Enjoy!
Chapter 28 A Pound of Flesh
Day 5 of the 77th Hunger Games
The first sound Sky heard when she awoke was a shrill scream. For a moment, her fuzzy mind thought that Luna was being tortured. But upon clearing her eyes, Sky discovered that it was in fact Griffin screaming.
"WHERE ARE THEY?!" He cried to Sky as soon as he noticed she was up. His face had turned a dark shade of crimson while his eyes appeared to be bulging from their sockets. It would have been comical if she hadn't realized the reason why he was so upset.
"Where'd they go?" Sky shouted, rising to her feet while grabbing for her axe and sword. Their allies were gone, leaving her alone with Griffin.
"Do you think I know?!" Griffin demanded, pacing angrily.
Sky rushed outside, followed by a fuming Griffin, and began to check for tracks. The blizzard had passed, giving way to a beautiful dawn. The sky was clear once more with gulls flying across the bay. Even the temperature had risen to a point of relative comfort, even without the jackets. Examining the ground, Sky became even more discouraged when she was unable to find any tracks.
"The blizzard must have covered them up!" she raged. It took all her willpower not to start cursing the Gamemakers then and there. Griffin, less composed, continuing screaming about the betrayal.
"We hunt them down! We kill them slowly and we make them suffer for this! All of them!" Griffin raged, his arms flailing out at imaginary foes for real slights.
As he continued to mutter to himself, Sky took a moment to consider what this development meant for her. There was no denying that the Career pack was finished. There was no recovering from this, even if Chance and Krystal came back. In fact, Sky was actually surprised that she had woken up at all. If Ansel did indeed team up with Aileen and the field rat, then why hadn't they killed her and Griffin in their sleep? It would have made things much easier for them.
'Because they're weak!' Sky reasoned, reaffirming herself of her strength. It gave her confidence that she would survive this betrayal.
But Aileen... she had left her as well! For some reason, the knowledge of that hurt more so than it did for Ansel. It was ridiculous considering Aileen was an outlier, but Sky was forced to admit she enjoyed the younger girl's company. She thought they were... well it didn't matter now.
'There are none of those in the Games.' Sky told herself, hardening herself for what came next.
"Very well. If they've chosen to abandon the Careers, then so be it! We'll show them what happens to traitors!" Sky cried. "We'll hunt them down and slaughter them."
"And slowly at that!" Griffin chimed in, a sick grin coming to his face as he imagined the coming carnage.
Chance awoke in the lap of luxury. Wrapped in silk sheets and resting on satin pillows, Chance had enjoyed his night sleeping in the captain's bed. For a moment, anxiety filled him as he looked over to the door. Pleased to see that it was still barred, Chance settled down once more, allowing his eyes to shut after noticing Krystal rotting body was still in the room.
There was no doubt about it now. Krystal was dead. Her skin was a decaying white and the smell alone confirmed it. He was surprised at first that the Gamemakers hadn't removed her body, but how could they? The claw wouldn't be able to reach her body. After resting in bed for a few more minutes, Chance jumped out of bed, dressed in only his jumpsuit and socks. He moved to Krystal's side and held his fingers to her neck to confirm her death. Feeling no pulse, Chance quickly pulled his sword from her chest, causing blood to ooze slowly from her wounds. With as much consideration one would show a trash bag, he dragged Krystal's body to the opening in the floor that Jory had fallen through on day one. He then dropped Krystal's body through it, watching it roll slowly down the incline and out into the open. The Gamemakers would be able to reach her body now.
Next on his list, before food even, was to see if he could claim his prize.
The previous night, he had descended below deck to see what the Gamemakers had in store for him. Chance was surprised to find a short hallway and an ornately decorated wooden door at the end of it. He was even more surprised to find the door locked. He tried breaking it down, but the door was firmly in place. He then realized that Krystal was not actually dead yet, meaning the door would not open. However, Chance was unable to finish the job so he had instead fallen asleep to allow Krystal to die naturally.
With that requirement complete, Chance descended down the stairs once more. He then arrived in front of the door and grabbed the handle to pull out.
The door opened with him.
