Chapter 24:
Velour Thurston, District 8, Victor of the 146th Hunger Games
The angry sobs have stopped ripping through Velour, leaving him with silent sobs as tears keep streaming down his face. His eyes burn as he stares at the screens, wishing he could just shut his eyes and forget about everything that happened, but he knows there's no way to forget.
No possible way for him to forget the sight of Viradie brutally having her neck snapped.
The image keeps replaying in his head, bringing about a fresh round of tears as he stares at Clark's screen. He so badly wants to blame Clark for what happened. Blame him for Viradie losing her life so soon. Yet he can't. Not when he sees identical tears streaming down the boy's face as he runs away, nervously glancing over his shoulder. But Astrid didn't blame Clark. In fact, she was out there with so many other victors, desperately trying to get sponsors to support their tribute. Velour should have been among them, getting Viradie the notebook she was looking forward to.
But he's stuck here, watching Clark as Astrid does her best. Velour nervously glances around at the other mentors, instantly being able to see who is missing from their group. Aura, who had run away almost instantly, face full of desperation to get medical supplies for Beryl. Dampero and Mazie, knowing they needed to get something for Bristol and Skye who had survived but now run north with nothing. Kanzi, showing an initiative and drive that wasn't there last year. And Glenwood, face full of uncertainty but also anxious for answers about what happened to Hazel.
Someone steps in front of him, blocking his view of the other victors. Velour tries to rub the tears away from his stinging eyes, but knows it won't do anything to stop the redness. Everyone knows how destroyed he was by Viradie's death. Still is. But he doesn't have to look up much to see a young girl smiling gently at him. "Do you…is it okay if I sit with you?"
"Why?" Velour asks Pinova, not understanding why the young victor would want to sit with him, the only victor here who can't seem to get past their games. He's nothing special like Astrid, winning at thirteen, or even the careers who keep bringing home victors. He's just a sad young man who lost the sweetest girl in the bloodbath.
Pinova gives a small shrug at this and when she smiles sweetly at him, Velour turns his attentions back to the screens. She's just going to give him pitying looks like the other victors. That's all everyone ever does with him, forgetting that there's more to him than his mental torment. "Well, I didn't really get to know you when I was on my Victory Tour…" Velour glances up at her in surprise at this that turns to confusion at her looking genuine about this. "And, well…I'm still not sure if I was allowed to do this…"
"Do what…" Velour starts as she reaches into her jacket and pulls out a small ball of fur that she offers out to him. When the kitten lets out the tiniest meow, Velour can't help but hold out his hands to take the animal. "He's so cute."
"He sure is," Pinova speaks up and Velour turns his attention away from the kitten, surprised at her response before realizing he had spoken out loud. Pinova gives him another small smile as she takes the seat next to him. "His name is Corvo. That little guy has gotten me through the past few days…" Corvo starts to curl up on Velour's lap and when he starts to purr, Velour smiles softly at him and feels a tear running down his face. "Oh my goodness, I didn't want to make you cry! I wanted to give you something to be happy about."
Velour lets out a laugh at this, the sound rough and surprising to him. He doesn't even know the last time he laughed…But when he looks up at Pinova, so concerned about him crying over a kitten, for a moment he smiles up at her before turning his attention back to the kitten and starts scratching its chin. "You didn't make me cry, I promise…Thank you," he whispers up to her, not understanding why she's doing this for him.
"You're welcome," Pinova responds before glancing over at the doorway and letting out a sigh. Velour follows her gaze to find Kanzi returning. "I should probably see if there's anything I can do to help," Pinova continues as she turns her attention back to Velour. "You can hold on to Corvo for a while, if you want. And you can also come sit with me, if you want."
"I'll think about it," Velour says quietly, not knowing if he can handle being with anyone other than Astrid or Letha right now. When he turns his attention back to her, she looks disappointed at his response but when he tries to smile at her, her face lights up and she nods at him before returning to Kanzi.
Velour lets out a sigh as he turns his attention back to the small kitten that's starting to fall asleep in his lap. He smiles at the tiny animal, so grateful for this small way of distracting him right now, because for the first time in a long while, thoughts of the games aren't hovering in the back of his head, threatening to send him into a panic at little things.
"I see you made a friend."
Velour jumps a little at Astrid's voice, causing Corvo to let out a small meow as he picks up his head. Velour pets him right away and the kitten settles back down, before turning up at Astrid and smiling a little at him. He's been doing that a lot today. "Yeah, I've never had a cat before…I really like him."
"Oh I wasn't talking about the kitten," Astrid responds as she sits down in her seat next to him, letting out a loud sigh. But when she turns her attention back to him, she almost looks…proud of him, for some reason. "I was talking about Pinova."
"I doubt she wants to be my friend," Velour responds quickly, mood darkening once more at that thought. No one ever wants to be his friend. They just want to pity him or use his victor status.
"And I doubt that," Astrid scoffs at him but when he turns to her, there's a hint of a smile. "Don't push her away. For all we know, she might be going through something similar. And she's new to this. She probably needs someone closer to her who can be her friend and we both know Cal isn't the best option."
