Hope In Our Eyes #GoldStarAwards2017Winner

Waiting (Aspen)

We sit in the tree for a long time, afraid to look down for fear of seeing Ash or Tovar or Blade, afraid to move in case they're hiding nearby.

I glance over at Britney. Can we really trust her? In not entirely sure.

Eisley is perched slightly above the rest of us and I slightly below. I catch her eye and she just looks down. Lily fiddles with her hair and leans against a fork of branches, looking surprisingly relaxed. Too relaxed. Like she's really trying to be. Like she's not.

"We should sleep," I whisper. "I'll take first watch."

"No." Britney says.

"Well, if you don't trust me then you can stay awake t-"

"No, I mean... we need to move. Put as much distance between them and us as we can. They could be back at any moment, and once it's light out we won't have any cover up here."

"Yeah. Sure. But who said we were are... we? I don't trust you, and I'm sure the others don't either." I grumble, moving down the tree a little.

"Yeah I agree," Eisley says with a little nod that's I can just barely see. Damn, I can see her so that means we are running out of the cover of nighttime. "We're not looking for any new team members.

"Fine," Britney says. "But let's go."

We scurry down the tree and part ways with Britney once we're down. She goes to the left and go to the right.

Once we've been walking for a while and the sun's peeking out of the trees I decide to break the foreboding silence. Even the animals are silent. Like they're waiting for something... and I don't want to know what.

We've already had the lovely surprise of Ash down by the watery area. It's strange. Something there made the swamp smell sweet, like sugar, like... stevia. My mind wanders back to when we first got into the arena and the announcer said- a surprise where the stevias lay. Quite the surprise... anyway, I break the silence.

"What now?" I ask, looking back and forth at Eisley and Lily on either side of me. Lily hasn't spoken since we got treed. Eisley barely has.

"I guess we just... wander." Eisley mumbles. She sounds kind of glum and I think we all are.

We've lost so many friends in the past week and now it's just us three and hardly any supplies. We've lost a lot of 'em what with all the running and the chases and the monster battles. I sigh deeply.

And we just wander.

It's just past noon, and we've sat to eat the scraps we have left. Then we hear something like a shout, but it seems so far away and I'm not sure if it's even real. But then it sounds again and Eisley and Lily look up too. Then we hear it again and this time it's much closer.

"Damn..." I mutter.

"Run." Eisley says dryly, and we're so used to this we don't even panic. Just rise slowly, grab what we've got left and run.

Then we hear another scream and a shout and a cannon and we run faster.

Then we hit a steep wall of rock that looks like it goes on forever in either direction. Shit.

The shouting gets closer and I'm sure it's them. It's Tovar and Blade come to finish us off. And the screams, and the cannon, they must've been-

"Lookie, here, Tov! It's Eleven and his little herem!" Blade shouts, looking overjoyed. Tovar grins too, and speaks through gritted teeth.

"Why yes, here they all are. Tell me, Eleven, how's your sister?"

"Shut up." I growl, my eyes shooting fire and theirs looking cool and icy as ever. I back up as they advance but we just hit the wall. We've hit a wall and there's no escape and this is the end and we're just waiting.

"And here's Seven, too," Tovar continues. "Your district partner went down easy so maybe you will to, darling."

Eisley gets that fire in her eyes too and she's trembling.

"Shut up." I say again. Tovar ignores me. He turns to Lily.

"And you. Lily. You little bastard." Tovar glares at her.

"Traitor." Blade says.

"You kinda had it coming when we killed off your pathetic little friend Sam. Now it's your turn." Tovar's words are like ice and fire at once.

I try to keep backing up but there's the goddam wall. Dammit.

"I said," I mutter. "Shut. The hell. UP!"

And with that we all jump into action, teeth bared, weapons slashing. I take on Tovar while Lily and Eisley attack Blade. It's two against one for them, and I'm positive they can take him. Me, though. Well, that's another story.

Tovar is much stronger. And faster, and just better. I swing my sword wildly but only manage a few scratches while he drags his sword over my chest, my cheek, my leg, and there's blood everywhere.

Then I hear a cannon and I'm so scared it's Lily or Eisley and I look over and it's just Blade. But I look over and it's enough, it's just enough. Tovar's sword slides into my stomach

I hear Eisley scream. I hear Tovar scream, and there's a cannon a few seconds later and for a minute I think it's my own. But it's not. It's Tovar. He's finally gone. But I'm leaving too. And I want to see Olive, but I'm not quite ready.

"Aspen." Lily whispers.

Eisley just stares at me, silent. Lily pushes my hair away from my face and her hand comes back bloody. She's crying. I want to cry but the tears don't come.

"Lily," I say, my voice hoarse. "She was right."

"What?" Lily asks. I turn to Eisley and she understands. She's crying too.

I turn back to Lily, leaning over me, gripping my hand.

"Loving you just makes this harder." I say and then the tears come. Perfect drops of salty water streaking through the blood.

I think about Olive. And her death. She gave me the picture. The one of our family, and she told me to win for them and she told me to get Elliot to talk again. I wanted to give her that. So bad.

I reach into my jacket and pull out the picture, crinkled and bloody. I hand it to Lily and gesture for Eisley to come over too. She does, and I say, "one of you has to win. And when you go on the victory tour," I have to stop to cough up some blood and mucus. I take a shudders breath. "When you get to Eleven... give this to my sister. Find a way to give it to her. Her name's... Violet. Violet Oleander. And tell her to find the boy... the boy... Elliot Brown. And get him to talk to her and... say something." I'm not sure they're both following but they nod so they must understand to some extent.

And then the waiting is over and I close my eyes for the last time and I'm falling. And then I'm gone.