Slowly, Chance entered the room, sword raised in front of him incase of a trap. Instead, he was pleasantly surprised to find the inside accommodating and luxurious. In fact, it felt as though Chance had stepped into an entirely new ship. Gone were the wooden paneled walls and floors. Instead, white linoleum had replaced them. There was not a speck of dirt or decay on any surface, giving the entire room a dream like quality. In front of him was a ornately decorated table with friezes decorating all sides. In the center of it was a bare breasted woman with wings holding two cornucopias, food overflowing from both. Surrounding her were children, eagerly grabbing up the food with happy faces.
On top of the table was the literal personification of the scene, with a plethora of hot food scattered across the table. Chance immediately rushed to it, his senses overwhelmed by it. After days of surviving on bread, nutrition bars, and lukewarm soup, such delicacies were almost irresistible.
Almost.
Chance only paused for a moment, thinking it might be a trap. While often such obvious displays of food were not traps, there were plenty of times when they were. Chance remembered one of the early Games, sometime before the 2nd Quarter Quell, when there was an island filled with food. However, whenever a tribute ate some, they became hungrier due to toxins within the food. It wasn't the deadliest example, but it was still a nuisance that could make a tribute sick, or paralyze them until a mutt showed up to kill them.
After much debate, Chance decided that the food was safe to eat. Why would the Gamemakers kill him now? Sure, there was the possibility of some ironic twist, but that felt to... moral for the Gamemakers. Sitting down to eat, Chance was happy to find that all the food in front of him was breakfast food. Scrambled eggs and toast, freshly squeezed orange juice and jammed toast, sausage links and pancakes, topped with some sort of brown spice. Tasting it, Chance hummed in delight to find that it was in fact cinnamon. Chance chuckled, surprised by the Gamemakers generosity and creativity. Cinnamon on pancakes? After tasting it, he was surprised to find it a most enjoyable mix. Despite District 1 being a place of luxury and relative wealth, cinnamon was still an expensive, and rare, luxury good.
After finishing his meal, Chance took in the rest of the room. On one side of the room with a large bathtub, already filled with hot water that steamed on the surface. Next to it was a toilet, with an elegant shutter screen that could extend past the toilet and bath to give Chance some privacy. On the other side of the room was a mannequin; dressed in the exact same attire all the tributes had started out with, minus a number to distinguish the tribute's District.
'Just new clothes?' Chance wondered, examining the clothes at a closer distance. It didn't look any different, but he was surprised to find that it felt rougher. It was also lighter than the clothing he was wearing now. Applying more pressure to it, Chance began to feel a harder material within the clothing. It felt like metal links were tailored into it.
'Is it chainmail inside the clothes?' he wondered. Drawing his knife, Chance grabbed the very end of sleeve and cut it. Examining it, Chance was surprised to see that it had only cut the exterior and had not punctured the sleeve entirely. If he arm had been in there, the chainmail would have protected it from damage.
'Impressive.' he mused. Feeling bolder, Chance grabbed his sword and stabbed at the chest. His sword didn't even puncture the fabric this time, nor did it impale the mannequin. Smiling now, Chance was extremely happy with his prize. Impenetrable armor. Quite the catch.
But first, a nice bath would do him best. Turning to the hot water, Chance was surprised to find the dirty dishes were gone. Instead, more food had been supplied, the same amount as before. Chance smiled, glad to have his own slice of paradise.
'I'm alive.'
The thought passed through Tassel's mind over and over again as she came too, struggling to escape the fogginess of her own mind. All things considered, it was beyond surprising that she was. Slowly, she rose from the snowy ground before pain engrossed her face. Raising her fingers to her face, Tassel moaned in agony when she realized she couldn't feel half her face. Worse, half her face wasn't even moving.
Whimpers escapes her half frozen lips. She looked around herself, remembering her allies. They were both sprawled across the ground, their hoods tight across their faces unlike hers. They weren't moving either, nor could Tassel see a steady breath.
'No... they're not dead! The Gamemakers would have taken their bodies if they were!' she comforted herself.
"F-Fux!" she cried out, unable to sound out the 'L'. "Get uh! Get uh!"
Shaking her hard, Flux finally came too. She started shaking violently, looking around as she tried to remember her settings. "W-w-we're a-alive!" she fumbled, face looking as frozen as Tassel's. Across her brown face, red scabs had begun to develop from the cold. Her lips were pale, blood dripping from them when they rubbed harshly against her teeth. As Flux felt her face for damages, Tassel moved to Twill's side and began shaking him to wake him up. He eventually came too, coughing angrily. Suddenly, Flux screamed as her hand touched her ear. With a sharp crack, Flux pulled her hand out from her hood, taking with her a piece of her ear.