Velour shakes his head at this, wishing he wasn't reminded about Cal's poor attempt at being his friend. "I don't know. We'll see. But I don't matter right now, not when we still have Clark."
"Velour, you always matter to me," Astrid responds immediately, voice full of confidence at this. But she lets out another sigh and Velour turns his attention back to her. "But you're right. We have to do everything we can for him. I'm not giving up on District Eight getting a victor and neither should you."
Clark Botwright, 13, District 8
Run Clark, whatever you do, just keep running. Clark's brain keeps shouting at him as he keeps glancing back over his shoulder, struggling to see if anyone is chasing after him. Yet even if his brain is yelling at him to run, every other part of his body is yelling at him to stop. His legs are screaming to stop, feeling like they're made of lead with each step. His lungs are yelling at him to stop with every intake of breath causing air to burn through them. His eyes are yelling at him to stop so the tears clouding his vision don't make him run into a tree or worse, a tribute.
But most of all, his heart is yelling at him to run back to the Cornucopia and do something to change what happened to Viradie.
As the trees start to thin, Clark forces his legs to move even faster. No, he can't go back there. He can't face the careers, not with how small and weak he is compared to them. Not that it would even matter anymore. All he would be doing is giving them an easy target and putting them one step closer to victory.
Clark cries out as his foot catches on a root, sending him flying forward. His face slams against the ground with a crunch and his vision blurs even more, no longer just from his tears. He struggles to push himself to his knees as his arms shake with the sudden throbbing pain on his face. He fights to focus on the ground but all he can manage to do is watch red drops slowly start to coat the ground below him. A shaky hand comes up to his nose and he gingerly touches it before letting out a gasp of pain. When he pulls his hand away, he is surprised to see blood covering it.
He slams his fist on the ground, feeling even more tears filling his eyes at the pain of his nose that has to be broken. How did he manage to break his nose on the ground? He's just so damn pitiful. Why would anyone ever want to send him gifts? He's just a young kid who breaks his nose on the ground and can't even save his friend.
A sob rips through Clark's chest at this thought and his fists clutch the sand. "Why…why couldn't I save her?" He closes his eyes but it doesn't stop the tears. He doesn't know what will stop the tears except going back in time and stopping the Reaping from ever happening. And now that his eyes are closed, he can't stop the image replaying in his mind and that terrible snapping noise. And the fear on her face… God, it's all my fault that happened to her. She was following him. Viradie is dead because he was selfish and thought he could get items for them. And he just threw away his one chance of having something to protect himself without even hurting Coeus.
Coeus…
Clark lets out a scream at the thought of the man that killed Viradie, not caring that there may be tributes nearby that hear him. He just can't care about anything except how much of a failure he is, unable to protect the one person he cared about. And how could anyone do that to someone as innocent as her? How could anyone kill in cold blood like that? Viradie didn't deserve to be sent here. She deserved so much more than this terrible arena. She deserved more than Clark as an ally. And Coeus deserves nothing more than to have the worst death possible.
Clark sits up, filled with a sudden anger. He can't do anything to change what has happened, no matter how much he wishes he could go back and run towards Viradie instead of the Cornucopia. But he can make sure that Coeus doesn't become victor. He has no idea how he can do that but if he ever sees Coeus, he'll…he'll…he'll do something to make sure he doesn't become victor. And then Clark will become the victor because Viradie can't.
But as he turns up towards the sky, his eyes start blurring once more with tears he wishes he could stop. Why does he care so much about someone he just met a few days ago? But as he stares up at the sky through blurry eyes for a moment, he knows why. No one has ever liked him so unconditionally, even when Clark was rude and wanted nothing to do with her. And she changed him…somehow, she changed him and showed him how to actually be friends with someone.
As he stares up at the crystal blue sky, unaltered with pollution from factories like at home, he can't help but wonder if there really is a heaven. If there is, surely Viradie is there and she'll be surrounded by all the flowers she dreamed of drawing. That thought brings an unexpected smile to his face and a tiny bit of hope. He sniffles, cringing in pain from his nose as tries to wipe away the tears on his face. "I'm sorry, Viradie. It's all my fault that you're dead. I was going to protect you…"
With a shaky breath, Clark turns his attention away from the sky and back to his surroundings. A rocky beach stretches in front of him before reaching water and for a moment, he can't help but appreciate the beauty of so much nature surrounding him. There's nothing like this in District Eight…and Viradie never got to see it.
Clark rubs his eyes, taking a shaky breath to try to stop himself from feeling so much sadness. But now that he's sitting alone, in an unknown place, the reality of what is happening is starting to set in. He's in the Hunger Games…and the odds of him winning are not that great.
But he has to win. Not just for himself now, but for Viradie. Maybe winning will make things right again.
Clark can only hope that winning will take away the heavy knot of guilt he feels in his chest at the thought of his one true friend that he lost.
Skye Miller, 16, District 9
"Bristol, it defeats the purpose of you helping me through the arena when you're running slower than me." Skye hears a huff from Bristol and feels the tug on her arm as her ally slows her down. Skye starts to pull at her to keep moving, but as she slows, she starts to become aware of the ache in her legs and the way her chest burns with each breath in. "How long were they running? And what even is the arena that they're in?"
