May the Odds be Ever in Your Favour • changlix

Chapter 16

btw theres probably only going to be a few more chapters until the end of this book! thank you everyone with your support for this ❤ its been a wild ride and I'm sad its coming to an end

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The initial shock of cold water engulfing him knocked the wind out of Felix. His instincts screamed for him to breathe in, but knew better than that. Remembering what he was taught, the blonde instead held his breath tightly.

Tumbling through the dirty water with his eyes shut tight, Felix feels sticks and small rocks tumble past him, scratching his limbs. All was silent, cold and dark as he hung in the water.

Finally, he stopped rolling, and felt himself float towards the surface.

Emerging, the roar of torrenting water around him cuts out all else. Felix gasps in air, treading water and opening his eyes. His hair stuck to his forehead, dripping down into his sight. Trees bowed under the weight of the water, pushing them away from the cornucopia that proudly stood above the tsunami. A scream can be heard from afar.

"Changbin!" He hollers the words. Felix looks left and right, but is unable to see the elder over the white water, trees and mess. A log smashes past him, and he kicks to swim out of the way just in time.

Trees creak and rip out of the ground from the powerful deluge, pushing himself and the other tributes far away from the cornucopia and what looked to be the only high ground available. Within seconds, Felix was already hundreds of meters from where he just was.

Changbin still hadn't surfaced.

Panic fills Felix as he swims towards where Changbin roughly was, but nothing could be seen in the swirling water.

"Changbin!" Felix screams his name now, choking when the filthy water splashes into his mouth from a sudden swell.

Movement catches his eye, and hope rises before crushing disappointment follows. It's the tall boy from before. He's struggling to stay afloat only a few metres away from him, desperately flailing and yelling as he tries to keep his head above water.

Felix vaguely remembers his reaping video, remembering how the quiet boy was crying when he was chosen.

The boy didn't seem to know how to swim.

Felix hesistates, watching him struggle, before diving into the water towards him. How could he leave this kid to die?

Using the freestyle stroke, Felix powerfully kicks through the water. Swimming again like this, if not for the stressful situation, would normally have filled him with a sense of ease. Being in the water was his element, and he had probably spent more time diving than walking.

In District 14, tsunami's were common due to the shifting of some kind of plates or whatever. Chan had tried his best to explain it, but Felix couldn't really grasp the concept of things that happened under the ocean. An alarm would ring across the district as a warning to get to higher ground.

It was never this dangerous, however. Felix knew full well that he could die if he wasn't careful.

Reaching the tall boy, Felix wraps an arm around his waist. The boy is panicking, suddenly turning to Felix and scrambling to pull himself out of the water on top of the blonde's smaller body. Felix's head is pulled underwater momentarily, startling him, but he quickly shifts to be behind the tall boy. A fist enters the water in an attempt to punch him, but Felix is just out of reach of it doing any real damage.

Kicking powerfully, Felix holds his breath as he loops one arm around the boy. He angles the taller boy so that his body is floating above Felix's own, his face out of the water. After a moment of continued struggle, the boy relaxes slightly and goes limp.  Felix, taking this as permission, propels himself towards a bowing tree, grunting in exertion.