Love, hope and sorrow Book 2 - sequel to Let the rest of the life begin!

Chapter 17: Three left

Chapter 17

-Willow-

I hug Vendelas lifeless body and hold her close to me.

I don't want leave Vendela. I really don't. But I have to. She wanted me and Rye to win, and we have to. For her sake.

"Willow we have to go now, otherwise the hovercraft can't pick up her body", Rye says gently.

I look at him and see tears flow from his eyes too.

I put down Vendela gently on the ground and kiss her cheek.

"Bye Vendela", I say. "I promise I'll never ever forget you".

I stand up and wipe the tears from my face with my sleeve. I give Rye my hand and he takes it.

I look into his gray eyes and smile sadly. I will do what ever it takes to get this boy home. I love my little brother so damn much, and if he dies, I'm seriously gonna kill myself.

We go back to the stream to fill our water bottles.

I drop iodine and than put the bottles in my bag. The water clears up and when we get thirsty we have fresh water to drink.

I smile. Maybe we can win this after all. Maybe we can. We don't have wounds other than the one I have on my arm. And sure we have scratched on our skin but we're still in really good shape and there's only two left in the arena other then Rye and myself.

This is the first time I can let myself think, really think that I can come home alive and not just Rye, but me as well. And I maybe can meet Hunter and Felix again. Felix! Maybe I really can tell him in person how in love I am with him.

I smile again. I look at my reflection in the clear water. But all of a sudden it changes and I see Felix's reflection, looking back at me with a big wide smile.

I gasp and fall back and on my butt while I breath heavy. I sit back up on my knees again and looks down into the water again. But I only see my reflection.

I sigh.

I bend down and take up water in my hands. I let the water seep out of the interstices between my fingers.

The water is so clear. You can almost think that it isn't dirty to drink, but it is.

Suddenly I hear a strange noise behind me and I look to see Rye being dejected hard to the ground by a big guy.

I toil up my bow from my back and spans it with two arrows.

The guy has a knife which he puts to Ryes throat who's gasping for air and I see his face beign to turn blue.

NO! RYE!

"Haven't you learned that you don't take out your anger on innocent people, let alone a child?" I scream.

The guy turns to me. He smiles evil and gives me a look that makes it crawl under my skin.

"I didn't know that it matters inside the arena", he says evil, and then turns towards Rye again.

I see how it starts to seep out blood on the knife blade that the guy is holding against Ryes throat.

I don't hesitate when I shoot my arrows in the back of the guy.

The knife falls out of the hand of the guy and Rye pushes the guy of him and stands up on wobbly legs.

Rye puts both hands on the big wide rock while he leans his head between and gasping for breath.

I can see that it's dripping blood on the ground beneath him.

"Rye!" I shout and run the two steps that exist between us.

I turn him to face me, so I can take a look at the bleeding wound on his throat.

"Oh Rye..." I say while I put a finger against the bleeding and try to see how deep the nife cut.

But it looks like the knife only touched at the most. It dosen't seem so deep, as I first though, but it still bleed a lot.

I take a calming breath before I wipe the blood away with my hand back. But it starts to bleed out from the wound again.

I lift up one of Ryes two bags, which he put the little jar that Mama, Papa and Grabdpa Haymitch sent us, that cream that stops bleeding.

Rye leans against the rock and slide down to the ground.

"No Rye", I say with an unstable voice, but I try to keep it under control.

Rye takes deep but really shaky breaths.

"It hurts", he whimpers and look me in my eyes.

I have to hold my tears back with a big effort.

"I know sweetie, I know, but it'll get better soon", I say.

I can't fail him by starting to cry now. Rye didn't fail me when I had that knife in my arm and was about to bleed to death and he's only twelve, and I'm four years older, so I should be able to handle this.

I sit on my knees next to him and open the jar. I take a click and begin to lubricate the wound.

My hands are bloody, but I really couldn't care less, now that Rye needs me. My little brother needs his big sister, now more then ever before, because his hurt.

The bleeding stops after a little while.

Ryes body relaxes and he sighs with relief.

"Better?" I ask, smiling at him.

"A lot", he says in a hoarse voice.

I wrap bandage around his throat, carefully not to strangle him. I sit down next to him and he leans his head against my shoulder.

"I want Mama and Papa", Rye whimpers and allow his feelings for the first time, since we got here.

Now he shows his true feelings. The feelings from an twelve year old little boy, who is scared and want his Mama and Papa with him, he wants the safety that only Mama and Papa can give him.

But Mama and Papa can't come to him. Here, he only got me.

I swallow hard and wrap my arms around Rye. I lift him up in my lap and I start to rock him soothing, just like Papa and Mama always does when we're sad.

"I know Rye", I say and kiss Ryes forehead. "I know, and I'll make sure that you get back to them".

Rye buries his face in my shirt and I can feel his tears soak it, even though you can't hear him cry.

There's only us left. Us and Samuel. And if I have to die to kill Samuel, I will, as long as my little brother, who I love so much, comes back to Mama and Papa again.

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Hey you guys, I hope you liked this chapter, and if you did and even if you didn't please let me know by voting and comment :)

-Josephine xx