One more question plays at her lips, but she refuses to speak it. She just doesn't want to speak it and make there be truth to it. But she had recognized the voice screaming for her to run and that person never joined them. Skye hadn't thought twice in the moment when Bristol started dragging her up and telling her to run. Now, it's been a while since five cannons have fired yet Skye refuses to even think that one of them was for Marek.
"I'm trying but I have short legs," Bristol huffs once more and Skye hears her plop down onto the ground next to her. "And I have no clue how long we were running but long enough that I think we're far away from the others…I think the only other people heading in a similar direction to us were Jarvis and one of his allies."
Silence falls between them as Skye contemplates this comment. Only one of them had joined Jarvis? She hadn't expected them to win, yet they were all so young…similar in age to sister's. A new ache fills her chest at the thought of her family. Are they watching her now, desperately hoping that she'll win despite the larger and trained competition?
Skye lets out a sigh as she sits down near Bristol. She won't give up on winning, even if the odds are against her. And she knows her family won't give up on her either. But she brings her knees up to her chest and wraps her arms around them, feeling a deep yearning for District Nine. But this just reminds her of Marek. "Bristol…" She starts, resting her chin on her knees and sighing as she contemplates not continuing and letting herself stay in denial for a few more hours. But part of her is begging to know why only two of the four in their alliance are together. "Marek was one of those cannons."
Not a question as she knows in that moment that it has to be true. Why wouldn't Marek be here if he hadn't been one of the five killed in the bloodbath? He had made it clear last night that he wasn't going to abandon her, even when she told him that his odds would be a little less with her.
Bristol's silence answers the question for her and Skye lets out a loud sigh at this and shuts her eyes as she tilts her head down to hide her reaction from the cameras. "Yes," Bristol finally whispers to her and Skye shakes her head at this.
"Who?" Skye asks, voice muffled and shaking slightly as she fights against the prickling in her eyes. She shouldn't cry over this. She knew Marek would die if she was to win. And yet…she hadn't anticipated how much it would hurt to see her ally die. No, he wasn't just an ally. He had become her friend. And that just makes it completely worse.
"Beryl," Bristol responds and Skye can hear her shifting closer until they're sitting side-by-side. She waits for Bristol to put an arm around her or something that people would do in an attempt to make someone feel better, before realizing that Bristol is not that type of person. But when she continues, Skye can tell Bristol's voice is strained. "Beryl was running in our direction and Marek tackled her to the ground."
Skye scoffs at this and shakes her head at the stupidity of tackling one of the careers to the ground, yet she finds herself starting to smile even when she feels like crying for Marek. "That was stupid. Why would he do that?" Yet even as she asks the question, she knows what the answer is going to be. Because Marek was just too good for these messed up games and cared more about everyone than himself.
"She was running towards us," Bristol continues quietly from next to Skye, a small amount of fear in her voice. As Skye pictures that happening, she understands why Bristol would have been so afraid of facing a career. "Marek stopped her for a few seconds and probably saved our lives."
Skye picks her head up at this, still filled with conflicting emotions about the loss of her friend, but a new feeling starting to push the others aside. "Well I hope Coeus catches up to her and she gets what she deserves."
Bristol lets out a tiny laugh at this comment, making a smile play at the edges of Skye's mouth before she flinches at a sound behind her. She jumps and hears Bristol cry out when she knocks her ally over. But the sound continues, a steady beeping until an object slowly falls onto Skye's lap. "Is that…really for us?"
Skye gently picks up the small container, confusion filling her before realizing she's still on Bristol's legs and shifts over. Rocks dig into her legs as she holds out the item to Bristol. "Open it."
"No, it's yours," Bristol answers and Skye can hear a hint of bitterness in Bristol's voice. "It landed in your lap, not mine, so clearly it's for you."
Skye scoffs at this and shakes her head in the direction of Bristol. "You and I both know that isn't true. Anything we get from the sponsors, I'm sharing with you."
Bristol is quiet once again for a few long seconds before Skye feels the object taken out of her hands. A small pop echoes around them as Bristol opens it, letting out a small sigh of relief at the contents. "Water. They sent us some water." A slight breeze hits Skye's face, bringing the smell of the ocean that must be nearby, as well as the smell of something that was just baked. "And a full loaf of bread."
Skye lets out a sigh of relief at receiving some food and water as she had been avoiding the thought of how they would find those things after leaving the Cornucopia empty handed. And a bit of stubborn pride fills her that despite having a disadvantage over everyone, the Capitol is still believing in her. "Well Bristol, we might not have our full Six-Nine alliance, but it seems like we have some supporters still."
"I wonder what happened to Aero" Bristol whispers as she passes the bottle of water. Skye gives a small shrug as she takes a tiny sip, all too aware of how little water they have been given. "I didn't see him."
"I'm sure he's fine," Skye tries to sound confident about this, not wanting Bristol to feel the same pain in her chest that she has right now over losing her District partner. She gives Bristol a small nudge with her elbow and tries to give what she hopes is an encouraging smile. "You said that Jarvis only had one of his allies with him. That means three of those cannons were probably his allies. Aero got out alive."
