Day Three: Life or Death
Part Two:
District Twelve:
Olive's POV:
"This is pointless," Neal complained.
"Shut up, and keep looking for an entrance," I barked. Neal rolled his eyes and kept searching the area around the waterfall. I was starting to panic. I needed that gem to win. I still had no idea what it did, but it had to do something with the god that created it. The god of water and wisdom. Either I was going to be able to control water when I wore it, or I would get a heck of a lot smarter. Either way, I won.
We had been searching for the entrance for a half an hour and I was getting sick and tired of looking. Those stupid mutts couldn't have just popped out of nowhere! I glanced back at them, and I felt my eyes bulge. Neal didn't believe me, but I didn't think they were truly dead. When you killed some human or important creature mutt in this arena, fifty more popped out and killed you. I had an inkling that those two corpses were still alive. Such as the one that was burnt to a crisp. Every time I looked back at it, it looked less burnt and more alive. Perhaps I was going crazy, but it was better to be paranoid than to end up dead.
Finally, the paranoia got to me, and I cracked. "Neal, stand aside now! We are getting behind this waterfall one way or another!"
Neal back up and looked confused. I riffled through my pack until I came upon one of the water proof bombs. I pull the string, and I heard it start to fizz. I chucked it at the waterfall, and it disappeared behind it. After a few seconds, I heard a loud explosion and rocks started flying in every direction. I jumped out of the way of one flying rock and I landed in the river. I quickly paddled my way out, and glanced around.
Now there was a giant hole behind the waterfall. A hole that led to a tunnel. A tunnel that had more Gorgons rushing down it.
"What is the meaning of this!" I heard one of them yell. Suddenly, a couple Gorgons dove into the water, and them appeared in the water that was right next to Neal and I. They jumped out and pointed their array of weapons at us.
"Well, wasn't that your most brilliant plan," Neal mumbled.
"Shut up… I got this all figured out…" I muttered back.
We were so screwed.
"Who are you, and why have you come," One of the Gorgons hissed. I glanced at him, and I could definitely tell he was the one in charge. He was the only one wearing clothing that had colors other than blue on it, and he had a crown of gems on his head. Great, just what we needed. Another ruler.
"We're adventurers," Neal lied. I smiled and nodded my head in agreement.
"Or, perhaps, thieves!" The king grunted.
"No, they couldn't have stolen your gem. If they had, they would have been in our kingdom to begin with," One of the Gorgons reasoned.
The gem… The gem we were looking for? It had to be! What other gem would make a monarch become so paranoid if someone stole it?
"That's right," I yelled out. "We came here because we heard your gem was stolen! We want to help you find it."
"If you were real detectives than you could've found the entrance to our kingdom quite easily." The king grunted.
"Please, and miss this welcome greeting! We are none other than Olivia and Neal, the Great Detectives of the East!" I announced. I did jazz hands for effect, but apparently that didn't help any since they didn't lower their spears a single inch.
"You have two days," the king grunted. "Find my gem, or else I will assume you were here to steal it and I will execute you. Guards, take them to some temporary quarters."
The guards grabbed my arms, and then I glared at the king. "Excuse me, but aren't you going to give us any information? Any leads?"
"If you're so great and mighty, you can find it without any clues," The king sneered. For the first time, I noticed how sharp and disgusting the Gorgon's teeth were.
We walked through the tunnel the Gorgons had entered, and I realized it wasn't a tunnel at all. It was a grotto. We turned around the corner, and I saw another waterfall of water on the inside of the cavern. There was also a giant pool of crystal water, and I saw many Gorgon's swimming in it. I kept glancing around, and saw that their houses and stores were made in indents on the walls across the grotto. We were led up a bunch of steps, until we came to a throne room. The king took his seat, and flicked his hand in a certain direction. I didn't understand what it meant until we were shoved down a tiny tunnel of rushing water. I screamed as I slid down it, and I heard Neal right behind me.
I eventually landed in a small room, and scrambled out of the way so Neal didn't land on me as well. The room had two beds, a bathroom, a kitchen, bookshelves and a door. I opened the door, and saw it led to a hall full of other doors.
"You won't be leaving yet," I heard someone bark.
