GLORY AND GORE ━━ F. ODAIR

12.

CHAPTER TWELVE
walk a mile

" survival is a talent "

   It was another day, only this time I had woken up with an aching skull and a leg that was practically on fire. I slowly untied the shirt, revealing a nasty cut. It was a couple inches long, most of the bleeding had stopped, there was small bits of pus oozing out of it and sticking to the shirt.

   "Dying of infection is the last way I'm leaving this place," I muttered, taking one of the flasks from the bag and pouring a little bit of water over the wound. I wrapped it up again using a different part of Carter's shirt and snuck my way out of the small ditch.

   Carter was probably awake by now, and pissed off. I should have killed him.

   Using the spear as a walking stick, I slowly made my way through the forest in hopes of finding Piper and Adon. There was no display last night, meaning that no one must've died - I hope.

   I trudged through the thick forest slowly, each step that I took sent another wave of pain through my head. All I wanted to do was lie down and fall asleep, not having to worry about the pain and stress of the games - but in this game there was priorities, finding Adon and Piper was high up on the list. It was a lot colder today, the beaming sun was covered by dark grey clouds looming over the trees.

   At this rate I was going to die of infection. The burning hadn't stopped, and slowly a crimson patch had formed on my pants. For a cut that was only a couple inches, there was a lot of blood. I was completely vulnerable too, anybody could come and just slice me open - what was I going to do? Scare them away with my gross leg?

   "This is the part where you help me! Alicia!" I whined, shouting as if she could hear me through the screens, the noise scared off a few birds sitting in the trees above.

   "You're probably not even watching right now," I said, continuing my trek.

.

ALICIA

   Alicia sat on one of the Capitol's velvet lounges alongside Finnick and Johanna, the three mentors watching their tributes on the big screen like it was a movie.

   "Your girl looks busted up, walking with a limp," Johanna commented, Aaliyah was being shown on the screen, trudging through the forest with a spear and a half empty backpack.

   Alicia frowned, "Aaliyah. She'll get through it."

   "That's if she doesn't get killed first," Finnick commented, both Johanna and Alicia looked at him weirdly, he stuck his hands up, "I'm just saying. She barely got away from that career without an injured leg. She can't do anything now."

   "She was fighting a career, give her a break," Alicia said, continuing to watch the screen, keeping an eye on Finnick in the corner of her eye.

   "I thought you said your two had fighting experience, weren't they meant to be good?" Finnick smirked.

   "They can both fight well. She was just caught off guard," Alicia said.

   Finnick lay back into the lounge, a satisfied smile on his face, "Whatever. You did get pretty unlucky with your tributes, you too Jo," he said.

   "Not my fault. I feel bad for them, but there wasn't much I could do. The boys alive still though, I'm surprised," Johanna said sadly.

   "And I have siblings," Alicia frowned.