"I sure hope so," Bristol answers, her tone giving away the doubt in her mind as she stands up. "If he did, hopefully we can find him."
Skye isn't quite sure about this as they have no idea how large the arena is. Yet she finds herself hoping the same thing as she stands up, zipping up her jacket as a strong gust of wind brings cold air. "Me too. But if not, he's smart and can handle himself. At least we have each other."
Skye starts walking, feeling the ground slopping down and hearing Bristol take a couple quick steps to catch up with her. A warm piece of bread is passed to her and when she takes a tiny bite, she can't help but smile when she recognizes the bread her family always makes back home. They can still do this.
They walk in silence for a minute, the only sound being the distant crashing of waves. At least, that's the only thing Skye can think the sound will be, having never been to the ocean before. It's a comfortable silence, one Skye has started to realize Bristol prefers, until her ally finally speaks up. "Yes, at least we have each other."
Decima Felix, 17, District 2
Decima is itching to get out into the forest to start looking for tributes. They should have started searching hours ago before the others had time to get far away from the cornucopia. Yet for some reason, Coeus decided to have them wait until tomorrow. Decima has no clue why, especially with Coeus's bitter grudge against Beryl. Surely he would want to hunt her down immediately. But nothing Decima said could convince him otherwise.
It's a troubling thought that somehow, he's started to pick up on her manipulation. Well, it was probably Zephyr. There's no way he figured that out on his own. But Decima has to be more careful now. The threat of him snapping at her is all too real now that they're in the arena and blood has been spilled. Blood that she didn't contribute to and shouldn't have been from her alliance.
She scowls for a moment at this, pausing in her walking of the immediate area to glance back at their camp. She still can't believe that Em died in the bloodbath. If they would have taken Nyra has their ally instead of Jett, perhaps Em would have still been alive. But it doesn't matter now. And too many tributes ran from the bloodbath, preventing her from getting a kill. Oh she could have easily killed Beryl. She had plenty of time. But not without signing her own death wish when Coeus found out. So that left Decima needing to make up for today and impress the sponsors and the crowd, making sure they're still rooting for her as a victor. Yet stupid Coeus didn't want to go hunting today.
'We lost one ally today. Let's not make it a second by not being rested,' Coeus had told them, sounding more like Zephyr than himself. But he already had a kill. So did Velmour. Decima didn't.
"Be patient, Decima," she mutters to herself and throws herself down to the ground, letting out a loud sigh as she glances around the woods. She can still see the small village through the woods, but thankfully, Coeus is no longer in sight. She shouldn't be so concerned about Coeus wanting to wait until tomorrow, yet she is, despite there still being plenty of tributes remaining. And in the end, it won't matter when she killed people, just that she did and was the last one standing.
Her eyes turn to the forest floor and a grin slowly starts to form on her face. She reaches forward, delicately touching the petals to her side before quickly pulling the stem from the ground. She leans around her, gathering five other small flowers growing and seeing a few more in the distance. Well, today isn't completely wasted. At least now she has some poison to use, and none of the others will know that these small white petals cause paralysis.
Decima uses her sleeve to hold the petals and takes out a knife, slowly rubbing the pollen onto the edge of her blade. One slip of her knife and she's done for. But Decima has been working with poison for years and knows how to handle it.
She starts to tuck the knife into a safe pocket and grab another when footsteps approach her. She grips the knife tightly and is ready to jump up before she sees Stormy walking over, arms full of mushrooms. Decima relaxes and gives Stormy a friendly smile, knowing it would be useful to have someone in this alliance who might help her should Coeus attack. "You know, you really shouldn't sneak up on someone trained like me."
"Well maybe you shouldn't sit alone in the woods," Stormy responds, a faint smile playing at the edges of her lips. She looks down at Decima's lap, any hint of a smile disappearing as she nods her head towards the flowers. "You don't strike me as someone who likes to pick flowers."
Decima laughs lightly at this, partly to keep Stormy thinking that they are a good pair together, and partly to give her time to figure out a response because the look in Stormy's eyes is betraying the friendly smile that she put on her face. "I'm not really, but these flowers just…remind me of my sister. She loves these flowers." Decima can see in Stormy's eyes that she is doubting this answer and Decima is left with either confronting Stormy about her possibly knowing what Decima is up to or diverting the topic. So she goes with the latter. "What's up with the mushrooms?"
Stormy glances down at the mushrooms in her hands before turning her gaze back to Decima, the weird look gone from her eyes and replaced with friendliness. "I'm going to use them to spice up some of the canned food we have. I also found some crabs down by the water. In fact, I was just about to start cooking dinner."
"Are you sure those mushrooms are safe?" Decima asks as she stands up, tucking the flowers away in her pockets. The action doesn't go unnoticed by Stormy, but the girl doesn't say anything. Decima brushes her pants off and laughs a little, "I don't really want to hallucinate from mushrooms."
