The Runaway Victor | Book II

Chapter Twenty-Three | The Seam

|AUTHORS NOTE|

Quick announcement, I'd like to tell you that this book will be cut in two and the first part is coming to an end! But no worries! There is still TONS more of Quinn in store :)

Ready to meet some cannon characters!?

Stay classy!

______

Slowly the two of them got back to where Quinn had left Hannah. It was strange for Quinn. Not much earlier, she had left Hannah on her own, defenceless like a the kids who had been sent to the reaping every year. But as soon as she saw the bad shape that Orion was in, she wasn't defenceless. Although she couldn't have been too much older than the two of them, she seemed to suddenly have a motherly vibe that surrounded her. As soon as Orion was seated with his back against the fallen trees, it was clear to see that he wasn't only tired, in pain, but also having trouble breathing. Hannah looked at Quinn for a moment, her eyes falling to the backpack that was in her hand. Her hand had a layer of blood on it from how covered with it the handle had been. Hannah stared at it, Quinn could see her heart shattering-- but Hannah was quick to turn her back to it and crouch down next to Orion.

"How bad is it?" Quinn asked quickly as soon as Hannah got a look at it for a moment. "He'll be okay, won't he? Can he make it to Twelve?"

"I'm not a doctor, Quinn." she said softly over her shoulder, "You should lay down, Orion. Hold your hand on it, it'll slow the bleeding."

Orion's face looked pale, but he did as he was told even though it probably hurt him.

"I still have morphling paper, Orion." Quinn said quickly, "It might help with the pain." she added as she dropped her backpack and unzipped it. She dug through it, looking for the small jar with rolled up paper, then the one with a bit of tobacco, then some matches.

"Good idea," Hannah said as she quickly took over from there. She took more than one piece of paper too, stacking them on top of one another.

"Hannah-"

Hannah shot Quinn a look quickly as if not to say anything about it. Then Quinn realised why there was more than one, that would mean more morphling for him.

"You two can't get me too the safe house," Orion said, trying to make his voice not sound as weak as it was. "It's clear on the other side of the District."

"I don't even think the two of us can get you to the District--"

"Yeah we can," Quinn said quickly. "It's not far from here."

Hannah sighed as she took a match and lit the paper before handing it over to Orion. She then pushed herself up, grabbing Quinn's jacket as she did. The two of them took a few steps away and faced away from Orion and the bloody backpack.

"He's not in good shape," Hannah whispered. "It's really close to his lung, I can't help him besides stopping the bleeding."

Quinn's stomach dropped, and she felt like she was going to puke. She felt like she could barely breathe...

"What are you saying?" she asked, "Let him die? Hannah...we can't-- I can't let someone die again."

She had let too many people die already because of her or she didn't try to help them. All of the tributes, Wade in Seven. Elijah, all of the orphans, now Kal...she couldn't let Orion join that list.

"We don't know how to help him, Quinn. And we don't have the tools."

"I'll get some," Quinn stated, "Or I'll find someone who can help." she added turning around and grabbing her backpack, leaving anything for the morphling paper out on the ground. She cringed as she put it on her shoulder, the smell of iron filling her nose. She glanced at Orion, who looked like he was about ready to just close his eyes and sleep because of the morphling.