ODDS

foreboding

𝓐 𝓼𝓽𝓻𝓪𝓷𝓰𝓵𝓮𝓭 𝓬𝓻𝔂 made me wake up from what was a very deep sleep. Slightly annoyed at my being woken up, I begrudgingly sat up, looking around to see who the culprit of the sound was. All was silent. I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion. Perhaps I was dreaming. I was sure I heard something. I shrugged off the feeling that someone was watching me and slid over to Sander, checking on his leg. I gave a yawn and sniffed, failing to leave the exhaustion behind.

"Tora, no. Tora." Sander mumbled. I sighed, beginning to shake him awake from his nightmare as he had done for me. He gasped, sitting up quickly and making me jump back. I relaxed, letting him calm down a bit before I tried to console him.

"You okay?" I asked quietly.

He didn't answer for awhile, still trying to get his breathing under control. When his breaths became steady and even, he answered, "Fine."

I nodded, leaning back against a tree and playing with my fingernails. It was silent for awhile, only our breathing and the occasional flutter of a birds wings.

Sander broke the silence. "Will you promise me something?"

I looked up to find Sander's eyes already on me. It took me awhile to register his question. I blamed it on the heat and lack of water. I nodded my head, urging him on.

Sander swallowed thickly. "If I don't make it out, will you tell Tora I love her?"

I sat there dumbfounded. It's as if he knew what I knew; as if he knew how much of our reality Snow's treachery inhabited. I only nodded my head. He did the same, keeping his eyes level.

"What about your family?" he asked. I was quiet. I knew I would see them again. Snow had practically confirmed it.

Despite my knowledge, I smiled, lifting my eyes to the lightening sky. "They know." I answered softly. We were both silent after that, watching the sky change in a brilliant show of colors, pretending, at least for a little while, that everything was alright.

***

Travelling was almost impossible, so we decided to take it ten minutes at a time. Moving was important, otherwise one of the remaining tributes would find us, and in our state at the moment, we would quickly be overtaken. Slowly, but surely, throughout the day we managed to travel to a well hidden place within the first mile or so of the tree line.

We were eating the rest of the meat that Sander had caught a few days prior, slowly, trying not to choke on the disgusting critter when the canon boomed. Another canon boomed seconds afterward. I looked to Sander with wide eyes.

"That makes four of us." I say, not wanting to admit what that meant.

"The Finale." Sander murmured, his eyes focused on something far off in the distance.

Before we were attacked by any of the Gamemakers' creations, we decided to continue moving on into the thick forest outlining the volcano. We were sure to keep a look out all around us, despite the darkening sky forbidding us to.

The Capitol anthem played all around us as the fallen tributes of the day were shown in the sky. It was only then that I realized that it had only been three days. Regardless, it had felt an eternity.

Twenty children dead in seventy-two hours.

The anthem ended with the soft playing of music.

District One. District Four. District Seven. The end was nearing, a sense of foreboding and anxiety creeping in.

"What in the world is that?"

I snapped out of my reverie and followed Sander's line of sight. Small, spherical bubbles floated around the air. They shined and sparkled under the light of the bright moon above. They were captivating, and I felt the sudden urge to reach out and touch their glowing figures. I had the idea that they could take me home, safe and away from all of the death and trauma.

That's when the ground began to shake beneath our feet.

"Alana-"

The heat intensified tenfold, and Sander fell to his knees.

"Sander, what are you doing? Get up!" I called, running over to hoist him up. His weight too much to bear, I settled for turning him over. "Sander!" I yelled, shaking him. He seemed to have trouble focusing.

"Alana, I- I feel hot." he whispered lightly, his voice shaking.

"I know, but you've got to get up. Okay? We have to go."

"Look." his voice held an awe to it, as if he were looking at the most beautiful thing in the world. I peered up to find that the bubbles had made their way above us, riding in the soft breeze of heat.

"Isn't it beautiful?" he asked softly. Looking back, I saw his eyes close. I smacked his cheek lightly.

"Sander, stay awake. You need to stay awake. Come on, get up."

"Just let me rest my eyes for a second."

"No. Sander, get up now."

"Alana-"

I managed to sling him to his feet, struggling as I did so. I didn't know what I was going to do, or where I was going to go. I only knew that I had to move. With Sander's arm slung around my shoulder, I slowly managed to get us a few hundred feet before falling into an heap of exhaustion. My lungs felt heavy again, and I felt waves of heat bouncing off of my damp skin. I got up, grabbing Sander from under his arms to drag him. It didn't last long.

I heard a strangled cry, similar to the one I heard just hours before.

I froze, holding my breath. My eyes darted around, trying to find the origin of the sound. There was no way I could protect me and Sander if someone had found us. However, I doubted the cry came from one of the tributes. It was an alien sound, a sound that I had never heard before. It was hard to hear at first, as it was a quiet sort of noise, but as soon as I focused, I realized it was a sort of high-pitched whine.

I gulped, my eyebrows contorted to show case my confusion. I gently laid Sander down. Standing, I searched the area around me. Nothing seemed out of place. The only unsettling thing that noise which twisted my stomach.

A scream.

I jumped, frightened by the sudden, loud noise, and looked to the direction of the scream.

A canon.

Three tributes left.

Suddenly, I looked over to Sander, who had slightly been woken up by the sudden noises. I trotted over to him. My heart was beating more quickly by the second, and it resonated in my throat. We looked at each other, fear playing in our movements.

A bright light from the sky shone down, and I realized, as my eyes travelled upward, that the tribute from District Seven was dead.

Me.

Sander.

Opal.

I wasn't liking our odds.

"We need to go." Sander half-whispered. He gathered his strength and stood, wobbling. We held each other up, desperate for some form of relief. Slowly, we made our way up the volcano, finding any other path trapped by the odd-looking bubbles.

After what seemed an eternity, we exited the lush volcanic forest to find a steep incline of dark rock. I let out a huff of breath, and Sander flashed me a tired smile.

"Ready?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes, sending him an equally exhausted smirk.

"Sure."