Despite some obvious problems, such as lack of light and inability to tell time while wandering, Reed had to admit he was somewhat impressed with this year's arena. He could tell that Krasimir, however, was not, on any level.
They had been wandering about in the dark for over at least an hour now if not longer. It was easy to lose track of time down in the tunnels. Krasimir hadn't said much at first, his grip upon Reed's hand growing increasingly tighter and tighter as they went.
Finally, in some effort to save his hand from being crushed, Reed decided maybe it'd be helpful to the older boy if they talked about something. "Hey, Krasimir?" There wasn't much of a response, but he felt Krasimir's grip loosen for a quick second so he had to be paying attention. "I was just…wondering, you don't have to tell me or anything, but during your interview you mentioned your cousin? I was eleven and honestly I don't remember much of that year's Games." It wasn't like they were exactly alone down in the tunnels, the game makers' cameras were probably everywhere and everyone was probably listen to them talking. The thought made him really uncomfortable.
Krasimir was silent for a moment, maybe even thinking along the same lines he was, before he finally spoke up. "Livisa was my life back then. We were only a year apart and neither of us had any siblings. We lived right next to each other too, so we basically grew up together and I just…I saw it as my job to protect her from anything that was dangerous. I'm kind of like that with everyone actually." He laughed weakly. "I'd always watch over the younger kids at school and just over everyone in general. My cousin was the most important person in my life though. When her name was called her first year…I was pretty sure my world ended right then and there. I would have volunteered for her, but I couldn't and it killed me. She was so small and scared…" he trailed off.
"I'm sorry…" Reed felt bad for asking about her. He hadn't wanted to upset Krasimir at all. "I'm sure she's watching over you now, waiting for you to win." Of course, for that to happen meant Reed had to die at some point, but he wasn't going to think about that.
"Yes." Krasimir sighed. "Ever since that year I've been determined to win this thing, but when it comes down to it…back there, when I broke Rocky's nose, that's the first time I've ever really caused anyone so much harm. It's not something I feel comfortable doing and even though I did it to save my life…I regret it. I can't kill anyone, Reed."
Reed completely understood. How, when the time ever came, would he, himself, even be capable of killing another person?
"I just keep going, and knowing that I'm doing this for her helps me do so."
They had just taken a left into a new tunnel and Reed was about to respond, when a loud boom echoed all around them. They both jumped at the sudden noise, wondering what it meant. "What do you suppose-"
There was a faint, girlish scream further down their current tunnel. Before either of them had a chance to react they heard someone running towards them. Reed found himself pushed out of the way, back into the tunnel they had just left. His stupid feet tripped over themselves as he stumbled back, causing him to hit the ground hard. Barely paying attention to the pain coursing through his right shoulder, he pushed himself up off the ground, trying to focus on what was going on. Was Krasimir safe?
There was a thump, as if someone had run into something, a sharp, piercing shriek, and then whoever was running took off once more.
"Kras?" Reed was scared. This was probably the second time Krasimir had tried saving him and it would be terrible if he died because of it. A hand got hold of his arm in the darkness, but his shout of surprise was quickly cut off by another hand covering his mouth.
"Ssh, it's just me." Krasimir's voice whispered near his ear. "I don't know who that was, but she took off after running into me. Something scared her pretty badly and I'm thinking that loud boom we heard was announcing someone else's death. That means there are others around here."
Reed was able to relax once he knew it was only Krasimir who had grabbed him, but knowing there could be other tributes nearby filled him with dread. "What should we do then?"
"Well, we most definitely don't go the same way she just came from." Krasimir responded. "Are you okay? I'm sorry I pushed you. I just reacted without thinking…"
"I'm okay." Reed assured him, even though his shoulder still hurt a bit. "I guess that's twice now you've helped me out, huh?"
Krasimir laughed and took his hand again, leading the way up the tunnel. "It's nothing. Now, I'm thinking whoever scared that girl will be heading this way, so we'll keep going straight up this tunnel, the one we were in before turning left. It probably runs parallel with the one next over, so we might find a way to cross over again later on."
