~Tuesday: Seven of Clubs~
When I wake up that morning, Tia is sitting against a tree and looking down at something in her hands. When I rub my eyes, I can just barely catch what it is in the faint sunlight of early morning. It looks to be a ring. Probably the one she's been wearing since we got here. It's her token, obviously, but by the look in her eyes I can tell it means something much more than just being expensive. I'll bet that's how I look when I sit awake with Bryce's necklace. I twist it around my neck. He's with me.
I glance at my arms and legs and realize that they're so red. Pressing on them it definitely hurts. Of course… Days under the sun without protection…
I finally sit up and stretch. Tia looks over, quickly sliding the ring back on her finger and keeping a poker face. "Morning," she says.
"Hi." I glance at the ring. She quickly puts her hand in a pocket. She doesn't look quite as pink as me, probably because of her tan skin. I'll bet from living in District 4 she's used to it more than I am.
"You look sunburnt," she comments. I wish there was something I could do about it, but I haven't really gotten much. I know that we'll have to find some good shade to hang out under so it doesn't get any worse.
At least I don't feel dysphoric today. Being the cute but badass District 6 girl is fine by me. Maybe we can actually do something productive today. Through her time here, though, Tia's become more and more rigid.
"So, I guess we should go get breakfast," I offer.
"Yeah." She quickly stands up and I do too. She leads the way silently and I follow her, not wanting to push it. She has a faraway look in her eyes. Probably pretty homesick. I wonder if it's more than that.
We're able to get some animals and Tia skins them silently as I make a fire.
"That's a nice ring," I try. I hold my necklace in one hand and eat with the other.
"Thanks," she says, but by her tone she tries to end that conversation.
"This necklace is from my boyfriend. It makes me think of him and of home. I hold it tightly and close my eyes with a sigh. I'm going to come home to you.
"That's nice." She glances at the ring but keeps eating. Maybe it's just the fact that she doesn't want to be attached to me as a friend. Maybe that's it. Which I understand and respect. But at the same time I want the Victor of this Games to know me for who I was and never forget me for who I am right now. And I mean that even if I'm the Victor. I don't want things to change too drastically, though I'm sure they will. After all, there will be 23 families that hate me if I win. Some may be big, some may be small, but they're there all the same. Oh, I'm rambling again.
The sun rises high in the sky as we eat in silence and I know it's going to be a hot one. We have our small breakfast and a bit to drink.
Things are going alright. "Hey, look!" Tia says, causing me to snap into action and whip out the only knife we have, ready for combat with anything we might face. But I just see, in the sky, a glint of silver. Oh.
I breathe a sigh of relief before my breath catches with surprise. Who would've thought that a sponsor would get something for us? I guess they like my attitude, or her clever nature, or even our dynamic as a team (though I can't really say it's very friendly. Which, again, I respect just fine). Whatever it is, we should do more of it, because I could get used to seeing parachutes coming for us.
Tia retrieves it as I finish eating my breakfast of gross meat and crackers. Then I wipe my hands before going to join her. "Knife," she says, holding it up. It's much nicer than the one we've got now. It may not seem like much, but I'm glad we got it. Now we can each have a weapon to fight with, if we were ever separated or worse. I don't like to think about the worse option, though.
She holds it out to me. "Here."
"Huh? Me?" She was the one that got it. She shows me a note attached to it with a 6 on it.
"Guess it's yours."
"Oh." Cool! Hell yeah! I take it and hand her the other one, which is slightly smaller and not as nice but still perfectly sharp and able to be used. I examine the knife I got from the sponsor. It seems small compared to a spear or sword, but it can be just as deadly if used right, if not more. I see it as a godsend right now.
"Well, we should probably go for some water," Tia says curtly, and I nod. "Right."
Just as I put out the fire, though, I see movement out of the corner of my eye.
"Did you see that?"
"See what?"
I blink and realize that I lost it. Maybe I was just imagining things. "Uh, never mind."
We pack up our stuff for another day of trying to get by when she says. "Woah, I see it!"
I look out across the beach and see it moving, coming towards us. Whatever it is leaves a trail as it approaches, closer and closer. I watch it for a while, alarmed but curious. I know curiosity killed the cat but I can't help but be at least a little curious at what it might be.
It comes closer and seems to be picking up speed so Tia and I exchange a brief glance before starting to run the other direction. We take turns looking back as we run, and whatever this thing might be, it's gaining on us. We run until we almost hit some of the goop the thing left and realize that it's circled us in. We're trapped.
