A/N- 'Ello folks. It's looking like I will not have the Starvation 3 reapings ready by the end of this, so would you rather I finish them, leaving a big gap between the end of this but ensuring super fast updates between them once I'm done, or do you want me to just post them as I write them?
Chapter 24
Caspian Toushone, District 8
"I like aminals," Roe informs me. Again.
"Animals, Roe," I sigh. "N, then m. Not the other way around."
"Uh… yeah. Can I pet a kitty?" she asks.
Man, she smells bad. She did even before we got in here. They drenched her in perfume for the chariot ride, but you could still smell her. Now, after weeks in the arena (had it been weeks? It felt like it…) and no real opportunity to bathe… Well, her stupidity has real competition for the number one reason I hate her.
"No, Roe, there are no kitties here. And even if there are, they'll be muttation kitties that want to kill you," I said with a sigh.
"Kitties're soft," Roe mumbles, eyes zoned out. "They… sweet."
"Cats 'are' sweet, Roe," I sighed. As she muttered another verb-less sentence I finally just gave up, "Okay, forget I said anything."
"Can we have a sandwich?" Roe mumbled.
"I wish," I snorted. "But we're in the arena, Roe, and we-"
Suddenly I'm falling into the ground. No, the ground is opening under me. I shout in alarm, grasping at bumps in the ground. I finally get a handhold on a strong, thick patch of grass. Unfortunately, I have the distinct impression that this won't be enough to hold me once all my weight is hanging from it. All of a sudden, though, the slab of ground bumps to a stop, still at a steep angle to the ground above, but not hanging loose like I thought it would be. I look wildly from side to side. A tree root, of all things, has become wedged in the hinge, keeping the trap door from opening all the way and me from losing my grip on the grasses. I don't think I've ever loved a tree so much before.
I try to dig my toes into the ground, but the only things close to footholds are the small bumps on the ground that make sleeping a real pain if you bed down in the wrong spot. None of them are quite big enough to be of much help, but I at least get a moment to adjust my hold on the wiry grasses and try to slow my pounding heart.
I slowly reach for the root. If I can get a hold of it I can pull myself up, I'm sure. I'm strong enough. But the root stays just beyond my grasp. I stretch for it again, but I feel my foot slip off the knot in the ground. I swear, grabbing the grass again and holding onto it for dear life.
"Roe!" I hiss, my voice too ragged to be a real shout. It feels like if I call too loudly I'll somehow make myself fall. That doesn't make any sense, but I'm a little too busy almost dying to worry about whether or not I'm being rational.
"Roe!" I repeat, more loudly this time. I didn't see her fall through the hole, so she must have been far enough behind me to be safe.
"Roe!" I call. Now I'm really shouting. A note of hysteria has slithered its way into my throat, making my voice crack slightly.
Slowly, I see her dirty blond hair peak over the edge, muddy eyes wide with fear.
"Roe," I say hoarsely. "I need your help, okay? Go over to the tree over there."
She just stares at me dumbly, mouth hanging slightly open.
"Please, Roe!" I growl, arms beginning to shake with the strain of supporting me.
"Just trust me. I've protected you this whole time, okay? I'm not going to let anything happen to you. But without me, you're in trouble. So just come on, Roe."
Slowly, she begins to inch forward, down the slope. "No!" I caution. She jumps. "Go to the tree, Roe."
One thing about having a stupid ally: they're too dumb to betray you, but they're also too dumb to be of much help.
Roe stands uneasily by the tree.
"Okay," I say, my voice low and soothing. "Now I want you to grab a hold of the tree trunk. Nice and tight. Go on, grab it." Roe slowly lowers herself to the ground, wrapping her arms around the trunk.
"No, just grab it with both hands," I say, my voice wavering. She obeys, looking miserable. "Okay. Now lay down on your stomach on the edge of the piece of floor. Make sure to hold on to the tree," I say. Roe begins to, but pulls back with a whimper.
"No, no, no. I can't!" she whimpers.
"Roe!" I beg. "Please!"
She wails, still hugging the trunk. "I can't, I can't. Gonna fall!"
"Roe!" I bark. "You're not going to fall! Please, I've protected you this whole time! I'm not going to let you fall. Help me!"
She shakes her head vehemently, nose running and tear tracks down her face, "No!"
I'm dumbfounded. I mean, I knew Roe was stupid and cowardly, but this is… After all I've done for her, she's just going to let me fall? I can't believe she would-
My foothold crumbles under my weight, dirt falling down into the abyss below me. I guess it really hits me now. Roe is going to let me die. After I spent this whole Games protecting her, making sure she was safe - even though I hated her - she won't do a thing. Roe Tamden's cowardice is going to be the death of me.
"You ungrateful little b- how could you?" I growl, "How could you?"
She shrinks back, still crying. If I thought I knew what hating somebody (even Roe Tamden) felt like before this, I was dead wrong. Now I don't just want to get up this little hill to save my own life, I want to ring her neck and toss her corpse down into whatever the Gamemakers have hidden under the ground. I want to kill her.
"I hope you die," I seethe, teeth clenched. "I hope Wesley gets his hands on you and tears you into a million little pieces! I hope the Gamemakers poison you! I hope the stupid whatever-it-was in the river drowns you- slowly! I- I hope-" And I'm somewhat surprised that I really can't think of anything painful enough to subject her to.
