The Hanging Tree. *ON HOLD*

Chapter Twenty Two ~ Betrayal and Allies

Chapter Twenty Two  ~ Betrayal and Allies

‘Prim! Come on, we have to go!’ Willow’s voice broke through my memories and I felt my eyes come back into focus. I slumped against the wall, Finn’s body falling with me. I clutched him to me as I slid down the wall sobbing. Everything in the room seemed to be in HD. The dried blood on the side of Finn’s head stood out, dark red and harsh. The smell of rotting bodies filled my sense and made me want to throw up, but there was nothing in my stomach. The sounds of the creaking ropes were magnified and I clapped my hands against my ears, letting Finnick’s lifeless body slump against my chest.

‘I can’t leave him! I’m not going to leave him!’ I shrieked hysterically.

‘Prim! He’s not dead!’ Willow screamed at me. She had crouched down to my level and was gripping my shoulders. I looked at her, my expression dubious.

‘Of course he’s de-’ I started, before my voice broke, and a wave of fresh tears plummeted towards the ground.

‘No, Prim, he’s not.’ Willow whispered gently. ‘Look.’ I glanced over to where her small finger was pointing, and I gasped, for what seemed to be like the hundredth time that day.

‘Is that…?’ I stammered.

‘Yeah it is.’ Willow said, a ghost of a smile playing on her chapped lips. There, hanging furthest from me I could see the familiar long brown hair hanging in its trademark braid. I saw the glint of blue eyes that I saw every time I looked in the mirror. It was me. My delicate neck was encircled with a piece of hard, dry rope and my skin was deathly pale.

‘You’re right here. You’re not dead, so maybe neither is he.’ Willow said softly.

‘Maybe…’ I repeated. I stood up slowly; making sure Finn’s body was still propped up on the wall. I cautiously stepped over to my body, and ran my hand down its cheek. My eyes were closed and I was glad for it. I didn’t want to see my blue iris’ staring back; I didn’t want to see the obvious horror in them. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Something was wrong. I had seen my own face in the mirror thousands of times. I knew every scar, spot, and blemish, but this body held none. My face was immaculate. No sign of the small scar on my chin that I had received when I was younger and had fallen onto the corner of the table. The first time I got a spot I scratched so much that it scared my left temple. There was nothing left of the tiny mark. My eyebrows were shaped to perfection, with no reminder of the time I tried to pluck them myself. But it didn’t stop at my face. I pulled the body’s hand towards me and inspected it. The nails were long and perfectly rounded, nothing like my bitten stumps I had always had. I stood back and examined it from a small distance. My body looked slimmer, curvier. The way I always wanted it to be. The better version of me was hanging from a tree and I had no idea why.

‘Willow, you were right!’ I said, turning to my right where my companion should have been standing, instead all that remained was the wind. ‘Willow?’ I called again. I started to make my way around the tree, trying to avoid the gaze of multiple bodies and glazed over eyes. That’s when I heard the scream that chilled my blood. ‘Willow!?’ I shrieked, running from the room into the corridor. This one was different to the one a floor above. It was carpeted in fluffy red, and it was obviously the more luxurious part of the house, although I hadn’t visited the other hundred or so floors. ‘Willow?’ I asked, anxiety creeping into my voice. I couldn’t see her anywhere, no matter how many times I looked up and down the hall. I shifted my feet apprehensively and called her name one more time before resigning to find her. I was tense about leaving Finn on his own but I reminded myself that it wasn’t Finn, it was only his body. I walked down the hall, the carpet silencing my footsteps. I came to the end and was met with a decision. Left or right, I judged. Willow’s scream came again, and my heart started hammering. I sprinted down the left hopelessly convinced that that was where I heard the screech come from.