Author Games: Brave New World

Semifinals: Axelle Haumann

Axelle shouldn't have gone with the groups to find the cure. She should have stayed in the hospital like she was supposed to, getting treated for the bruises on her neck and the lack of oxygen in her system. But no, she had to to sneak out of the hospital, grab a scarf that so didn't match her outfit, and a bottle of painkillers.

She wasn't totally sure why she snuck out of the hospital, to be honest. It would've been better to be doted upon by nurses who cared about your life, being drugged until she was out of her mind, never having to give a care in the world. But something inside of her, whether it be a sense of hurt pride from her failure to stay strong or a determination to live with the second chance she was given, drove her to ditch the hospital bed and take on the surrounding jungle.

Vines nipped at her ankles, threatening to pull her into the underbrush, and leaves tangled themselves in her hair, almost ripping it out of her head. Her lungs still burned from the lack of oxygen, and her throat still felt raw and numb, but the fire in her stomach forced her to continue with the rest.

The small group traveled through the lush scenery around them, stopping only to hack at bushes in their way and to collect much needed water. Glints of metal flashed in the midday sunlight, and flashes of silver guns and blades peeked through their hasty coats of camouflage paint. Everyone was armed, whether it be with canisters to hold the flowers, or a weapon to stop anyone from taking the flowers. No one was going to be a waste of space or time in Eden's group. Anyone who was to tired to continue was sent back to Eden; the group needed to reach the flowers before they were all taken, and stopping for rest breaks would only slow them down. Anyone who was to weak to carry a weapon was sent back with the tired or given a lighter easier job. Because slowing down meant being late, and being late was not an option in anyone's mind.

Axelle's throat, dry as sandpaper, screamed for water, and her legs begged to stop. Ignoring her body's protests, Axelle continued on. She was given a second chance to live, and she wasn't going to waste it. That was the cause, she decided, her determination to use her second chance.

The chair slipped because she didn't feel that she was worth it. So, now she needed to prove to herself- and to everyone else- that she was worth it. She could keep up with the rest of the group, hiking through the jungle for hours on end, and hold her own.

The trees broke, revealing a small clearing with patches of small white flowers, sending a sweet perfume into the air, almost like a mix of vanilla and rose. The whole group stopped and stared. It was beautiful, and not just because of the flower's physical beauty. The flowers were beautiful for all they stood for. Hope, health, life, and prosperity seemed to float into the air with the vanilla and rose, giving Axelle a sense of ecstasy. With these flowers, she wouldn't have to worry about dying at the hands of a disease. With these flowers, just maybe, maybe, things could go back to normal.

A gunshot rang out into the air, and Eden's group watched in horror as more soldiers and people flooded out of the other side of the clearing, willing to spill blood for the cure of the disease. People rushed in, almost forgetting about the flowers in their bloodlust.

Instead of collecting the flowers peacefully, side by side, Axelle watched in horror as the two groups clashed, staining the dainty white flowers in blood. Petals were crushed under the groups' feet as they ran towards each other, and more crumpled as dad bodies fell on top of them.

Axelle's heart wrenched as she saw so many people dying in front of her eyes. She couldn't kill, not for a cure for death. It wasn't worth it. Why try to solve death with more death? The world doesn't work like that.

Well, it did- almost did- for you, didn't it? You tried to cheat death by disease with death by your own doings.

Axelle shuddered and pushed the thought out of her mind. She knew she was wrong for trying to solve death with death, and she knew that the two groups were wrong now. All this killing wouldn't leave anyone to be saved, or anything to save the sick with. She needed to collect flowers before they were all gone.