[Closed: thewingedcorporal; hunger games AU]
Eren staggers to his feet, an eye screwed shut and pulsating with pain. He feels sticky blood coat his hand as he brings it to his temple, and he looks away just in time to see one of his allies kill one of the opposing group. One more to go. He turns his head to spot a glint of a weapon just past a tree on his left. And that’s when he sees him, the last one, crouched and getting to his feet. It was him, the one who killed Mikasa.
The pain becomes only a dull sensation as red fills his vision, approaching in such haste that he almost loses his footing. His enemy sees him, and a mace swings at him. Eren’s momentum allows him to turn away sharply, but he fails to avoid his assailant’s weapon entirely as it rips through an existing wound on his side. He lets out a yell, but advances towards him in a nimble step, thrusting one of his knives into the other’s stomach. The man falters as he raises an arm to deliver a blow, and that’s when he sees the opportunity.
Eren throws himself towards him, lacerating their armed hand across the wrist with such force that ensured he slashed through veins and into bone. Their weapon is hurled in another direction as blood splatters, and Eren roughly grapples at the other’s shoulder as they fall, slitting the man’s throat. Precise and fast, just like he did at home in District 10 at the slaughter house, at just the right way so he would choke on his on blood and suffer in agony before he died. At the first sight of the man convulsing, a sharp twisting pain meets his gut. He cries out, splotches of color blotting his vision at the pain. He looks down to see the man’s other hand extended, a weapon he hadn’t seen thrusted into his side.
“You fucking… BASTARD!” he hisses through clenched teeth, stabbing him in the chest with vehement force.
He hears a bang in the sky, and he rolls off, falling on his back. He breathes heavily, eyes screwed shut. He swallows before hastily ripping the knife from his own body, letting out a scream. The pain is searing, wound pulsating incessantly as he feels the blood rush from his side.
He lies motionless for a few moments, tears making their way down his face. He got his revenge, but what now? He hadn't won yet. He had to make it out of this arena, live, make those Capitol scum pay. For everything.
He presses a palm into the earth, the other clutching his wound as he gets to his feet, trembling legs threatening to give. He catches a swift movement out of the corner of his eye, and he hears it - a howl of agony, a bang in the sky. In the distance, he’s met with the sight of Elise retrieving her weapon from Dietrich’s body, blood erupting in grotesque streams of red.
He knew from the beginning that chances were slim that alliances would remain amicable, but the betrayal still comes as a shock. His anger surges upon the realization that their brief time as allies was all a farce in the end. Their exchanges, talks of their mutual hatred towards the Capitol and banding together, was all just that - talk. Clearly, she made her choice. There was no way they could cooperate now. Her back is already turned and headed in the other direction, and his first instinct is to chase after her and watch her body crumple to the ground as pitifully as Dietrich’s. His thoughts halt as he remembers the last time he had similar sentiments, and he hesitates, images of Mikasa dying in his place crossing his mind.
That’s when he remembers that Levi was still here too, and if he was in on this… he was next to be killed.
Eren turns and takes off, propelling himself forward despite the sharp, agonizing pains. His limbs ache and combat him with every step, occasionally stumbling, but he hastens his gait in urgency. He wouldn’t die here - he can’t die here.
As he sprints fervently through the forest, his vision begins to blur rapidly, green hues blending with brown. He’s not aware of how far he makes it when he finally reaches a clearing of tall grass, and the forest around him suddenly seems to distort and tumble in disarray before inertia overwhelms him.
It takes him a few moments to realize he’d collapsed, green enveloping his vision and soft grass tickling his nose. Apart from his short, erratic breaths and the pounding in his head, it was so very quiet. He feels his eyelids begin to fall, but they snap open when he thinks he hears a faint sound -- rustling? He couldn’t tell entirely, senses impaired, but he remembers that he can’t afford to let his guard down. He’d seen Elise run the other direction, so if he wasn’t imagining things, it could only be one person.
He grips the hilt of the his dagger, forcing himself to sit up with a struggle. A sharp pain runs through his abdomen as he does, and he winces, grabbing his side with the other arm. “Don’t… come any closer!” he yells, pointing it towards the vague direction of the sound, arm shaking intensely in a valiant effort to keep it raised. He can barely see now, vision swimming and sticky blood sealing an eye shut.
“I’ve seen you, idolized you as a kid and watched your every move. I know exactly what you can do, but you--- ngh.”
He chokes on the blood congealing in his throat, a momentary pause before he spits, hastily running a shaky arm across his face to smear red from the corner of his mouth. “You have no idea what I’m capable of!”
