The 53rd Hunger Games- Two Words

36. Fragments

“Where did they go?”

“I don’t hear them.”

“Of course you don’t,” Arabella snaps. “It’s Hadrian. He’s as silent as they come.”

I dare to peer around the thick trunk of the tree I’m in. It’s slightly damp from droplets of mist, and branches catch on the back of my unitard. There is a quiet snap, but Arabella is too busy yelling at Jem and the boy from One four metres below me.

I catch Hadrian looking, too. He quickly scaled the tree next to mine, and is almost dangerously high. He looks below with great interest. It is him they’re talking about, after all.

“I should have known he wasn’t going to kill her,” Arabella hisses, “he’s far too soft. I bet Eunia will slit his throat while he sleeps, though.”

How dare she! Just because she has such horrible, traitorous thoughts doesn’t mean I do! Kill Hadrian while he slept? I doubt it would ever come to that. I don’t think I’m willing to trust him at all anymore, but I’m not going to murder him. Not after he’s helped me.

Maybe, in an ideal world, he really was just trying to buy more time. Maybe he was trying to protect me...

Why is it, after all this time, I still believe in the ideal situation? Death hangs over the arena like a shadow. I’ve never been a known idealist, either. I found them insufferably irritating.

I ache for Hadrian not to have betrayed me, though. I ache for him not to have any intentions to kill me.

Arabella, Jem and the boy from One have a three way shouting match, throwing in all sorts of regional profanity. Arabella finally sees this isn’t going to get her anywhere, and sneers in distaste.

“Fine,” she says, “but let’s find them. They’re both capable of wiping our little ‘pack’ out. Ugh, I couldn’t stand it if Eunia won. She’s so oblivious, and simple-minded.”

Jem and the boy from One mutter agreement to their ringleader, and jog after her. They disappear into the forest.

Hadrian starts climbing down immediately, but I stay pressed against the tree.

This isn’t a trap is it? What if they come back, having spotted us? No, they couldn’t have. Human sight is triggered by motion, and Hadrian and I were statues. There’s always the off chance...

The off chance is enough to get you killed.

My hands are sweaty, and sore from being clamped on the handle of my axe. I eventually coax myself down, one branch after another. I almost fall, I’m shaking so hard. I want to burst into tears. The relief is a wave, and I’d like nothing more than to collapse.

There isn’t time.

“Come on,” Hadrian says gruffly. “We need to go.”

I don’t move, pulling away from him.

“Now!” he snaps. Then he looks around, as if he’s afraid his voice has attracted the Careers. We’re still alone.

“No!” I say, yanking my arm out of his grasp. This hurts me, but I try to push the pain down. “You lied to me!” I say, “I helped you just then. Now leave me alone. I don’t owe you anything.”

I start to walk away. Have I just called off the alliance? Surely this is a move I will regret soon, but all I feel is emptiness.

“Eunia!” Hadrian calls after me, “you can’t just leave!”

“Why not?” I ask, “you had so many chances to tell me the truth. To tell me why you were working with the Careers, why you were even a part of their group after you left. You didn’t.”