There was a Gorgon standing right behind the door I had just opened. Obviously he was keeping guard. "You see those books in there? I just brought them in. The king has ordered that you read every single one before you go around and investigating certain people.
"You have got to be kidding me! We can't read those in two days!" I argued.
Apparently, the Gorgon didn't care much. He slammed the door in my face, and I heard a click that signified we were locked in.
"What do we do now?" Neal asked.
"We start reading those books," I sighed. Today was going to be a long day…
District Ten:
Conium's POV:
"You ready?" Natalie asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be." I grunted.
Natalie rolled her eyes and finished strapping up our supplies to the horses. We finally earned enough money to buy two horses, along with any supplies we might need. We knew for a fact that the Gamemaker's were getting bored with us. Heck, the entire Capital was getting bored with us. You know what happens to tributes that the Capital gets bored of? They die slow and painful deaths by mutts.
After dinner last night, we decided where we were going to go. The owner of the ranch said that she heard of where the earth gem was. According to her and the town's folk, all four of the gems were extremely powerful, and finding even one could make you one of the best adventurers in the world. That translated that it meant it could give us a huge advantage in these games. It was hidden away in the Great Desert. She even said she had a map, which we found odd. The map, however, looked authentic, and seemed to have a fairly short and decent route. She also warned us about the people that lived there, and to stay far away from them.
Then we bought a bunch of supplies off of her, and now we were about to set off. First on our supply list, were our two horses. Natalie's is white, while mine is black. The second thing was water. We now had over four gallons of water, which made me feel pretty comfortable. After that was food, and then poison. The food was easy to get, and the poison I had to make.
Back home, on the ranch, I learned from an early age what was edible and what wasn't. Then I learned what was really poisonous, and what would actually kill me. With that knowledge, making poison is simple. Squeeze the juice out of it, and then mix it with other poisons. It wasn't the best method, but after a few test tries I've gotten down the best poison that I know of. The poison that coated both Natalie's throwing knives and my hand to hand combat daggers. I also kept a few bottles full of poison, in case I needed to recoat our weapons or to even use against a tribute in combat.
"Be safe, you two!" The owner cried out as we rode away. We started out at a gallop, hoping to make it to the chasm before we slowed down. Earlier today we watched the entire fight from the attic windows. Let's just say I wasn't planning on hunting down Rouge or Isis any time soon. Once a Career, always a Career.
We made it to the bridge, and smiled when we saw it was fully repaired. Got to love mindless mutts who have nothing better to do than fix a broken arena. Well, that, and kill tributes.
We started galloping to the other side. We made it across the bridge in one piece, and started cantering through the next area. I checked the map, and started towards the direction the map said.
"Do you think the gem will actually have any power, or do you think it's all just a hoax?" Natalie asked.
"I don't really know," I replied, "We are just going to have to find out."
"I just don't want us to waste our time, that's all," she murmured.
"As long as we make it out alive, it won't be a waste of time," I tried to say as happily as I could.
"Yeah, as long as we make it out alive," She muttered mockingly.
I ignored that last comment and we kept cantering through the desert. The map was quite detailed, and it wasn't that hard to follow. We steered clear of the huge village of mutts that the owner had warned us about.
We kept riding along until we spotted people. The only two people that would be over here.
"Those witches," Natalie hissed.
"Calm down, Natalie," I whispered back. Ever since Melody's death, Natalie held a certain grudge against Saturn, Rapids, and Bree. For some reason, she blames them since if they hadn't escaped Saturn wouldn't have come after us. I, personally, didn't understand her logic. Why be mad at someone who was running for their lives just like we were?
"Will you stop humming!" I heard one of them shriek from across the desert. I was surprised one of them could yell that loud, and I was also surprised they weren't dead yet. Being that loud in the Hunger Games got you noticed. Getting noticed got you killed. It's really not that hard to figure out.
"Let's just keep following the map," I reasoned.
"Fine," Natalie snapped back. We kept going in the direction the map suggested, and I realized we were still tailing Rapids and Bree. Wherever they went, we went as well. Did they, perhaps, have a map as well? Were all of us on the search for the earth gem?
It couldn't be… but I had a feeling it had to be. Why else would we still be following them?
