a flicker of hope | tmnt 2012 hunger games au

A Plan Backfired

Donatello moved silently through the woods, shivering whenever his bare feet touched the cold snow. In his hand, he held an empty thermos–over the past few days, he and his two allies had been careful in preserving their resources, particularly their water. But that morning, they'd been run down to their very last drop of water, and now the purple-masked turtle was out in search of more.

Okay, so...maybe he wasn't going out just for the water. In truth, he hadn't been willing to go out into the forest alone, risking death, to find water. But Sarina had been busy tending to Penelope, who was still recovering from the wounds and shock left from the avalanche. When she'd asked him to go out and find water, well...the admiration for him in her eyes had sold him.

It sure feels nice to be admired.

The tall mutant turtle wove his way through the bare trees, wishing he could snuggle deeper into his jumpsuit. While the other Tributes received the pleasure of wearing hiking boots, he couldn't, because his feet were far too large for shoes. So he was forced to walk barefoot in the Hunger Games, which really sucked, considering the cold conditions around him.

Curse my freakishly huge feet.

He sighed, continuing on, until he emerged into a clearing. His heart skipped a beat as he spotted a tiny pond in the heart of said clearing.

Yes! Jackpot!

Donatello rushed forward, collapsing to his knees by the side of the pond as he whipped out his thermos. Now, he could see that the pond had once been frozen over, evidenced by the clear ice around its edges. Something...or someone...must have cracked it. Gratefully, Donnie dipped the thermos into the cold water, filling and capping it quickly before climbing back to his feet. He knew the way back to camp, thank goodness–the thought of him becoming lost alone in the arena was too much for him to bear. He heaved a sigh of relief as he turned back toward the way he'd came.

And then he heard rustling.

The purple-masked mutant froze, eyes widening. The rustling sounded again, closer to him this time. Donatello looked around frantically as his muscles bunched, preparing him to run if he had to.

"Who's there?" he called out, forcing his voice to stay steady.

No one replied.

Instead, a fit of wild giggling burst out from nearby as Cyn Cobra exploded from the trees. Her metal bat, raised and ready above her head, glinted maliciously in the late morning sunlight. The murderous look in her eyes was for Donatello as she gazed over at him, snickering.

"I finally found you, turtle," she said. Her voice was low and dangerous, but it lifted drastically as she screeched, "now get over here and let me kill you!"

Donatello knew he probably should've stayed and fought her. But every instinct he had told him to run for his life, so that's exactly what he did. Turning around, he bolted into the woods, heart pounding in his chest. Footsteps pounded from somewhere behind him; he risked a glance over his shoulder to see that Cyn was giving chase, her eyes bright and a crazed smile on her face. The mutant turtle let out a tiny squeak of fear, terror making his heart speed up and his head spin.

Maybe I can lose her if I speed up. He formed a plan quickly. I'll make a run for camp, and hopefully she'll lose my trail on the way and get lost.

His big feet flew on the snow as he sped up, weaving around trees to try and shake Cyn up. Her footsteps began to grow faint, but they were still there.

"Come back here, turtle!" she shouted behind him. "C'mere and let me end you!"

After what felt like ages of fleeing a murderer in terror, Donatello spotted a familiar break in the trees up ahead-he was approaching the clearing where his camp was located. He forced his tired legs to move even faster, faster and faster, until at long last he burst out into the clearing. He could see his little camp now-the small shelter was only a few feet away, surrounded by a ring of stones that showed where the explosives were.

"SARINA! PENELOPE!" Donnie shrieked. "GET OUT OF THERE AND RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"

At his frantic call, both Penelope and Sarina poked their heads out of the shelter. Both of them had confused expressions on their faces, but when they saw their ally being chased by a psychopathic teenage girl, their confused looks turned to shock. They scrambled out of the shelter just as, in one swift movement, Donatello leaped over the line of explosives.

"Donnie!" Sarina gasped, her bright eyes flashing. "What-?"

"LOOK OUT!" Penelope hollered, eyes huge. "WE'RE GONNA BLOW!"

They all turned to see Cyn dashing toward them, her bat raised above her head. Just as Penelope shrieked, the crazed teenage girl stepped on one of the stones surrounding the camp-right on top of an explosive.

The four Tributes only had time to gawk before a deafening boom rang throughout the arena, consuming the camp and the surrounding land in a fiery inferno.

***

A/N: Just a few more chapters, and this book is done...