"The competition is getting more intense. Should I take this as successful proof-of-concept?" "More or less." "Is there a problem that you think we should be considering?" "We need to be able to drag this on for longer." "Of course, Mars. We just need to make sure all of the elements are squarely under our influence from now on." "...How long?" "Afterwards. Regardless of the outcome, weeds must be removed for the garden to survive."
- Conversation between Iacchus Agrippa and Enok Mars
Day Five
Clarice shivered next to Sol against the night breeze.
It had been almost six days since the Games began. They had managed to snag some supplies before making a run for it, but those supplies were dwindling and did not have anything with which to help them combat the cold.
The weather had proven to be more of a wildly unpredictable factor, with precipitation, temperatures, and humidity swinging to various extremes, often at the worst possible moment.
"Why didn't we grab a sleeping bag?" was the question she had asked her partner after they had escaped the bloodbath.
"This is a jungle; it's going to be mostly wet and warm." Was his answer.
It was kind of stupid in the long run. Their training scores made it highly improbable that they would receive any supplies to alleviate their situation.
Between the cold and the uncomfortable surface they were on, Clarice could not get herself to fall asleep, so she helped keep watch while Sol. It was impressive that he was able to sleep so soundly.
Clarice's eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and the moon was out enough to offer additional illumination, but also worried her that someone might be able to see them as well.
The forest seemed more alive at night. Clarice was sure that it was the exhaustion getting her, but every tree seemed to answer against the night wind.
A small furry animal hopped out of a collection of bushes, continuing to scamper back off out of sight once more without sniffing the air.
Clarice looked around. Why would the critter by running around like that? She had seen a number of those animals before, and they were much slower and less direct then this one had been. Sol was the one who had read up on various flora and fauna during the training session.
Giving a quick nudge to her partner, Sol woke up, groggily rolling over while wiping his eyes.
"Wake up, Sol!" she whispered, rapping her knuckles against his back, shocking him enough to look at her.
"What is it?" Sol yawned.
"What was that thing that we kept on seeing last night?"
"The rabbit?"
"Yeah, that. One just ran past us."
"Rabbits don't run, they hop." Sol groggily said.
"Well I don't like that, so we should probably move."
The clouds moved, illuminating the forest more, but giving it a ghastly glow that made seeing more of a challenge.
No sooner had she helped Sol get to his feet, he gave out a yelp and crumpled to the ground with a knife in his back.
The next knife passed her head, splitting her right ear, coinciding with the cannon announcing Sol's demise.
Moving from their hiding place, Nicasia and Jett moved to finish off Clarice while she was still stunned. With one last look at her friend, Clarice ran for it.
"Give me that!" Jett said, grabbing one of Nicasia's knives and throwing it at the fleeing tribute.
Clarice felt a sting in her back as the knife sank into her back, but continued running.
Jett loudly cursed and tried to pursue her through the trees with Nicasia following closely behind.
Whimpering at the blade jiggling in her back, Clarice kept stopping to see if her pursuers were still chasing her. The pain form the knife lodged into her back made running painful, but adrenaline kept her from thinking about it too much.
As her vision began to blur, she began to stumble more over the roots. In the instances she fell to her knees, she wiped some of the blood that was starting to soak through her clothes.
"Well, this is a stroke of luck." A voice said from overhead.
As Clarice looked up to see who was talking, a blur landed in front of her. Despite not feeling the slash across her chest, she realized that it was her own blood spurting in front of her eyes as her vision cleared.
She could see Sonny's cold, fierce glare meeting her eyes as she threw her bag over her shoulder and buried her axe into Clarice's left shoulder near the base of her neck.
While the tribute fell to the ground, Sonny pulled the knife free from her back.
"That was a bit harsh, don't you think?" Philyp chuckled as he watched overhead.
"It's not like you wouldn't have done the same." She replied.
"Do you really need that knife?"
"Nah." She answered, throwing the knife into the ground.
/-\\
Day Six
With cannon going off once more, Nicasia and Jett looked to the skies to see where the hovercraft went after it finished up retrieving the other casualty.
Following as quickly as they could, the duo caught sight of Clarice being brought into its cargo bay.
"Where's her bag?" Nicasia wondered out loud.
"Somebody stole my kill!" Jet screamed, discovering the bloodied knife that Sonny had left behind.
Yelling a string of profanity, though nearly all of it was incomprehensible due to him meshing his words in fury, he threw the knife at the hovercraft as it flew away, disappearing into the forest in a gracefully spinning arc.
"If it wasn't for the fact that I could get more knives, I would be very upset." Nicasia said, glaring at Jett while his tirade continued, oblivious to nearly anything else.
"Shut up, Jett!" Nicasia growled, smacking her associate across the back of the head. "If they were close enough to steal your kill, then they're probably close enough to hear you screaming your head off."
"Let them come. I'll take them both on."
"Yeah, and get yourself killed. Come on, let's head back; we're done here anyways."
/-\\
Day Eight
Saerah crept along a deer trail she had found.
Hunting had been rather spare for several days, but she still hoping to find something other than lizards.
