There was an acrid smell in her nostrils, Cami must have burnt something again. Her pillow felt gritty, and she was too warm. She opened her eyes and stared at the great big ocean, waves crashing into the sand. For a second she had been confused, then she remembered Cami couldn't have been burning things. She was in the arena. Her side ached under the cuts from the trap wire, but her nose felt like it had healed. She couldn't see any of the careers, maybe they had abandoned her on the beach while she slept. She hadn't meant to fall asleep, but she hadn't been able to slip away to take one of the pills either. Eventually her body had over ruled her and she had curled into a snoozing ball in the sand. She remembered Gleam saying he would make sure she was awake in a few hours, she could hear shouting over by the baggage. After they had fixed her nose, Coral had explained what they had found in the bags. Kai said they had piled them together on the beach so they would be easy to protect from raiders. The group had joked about how they didn't need her now because of all the fresh food, she had cringed inside hoping this meant they would turn on her in the following night. Eventually she had drifted into an unwilling sleep. Gleam and Shimmer had mentioned they'd wake her later, and she remembered thinking that if they were going to wake her they weren't going to kill her. Her body ached from sleeping in the sand, she stretched her back cracking. The acrid, burning smell was getting stronger as she scanned the beach. The pack was standing around a bubbling mass on the beach, they moved while she slept, maybe they were thinking of abandoning her she thought. Shrugging her shoulders she made her way towards the group, if they wanted to abandon her they may as well tell her before they left.
"Where are the bags" she yawned. They pack turned in unison.
"There is no food, this lumpy mass is the bags." Coral's voice was calm, but not in the soothing way her mother talked, there was a scared child under the calm exterior.
"That stuff melted everything"
"What do you mean everything? Did any of the packs survive?" she was incredulous, the pack wouldn't have stored everything in that pile right, they would have thought ahead.
"A few packs made it. You're the ones we were using as pillows last night." Kai had the same stunted speech, the entire group was in shock. Johanna was assessing the situation, she figured the game-makers had melted the pack's gear because it was conveniently placed in a nice pile that's why some of the bags had made through undamaged. She walked towards the gloopy mass, it smelt like the smoke released from Alder's burnt pack. She saw something glittering in the bubbling mass and began to reach for it when Gleam grabbed her hand.
"Don't its poisonous." His speech was also that weird stunted form, flat, with no inflection it sounded like her fellow tributes had been replaced by Avox simulations. Then it dawned on her, one of them had been burnt, or melted, by this stuff. They were in shock because on the second day in the arena one of them was already dead.
"Who got hurt?" In response the entire pack looked at her, her heart rose for a second when she couldn't see Gallus' face, but was quickly replaced by confusion when he walked around from the other side of the smoking heap. The group was staring at Coral, their leader. In response to her question Coral lifted her left-hand, skin dripped from the bones of her fingers, like a badly formed jelly. The melted flesh was blackened and charred, her smallest finger was completely gone. Johanna saw the melted mess and immediately bent forward and vomited. There was no way for her to hold in the precious water, Coral's hand was the worst injury she had ever seen. Even when the work crews put a limb into the sawmill it didn't look this bad, the flesh was ripped and torn into bloody chunks, but the more she looked at Coral the more she thought of the melting desserts served in the capitol. The flesh and bone had liquefied, there was no way to rescue this injury.
"Does it hurt?"
