Since I've gotten a few questions about this, yes, Keata is an illusion. The real Keata is back in District 8 somewhere. Hapi was about to crack but his mind put up a defense mechanism in the form of his fox so that he wouldn't totally lose it.
Hey, I think every character is shown in this chapter! Schweet.
Oh yeah and two more advertisements. JuneTwentieth and Laugh-Read-Music-Dream (Angela's creator) are starting up their own SYOTs. As always, feel free to give them a tribute or two!
Kelsea was the only one shown in the sky that night.
Angela, after leaving the Careers a web of footprints to follow, headed to the deserted temperate zone, which was quickly becoming nonexistent. Even though the two sides were creeping closer to one another, the middle ground between them was still the most bearable place to be. And the Cornucopia was there, of course.
But when Angela scoured the area, she found that everything was gone. The entire Cornucopia had been cleaned out. Blood stained the dusty orange rocks around it. Her stomach rolled at the sight of it.
Angela couldn't help but give a small huff of frustration. Oh well. She decided to take up residence in the rock formation north of the Cornucopia. She was only too glad to leave behind the ice side. As far as she knew, that strange beast was still on the loose. And now, the Careers were on the hunt too, thinking they were hot on her trail.
This would be the safest place, for now.
Despite the fact they had banned together in order to trade night shifts, Zane was having a hard time getting some much-needed sleep. He was lying on his back on Hapi's parka, trying to ignore the throbbing in his stomach. But that wasn't the worst of it.
Hapi kept letting out sharps gasps every ten seconds. Each time he did so, it made Zane give a little jump of surprise. Even when he was expecting it, it still shook his nerves. Fed up with it, Zane forced himself to sit up. It took a good amount of effort, but he managed.
He then observed Hapi at the mouth of the cave. He kept peeking around the corner and letting out short yelps of surprise. At one point, he flopped onto his back, flailing around like he was fighting off some sort of invisible demon. But all the while, he was laughing.
"Hapi!" Zane snapped, a little bit too forcefully. But he was highly irritable when he didn't get his sleep.
Hapi jerked in surprise and turned around to face Zane. "Forgive me, Zane. I thought you were asleep." He whispered.
Zane squinted at him, eyes darting around cautiously, "What's going on? Why do you keep doing that?"
"Oh," Hapi chuckled, "We're playing the ninja game. It's Keata's favorite."
Zane tried not to lose his patience, or else he would say something he regretted. "Why don't you get some sleep?" He said in a controlled voice, "I bet you could use it."
Hapi's expression softened. "Thank you. Come on, Keata."
He peeked back around the corner to where the fox was crouching. She sprang at his face, but he shooed her back.
"No, we're done. It's time for bed." He told her in a soft voice. He tried to coax her into the cave, but her lip curled at the sight of Zane. Her ears went flat against her skull and her bushy tail fluffed up twice its size.
Hapi sighed. He didn't blame Keata for her wariness. But he knew this alliance was necessary to their survival. So he crawled back into the cave to take Zane's place on the parka. Zane went over to the mouth of the cave and made himself comfortable.
Keata gave a warning growl to Zane, but he didn't react. She circled around him, giving him a wide berth as she entered the cave. She bounded to Hapi's side and curled up next to him on the parka. Hapi ran his fingers through her fur.
"Good night." He told Keata.
"Night." Zane responded.
Hapi frowned, but didn't bother to correct his ally. He lie down on the comfortable jacket and fell asleep almost instantly.
Zane couldn't help but close his eyes, if only to rest them. But he listened carefully to any sound that would warn him of approaching danger.
Suddenly, Hapi let out a shriek that nearly gave Zane a heart attack. He turned to see the Asian's face screwed up with pure rage. He was muttering expletives under his breath. Every so often, he would drop the F bomb.
Zane cringed, trying to resist the urge to totally lose his cool. He saved your life, He reminded himself, Deal with it.
Saffron was always late to rise. He woke up laying face down in his sleeping bag, warmed by his own body heat. For a long time, he stayed like that, slowly trying to force himself back into reality.
"Hey Sleeping Beauty!" Ravish called, "It's time to get up."
Grumbling, Saffron removed himself from the sleeping bag, rubbing at his eyes. When he opened them, he saw Ravish soaking in the hot springs. And she was completely naked. Saffron gave a strangled cry and threw his arms over his face.
"I command you to put some clothes on!" He shouted.
Ravish narrowed her eyes. "You command me? Hey, you were doing it yesterday. Besides, if I got my clothes wet, they'd be frozen as soon as I got out."
"B-but…you're…" Saffron searched for words, feeling extremely flustered.
Ravish rolled her eyes, "I'm not trying to seduce you or anything. I'm just trying to keep warm. You're welcome to join me, you know."
"Certainly not!" Saffron protested, "That would not be chivalrous at all, for me to look upon you. I shall respect your privacy!" He turned around and sat down, facing away from her. Despite the temperature, his face felt uncomfortably hot. Foolish Blackwell! He grumbled inwardly, crossing his arms.