"'et me see your face!" Tassel demanded, rushing to Flux's side. Carefully taking down the hood, Tassel tried - and failed - to look calmly at the damage to Flux's ears. Flux's face was slowly molding into a look of abject horror while her mouth, agape, was trying to scream.
"How bad?" Flux demanded.
"It's... it could be worse." Tassel mumbled. Flux gasped, disheartened and not buying Tassel's attempt at comfort for a second.
"I... I can't feel my hand!" Twill screamed. Quickly, Tassel began taking off Twill's glove to address the wound. Once it was exposed, Tassel and Twill screamed at the sight.
The hand was mangled and blackened. Frost was crusted along the wounds, shooting out like spikes at some parts. The damage was mostly contained to the hand, but there was evidence to suggest that it was spreading up the arm. His face was also being eaten away by frostbite, his own ears alternating between hot red and darkening red.
"It... it needs to be amputated!" Flux suddenly said; forgetting about her own damaged body.
"What? No it doesn't!" Twill shouted, panic filled.
"It does! The skin's decayed and rotting." Flux said, before quietly adding. "Just like my ears."
"IT'S MY FUCKING HAND! YOU'RE NOT CUTTING IT OFF!" Twill screamed, voice hoarse and raw. He suddenly began coughing violently, flecks of blood splattering on the ground.
"Your throats destroyed from the cold." Flux explained. "Your insides are freezing up."
"I-I'm going to die!" Twill moaned. Tassel looked utterly helpless, hand on her mouth as she looked as though she were about to cry. She had tried so hard to save him, only for him to die a slow death the next morning? It wasn't fair!
Only Flux realized it didn't have to be so, which could be contributed to her social status. Unlike Tassel and Twill, Flux didn't have the luxury of a well heated house. Once again, wealth and privilege had ruined the District 8 tributes perspectives.
"You won't die! We just need to amputate and remove the decayed flesh and get you warm!" Flux insisted.
Tassel nodded fiercely. "We can use the oil barrels again! Start another big fire like I did last night! That'll warm you up!"
"It's my flesh!" Twill bemoaned, still on the amputation part. "I don't want it gone!"
"It has to come off!" Flux insisted.
"Why? That flesh is already dead! It won't do me any harm! It doesn't spread! Why can't it just stay?!"
"Because that's not how it works!"
"WHY?"
"BECAUSE IT ISN'T!" Flux finally shouted, taking out some of her own fear and anger on Twill.
"Enough!" Tassel demanded, trying to take control as she felt her face becoming looser. "Don't forget where we are, people! The Careers could be around!"
The threat of Careers descending upon them was enough to quiet both Twill and Flux. The trio quickly scanned the area around them, looking to see if any tributes were coming their way. "What are those black marks around us?" Flux asked, noticing the circle around them.
"Whale oil that I used last night to keep us warm." Tassel explained. "There are a bunch of barrels in the next part of the ship."
"I'm going to go grab some." Flux announced, rising slowly. "I... I need to move around for a little."
Tassel nodded, not in any mood to move at that moment. "Shout if you need us." she said, moving to Twill's side. As Flux left, Tassel began to re-examine Twill's hand. Short of amputation, Tassel had no idea what to do for it. Angrily, she looked up at the sky. Twill seemed to understand what she was getting at, face turning bitter as well.
"Where the hell are our sponsors?!" he demanded, sounding very much like his old self. "If ever there was a time to send stuff, it would be now!"
Tassel sighed in agreement. "I don't know. I don't buy Flux's explanation either for yesterday. Maybe the Gamemakers are preventing them?"
"Why would they do that?" Twill said, cringing from several shots of pain. "You'd think they would try and avoid dumb deaths like this!"
"You're not going to die, Twill." Tassel insisted.
"Yeah, if I just amputate my hand!" Twill snapped, face looking more sad than angry. Tassel, unsure how to respond, remained silent. Fidgeting slightly, Twill mumbled something under his breath.
"Hmm?" Tassel hummed, leaning in closer. "Did you say something?"
"Yeah... I said... I said thank you. For saving me."
Once more stunned by the nice words coming from her former enemy, Tassel blushed angrily. "Your welcome." she replied. "I didn't want to see Flux or you die."