"If we get into a fight, I get to take down the one that cut the bridge," Natalie growled. I gulped, but nodded my head. Natalie was a very interesting person. She pitied the weak, yet she could hold a grudge against these girls for days. The reason they cut that bridge and didn't fight was because they were weak. Weaker than Saturn anyways. Why couldn't Natalie see that? Was it because she pitied Melody so much that she felt the need to revenge her death in some way? Whatever the case was, I had a feeling that someone was going to end up dead soon. I just hoped it wasn't me…
District Four:
Rapids' POV:
"Will you stop hogging the map! You're going to get us lost!" I yelled.
"Fine! Just give it back when you're done! I have a feeling you're going to get us lost more than I am." Bree groaned.
"We'll see about that," I said smugly. I still had no idea how this alliance with Bree was still working. We were polar opposites! Half the time I wanted to take my machete and jab it into her skull!
By the way, did I mention I got a machete last night? Thank Panem for sponsors! It came after we got home from stealing, and I couldn't have been more thrilled! A machete felt so much more comfortable to hold than some stupid knife. Bree was happy for me as well, since she had her axe.
We kept trekking through the desert. I knew where I was going, but the longer I repeated that to myself the more it seemed untrue. Hadn't we already passed that big rock? Part of me thought the heat was getting to me. After awhile, I finally found the right path and kept on walking.
"The 'X' says the treasure should be about… here!" I said with resolve.
I looked around, hoping to see a big red 'X'. Of course there was nothing. That's just fabulous.
"Uh, Rapids," I heard Bree whisper.
"What!" I grunted back.
"Why are you sinking?"
"I'm not sinking… Wait, what?" I yelled.
I looked down and gasped. I was in some sort of quicksand trap. Except, it wasn't exactly quicksand. I was being pulled down towards the center of the pit, and then the sand seemed to disappear through that. I tried to wiggle my legs out of the sand, but they wouldn't budge.
"Bree!" I screamed, "Help!"
"Uh… Uh… Uh…" Bree stuttered. She was rifling through her backpack. After finding nothing, she grabbed her axe and held it out to me. "Grab on to it so I can pull you back up!"
I grabbed it, and tried to hang on for dear life. I couldn't believe I fell for such an obvious Gamemaker's trap! How stupid could we have been! This was all Bree's fault! If she wouldn't have found that stupid map…
I continued to pull myself up, but it was to no avail. My feet wouldn't budge, and I kept sinking farther and farther in. I pulled on last time, before I let go. However, when I let go, the love of weight and tension caught Bree of balance. I screamed, and then Bree fell into the sand pit as well. I continued to kick and scream. So this was what it was going to be like? Dying of quicksand? My mother will be so disappointed. I took one last; long breathe before my head was fully submerged. I continued to hold it, but part of me wanted to just let it all out. What was the point of holding on when death was inevitable? The only thing that stopped me was thinking of Bree, the eternal optimist. She would keep holding her breath until the sand started to penetrate her eye sockets. No, I couldn't give up yet. That's not how Bree would want it.
After that last thought, I felt it. A small release of pressure in my feet. I started kicking, as more of me felt the same relief of pressure. I was finally flailing like a mad woman when my arms were free as well. Finally, all that was left was my head, which was eventually freed. I let out a scream as I fell from the ceiling to the ground, and then started sucking up as much oxygen as possible.
I looked at the ceiling and gasped. It was made completely of sand! I looked around and saw we were in a stone room with two exits. The sand I was laying on seemed to sink through the cracks, leaving just more sand and me. I then saw small feet pop into view, and I started to pull them down. Eventually, I got Bree unstuck and she came crashing down to the floor on top of me. We both screamed and then started laughing.
We took one look at each other and stared crying. Then she practically tackled me to the ground in a hug, and I started laughing through the tears. I was alive… I thought for sure we were both going to die. We kept hugging and crying. Part of me felt embarrassed. The Capitol probably thought I was a sniveling idiot. It didn't matter.
For the first time, I saw writing on one part of the wall. I began to walk over to it, when I heard Bree yelp.
"We got company!"
I looked at where she was pointing to see two figures start to appear. I could see both their legs, and one was definitely a man.
