Scavenger

9. The Wild

I couldn't sleep during the night. I found myself sitting on the table, staring at the white wall residing a few feet away, listening to the footsteps shuffling outside of my door. I was hugging my knees to my chest, the tears subconsciously streaming down my cheeks. I closed my eyes and pressed my lips together.

I only had fifteen minutes until sunrise, and I was broken. I burst into uncontrollable sobbing, knowing that I had to let everything flood out now. I knew that the moment I was thrown out there, I would have no choice but to carry myself to the end.

It would've been much easier to accept if it weren't so impossible.

I was startled by the sound of my door sliding open, only to see Luke striding toward me in the dim light of the lamp. He was covered in dirt and the bags under his eyes indicated that he hadn't slept for days.

I dried the tears just as he reached me.

"I wish I could go with you," he breathed. I shook my head and reminded him, "You're not one of the twelve."

Lillian has to take his place.

Luke had plunged his hand into his pocket and revealed a small bottle the size of his palm. Pale blue liquid glistened from inside of the bottle, and as I took it into my hands, I read the words etched into the glass. Resurrection serum.

"I know you don't want to hear this, Annie, but I don't care how you feel about me. I don't want you to die out there. God, I'm breaking so many rules..."

But looking down to the small vile in my hands, I let out a sigh and pulled him close to me. He tensed for a moment, shocked, then settled into my arms. I didn't say anything. I held him for as long as I could, until I felt him pull away from me and whisper, "You're brave. Don't let them kill your courage."

He turned from me and proceeded toward the door. The last thing I heard was his footsteps as he walked away from me and whispered, "Good luck, Annie."

At dawn, I was stirred awake by Jennifer, who instructed me to dress myself in a pair of thermal pants, a black shirt, and sneakers that she'd given me for the Hunt. Immediately following, I was handed the list and, rather eccentrically, reminded me that each of us were blessed with superpowers.

I was escorted directly to a large room behind white French doors. When I was shown inside, the other eleven had already been brought in, and just as before, I was the last. I stood on the end, noticing Lillian standing beside of me, her face expressionless.

The room was closed in, besides the doors lying to my right. The white walls stood bare, looming over us. I was startled by the sound of Connor's footsteps like thunder upon his entrance.

"Good morning, children," he exclaimed. "I hope that you've chosen to spend your time wisely in your last moments before your release into the wild. I rest assure that you have been given a list of the items and have been alerted of the tremendous news?"

I grasped the communicator in my pocket, ignoring his remarks, until I heard him say, "Spectacular. Now, first thing's first."

Guards were passing out large black bags that contained survival supplies for the next twelve days. I watched as the kids rummaged through their materials while I threw my bag over my shoulder.

Connor announced, "You know what you're to do. You know that you have twelve days. Our last advice to you is to stay alive and bring us what we need."

Our eyes shot up to Connor. A red-headed boy screamed, "You never said that we could die out there!"

One of the guards seized his arm. I held my breath. Connor spoke loudly, "Young man, I regret to inform that the conditions lying ahead of you will be tremendously dangerous and trying. We've provided you with food and water and a few tools for survival, but I remind you once again that your best chance lies in teamwork.

I heard a girl scream and looked just in time to see her fist colliding with a guards jaw, trying to reach the door among the chaos. The room fell into an uproar, and several were fighting their way to Connor, while my feet remained planted to the ground.

Connor pulled a small remote from his pocket and slammed his fist onto the red button. The wall behind him was separating to reveal a passage peering over a blizzard atop a mountain. I let out a scream when my arm was taken by one of the guards, dragging me toward the passage.

I gasped for them to let me go, feeling the icy air hit my face. The eleven were tossed out one by one, and Connor was observing calmly, disregarding the disaster. A girl fell to her knees, screaming, "Please let me go! I don't want to die! Please!"

As she was tossed into the knee deep snow, I saw something flashing in her eyes. She was angry. She swung her leg over the guard's jaw just as I was tossed into the snow with the rest of them.

"I'll survive!" she screamed. She got up and ran down the mountain, the rest of them doing the same. I turned to the wall closing in front of us, until Connor and the guards were out of sight.

I searched frantically through every inch of the snow, until I saw her sitting against a large boulder, hugging her knees to her chest. I got up and rushed to her.

I grabbed Lillian's hand and I didn't look back.