"I'm glad for that." Twill responded, trying to smile jokingly. Tassel joined him as well, chuckling softly.
"Hey, Twill," Tassel began. "I've been thinking about it for a little, and I've decided that I'm not going to tell Flux. About Trent."
Twill attempted to raise an eyebrow in surprise, but failed for the most part due to the frostbite. "Why wouldn't you?" he asked, genuinely surprised.
"Because we all need each other to survive." she explained. "I've still got my eye on you though, so don't you ever try and pull that stunt again. But I'll keep my mouth shut."
Twill nodded slowly, appreciatively. "Thank you. Again." he replied.
"Don't mention it. And please stop thanking me for stuff. It feels weird when it comes from you."
Now both of them laughed, a welcome relief from the otherwise gloomy atmosphere. The growing crunching of boots could be heard as Flux returned from exploring, her face lit up with excitement. "I found something!" she shouted as she ran back to her allies. Without much explanation, Flux led Tassel and Twill across the ship into the far side of it. They had to help Twill through most of it, his body too weak to move fast. When they arrived at their destination, neither of the District 8 tributes was able to understand what they were looking at. But when they examined the marble alter closer, read the inscription, and saw the carving tools on top, Twill was immediately able to guess what Flux was going to propose.
"You can't be serious?!" He shouted.
"Why not?" Flux countered. "The hand needs to come off anyways. Why not see if it'll do us good?"
"You want to cut off my hand, just because some block of marble says too?"
"Because the Gamemakers said too!" Flux said. "And because we could get a reward?"
"I wouldn't expect you to be so zealous about this!" Twill snapped.
"Twill, it does have to come off." Tassel chimed in. Twill was about to fight back, but stopped when he forced himself to accept the truth. His hand was ruined and Flux was probably right about it needing to come off.
"Do we have Morphling?" he asked, already knowing the answer.
"No. We used it all yesterday and the day before that on your wounds." Tassel replied, also indicating Flux's wounds.
"It's going to hurt..." he added weakly, lower lip shaking.
"Most of the nerves are probably frozen by now, so it shouldn't hurt too bad." Flux tried to comfort.
Twill felt like he was going to cry, but instead worked to compose himself. After a few seconds, he smiled weakly. "Well I suppose I could get a new hand when I win." he replied, trying to show his trademark confidence. Flux and Tassel prevented themselves from rolling their eyes, knowing that Twill needed that dream to make it through this.
"Just do it fast." Twill said, extending his left hand out and setting it on the table.
"Let's get your jacket off first and then roll up your sleeve, just to prevent blood from getting everywhere." Flux said.
"I thought you said no blood?"
"I said no pain... maybe."
Quickly, before Twill could change his mind, Tassel stripped Twill's jacket before Flux rolled up the sleeve. Twill sunk to his knees, his chest almost level with the alter his hand was resting on. As he prepared himself mentally, Flux and Tassel silently debated which tool to use.
"Do you think the cleavers best?" Tassel muttered, nervously. "I mean, wouldn't it be cleanest cut? Or maybe that saw?"
"I think the saw would be best. For cutting through the bone I mean. I know I'm not strong enough for the clever." Flux agreed, still looking over the tools. "What about these clippers?"
"I... I'm not comfortable with those."
"Yeah, me neither. I just... why would they put all this other stuff here?"
"Maybe we should take the stuff with us so no one else can do this?" Tassel reasoned. "These could work as good weapons too. Well... maybe all of them. I don't think those pliers would do us any good."
"Those aren't pliers." Flux responded sadly. "It's a ribcage opener."
"Oh. Oh no!" Tassel muttered back, feeling like she was going to be sick. Flux grabbed the bone saw, looking between Tassel and it.
"Do you want too...?" Flux began, but the look on Tassel's face told her she wasn't able too. "Can you grab the blowtorch then? You'll need to cauterize it once the hands off. And also that belt thing. For him to bite on."
Tassel grabbed the blowtorch and belt before returning to Twill's side. She slid the belt into his mouth, telling him to bite down on it. She then slowly wrapped one arm around him for comfort.
"It'll be over fast." she said. Twill merely nodded in response, turning away with his eyes closed. Flux held down Twill's hand and moved the bone saw to just above his wrist.
"Ready?" she asked. Twill nodded slightly, giving final consent. "Ok... on three! One... two... three!"