Most of the deaths were happening a ways away from their encampment, but the last two casualties had occurred around midnight a couple of days before. It would not be long before the Gamemakers got themselves involved…somehow.
For the first few games, they had gone by so fast that there was not enough time for anyone to be bored. The fourth year dragged on much longer and eventually the island chain that made up the arena was flooded, driving the tributes to high ground. But since no one had suspected something like that occurring, only four managed to not drown, and two of those did not last long after losing their supplies.
The arena for the fifth year had been practically a wasteland and the infrequent bird attacking tributes was regarded as suspicious by many, and by the sixth year, pretty much everyone was convinced that the Gamemakers had near full control of the arena and would gladly use it if they found necessary or amusing.
Her pondering was cut short by the sound of a flock of birds taking flight from…behind. She nocked an arrow and slowed her pace to a crawl, eyeing the lengthening shadows nervously.
Creeping out from behind tree in front of her, a wolf-like creature stepped into the path, and with a short howl, a trio similar creatures emerged from brush and began to circle her.
Deciding to strike first, Saerah dropped the first two with one arrow apiece. The third one presented more of a challenge, grabbing at her bow and nearly dragging her to the ground while she held onto it and swung it into a tree. While she was stabbing it with a knife, the fourth lunged at her back.
Turning at the sound a loud thump, she saw Soryn pinning the fourth creature to a tree with a short-sword.
"I'm surprised that Jack allowed you to go off by yourself." Soryn said, pulling the sword free with a crunch, letting the carcass fall to the ground.
Saerah smirked and accepted his hand to help herself up. "Jack isn't that light on his feet, and Nylia wouldn't have been able to keep up with me, so we decided it would be best if I went alone."
"Hm, still doesn't sound like a good idea in my opinion."
"That coming from a guy who spent the last week by himself."
Soryn scrunched his face and squatted down to inspect the dead animals. "So what do we have here?"
"Sort of looks like a wolf, but it has too many teeth, and it's way too big for any wolf I've heard of. It's probably a mutt."
"You've seen many mutts?"
"No, but I heard plenty of stories from the older people about how they would wander around before the fences went up."
"Well, the rest of our talk can wait until we regroup. Where are the others?"
"A ways from here. I'll take you to them."
Even with his years of working alone, the forest still felt less ominous with someone to watch his back.
During the hike, they checked on the traps that Saerah had set up, finding a few rabbits still squirming. After a quick cleaning, they headed to camp before the light disappeared over the horizon.
A tarp hanging in the entrance and a flashlight illuminating the cave's interior.
"How were things out there, Saerah?" Jack asked.
"Not bad." She answered. "Snagged some rabbits, but more importantly, I found this in the woods."
"How's it going?" Soryn said with a smug grin.
"S-s-Soryn!" Nylia exclaimed, standing up.
"I take it you are in good health?" Jack asked.
"Perfectly fine." Soryn replied, and turned to Saerah. "And really? 'Found in the woods?' Is that what you call me saving your life?"
"Whatever." Saerah said dismissively. "Now, what was it you were wanting to talk about with the rest of us?"
"Have you been keeping track of the deaths so far?"
"Yeah." Saerah replied somberly.
"There are fourteen tributes left. Four of whom are in this cave." Jack stated.
Soryn sat down on the floor of the cave, sliding his pack into a corner. "Philyp and Sonny are working together. And pretty much every tribute hailing from a district with a victor laid claim to the Cornucopia, and none of them are dead yet."
"Any sight of my district partner?" Jack asked.
Soryn thought for a moment, trying to recall her face. "Can't say that I have. In fact, I've hardly seen anyone at all since day one."
"That accounts for most of us." Saerah asked. "Who's the other tribute?"
"M-m-m-Mitch." Nylia answered.
"Your district partner." Jack commented. "That makes for only two that are working alone at this juncture."
"It also means that they're going to be pitting the various teams against each other soon." Saerah added.
"And none of us are ready for a direct confrontation with the other tributes yet." said Soryn. "We need to level the field."
"How are going to do that?" "Saerah asked.
"…Got anything flammable?"
/-\\
Day Ten
Annae leaned against the supply stack while keeping watch over the Career camp. Gaius, Ruby, and Jory had left on a hunting trip earlier that afternoon, but had yet to return. Meanwhile, Nicasia and Jett were snoring away in their sleeping bags while Annae had guard duty.
After nearly dozing off, she walked around the campsite. Her thoughts drifted to District Ten. The smell was not exactly pleasant, but she still yearned to be back home.
The sound of tree branches rustling caught her attention, snapping her back into reality. She readied her spear in anticipation of a confrontation.
A pair of large arms wrapped around her neck, cutting off her air until she slumped to the ground unconscious.
"Remind me why we are not killing her" Sonny said as she emerged from the concealment of the forest.
"Because I can barely see in this type of lighting, and I would prefer not to be blindsided."
"Is it just that, or do you just want everyone to see your mug while you're fighting her?"
Philyp smiled as he helped himself to the Careers' stash of weapons alongside his partner.
"Has anyone ever told you that you're an egotistical son-of-a—"
"Less talking, more stealing." Philyp whispered, shoving his free hand in front of her mouth."
