Not My Pyre (A Pearl-Centric Double Life FanFic)

Chapter Ten: To Thrive, Not Just Survive

Pearl leapt over a log, glancing over her shoulder as she did. Her leg gave out beneath her as she landed, but she rolled back to her feet, knowing that she couldn't waste time dragging herself to her feet. The wound in her calf was slowing her down and she wasn't out-pacing the monsters as fast as she wanted to.

Another arrow whizzed past her face and she turned her attention back to getting away.

She darted between trees - why had she gone into the forest, it was so much harder to run there - and ducked under low-hanging branches. Get away, get away...

The stupid tear in her leg was messing so much up - usually, she'd be much more nimble than this, able to move through the worst of wooded areas like it was an open plains, but that stupid wound to her calf - it was burning, and she needed to get safe before she couldn't run any more.

She drew a stack of cobble from her inventory to tower up to the treetops - once she was up there, only the spiders would be able to get her, and maybe an ace-shot skeleton.

She found a tree that she could easily tower to the top of and started. Jump, block. Jump, block. Jump, block. All the way up to the top. After the first landing almost sent her tumbling back down, she lifted her wounded leg and hopped instead.

Pearl grabbed the branches and pulled herself into the canopy. Safe. She could kill what few spiders would reach her easily, and, if not, she could see lights not far away. A house, not directly next to the trees, but she could run there if things got desperate-

A screech tore through the air, one that would inspire fear in the hearts of any competitor. Pearl's eyes shot to the heavens to be met with little sparks of bright, neon green.

Phantoms.

The lights of that house were looking very appealing, considering the spiders closing in and the nightmares above her.

She pulled herself along the canopy, desperate for safety - whoever was in that house would surely let her in, only BigB and Ren and maybe Scott if he was really angry with her would turn her away. No one else would want to make an enemy of the Scarlet Pearl, right?

Right?

When she reached the edge of the forest, a flaw in her plan was revealed: that was a pretty big drop, and she couldn't afford more damage. She scrambled through her inventory - she needed something, anything - a boat. She could use a boat.

She leapt, pulling herself into the boat as she fell. The Games were so weird, why could she carry a boat in her backpack along with a bed and hundreds of cubic metres of cobblestone? And why did it break her fall so effectively? And why did they all heal so fast - her leg would be better before the sun rose.

No matter. It did, and she was running to the house.

It was dark, and she couldn't really see where she was, and she'd been panicking when she fled the Red Velvet Keep, not caring where she went, just away. But that bridge... She recognized it. She just had to hope that whoever's side she was on, Scott or Cleo, they would let her in.

Crossing the field between house and forest with the speed lent by the adrenaline of being almost there, Pearl slammed full-force into the door.

Whirling around, she drew her axe and shield to face the oncoming horde of monsters.

The door opened moments before the first zombie would be in reach and she darted in, slamming it shut. She came face-to-face with Scott, who had opened the door.

"Hi! Sorry, but I can't leave. You can tell why, I'm sure," Pearl said breathlessly.

Scott sighed. "Yes, I can. What were you doing out this late?"

"Oh, I was trying to make some alliances because someone abandoned me, and a conversation went longer than expected without me noticing. I also wasn't really paying attention to where I was going when I started running, so I was a little lost."

"It's really not my fault we split up. You were the one who risked our lives going to the Nether without even trying to find me first."

"I did try! I couldn't pass up the opportunity, though! I was trying to get an advantage for us! You know, I'm starting to wonder if you have any loyalty, to anyone!"

"I do have loyalty!" Scott protested.

"Oh, yeah? To what? Not the Three Gs, you let us split up. Not to Jimmy, who you were married to, but have completely abandoned!"

"Don't you dare accuse me of not having loyalty to Jimmy!" Scott shouted.

Pearl took a step back. That was angrier than she had ever seen Scott. He hadn't been that angry when she went to the Nether, or after any deaths or... Ever.

"I abandoned him because of my loyalty to him! You don't get it, Pearl! They will kill me, they will kill him, if I step out of line! And stepping out of line is holding on to old alliances without good reason in the current Game!"

"'They'?" Pearl asked quietly.

"The Lords. They've told me that if I act like past Games mean anything to me, they'll kill me and Jimmy and whoever else I'm acting like I care for. Perma-kill."

"Oh. Okay, that... That makes sense. You can't risk perma-death for yourself." Pearl said.

"Oh, I would! I would risk it to tell Jimmy just how much I care, to make sure he's happy, but they threatened him, too, so I can't!" Scott's shoulders slumped.

"I want to fix it."

Scott looked at her, confused. "Fix what?"

"This- This world. The Games. Everything. It's just- It's wrong. It's really, really wrong."

"I'm certain there are some people who are benefiting from the-"

"No! No, there aren't. At least not enough to make up for all the hurt these stupid Games have caused. You're not the only one, I've talked to lots of people. There are some who are scared of being forced to hurt the ones they love-" Grian "-some who are having their greatest joys ruined-" Tango "-others who have lost loved ones because of this-" Joel "-and so, so much other hurt." Scar, Jimmy, Ren, Martyn, Lizzie, everyone else, Pearl herself. "It's not right, and we can't just... Do nothing about it! And it's not just the Games! The way the entire country works. It's wrong!" Pearl glanced at Scott. He seemed wary.

"How do you know this?" He said.

"I spoke to them, some of it was just implied, but others... They just kinda told me. I'm told that if someone can't talk to anyone about their problems for a long time and has big problems, they'll tell the nearest person who will listen. I guess I was that person." Pearl had a thought, a dangerous, bold, risky thought. "Scott... What if- what if we - or just I, I could do it alone, I'm sure - started a revolution?"

Scott took a step back in surprise. "A revolution? Pearl, that's- that's crazy! They'll kill us! And everyone we care about!"

"We weren't made to live like this! Most of the population is barely even surviving, driving people to participate in a game where you kill each other for the entertainment of the few rich people that there are. This isn't- Is it really worth living in a world like this? I think I'd rather take the chance to give my brothers a shot to fulfil their dreams - their actual dreams, not just the best way to get money - than to survive as long as possible. I don't wanna just survive, I want to thrive."

"You're crazy, Pearl." Scott sighed, then looked at her. "But I already knew that. I teamed up with you in Last Life, and you're right. But... I think we need more than just us for this to succeed, and I don't want to risk Jimmy unless I know there's enough of us for there to be a chance. If you can get some other people to join up, maybe half the contestants, then I'll join and help, but I'm not risking it until then."

Pearl smiled devilishly. "Oh, Scott. I can definitely convince at least half of the contestants to join. They don't think this is right either."