I grab the knife, not sure how to kill something so paper-thin and on the ground. It approaches us but makes a sudden turn a while away from us, leaving us trapped in a long stretch of beach.
"Okay, so whatever just came after us, it's not meant to kill us, exactly," I observe under my breath.
"No, but if nobody else dies it might get impatient," Tia says, her voice laced with some negative expression I can barely name.
"True… Or maybe we just have to figure out the trick…" I step closer to the goop, but immediately draw back when I hear it crackle. "I wouldn't touch it if I were you," I advise. She nods, still looking slightly shocked.
"C'mon. Let's do some walking and see what we find."
She snaps out of her shock and nods, "Right."
We walk for a while, exploring the distant environment to look for anything that might help us figure out this gimmick. We walk until we hear a loud voice. "Over there!"
I freeze, whipping the nice new knife out of my pocket. Careers. But, from what I can see, only two of them. The duo from District 2.
We can take them, the adrenaline soon starts pumping through my veins.
"The water," Tia whispers, suddenly.
"Huh?"
"The water!" She doesn't have much time to explain before they charge at us, weapons raised. Up close, both of them look pink in the face and on the arms. The mighty Careers haven't got much to protect them from the sun, I suppose.
"C'mon," I tell Tia, "Let's do this." I grip my knife tightly and Tia does the same as they approach. I charge for the girl, knife-on-knife. Suddenly I hear a piercing scream come from my ally, and when I look over (trying to hold off January), I notice a spear through her chest.
"Tia!"
She wobbles. Pontifex has a… weird look in his eyes, a long gash from neck to chest bleeding out. He freezes up at seeing what he's done, but quickly shakes his head and keeps going the rest of the way. He retrieves his spear and pushes Tia backwards. She stumbles and falls into the goop, and with one last piercing scream she's silenced.
I don't even have time to pause or mourn before I have to strain fighting January. A cannon booms but I try to ignore it. Just for this little while.
January grazes her knife along my shoulder to my neck, but I'm able to use that training and adrenaline to get in a cut down her arm, causing her to pause and hiss from the pain. She's a fairly quiet fighter, no taunting or laughing like many other Careers I've seen. She's silent except for the grunts and groans of effort.
"Janie!" Pontifex seems to recover his senses. Between the tributes from District 2, I'm done-for. I struggle but don't last long before I have a spear-point pressing into my neck.
"Pontifex…" January starts, but stops herself. She puts on a stone-hard expression again from where it had softened.
"Wait!" I say, though it's strained. "You don't want to kill me!"
"You've got some balls speaking up," he says. "Why don't you think we should end you now?"
"Because…" I strain to think of something, and I know I have to do it fast. "The water!" Suddenly everything clicks.
"Because I know the way out of this mess!" I say. It's just a crazy hunch, of course, and it might get me killed, but if I don't try I'm going to be killed anyways so why not just risk it!? "I can get us out of it if you just keep me around!" I'm so pulling at straws here. Maybe it won't work, maybe Tia was wrong… But I have to win to avenge her, and I'm 2000% determined to get out of here alive now. I've got a fire under my ass.
Pontifex doesn't look quite as harsh. He looks to be debating it.
"Let Tuesday talk, Pontifex." January says. "Because we've got nothing and we all know it."
He draws his spear, stained with Tia's blood, away from my throat. I try to mask the relief I feel.
"We need to find Dream and Empress fast," he says, "You're bleeding."
"I'll be fine. You don't look so good, though. You're all bloody and you're getting pale. Come on!" Janie starts off and Pontifex nudges me forward. "You too, Six. We're not letting you out of our sight for a single damn second."
"Fine by me," I say. I'm just glad to be alive, but I know I have to play it cool. Not loud and cocky enough for them to hate me, but not quiet and timid enough to make them think I'm afraid. Okay, so I am afraid, I'm scared shitless, actually, but they can't know that. The Careers can't know it, and the sponsors can't know it either. Just when I was getting them to like me. I can't break down. I keep on a neutral expression.
Janie walks briskly, occasionally looking back at Pontifex in a concerned manner.
"The alliance separated and now we have to find the others," Janie explains. "Pontifex and I were looking for other tributes while the other three looked for some kind of solution."
"If they figured it out, you're useless to us and you will die right there," Pontifex says, his voice low.
"Of course," I say, trying to sound indifferent, swallowing down the fear and sadness. We walk in silence for a bit longer.
"What pronouns do you prefer today, Tuesday?"
