savages.

nine.

Sarah

Sarah watched with pride as her victim crumpled to the ground silently. He'd had no time to react before the threw the knife; the attack was flawless, in her opinion. However, once the canon signalling his death exploded, she pushed the thought to the back of her mind as she met eyes with the two tributes from District Four and another boy who she vaguely recognised. "Nice to see you both again," she mused, recalling their failed alliance. They'd fled, and in honesty, she'd expected it.

Scoffing, Billy took a step forward, presumably to ensure his newfound ally was protected behind him. "You know you can't take on all three of us, right?" he taunted.

"The others are nearby. If I shout, they'll be right here." Sarah's voice was confident, but she couldn't help but reflect on Tom's injury; she knew he wasn't at his best. Still, she had faith in him.

Clearly agitated, Ella rolled her eyes, her fingers sweeping over the alarming collection of weapons she had at her disposal. "If we kill you, they won't hear you," she stated, to which Sarah coolly laughed and shrugged her shoulders.

You'll have to catch me first, she thought; she and her opponents both knew she worked best with long-distance attacks and speed. Alfie's death was proof of that. However, before she bothered to shoot back a response, she caught a glimpse of Tom. Her heart dropped as he made eye contact with her, silently covering his lips with his finger to signal her silence. Her opponents weren't blind though and noticed her facial expression flicker with distress.

Ella just managed to dodge out of the way as Tom lunged with his sword. She cursed, retrieving a heavy-looking axe from her belt and swinging back, and at the same time, Billy grabbed Zak with one hand, brandishing a knife with the other. Everything descended to chaos so fast.

While Tom was faster and larger than Ella, it was blatant she was more bloodthirsty and ruthless. Sheer panic flooded through Sarah's veins as she launched a dagger at Ella with a shriek, but this alarmed her enough to slip out of the way, receiving only a scratch along her arm. "Fuck! You bastards!" she roared, shooting Billy a look which was clearly desperate for backup.

Acknowledging this, Billy thrusted a weapon into Zak's hands and charged, and Sarah knew she had to act fast to save Tom's life. He couldn't die. He couldn't die. Time slowed for a second, and the only thing that Sarah could hear was her deafening heartbeat until she finally heard a vicious voice above the chaos.

"No one move!"

Everyone spun to the source of the noise, and relief overwhelmed Sarah when she saw Zac, one arm around Zak's middle and the other gripping a knife against his throat. There was blood trickling from his cheek, reflecting how Zak had put up a (clearly futile) fight. "You touch him, and he dies, and so do the rest of you."

Although she couldn't quite understand why, Billy dropped his arms to his sides, glancing at Ella to warn her to do the same. "What the fuck?" Ella released an infuriated laugh, but decided against defying her ally.

"Let him go," Billy demanded, his tone misleadingly calm. The tension in his body broke the facade.

Sarah didn't know why Billy was desperate to keep Zak alive, but it didn't matter because Zac's quick thinking had seemingly saved Tom's life. With a smug laugh, Zac tucked the knife away and shoved Zak towards the gingers. "You're gonna regret this," Billy muttered, before storming off with Zak on his tail.

Ella, in the other hand, hung behind for a moment. With a grunt, she wiped some of the blood leaking from her arm and met eyes with Sarah. "You. I'll fucking get you."

And with that, she left. Sarah allowed her rock hard persona to drop for a second as she rushed over to Tom, beaten only by Zac who was already interrogating him. "Are you okay?" Sarah questioned hurriedly, concern heavy in her voice.