The Supreme Games - Book One

|79| The Supreme Games: Day 4 - Part 2

Finn's P.O.V. (D4)

I should've known it was a bad idea from the start.

I don't know if it was due to the lack of sleep or the pure adrenaline rush after having survived the events of the ship, but I should've never agreed to split up with Coral to search for food.

She must've felt invincible after the zombie fiasco, narrowly escaping death multiple times.

I should've known better than to let her out of my sight.

When she suggested splitting up and rendezvousing back by the beach, she had a fire in her eyes that screamed, "Have faith in me, I can do this. These games haven't weakened me yet."

She didn't have to do anything to prove her strength. She got through the first games and survived the bloodbath of the Supreme Games and an alliance betrayal—I know she's strong. She never had to prove anything.

So, you could imagine my unadulterated horror when I found her lifeless body sitting in a pond of her own blood with most of her limbs hacked off, Kristoffer from our district cradling her to his chest as violent sobs racked his body.

"Coral!" I yell, sprinting through the forest completely uncaring of my volume.

We had agreed to hunt for no more than an hour before meeting back up at the beach. When the second cannon went off just a half hour after the first, I began to panic. Forgetting our mission at hand, I began racing through the forest to find her.

I can't lose her now, not when I just got her back.

I sprint faster than my legs can take me, ignoring the erratic beating of my heart. It isn't until I hear a pained wail when I begin to slow down to get a better listen. After a few seconds, I hear it again, a little weaker sounding but more agonizing. I follow the sound of the voice until I reach a clearing.

I couldn't have prepared myself for this. Nothing—absolutely nothing could've prepared me for the sight of Coral's body all hacked up, drenched in red.

Kristoffer hovers over her, gently cradling her lifeless body with one hand behind her neck and the other one around her back. He rocks her back and forth as he violently trembles, attempting to suppress the whimpers that escape his lips anyway. I take one small step forward.

"Coral?" my voice cracks in a whisper.

Kristoffer doesn't even turn around, but at the sound of my voice another sob tears through his throat. He lowers his head, lips trembling, before he looks up at me with reddened, morose eyes.

"I—" he begins, a small series of hiccups rippling through his lips. "I was too late. I-I'm so sorry." He bows his head down again, a fresh set of tears streaming down his face.

I just stand rooted in place, as tears of my own silently escape my eyes.

Aqua, Emerald, and now Coral—the gems of our district, the ones who deserved to live more than anyone else in these wretched games—they're all gone.

And we couldn't save them.

Kristoffer gently lowers Coral's body back to the ground, and without looking turns in my direction, kneeling with his hands glued to his knees.

"Please," he whispers, begs. "I'd rather go by the hands of someone from back home, than anyone else here. Just—please, make it quick."

I blink once, slowly making my way towards his kneeling figure. His head remains down and eyes squeezed shut. His body is still trembling slightly, but he remains rooted in place.