Stormy genuinely laughs at this as they start walking back towards their camp, making Decima feel confident that she can win Stormy over and use her. Well, as long as Stormy doesn't stay stubbornly loyal to Velmour. "I don't want that either."
"Hey guys!" Velmour calls out to them from the doorway of one of the small houses as they pass by. He holds up a dusty bottle and grins over at them. "Look what I found. Still sealed and everything."
Decima raises an eyebrow at this and glances over to see Stormy shaking her head at him. "Velmour, we're in the Hunger Games. Maybe it's not the best time to drink?"
"Maybe," Velmour responds as he jumps down the steps and walks over to them. "But I'm going to hold on to it. I'll have it as a victory toast when I win." Decima forces herself to laugh at this, even as her mind drifts to the flowers in her pocket and how easily she could make sure he isn't victor. She doesn't have to respond to this as Velmour has noticed the food in Stormy's hands. "You're cooking food?"
"Yes," Stormy answers and Velmour holds out his hands to grab stuff from her. With a hand free, she uses her thumb to point over by the water. "I even have crabs that look like they're from Four."
"Sweet, I'll help you," Velmour says and they start walking over to the campfire that Jett sits by and stares blankly at, chatting away about food options and seemingly not caring that they left Decima behind.
This is not good. They're too close to each other and Decima isn't sure if she can take on both together. And as she watches Stormy grab a pot of water to heat, looking all innocent, Decima recalls the look Stormy had in her eyes when she saw the flowers. Maybe she shouldn't underestimate Stormy.
As Decima joins them by the fire and watches the Four pair interact, it's clear to her that things are just going to get more complicated with this alliance.
Vida Edison, 16, District 5
"I don't understand why we're just sitting around here and just waiting."
Vida purses her lips, holding back from making a comment about just how impatient Nyra is right now. A comment that just might push Nyra away and ruin Vida's chances of using her to get further. Vida knows her strengths are from her mind, not brute strength or the ability to effortlessly wield knives, like her ally. And after the loss of Hazel so soon, Vida is all too aware of the shifts in their alliance. Subtle, yes, subtle enough that she doesn't think that Nyra is aware of them. Yet still present.
Oh she wasn't bothered that Hazel died. She had long since accepted that she was going to win and to do that, she would get rid of her allies. Hazel was a means to an end, and sure, her early death has thrown her plans slightly off. And really, if the Gamemakers had specifically targeted her, perhaps it's best that her death happened now when Vida couldn't get caught up in her downfall. But Vida is confident that she can get back on track.
If only Nyra was so damn – or darned, as she insists on saying so darned often – impatient.
"Because, Nyra," Vida starts carefully, once again having to establish the importance of coming up with a plan to her ally who is now a bit bolder without Hazel. "We can't simply just run in and attack Beryl. We don't have the numbers for that anymore."
Nyra lets out a sound of discontent at this and Vida turns her attention away from the tribute they've been following for a while now. It had been pure luck that Beryl had stumbled past them, clutching her arm soaked with blood. Both of them had agreed that they couldn't pass up the opportunity to show the Capitol that they had meant everything they said last night about being strong competitors. But injured or not, Beryl is still lethal. One wrong move and they're done for.
Which is why Vida is stuck up on a hill, hiding behind trees and dealing with an impatient Nyra. At the expression of discontent on Nyra's face, Vida turns once more to study Beryl at the bottom of the hill. The girl has started to slowly build a fire, wincing every once, surely from her poorly bandaged arm having to lift logs. Yet Beryl is smart, grasping an axe in her good hand tightly and often looking around. That is why Vida won't let Nyra just run in. "We need a good plan since we no longer have Hazel."
"And I get that," Nyra sits back, crossing her arms and tone giving off a hint of disappointment. "If Hazel was here, we would have no problem overtaking Beryl, especially with that injury. So," Nyra turns to Vida and waits for her to look over once more, giving her a pointed look before continuing, "What's our plan? Ambush her in her sleep?"
Vida shakes her head at this, turning back to watch Beryl as she lights the pile of wood she painstakingly put together. Instead of sitting down, Beryl paces in front of the fire, occasionally stopping to stare out into the woods surrounding them. But Vida can see from the small glimpses of Beryl's face that her wound is exhausting her. "That will never work. I would be surprised if she even plans on sleeping tonight."
"Then what are we supposed to do?" Nyra asks in a harsh whisper, leaning in closer to Vida. "Sit in a tree all darned night and just wait for Coeus to find her instead?"
"Shut up," Vida slaps a hand over Nyra's mouth as Beryl stops her pacing and whips her head over in their direction. Vida can feel Nyra take a deep breath in as they both tense, staring down at Beryl and waiting to see if the older girl will notice them.
A few tense seconds seem to last minutes as Vida waits and waits for the moment when she'll need to decide if they grab their bags and flee or grab their knives and fight. Beryl stares seemingly at them, eyes narrowed and knuckles turning white on the axe she holds in front of her. There's no doubt from her stance that she is ready to fight and kill.
Finally, Beryl relaxes her grip but still is tense as she turns her gaze back to surveying the area around her camp. Vida waits a few more seconds before moving her hand from Nyra's mouth, giving her ally a pointed look. "That is why we will not run right in. Now, do you want to keep your voice down or do you really want to fight Beryl tonight?"