"It did, but the seawater seems to have stopped it creeping up my arm. Now there is just nothing there." The flat tone was really beginning to unnerve Johanna. She leaned forward her stomach trying to bring up every last bit of her last meal. Dry heaving into the sand, there was nothing left. Looking at the faces around her she saw that they held little scorn, they had been horrified by this little experiment. Johanna looked towards the sky as sheets of rain began to fall, it was like the sky had dumped a bucket on the arena. Thinking of the water she had just discarded into the sand she turned her face to the sky, and opened her mouth. As soon as the salty water hit her tongue she realised what the arena was doing. This particular trap had been directed at the pack, but would be effecting the other tributes as well. None of them would be located near the sea, this deluge was to preserve their lives. As the water hit the black, bubbling mass is hissed and spluttered driving the pack towards their campfire. The others were content to stand in the rain and wait, with the noise of the storm they were unable to talk and decide their next plan of action anyway. Johanna was amazed at how the sky stayed a beautiful summer blue, rich and jewel like throughout the down pour, there was no place for the rain to originate and yet it fell in an even stream. As quickly as the downpour started it stopped completely. A cannon sounded, one of the tributes hadn't stayed in the rain. The pack began to sit around the fire, its pit now wet ashes. The deluge had extinguished it completely. Johanna watched the group, Coral was hunched in the sand next to her, still unable to fully comprehend the damage to her limb. Gallus and Gleam went through the remaining packs, there was no food. A blanket was discovered as well as a tarp, trapping materials including a net, in Shimmer's pack was a set of night vision glasses, Gleams pack held a matching pair. Gallus also had blankets, and a fire making kit. Coral's pack held the first aid kit they had used on her last night, the food she gathered from the conversation had been stored in the pile of packs to make it easy to guard. Buried at the bottom scavengers would have to dig for a while giving the pack ample time to find and kill them, she got the distinct impression they didn't care about the furry kind. The individual weapons that each tribute preferred had been preserved but only because they were on the person. Johanna couldn't determine any logic to the melting packs. Collectively they decided that carrying their gear in bags was too dangerous, none of them wanted what had happened to Coral's hand repeated on their backs. Piling the good into the blankets and tarps the boys decided they would carry them at all times. Resources were suddenly very scarce, they could not afford a cache anymore. Without the security of additional supplies, the pack sat down and began to discuss the next base for them to move to. Turning to Johanna, Coral took charge again. The leader asked Johanna to repeat key parts of her story to the pack, specifically what the marshy island looked like. She also asked about how good the willow would be for a night. After she had recalled as much as she could about both sites, she sat back and waited. The pack would make a decision, and she would go along with it.
It was mid-afternoon by the time a consensus was reached. Shimmer and Gallus had wanted to attack the pair and take the easily defensible island straight away. Kai, Gleam and Coral wanted to spend a night at the willow, that way they could scout the island themselves with the night vision glasses themselves first. Not once had they asked her opinion, but she agreed with the willow idea. She couldn't be sure how accurate her assessment had been of the surrounding landscape, and there may have been a better way to access the pair's base camp. She kept silent, the pack had returned to its normal self. Once an agreement to their plans was made she heard the tinkling bell of a package arriving. She cocked her head, it sounded like the arrival of several packages actually. Four parachutes descended through the air, landing next to the empty fire pit. The containers were no larger than a dinner plate. Coral, Shimmer, Gallus and Kai all took a container and opening them as they did so. She knew the smell from Coral's package the second the girl returned to her seat next to her, it was her home bread. The rich nutty smell reminding her stomach of how empty it was, Coral looked at it quizzically.
"It's my districts bread. It has lots of nuts and grains in it. We should probably save it for later seeing as we are low on food." Johanna spoke for the first time. Coral nodded her head, and passed the container around, the other tributes had never seen her home bread before.
"So what's in it?" Kai asked.
"Whole grain, basic flour, seeds and nuts from the trees we grow" she sniffed the container as it reached her "This is an expensive version, it has some fruit in it, and fat." It smelt richer than any bread her mother could afford to buy or bake. The other three containers contained the bread of the other districts. Kai and Coral's was a seaweed green with flakes of thick salt on top. Gallus' bread had a smell that she didn't recognise, it wasn't unpleasant but it was strong, with cheesy layers folded into the mix.
"That's garlic, and there will be tomato paste in the middle." He had explained, the group was fascinated by each other's different baked goods. By far the most appealing was Shimmer and Gleam's offering. Sweet and buttery in smell, the six small buns in their container were far smaller than any of the others, folded into delicate crescent shapes. Shimmer suggested they eat them now, the butter made them become inedible quickly. Each taking a crescent out of the tin, the group waited until Gallus held the last on in his hand before taking a bite. The buttery bread melted on her tongue, flaky and light. In the centre wrapped in chocolate, a taste she recognised from the hot chocolate in the capitol. In that rich melting ooze was a fruit, she didn't recognise it at first sweet and slightly sour it complemented the rich almost bitter chocolate well. Shimmer laughed, and Gleam's face broke into a beaming grin looking at each other they said in unison
"Corruptela."
