•𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗔 𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗲•

9

A/N: How is everyone doing? I'm doing okay. This chapter was really fun to write, but it took a while. For some reason, I used the word 'she' 150 times during the chapter (idk why you think I'm a good writer) so I had to narrow it down to about 60. So yeah. Enjoy! 

     Katara couldn't stop running. Branches and leaves scratched her face and arms, and some blood trickled down her cheek. Her face stung from her wounds and she wanted nothing more than to just rest. But she had to get away from the cornucopia. Away from the bloodbath.

     Katara ran until she couldn't run anymore. Her lungs and throat burned and her legs felt like jelly. It felt like she had been running for hours, but she knew it couldn't have been that long. Not seeing anyone, or even recognizing her surroundings, it decided her little spot was far enough away. The waterbender couldn't hear anything but her heavy breathing and her beating heart.

     She had done it. Katara had survived the cornucopia. Yet her legs couldn't seem to move anymore, except for the occasional shaking. Her backpack slid off and she leaned up against a boulder nearby. Her shoulders were grateful not to have any more weight on them.

     Panting, the gravity of what had just happened sunk in.

     Eleven children dead.

     Eleven children with families, lives, and hopes and dreams. Eleven children who told people they would come home, eleven families with empty chairs at their tables.

     12 children left.

     Oh Agni. I'm the worst ally ever. Eleven children dead. That's a nearly fifty percent chance that Toph was part of those numbers. You promised to help her survive the arena, yet her body is probably growing cold because of a Career's knife. You don't deserve to go home.

     Katara bit back tears. She was a coward. A coward who couldn't even save one person.

     But Toph is strong. She could have swallowed herself in a rock to protect herself. She could have made armor and ran into the forest like her.

     Wishful thinking, her brain cruelly remarked.

     Her hands were shaking as she brought them to her mouth, and made a funnel. The song that Toph taught her was quietly played.

     The melody was repeated back at her, and then by another voice. Soon her melody bounced off every surface around her. Looking around, there were no visible birds in sight.

     Katara waited until the song died down. No response. A cold fist gripped Katara's heart.

     At least you'll find out tonight when they play the anthem and show the tributes. For now, you need to worry about yourself. 

     Katara nodded silently and unzipped her bright orange backpack. She needed to see what resources she had.

     Inside was a small white box. It opened and inside was disinfectant for wounds, gauze, cotton balls, and a small vial labeled "Temazepam". It was a first aid kit. Katara didn't know what Temazepam did, and she hoped she didn't have to find out. The last thing that seemed logical was trying out strange medicines. 

     Then there was a small ball of rope. Katara unraveled it and tied it to one of the nearby trees. The rope was pulled further and further until it became taut. It was about twenty feet, Katara decided. She wondered how useful rope would actually be in the long run.

     The bag had two boxes left. In the smaller one a water bottle. Cheering silently, she knew water bottles could be used to help stay hydrated and to hold her element.