Nyra stares at Vida, face set like stone with no emotion, but her eyes betray her portrayal of a determined girl. She finally shakes her head and quietly clears her throat. "No. I like staying alive and I plan on winning." Vida purses her lips at this, but stays quiet about how if things go as planned, Vida will be the one winning. But she is content to wait and take her time, especially after seeing Nyra's eyes betray her cool demeanor. "So what do we do?"
Vida glances back at Beryl, studying the career once more as she paces by the fire. They certainly won't catch Beryl by surprise now. Not with her on high alert. But if there's one thing Vida is good at, it's reading people and figuring out just what makes them tick. Beryl will be no different from the others at home. Well, except for winding up dead after Vida is done.
When Vida returns her gaze to Nyra, devious smirk starting to form on her face, she finds Nyra watching her carefully. And when her ally sees her expression, a similar smile starts to form on her face. "Finally, you have a plan. I'm tired of sitting behind this darned tree."
"I have a plan," Vida responds, having to fight back the urge to laugh in anticipation for her plan. "Nyra, how do you feel about a little trickery?"
Aero Fensa, 15, District 6
Aero doesn't understand the guilt coursing through him still. It's been hours since the bloodbath happened. And he's in the Hunger Games, of all places. There's no time for him to feel guilty.
It would certainly be easier to not feel guilty if he could just forget about the sight of Marek running straight towards the cornucopia to reach their allies. He hadn't seen what had happened, but he can imagine what happened. Not that he wants to imagine his ally getting destroyed by careers. And he has no clue what happened to Bristol and Skye.
And now…Aero's all alone. For the first time in his life, he's truly alone. At home, he could always count on his sister being there. He thought he could count on Marek being with him in the arena. But now? Alone. All alone.
Which only magnifies his guilt for not doing anything to try and save Marek.
Aero lets out a sigh at this before throwing a hand over his mouth, worried about the noise even if it was quiet. He can't risk making too much noise when he is in a risky spot. He hopes he's making a right decision by staying close to the Cornucopia and counting on the fact that the careers will think no one is dumb enough to do that.
As Aero wanders around the woods, keeping as close to an equal distance between himself and the Cornucopia as possible, he can't help but think through the items in his bag and how he can utilize them. Dried fruit…bandages…a thermal blanket… And the most peculiar item, a small spool of thin metal wire. Aero's mind hasn't stopped wandering, contemplating all sorts of ideas for how he can use that as a weapon.
Trap? Too thin.
"Hmm," Aero mutters to himself as he turns the spool of wire around in his hands, focusing on this instead of any of the other nagging and guilt-ridded thoughts at the back of his mind. So focused that he doesn't catch the slight sinking into the ground of his right foot before it's too late to get out of the way.
"Oh crap," he yells out as metal bars shoot out of the ground around him and arcing above his head to fully trap him. The surprise of the cage appearing sends him back a step, only for him to trip on a branch and fall down harshly. Once the bars stop enclosing him, there's silence for a moment and Aero jumps forward to grab the bars, refusing to sit still and die because he got caught in a trap.
But a touch to the bars has Aero knocked onto his back, staring up at the sky as he struggles to breath for a moment. His mind is cloudy as he breaths heavily and tries to figure out what happened. He's felt like this before…when he incorrectly wired up a circuit before. Aero sits up in shock that the cage is wired, brain still hazy as he looks around, trying to figure out who set up this trap. But he doesn't think anyone in the arena would have the skills or the time to get this set up.
"Why?" Aero asks out loud, confused as to why the Gamemakers would make him get caught in this trap. "I haven't done anything wrong!"
But then the bars start to move closer to him.
"No, no, no," Aero desperately mutters as he presses down to the ground, hoping the bars won't make it all the way to the ground. He uses his backpack to carefully touch the bars, yet there's no way he can pry them open. "I don't want to die! Not like this!"
Aero curls up, trying to hide his face in the ground so his sister doesn't have to see the fear on his face as he dies like this. But a few seconds pass with nothing happening, and Aero hesitantly peeks out to see that the bars have stopped. A shaky hand reaches over to the bars, expecting a shock to follow, yet all he feels is cold metal.
He lets out a long sigh of relief as he tries to sit up but has to remain hunched over under the bars. He has no clue why the trap stopped working, but he won't question it if it means he gets to live to see another day. But when Aero looks out into the darkening forest, he's surprised to find a girl watching him. "Did you set this? Hoping to get an easy kill?"
Aero watches carefully as the girl steps closer, allowing him to recognize the girl from Eleven. She tightly grasps an empty water to her chest and Aero can see that's all she has. She shakes her head at him, hesitant and with a little bit of fear showing through. "No."
"Then, uh, you want to help me out of here?" Aero asks and lets out a lone laugh. "My neck is kind of cramping up here."
"Why should I do that?" The girl asks as Aero searches his brain for what her name is. "How do I know that you won't kill me right away? And how do you know I won't just kill you?"