The question completely throws me for a loop. Why would she ask that!? And more importantly, why would she care!? There's a minute before I answer. "Uh, feminine. Sh-she and her… 'nd that stuff…" I'm so confused but I guess appreciative. At least if I'm going to die I won't be misgendered by my killers…
Don't think like that Tuesday. You're not going to die. Not today.
"Right. I was just checking." She sounds so casual for the fact that I'm technically their captive right now. I feel immensely awkward, and Pontifex probably feels the same considering he hasn't' said a word this whole walk.
"Oh, there they are! Up ahead!" January says. She breaks out into a run to catch up to them. I only speed my walking up slightly, and Pontifex doesn't push me so I'm guessing the blood loss has him feeling some pretty bad fatigue.
"What happened you guys!?" Empress says, sounding concerned. Dream quickly goes digging through his backpack and pulls out a little white box.
"We killed the girl from Four," Janie says, sounding not-so-cheery.
Dream, Empress, and Katherine all look surprised to see me there.
"She says she knows the way out," Janie says.
"Pontifex you look awful!" Empress says, running over. She helps him stumble over and sits him down in front of Dream, who was just finished up bandaging January's wound from my knife.
Katherine looks uncomfortable at the prospect of me being a captive. After all, I'm from one District up from her. Whether she likes it or not, she's a middle-Districts kid just like me.
Empress keeps her eye on me, and I know that I couldn't run without dying from one of her arrows or one of Janie's knives. I stay standing in my place, watching with a neutral, set expression. Not talking, not quivering, just kind of hanging out and waiting for them to decide.
"Well, we didn't get much from exploring this part of the beach," Dream sighs. "So if 6 knows the way out, then we should keep…"
"Her," Janie says.
Why do these Careers care so much about respecting my identity? Not that I don't appreciate it, because I really do, but it just seems so out of character for Careers to be respectful and/or decent. At least this bunch seems to care something about the other tributes… Which doesn't make sense for Careers. Why would they volunteer if they weren't bloodthirsty!?
No use thinking about it now, Tuesday. Just think about not dying please.
"Right. Keep her around. Even if it's just for the time being."
"It's decided then," Empress says. "Tuesday from 6 is going to show us the way out of this mess. We'll decide later whether or not to spare her once."
"Sounds good to me," January says, and the others agree. Phew.
"Good thing we got this First Aid Kit," Dream says, finishing his work on Pontifex's cut. "Because you definitely needed it."
"Eat," Katherine says, "You'll feel better. She pulls out some crackers and hands them to Pontifex. "You gonna be okay?" She looks genuinely concerned for him.
"I've been through worse," Pontifex says flatly, "I'll be fine. January bites her lip, examining the bandage around her arm.
They don't offer the contents to me, and I don't expect them to.
"You good to get up?" Empress asks.
"Yes, I'll be fine."
Dream shuts the First-Aid kit and helps Pontifex to his feet. "Alright, District 6. You're up," he says.
I swallow down any last nervousness or fear. "Alright. So around our part of the beach, if you squint you see the spring in the distance." I start walking and I hear the others follow me. They have hushed conversations I don't pick up on (and frankly wouldn't want to pick up on) as we walk. I keep looking until we're at the blood-stained sand. A little further and I notice the spring in the distance. Tia was onto something, and I might be able to get out of this alive yet.
"See it? The water isn't even tainted a little bit. That's our key to survival." I sure hope I'm right.
"All we have to do is get there and I bet we can use it to clean up the mess."
I let myself smile and stand up taller. I have to appear confident that this will 110% get us out if we can solve the problem with no further injury or death or else they'll think I'm tricking them and kill me.
"Hm… She's right," Katherine says.
"How do we get there then?" January asks.
"Good question…" Pontifex says, sounding exhausted. I feel their eyes turn to me.
"Well… I don't really have much but if you guys have water, we could use it to clear some kind of path." The wheels of my mind are turning rapidly. I have to keep on thinking of plausible ideas or else I won't be seen as useless anymore…
"Yeah, we've got a good deal," Dream says. "It's all in thermoses, though."
"Perfect. Is it enough to get from here to there?" They exchange glances.
"Probably not," Empress says, in-thought.
I can just feel that they're waiting for me to fail at coming up with something so they can kill me. Well, I'm not going to let that happen! Think like Bryce, he always seems to have a solution to things. Think like a mechanic, like an inventor, like an engineer. Find something, Tuesday, find something! Use what you've got!
"Well?" Pontifex asks.