As they finished picking out what they wanted, they heard a clamoring in the distance, getting closer.
"Let's give these weapons a quick test run." Philyp said with a grin.
/-\\
"I said I was sorry!" Jory said, his tone failing to reflect an ounce of sincerity.
Gaius paused to glare at his ally before turning back to the trail they had set up.
"I don't see what the big de—" Jory began.
"You said you knew where we were!" Ruby shouted. "We gave you one chance to prove that you weren't a waste of oxygen, and now we've wasted an entire day."
"So? It's not like we've run into anyone lately."
"Well, maybe we might've found something if we hadn't let someone who replaced their brain with another muscle."
"Shush!" Gaius hissed. "Something doesn't seem right."
Gaius whispered narrowing his eyes as he surveyed the camp. Nicasia's nose was practically inhuman when it came to sniffing out trouble. Gaius was not sure if it was a result of her being a "canary" back in District Two or an extra sense, but in any case, he regretted not having her there at that moment.
The field around the Cornucopia was practically empty. Jett and Nicasia looked to be undisturbed under the shelter the metal structure provided, but Annae was nowhere in sight even though she should have been guarding the weapons and supplies.
"Check the Cornucopia and wake the others." Gaius said quietly.
Approaching the supply pavilion, he drew his sword eyed the crates suspiciously for any tampering.
Upon finding Annae laying face down, Gaius looked back at the Cornucopia in time to see Philyp swinging his newly acquired sword at him.
"Nice reflexes." Philyp chuckled.
Pitted against a larger, stronger adversary, Philyp went on defensive, leading Gaius in circles to try and wear him down, nearly being caught from behind by Nicasia. Now having to face two opponents, he changed tactics.
Locking swords with Gaius, he waited until Nicasia came at him again, then slid both of their blades apart, gashing Nicasia's forehead in the process. As she instinctively reached for her injury, Philyp kicked her into the supplies, bracing just in time to block Gaius' next strike.
Backing to the supply stack, Philyp rolled a bin at Gaius legs as he lunged at him, causing him to stumble forward. Coming down for a finishing blow, Annae intercepted it, knocked Philyp's sword out of his hands, and swept his legs out from under him.
As he rolled backwards to get back to his feet, Annae lunged at him. Sidestepping her spear thrust, he dislocated her shoulder and threw her out of the way and ducked under Gaius' sword swing.
Taking advantage of Gaius' heavy swing, Philyp moved to grab his arm, but instead caught his elbow before it connected with his face.
Annae had already gotten up again as was stabbing at Philyp with her right arm still flopping at her side. Deflecting the spear with one hand, he grabbed her arm. Pulling his knife out while he dragged her forward, he sliced the underside of Annae's left arm as she tried to block, and swung her to the ground in front of Gaius, giving him enough time to retrieve his own sword.
As much as Philyp fancied himself a swordsman, Gaius was more than a match when it came to brute strength and was fast enough that there were not many openings to exploit without risking his life in the process.
Dropping to the ground, Philyp grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it at Gaius' eyes.
Narrowly deflecting a thrown knife, Gaius recoiled and blinked the grime away. By then, Philyp had already made a break for safety.
/-\\
Using her weapon to deflect Ruby's battle-axe, Sonny spun around, using her opponent's weapon against her ally, taking advantage of Ruby's momentum to elbow her in the stomach.
Jory's next swing barely missed his ally's head as she doubled over and dropped to her knees, but his efforts distracted Sonny from finishing her off as she danced around sword, leaving her back turned towards Jett, who tried to seize the perceived opening in Sonny's defenses and lunged.
Having over-extended himself, Sonny drove her knee into the other tribute's stomach hard enough to lift him off the ground.
While Sonny kicked Jett out of the way, Ruby jumped back to her feet and rushed at Sonny with a spear.
"Time to go!" shouted Philyp as he ran for the tree line.
Sidestepping the spear-thrust, Sonny pulled Ruby forward, driving her spear into Jory's leg before punching Ruby and cracking her nose and threw her on top of her ally.
"Later, losers." Sonny said as she left the two of them to untangle themselves.
The two ran for the tree line where they had come from with Gaius and Ruby in close pursuit. Even though Gaius and Ruby had familiarized themselves with the terrain, their quarry kept a considerable lead.
"Nice plan, genius!" Sonny shouted at her partner. "I thought you wanted to let everyone see you fight?"
"I know. That's why we're running." Philyp replied with a grin. "And now it's time for jumping and swimming."
"I just want you to know that I hate you."
"You keep telling yourself that."
Without a moment of hesitation, the pair jumped over the edge.
"No!" said Gaius, sliding to a stop and putting his arm in front of his ally. Ruby glared at him as Nicasia caught up with them.
"We don't know where the river goes, idiot." Gaius said, pushing Ruby back as she tried to move forward. "It would take hours to get back here if we lose their trail, and I am not about to leave our supplies in the hands of the other three, especially in their current condition."
"Fine!" Ruby growled as she turned back to camp.
Nicasia passed a glance and followed her, leaving Gaius standing alone, watching as Philyp and Sonny disappeared into the night.