Then There Were Five

Chapter 29

Zayn: I looked at the others in the arena. Someone had just blown up, and their remains were all over the place. Usually a cannon would go off, signifying the death of a tribute. But I don't think they would do it now. It would confuse too many people. 

I stared across the way to Sarah, who stood proud with her cross from the hem of her jacket. I knew that she would be praying to her God through the whole thing, whether she survived or not. 

I could feel the pulsing last beats flow through me. 3....2....1.....

gong!  The bell went off. I went sailing through the  people, pushing people out of the way, knocking some over. My feet made constant contact with the soft grass, threatening to send me toppling at any second. I pushed this girl down, and balanced myself on the cold aluminum table. I braced myself for others to come and reached for the prized weapon: a sword. I held the handle tight in my hands and swung around. Immediately I saw someone duck, then flash back up, weapon in hand.

"What did I tell you about swinging swords around, Zayn?" Sarah scolded, making me chuckle. She inched the blade closer to me. "Is this funny?" she said, face stone cold.

I shook my head no. I saw someone come up behind her. I swung her around behind me and slashed my sword through the air. The boy's body fell to the ground. My eyes grew wide as I realized what I had just done.

I'd just made my first kill.

I felt a pat on my shoulder. I jumped, turning around. Sarah held her sword out in defense.

"Watch it jumpy," she said. She lowered her sword. "Welcome to the club, babe. I've made like three already,"

We both looked up and saw a mass amount of people swarming toward us. I grabbed her hand instinctively and ran out into the woods, hoping to be unseen. We continued to run for who knows how long, but we got far enough to where we couldn't see anybody anymore.

"Zayn, you're bleeding!" Sarah said, touching my arm. I winced, glancing down at the area. Sure enough, I was bleeding. I started to strip off my jacket when she stopped me.

"No, its gonna get cold and you're gonna freeze," she said. "See, I was the smart one and not only did i grab a weapon, I grabbed a first aid kit. Now roll up your sleeve and let me take a look,"

I winced as I rolled up the thick material, but it barely went past the area that was cut.

"Don't get too mesmerized," I joked. "But I'm gonna have to take a few layers off,"

She patted my chest. "No worries, Zaynie Zayn, just don't over heat with that hot head of yours,"

My hand flew up to my heart in fake pain. "Ouch," I mocked, then winced. I used the arm that had been injured. 

"Here let me help you get it off," she said. I raised my arms in the air and she pulled layers off. First the jacket, then the thermal shirt, leaving my chest bare. She went back to her kit, and pulled out a needle and thread, along with some guaze. Next she pulled out some wipes. "Its gonna sting, Malik,"

She laid the wipe on my arm, and she was right. It stung like hell.  She rubbed the wipe gently across the cut, until it stopped bleeding. She took the needle and thread and quickly laced it through my skin, and she was done in no time.

"How did you manage to do that so quickly?" I asked her.

"My dad taught me when I was 12, just in case anything bad happened." she said, wiping the needle clean and putting it back into the kit. "There, bad boy," she said. "You're all cleaned up. Now get dressed before you freeze to death!"

I threw my clothes back on and started to help pack up. Things were starting to settle down, and we needed to move on.

As we moved on, one thought ran through my mind:

With Sarah's skill to protect herself and my will to protect her, this is gonna be a long hunger games.