"Bree, you keep your eye on them. I'm going to read whatever is written on this wall." I yelled.
"All right!" Bree chirped.
I ran over to the wall and started to rub the dust and sand off of it. I began to read it.
Welcome to the Hidden Labyrinth. You must find the right path through the labyrinth to find the exit. Those who succeed in finding the exit will also be awarded with the Gem of the Earth. The Gem of the Earth gives the wearer extreme defense, and they become as impenetrable as earth themselves. However, beware the curse of it. The wearer will start to resemble the cold, hard exterior of the earth as soon as they put it on. Also, beware The Beast. He is searching for lost souls, and if he catches you then you will never depart this labyrinth. Good luck, travelers.
I tried to process all that I had read. Gem of the Earth? The Beast? What did it all mean? Sadly, there wasn't time to find out.
"Rapids, I think we should get out of here!" Bree squealed. I turned around to see that both of the other tributes were almost all the way into the stone room. I grabbed Bree's arm and pulled us towards one of the doors. I was shocked to be greeted by another stone wall. I looked up to see we weren't in a room anymore, but a giant cave. As we kept running, I heard a distinctly female voice scream out, "Not another maze!"
I didn't know what she meant, but I could tell she was clearly upset. Then, as if in response, I heard a roar that made the entire cave rattle. After that, Bree and I were running twice as fast as we had before. We had to find an exit, and we had to find it soon.
Mentor's POV:
District Four:
Ethan's POV:
"Keep running, Rapids," I muttered at the computer scream. Right now I had my full attention on the place Rapid was in. I pulled up a map of the labyrinth a minute ago, and it was fairly complicated. There were a lot of dead ends, and a lot of tricky paths. I looked at the blinking dots on the mini map. There was a small blue one running with a small orange one. Then there were two bright yellow ones running in the opposite direction. So far, both groups were on the right track. There were four ways to get to the exit, and both groups were right on track. As long as The Beast didn't stop them.
Sadly, I couldn't see where it was on the mini map I had pulled up, but I could hear it through the speakers. It sounded deadly. Hopefully Bree and Rapids would be able to avoid it. I glanced over at Streak, last year's victor and the mentor of District Seven, and saw that he was intently staring at the screen as well. We had developed a sort of friendship since the games started. As soon as we saw the Rapids and Bree were in their alliance for the long run, we immediately were strategizing together. We were usually talking, but right now neither of us had anything to say to each other. We were far too busy watching our tributes narrowly escaping death.
My eyes wandered to the two other computer screens on my desk. On each of our desks, we had two, this year four, screens that showed our tributes twenty-four seven. Then there was the huge screen at the front of the room that showed what was being streamed to the Capital. Then there was a giant board that had all of the tribute's faces and a heartbeat next to them.
On one screen, was Rapids' mom. She was in a corner of a hovercraft sleeping. The replacements had it really harsh. They were stuck on those hovercrafts all day and night, and they didn't get a ton of food. My eyes flitted to the black screen, and I pushed Charlie far out of my mind. Next to the black screen was Claire tromping through the woods with her new alliance. I didn't know what game she was playing, but it was a dangerous one. She's had pretty much three alliances so far, and none of them have turned out well.
I glanced around at the other mentors, who were all either busy or asleep. The District One mentors were smirking their faces off. The old woman, Agatha, looked especially cocky. Of course, it made sense why she was so cocky. The Capital always gave nicknames to their favorite tributes, and Rouge had one already. She was called the "Sparkling Diamond". She was named after her interview costume that they paraded her around in. The mentors for District Two looked just as smug as the District One mentors. They had every right to be. Everyone in the Capital had seen what Isis had done to Saturn and Constantine, and they were all dying to sponsor that girl. Who wouldn't want to say they had been part of the hidden cosmetic weapon scheme? The District Three mentors looked exhausted, and very weary. I took a quick glance at District Five before I looked back to my own consul.
Memory and Felix were talking very quietly and quickly. I could pick up tid bits of their conversation. Memory was saying how Claire was lying, or something along those lines. She wanted to send something try to tell them that Claire was a snake. Felix was telling her to relax and that there was nothing they could do. I could practically feel Memory's stare searing into me. She still hated me to this day. She hated that I had won instead of her tributes. She hated that I had complained about being plagued with claustrophobia, while she had it worse. She hated every fiber of me, and I knew there was nothing I could ever do to change that.
