My Hunger Games

Chapter Fifteen

"Jake..." Karalyn whispered as the hovercraft took off. Luke grabbed her by the arm, pulling her up.

"It's better this way," he whispers to her. Somehow, she can't bring herself to accept that. But she puts on a facade, turning to Luke, and burying her face into his shirt. Annie smooths out her clothing, running a shaky hand through her hair. She dawdles over toward Niall, who continues to steer the hover craft. 

"We did it," she whispers, standing behind him and wrapping her arms around his neck. Her chin rests on the top of his head, her back bent slightly. 

"Then why does it feel like we're still there?" he asks, his focus remaining on the sky. She sighs, staying silent. 

"What about Ashton? We need to take him to a hospital or something," Rhett says, checking on him. Luke joins him, kneeling down.

"It'll be a while until we're back at The Capital," Niall says.

"What? We can't go there! They'll kill all of us!" Karalyn protests. "If we go back to The Capital, we're all doomed, and everything we've worked for would have been for nothing!"

"Well what else are we supposed to do? We have no where else to go," Annie reminds her, joining the others.

"Well maybe we could... I mean there has to be..." Karalyn is at a lose for words. No one says anything else. Karalyn stays by Ashton's side, Luke and Rhett converse about what their plan should be once they reach The Capital,  and Annie hovers over Niall's shoulder, watching him fly. After a while, Karalyn gets anxious. 

"Ashton's not getting any better... and he hasn't even woken up. I'm starting to get worried." Someone's stomach growls in the silence.

"Hopefully he'll be fine," Luke tries to comfort her, unsuccessfully. Annie sighs. 

"Well this hovercraft is huge; I'm sure they have precautionary supplies like food and medicine. Anyone wanna come with me and check?" Rhett stands, offering.

"I will." Annie half smiles. 

"Great. Come on, I could use the backup." Annie grabs her weapon, just to be safe, and she and Rhett stalk out the craft. 

"Hey," Luke whispers to Karalyn. "Everything will be okay. We've made it this far." She's close to tears either way.

"But there's no telling how much further we'll get. You know I'm right; if we go back to The Capital, they'll blast us on sight."

"Not necessarily," Luke interrupts. "When everything went chaotic, The Capital would have been forced to stop broadcasting the games. They might not have seen us get on the hover craft. They might just think we're one of them, and let us in."

"What happens then? We get shot on sight? I don't know about you, but I don't think that's much of an improvement." Luke grabs her hand, squeezing it.

"We'll get through this. I know it. We didn't escape to get caught, and we certainly didn't do it to give up, either. We have to fight. We'll always have to fight. It's what we do, every day of our lives. Games or no Games." Karalyn nods, her tears stopping. Luke wipes them aside, kissing her on the forehead. Annie and Rhett soon return with a sack. Without a word, Annie forces her hand into it, ripping out a syringe and needle. She chucks the bag aside and stabs the needle into Ashton's back. He gasps for air, but his eyes still do not open. When Annie pulls the needle out, his body relaxes, and he exhales.

"What did you do?" Karalyn asks her.

"It's medicine. It's going to revive him. He'll be fine, I promise." Rhett picks up the sack, opening it.