervous.

"Eli, you didn't make any noise. Something else spooked it," I whisper.

"It was probably me, oops," a voice says behind us. Eli and I turn around, startled to be face to face with Dianca. We get up to run the other way, but stop when we see the rest of her crew is surrounding us. Damn it.

"How did you find us?" Eli asks bravely.

"Easily, with the help of my new friend," she says, motioning behind her. And who else but Ariella comes out of the shadows.

"Ariella! How could you? After everything we...I shared with you!" Eli says furiously. I knew she'd end up back stabbing us, I just didn't imagine it that way.

"Easily. You made the decision very easy after you chose her over me!" Ariella says angrily.

"Calm down, Ari. Revenge will come with patience," Dianca says smoothly to Ariella. Ariella looks happier at the mention of revenge. I shudder.

"Speaking of that, can we get going?" Ariella says, looking more excited by the minute. She's staring straight at Eli when she asks Dianca this. The look in her eyes quickly turns from glee to loathing.

"Alright, Ari...let's get this done with. Rex, you hold back Auden. Ariella, Eli's all yours," she says, motioning to a hugely muscular guy comparable to an elephant. He grabs me around the waist and I don't protest. I know for sure it's over. My only regret is that Eli gets to go first.

"What are you going to do to me, Ariella? You know I'm not afraid," Eli says, taking out his knife now that he's been freed. Ariella holds out her hand and a guy tosses her a long, sharp looking sword.

"Whatever I want to!" Ariella yells in an almost child-like voice. She sounds like she's whining. I realize that she's probably so annoyed because of Eli's bravery. Even if I will, Eli won't go down without a fight. This thought makes adrenaline rush through my veins. Maybe I can still pull off another miracle.

"Get her!" I yell out to Eli. He looks at me for a split second, but it's enough for Ariella to gain the advantage and slash his arm.

"That'll teach you!" Ariella yells as she starts to randomly lash out. Eli luckily blocks most of the contact, but it's hard to defend yourself against a long sword with a short knife. His energy is waning.

"Don't mmmuff gull hub!" I say, but I don't get to finish my sentence because Rex covers my mouth with his hand. And it's not a clean hand either.

"Given up yet, Eli?" Ariella says menacingly. Eli looks beaten, but he tries not to show it.

"If you kill me, I guess I can deal with that. But I won't let you have Auden too," Eli yells quickly, turning his attention towards me. He runs forward and throws his knife at Rex's face. It hits him square between his eyes, and he starts to gush blood. Of course, he releases me, turning his focus to the wound.

"Run, Auden!" Eli yells, facing Ariella. She grins as she raises her sword against him. This second seems to go by in slow motion. All of the Career group run to their wounded commrade. He must be valuable, and I guess I wasn't their main focus today. Eli stands his ground, ready to go. He's given up his only weapon to save me, and the feeling of friendship that wells up inside me tells me I'd better try to save him.

"The thing is, I'm not so good at following directions," I say, taking out my own sword. Good thing they didn't take it. Ariella sees that I'm coming, and she turns towards me. However, I see fear twinkle in her eyes. Is she afraid of me?

I strike out at Ariella, easily dislodging the sword from her hands. She turns from a fearless tiger into a shy kitten.

"Please, Auden, don't hurt me! I didn't know what else to do!" she pleads.

"Ariella, this is unforgiveable," I say raising up my sword. I don't plan on killing her, but I've got to do some damage. How else will I survive?

"Dianca!" Ariella screams out. Dianca takes one look at her, glances at Eli, and leaps towards him faster than seems possible. She grabs him by the shirt and lifts him over the edge of a cliff I hadn't noticed was there.

"Any last words?" Dianca says, laughing.

"Auden, I..."

"Too late," Dianca says, dropping his exausted body over the edge. I hear a blood-curdling cry, and I realize it's me. As I see him slip out of her grasp, I feel my body give in. But then I remember that he told me to run, and I have to follow his last request. I run into the forest as Ariella sits on the ground, stunned, while everyone else waits for orders. Dianca doesn't send anyone after me.

"She'll be dead soon, I saw the look on her face. And if she doesn't we'll get her," Dianca says, forgetting me for the time being. I continue to run into the forest, blindly pushing away branches and anything else that dare cross my path. I don't know how, but I managed to reach our cave.

And then, began the sobbing.

I fell lifeless to the floor, crying a river of tears. Then, suddenly, I fell silent. I curled up into a ball and began to stare vacantly at the cave wall. I'm sure that the cameras are turned on me, defenseless and mental. Maybe going crazy will do me good...maybe I'll die soon. Death would be better than this miserable life. Can I ever face the world again?