Without any expertise, Flux pushed the saw across Twill's skin, cutting through decayed skin and muscle. The second she did, Twill immediately began screaming, moving between that and biting down on the belt. Tassel wrapped herself tighter around Twill, whispering comforts into his ears. Flux didn't let up, sawing through the muscle until she reached the bone. With more determination, she saw through it, crying out herself as she felt the bone break apart under the saw. Blood was leaking out slowly, though the cut across his muscle and bones was clean.
Twill was hysterical from pain, to the point he was close to passing out. Tassel begged for him to remain conscious, while Flux finished up. "Get the torch ready!" Flux demanded, almost done sawing through. As soon as she finished, Tassel flipped on the blowtorch and grabbed Twill's stump, gagging as she felt blood on her hands. With a harsh searing noise, the flesh on Twill's skin sealed shut under the heat of the torch. Within seconds, the wound was closed, filling the air with the smell of burnt flesh. Twill collapsed backwards, struggling to stay awake. Tassel was immediately at his side, holding his head in her lap trying to keep him awake. Meanwhile, Flux looked around for their reward.
"We gave you his hand!" She shouted at the omnipresent Gamemakers. "Where's our reward?!"
Almost immediately, a sharp click sounded as part of the marble shot out like a drawer. Inside were five bottles of what appeared to be Morphling, along with several syringes. Flux looked at it in shock, holding it up to show Tassel who then looked equally as distressed.
"That can't be it?! Morphling?!" she said, exasperated. Flux began pacing the area enraged. That couldn't be all that there was. There had to be more! While she searched, Tassel grabbed one of the vials and started to draw the medicine with a syringe. Once enough was drawn, Tassel injected it into Twill's system. Almost immediately, his posture began relaxed and a heavy sigh escaped his lips. Twill came too shortly after, eyes moving slowly as the drug numbed his senses.
"Where's the reward?" he asked slowly.
Tassel looked at him sadly. "Some of it's in you right now. It was just Morphling." she replied.
Twill looked confused, though not by the lack of reward. "You just injected me with it?"
Tassel nodded her head.
"Hmm... it doesn't feel like Morphling."
Surprised, Tassel pressed him further. "What does it feel like?"
"Morphling made me feel numb everywhere, with a little bit of pleasure. This does too but it feels like there's something else there as well. I feel really, really warm."
Suddenly, Twill's body convulsed as he began sputtering violently. Tassel immediately grabbed his body, trying to hold him down while screaming at him to stop. "FLUX!" she shouted at her ally, who turned and came running back. Just as suddenly as he started, Twill's body came to a rest and he exhaled lightly. "Twill?" Tassel asked softly, fearful for his life.
"It's ok... I feel alright." Twill responded, before passing out.
Remembering that those were almost the exact words he said the previous night, Tassel screamed in fear for her friend. She kneeled over his unconscious body, screaming at him to wake up as an unknown drug worked through his system.
With clear skies and warm weather, the alliance of four departed from the comfort of the underground hot springs. Despite that optimism, there was also a cloud of unease over the group.
Clair's nightmares had returned to plague her, these one far more violent than the previous' night. Worse though was that they continued even when she was awake. One moment she was sitting peacefully, the next her head was shaking back and forth violently. When ask what was wrong, she merely responded that she was 'fine'.
No one was quite sure what was happening. Not even Clair was not fully sure. What she did know was that it had something to do with the pills she wasn't taking. Despite that knowledge, Clair dared not speaking about them. What if they decided she was insane and best to be abandoned? She wouldn't survive on her own!
'Just act like everything's fine, and they'll believe it's fine!' she told herself, not fully believing it herself.
After almost an hour of walking, they arrived at the their next destination, the town. It was one of the last areas in the area, on the complete opposite side of the arena from the Cornucopia. It was hard to believe that it had taken them five days to reach it as the arena didn't seem that big, but early exploration and the blizzard had slowed them down. A trip back would take far less time, if they dared too.
"It looks kind of old." Sterling commented, surprised by the decay in the town.
"It also looks kind of pretty." Brielle said, admiring the lay out. It was a port town, meaning most of the cities efforts were spent on the docks rather than the people who lived there. There were five neat rows of houses extended from the docks, all of them no more than two or three stories in height. There were plenty of docks as well, some of them destroyed with lone pillars standing out in the water without company. Several ruined boats were also marooned on shore, with breaches in their hulls making them useless. Furthest away from the dock was a massive hall with several chimneys, obviously meant to serve as a town center or home to the leaders of the town.
