Chasing the tesseract

Chapter 12

A loud beep sound echoes through the arena as the tributes race towards the cornucopia. A wide grin on my face, I look back to see the rest of the team running into the distance, Stephen looking behind him as he does. When I turn back around, I see that most of the tributes have reached the centre of the arena, grabbing weapons and supplies whilst killing their rivals. My eyes lock on the young girl I'd seen before as she sprints towards a supply bag. Not far from her, a male around the same age picks up a weapon, turning to face her.

My legs react before my brain has time to process what I'm doing and I begin sprinting towards the girl, grabbing a blade from at my hip as I go. The young girl trips, falling to the floor as she looks up at the tall figure above her. As he raises his weapon, I send the blade hurtling towards him. It lands in the centre of his shoulder blades as he collapses to the floor, unconscious. Frantically, the girl looks up at me with wide eyes as I begin reading her mind again.

"Your welcome." I state as she pulls the supplies closer to her chest. Her mind is in jumbles as I search it for her name. "Now get up." I grunt as I step even closer to her and she shuffles backwards. "You're going to help me and in turn I'm not going to kill you."

I pull my blade from the boys limp body and wipe the blood from it before putting it back in my belt. Smiling sarcastically at her, I watch as her focus shifts from me to behind me. Her pupils dialate as panic invades her mind. Rolling over, she pulls herself to her feet, scurrying to her feet before running off into the shelter of the trees.

"Hey!" I shout after her, my eyes narrowing. "Don't run away from me when I'm talking to you." Sensing a presence behind me, I turn to see a petit girl with dark hair glaring at me. The blade in her hand comes flying towards me unexpectedly and it barely misses my head. Turning to follow the other girl, I run into the woods, shouting after her. "On second thoughts, we can talk whilst we run."

My legs carry me faster than I expected and I quickly catch up to the girl, slowing my pace to match hers. A branch snaps under my foot and she jumps before glancing around her and continuing. Once we are quite far into the forest, I turn to her, my brows furrowing as she stops running.

"So..." I scan her now slightly calmer mind for her name once again, finally managing to find it. "Katniss Everdeen." She turns to face me, her eyes narrowing me as she looks at me through a confused expression. "where exactly are we going?"

"I don't know." She shrugs her shoulders, looking around us as I do the same. Tall trees surround us, letting in very little light. "Somewhere away from the cornucopia." she explains as she steps even further away from me. Clearly it's going to take a lot to get her to trust me.

"Okay but can I just say something?" I ask, stepping slightly closer to her as she nods. "You're running the wrong way." Her eyes narrow and her mind jumbles once again, all her thoughts mixing into a hot mess.

"What do you mean?" she finally asks after moments of silence. A smile forms on my face as I step back, leaning against a large rock behind me. Crossing my arms, I look directly at her with a serious expression.

"Why run from them when I have a team who could easily take them out?" I ask, my voice calm and collected. Pausing for a moment, she looks down at the ground as a million questions fly through her head. After a few silent moments, she looks up.

"Who are you?" she says her voice trembling slightly as she positions her feet so that she is ready for a quick escape is she need one.

"I'm Abi. Abi Laufeyson." I say extending my hand as she looks at it sceptically. Rolling my eyes, I withdraw my hand, standing up straighter.

"You're not from around here, are you?" she asks sceptically, her eyes narrowing as she crosses her own arms and leans against a rock opposite me. Shaking my head, I agree with her as she looks me up and down. "Why are you helping me?"

"You remind me of myself when I was younger." I explain, standing up from the rock I'm leaning against and walking across to her. She doesn't move this time, instead she looks me directly in the eye, waiting for me to continue. "And I need your help finding someone." I confess, shrugging my shoulders dismissively at her eye roll. Everyone always has a price for a favour, especially me.

"So if I help you find them..." she trails off as she looks into the forest, getting lost in her wild thoughts. Coughing, I draw her attention back to me, smiling at her as I raise my eyebrows. "You'll help me win?"

"I ask nothing more." I agree, extending my arm out once again. She looks at it before looking back up at me. "So do we have a deal, Katniss?" I ask, remaining eye contact as she narrows her eyes.

"We have a deal." she says, taking my hand in hers and shaking it firmly. "But if you break your end of the deal then I will kill you." A smirk tugs at the corners of my lips as I look her dead in the eye. Smiling at her, I place my hand on her shoulder.

"Oh dear sweet Katniss." I say in a gently voice before the smile drops from my face, replaced by a deathly glare. "You wouldn't stand a chance against me." Standing back up, I plaster a smile on my face as I watch her eyes widen in fear. Her heartbeat pounds as her breath quickens. Chuckling to myself, I step away from her, turning my back to her as I shout over my shoulder.

"Welcome to the team, Katniss Everdeen."