Her tribute's popularity was steadily rising as well. The Capital seems to find Neal's near death experiences amusing, and they have officially nicknamed Paloma as "Pan-oma". (Yes, Kiwirawr I had to use it. All credit goes to Kiwirawr for that nickname.) Gosh, if she won people would start carrying pans around as the new fashion craze! District Six's mentor, Naomi, is fast asleep in her chair. She truly cares for Abby, but let's face it; there is no way a crazy little girl is going to win. Streak and his fellow mentor, Trinity, are keeping a steady eye on both their tributes. The District Two mentors that are mentoring District Eight this year aren't even at their station anymore. They want Isis to win, not some random kid from another district. The District Nine mentors are hard at work and are keeping constant watch on Alix. She is the most promising tribute from their district since Ella in the 223rd Hunger Games.
The District Ten mentors are intensely staring at their screens. Then there is District Eleven. They have pretty much given up. No one is sponsoring Shadow, and by the time someone does it will be too far into the games to buy her anything. Then there is Ophelia from District Twelve. I feel so bad for her. Her little girl, Olivia, is in the arena. Then if she dies, her only son is then whisked into the arena. If both of them die, Ophelia will have no one left. Her husband isn't around anymore (I have no idea why), and I've heard her say the rest of her family is dead. Part of me wants to help her children win the games, and then Rapids' face pops into my head.
"Crescent?" I asked. She had suddenly stood up, and her eyes had glazed over again. In the corner, stood an Avox waving a purple handkerchief.
"Watch the kids, I'll be back in a little bit," she muttered. She walked away, and I just shook my head. The first time I saw that happen, she got beat up. Now it's happened quite a few times, and each time she comes back more depressed. Why doesn't she trust me enough to tell me? Could it really be life or death? Than it hits me. Everything in Panem is life or death…
Escort's POV:
Muffy's POV:
"Ooh! I hope one of them get caught by the mutt!" one of the escorts screeched. Vladimir, Celia, and I all glared at her. Those were my tributes she was talking about.
'Take that back," I hissed. I was so sick and tired of being nice. Of listening to them constantly gossip about secrets and tributes. I was so sick of being the nice escort who always smiled and had the perfect hair. I was tired of being bubbly and happy all the time. You can mess with me, and I won't care. Mess with other escorts, and I might get a little annoyed. Insult my tributes or anyone I care for, and you are going to die.
"What's wrong, Muffy? Don't you want to see some blood?" the other escort replied.
"No! I'm tired of seeing gore! If there is going to be any gore, it's going to be your blood!" I shrieked. I leapt from the place I had been sitting a few seconds ago and was desperately clawing at my fellow escorts face. She was pulling on my hair, but I still had the upper hand. I quickly slapped her across the face, and tugged at her hair so hard it started to come out.
"Muffy! That's enough!" I heard Vladimir, the District One escort, shriek. He grabbed my arms and yanked me off of her. My fellow escort promptly burst into tears and ran out of the room.
"That's right! You better run, you… you… you… LAST SEASON SHOE WEARING UNFASHIONABLE AVOX!" I screamed after her.
Every escort in the room gasped. They had never heard something so mean come out of my mouth. Well, she had it coming.
I quickly sat back down, and folded my arms against my chest. I was so tired of this! Of cheering every time someone died! Of betting on who would win! I never wanted this! I just wanted to live a little! Go visit places outside of the Capital.
"Are you calm?" Vladimir asked.
"I'm fine!" I hissed.
"Come on, Muffy. I know you better than that," Celia whispered. I squeezed her hand. We were the only three escorts who ever seemed to have anything going on in our heads that didn't involve fashion or death. Well, there was Fiyero as well, but he was a bit too spacey to be considered to have anything in his head.
"I just can't do this anymore," I whispered.
"It's not a choice," Celia whispered back.
"That's the problem! We should have a choice!" I muttered furiously.
"One day, we might. I doubt it, but it could happen." Celia whispered.
