When Luck Runs Out

The Game is On

"Well, I guess this is goodbye." I muttered, feeling incredibly awkward even though these two people were the closest family I had. Molly squeaked with emotion, throwing her arms around my neck and hugging me so ferociously that I was worried I'd be strangled.
"Sherlock be careful!" she insisted. I hugged her back, not even reluctantly, because she needed me to be positive.
"I'll be fine Molly, like you said, it'll all be fine." I assured.
"Can I escort you to the tube?" she asked, pulling away, her brown eyes gleaming with hope.
"Of course." I agreed. Molly nodded, releasing me and stepping back rather awkwardly. Now it was Mrs. Hudson's turn to say goodbye, giving me a big hug.
"Sherlock I know you can do this, I know you'll protect John with everything you have, but if anything goes wrong, it's not your fault. Whatever you do, don't blame yourself, it's not your fault." She insisted.
"Are you saying he'll die?" I asked.
"I'm saying whatever happens is meant to." Mrs. Hudson insisted.
"I'll miss you, both of you." I assured.
"We will too. It'll never be the same..." Molly croaked, blowing her nose into another tissue.
"Over these few years, you two have brought out the best in me, you've become my family, and I can never pay you back for that." I insisted. "Just, don't bother being sorry for me. When I die, I'll want to, I want to die, no mourning." I demanded.
"No promises Sherlock." Mrs. Hudson insisted, forcing a very obscure smile onto her face. John walked out of his dressing room, dressed just as I was and rubbing his arm, where the tracker had obviously been planted. Anthea came out as well, rushing over to Sara, crying as she went. They hugged and cried together, muttering words I couldn't hear. I gave John his privacy to say goodbye, and stood near the two doors, one pair for each tribute, that led into the tubes. I knew that behind those doors stood the very place that John and I had shared our first kiss, where I told him how I felt, how I had refused to let him go, how I knew I would never see him again. I had been wrong, but this time I knew that no matter what happened, I would never see him again. Either I die, he dies, or we both go together, no version of this ends with our happy ending. It only ended with pain, whether it is mental or physical pain, that was the only question.
"Tributes, ten minutes." The dreaded voice on the loud speaker announced. I looked over at John, who was done saying goodbye to the two of them. I sighed, turning so that I could face him completely but not walking over. John got the message, that I wanted to say goodbye, and that I wanted privacy, and he walked over swiftly, almost picking up into a run as he threw himself into my arms. I could feel him shaking with tears as he buried his head once more into my chest, trying to hide from the horrible reality that was approaching us with deadly swiftness.
"It'll be alright." I insisted. "It'll all be alright."
"No it won't. We all know that, it'll never be okay." John demanded.
"It already was okay. John, every fairytale has an ending; ours is coming to a close. Everything was alright, we were happy; we were in love, this is only going to decide how we go out, if we go out fighting or if we curl up and wait for death. I don't know about you, but I'll kick until my last breath, and I'll be kicking for you." I pointed out.
"Sherlock I love you." John insisted, holding my hands tightly. "I don't know if I can say that again, but I love you, I love you so much that it feels unreal, that something so beautiful could arise from something so horrible."
"Well, the sun is the most beautiful when it sets." I pointed out. John just clutched to my jacket, crying even harder, yet not a tear fell from my eye. Not yet.
"I love you too John, I know I've been trying got say that more, so much that I need not say it again, but you need to know, in case anything happens to me. I did it for you John, I'm alive because of you, and I will die for you." I decided.
"I guess I'll see you on the other side then." John decided.
"Of the wall or of the veil?" I asked.
"Hopefully both." John insisted.
"Tributes, five minutes." The announcer said.
"I'll run into the cornucopia, I'll get supplies, run far enough from the battle, I'll find you, pick a spot and stay where you are, don't go more than a mile. I'll find you." I assured.
"Sherlock, be careful." John pleaded.
"I won't let myself die if I don't know you're safe." I promised.
"I love you." John repeated.
"I love you too." I assured. John stood on his tiptoes, and we shared one last, desperate kiss. I never wanted it to end, I just held him there, our lips locked, as if it would be the most effective way to stop the clock. But still he pulled away, now both of our eyes leaking tears, and Molly and Mrs. Hudson walked over to take us to the tubes.
"I'll wait for you." John insisted.
"I'll find you." I agreed.
"Come now John, we need to go." Mrs. Hudson decided.
"Goodbye Mrs. Hudson." I insisted.
"Be careful Sherlock, make us proud." She said, wiping tears away as she patted my cheek encouragingly.
"Always." I agreed. The doors opened, and Molly led me away into the tube, John and Mrs. Hudson disappearing into their room as well. The doors closed, yet the tube stood open, waiting for me to enter it, waiting for me to be rushed into the arena once more.
"You'll be fine." Molly insisted.
"Of course I will." I agreed. She hugged me once more, and I stood there, patting her back and trying to tell her I'll be alright.
"I'll be waiting. And you better come back, you have to come back." She insisted.
"I won't come back Molly. John will come back." I pointed out.
"You were right though." She pointed out.
"Usually am." I agreed.
"When you were a tribute, I did fancy you. But that ended when I first saw you smile at John, and I knew that I could never be what he is to you. The two of you, you're truly a match made in heaven, don't let anyone tell you differently." She insisted.
"If they try, I won't listen." I agreed. "You'll find your match too Molly, with whoever it is, but you better make sure he treats you right, and if anyone ever hurts you, I swear I will haunt them."
"I'll never try to love again. I've lost too much." She sighed.
"You'll never lose me Molly, no matter what." I insisted. "Just watch out for him, for John. Make sure he's okay, don't let him be upset, tell him..." I took a deep breath, "Tell him that all of this is for him, and that if anything happens to me, I let it."
"Tributes one minute." The announcer said.
"I'll watch him." she agreed.
"And Molly, you're welcome to any of my drugs you're able to find." I assured. Molly just forced a smile and gave me one last hug.
"Good luck Sherlock." She insisted.
"Take care of yourself Molly, you deserve more than this. Find love, be happy." I demanded.
"I'm too far gone for that." she insisted. I sighed, kissing her forehead and walking over to the tube. It closed behind me and I turned, hearing the ten second announcement. Molly said something but I couldn't hear, the glass was sound proof, but she just put a hand to the glass, reaching out for me one last time. I put my hand over hers, giving her an encouraging nod, seeing the tears slip from her eyes, and the tube shot up into darkness.                                                                                                                                  