"This will be fun to explore!" Sterling said in a happy tone, excited for the new adventure.
"Carefully though." Brielle replied with a smile, lightly knocking into Sterling. He laughed at her and repaid the gesture in kind, making Clair feel sick and Watt extremely awkward.
"Well, there's no way we're all splitting up, so why don't we go in teams of two?" Sterling proposed, an idea forming in his head. "How about Watt and I check out the dock and first two rows of buildings, while Brielle and Clair check out the last three. We can meet in the middle of the town and then go and check out the main hall together!"
"Um... I'd rather go with you if that's ok." Clair chimed in, not at all open to the idea of spending time with Brielle.
Sterling expected this and smiled brightly through it. He really wanted Clair and Brielle to get to know each other better. It wouldn't do to have tension in the alliance, and he knew that Brielle felt really bad about Clair not liking her. Luckily, Brielle spoke up before him.
"Come on, it'll be fun. Just some girl time!" Brielle laughed, putting up a good front. 'Such a silly idea, Sterling.' she thought. 'No doubt you think yourself so clever.'
Clair looked between her and Sterling, resigning herself to having to spend time with Brielle. 'It won't be too bad... hopefully.' she tried to tell herself. With the plan decided, the two groups split off, everyone except Sterling upset with the pairings. Brielle and Clair started with last row of houses, examining all of them slowly and with weapons at the ready. Most of them were abandoned, containing nothing but a few tables, chairs, various kitchen supplies, and perhaps a bed. Unlike the nature aspects of the arena, there seemed to be little care for the aesthetics of the town.
About half way through their searching, Brielle decided to try and be friendly with Clair. At least for Sterling's sake. "So, how are you feeling?" she asked in a pleasant tone. "I mean about the nightmares and stuff?"
"Fine." Clair replied, unwilling to discuss her nightmares. "We probably shouldn't be talking."
"Oh there's no one around here. I'm pretty sure our alliance is the furthest in the arena."
Clair growled softly, forcing herself to be civil. "What about you, how are you feeling?"
"Me? Oh, I'm pretty tired myself." Brielle replied honestly. "But the hot springs were really nice."
"I noticed that you and Sterling got really close."
'Is she jealous?' Brielle thought, keeping a smile on her face. "We have been, I guess." she laughed. "He's very nice too. Better than most people I know."
Clair squinted at that remark. Was that an attack on her? "It's helped that he's had a rather comfy life in the countryside. It's the cities in District 10 that are awful."
"It couldn't have all been bad. How's your family life? I never heard much about it."
"There's nothing to say about it." Clair suddenly snapped. "Why don't you tell me about your family life?"
Brielle shrugged, trying not to look bothered by the question. "What do you want to know?" she replied.
Clair paused, having to think of a question. She hadn't actually expected Brielle to agree. "Um... did you live in an orphanage?"
"Nope. I lived in a friend's home." Brielle replied truthfully. There was no use lying about it. Panem would learn the truth during the Final Eight interviews.
"But what about your real family? What were they like?"
"Oh, they were nice. My brother, Tiberius, and I were really close. But my father... what was that?"
Both tributes were immediately alert, Brielle's sword and Clair's knife drawn. "What did you hear?"
"There! That building over there!" Brielle said, pointing to a nearly destroyed building. The roof was almost entirely gone, looking as though something had exploded inside of it. Outside were bits and pieces of wood, scattered from the roof. Outside was a swinging sign, the word 'Shop' barely recognizable due to the chipped paint.
Brielle moved quickly towards the shop's front door, Clair in tow. With a quick kick, Brielle knocked down the shop's rotting wooden door and rushed in, scanning the room for possible enemies. Clair followed, less smoothly and with more nerves. The inside of the shop was a mess, with shelves and racks scattered about. In the center of the room was a giant hole that aligned perfectly with the hole in the roof.
"Did something fall through the ceiling?" Clair wondered out loud.
"I don't think so. Otherwise the wood we saw outside would be in here." Brielle commented. "This is a pretty big hole."