Suddenly, something clicks and a lightbulb goes off. "Rocks!"
"Huh?" Katherine asks.
"I saw some rocks, on our walk here. If we could clean them we could get enough leverage to get to the fountain from here without too much water being used. "It… It'll be a risk though."
"Good, so you can go first," Pontifex says. The others nod agreeably.
Time to be brave Tuesday. "Alright," I say, keeping a calm and cool atmosphere. "Follow me to get us some rocks."
I walk to where I'd seen them. It's going to take a lot of effort to carry them, but we can do it. There are some bigger, taller rocks further down but the small ones are going to work best for us at this point.
"Alright. We need to move them all so that they'll be close when we need them. We build the path one rock at a time. I'll be first, so I'll construct the path. Whoever goes last will have to get the rocks and pass them up through the line to me, so I can keep going. Got it?"
"Right." The others nod. This is the craziest thing I've ever done. But I've never really been one to slink away from a risk.
I pour water on the rocks one by one, and with some straining effort from each of us, we start to make a pile of about twenty-five heavy rocks that are clean.
I hope this works. What if the goop eats them up once I put them on!? By the time we're done, all of us are shirtless from the heat and the effort, and sweaty as fuck. Now comes the crazy part.
I strain to take a rock and toss it out to a comfortable distance. It's close enough that we'll be able to pass other rocks over, but still far enough that if I lose my balance, I've got nowhere to fall. Really, I'm fine with going first. Last is really the riskiest position because that's the person that has to keep going back and forth to the island to get more rocks.
"You're up, Imboden," Empress says. "Good luck." It seems sincere enough. I nod and jump to the rock. Well, it's not really jumping as much as it is… Hopping. At first I wobble but gain my balance. I wish I was strong enough to handle some of the big ones because I have no room to move. If I go sideways I'm off and I'm dead.
Dream hands me the next one and I drop it and hop. So far so good. This is slightly easier than the first but not by much. January goes second.
Another cannon booms as Dream hands her a rock which she passes to me. I don't really have time to wonder who it might be, I still have a job to do to save my own skin. I drop the rock and hop. Still not dead. January jumps and Katherine goes third. Empress goes next.
Pontifex and Dream start discussing who should go last. I don't hear much of it but a defeated Pontifex eventually goes next so I guess Dream won whatever argument they were having. Another rock is passed up and I keep going. We can't look back now. Soon it takes longer and longer to get the rocks because Dream has to jump all the way back to the island and then back, rock in hand to pass to Pontifex. Which is fine by me because it's some much-needed break time.
I wipe the sweat off my head, feeling ready to reel over and collapse. We continue the cycle until I feel like I'm ready to lay down and die.
"Alright, we're there! Just one more leap and we'll be at the spring."
"Ah!" Janie says. "Phew!"
I take a deep breath and, with the last of my energy, leap to the water. I land with a splash and breathe a sigh of relief.
Thank God. The others soon join me. As soon as he hits the water, Pontifex has to crouch down to recover his energy. It's such a relief to be here.
"Okay, now we've got water. We can clean up this mess. Refill your thermoses and let's do it."
We all do so, splashing and pouring water on the goop to make it disappear.
"Hey, look, there are showerheads!" Janie says. She picks one up out of the water. "This should help." Dream takes one and Pontifex doubles over, exhausted. We work hard, sweating but at least we have plenty of water to cool down. Once we've cleared a large enough area, the Careers stop for lunch/dinner. I eat some dumb provisions and I feel suddenly nervous. After all, they're done with me now.
We keep on working at it as the sun sets. As the sun disappears, seemingly eaten by the horizon, the rest of the goop seeps into the sand and disappears from sight.
"It's gone!" Empress says.
"Phew," Katherine remarks. The night breeze comes just then, feeling very good on my sweaty body. I'm really truly exhausted. What a day.
"Alright, Six," Pontifex says, his voice an octave deeper than it was this afternoon from just exhaustion. "We're done using you. So…"
"Let her go. Please, Pontifex. Just this once," January says, putting her hands on one of his shoulders.
"Please!" Katherine adds.
"She did save us. Without her we may be still be stuck," Dream says.
"So it's agreed," Empress says. "We spare the girl from District 6 for her knowledge and help. But if we run into her again, we'll decide again whether she lives or dies."
My heart soars. What a day, but at the end of it my heart's still beating and my lungs are still breathing, which is all I could've wanted. "Oh, thank you!"
"Now get out of here," Empress says, "Before anyone changes their mind."