Before I have any more time to think something up, the tough grass finally snaps under my weight. I slide down the ground, screaming, and I'm swallowed up. Gone.
Roe Tamden, District 8
Not my fault, not my fault, not my fault. I didn' make him fall. Not my fault. Uh-uh. Caspian's angry, but not my fault.
Not my fault he fell. Uh-uh. If I tried to go get him, I would've felled. He said I was gonna be safe, but he liar. He was probably gonna kill me. Yeah. He would. Caspian don't like me. He mean. Not my fault, not my fault.
The ground closed up. No more hole. I'm glad 'cause the hole was scary. Yeah. I didn't like it.
I wish Caspian was here. I miss him. I don't like bein' alone. I miss Caspian like when my kitty ran away. Kitties aren't so cranky cause they're kitties. Kitties aren't cranky.
Grass is all squished now. Yeah. Somebody walked over it all. Uh…
Wesley Sawr, District 1
I've always hated heights, now I remember why.I landed safely, but it was mostly luck. The ground opened up under my feet, so in all rights I should have fallen.
Luckily, I landed sitting on the edge of the ground, with my feet bumping against the slab of ground now hanging into space. My heart was pounding, but I was alive. After I scrambled safely away from the edge of the hole, it was pretty easy to simply sit back and wait for the ground to close up; which it did, eventually. It took probably six of the robos with it, but there are still more than enough of them to keep me in line.
I am being incarcerated by squirrels, aren't I? It's not very manly, if you ask me.
I massage the side of my stomach, where the kid stabbed me a while back. It seems like it ought to be more serious, but it's really just sore. I wonder if it would be possible to rip it open again. I hope not, or I bet the robos will try to kill me that way at some point.
For a while, I wish I could remember his name. Clearly, he was tougher than he looked. He fought me and he managed to leave a relatively impressive slash in my side. I can respect that, even without liking it all that much. He must have come pretty close to killing me. For a kid with his size and his experience, that's actually kind of impressive. At least I'd had experience wrestling around with bullies. Everybody does, in the poorer part of town. My nose wrinkles.
If there's anyone in the world I hate right now, it's not the Capitol, strangely enough. I mean, they can't all be as bad as their leaders. Back during the reaping and the interviews most of them just seemed like idiots. They couldn't mastermind something like the Hunger Games even if they tried. Though their leaders, they have reason to be mad. Not at District 1, or 2, or 7; but at all the others, all of the Districts who rebelled. I'd like to give them what they deserve for involving the six kids who had nothing to do with the rebellion, but I do believe they earned the right to punish everyone else.
No, it's not the Capitol I hate. Or at least, that I hate the most. It's the rich people in District 1.
I live in the "lower-class" part of District 1. Which is sort of a warm and fuzzy way of saying I live in the slums. But the rich people don't even pussyfoot around it, just the Capitol. The rich jerks up in the north of the District seem to think we're the problem, somehow. "Slummy". "Problem". "Disgrace to the name of District One". They seem to think the crime of being poor gives them a perfectly valid reason the call you any and all of these names; on more or less a daily basis. The only way to be safe is never to leave the slums.
I think of how the last four kids chosen from the Games, including me, have all been poor. It's not fair, and it doesn't seem quite right. I know the poor part of town is a heck of a lot bigger than the rich part of town, but I can't shake my suspicions. I bet those rich daddies and their trophy wives bribed the Capitol to keep their children's names out of the reaping ball. Wouldn't surprise me. After all, they would be protecting their little darlings and getting rid of a few "slummy dogs" at the same time. How neat and tidy. I hate them, even more so now than back at home. When I win, they're going to pay for it.
The idea flares in the back of my mind, like a lamp turned on and then off almost immediately. If I win, I become untouchable. The victors are the Capitol's darlings, or at least Wrianin Abro is. The second victor would get the same deal, wouldn't they? I bet I could do anything I wanted to and just get a slap on the back of the hand for the benefit of the general public. So when I win, I'll have more power than any of those CEOs ever will. A smile spreads over my face. I'll kill them, or one of them.
I decide almost immediately on Platinum Reinhart. After he laid off my father last year, things got a lot harder at home. The question is how to do it. I doubt I'd get all the way through his office without being stopped and searched for weapons. So, break into his house, then? I guess so. I'd just better be careful so I don't end up killing his wife or one of his daughters by mistake. That wouldn't be much help.
I smile again, lying down to watch the clouds. This could be fun.
One of the robos chitters in anger as I almost crush it. I jump up, holding out my hands in apology. "Sorry, sorry! Don't kill me."
I really do think that's their job now. I had one chance to work with the Gamemakers, when they gave me Chip. Now that I turned that down, I work for them. And I'm a tool like any other. I scorned them, so now they'll dispose of me at their soonest convenience. Well, I have something to say to them about that. Give it to me. I'm ready.
"Alright then, boys," I say loudly. "What's on the agenda today? Or should I say, who is?"
Surviving Contestants:
District 1: Wesley Sawr (Wez-lee Sahr)
Baylyn Homer (Bay-lin Ho-mur)
District 2: Eewyn Carre (Yew-in Cuh-ray)
District 3: None
District 4: Evita Cormichael (Eh-vee-tuh Core-michael)
District 5: Adrian Martinez (Ay-dree-un Mar-tee-nez)
District 6: None
District 7: None
District 8: Roe Tamden (Row Tam-dan)
District 9: None
District 10: None
District 11: None
District 12: None