"It's the best bakery in town, they are the only one who put chocolate and fruit in it together usually you get one or the other" Shimmer explained. Johanna continued to nibble at her bread she wanted to savour the flavour, but also trick her stomach into thinking it had more food than she was eating. She was still very much aware that there was no game on this island, and she had seen no food bearing plants. The pack devoured their own portions, except for Kai who followed her suit. When the others noticed they began to jest that he had developed a crush on the skinny interloper.
"She's been hungry before. We have this bread, what we can catch and what our sponsors will give us. I'm going to do everything she does when it comes to food." Was his only response, the others began to stare at her while she ate. It made her uncomfortable, people didn't watch others eat in 7 it was rude. You also didn't eat in front of people who had nothing, their stares eventually made her so uncomfortable she wrapped the last third of her bread in the parachute from the box next to her. Kai followed suit. It felt so strange to have the boy follow her lead. The others just laughed it off, food wasn't hard to come by that's why they had her. She smiled at the group but inside she was laughing in a few hours they would be hungry, but in a few days when they had eaten all the bread they would begin to starve. She thought that the kids had never had an empty day in their lives. Missing a single meal was a possibility but an entire days. She remembered the headaches, and muscle cramps that came after days with no food, the foggy mind. Outside she was wary but inside she was waiting, she wasn't going to tell them how to ration the food they had. Johanna was pretty sure they wouldn't listen to her anyway, but she was waiting for the day the first hunger pains began to settle in. Kai was the only one who seemed to have any sense when it came to food, it was sweet the way he understood, she thought that if he wasn't trying to kill everyone she could have been good friends with him. Now his admiration worried her, if he followed her every action with food he wouldn't be weak like the others when the time came. She was enjoying the pre-victory, knowing it wouldn't take long for the lack of water to kick in. Feeling smug she barely registered that Coral was speaking.
"He's right you know. We don't know what it's like to go hungry often. We should follow her lead, at least where food comes in. And we should start to make tracks to the willow, it'll be getting cold and dark soon and we want time to set up." Coral stood and reached for a bag with her damaged hand, there was a frustrated scream when her fingers refused to grasp the strap. Leaving it behind she headed up the beach, Johanna watched in horror at the predatory looks exchanged between the other members of the pack. She noticed that the pack should have been left behind, her goods were wrapped in the blanket, and Coral was in far more pain than she was letting on. Inside she felt some relief, she wasn't the weakest member any more. The pack had obviously designated each other a time frame, no matter how well they cared for each other in the beginning only one was going to make it out alive.
The trek to the willow was slow going Coral often had to pause to allow the pain to subside, the red headed girl was doing her best to hide the agony her melted limb was giving her. Johanna could see the calculating stares and the narrowed eyes every time their self-appointed leader leaned against a tree, or waved for a stop. For her part Coral was doing her best to hide the torture she was going through, when she stopped it was to ask Johanna for directions, or to make sure they had not veered off course. When she wanted to rest it was so Johanna could check for food items. It was at one of these pit stops that she brought up the fact that there was no animal life, they were sitting on a log under a broad leafed tree, the entire group coming up with nothing in their most recent search for any kind of food.
"Did you guys notice that there is no wildlife in the area? Not even bugs. During the day it's pretty warm, and I haven't been bitten by anything." She was trying to sound as casual as possible, but her heart was racing, if they realised on their own that she was useless then she wouldn't get a chance to run. Maybe they wouldn't kill her if she brought it up.
"No I hadn't. We don't really spend a lot of time outside in our training. Bugs aren't something I would notice." Gallus' tone suggested that this conversation was beneath him. Why would he notice if there were bugs or not.
"Ok. Well take this log for example." Johanna stood and kicked it to emphasize her point, it crumbled and gave way where her boot connected. "Usually these are riddled with bugs. They eat the wood and leave tracks everywhere. Other animals come and eat them, like birds and spiders. But here there are no webs. There aren't even the silvery trails left by snails." The group looked at the log she had been sitting on, there were a few worried looks.
