Chapter VII: Stuck on You

A/N: Sorry about the long wait. Had some writer's block on this one. Decided the chapter was going to be too big, so I made some changes as to what happens in it. I apologize for one use of the f-word in the chapter by one of the Careers. Thanks go to alexandria-likethecityinegypt and TheReaper94 for their help. Again, the deaths are listed like in his story Year by Year. Enjoy the update, SSD!


Even though she did not have a watch to stand, Isabel was awake anyway. She had to get up to either change position or go to the bathroom.

It was in the middle of Thomas's watch when she decided to go and talk to someone. It would likely help him stay away.

"So, any signs of uninvited guests Thomas," Isabel asked as she came level with him.

"Nope. A few animals have been curious, but no people. The watch has been very quiet," Thomas replied.

They sat in silence for a while before he asked, "Isabel, how are you feeling? No pain of any kind?"

"Just the pain in my feet. My breasts are sore as well. No new kind of pain. I'm not in labor at the present time," Isabel replied as she rested her arms on top of her belly.

"If your labor starts and you're alone for whatever reasons, don't eat or drink very much as it progresses. You can have small sips of water, but don't eat. You'll regret it," Thomas instructed.

She nodded in reply. The baby was kicking its feet and Isabel was pressing back in response.

"I have an idea. Why don't you take your camp chair and sleep in it sitting up? It might be more comfortable. You can use the sleeping bag as the blanket," Thomas suggested.

"It would certainly make it easier to get up and down," Isabel agreed before saying, "I'll go do that."

About five minutes later, Isabel was burrowing under the sleeping bag, drifting off.


Tylara had just gotten up from a nap that Haymitch had made her take. She would be taking the night shift of watching their tributes from Jay Ross, Nikola's mentor. Aras would be taking over in the morning.

Jay was a fellow last victor standing from a rebellious district. There had been no real proof connecting him to the rebellion. And the Capitol had not wanted to leave any district without a victor to mentor tributes. He had won the 47th Games, with an arena filled with tornados and various other natural disasters.

Tylara shook his shoulder to wake him up with a "Hey old man. I come bearing gifts," as she handed him a cup of tea.

The salt and pepper haired man took a few sips before saying, "It's been a quiet night. The Careers are at the Cornucopia, our group is at their cave. The other tributes are spread throughout the rest of the arena."

"Good to know. Now go get some sleep, you'll need it," Tylara instructed.

"I will. I have a feeling that Day 2 will be quiet," Jay said as he left.


As morning came, Isabel was the first to wake up. Nikola had drawn the last watch. She called out,

"Hey Nikola, it's morning!"

"That's good. Now we can all have breakfast together," the skinny boy said with a smile as he walked towards the opening of the cave.

Damon stirred first, mumbling, "It's morning isn't it?"

"Yes it is. Early bird gets the worm," Isabel nudged Damon's shoulder with her toe.

Rose was already up, out of her sleeping bag, and rolling it up. It was clear she was a morning person. Thomas was close behind her.

Once she finished, she asked, "So what's on the menu for today?"

Isabel took a look at the empty water jugs then said, "I'd like to get those filled up."

"Getting my traps set up is something I want to do. And not just the ones for food. I could use some help." Nikola said through his jerky.

"I can help you with that. At least in terms of protecting you while you're setting them up," Rose said.

"Good. I'll be staying with Isabel. Nikola, how long do you think it will take for you set up your traps," Damon asked.

"Most won't take too long. Though there is one that will take me several hours to set up," Nikola mentioned.

"A few hours? What kind of trap is it," Thomas asked.

"I'll just say this. Whoever comes across it, will not have a good day," Nikola said with a bit of a grin.

"I bet you'll be glad for Rose's help with that one," Isabel said with a similar grin.

"I can do some hunting for fresh meat today," Thomas said while fingering his bow.

"We all have our work to do. Let's get going," Damon said.


The rest of the day went by fairly quickly. Damon and Isabel were collecting the water and using the water purifiers.

Damon noticed that his friend was gathering pieces of wood and putting them in a pile near her chair.

"What are you doing," Damon asked.

"Collecting wood. These pieces would look good if they were carved," she replied.

"You don't have anything to do that with," Damon replied, confusion clear in his voice.

"I don't have anything to carve with yet," Isabel said with a grin as she looked to the sky.


