Come Back to Me

XXI

"Go."

The word left Christian's lips breathlessly and, quietly enough that she didn't even hear him the first time.

After a moment Cordelia opened her eyes and just stared at Christian. He mumbled something that she couldn't hear over the ringing in her ears. He grabbed her up by the collar on her shirt and shoved her away from him harshly. She stumbled backward, her eyes widened with disbelief. Christian ripped her spear out of his former ally's shoulder and tossed it to the ground in front of her angrily.

"Get the fuck out of here Cordelia," He yelled, spit flying from his mouth, jolting her into motion, "before I change my mind, go!"

His final words to her snapped her into motion and she grabbed her spear lazily, as well as the belt of throwing knives from Starr's waist before taking off. It was hard for her to get away but only because her still blurred vison put a stumble into her steps, making her thankful for the ground being mostly flat. Her mind was more scrambled than her sight. He just let her go. Just like that. Had she even faced him in the first place, or had she gone crazy enough to make up the whole thing. No, she couldn't have made it up. The whole reason she was having trouble was because he slammed her head into the Cornicopia. Maybe she was already dead and her personal hell was being stuck in the arena for all of eternity, her ear's ringing from the sound of screams.

Cordelia pushed the thought down because whether she had died and gone to hell or was still living through it, the sound of Carter's screams were filling her ear's, calling her name. She knew she was close because even though the rest he had or maybe even the desperation of the situation had given him enough vocal strength to cry out, the cry was still weak and too strained to not be damaging his throat further. Cordelia forced herself into a running pace, stopping only a second to hurl up the entirety of her breakfast which was less then helpful in subsiding her dizziness. Then, she kept going not stopping until she could see the wide back of the boy from one.

He was hunched over a small body on the ground. It had to be Carter. Her thoughts were confirmed by another weak plea. Rider's knee was on top of the boy's chest, and he'd undoubtedly be able to crush his windpipe if he just put all of his weight under that knee. That's how fragile the boy underneath him was. Cordelia couldn't approach him speedily for that exact reason but, if she waited him out, he'd bash Carter's skull in with his mace. But, what she didn't expect was for Rider to pull out a smaller knife from his jacket pocket. He muttered something inaudible and Cordelia imagined his spit flying into Carter's face.

Another scream brought her forward, this one bloodcurdling. She let out a shout, gaining Rider's attention just enough for him to rise up and turn his head towards her. Enough for him to give her the perfect target. A throwing knife was out of it's home on her waste and flying through the air faster than her brain could even calculate the movement. Rider fell on top of the boy but, Cordelia couldn't tell if she had done enough to end his life, or if he had done enough to end Carter's.

Then, another cannon sounded.

Cordelia was frozen for a moment, waiting for any sign to let her know whether she should step forward, or pull another throwing knife from her belt. She let out a heavy breath of relief at the sight of Carter squriming under Rider's lifeless body, ultimately having to go help him get the weight off of his chest. Carter gasped for air, his chest being freed from the crushing feeling the boy three times his size left on top of him. She pulled him up with as much strength as she could bare, not even taking the knife out of Rider's now crimson drenched forehead. She had four more in the pack on her belt.

"Why'd you leave, I told you not to move!" She muttered, gripping his shoulders tightly and giving him a rough shake, partially to shake sense into him but, partially to keep herself balanced.