The Quater Quell: 50th Hunger Games

Chapter 21

        "Here." Apollo reaches his hand out as if he wanted me to take it. "Come and sit." Apollo gives me a smile that looks genuine.All I can manage to do, is to think What's going on?  I ignore his hand but walk towards the table. The food smelt delicious. My stomach growled and Demetria and a few other careers laughed. "So, why am I here?" I ask Apollo. "Be happy you're not dead yet like that other girl." Demetria sneers as she nods her head to the poor girl, still lying in the field.

        "Stop Demetria." Apollo glares at her, who is still spinning her deadly axe in her hand under the table. "We were hoping to, maybe, come to an alliance." Apollo says, not taking his gaze off of the wildling called Demetria.

    Demetria smirks which makes me feel uneasy. 

"An alliance?"

"Yes."

 "I don't know about that. Id have to talk to my friends from my District about that."

 "Of course, they are welcome too. We can all hunt down the little runts that are left together and we will see what happens after that." 

"I don't know. Who's to say you won't kill us in our sleep?"

       Demetria giggles and says "No one can promise that." Apollo stomps on her foot under the table. Run Raven. Run! My conscience keeps screaming at me to run but I can't. The thought of actually becoming a career is too intriguing. "How do I know if I can trust you?" I question.

"Well, you aren't dead yet and we are offering to share our feast with you." Apollo smiles while tossing a grape into the air and catching it in his mouth.

          I sit quietly and eat some soup and bread and drink water, while the Careers chat and get drunk. The smallest Career, a boy who has been staring at me the entire time, nudges Demetria and shouts "Here, have some wine!" 

      Before I can react, he  pours wine into my lap and on top of my chest. I think he was aiming for my head but his arms are to short.  

I gasp and immediately stand from the table.

       Demetria and the small career burst out laughing. The boy is laughing so hard, he falls out of his chair and rolls on the ground kicking and crying in his laughing fit. Demetria wipes away a tear out of her eye  and tries to get herself under control. Apollo looked furious. His face has truned red and his fast are clenched tight.

        Apollo stands and slams his fist on the table in anger. "Baldar! What the hell! Get up, now!....Demi, why must you ruin everything!" 

    "Shut up Apollo! Like you were actually going to let her live and join our alliance!" 

     "Yeah actually, I was thinking about it! Maybe then I could finnaly have a conversation with someone who isn't a slutty, stupid, bimbo!" Apollo shouts and throws a rag at me to clean up. 

    "Baldar! I said, GET UP!" 

    The large Career walks around the table to pick up the boy named Baldar. Apollo grabs Baldar by his shirt and lifts him into the air. "Wake up you drunk!"

        But the boy named Baldar was not drunk. 

    I can see a slim dart sticking out of the boys back. I use this moment of distraction to snatch our packs and turn around to run back to the safety of the trees. Instead, I run into a brick wall. The other career, a tall and quiet boy about 17 is standing in me way. I stumble back and he picks me up by my throat and squeezes. My vision is going dark and I am scratching at his face but it does no good. 

Thwick! 

A dart enters the boys neck and he releases me. He falls back and coughs up blood.

       "Apollo!" Demetria screams when she realizes what is going on. Apollo finally notices the small dart sticking out of Baldar and drops him. "I should have known! Get her; I'll get the one with the dart gun!"

          I hear Demetria and Apollo shouting back and forth but I can't really hear what they are saying. Demetria nods and pursues me. Great. 

      I can see Apollo charging Dean with his great-sword and Dean firing off his poison darts. This doesn't look like it is going to end well for either of us.

      I continue to run through the thicket in hopes that I can find a tree to climb, or another ravine to roll down. Hopefully with less injuries this time. I run and run but cannot find a tree nor a ravine. I can hear Demetria gaining on me. I finally spot a large, climbable oak tree about 100 meters ahead of me. 

I reach the tree and begin to climb. The rough bark scratches and scrapes at my skin with each inch of my  climb but I ignore it. I am about 40 of 50 feet up when Demetria finally reaches the bottom of the old Oak.

     "You're dead! DEAD!" 

      She throws her axe at me but it does no good. It is too heavy and she is not strong enough for it to reach this far up. She tries to climb the tree but her hands are not as rough as mine. She is unable to climb through the pain and get a good grip. For once, I am thankful of all  the ranch work I have done. 

         She tries to ascend again but falls to her back. Her arms and the palms of her hands are scratched  and bleeding. She can't get me up here. She yells at me in frustration and runs her bloody hands through her long blonde hair. She grasps her axe firmly in her hand and begins to whack at the tree.

         "It'll take you a week to chop this tree down! Especially with those excuses you call hands!" I taunt. 

    "Wait until they're around that ugly, scrawny little neck!" I can tell Demetria realizes what I say is true because she slows her strikes down. From somewhere at the Cornucopia, Apollo screams for Demetria. "Demetria! Demetria!"

Demetria looks to the Cornucopia with a worried luck. Her face contorts into an angry mask and she looks back up at me.

       "This isn't over!" 

     Demetria  spits on the ground before running off back to the Cornucopia. I wait till she is gone, then hurry down the tree. I sling my new pack over my back and head back to our campsite. 

I really hope Dean is ok.