“Alan.” Leo said, shaking Alan’s shoulder. “Alan!”
Alan woke up with a loud groan. “Where’s Anastasia?”
Leo bit his lip, and knelt down beside him. “Alan… She’s gone, remember?”
Alan’s eyes snapped open, and he started at Leo, fearful. “No. No, no, no, no, no! That was a nightmare, right? Tell me it was a nightmare. Tell me it was a nightmare, please…”
Leo looked down at the ground. “I am so sorry.”
Alan sat there rigidly, silent tears dripping down his face.
“But Alan, we need to move. Hannah saw someone stalking our camp, and we’re not going to take any chances, okay?”
Alan nodded, and Leo helped him to his feet.
Michael looked up from where he was packing up camp. “Pull yourself together Alan!”
“Michael!” Leo hissed.
Michael rolled his eyes and resumed packing
“Sorry, Michael, he… He’s a bit weird about love. I don’t know why, he just mentioned that he didn’t understand you and…” Leo attempted to explain.
Alan shook his head. “Thanks Leo, but he has a point. I need to pull myself together to take out Elizabeth. Then, I can be done.”
Leo shot him a worried look, and thought I can’t really ask if he’s alright, I already know the answer to that question. I’ll just have to keep an eye on him. I don’t like the sound of ‘being done’.
He eventually decided to help Michael pack. He definitely needed it.
Within an hour, everything was cleaned up. They called Hannah off guard duty, and the four of them silently departed. The group tracked through the forest all morning, until they arrived at a rock face, and decided to pause and eat lunch.
“Let’s stop here.” Michael suggested. “It protects our back.”
They all nodded, and Hannah passed out sandwiches, gifts she’d received from a sponsor the night before.
Hannah had only just finished passing them out when they heard laughter.
“Who’s there?” Michael demanded, leaping to his feet.
“Why, Michael, I thought you’d know!” Elizabeth laughed as she dropped down from a tree above their lunch area. “Oh, and your lunch spot? Bad idea. It protects your back, but it also cuts off escape.”
When she received no reply, she went on. “My, my. I can tell you four are happy to see me. I just wanted to drop in, say hullo, and maybe paint a pretty picture with your blood.”
YOU ARE READING
The Death Games
Teen FictionNot that far in the future, The Hunger Games are even bigger than they are today. The government eventually has no choice but to put on one of their own, a slightly altered version, called the Death Games. One school is selected, and the students wh...
