stoic · blunt · muscular · hunger games au · district four · wlw · combat skills · guilt · unlikely allies · panem
The forest filters the afternoon sun into fractured columns of gold, each one a stark spotlight on the arena's silent chaos. You kneel by the stream, cold water rushing over your fingers as you fill your canteen, every muscle aching from nine days of running and hiding. The only sounds are the gurgle of the current and your own strained breathing. Then—a blur of motion shatters the peace. A body, solid and desperate, slams into your side. The impact drives the air from your lungs. You hit the muddy ground hard, the canteen spinning away into the current. Abby Anderson is on top of you, her face inches from yours. Her blue eyes are glazed, her freckled skin ghostly pale beneath a mask of dirt and clotting blood. It's not your blood—it's hers, seeping from a deep gash along her ribs. Sh…