I just gave an undignified huff and didn't reply. Sometimes Celia made me so mad! Why couldn't she see there was more to life than this! There were times in history when people were happy! Now look at us! Fighting for our lives every day! It was completely ridiculous.
Suddenly, four Peacekeepers came in. "That's her!" The escort shrieked.
This was just perfect.
The Peacekeepers grabbed both my arms and started shoving me out of the room. I heard Celia squeak in the background, while the tattle tale was snickering. I was escorted out of the building, and out into a limousine. They shoved me in the back, and I heard the door lock. The drive was probably the worst part. I knew where I was going. One of the escorts I knew went there once before. He had gone completely psychotic and pushed a mentor down a flight of stairs.
We kept driving for a half an hour or so. Then we finally stop, and the doors are jerked open. The Peacekeepers grab my arms again and drag me into the building.
Welcome to the Capital's "Glitz and Glam Insane Asylum".
They escorted me through the inviting doors, and then immediately dragged me into an elevator. We stopped on the fifth floor, and they shoved me into the hallway. They then led me down the corridor, until we came to room 522. They opened the door and heaved me into the room. It was completely padded and the color scheme of the room was gold and silver.
"Enjoy yourself in here, Miss Muffy," One of the Peacekeepers jeered.
I slammed the door in his face and sat down. I knew what would come next. A few days later, the escort came back the same, but different. He didn't remember anything about the past few days. I would most likely be tortured, and then they would erase my memory of the past week or so. The thing is I have had this deep hatred for the Hunger Games since I was little. That is something they can never erase. When I leave this Asylum, I will still be Muffy. They can never take that away from me.
District Nine:
Alix's POV:
"I can't believe we couldn't find a single tribute," Alex muttered. I had to stop myself from smiling. I was absolutely ecstatic that I had gone one day without seeing someone die. After seeing Melody's bloody corpse, and watching Quince tortured to death, I was done with death. I swear, if I never saw another person dead again I would be happy for the rest of my life. Sadly, this was the Hunger Games. If I was going to win, then I would have to witness quite a few more deaths before I was on my way home.
"Yeah, it's a darn shame," I replied.
"Do you think Isis and Saturn killed those four other tributes?" Alex asked.
"For the dead tributes' sakes, I hope not…" I snapped back.
"Calm down, girlie," Alex said soothingly.
"Calm down? Calm down! How about next time you go kill a tribute with Saturn, and then you can tell me to calm down!" I hissed.
After that, there was just an awkward silence between us. One thing about Alex and I that bugged me is that we didn't click. Whenever it was just the two of us talking we always upset the other in some form or way. Yet, when we were fighting together we had some of the best coordination and tactics together. How could two people so different personality wise be so compatible battle wise?
We broke through the forest and started our trek across the plain. I found myself constantly picking at the tall grass. Every time I crossed this plain, I was plagued with fear. What if someone was hiding under it and was just waiting for someone to come along? I could be dead at any moment!
Thankfully, we made it through the plains in one piece, and entered the small fishing village.
"Isis!" I yelled. Her back was turned to both of us, and she already started the fire. I looked around for Saturn, but for some reason I couldn't find him. Perhaps he was in a tree killing more innocent birds. He was such a creeper. One of these days he was going to get what was coming to him.
We walked around to the other side of Isis, and gasped. She was crying! I had never seen Isis cry in my entire life!
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"He's dead," she whispered. I looked down and saw she was clutching Saturn's whip in her arms. Saturn would never let Isis touch that… Unless…
"How?" Alex asked, shocked. Saturn was the strongest Career of us all. He was the one I thought would win. That sick bastard was my main opponent. I've wanted him dead since Day One, but I didn't expect it to happen so soon… or at all…
"It was your bitch of a District Partner!" Isis hissed. The sudden anger left her eyes, and more tears started to roll down her face. "He was the only thing I had left of home…. The only familiar thing…"
"Rouge killed him?" I asked.
"Yes," Isis groaned, "She shot an arrow right through his skull! It was all so sudden… Then Constantine and I tried to run away! I thought for sure we would both make it, but then she shot Constantine down too! That bitch took away the only people left that I had from back home!"