Aero purses his lips at this, knowing she has a good point, before shrugging, "I won't but I understand why you question that. But I can share my supplies with you. I have food and I know where there's a stream to fill up that bottle." Aero can see that she isn't fully convinced by this yet, but is almost there. "Wait, you're the circuits girl from training!"
"I prefer Ati, but yes, I guess." Ati relaxes her grip on the bottle slightly, but her stance is still tense as if she's ready to leave at any moment.
"Okay, Ati, I have an idea," Aero responds, not really having an idea but hoping he that if he keeps talking, he can come up with one. "We're right near the careers-"
"I know," Ati interrupts him, making Aero raise an eyebrow in surprise at this. "I was just by their camp, seeing if there was any possible way of getting supplies."
"And was there?" Aero asks, even though he can already see the answer.
"No," Ati answers him, voice full of disappointment. "But I did see Lauris there, doing the same thing. You're probably lucky that I found you and not her."
Aero keeps being surprised by Ati, yet he can't help but start to feel his muscles cramping up from being kept in this tight cage. "Well, what if we use this trap against them? I know some circuits stuff and could certainly use your help." Now Aero can see that Ati is really considering helping him out. Who knew that all he had to say was that they would target the careers? "Come on, Ati. Wouldn't it be great to say that you helped take out a career with a trap like this?"
Ati is quiet for a minute, seemingly thinking it over, and Aero is left just hoping that she'll make the decision to help him out. Otherwise, he'll almost certainly be found by the careers and killed. "Okay," she finally says, relaxing her arms and taking a hesitant step towards him. "But if you even think about putting me in this trap, I'll yell so loud that the careers will definitely hear me."
Aero lets out a chuckle at this, grinning at Ati and sticking his hand through the bars. He waits a moment before Ati takes it and gives it a hesitant shake. "Ati, you have a deal."
Caladium Malva, District 7, Victor of the 144th Hunger Games
Cal has been waiting impatiently for everyone to get back from gathering sponsors – well, he had also been part of that at one point – and to be over their initial shock at the bloodbath. The cannons have fired for the day and most tributes are settling down for the night, letting the mentors get a brief moment of reprieve from their constant watching.
Just what Cal has been waiting for.
Cal slips behind the bar with Pigmy, going unnoticed by almost all of the victors except for Sativa who hasn't left the bar and pulls her current glass closer to her and away from him. He tries to ignore the sting of her glare, but he still wishes she would forgive him already for something he didn't do.
"Cal," Glen cautiously calls over as Cal and Pigmy start pouring out shots into enough glasses for everyone. Cal grins up at him, laughing at Glen's face full of concern at what he's doing before turning his attention back towards pouring out the liquor with Pigmy as Glen gets up and starts making his way over to the bar. "What are you doing?"
"Don't worry about it Glen!" He almost shouts before laughing with Pigmy as they start putting the glasses onto a tray. Glen reaches the bar, looking exasperated at Cal like always, and Cal leans against the bar and gives Glen an innocent smile. "Just take this drink and go sit back down at your table."
Glen lets out a loud sigh but begrudgingly takes the glass from Cal as he starts to leave the bar. Cal sets another glass in front of Sativa and she pushes it away as she glares at him with red swollen eyes, clutching her glass close to her before getting up and moving over to where Mazie sits, stumbling slightly as she walks over. Cal tries not to let the sight of her drunk from her pain at losing Marek bother him, and Pigmy is quick to distract him. "Lets go, Cal!"
Cal chuckles as he starts following her around and passing out the glasses to the victors, a little surprised still that he convinced her to help out with this slightly crazy plan of his. Most of the victors take the glass without questioning what Cal is doing, having learned to accept his weird ideas. Jory laughs a little and pretends to steal Emilio's glass, getting his hand slapped away. Zephyr shakes his head at this, but spares a brief look of concern at Emilio as he takes a small sip.
By time Cal starts giving drinks to Kanzi and Pinova, Pigmy has already given drinks to Johan and Letha and is moving towards Astrid and Velour. Pinova is hesitant to take the drink and Kanzi shakes her head at Cal. The younger girl takes a tiny sip and starts coughing right away at the taste. Cal laughs at her reaction and winks at her when she switches the alcohol with her glass of water. "I won't tell if you don't tell about this."
Pinova shakes her head at him as she sips her water and Cal catches Kanzi rolling her eyes as he turns around. Pigmy has been a lot more effective than he is and now all but Aura holds a glass. Cal quickly makes his way to her, grinning in hopes that this will get her to stop frowning so much over Beryl. He can understand being concerned but there's only so much Aura can do at this point.
Aura hesitantly takes the glass from Cal as he holds up his own. "Cal, why do I have a bad feeling about whatever you're going to say?"
"Because most people do," Cal answers with a chuckle before glancing around at the other victors, clearing his throat even though they're already paying attention to him. "Alright everyone! I know the reason we're all here is not a very happy one." Cal catches Matla rolling her eyes at this and keeps grinning. "But I'm happy to see all of you here and we do have a couple things to celebrate."