"That kind of goes with what we already know." Kai hadn't move from the tree he was using for a back rest. His long legs stretched out in front of him.
"What do you mean?" Johanna was curious, if they already knew she couldn't get them food, why hadn't he offed her when she had crash landed on the beach. Or wasted their resources on fixing her broken nose.
"There was nothing in the ocean either. Coral and I dived the first night. It's not that there's nothing out there, there is something and its big. There no shell-fish, crustaceans nothing that lives close to shore. I think this arena has been wiped clean."
"There's nothing at night either. I heard the boy's conversation from far further away than I should have." Johanna was quiet now, look scared, and stay scared, they can't know you mean to run. You're placid and weak.
"We know. But there I certain barks off trees that you can eat right?"
"Yeah, but if we live just on that we will die eventually" she laughed the irony of her statement wasn't lost on the group either. Eventually death would come sooner rather than later for all of them. It was then the group sat in somnolent silence, the laughter seemed out of place I the funerary forest, the tees standing silent guard over the arena. Gallus was the one to break the silence
"Let's get going I want to do some recon now that we are setting up a base camp. At least check the area, I doubt if the runt has any idea about ways to stay safe." The runt, that was a new nickname, she wasn't sure what it meant. Coral was sweating profusely as she struggled to stand, Johanna went to help her from the log, and for the first time on their trek she wasn't waved away. When her skin touched the other girls it was like gripping a clammy stone, her skin was damp with sticky sweat. As Johanna got her to her feet the girl leaned on her shoulders, the smell of fear sweat acrid in her nose. Coral was in danger, as they continued their trek Johanna could feel the tremor racking the girl's body, the idle wobble in her legs as she tried not to stumble over the slightest obstacle. They were leading the way and she could feel the cold stares on her back. Softness equalled weakness, Coral should have been left behind or put out of her misery. They eventually trudged across the dry stream bed, scaling on the bank on the other side Coral fell off Johanna's shoulders landing on her damaged hand. The scream was pain and frustration, Johanna stooped again to help her rise, when she saw her face she knew something was desperately wrong
"Kai. That first aid kit, was there anything for shock?"
"Why?" Kai understood as he leaned in closer, their voices barely above a whisper. He still wanted to defend his district mate for as long as possible. She couldn't understand the shifting loyalties of these careers.
"Her lips are blue, she's been mumbling for a while now, shaking, and stumbling. They are all symptoms of serious shock. We need to get her warm, some water, and something for the pain. Kai she needs sleep." She had surprised herself about how worried she was for the other girl. Dying in her sleep, the same thing Coral had promised her, it was the best she could do for her now. It seemed strange that amidst this field of killers the tributes seemed to stay together, each huddled with their own district member protecting him or her for as long as possible. She would have thought a final show down with someone you knew, that would have been hard, a faceless stranger was infinitely better in her book.
It wasn't until she and Kai had finished dragging Coral under the tree that she realised that she had put faces to her strangers in the darkness. Her nightmares, terrors awaiting to rip out her life, her enemies were no longer a morph-less group of people hiding in the shadows. By teaming up with the careers she had effectively guaranteed that she would be facing someone she knew in the final hours, she looked across Coral shivering form at the group setting up a camp. Gallus and Glimmer had dumped the blankets with their gear next to Shimmer, letting her unpack, and dole out another of the districts bread. The boys had taken the only surviving night glasses and were trying them on in the shade of the willow. Kai was rummaging through the left over packing, looking for the first aid kit. Shimmer handed her a loaf of Gallus's bread
"There's one here for her to but, well, can she eat?"
"Save it. Right now, I don't know, she's barely awake and if we feed her she might choke." The last loaf was placed back in its silver tin. Johanna was about to suggest hanging it on a high branch to keep it away from some of the more industrious woodland critters.
"Shimmer, do you know anything about first aid?"
"Johanna. We aren't in the business of keeping people alive. Tonight the boys are going to scout, and then tomorrow we go hunting. Do you have to stomach for that?"
"For what?" Naive that's the rule. Meek, weak, naïve Johanna.