Isis then broke down into sobs, and I felt my heart start to break. I walked over to her and draped my arms around her shoulders. She put her head against my shoulder and started sobbing. Her body was wracking with sobs, and I felt my heart continue to break. I may have hated Saturn, but Isis was my friend… If I would have known his death would have affected her so much, I would have never had wished it to happen so early on…
"Then why is their blood on your clothes?" Alex asked suspiciously. I glanced down, and saw that his words rang true. All down the front of her outfit was a streak of blood.
"I held her as she died… I saw the life drain from her eyes... It was all so terrible!" Isis cried. Her body continued to wrack with sobs. Alex started scurrying around and cooking dinner. Eventually, Isis' sobs became less and less. Once dinner was ready, she was obviously all sobbed out and she just stared into space. When dinner was ready, we all ate in silence. Then we spotted them. They fell from the sky, and I knew they were more sponsor gifts.
This time there was no charade of happiness. We all opened ours simultaneously and at once. Inside mine, was a small vial. I turned it around and around, until I found a small label on the bottom.
Poison.
My mentors sent me a bottle of poison? What was that supposed to mean? I glanced down at my spiked bat, and then it dawned on me. Dip the spikes in poison. I opened the bottle, and started slowly lowering each spike into the large hole. By the time I was done, there was only a quarter of the poison left. I quickly stuffed it into one of my pockets, and then set my bat down to dry.
I glanced at my two fellow allies. Alex's gift was some sort of protection that looked similar to my jacket. The only different was that it wasn't a jacket, but s simple shirt. Isis' gift was a nail file, and she was busily filing her nails down. Why did her mentors keep sending her such useless stuff? Was it to cheer her up so she could make it through another day in the wilderness? Whatever it was, they had better start sending her things of value. This was a life or death situation…
District Seven:
Link's POV:
"This looks like a nice place to stop and rest tonight," Krindle muttered. We all nodded, and sat down. It was a giant indent in the mountain, which gave us protection from above and below. Krindle began to make a fire. We didn't really care who saw us tonight. Each of us had a weapon, and could take anyone who crossed our paths. I glanced over at Rouge as she just stared blankly ahead. I still needed to talk to her… Maybe now was the right time…
Just as I was about to walk over to her, the anthem rang out. Hali got up from helping with the fire and ran out from under the indent in the mountain. I glanced back at Krindle, and was surprised to see he was frozen. So that's why the mutts have no idea what was going on… Rouge explained to Hali and me the situations with the mutts when Krindle went and scouted ahead a few hours ago. There seemed to be a lot of hidden and unspoken rules, but I knew I would catch up. I had to if I wanted to survive. I ran out from under the indent as well, and looked up at the sky.
The first face I saw sent chills through my entire body, even though I was suspecting it. Saturn's face was high in the sky, and his smile shown down upon us. To think, he was just alive earlier today… After him was Constantine, which wasn't that much of a surprise. The next face made me twinge with guilt. Poor Vijay. I remember having a few conversations with him during training. He seemed like a sweet kid. It was a darn shame he had to die. Another face appeared after him, and I assumed it was his replacement. The anthem ended and the sky went back to normal. I glanced behind my shoulder to see Krindle was moving again.
Hali walked back over to the fire, and just stared into it. Now was my chance.
"Hey Rouge," I started. Her eyes landed on me, and I felt as if my entire heart was incased in ice. "Do you mind if we…talk?"
"Sure." She said. She didn't move a muscle, and I dreaded having to specify what I meant.
"Alone?"
She gripped her bow even tighter before she nodded and started walking away. I followed her, and it wasn't until we were out of sight that she spun around. I could barely make out her facial expression in the moonlight, but she looked pretty peeved to me.
"Get on with it." Rouge growled.
"Will you drop the act and talk to me like you normally would." I hissed back.
"Whose acting," Rouge said sarcastically.
"Obviously, you!"
"If this all you wanted to discuss, I'm done thank you very much," she hissed. She walked right past me, and I started to tense up. I wasn't letting her get away. I would never let her go, as long as I lived. I grabbed her arm, and pulled her back towards me. I quickly grabbed her head and kissed her. At first, she resisted. She pushed and bit me. I didn't let go, and soon she started pulling me closer instead of pushing me away. After a few minutes, I let her go, and I could see she was blushing.