Cal pauses for a moment so he can hold up his glass towards Aura, giving the woman a genuine smile and not his usual grin when he's causing trouble. "The beautiful Aura here is now engaged and I think that calls for a toast. And of course, we can't forget something just as important," Cal turns to Glen and this time, he does have a troublemaking grin on his face. "We need to celebrate Glenwood becoming even more ancient!"
A few laugh at this as Glen shakes his head. "I think Aura's engagement is more important than my birthday."
Cal almost responds that Glen's birthday is more important to him, but everyone is turning their attention to Aura. She tries to smile at them but lets out a sigh. "Thank you, Cal, for this. I really am excited about my engagement…but I just can't think about it right now. Not when Beryl is injured and two tributes are planning a trap for her."
"I know, but one quick toast?" Cal says quickly and grins down at her, knowing that she'll give in eventually to his smile. They all do, even Glen when he pretends he doesn't want to.
Sure enough, she eventually sighs but holds up her glass and smiles up at Cal. "One toast, then I'm going back to finding sponsors."
"Fair," Cal says and holds up his glass, waiting for everyone else to do the same. "To Aura's engagement! May you have a happy relationship and plenty of cute kids who hopefully look better than Emilio!"
"Hey!" Emilio calls out and Jory starts snickering at this as the others echo Cal's toast before drinking. Some are like Cal and toss it back, mostly those who lost a tribute today or are taking advantage of the free liquor. But most sip it and set it aside, intent on staying sober for their tributes.
Conversation starts to pick up once more among the mentors and Aura stands up, setting her barely touched drink on the table in front of her. She puts a hand on Cal's shoulder and gives him a forced smile. "Thank you, Cal. I really do appreciate the gesture." Aura sighs as she glances around at all of the victors, her eyes lingering on the screen in the top left corner with Beryl struggling to stay awake. When she turns her gaze back to Cal, her eyes are misty and full of sadness. "I love all of you and you're my second family. But I have to keep fighting for Beryl. I'm sure you understand."
"I do," Cal responds seriously for once as he looks over at the screens. It's easy for him to find Oakland's, surrounded by two black screens. The young boy is asleep, finally looking peaceful and no longer crying after watching his ally die and learning that Viradie also died. Jarvis has his arm protectively around Oakland, keeping him close for warmth as he searches the dark forest for anyone approaching. And Cal knows that if he were there with Oakland, he would be doing the same and more.
When he turns back to Aura, he smiles sadly at her. "I want him to win so badly, but we all know the odds." Cal shakes his head at this, knowing he can't give up or else Oakland really won't have a chance. "Alright, I'm going with you to see what I can do. Surely someone will want to help the cutest tribute in the arena."
Welcome back! Like usual, I'm going to apologize for how long this took to write, but I had to prioritize school. I'm sure many of you understand as you're in the same boat as me. But now that my semester is nearly over, hopefully I'll be able to get back to updating this fairly regularly!
So I hope you enjoyed that journey full of feels. I know I sure got a lot of feels when writing it. And I decided to be somewhat nice (debatable, really) and not give you another death after the bloodbath just happened. But buckle up, because I have a lot of stuff planned for this story and things are going to get real sad.
So what do you think about this chapter? I decided on the theme being tributes who lost someone in the bloodbath, yet clearly the reactions are all very different. Will Clark get his vengeance on Coeus? Will Bristol and Skye run into Jarvis and Oakland? Can anything split the D4 bond? Will Aero and Ati be successful? And will we ever see Coeus v. Beryl? Find out on the next episode haha
Yeah but seriously, thanks for sticking around while I didn't have the time to write. I'm really excited about what I have planned for this story and I hope you're excited too. By time you reach this, I'll have the has/needs list updated on my profile, as well as updated some stuff on the story blog. Oh and keep an eye out on my random story blog as I might post some short AU's for each of the fallen tributes there.
Here is the list of updated points:
AdventureWriter24 – 5
AmericanPi – 215
BirkaranDaSurvivorCraver – 115
CelticGames4 – 405
David12341 – 260
District 9 Tribute – 30
District5Chemist – 90
Fabulous Abby – 10
GalacticCoach – 95
Golden Moon Huntress – 105
Goldie031 – 145
HogwartsDreamer113 – 45
HoppsHungerFan – 80
IVolunteerAsAuthor – 105
ImaginationStories – 25
IncompetentlyIncineratingYou74 – 10
Jessicallons-y – 5
J. I. nifinity – 10
Jqa4988 – 15
Jul312 – 45
LadyCordeliaStuart – 45
later. glader – 155
Little Knight Mik – 50
LokiThisIsMadness – 60
LordShiro – 25
Mewruru – 25
Misfit-right-in – 80
Mystical Pine Forest – 35
Mistycharming – 150
Ozimira – 115
Platrium – 5
Seahorse8 – 25
SherlockedAtHeart – 45
ShunKazamis-Girl – 35
Singlewave – 100
Sparky She-Demon – 10
TheDancerSG – 40
Thorn5502 – 65
VeneratedArt – 45
Ways – 125
Winter's Writing – 65
Yyvonnee – 30
See you guys soon! And yes, David, my next priority is getting Jinx's chapter done for Wayward :p