"Thank you!" I stammer out again, and then I use the very last of my energy to get away from there as fast as I possibly can. I run until I hear the Capitol anthem, where I stop and lap water from our only canteen and have a small snack of jerky. I collapse as I see Tia's face in the sky. It had been such a long day I'd almost forgotten the pain of having lost her. The other face is the young 12-year-old from District 8. The seal fades and all is quiet in the night.
I'm exhausted, but I can't make myself fall asleep. Every time I get close, a thought of Tia sends bitter sadness all through my body. I never got to properly mourn her… As soon as she was gone I had to become desperate for my life.
I sit up, knowing I'm not going to sleep until I bid her a proper farewell. Even though she was kind of curt and closed-off, she was my ally. The person I'd chosen to spend my week with. And I'm all alone now.
Tears come to my eyes. I've been holding them back all day, and I can't do it any longer. They drip out of my eyes and roll down my cheeks. I don't feel sorry anymore. I can't hold up my neutral, strong personality all the time. Unless the others are having a particularly interesting conversation, the cameras are on me.
I may be strong, but I'm not heartless.
Every time I may just calm my tears, the thought of her being gone resurfaces and they start up again. I know it must be hurting my loved ones to see me like this, if they're even watching (I'm sure they are). I wish I could stop for them, but it just hurts too much.
I failed as an ally. We were supposed to protect each other and I let her down. It wasn't good of me. I know I couldn't have done anything to stop it, but part of me is still convinced there was something I could've done. I was able to be so crafty the whole rest of the day, and I couldn't do anything when it mattered. And because of it, Tia is dead.
She didn't talk much about her friends and family, but I'm sure she had them, people that really looked up to her, and I'm sure they're spending this night just like I am. More tears push out of my eyes. I can't stop them. The only thing I can do now is try to be quiet with it. After all, I don't know who is where and the last thing I want is another fight.
I tuck my knees to my chest, wanting so badly to sleep. A combination of grief, sadness, and fear keeps me awake. I have nobody to be on watch for me anymore. I could so easily be killed in my sleep. When the sobs finally die down enough for me to get some water and be calm, I lay on my back and stare up at the sky, at the stars.
They're not the same stars anymore.
It's not the same moon anymore.
My cousins, Evalina, Bryce… They feel so far away. Like they're in a whole different world, because in a way, they are. Tears find their way out of my eyes, but they're the quiet, calm kind. I just want to be still. I wrap my fingers around the pendent on the necklace and try to remind myself that everyone I love is at home waiting for me. It won't be the same me, of course, but they'll be alright with that.
I know I can't give up. They would never forgive me if I gave up. Especially after all the labor I went through today to keep on going. I have Tia and Garrison to avenge, after all. But it's really hard, especially now that I'm all on my own. Anxiety and fear overtakes me, battling the overwhelming exhaustion.
What if I can't do this? What if I can't win after all?
No.
I don't have a choice but to win. There's no other way.
I close my eyes, and after a long, miserable battle, I drift off into a shallow, fearful sleep.
A/N: SO my friend Legend (the submitter of Atticus) drew up playing cards for each tribute and they're absolutely SPECTACULAR! So if you want to see them check out the Celtic's SYOT tag on my THG Tumblr blog! The URL is salem-just-wants-ice-cream . tumblr search / celtic's + syot (minus the spaces of course). DO IT! They're so PERFECT! Thank you Legend!
Also, again to my submitters, if you like RP'ing or you just love to write and get to know other people, check out the link to our HG Roleplay Forum! There are awesome people there and it's a great way to get your characters known and make some friends! Again, link on my profile.
Hm, I think that's all I've got for now. Poll still on my profile for my tributes and all that stuff.
Chapter Question: Your top four of the submitted tributes (yes, yours count submitters!)?
Scores (Sponsor sponsor sponsor! When we get down to 12 the costs will increase slightly and more when we get down to 6 and more when it's down to 3. For the wants/needs of the characters, reference chapter 11!):
Kate: 160
Dreamer: 234
Jess: 166
magicharity: 163
hopefuldreamer1991: 17
Sinfonian Legend: 315
xQueen-of-Applesx: 40
Lady Lysa Arryn: 51
rising-balloons: 50
Coolgal02: 61
epictomguy: 34
Medium-Indigo (Guest): 60
AbbyCorabby123: 10
falyn. oliver: 43
seaotter99: 22
ThisWorldWeHate: 17
Blonde4ever: 62
Beauty. Is. Strange: 61
Ibbonray: 35