Broken (A Hunger Games Fanfic)

Chapter 17

Well, I promised if I didn't have it done yesterday, I'd have it today(: I keep my promises. . . most of the time(;

Enjoy! ~Kaitlyn

 __________________________________

We continued up the mountain all day, stopping briefly to get a drink from a mountain stream or to hunt game. Summer stayed quiet, never complaining or suggesting to do anything. By the end of the day, we'd set up a camp in a foresty part of the mountain.

"Are you sure it's safe?" Summer asked me.

"I'm positive." I assured her. "I know this landscape. I grew up in the middle of it. You can boil the pinecones or eat special parts of the bark, so if we run out of food we can't go hungry. And it's secluded, so if a tribute is nearby, they won't find us."

Summer gave me one praising nod. "If it's coming from the expert, I'll believe anything."

I laughed. "Come on squirt." I said, ruffling her hair.

I took out a large rabbit I'd stabbed earlier and began skinning it. Summer began to dead leaves from an oak tree. Then, a cannon rung. Summer jumped suddenly, looking around her surroundings. She slowly turned her glance away and tried focusing on the fire. But she was still acting strange. She occasionally looked into the woods with a scared expression. I peeled the the meat of the rabbit's bones and began cooking it in the fire's flames.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

"I don't know." She murmured. "Something just. . . doesn't feel right. Are you sure it's safe?"

"Summer, I've lived in this environment for fifteen years. I know the animals and the patterns. If you're worried about an animal, it's probably a bear. Coyotes, wolves, and mountain lions wouldn't come near us, and the bears will leave us alone if we leave them alone."

She pushed a piece of hair behind her ear. "Sorry. It's just the Games are almost over, so it's really tense, you know? I keep thinking something's gonna jump up and kill me, or that you're just going to abandon me."

I frowned at her. "That's a stupid idea. Gemma and Nico are dead. You and I are the last ones in this alliance. If I died, you'd have no one to help you survive. In these Games, killing someone is instinct, but if I killed a girl like you, it wouldn't be part of the Games. It would be actual murder. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I killed you. Don't mention it again."

Summer looked down. She walked farther away from the fire, sat down on the ground and went to sleep. Wait, how had I missed this? When I first met Summer, she had been fragile, but her core was made of steel. That Summer had been a fighter, a survivor. Over the past few weeks, Summer had shriveled up. The steel had become mush. She was scared of everything. I didn't recognize this Summer. The Games had broken her.

Suddenly, the anthem rang out and the Capitol symbol appeared in the black sky. I glanced up to see the Harman's black hair and pale face. I wasn't surprised. I knew that kid wouldn't last long. Then the girl from District Nine's face appeared with a blank expression. The Capitol symbol appeared once more, then disappeared along with the anthem.

I could feel a tear streak down my cheek. Just Fable, Summer, and I left. If I died, I knew Fable would hunt Summer down. But if Summer died, then I'd die anyway against Fable. He'd probably picked the Cornucopia clean of it's weapons. I'd be lucky if the tsunami washed them all away.

With the rabbit cooked, Summer sleeping, and the fire dying down, I packed the food away in the backpacks and headed to sleep.

________________________________________

The next morning, Summer and I packed everything and covered the fire ashes. Summer kept her usual odd glances at the woods. After a few hours, she started talking.

"Annabelle, I swear, something's watching us." She mumbled. 

"Summer, please stop worrying. I'm sure everything's fine." I reassured her.

"But-"

"No." I said firmer. "That's all you've been doing for the past two days! I'm tired of it!"

That's when I heard it. It was thick crunch of a foot on a branch or twig. It could hear feet rustling the foliage. It seemed to be walking around us, circling us.

"Did you hear that?" Summer whispered.

At that moment, the mountain lion jumped out of the trees toward Summer.

I screamed as the animal pounced on Summer, "No!" I could see in slow motion as the animal ripped her flesh with her claws, the blood gushing up and staining her clothes.

I acted as fast as I could. I took Gemma's axe and ran towards the mountain lion. I climbed on top of it's back and began hacking away at it. Crimson blood sprayed out onto my face, but I didn't stop and neither did the animal. It's fang trying to sink into Summer's neck, but with the axe blade cutting into it's flesh, it couldn't. Suddenly, it jumped off of her and tried to grab my leg with it's teeth. I lifted the axe once more and made a last swing. The animal coughed once then fell to the ground.

I pushed the dead animal's body off of me and sprinted towards Summer. She was screaming at the top of her lungs.

"Just kill me now!" She screamed. "It hurts! It hurts!"

I patted back her hair. "Shh, shh. It's okay, it's okay. . ." I comforted her. I quickly searched through my backpack for something to stop the bleeding.

Summer whimpered a few times and grasped my searching hand. Her tears clean the dirt and blood from her face.

"It's no use Annabelle. . ." She cried quietly. "I'm gonna die. . . the wound's too bad. I'll bleed to death. . . I'm worthless."

"Don't say that!" I told her, squeezing her hand. "Summer, you're the strongest girl I've ever met. You know how to fight and charm people. Everyone loves you. Your heart will always be much more pure than mine."

Summer squeezed her eyes shut for a few moments, then opened them again. "You need to win, Annabelle. I know Fable is strong, but you've shown me you're stronger. Your brothers and sister need you. If Fable wins, I swear there will be a riot! Everyone knows that. If all of Panem had to pick between you and Fable, everyone would choose you. Please, keep that in mind, and promise me you'll win. . . win for your siblings, win for Gemma, Nico, and I."

A tear fell on her bloody shirt as I said, "I promise, Summer."

Then her cannon blasted in the distance.