Fighter | The Hunger Games

Chapter Fifteen

I stomached any fear I was experiencing and tried to act calm. This was the second time within a short period of time that I was fighting for my life. How stupid could I be? Olivia's death rattled me to the point of insanity. Why would I risk dying again after what occurred yesterday night? 

There was no time for regrets. I watched nervously as the large brick hovered above me, Stone looking brazen and untamed. Any moment he would bring the heavy brick down to my skull and I would die. I grimaced and braced myself. My chances were looking slim.

With one sweeping motion Stone slammed the brick down with power. Luckily my reflexes were quite impressive from all the agility Jace made me practice in the Capitol. As soon as I saw Stone begin to raise his arm to slam the brick down I kicked at his groin and tucked my left arm under my right, rolling over and narrowly avoiding the large brick. Stone grunted in frustration but by the time he recovered from his staggering motion I was already up on my feet again. 

He was moving erratically; swinging at me with his brick but throwing himself off balance. I looked around wildly, my safest option was to sprint back towards the river and possibly escape towards the cover of the forest. However, the thought of the river made my stomach churn and when I tried to dart in that direction my legs protested. 

Stone chased after me as I started to run "you won't get far kid" he taunted from behind me. I made the mistake of glancing back and then losing my footing on the dusty rock ground beneath me. Slipping, I managed to break my fall with my hands which absorbed most of the impact. Before I could shoot up off the ground again I felt Stone's hand grab the back of my shirt. He pulled me up and tossed me back into the ground where I felt all of the air leave my lungs. 

I shimmied backwards on the ground as he stalked towards me once again. I felt a lump form in my throat as he smiled at me and spoke slowly "well pretty girl it looks like your time in the Games is over." Suddenly a flash of rage fell over me and I gritted my teeth and shook my head at him wordlessly. "Oh? Is that a threat?" He laughed manically as he pressed his foot into my stomach pinning me to the ground. "Try me" he spit.

I wiggled furiously, hoping to free myself from his weight but he was persistent in his pursuit. Stone was playing with me like how an animal plays with its prey before ultimately killing it. If I was going to die I wanted it to be quick. I knew that the brick he was holding was lethal and my only chance of escaping was to dodge it and somehow strike back. I wouldn't be able to run like last time.

I was now in survival mode- I attempted to disregard all of my emotions and fight. Carefully I was able to slide my feet closer to my body without Stone noticing. He was too busy messing with me. "I bet your mommy and daddy are watching you right now on television. How sad! I guess they should start planning your funeral now. Isn't that right?" I glared at him, never breaking eye contact as I reached into my sock and pulled out one of my knives. "Don't speak too soon" I muttered under my breath and watched as the anger in his eyes began to rise.  

I stabbed my knife into his shin causing him to release me from the ground and clutch his calf in pain. "Oh it's on!" He hollered angrily. My heart beat out of my chest and my arms shook in shock. What did I just do? What was I going to do? I didn't want to intentionally hurt anyone. But was there any other option? He provoked me. I began to feel slightly lightheaded and nauseous. I wanted to flee but Stone was rushing towards me yelling. There was no time to think. I was helpless. If I didn't defend myself further I would surely die at his hands.

Stone lunged at me with the brick in his right hand, but before he could hurt me I shoved my knife straight into his chest and watched as his face almost immediately went blank. He collapsed onto me and I shrieked as I felt his sticky blood soak through my shirt. Suddenly I felt like I couldn't breathe. The world began to grow fuzzy around me and I clutched my head. The only noise I could hear was a ringing in my ear, and then a cannon, and then silence.