When Luck Runs Out

This is What You Call Illegal

The rest of the afternoon was dedicated to dueling, but this time we didn't have the wooden swords like at the training center. Instead we were using real blades, which made me very apprehensive when I went up against someone else, in the fear that I'd accidentally hurt them or that they'd hurt me.
"Are you sure this is safe?" I asked as my blade crashed into Greg's for the hundredth time. My arms were burning with the effort of yet another swing, and the number of times he had flung my sword out of my hand or got me in an undefendable position was off the charts, and Greg still seemed able and willing to go another round with all of us.
"Come on Sherlock, space out your feet, you'll fall." Greg insisted. I sighed, but mimicked his swordsman stance, feeling like an idiot.
"I feel stupid." I decided.
"You'll look a lot more stupid if you lose a sword fight." Greg insisted, bounding around me and faking stabs to my back and head. I didn't even try to block them, knowing that I'd definitely be dead if this was a real battle.
"I'm pretty sure a dummy could beat you Sherlock, and they don't even have arms. Come on Jeanette, me and you." Greg decided. I dropped my sword with relief, sulking over to the air conditioner and sitting against it, messaging my now aching muscles as I watched Greg and Jeanette battle. They were unbelievably fast, their swords looking like glints in the sunlight as they whirred around and clanked together.
"They're amazing, aren't they?" John asked, coming to sit next to me. He was holding a torn off piece of sheet to his cheek, and it was bloodstained.
"What on earth happened?" I asked.
"It's nothing." John insisted, pulling away from my attempts to see the cut.
"John, what happened?" I demanded.
"Jeanette and I were dueling, and her blade just got a bit too close to my face, it's fine, it's just a little scratch." John insisted.
"Let me see." I demanded, finally able to wrestle his arm away to see the cut. It wasn't too deep, thankfully, but it was bleeding heavily, and the tiny piece of sheet was already dyed a deep red.
"I'll kill her." I decided, getting up to go start a fight.
"You couldn't even if you tried, sit down." John insisted, pulling me back down. I slouched against the air conditioning, feeling more useless than ever. I had let John get hurt, not ten feet next to me, and still I had failed to even notice.
"How's that shoulder feeling?" I asked, suddenly remembering his previous injury.
"It's fine, I can move it fine. It's starting to scab over, so that's good." John decided.
"Indeed." I agreed.
"How come you haven't gotten hurt yet?" John asked.
"The opportunity hasn't really presented itself." I shrugged.
"I thought I was going to get my leg bitten off by those wolves." John decided.
"They didn't seem overly aggressive to me. I'm sure there should've been some injuries, casualties even, we were literally surrounded by those things, and no one was hurt. I think they were just there to drive us out, scare us out of hiding." I insisted.
"Picking up on all of the Capital's tricks now are we?" John laughed.
"Shut up!" I muttered.
"I'm not even kidding Sherlock, I agree with you. But they did their job, did they not?" John asked.
"They did." I agreed. The sun went down and slowly everyone's energy level dropped, lazily eating some of the last pieces of peanut butter bread and sitting against the heating unit, hoping that there might still be some heat preserved in it. Unfortunately it was as cold as the rest of the world, and we were all shivering.
"I didn't realize how cold it got when the sun went down." Greg admitted.
"We'll be fine." I assured.
"We could go inside." John suggested.
"Nah, the doors are broken down there, anyone could wander in and kill us. At least we blocked off this one." Greg sighed.
"How many sleeping bags are there?" I asked.
"Two." Jeanette sighed.
"Then we'll have to share." John shrugged.
"Alright then, I'll go with John, Sherlock with Jeanette." Greg decided.
"Wait, what, no!" I insisted, and I knew everyone else was thinking the same thing. But Greg just laughed.
"Honestly Sherlock, stop taking things so seriously! Of course you'll be with John, and I'll go with Jeanette." He assured.
"Oh, good." I muttered, snuggling back down into my leather jacket.
"It's cold out here." Jeanette repeated, as if we hadn't noticed. John and I were doing our best to share body heat, but even he was freezing, and the two of us cuddled together barely produced any warmth at all.
"How's your cheek?" I asked.
"It's fine, stopped bleeding." John shrugged.
"Let me see." I insisted.
"Take my word for it, for once. I don't want to move, it's just starting to get a little bit warm." He insisted. John was sitting with his head on my chest, buried in my jacket, but it wasn't too bad because his breath was warm and it got trapped in the leather. Jeanette and Greg were sitting close together, but obviously too platonic to cuddle. The advantages of coming in with your boyfriend I suppose. That's the only positive though, because when it's all over you have to watch him die...
"So, I'm good for going to sleep now, I'm sure it'll be a lot warmer in those sleeping bags." Greg guessed.
"True." John agreed. So we all got into the sleeping bags, John and I we able to fit a little bit squished inside, and I was willing to bet it was living hell for Greg and Jeanette, since they weren't comfortable with getting so close together. My back was flat against the ground, and John was on his side next to me, his arms around my chest and his head resting on my collar bone. As much as the arena sucked, I had to admit this was one of the better moments. Even though we were here, in this hell, John and I were still able to enjoy each other's company and be as close as we were outside.
"Shouldn't we have a guard or something?" John asked.
"No one's getting up here." Greg assured.
"Are you sure?" I asked apprehensively.
"If you want to stay up in the cold, be my guest. If not, please be kind and shut up." Jeanette snapped.
"Alright, alright, so pushy." I muttered, rolling my eyes but pulling John closer. It was a lot warmer in here, and in no time I was able to fall asleep easily.