The Tribute and the Victor

Chapter 30

There he stood. Hemlock. The machete in his hand just covering my view of the sun rising. He had a twisted grin on his face, just like the one Chalice had before she attempted to kill me. I stood up quickly and took a long stride backwards, but Hemlock didn't seem to move a muscle. He was just stood there. Smiling. He knew he'd won the battle already even though it hadn't even started. I suppose that was because of the fact that he was holding a machete in his hand and I was just stood there with a stick. Not my ideal choice of weapon. "I heard you killed Chalice." He said, his face not shifting from the smug grin. "And Nixie too, I believe." I took another step back but he still didn't budge. "I don't like it when people start killing off my alliance...I think you and I both know that a little revenge is in order." He said sounding almost sarcastic. "So here's what I'm going to do, because I'm so generous, I'm going to give you a little head start. And when i get to ten, I'm coming for you." He said with a wicked grin stretched across his face. "W..what?" I asked, unsure of what he meant. "1...2...3..." By then I knew exactly what he meant and I darted back towards the desert. "4...5...6..." I heard behind me. I took a quick glance back to see that he had kept his word and still remained stuck firmly to the spot he was originally in. I turned back to see the edge of the desert materialising before me. "7...8...9..." I sprinted straight for the desert, hoping that he would slow up as he chased after me along the sand. "10!" He shouted. I didn't need to look back to know that he'd started running after me, I could already hear the snapping of tree branches and the thudding of his heavy boots. Once I'd reached the desert, I ran faster. I needed to get away. But I could feel him closing in on me, this really wasn't good. Suddenly I saw a shiny metal object in the distance gleaming in the early morning sunlight. The cornucopia! But before I could reach it, I felt something pull me backwards then shove me to the ground. Hemlock had caught me...I screamed as he pinned me down and drew back his machete. This is it. I thought. This is where I die...