A/N: Hello peepers! Lol sorry. Fifth chappy here for ya! Hope that you enjoy! As always, vote, comment and whatnot. =)
I was about to die. My legs were sore from yesterday and running at full sprint through the woods was not helping. Not to mention the amount of blood on my hands. I had fell down a ravine and into some thorns, cutting my legs and arms. I leapt over a log and tripped and crashed into a tree. My head spun and dark dots covered my eyes. I lay there, wheezing. Screw this, Jax can go suck it. That boy was trouble. And me, quiet, shy, and lonely Ivory couldn't handle his cocky, bossy, know-it-all behavior. I raised my head slowly, catching my breath and almost cried in relief. I had crashed into my pine. It had to be it, all the other trees were dwarfed by it. I stood up, using the trunk as a supporter. My legs had turned to jello. Oh, and there was my oak tree. I scrambled to it, my breathing controlled. The branched were low enough to climb and I was thankful that coach had made us climb the rope that was hanging down in the middle of the gym. That was probably my saving grace to my awesome arm and tummy muscles. As I climbed, I noticed how the pine was leaning slightly towards the oak. Oh thank you Jesus. At least I had a slim chance of making it. And if I don't, at least the wolves have something to eat. What was up with this freaking wolf thing? And what had Jarod meant when he said "we"? And how the hell was Jax involved in any of this? I stopped climbing, judging the distance between the oak branch and the pine's. This was the closest I had gotten to it. It was now or never. I bit my lip and looked down. Ok bad idea. Come on Ivory! You can do it. I moved back slightly and jumped. Long jump was not my specialty. So that might explain why I landed on the very edge of the branch. I waved my arms around and fell onto the brach, pulling my self to the tree. My heart was beating at my throat. Life threatening situations seemed to have been throwing themselves at me lately. And literally. I heard a swishing in the air and bent my head, looking down. Thwack. I yelped and looked to my left. A small boot knife was stuck into the tree. I stared at it and heard the swishing sound again. I pulled the knife out and started climbing. What I would do with it, I had no freaking idea. It might come in handy though...
The other knife had soared past me to my relief but know I was on the move and I couldn't help but think of The Hunger Games. I didn't want to die with a knife to my back. I didn't want to die period. The pine needles scratched at my face and arms as I proceeded to climb higher. I could hear more knives hit the tree, making my climb even faster. I went to reach for a branch above me. A larger knife embedded itself between my splayed fingers. I stared at it in shock. I turned my head and saw a dark figure darting around. It pulled an arrow from behind it and notched it to the bow in its hand. First a Clove then a Katniss. Yippy. Not wasting anytime, I quickly pulled myself up to the next branch. Just in time too. The arrow hit with a twang, making me jump to the next branch. In a tree open to anyone or anything and nowhere to hide. Not the best place to be at the moment. I inched around to the opposite side and crouched down in the thicker branches. Maybe, just maybe this will shield me. Twang. An arrow hit to the right of my head. Nope. No good. I stood up and a crazy idea popped into my head. Considering the fact that the tree provided no source of security, the ground was the only other place. But the wolves are down there too. I'll just throw them a nice big stick to go after. Looking down, I gulped. Either an arrow, knife, or wolf. I frowned. Jax probably wouldn't be too happy about this. But what say did he have in my life. My sudden thought of defiance was all I needed as motivation. There weren't any other branches below so smooth sailing. I had one foot down lower than the other and my hands were in the air. My brown hair whipped around my face as I fell silently. I hadn't realized just how high I was. As I neared the earth I doubted my actions. I wasn't going to die due to anyone except myself. I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the bone crunching impact. All I got was something plowing into me, knocking all the wind out of me. My eyes flew open to see Jax holding me, looking at me as if I was a crazy person.
"I tell you to stay in a tree and you jump? Little psycho." Normally I would have blushed due to my position and status, but his words made me frown.
"You never told me you were going to send out a freaking sniper thingy." Jax's eyes narrowed and he looked around us. The sun filtered through the trees, making everything appear as if there was nothing going on.
"Sniper? You sure you weren't imagining things?" Jax said, finally looking back to my face. I flushed angrily.
"Are you calling me a liar?" How dare he call me a liar?! He had no right what so ever. I waved the knife that I had somehow held onto. His eyebrows raised up as he took it from me.
"And you were-"
The distinctive sound of an arrow or knife air born distracted me. Jax's head whipped to the left. A look of realization and horror passed through his face.
"Head for the rocks!" he yelled, throwing me towards a small incline with large boulders and rocks at the top. I obeyed this time, scrabbling up. Where Jax and I had been standing lay an arrow. I reached the rocks and hid behind them. I was out of breath again. Who the hell is that and why am I being shot at? I never did anything. Everything suddenly felt overwhelming. Wolves attacking, people living in the woods, Jax freaking stalking me or something and this crazy person acting out the Hunger Games on me. Laying behind that rock, scared for my life and wondering how the heck this kid, a new kid that I had never seen in my life was so interested in me. The sounds of leaves being stirred made me look up. I squinted into the shadows.
"Jax?" I hissed, trying to see. No one responded but the sound didn't quit.
"Answer me, Jax. Please. Or I'm going to jump up and run." The guy with the bronze hair stepped out, his face panicked and scared.
"No haga funcionar." He whispered. My eyes were wide as I pushed my head back into the rough rocks. I looked at him, confused. He looked back at me, as if willing me to understand. I shook my head and shrugged.
"You no run. I not hurt you." He had a thick Spanish accent and I nodded slowly, showing him that I understood his meaning. But a small part of me still was suspicious. How did he know where I was? He slid closer to me, putting his hands in the air.
"Ivory look out!" Jax's voice called out. I didn't even hear the knife. The spanish guy's eyes widened in fear. His eyes glassed over, staring at me. He fell forward onto me as I started screaming.
"Jax! Oh my God! Jax!" I shrieked. My hands were up, I didn't even want to touch him. He was dead, that was one hundred percent certain without doubt. A long, thin silver knife was sticking out of the back of his head. Blood flowed from the knife wound, staining my purple shirt. I breathed in and out deeply. Bile rose in my throat as I watched the mass of red spread. I felt myself about to faint just as Jax appeared in front of me.
"Ivory? You ok?" He asked worriedly as he pushed the guy off me. I was staring straight ahead. Flashes of my past came to me. Blood, blood everywhere. I remembered his face. Jax's face was inches from mine. Shouting and waving a hand in front of my face.
"Ivory, are you ok?" He asked, concern laced upon his face. I stared at him in fear.
"YOU!" I shrieked, scooting backwards. He looked confused.
"YOU BASTARD! YOU KILLED MY PARENTS!"
