Jan. 19, 2014, 6 p.m.
Against All Odds: An Alliance Broken
M - Words: 962 - Last Updated: Jan 19, 2014 Story: Complete - Chapters: 37/? - Created: Dec 18, 2013 - Updated: Dec 18, 2013 152 0 0 0 0
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Shrouded in darkness, Karofsky and the tributes from 2 closed in on his District partner. Santana had been running from them for almost an hour and they had finally managed to trap her in a dead end. Azimio and Lauren had cut off her retreat and Karofsky smiled menacingly as he moved in for the kill. As much as he wanted to kill her slowly, he knew she would fight back hard, so it would have to be quick if he wanted to avoid injury. Santana backed up against the wall so the others couldn't attack her from behind. Armed with two deadly looking knives, Santana was prepared to put up a fight, but unless she got one of the others to turn on Karofsky, she knew she didn't stand a chance against the three of them.
“We all knew we'd have to turn on each other sooner or later. What do you think he's going to do to you when he starts picking us off one by one?” Her best shot was to convince Lauren and Azimio that she would be an easier target later in the Games. She could throw knives with deadly accuracy, but her attackers could simply dodge and she would be out a weapon.
Azimio advanced on her with a dark look in his eyes, clearly ignoring her pleas. But Lauren hesitated before taking another step closer. Santana saw an opening. She made eye contact with Lauren in the moonlight.
“They'll come after you next. What happened to wanting to show the boys that you can hold your own?” She hated how desperate she sounded, but she knew Karofsky and Azimio were quickly closing in on her.
Without warning, Lauren lunged forward. Santana tensed with her knives at the ready, planning to take out at least one of her attackers and go out fighting. Instead, Lauren charged past her and tackled Azimio to the ground. Knowing his advantage was all but gone, Karofsky quickly jumped into the fight. Santana dodged Karofsky and he nearly slammed into the wall with his momentum. Knowing her attacker still had the advantage, Santana started running toward the open end of the corridor. Azimio and Lauren struggled on the ground, both trying to reach the ax she had knocked out of his hands. Her bow and arrow was impractical in this fight. Lauren had the upper hand initially, but a hard punch to the side of the head had her dazed. Azimio used his considerable upper body strength to shove her off of him just enough to roll closer to the weapon. Halfway to the door, Santana turned to face the pair struggling on the ground. She grasped one of her knives by the handle and threw as hard as she could. It hit Azimio deep between the shoulders and he fell to the ground. She kept running, not waiting for Lauren to finish him off. Karofsky was behind her and she knew he'd be out for blood. Moments later she heard the sound of the cannon signifying Azimio's death.
As the sun rose over the arena, Sam heard a cannon fire nearby. He hoped it meant that the career alliance had finally turned on itself which should give him plenty of time to put some distance between himself and his enemies. They had been chasing him relentlessly through the night, but he'd finally managed to elude them in the hours just before dawn. He hadn't been on the move for long before he ran into more of his fellow tributes. Three tributes, 2 girls and a boy, were huddled together clearly hoping to remain unnoticed. At first Sam was surprised no one moved to attack him, but then he saw that none of them seemed to have a weapon. They must have run from the cornucopia, and were probably already weak from hunger and dehydration. The male tribute held his arms out protectively in front of the smaller of the two girls. Sam recognized them both from District 9. The girl had lost her glasses in her haste to get away from the Cornucopia and her District partner had clearly been trying to protect her since then. Sam felt a surge of guilt. He hadn't even attempted to protect Quinn. He was actually grateful when Blaine killed her because at least she didn't suffer.
The boy had to know it was a lost cause. The odds were definitely stacked against this group. Sam recognized the other girl from training, but couldn't recall her District. She had long blonde hair and he thought her name was Katie or Kitty or something like that. The boy from 9 had his hair styled in a mohawk and looked like he could certainly hold his own in a fight if he wasn't trying to protect his District partner. As much as Sam hated the idea of attacking three unarmed, vulnerable tributes, there was only one victor. He vowed to make it quick and painless for them. He charged at the boy first, plunging his sword through his chest. As the boy fell to the ground, the cannon fired immediately to signify his defeat. Sam was visibly shaken by the time he turned to face the girls. Both had tears running down their faces, but neither made an attempt to escape. The one he thought was named Kitty nodded to him as she wrapped her arms comfortingly around the smaller blonde. It reminded him of how Quinn had held her daughter during their reaping. Not wanting to draw out their terror any longer, Sam whispered a quiet apology before advancing on the girls. Moments later the cannon had sounded twice more as Sam wiped the blood from his sword.