The light streaming in from the roof illuminated the tunnel well. It dropped for almost twenty feet before curving towards the bay. Looking around, Brielle noticed a book lying next to the tunnel. Grabbing it, Brielle flipped through it quickly. Meanwhile, Clair continued to examine the tunnel. The walls were scathed and looked as though someone was clawing at the sides. It certainly didn't look manmade. In fact, it looked as though there were scratch marks along the side of the tunnel.
"What does the book say?" Clair asked.
Brielle looked up from it, shutting the old book quickly while rolling her eyes. "It's just a prop for the Games." she announced. "It's the diary of some girl who's just writing about this boy she likes."
"That's all?"
"I only skimmed it, but it seems that way. She mentions briefly about her parents dying, her taking over their shop and making a profit, and eventually marrying the guy. It's rather romantic, I like it."
The last part of Brielle's statement sounded forced, but Clair wasn't interested in analyzing it. "Do you mind if I have the book?"
Brielle shrugged. "Sure, why not? It seems like some nice escapism." she replied, handing the book over to Clair. She accepted it gladly and carefully placed it into her pack. Hopefully it would make for a nice read later at camp. For now, they had to keep exploring the town.
Meanwhile, Sterling and Watt were examining the dock area. Watt kept looking at Sterling, feeling awkward around the rather jubilant individual. How could he look so happy in the arena? In Panem, no less?! Watt had never met anyone in District 3 that was ever this cheery, or even content!
'District 10 must be a nice place.' Watt thought. It had to be beautiful with all the cattle ranges. Despite that pretty imagery, Watt couldn't see himself doing well around so much nature. He had lived in a city his whole life, so a simpler life probably wasn't in his favor. District 3 was poor, but it still had a lot of the technological advantages that other Districts didn't. District 10, along with the other outliers, always sent in tributes that seemed totally befuddled by anything technology related. Even light switches seemed to surprise them!
"So..." Watt began, his face becoming red with embarrassment. "Um... how are you feeling?"
Sterling smiled back, silently bemused by the Watt's demeanor. "Not bad. I think we really did need that rest yesterday. It was pretty great!"
"Yeah... I guess. The arena's pretty nice, at least aesthetically."
"Hmm?"
Watt looked at Sterling, "What?" he asked.
"What does that mean?"
"What? Aesthetically?"
"Yeah."
"Um... pretty. Well, the way I used it doesn't really work. It's more for when someone cares about appearance."
"Oh, I've never heard that term before." Sterling replied. Watt wasn't sure how to respond to that, so he remained silent. Sterling, however, looked at him pleased. "You're a smart guy, aren't you?"
"I guess."
"Don't be modest!" Sterling laughed. "I can tell that you're smart! You have that air too you!"
"Thanks." Watt muttered, feeling himself become red with embarrassment. It was nice to be complimented, but Sterling knew absolutely nothing about him minus what he heard in the interview. He was probably just relying on the District 3 stereotype and trying to be friendly. Not that Watt minded, he liked being called smart.
"So, what do you think those are?" Sterling asked, pointing towards several marks on various buildings. Watt looked at them, trying to guess what the large black marks and rotting wood came from.
"Maybe fire? Or just rot. They seem oddly patterned though." Watt replied.
"That'd make sense! Still pretty weird though. Come on, let's check out the docks!"
There wasn't much to see at the docks except more rotting wood and boats. The most interesting thing there was a large structure that sunk into the water but had ropes attached to both sides. On land there were two huge cranks attached to the ropes along with two huge, rusting harpoons on either side of the structure.
"Any guesses?" Sterling asked.
Watt shrugged. "Maybe used for constructing boats?"
"But why the harpoons?"
"They look cool?" Watt joked. Sterling laughed and, surprisingly, so did Watt. "Do you want to go check it out?" Watt asked.
Sterling laughed, happy to see Watt coming out of his shell. "Of course! We'll catch up with the girls in a little." he replied, leading the way to the structure. Most of it was rotting, but it was still interesting to examine. Especially the harpoons, which both tributes examined with excitement.
"It looks like you could even still move these things!" Sterling said, examining the harpoons' gears for rust. As he did so, the water distracted Watt's attention when he thought he saw a ripple. Suddenly, something moved across the surface of the water, a pale figure that Watt couldn't make out entirely. The only bit that he did looked eerily like hand.
"Sterling!" Watt shouted. "There's something in the water!"
"What?" he replied with shock, drawing his spear.