The others came back over the course of the day.

Thomas came back first. With a pair of rabbits in his hands.

"If we keep the fire low, we should be able to cook these into a nice stew," he said.

Rose and Nikola arrived back as the rabbit stew was finished cooking. The fire was quickly doused. They had some greens with them.

"I know for sure they aren't poisonous," Rose said as Thomas examined them closely.

"They should go well with the rabbit," the former trainee healer said with a smile.

"Did you get the traps done," Isabel asked from her seat by the fire.

"Yep. I even put a few traps close to the Cornucopia. The Careers definitely won't like them," Nikola replied as he took his bowl.

They ate in silence, savoring the tasty stew. There had been no deaths that day.

"The Careers must have been resting up today," Damon remarked.

"So there will likely be some deaths tomorrow. Tomorrow will be a busy day," Thomas said as he unrolled his sleeping bag.

"We'll need our rest. I'll take the first watch. Then I'll be waking you up Damon," Rose said as she grabbed her scythe and took up her watch position.


Day III

This was a day that the Cave alliance woke up quietly, so as to not make any more noise than strictly necessary.

"Patrolling the area would be a good idea. We don't want any nasty surprises," Isabel said.

"The only people we want getting nasty surprises are the Careers, and hopefully, they will get some," Nikola remarked as he thought of his favorite trap that he set.

"I'll be staying with you today, Isabel," Rose said with a small smile.

"If a cannon goes off, we'll come running. Provided of course, that cannon wasn't one of us dying," Damon drawled with some gallows humor.

"Just stay safe. All of you," Isabel murmured as they left.

The baby gave a kick visible through her shirt, punctuating that statement.


Most of the day was as quiet as the day before.

However towards the end of the afternoon, a cannon blast cleaved through the air.

Before either of the girls could speak, Thomas came running into the camp.

"Okay, you're alright. Have you seen Damon or Nikola," Isabel asked.

"Not since this morning when we left to patrol," Thomas replied. He was keeping an arrow knocked.

They waited for what felt like hours, but was likely only about 15-30 minutes. Nikola and Damon streaked into the camp from the southwest.

Isabel hugged Damon hard in greeting.

Rose asked, "Who's dead?"

"Not sure. We'll find out tonight," Nikola said.


30 minutes earlier...

The Career Pack was hunting. The day had been dry however. The other tributes seemed to be well hidden.

Achilles, Freya, Trident, Mirena, and Auric were the ones out hunting. Serena was guarding the Cornucopia.

"Where the hell is the turtle hiding? She shouldn't be this hard to find," Auric snarled.

"Her district partner seems to be hiding her well. He's quite protective of her," Freya remarked.

"We just need to figure out how to use his protectiveness of her to our advantage," Mirena said as she walked ahead.

"She's fat as all fuck. She'll give herself away eventually," Trident hissed. He had plans for Isabel Storm of District 10.

Achilles did not like Trident. He'd slept with one eye open both of the past two nights. So he said, "She's pregnant dumbass."

Not bothering to reply at all, Trident launched himself at Achilles and the boys began to wrestle. Freya and Auric just watched and did nothing.

Trident had just pulled a dagger from his boot and was about to slash at Achilles's throat when they all heard a piercing shriek ahead of them. It was only then that they noticed that Mirena was not with them.

Running ahead, the Careers saw an outline of a rectangular pit that had been concealed with great skill. Looking down into it, they Mirena in the pit with spikes in her chest and abdomen.

She'd been impaled by a rather clever trap. This was early in the Games for a Career tribute to die.

Mirena gurgled for a few moments, blood trickling out of her mouth before her eyes finally closed.

Mirena Blackstone, 16th Place, District 4, Nikola Coil, Impaled by trap, Day III

Knowing that impalement was a slow death, Freya readied a throwing star.

"Don't waste the weapon," Trident said slowly before continuing "She's gone."


That night when Isabel saw Mirena's face in the sky, she felt some relief. The Career who had most directly threatened her and her child was now dead. But there were still five more Careers to get through.


A/N 2: 1 Career down. And there's already infighting between the Career pack. Where I picture the arena being is an area called Moraine Lake in Canada. It's also called the Valley of the 10 Peaks. So what did you all think of the chapter? Looking forward to seeing what you think! SSD