Broken (A Hunger Games Fanfic)

Chapter 14

Again, going back to how funny it is when I take forever, then publish very quick (: I kept on listening to How To Save A Life and Safe And Sound while writing the ending. I guess the meanings of both songs fit in with the end.

Enjoy! ~Kaitlyn

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You should keep in mind that whenever there are no fights, the watchers get bored. Or whenever the Gamemakers want to spice things up, that's when you should be on your highest guard. I've seen some years where there have been sandstorms, carnivorous animals, and possibly other horrors in the supernatural world.

Sometimes they'll try to push you and other tributes together with things like these. You should be able to recognize when they do. You might want to try avoiding them if you realize that's what's happening. Be careful though, because the Gamemakers can do whatever they want, and you could risk your life if you decide to do that.

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Fable stood up and dropped the dead animal at his feet. But he still held the now bloody skinning knife in his meaty grip. I might have been imagining it, but it seemed when his foot touched the ground, the ground shook.

At the sight of this, I screamed out, "Nico! Summer!"

Fable laughed. "Do you really think they'll hear you?"

I tried thrashing around as I screamed their names, but Severin only tightened his grip and brought the knife closer to my neck.

"I told you that you wouldn't win." Fable said smoothly. "And to keep that, I've been hunting you down since the beginning of these Games."

I could feel the cameras zooming in on us, the breaths of the Capitol being drawn in.

"I'm the strongest tribute left. Like I told you, I'm going to win."

He raised his knife.

"No!" I screamed.

Suddenly, Severin gasped and coughed. I felt liquid hit the back of my head as he fell to the ground with his knife. I backed up to avoid Fable, though he didn't seem to notice. He and I stared at Severin's body that was face first on the ground with Nico's sword sliced through the neck. A cannon boomed.

"Annabelle!" Nico gasped. Behind him, Summer darted out of the woods.

"Quick!" She said. "Nico says there's a tsunami coming!"

I turned my head toward the direction of the ocean. Fable's camp was a few hundred feet from the shore. The waves were drawing back, leaving tiny fish and seaweed behind on the sand. All of a sudden, the ground shook slightly, like an earthquake.

Just like before. . . I thought.

Then the clear sign came. When the waves came back, they got higher than they were before. The tsunami was coming.

"Run!" I shouted to them, and we made a dead run into the foliage.

"No!" I heard Fable yell behind me. It was going to be a chase.

We jumped over logs, made our way through temple ruins, and every once in a while had to cross a river or stream. But Fable stayed on our trail like a bloodhound. Finally, the hills got higher. In the distance, they were turning into mountains. I knew we couldn't run that far before the major waves would hit; it was so many miles away.

All of a sudden, a sharp pain entered my side.

I screamed and fell to the ground. I looked up and saw Fable standing over me, holding the knife that made the gash in my side.

"Annabelle!" I heard Summer cry. I shut my eyes tightly as I waited for Fable to finish me off.

That's when I realized Summer wasn't screaming about Fable. . .

Instead of hearing the blade enter my chest, I heard a deep roaring sound like a large mountain river, only much louder. I looked, and saw the largest wave ever. It rose up nearly a hundred feet in the air. Someone's hand grasped my jacket and pulled me off the ground. They threw me ahead, where I could see Summer's image. She snatched my arm and began running at full speed.

I didn't know when the wave fell, but the next thing I knew I was submerged in water. The current thrashed me around with great force, like a worn down rag doll. I couldn't breathe; it burned my throat and it felt like it was adding pressure to my chest. I didn't know what happened to Summer, who had held my arm only a moment ago. Nico was gone too, and so was Fable.

Then blackness took over my body.

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When I woke up, my body was wet, but I could feel the heavy rays of the sun on my face. I heard birds chirping in the distance. . . and a girl weeping.

When I tried sitting up, all of my muscles ached, as if I stretched them all for an hour. I glanced over and saw Summer sitting on her knees with tiny rivers trailing down her cheek. In front of her was Nico. He was pale and his lips were blue. His eyes weren't shut completely; they were halfway opened. Immediately I knew what that meant. When you died, your eyes were either opened all the way or they were halfway closed.

"Summer. . ." I broke.

"He's dead!" She sobbed. "He died trying to save you."

"He. . . he's the one who threw me to you?" I asked.

She wiped her eyes. "Yes. We made it only about a hundred feet before it crashed. I guess we were far enough away to miss the worst of it."

"Where's the hovercraft?"

"I couldn't bear to leave him, and you were still unconscious."

I tried to stand up, but my muscles were jelly from the pain. I managed it, and pulled at Summer's arm.

"We have to leave." I told her.

She hesitated, but she finally stood up. We walked to the tree line and watched the hovercraft appear and take Nico's pale body away.

"Did we save our supplies?" I asked.

"You and I still have our bags, but the supplies are pretty low. We still have iodine and water, some food, and a few weapons, but that's it."

I felt my quiver, which was still on my back. One arrow was inside.

"Did my bow wash away?" I asked Summer.

Her face became sad again. "Yes. We have only a sword, a few knives, and Gemma's axe."

She and I reviewed our weapon collection, dividing our four knives and debating who got the sword and who got the axe. I ended up with two knives and Gemma's axe while Summer had the last two knives and Nico's sword.

I glanced at the mountains again. "We should head to the mountains, in case another tsunami hits. There probably won't be any tributes up their either."

"Good idea." She praised.

We headed out, walking toward the mountains. I didn't know what Summer was thinking, but all I could think about was how we were going to manage without Nico.