              I could feel the tube moving, up through the darkness, my eyes were open but all I could see was black. I didn't know where I was going, or what I would see when the light finally returned. But would it? Maybe there was a catch in the games; there would be night vision goggles for everyone instead of actual sight, which would definitely be a twist. But no, the tube opened and I was standing on the pedestal inside a dark building. I could see others, about four of them, all posed, ready to bolt. I looked around desperately, but I didn't recognize any of them to be John. In fact I couldn't name one; they were all people from the other Districts that I paid virtually no attention to. Where could John be? Blind panic flooded me as I took in my surroundings, we were in a brick building, there were a couple of broken dusty windows, providing the light for us. There was a small pile of supplies in the middle of the small circle, I could make out a couple of backpacks, a sleeping bag, some weapons, and all of the tributes were staring at the pile hungrily. But I had other plans, I didn't care about survival right now, I didn't even care about killing people, I had to find John. The countdown went off at twenty, and the tributes were all looking around, observing their competition, obviously thinking the same things. The moment one arms themselves it would be chaotic bloodshed, and I had to bolt as soon as the countdown ended. But where? I craned my neck, careful not to move my feet least an explosion would occur, one that would undoubtedly take down this building. Ten...nine... I took many deep breaths, trying not to panic now, John was undoubtedly in his own circle of tributes, but if Moriarty or Moran weren't here, all the better chance that they were with him. Which meant I had to hustle if I wanted to save him. Five...four... I posed to run, readying myself... three...two...one... The alarm went off, and the tributes bolted. My legs, feeling way too much like jelly, took off, and I ran through the building, searching for a door, a hole in the wall, any sort of exit. It lead to some sort of hallway, which I followed, my combat boots crunching over shards of glass as I ran. Finally I found a door, once painted yellow, but the paint was chipped and gone. I slammed it open, into the bright sunlight, which blinded me for a moment before I could take in my surroundings. It was a city, or, it used to be a city. If this were real I'd say we were in a post-apocalyptic movie. The skyscrapers soared above me, but they were dark and gloomy, chunks of brick missing, windows smashed. The concrete roads were all cracked and worn away, the sidewalks broken; street signs vandalized and telephone wires sparking. I heard screams coming from the building I had just managed to escape, but I closed the door, barricading it with a couple of chunks of concrete. It wouldn't hold, but I could only hope it would slow them down. I jogged through the streets, the sun burning down on me, but I didn't see another soul and I wondered just how big this city was. There wasn't the slightest sign of life, which would've been a good thing if I hadn't been looking for John. I had told him to run a mile away, but we were in different cornucopias, he could be on the other side of the map and I'd have no idea. I didn't dare call out, in fear that others would hear, but I could feel panic rising up inside me. Where could he be? Where could anyone be? Even the sight of Greg would calm me the slightest bit, but I turned every which way, and there was no one. The streets seemed to stretch on forever, and the same bleak, desolate skyscrapers, apartment buildings, and shops stared back through dusty eyelike windows. I sort of expected zombies to come flooding out. I unzipped my jacket, having worked up a bit of a sweat, but I couldn't stop now. I decided to keep going the direction I was, and I started up jogging again, going until my legs started to burn. Still there was no one, just the occasional torn newspaper floating around in the wind, or a rat scurrying along the sidewalk,crawling down a sewer. It was kind of hard to believe that this was the hunger games, that it was an arena, and not some horrible nightmare. I had just run from actual tributes that would love to kill me, just one more body on their way to the crown. And, as promised, this arena was definitely a new one. Destroyed city, not very creative if you ask me, but workable. If it was a city then there were bound to be shops or something, with even the slightest morsels of food, plumbing that might provide fresh water, and plenty of places to hide or take shelter from storms or career packs. But right now my survival didn't matter, not the slightest, I had to find John; it was the only thing that mattered.