They continued their trek through the tunnels, both starting to wonder how much time had passed since the game's beginning. It wasn't until they had been walking for what felt like another half hour that they saw the blue circle light appear on the tunnel wall once more. This time the voice only informed them of one name. It was the boy from 6. That must have been who had died when they heard the loud boom.
"How many does that leave?" Reed asked curiously.
"13, I think."
Some sort of sound echoed back to them from up ahead in the tunnel. Both boys held still, waiting to see if anything would happen. Thanks to the recent run-in with the one tribute, and the fact that they were hearing more sounds around them, Reed was starting to feel even less safe than before.
Krasimir let go of his hand and instantly Reed felt empty, like he had just lost something important. "I'll go check and see if it's safe, okay?"
"But what if you get lost?" Reed could feel slight panic settling in.
"I won't." The older boy assured him. "I'll keep a straight line and won't make any turns. If there's nothing there I'll come right back and call for you."
The idea still did not appeal to Reed, and he knew how brave Krasimir was being at the moment considering his fear of the darkness. "Alright," Reed finally agreed reluctantly, "but if it's anything dangerous you come straight back, you hear? I'll feel horrible if you get hurt."
He heard Krasimir chuckle softly to himself and then suddenly he could hear footsteps, indicating Krasimir was walking away from where he stood. Alone, the darkness now felt twice as scary and dangerous. He reached out to find the wall next to him, feeling a tad more secure once he had something to somewhat hold on to.
"Kras?" Reed didn't hear a response. How far away was Krasimir going to go? Would he soon hear the loud, echoing boom signaling his death?
The thought of Krasimir dying made his heart ache, and Reed realized he was digging himself deeper and deeper into a very dangerous position. Only one person was allowed to survive the Hunger Games. Developing feelings for another tribute would not do him any good, especially if by some horrible chance it came down to him and that tribute being the last two left.
Reed's thoughts were interrupted by an odd rumbling sound. He looked around, eyes widening in terror as he started to feel the ground shaking beneath his feet. What was going on? Was it an earthquake of some sort? It had never occurred to him to worry about natural disasters down here in the tunnels. What if the ceiling of the tunnel they were in collapsed? Would they be trapped, never to escape?
"KRAS!" Reed called as loudly as he could, praying Krasimir was running back to him. A loud cracking sound came overhead and he looked up to see the dirt ceiling splitting above him. Not having any choice, Reed turned and ran back down the way they had just come from. He dove to the ground, covering his head with his arms, right as the area he had just been standing was blocked off by a cave-in.
Not daring to move until all the dust and rocks had settled, Reed scrambled up off the floor and ran back to where he had just stood. The rubble was dense, hardly penetrable, and Reed was unable to shift much of the big rocks. There was no way he could get through.
Suddenly he heard coughing from the other side of the rubble. "Reed?" Krasimir's voice was faint, but thankfully he could still hear it.
"Kras! Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. You?"
"I'm good." Reed replied, feeling relieved that Krasimir was alright. "I'll probably never get the dust out of my curls again though. Should have cut these off beforehand." He laughed humorlessly. What did it matter anyway since he most likely wasn't going to make it back up to the surface ever again?
"I like your curls." Krasimir spoke through the rock wall. If it wasn't so dark in the tunnels Reed was sure anyone could see his face go bright red. "Look, I can't get through this mess so we'll have to find some way around it."
That was not good. "Will you be alright?" Reed asked worriedly.
"Don't worry about me." Krasimir told him. "Just keep yourself safe, alright? If anything else, try to see if you can find your way back to the Cornucopia and I'll do the same. That's the only real landmark I can think of."
"Okay…" Reed replied quietly. He didn't want to leave Krasimir like this. The thought of Krasimir being alone, wandering in the darkness he was so scared of, worried Reed and made him all the more determined to find his way back to the huge, well-lit cavern that they had started this whole mess in.
Once they had finally said their farewells, Reed realized that, while he did have some survival supplies with him, he was weaponless. He had nothing to defend himself with if he accidentally ran into one of the other tributes.