Ravish made her way to the other side of the pool so that she was right behind Saffron. He refused to turn his head, fuming quietly. "So you'd rather freeze to death?" She said in a mocking tone.
Saffron didn't respond. "I'll take that a yes." Ravish shrugged, leaning her head back. She gave a contented sigh, relishing the warm water on her bare skin. She cupped it in her hands and splashed it on her face. "Hey Saffron…" Ravish said slowly, observing the ripples caused by her movements, "You're not mad at me for killing Kelsea, are you? I mean, you're such a self-righteous snob, I thought maybe you would…" She trailed off uncertainly.
Saffron snorted. "I do not care if Cutthroat died by your hand. Although I do take some offense to you calling me a self-righteous snob."
"That's a relief." Ravish said approvingly, completely ignoring the second part of his statement.
"After all, anyone that cannot survive the Hunger Games does not deserve to live and pass on their undesirable genes, according to my father. We are simply purging the world of lesser human beings."
This statement surprised Ravish. She wondered how he could act so loyal to his comrades if he felt this way. Ravish glared at his back, saying, "Is that so? And what if you die in the Games?"
"Don't be silly, Blackwell." Saffron said calmly, "I have the purest of blood."
"That's not…ugh. Forget it." Ravish growled. She slapped at the surface of the water, watching approvingly as it exploded on impact. Annoyance pricked at her insides. She silently hoped some of it splashed onto Saffron, but if it did, he didn't say so.
"Blackwell," Saffron said suddenly, "Were you sponsored that shield?"
"Yeah," Ravish replied, "About time District 1 got some love. Have you gotten anything?"
"No." Saffron answered quietly.
"Gee, I wonder why?"
"Cease your mockeries, mongrel."
"Whatever. Remind me why I reformed an alliance with you?"
As the days passed, Bentley was slowly starting to become frustrated. They were nearly a week into the Hunger Games and only about half of the tributes were dead. They were going by far too slowly for his liking. I don't know how much longer I can keep this up. He thought wearily, returning to his camp after spending the morning hunting.
He had found nothing. He hadn't even seen another life form, let along caught one. It was as if all of the wildlife had up and left the arena. Even the fish had inexplicably disappeared.
Sighing with fatigue, Bentley decided to stop by his camp for a short break. His backpack was safely tucked away in his cave. But as he drew close, he could hear something rustling inside the cave. Thinking it was some sort of wild animal, he got a firm grip on his axe and bravely entered.
He froze with shock at the sight of another tribute, rooting through his stuff. Having barely interacted with any of the tributes, Bentley had no idea what this boy's name was much less what district he was from.
As soon as he saw Bentley, the boy gave a jerk of surprise. He backed away slightly, but Bentley's backpack was still clutched in his hands. A sword was clasped in the other. "You!" He gasped, "You're Beatriss's district partner!"
Bentley narrowed his eyes. "Give me that." He said in a low, dangerous voice.
"I'm Emmett," The boy said hastily, his eyes searching for a way around Bentley, "I tried to save Beatriss, but—"
"I don't care." Bentley growled, refusing to let Emmett's words distract him, "Give me my backpack."
Emmett's innocent front dropped right off. His lips curled into a snarl. "It's mine now!" He snapped, and Bentley could see how thin he was. This boy was half-starved.
But Bentley felt no pity. Every instinct told him to fight this intruder. He closed in on Emmett, trying to block his escape. Emmett dropped both backpacks and slashed his sword at him. Bentley drove the axe into it, and a loud metallic clang rang throughout the cave.
Despite being younger, Bentley was stronger. He had spent his days caring for his family, chopping firewood, while Emmett had holed himself away in his room, drawing landscapes. The third swing of the axe easily sent Emmett's sword flying from his hand. He threw up his arms to defend himself, and Bentley brought the axe blade smashing into them.
Emmett was trapped, with no way to defend himself. He screamed as Bentley's weapon cut through his flesh. With no other options, he dropped to the ground, trying to make a dive for his sword. But his cracked ribs hindered him, making him cry out.
Before he could retrieve his weapon, the axe came down, burying itself into his back. Emmett stopped in his tracks, lying sprawled on his stomach. He twitched for a few moments, and then fell still. Panting, Bentley waited for the cannon. Only after it sounded did he remove the axe from Emmett's body.
He immediately reached for Emmett's backpack, only to find that he had run out of nearly all of his resources. There was no food, no water, and an empty box of matches. There was only a roll of gauze, for wounds. Bentley took Emmett's extra gloves and socks, and was prepared to take Emmett's jacket, when an unexpected noise nearly made his heart stop.
At the blare of the trumpets, Jarek nearly fell out of the tree he was climbing. "What's going on?" He called down to Kalin and Amara, from his perch. They were way down below him, looking around in confusion.