"Only one person gets out alive, and we are trying our hardest to make sure it's one of us. You're going to need to do your fair share of the work at some point. Finding some decent food is a good start." It wasn't a subtle threat, Shimmer's meaning flew dead true. Fit it or be removed. Share in the jobs, seeing as the one you were recruited for doesn't exist, or die. You are still in the way to one of us winning this game. Glimmer had eaten half his bread, while Gallus had devoured his. Johanna sat down next to the prone girl, she was still moving in a feverish sleep, but Coral didn't seem like she was waking up anytime soon. Taking out the buttery bread from their morning meal she ate slowly, finding it easier without the prying eyes of the pack. Sniffing the loaf from district 2 she smelt lots of fat in its make-up. This bread wouldn't last either, she bit into the soft doughy layers. Thick rich tomato sauce ran across her tongue, sharp and sweet it instantly made her feel like she was eating a full meal. The garlic was strong but not unpleasant, and when her next mouthful contained the succulent crunch of perfectly cooked onion she felt like she was in heaven. Kai returned from the digging through their belongings, his face was a mask of anxiety and worry.
"There's nothing there that will help. We'll just have to see how she goes, maybe she'll wake up." Neither of them wanted to admit it but they knew, whatever had melted the bags had killed Coral, if they were better players they would put her out of her misery, but Johana wanted to be a better human. It seemed unfair in some way to kill the defenceless girl, sliding her back against the tree she watched the pack begin to discuss the situation. Her opinion about Coral or the Pair wasn't needed now. The pack avoided talking about their red-haired leader as much as possible, first talking about their plan for an evening scout of the island. A shovel was produced from the pile of their belongings. Glimmer had taken on the role of their new leader but he was fighting the others hard for it.
"Look we need to dig a latrine, I'd rather not die in her covered in my on piss and shit" Glimmer was growling at the group
"Fuck whatever, like we are staying if runt is right, the best position on the island has been taken up by the kid with the wire." Gallus was snarling back
"Gallus you couldn't lead ducks to water. Seriously if it's as easily defensible as Runt says it they only need one long distance weapon and a little skill to take us out one by one. If you want to try that plan, then we'll hunt elsewhere first. Save them for last. Fuck you know she's not bad at this whole location thing." Shimmer sounded surprised, the girl's hair was pulled back into a pony tail and it swayed as she threw her whole body into talking to Gallus. Her back arched towards him, she used her height advantage to tower over him, looking like a parent scolding a child. She punctuated every second word with a pointed finger sometimes in her direction, sometimes at Gallus, a few times at the surrounding area.
"What the hell are you on about?" Gallus' snarl was even more venomous, taking Glimmer's side had put Shimmer against him. Johanna's had started to listen more at the mention of her new nickname, Runt. It wasn't that bad really, they could have called her Fodder.
"If we pick a decent tree, we could see anything coming a mile away. Oi, Runt where's this tree you two idiots ran to after burning that bag?" Glimmer didn't sound malicious, and in hindsight she was glad she hadn't been carrying two bags when they had started to melt.
"That pine across the river, the taller one. It has a platform in it, you can see for miles." She pointed at Alder's tree. That's what she had decided to call it, he had earned a place, and she needed to remind herself that if she got out of here she needed to make it up to his family. She needed to get out of her and make it up to her family.
"If you get such a great view, how the hell did you two miss that idiot pair sneaking up on you?"
"I… I didn't think that anyone would be hunting that early in the game. I honestly thought that they would search the smoke, find nothing and then leave." For the first time a lie didn't come easy to her tongue, the deviousness of it must be apparent on her face to the others. She waited for the hit, they all had weapons, and it would be fast she told herself.
"She's a fucking idiot. Take me to the tree. We'll see how you built this platform." Gallus was growling at her, that mask of hate, if she went with him he'd kill her.
"Gallus, Shimmer and I will take her. You and Kai dig the trench and scout the area. We will sort Coral when we get back." There was immediate shouting as the group began to yell over the top of each other.
"WE WILL TAKE HER!" Glimmer roared over the top of the incessant noise, if there had been birds Johanna imagined they wouldn't have took flight from the pent up rage and disgust in that roar.
