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Silence
Twenty One
“Logan!” I screamed, as the hands around my leg began to pull me backwards. I banged my head on the low ceiling, and my mouth hit the floor mid scream, drawing blood from my lip and filling my mouth with dirt, which muffled my cries. I thrashed about wildly, fumbling for a knife on my belt. Another pair of hands grabbed my shoulders and flipped me on to my back, so I could see my assailants. Layla, Cerebus, and a boy from District 4. Swiftly, I kicked out, aiming for Cerebus’ stomach, but he grabbed my foot, laughing.
“Nice try, shorty.”
Layla kicked me in the stomach, and I writhed in pain. My eyes watered. Is this the end? Please don’t let it be the end…
Gritting my teeth through the pain, I flipped so fast, Cerebus dropped my leg. Then I rolled hard in to his legs, and he tripped over. I managed to scramble to my feet, and I ran in the direction I had come from. Angry and humiliated, the three Careers ran after me, ducking low to avoid hitting their heads. My own head was spinning from the bump I had received, and I felt like I was going to vomit. Somewhere along the way, I’d also lost my spear, and I knew I’d have to rely on my wits and physical strength. I doubted I would be able to aim my knives accurately enough to do damage with my head swimming in such a way.
I turned around to face them, and took Layla by surprise by throwing myself at her. She had no weapon at hand, and I had the advantage. She toppled to the floor and we wrestled, kicking and scratching at each other. I grabbed her hair, pulled her head back, and slammed it as hard as possible against the side of the wall. With a sickening thud, that made me retch, her skull caved in. She was dead. It had all happened so quickly, that Cerebus and the other boy hadn’t had time to react. And then, to my relief, I heard my name being called. Logan. Logan was coming to help me. Cerebus and the boy glanced at each other, and silently agreed to run. The fled from the way they came, probably back to the rest of the Career pack. I shivered, hands still locked in a clump of Layla’s hair. I couldn’t say I’d regretted what I’d done. The Games are, of course, all about survival. And she had attacked me, with two others behind her, like a coward. It was the only thing I could do if I wanted to live. But I was worried. For myself. What had I become? I’d already killed two tributes. And I knew I’d have to live with that for the rest of my life…
Then, it was all better, because Logan was there, his arms around me. I let go of Layla and let myself breathe again.
“Are you okay? What happened?” he asked. I shook my head, unable to speak. He noticed the girl lying on the floor, and drew in breath, obviously shocked at what I’d done, which hurt. A lot. I didn’t want him to be disappointed in me.
“Let’s keep moving.”
As we moved, we were silent. OK, we were in a tiny claustrophobic tunnel, and speaking wasn’t necessary, but I could tell Logan was upset with me. He knew that I was prepared to kill to survive, but I don’t think he quite realised until he’d seen the evidence of it. Fortunately, it didn’t take us too long to realise that we would have to speak to each other. Because the end of the tunnel wasn’t blocked. Beyond, was completely covered in water.
“Nice try, shorty.”
Layla kicked me in the stomach, and I writhed in pain. My eyes watered. Is this the end? Please don’t let it be the end…
Gritting my teeth through the pain, I flipped so fast, Cerebus dropped my leg. Then I rolled hard in to his legs, and he tripped over. I managed to scramble to my feet, and I ran in the direction I had come from. Angry and humiliated, the three Careers ran after me, ducking low to avoid hitting their heads. My own head was spinning from the bump I had received, and I felt like I was going to vomit. Somewhere along the way, I’d also lost my spear, and I knew I’d have to rely on my wits and physical strength. I doubted I would be able to aim my knives accurately enough to do damage with my head swimming in such a way.
I turned around to face them, and took Layla by surprise by throwing myself at her. She had no weapon at hand, and I had the advantage. She toppled to the floor and we wrestled, kicking and scratching at each other. I grabbed her hair, pulled her head back, and slammed it as hard as possible against the side of the wall. With a sickening thud, that made me retch, her skull caved in. She was dead. It had all happened so quickly, that Cerebus and the other boy hadn’t had time to react. And then, to my relief, I heard my name being called. Logan. Logan was coming to help me. Cerebus and the boy glanced at each other, and silently agreed to run. The fled from the way they came, probably back to the rest of the Career pack. I shivered, hands still locked in a clump of Layla’s hair. I couldn’t say I’d regretted what I’d done. The Games are, of course, all about survival. And she had attacked me, with two others behind her, like a coward. It was the only thing I could do if I wanted to live. But I was worried. For myself. What had I become? I’d already killed two tributes. And I knew I’d have to live with that for the rest of my life…
Then, it was all better, because Logan was there, his arms around me. I let go of Layla and let myself breathe again.
“Are you okay? What happened?” he asked. I shook my head, unable to speak. He noticed the girl lying on the floor, and drew in breath, obviously shocked at what I’d done, which hurt. A lot. I didn’t want him to be disappointed in me.
“Let’s keep moving.”
As we moved, we were silent. OK, we were in a tiny claustrophobic tunnel, and speaking wasn’t necessary, but I could tell Logan was upset with me. He knew that I was prepared to kill to survive, but I don’t think he quite realised until he’d seen the evidence of it. Fortunately, it didn’t take us too long to realise that we would have to speak to each other. Because the end of the tunnel wasn’t blocked. Beyond, was completely covered in water.