Chapter 25

Silica wasn't confident in her ability with any particular weapon. Her uniform bore the crest of a career tribute district, but she felt like an imposter, and this is where her true identity would be revealed. Sure, she could talk all day about the self defense techniques Konstance taught her, but she had never used them before, and she certainly wasn't one of those bloodthirsty tributes the district was known for. When it came right down to it, she was just an ordinary person. Sure, she had the training, but she didn't have much confidence in it. She'd never really had to test it out before. If any tribute attacked her, she couldn't say for sure what the outcome would be.

She looked to her left and right, assessing the competition. On her right stood the girl from five. No problems there. To her left, the two males from ten and eleven seemed to be conspiring with each other, but that was fine. It could have been a lot worse. At least she wasn't up against that creepy guy from seven or the monster from five.

She studied the guy to her left once more. He was a bit on the heavy side. If she got off the pedestal fast enough, even if he wanted to attack her- not that there was any reason he would- there was no way he'd be able to catch her if she was sprinting, she knew it. Her best bet would be to get a weapon as soon as possible, then join up with the others to help clean up whoever was stupid enough to stick around for too long.

She scanned the weapon racks near the mouth of the cornucopia, hoping for a set of war fans, but she didn't see any. Her eyes settled on a sword nearly twenty yards in. She recognized the crest on the hilt. It was the same sword she was practicing with earlier; the same one she had been using when June gave her tips on improving her fighting style.

That sword is mine. They put that there just for me.

She adjusted her stance, setting her sights on the sword. In a corner of her mind, some primal instinct sent up a red flag. Her subconscious warned her that something strange was occurring, that something was off, though she couldn't say exactly what it was. Perhaps it was something she saw it out of the corner of her eye, a fleeting sound on the wind, body language that only her most basic instincts could understand. She quickly looked to her left and her right, examining the tributes around her, but everything looked normal.

Still, something felt wrong.

She shook her head, dismissing it as paranoia. This was not the time for her nerves to fail her. She tuned out all other noises, focusing her ears to listen only for the tone of the gong. The world around her fell away. There was nothing else here except her and that sword.

When the gong sounded, she was off like a shot, paranoia following closely on her heels. As she sprinted, her imagination conjured up the shape of tributes chasing after her, nearly catching her, and it pushed her forward. Even running at top speed, she kept expecting a hand to fall on her shoulder, a surprise attack to come from behind, but she didn't dare look back.

She sprinted with everything that she had. Twenty yards. Ten yards. Five yards. She could feel the person chasing her breathing down her neck. When she was close enough, she dove for it. She grabbed the hilt, then tucked and rolled. She swung the sword wildly behind her, hoping to catch her pursuer off guard.

The sword found only air. There was nobody there. Nobody was chasing her. It was all in her head. Standing up, she found that it was oddly quiet. It wasn't just that nobody was chasing her, but there was nobody anywhere.

The bloodbath was already over.

She scanned the empty field around her. The tributes must have been smart this year; they must have all fled immediately. Good for them. No, wait, that wasn't quite right. There was one tribute left. She almost missed it, because she blended right in. She was sitting down on her pedestal cross-legged. She hadn't moved an inch since the games started.

When she saw that Silica noticed her, June gave her the slightest of smiles.

Silica approached her, dropping the sword as she grew near. She knew about what she was supposed to do, but she wasn't really sure if she could do it. She knew that June wasn't a threat, and she didn't know if she could bring herself to attack an unarmed tribute, though maybe that was part of June's master plan. Silica stopped several steps in front of her, and the two stared at each other in silence for a moment.

"You really weren't kidding about that whole not fighting thing."

"Not a whit, we defy augury-", June started.

"There's a special providence in the fall of a sparrow", Silica finished. "I know, I know, but this just doesn't seem right."

June sighed, and looked up at the sky, the brilliant blue reflecting in her eyes. "A sky this lovely will not always remain sunny. There will be times when the rain will fall and storms will carry on. The scenery will change, but if it is left alone, it will stay changed forever." She looked back at Silica. "For that, you must continue to fight, because that is to live."

"You say the strangest things", Silica shook her head. "It almost makes me think-"

June's eyes darted over her shoulder, and Silica instinctively turned to see what drew her attention. When she did, her heart skipped a beat. Oh shit.

"You keep away from her!" June's district partner was barreling toward her at top speed, tears streaming down his face, a sword raised- her sword. Stupid Silica! The bloodbath wasn't over yet, and she berated herself for assuming that it was. Stupid Silica! Stupid!

There was no time to find a weapon. There was no time to come up with a strategy. There was no time to even think. She thanked the weavers of fate for Konstance and his self defense classes. As Joel steamed toward her, she held her best defensive posture and braced for impact.