𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝐒𝐄𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 | 𝑭𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝑶𝒅𝒂𝒊𝒓

𝐓𝐄𝐍.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝.

She ran.

The ground beneath her feet was soft, the grass having absorbed the thick humidity, it made her running less explosive, but it was still the fastest she'd ever moved.

She could hear the sound of footsteps all around her—desperate running to grab whatever item the person desired.

Rosie's eyes locked in on the black, waterproof material, she ran as quickly as her body allowed her to; she pushed herself to her very limit. The anxiety and adrenaline that coursed through her helped to move faster than she had before. Reaching for it, her fingers locked around the thin rope strap, snatching the material up off the perfect, green grass. She didn't stop running— but then she was on the floor, her head spinning as she could see the sky, stunning and blue, no fluffy white clouds to be seen, just blinding sun. She guessed it probably wasn't even the real sky, it was probably all fake.

She could hear screaming and the dull thuds of violent impacts, but there was no ache in her body from any true injuries.

A tiny girl tried yanking the bag from Rosie's grip, her fingers wrapped tightly around the material. She wanted the bag, perhaps she had her eyes on it just as Rosie had and she decided this was something she needed so desperately it was worth the real risk of laying on the ground in the middle of the bloodbath—as Kit had put it—posed.

But Rosie decided she needed whatever was in the bag, so she shoved the girl back with her free hand. There was enough space for her to stand up, but when she did the girl's small hand grabbed her thick belt that held her khaki trousers up. The sudden tug stopped Rosie from taking off in a dead sprint again, her eyes scanned to see if Toby was anywhere around her, but she couldn't see his comforting frame anywhere. She was on her own, it was only fair, this was all down to her own stupidity.

"Just give it to me!" The girl screamed in pure desperation. Rosie wondered if she somehow knew what was inside the bag, for all they knew it could've been empty.

Acting out of pure instinct Rosie turned and drove her closed right fist into the girl's face, she felt the crunch of the girl's nose breaking and saw her brown eyes roll to the back of her head and she hit the soft ground in a heap. She was knocked out. The grip on her belt had disappeared so Rosie ran. Her fingers were wrapped around the thin rope so tightly they ached, as she made a break for the thick ring of forest that surrounded the clearing. Her skin was already gathering a thin layer of sweat across it, as she entered the forest she glanced over her shoulder for a split second, and when she did she saw the girl trying to sit up, but it was no use as Jett walked up to her with a menacing looking axe and smashed it into the centre of the girl's face, instantly killing her. The infamous boom of the cannon went off, signifying the end of a young life unfairly cut short. Rosie couldn't dwell on the life she had a part in taking, she needed to find Toby.

She ran further into the forest, her head swivelling as she tried to spot her friend-turned-ally.

Rosie knew she couldn't shout for him, she didn't want to alert people to her presence. The backpack was now on her back, she threw it there as she ran, she could feel that there was definitely something in there, but she just doubted it was enough to make the stupid choice worth it.

From the corner of her eyes, she saw Toby, his tall frame hard to miss in the thinner forest that surrounded them. She turned and began running at him, "Toby." His name came out quietly, but travelled for enough that his ears picked it up.

"Fuck. Rosie, you're so stupid." His words held frustration as he grabbed her shoulders. "I couldn't find you, I thought you died. Why would you do that?"