"Congratulations, my dear tributes." The voice of the Head Gamemaker filled every corner of the arena, "Each one of you has made it to the top ten."
There was a long pause. Kalin and Amara exchanged a glance, expecting that somewhere, in another world, the Capitol was going nuts. The Gamemaker was probably waiting for their applause to come to an end before continuing. The arena, however, couldn't have been more silent.
"To celebrate," The Gamemaker started up again quite abruptly, "we've prepared a feast for you. It will take place tomorrow at the Cornucopia, when the sun rises. I would suggest you be there. After all, you must be very hungry…"
The voice faded and the Head Gamemaker's presence disappeared.
"Oh, I get it!" Jarek called down to the others, "Because this is the Hunger Games! Hahaha, the Head Gamemaker has a sense of humor!" He was laughing his head off.
"That explains why the squirrel Jarek went after randomly vanished," Amara mumbled, "They're trying to starve us so we'll attend the feast." She looked to Kalin, waiting for him to say something.
His eyes were distant. "We're going either way." He said quietly.
Amara's eyes widened. "W…we are?" She breathed, feeling dreadfully nervous.
Kalin nodded. "I'm sorry, Amara." He murmured, "We can't fight it anymore. We've got to be a player in these Games, if we want to win."
Amara was visibly shaking, but she tried to put on a brave face. "This very well may end up being the climax of the Games," She said quietly, "What if one of us dies? I…I don't want to lose you." Her voice came out in a squeak, much to her chagrin.
Kalin smiled, holding out his arms to her. Amara stepped forward and allowed him to wrap them around her. So warm… She thought, immediately comforted. She listened to the strong, steady beat of his heart. It felt so reassuring. "You don't have to come," Kalin told her softly, "You can stay here with Jarek. Where it's safer."
Amara pulled back, looking up into his kind green eyes. "No," She said, her voice suddenly strong and full of determination, "I'm going with you."
Kalin's eyes shone gratefully. "Thank you, Amara." He murmured.
Suddenly, Jarek clumsily crash-landed beside them, proclaiming, "All right! Group hug!"
Kalin laughed and reached out an arm to Jarek, who happily joined in. They all held one another close, confidence welling up from their warm smiles.
"Okay, let's do it!" Kalin declared, stepping back and holding out his hand. Jarek and Amara put their hands on top of his. "We're in this together, right until the end!"
"Yeah!" Jarek cried out, voice full of fervor.
Amara nodded, beaming. "Let's do it!"
Hera wanted nothing more than to attend the feast.
But walking had become impossible for her. She had never felt pain like this, in all of her life. Her leg was completely eaten up by infection, swollen to nearly twice its size. She was constantly dry heaving, quickly ridding her body of what precious food and water it had inside of it.
For some reason, death seemed very far off, despite her symptoms. It seemed as if she were doomed to keep on suffering for days, at this rate. She wondered if she would starve to death or die of infection first. Tears filled her eyes at the prospect of it.
"I-I…don't w-want…to die…" She choked out weakly, from her position on the ground. She silently willed for some sort of miracle to happen. For some life-saving medicine to be delivered, or her own personal banquet. Even a sip of water would have made this more bearable. Her throat was as dry as the ground beneath her. Each breath that rattled through her lungs pained her.
Tears rolled freely down her dirtied face, leaving shining trails. For some reason, they burned her eyes. I can't take it anymore, She thought, squeezing them shut, I just want to die…
She shifted from her position on the ground ever so slightly and caught sight of her knife, laying a few yards away. It had flown from her hand when she collapsed. She stretched her arm out to take it, but it was out of reach.
Sobbing, she used her arms to drag herself over the rocks to get to it. Already, her skin was raw and bloody. Her cuts and scrapes were clogged with dirt that stung whenever she moved. But somehow, she managed to pull herself close enough to snatch the knife between her fingers.
With great effort, she brought her arm back, holding the knife to the back of her neck. The same fear that had taken hold of her when she possessed the gunpowder filled her up inside. But she knew that this would not bring pain. Only relief.
She pushed the blade to the back of her neck, sobs racking her body. "I'm sorry, Mom!" She burst out, "I'm sorry, Dad! I hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me…"
With a final scream, she dug the knife into her neck.
RIP Emmett and Hera.
Emmett: Another hard one to write. He had kind of a split personality thing going on, so I never really knew whether to have him being self-deprecating or overly arrogant. But it's always sad to see another tribute fall, no matter who they were. Emmett, even though you thought you had to win the Games to prove yourself to your parents…you already proved yourself long before.
Hera: Ah, the little fighter that everyone thought would go down right away in the Bloodbath. I hope she surprised all of you. I think she was one of the most realistic tributes and I enjoyed writing her, especially her interactions with Hapi. She took a memorable way out too...
Ah…I'm getting super depressed. So many good characters dead. And some who are high on my list of favorites are still fighting it out… ;_; I'm gonna go cry in a corner now.
BTW NEW POLL GO VOTE, YEAH? :)