The Runaway Victor | Book II

Chapter Twenty-Four | Healing Orion

Mrs. Hawthorne, or Hazelle as she insisted on being called had been extremely kind. By the time Quinn and Gale had practically dragged Orion into the house, she had already cleared their kitchen table and had laid out a blanket across it. She had an assortment of different medical things too. She didn't have much of it, but she said she would have enough at least for the night. First she Orion sit on the table, still practically counting on Quinn and Gale to keep him up right.

"You've lost quite a bit of blood, haven't you Mr. Snow?" she asked as she gently pushed Quinn aside and helped him remove his jacket and then his shirt so she could get a better look at his wound.

"I'd say so." his voice was quiet, weaker than Quinn could remember ever hearing before.

Hazelle had him lay down on his side so she could get a good look at his other side. "This looks like more than I can handle..." she said quietly towards Hannah.

"But you'll try, won't you?" Quinn blurted out sharply.

"Gale, run and get Mrs. Everdeen. Quick, before curfew comes around." she said looking back at Gale for a moment, he nodded curtly and then turned and left again.

One of the younger boys had been called into the kitchen, but quickly sent back to keep the other children in the other room. Hazelle then told Hannah and Quinn to make themselves comfortable because they probably wouldn't be leaving for awhile. Then to keep Orion engaged a bit, to keep him from falling asleep-- Hazelle explained that it was just herself, Gale, Vick, Rory, and Posy. Her husband had been killed in a mine accident, since then Gale had started hunting illegally to support them. She even made a small joke by saying something along the lines of "I suppose illegal hunting isn't the biggest crime any more" and Orion had appreciated the effort, but when he chuckled a bit he cringed in pain.

After that, they didn't have much time for silence because the door opened again. This time Gale wasn't alone. A woman with sandy blonde hair, high cheekbones, and grey eyes pushed past him with a old material pouch that she clutched tightly in her hands. A step behind her was the girl from earlier, the one Quinn had seen with Gale. Then there was a younger girl with blonde hair like the woman.

"Prim," the woman started, "I'm sure Posy would love to see you. It's been awhile since you've been over." her mother said and the younger girl stole a glance at the kitchen table. "She refused stay home,"

"What happened?" The older girl asked, probably what everyone had been wondering.

Quinn sighed heavily, "We were almost to Twelve to get to our safe house when Capitol ships found us." she explained as the blonde woman, who she assumed was Mrs. Everdeen began to take over caring for Orion's wound.

"I went back for Kal," Orion winced, his hands gripping the blanket beneath him as Mrs. Everdeen kept fussing with his wound-- trying to see if she could feel the bullet probably. "I tried to get to a tree to avoid the bullets, but-- I obviously wasn't fast enough." he explained through gritted teeth.

Mrs. Everdeen and Hazelle fussed with Orion a bit more, but it didn't take Mrs. Everdeen to actually get out the bullet. As soon as they saw it on the table, Quinn couldn't understand how Orion survived. It wasn't too small, but it wasn't all that big either. But it had jagged, sharp razor-like edges that were meant to cause as much damage as possible.

"You are very lucky, Mr. Snow." Mrs. Everdeen stated as she picked up the bullet and Hazelle began to stitch Orion up. "You should try to get some rest, okay?"

He nodded, the hike there to Twelve it had taken much more energy than he had even started with.

Then after a moment, Mrs. Everdeen landed her eyes on Quinn.

"You've actually made it this far." she said, a bit shocked.

Quinn nodded, "I wouldn't have if it hadn't been for Orion." she retorted simply.

"Well, for now, you are more than welcome to stay here." Hazelle replied, as Mrs. Everdeen began to pack up her things with the help of her oldest daughter.

"Thank you, Hazelle." Hannah replied.

"Katniss, would you get Prim? Curfew is coming up."

Quinn looked over her shoulder towards the window, she felt drained. She felt like it should have been dark out, but instead the sky was only in the middle of changing from sunset to night time.

Quinn fell silent when she turned back around and saw that Orion was already sound asleep. He looked so weak and broken, it was hard to believe that not that much earlier he was in perfect shape. She could still feel her stomach churning, and having seen the bullet that had been lodged inside him didn't help. She wouldn't have made it to Seven if it hadn't been for him. She could probably make it to Thirteen from Twelve, but getting there without him wouldn't seem right.

That evening Hazelle let Quinn and Hannah clean up a bit, then Hannah took her place next to the far wall with Orion's backpack as a pillow she decided to get some rest. Quinn took her seat again near Orion, she was used to staying up for the first half of the night. She was used to waiting for something that was going to try to kill them. She wasn't used to being back in a house, a bit more sheltered than they had been.

So Quinn sat in the chair with her arms crossed tightly over her chest. Then after a while she rolled her jacket up tight and hugged it so she could rest her head on it and get at least a little needed sleep.