Celebrity Hunger Games

Chapter 9

Chapter 9.

~ Taylor Swift's P.O.V ~

"You think she's dead?" Taylor called to Niall over her shoulder, reloading her bow as the two stood at the curb of the torn up street outside of the abandoned building.

"No," Niall replied, slinging the backpack over his shoulder as his sky blue eyes skimmed the treeline carefully. "She just might not have followed the plan."

Taylor rolled her eyes. She wasn't sure why Niall had wanted the stranger, a girl from 8, to join the alliance. What did he see in her? Not that it mattered, since Taylor would've done anything to make Niall happy.

Isn't that what you did for the people you loved?

Taylor ran her fingers through her blonde hair, wincing in the pain that her leg brought. The bitch - Katy Perry from 6 - had shot her in the leg with a slingshot that fired metal pellets with the same speed as a pistol, before vanishing off to somewhere else in the arena. And that made Katy at the top of Taylor's kill list.

"We can't stay here for much longer, Niall." she pointed out, gingerly bending down to adjust the gauze fastened around her wound.

Niall sighed, glancing around for Zarara or Zendaya or whatever the girl's name was. "We should camp out here tonight." he suggested, poking around in the debris littering the sidewalk.

"So close to the Cornucopia? I don't think so!" Taylor exclaimed quickly, just as a bush rattled.

Niall looked up, eyes brightening, while Taylor raised her bow, eyes narrowed to slits. "Zendaya?" he called hopefully.

"Niall?" Zendaya's nervous call back made Taylor want to roll her eyes. Zendaya was just playing weak so she'd get extra attention from Niall and for any sponsors who liked to pity weak people. Not falling for your act, Princess, she thought.

Zendaya stepped out of the bush, plucking a few twigs from her hair and walking towards Niall. She slid the backpack off of her shoulders, and Niall's eyes widened. "See, Taylor?" he prodded, nudging Taylor's bony shoulder. "I told you she just got sidetracked."

"Sidetracked gets you killed." Taylor spat, shoving past Zendaya with a huff and heading up the street. "Now let's go somewhere that isn't within a mile of the Careers, shall we?" She lead the way down the street, tensing at every noise she heard before coming to the eroding brick building. The windows were all boarded up, and the gardens were ridiculously overgrown. "Good coverage," Taylor decided, glancing over at Niall and Zendaya. "We should camp out here for a while."

Zendaya and Niall exchanged glances, before Niall nodded. "Sounds good, Taylor," he said. "You clear the back and we'll clear the front."

Of course you'd want to stay with Zendaya, Taylor thought, concealing her anger by whirling around to prowl into the backyard. The string of ivy ran all the way up the side of the house, and a rusty old bike was leaned up carelessly against the wall, like someone had been in a rush when they put it there. There were plenty of overturned trashcans, and Taylor kicked each one before stepping over them. The backyard was shady, to keep things short. The screen door to the sun room, which barely had any windows left, was swinging and slamming against the side of the house repeatedly. The backyard was blocked in with tall, menacing pine trees, and Taylor hurried inside before she could find out what was lurking out there... waiting for her...The scent of blood hit the roof of Taylor's mouth, and she held her sleeve to her nose to block out the rank odor. "Niall?" she called, voice muffled through her sleeve.

"I'm here, Taylor!" Niall called from the living room. Taylor examined the peeling yellow walls and rotting green cabinets. The table was overturned, and Taylor noticed a cluster of flies buzzing around a furry, bloody object.

"Eww," Taylor poked it with her bow, realizing it to be a decaying raccoon. "Disgusting."

"What did you find?" Zendaya peeked her head around the peeling wall, arching an eyebrow.

"A dead raccoon." Taylor replied shortly, kicking the carcass out of the way before she cleared the tiny, rustic bathroom at the end of the hallway. She glanced in the toilet, only to find it empty of water and sighed, kicking the lid down and whirling back around to join Niall in the dark living room. The wooden floors were scratched and some floorboards were rotting, but it would be a secure place to sleep.

"Did anyone bother to count the cannons?" Taylor asked, dropping into the armchair by the door and resting her bow across her lap.

Niall shook his head, but Zendaya nodded. "I've counted 8 so far." she informed Taylor as she dug the packet of crackers out of her pocket. Taylor watched the brown haired girl peel the packaging open, offering one to Taylor before taking one for herself and Niall when Taylor refused.

"I can eat later." Taylor commented, figuring it would be better to get rest while she had the chance. With a sigh, she closed her eyes, fingers never leaving her bow. "Wake me if something happens."

~ Cara Delevingne's P.O.V ~

Cara twirled the knife around her fingers, watching Ariana and Taylor Lautner as the two took the lid off of a crate of what looked like bananas. "Anyone hungry?" Taylor called, lifting a banana out of the crate.

Harry, who was busy sorting through the weaponry in the horn, raised his hand, and Cara watched in discreet amazement as he caught the banana from Taylor without even turning around.

"Everyone keep an eye out for smoke," Bella announced, scanning the sky with chocolate brown eyes. "I'd like to pick off a couple tonight."

Cara returned her blue eyes to her knife, quietly spinning it around as she blew a strand of hair out of her eyes - Her fishtail braid was already coming undone. Bella had killed Evan with a sickle a few hours ago, and the hovercraft had just taken his body away. She knew she should've felt sad, but she didn't. Even though she wasn't friendly with him, he was from home -And Cara was winning for her district.

"Earth to Cara," Ariana's annoyed voice sounded from the grass. "Help us lift this." Cara slid off of the overturned box she was perched upon, walking over to give Ariana and Taylor more manpower to move the crate into the horn.

I can't wait to kill her first, Cara decided, scowling in Ariana's direction as she frowned at her broken nail.

"Hey, Look!" Bella pointed at the sky, pulling Cara out of her thoughts on how to kill Ariana and get away with it when the coil of smoke rose through the trees, spiraling into the darkening sky.

"Let's go before it gets too dark." Taylor mumubled, sliding his machete out of it's scabbard at his hip. Cara watched the powerful muscles in his toned back ripple beneath his t - shirt, grabbing a handful of her knives and stalking after him. Bella followed, and when Ariana went too, Taylor barked over his shoulder for Harry and Ariana to stay and guard camp in case it was a trap. The crickets in the forest seemed to hush as soon as Taylor, Bella, and Cara entered the trees, tense and ready for battle.

I hope nobody important is about to die, Cara thought to herself. The snapping and popping of the fire gradually increased as the group approached it, and Cara began to see the flames through the dense foliage.

"Can you tell who it is?" Bella hissed, and Taylor shook his head.

"Nah," he whispered, quietly standing up from his crouched position. "I'll take care of it. You guys hang back." Cara watched as Taylor slipped into the area of the fire, receiving the audible gasp of a girl.

Cara looked to Bella, who blinked back at her through her orange bangs. "Let's go in." she hissed, yanking Cara up and strolling up to Taylor's side. Cara had no choice but to follow, struggling to pinpoint the girl's identity in the dim glow of the fire. The belongings of the girl's backpack were spread around the camp, as if she had just begun to make herself comfortable.

"Poor girl," Cara shook her head quietly. "So stupid." she didn't think anyone could hear, but both Taylor and Bella snickered.

"Hello, Emma." Taylor Lautner smiled a smile so deadly and dangerous that it gave Cara the chills, and for once, she pitied whoever was about to die at his hands.

~ 16 TRIBUTES LEFT ~