"If Shim and I go together one of us can stay behind and come back and tell you how well it's set up. As you so carefully pointed out Gallus she isn't experienced, and we are." Gallus said nothing, the glare he gave the district 1 pair could have melted the snow in winter. Shimmer signalled Johanna to follow her with a wave of her arm, brushing aside the branches of the willow she caught the sunlight in her bright hair creating a halo of bright blonde and white light, it must have been mid-afternoon, she knew she was fatigued, she was struggling to keep track of the hours.
The short trip to the trip was quite, both Shimmer and Glimmer talked in hushed whispers as they followed her. She heard snippets of their conversation
"He's a threat" "She has to go" "Burden" "She's proven herself" "Quiet, barely making a sound"
She guessed they were talking about Gallus, Coral, and her. Sharing secrets, whoever stayed behind at the tree, she decided she was staying to. She rehearsed the way she would convince them to let her stay. When the y finally reached the pine she finally saw a weakness in the pack, their slow lumbering climb was unsteady, Shimmer had a fear of heights, and Glimmer didn't trust his feet, checking his footing every time. She decided to climb and wait for them at the platform. As she neared the wooden platform her hands started to come away red from the bark, the first time she realised it was Alder's blood she started to heave. Bile built up in the back of her throat, gaging on the acidic taste she finally made it to the platform. Gelatinous masses of Alder's blood dotted the platform where it had pooled on leaves and in the fissures of the bark, in the aged knots of one of the branches she could see the black pool, leaning off the platform she threw-up the bread she had eaten before, the tomato and garlic that had been so enticing, suddenly burning and tasting of bile. She could hear the pair below her laughing.
"You alright Runt?" Shimmer's voice glittered through the trees. The previously sweet taste from the onions and garlic has solidified on her taste-buds as a thick sharp flavour. Wiping her mouth she made sure the crying girl was in her voice as she yelled back
"Yeah, there's just so much blood here." Ascending higher to her perch above the platform she waited. The silence of the forest around her told her exactly how far up the tree the other two were. They puffed and groaned until finally their heads crested the platform.
"You're quick up here." Shimmer praised.
"Yeah well, district 7 home of the trees, we climb them all the time." She shrugged as she talked. It had taken her nearly 15 minutes to reach her perch, Shimmer had taken nearly an hour, and with his cautious steps technique it took Glimmer longer. She stared out over the view, she could see Kai and Gallus digging a small trench not far from the willow. When Glimmer joined the girls she was still watching the boys in the glade below.
"Fuck you Kai. She's dying under that tree. Be a man and go in there an end it!" Gallus had dropped his shovel and was knocking Kai in the chest. The taller boy rocked back on his heels, then winding his arm back connected with Gallus' face. The stockier boy dropped to the ground, screaming in rage.
"We will decide as a team. In case you haven't noticed you're not exactly leadership material." The argument was clear in the silent air, and short lived.
"You can hear everything up here. Good View to. Can you see the Pairs camp from here?" Glimmer sounded impressed. Apparently she wasn't so bad at this whole location thing.
"Um follow the dry stream, its sheltered behind those trees, but you see where it looks like the leaves just stop over there, I'm pretty sure that's the swamp." The other two nodded
"Did you know that's where they were?" Shimmer was starting to give her the same guarded look Gallus so often tossed her way.
"No we just rang figuring the smoke would draw anyone in. Pines are easier to climb than other trees, you can almost run around the trunk if the branches are spaced right. And we figured we would be spending the night up here. They make nicer platforms" she knew she was rambling but it was nice to have a topic she felt comfortable in. The golden pair were scanning the trees below, there was a golden flicker on the far side of the river bed not far from the willow, she raised her arm and pointed.
"Someone's lit a fire" Shimmer was the first to find the glow, Glimmer's eyes brightened. The look wasn't quite feral, but in that moment she knew what it took to be a career, these kids weren't just some roup who volunteered to be tributes. They liked to kill. Granted she was sure they weren't as perverse as the pair.
"Shim, stay here, the boys and I are going hunting" Glimmer slid off the platform and into the darkening afternoon.
