CH9.
Katrina picked up her fresh kill. It was a deer, lots of meat on it. Katrina reckoned, if the village was careful and only used a little bit per day, it was a few weeks of food there. She flung her kill onto her back and ran to where Lily was picking leaves of basil. It had been two days since they had left Maria with the boys.
“You ok Lils?” asked Katrina getting a drink of water. Lily looked up at her sister.
“One of them will die, won’t they?” Lily asked her sister. Katrina looked into her sisters blue eyes and found there were tears. Katrina looked surprised.
“Lils… I can’t guarantee they will be safe. That isn’t a guarantee in the Deadly games, but we can protect them from what we can. But we have to accept the fact that one or more of them may actually die.” She said with as much honest as she could. Lily started to cry. Katrina looked at her sister in shock. And after a while she realized why she was crying.
“You…you have feelings for Zayn don’t you?” She asked with a slight edge of shock. Lily nodded.
“But I don’t know why sis… I’ve only known him four days. But he is hot and also he seems to genuinely care about his mates as if they were his brothers” she said with a slight hiccup. Katrina looked at her sister.
“If he does go into the games, will you go for his protection as well?” asked Katrina, fearing for her sisters life. She prayed her sister said no.
“Yes” she replied determinedly. Katrina felt a rush of fear but quickly contained it and nodded at her sister. They continued to pick basil leaves and place them in a jar until a voice brought their attention.
“Where is Olivia?” asked Angel from behind them. She had a bag filled with some mushrooms and other vegetables and fruits. She seemed so worn out that Lily had to ask where she went.
“I… I went to the beach again to see if anything else was there. And I found something… and I don’t think it would be a good idea to tell the boys.” She said slowly. Katrina and Lily stood up so sharply that Angel stumbled back.
“What did you find Ang?” asked Katrina seriously.
“The Court of justice was there.” She said in fear. Katrina felt faint and Lily started packing up even more quickly. At that moment, Olivia turned up but before she could say anything, Lily repeated what Angel had said. Olivia’s face turned pale.
“Anything else Ang?” asked Olivia quietly to her sister. Angel hesitated before continuing.
“They found two other people. They were ok but they were being abused by the Court of Justice. Physically and it wasn’t pretty to watch. They also burned the giant bird. There were two other bodies in similar uniforms but they were dead” She replied quickly. Olivia, Katrina and Lily began to pack up faster.
“We have to hurry. And pray to the gods that the other two people weren’t so important” said Katrina.
Once they were packed up, they ran through the forest as quickly as they could. Lily tried to go ahead but was pulled back by Olivia.
“We should split up but give the shortest way to Lily. She can get the food back quickly while we distract the Court” said Olivia. The other sisters nodded while Lily looked outraged.
“You want me to go back home and tell Maria why you aren’t back with me?!” she hissed. Olivia nodded sharply. Lily glared but took the food and raced east. Olivia, Katrina and Angel looked at each other.
“Lily would be killed with the amount of food she’s carrying.” Angel said in fear. Katrina looked between her sisters.
“I’ll go and look after Lily but you two have to stall the council. It won’t be long until they come back. Go back to the Hill and observe what you can. When they seem like they are about to leave, run back home, as quietly as you can” said Olivia to her sisters. Katrina and Angel nodded and ran off.
Olivia jumped up into a tree and began to run along the branches until she could see Lily running on foot back towards the home. Olivia jumped down in front of Lily so quickly that Lily got such a shock that she fell onto her face. It took a lot of will power on Olivia’s part to not laugh.
“I’ll take some food if you want” Olivia said, helping her sister up. Lily nodded looking around.
“Where are the others?” asked Lily.
“They went back to spy on the capitol.” Olivia said looking at her sister’s facial expression carefully. Lily seemed outraged.
“What are you thinking Olivia?! What if they are caught?!” she hissed back at her.
“They can handle it Lily. Now get running. I will be right behind you” said Olivia quietly taking the deer, all the while feeling slightly guilty. What had she done sending her sisters to spy on the Council? They would be killed if they were seen… but Olivia trusted their skills and senses.
They finally reached the house shortly. They banged the door open and raced in. They looked around to see the boys asleep in the floor while Maria was reading. She looked up and smiled. Usually, Lily and Olivia would be happy to see her smile but they could also sense her worry about Katrina and Angel.
“We have something important to say” began Olivia.
