Stopwatch

Rebel's Revenge

     "Alright, mentors, please pair yourselves with your tribute before entering the arena" a voice uttered commandingly. I couldn't place whose voice it was, but it didn't matter. I aligned myself next to Reaper, feeling guilty that I was grateful the peacekeepers were there, just in case. It wasn't anything personal against Reaper, or any of the tributes for that matter. I just knew if it were me preparing to go into the Games, I would fight tooth and nail to escape that fate. 

We pushed through the screeching revolving gates of the arena, single file, as an animatronic voice echoed throughout, "enjoy the show! *screech* enjoy the show!" *screech*. The shudder down my spine whispered that the sound would follow me into my nightmares. Most of the class was still waiting to get in, so the few of us already inside took advantage of being first inside. Reaper and I surveyed the arena, as I pointed out possible vantage points. As well as which weapons would be best for certain scenarios, including the protection of Dill. "Enjoy the show!" *screech*. First there was silence, I registered it immediately, realizing a sigh of relief that I wouldn't have to hear the creepy automated voice anymore. Then, there was a resounding boom. 

Screams erupted, the walls flew inward. The ground burst upwards and fell down, littering everything with chunks of concrete shrapnel. I clapped my arms over my head, attempting to keep hold of my balance. Reaper was nowhere to be seen, everything was nowhere to be seen, the dust was too thick. Everything was too loud, and yet I could hear nothing but my own heartbeat in my ears. My brain seemed to be working in slow motion, I needed to run, but I couldn't force my legs to move for fear they would fall out from under me. I'm too deep into the arena, I'll never make it out in one piece. I blinked slowly, stupidly. Screams and the thud of running footsteps vibrated into my bones. The smell of ash and blood was dizzying.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, I heard a familiar voice. "ROSIE!" Jay?..."AMBROSIA!" 

By some miracle, I snapped out of my daze and managed to yell back, "JAY!" I saw him emerging from the rubble as debris continued falling down around us. Running, he was running, he grabbed my hand still going full speed, lurching my stiff body along behind him. We ducked and dogged, zigzagging our way around the gaping holes in the earth beneath us. A few yards to our left, a new bomb exploded, causing me to stumble.

"Rosie...Rosie!" I heard Sejanus' voice, but it sounded like he was yelling through a thick puddle of jam. My head swirled, my ears rang, I felt myself falling...falling...and everything went black.

                                                ****************************************

     I awoke in a bright white room, voices were whispering somewhere near me, though I couldn't understand them. I blinked hard to rid myself of the grogginess, but the pain in my skull was making it difficult. When I was able to focus, I looked to my left, where the noise was coming from. An entranced Coryo was staring at a small television, joined by an elderly woman and a younger one, who looked to be a few years older than myself. 

"Coryo?" I croaked. He turned, as did the ladies, to look at me. 

"My Rose," he said as he rushed to my side. "How are you feeling?" He asked fervently.

 "Well, I've felt better," I said with a teasing smile. The women approached, the young one introduced herself as Tigress, Coryo's cousin. The elderly lady was his grandmother, or "Grandma'am" as they called her. 

"It's lovely to meet you both" I said genuinely. 

"For us as well, though I wish it were under better circumstances," Tigress smiled, "I'll go get your aunt and the nurse, they'd just stepped out." 

 Grandma'am wandered a ways away, and plopped down in a chair to continue watching the television. Coryo looked me over, searching my eyes to determine whether he thought I was truly lucid. 

"Coryo, what exactly happened? I can't remember very clearly."

 "Rebel bombing," he began. They wanted to send a message, and I suppose they did. Thankfully everyone got out relatively unscathed. Except for Festus, he's in critical condition from what I've heard." 

"Ah, President Ravenstill must be furious" I said, thinking. 

"Indeed, the President as well as Dr. Gaul... anyway, you got knocked out pretty hard, you were bleeding badly from your head. You were hit by some falling rubble, Sejanus didn't push you out of the way in time. As for me, I got pinned under a bit of a support beam. I thought I was a dead man, but Lucy Grey... she could have ran. But she chose to help me instead." 

I stared at him, dumbfounded, as I gently traced my fingers over his bandaged shoulder. "I wish I had been with you, Rose. I could have gotten you out of there uninjured. I could have- "

"It was all out of our control, Coriolanus," I said softly. "I'm just grateful you're okay, and Sejanus" Coryo's face soured at the last part. 

I was about to ask why he had that bitter look when Grandma'am chirped to Coryo, "Coriolanus, come here. The girl, she's on and she's singing like you asked." Coryo shot up and dashed over to watch, just as Tigress returned with Aunt Ruby and a nurse. The melodic voice of Lucy Grey floated through the air as Aunt Ruby rushed over and started petting me, making sure I was okay. 

After a few minutes, the nurse had checked me over and finished scribbling things on her chart. "Well Ms. Cadence, you seem to be in good shape, and you are free to go. Go home and get some rest, don't try to do anything strenuous for a couple of weeks. And you'll have to come back and get your stitches removed." I thanked her, and she went over to Coriolanus. "Your scan results haven't come back yet. You'll need to stay overnight for observation until the Doctor can clear you tomorrow if everything looks alright. Coryo huffed in annoyance but nodded slightly. 

"Come along, Ambrosia, dear" cooed Aunt Ruby. "Your friend has been pacing outside for hours, I think we'd best not keep him worrying any longer." Sejanus. We bid Coryo's family a cordial goodbye, and I turned to Coryo. He embraced me firmly with his good arm, planting a kiss atop my head. We said nothing as he turned back to watching Lucy Grey, and I rushed to the window to see Sejanus pacing the walkway down below. I took aunt Ruby's arm and rushed down the stairs as quickly as she would allow, which wasn't very quickly. When we finally reached the lobby of the medical center Aunt Ruby went up to the desk to check us out,  as Sejanus spotted me immediately through the glass doors.

As he reached me, he scooped me up in a fierce hold, tears flowing freely. "Rosie, oh my Rosie. I am so sorry I didn't protect you better. There was a moment where I thought...well I thought-" 

"I'm right here, Jay," I whispered. "I'm alright." 

He sobbed into my shoulder, squeezing the air out of me with his unrelenting embrace. "I thought I'd lost you for sure, and it would have been all my fault." 

"Shhh, Jay, really, I'm fine." I assured him. 

"Those bombs went off and all I could think about was you. How I had to find you, I had to get you out, or die trying. I thought I would die, my whole life played before my eyes and all that mattered in it was you, Rosie." 

"Jay..."

"Its true, I swear it. You're the only thing in my life that matters. You're the only thing I truly love." Love? His face reddened as he realized what he'd said. He looked at me shyly, as my eyes roved the room, trying to pretend I was unaffected by the whole thing. 

He took my face gently in his warm hands. "I love you, Ambrosia Cadence. No, I'm in love with you." And he sealed his words with a kiss.