"Are you ready to treat me like you love me again?" I asked.
Her blush deepened, and she rested her head against my chest. "I can't do this anymore… I feel so torn. I need to be strong for my brother. But… I want you. I want you to live… But then he will have to die…"
I could hear the utter heartbreak and pain in her voice. I stroked her hair soothingly. I waited for the waterworks to come, but they didn't. One thing I knew about Rouge, was that she never cried in public. I had only seen her cry twice, and both of those times it was in private. I doubted I would ever see her cry on national television.
"Then don't choose. Win these games for him, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy the time we still have left together." I whispered.
"Whether I win or lose, you're going to be gone. You're going to leave, and I will be all alone." She murmured.
"You'll never be alone. I swear that I will never leave you, because I'll always be in your heart. If you remember these moments, I'll never leave you," I murmured back.
She lifted her head up from my chest, and looked at me. Rouge, District One's actress. She looked completely emotionless, but the next words could have broken even the coldest hearts in the Capital. "I'm not afraid that you'll leave me. I'm afraid they'll take you away from me…"
I felt tears start to pool in my eyes, but I quickly blinked them away. I kissed her once more, before I let her go and entwined her hand with mine. Now the entire Capital knew we were a couple. The sparkling girl from District One and the cold hearted boy from District Seven were in love. Even though she would never admit it, Rouge loved me, and I loved her. We were in this together. Life or death, we would be there to protect each other.
Review! I hope you guys like this chapter! This is the chapter when everyone starts to go searching for the gems, while others are just trying to survive. I hope you guys are liking this story, because I am loving writing it! Please review and I will update as soon as possible. School is a pain in the butt!
District 1:
Girl: Rouge Lockett
Brother: Silver Lockett
Boy: Alex Carter
Girlfriend: Olivia Crane
District 2:
Girl: Isis Robertson
Nanny: Brielle Ibe
Boy: Saturn Everett (killed by Rouge on Day 3 with an arrow to the skull)
Friend: Constantine Blanche (killed by Isis on Day 3 with hidden knife/poison)
District 3:
Girl: Hali Wardle
Brother: Ben Wardle
Boy: Solder Hemsworth (killed by Alix with golden bat during the bloodbath)
Mother: Agrippa Hemsworth (killed by Isis by snapping neck during bloodbath)
District 4:
Girl: Droplet "Rapids" Waters
Mother: Coral Waters
Boy: Charlie Montgomery (killed accidently by Abby with a throwing knife on Day One)
Fiancée: Claire Estate "Black Widow"
District 5:
Girl: Paloma Moretti
Brother: Dario Moretti
Boy: Neal Dawson
Sister: Hali Dawson
District 6:
Girl: Abby Parker
Father: Mill Parker
Boy: Quince Fisher(tortured to death by Saturn on Day 2)
Sister: Piper Fisher (killed out of mercy by Alix on Day 2)
District 7:
Girl: Bree Sulivan
Friend: Sarah Matthews
Boy: Link Trat
Mother: Evalynn Trat
District 8:
Girl: Azalea Cress (killed by Alex during bloodbath with her own throwing axe)
Mother: Violet Cress (killed by Scarecrow Kid Mutt during bloodbath)
Boy: Jute Farlend
Sister: Alice Farlend
District 9:
Girl: Alix van Airengarde
Friend: Anna Raven
Boy: Vijay Blackman (killed by Dusk on Day 3 with a knife to the throat)
Friend: Jim Leewood (killed by bear mutt on Day 3)
District 10:
Girl: Natalie Swan
Friend: Ann Kingston
Boy: Cornium Maculatam
Sister: Danaus Maculatam
District 11:
Girl: Melody Trine (tortured to death by Saturn during the bloodbath)
Friend: Taint Humbue (killed by Alix with bat during bloodbath as an act of mercy)
Boy: Jakov Douglas (killed by the human muttations during the bloodbath)
Girlfriend: Shadow
District 12:
Girl: Olivia "Olive" Pendragon
Brother: Oliver Pendragon
Boy: Dusk Shalt
Grandfather: Sonny Shalt