"I said there's something in the water!" Watt replied, immediately moving away from it. He grabbed Sterling's arm and started dragging him away as well.
"Was it a fish?" Sterling asked.
"No it was something else! I don't know! I thought I saw a hand!"
Sterling was about to say it was impossible, but then he remembered where he was. Who knew what creepy stuff the Gamemakers had put in the large bay in front of them. A large part of him wanted to see what it might be, but Watt's pulling was his tether and reason. He turned, dissuading himself from explore the water further.
"We should find the girls." he said. Watt nodded in agreement and both of them took of to search for them. They were easy enough to find, located in the center of town where a marble statue of a man and woman stood, both smiling and dressed like the working class. In between them was a small girl with a bright smile and holding a book. Clair and Brielle were standing a fair distance from each other, both of them perking up when the boys returned. Before they could speak, Sterling interrupted them. "Watt say something in the water!" he blurted out.
"What? Are you sure?" Brielle demanded, her mind already forming a monstrous mutt enemy. Clair immediately began to panic, thinking back to the tunnel they saw.
"I don't know what it was, but it was pale and moved near the surface! I think I saw a hand too!" Watt explained. "I mean, it could have been a fish or something but... I don't know much about them."
Brielle thought it over quickly. "It could have been a seal or even a baby whale, but I doubt they'd be this close to shore." she said.
"We found something too." Clair chimed in. "There was this huge tunnel in one of the buildings that went towards the water."
"There was nothing in it, but, you know, it was weird as hell." Brielle continued. "Sterling, I don't like this place. I'm getting bad vibes from it and I think we should keep moving."
"I'll second that!" Watt said.
Sterling hated the idea of leaving the rest of the area unexplored, but he had to agree that the area was giving him the creeps. "Where do you want to go then?" he asked. "Do you want to explore the rest of the arena? There's still the lighthouse!"
"And that ship." Clair said. Personally, she was far more interested in the ship then the lighthouse. "Should we check them out?"
"I'm sorry, are we forgetting about the thing I just saw in the water?" Watt asked, becoming paranoid. "Why are we staying near it? I say we get as far away from it as possible. Maybe go into the mountains!"
"The ship isn't near the water, it's smack dab in the middle of an ice plain." Clair said. She paused when she realized what that meant. "Well, that's not very safe now that I think about it."
"I don't think the lighthouse is safe either." Brielle said. "It's probably small and not defensible."
The alliance fell into silence, unsure of what to do for their next move. "Look, why don't we do what we originally intended and explore the hall! After that we can figure out what we want."
There was silence, Sterling's allies giving consent only because they didn't know what else to do. "I don't like staying in this town." Watt muttered.
"It'll be quick and we all stay together!" Sterling said, looking to Brielle for support.
"He's right. We'll be fine if we stay together. As soon as we're done though we're getting the hell out of here!" Brielle said. To herself though she cursed Sterling for his foolishness. It would be better to escape this town before something bad befell them.
"Then let's do this, and let's do it quickly." Sterling said, leading his allies towards the great hall. All of them moved silently, eyes looking around for unknown behind them. They even looked behind them towards the bay, expecting something to burst from it and attack.
But nothing rose from the water, which remained still and dark as they walked further away.
The Fallen:
14. Krystal Avery (D1), Killed by Chancellor Mallerion (D1), Blood loss/Shock [Day 4, Tributes Killed: 0]
15. Jory Edmonds (D5), Killed by Ansel Gephardt (D4), Fire poker through heart [Day 1, Tributes Killed: 0]
16. Haspen Latron (D11), Killed by Aileen Whittaker (D12), Mace attack, collapsed rib cage [Day 1, Tributes Killed: 0]
17. Rufus Ventra (D12), Killed by Aileen Whittaker (D12), Sword through chest [Day 1, Tributes killed: 0]
18. Bruce Spruce (D7), Killed by Griffin Warring (D2), Sabre through heart [Day 1, Tributes killed: 0]
19. Ayla Thorne (D7), Killed by Sky Carroll (D2), Axe to back of the head [Day 1, Tributes Killed:0]
20. Amélie Jeanne Sinclair (D3), Killed by Griffin Waring (D2), Sabre through heart [Day 1, Tributes killed: 0]
21. Aylin Henrickson (D9), Killed by Griffin Waring (D2), Throat slashed [Day 1, Tributes killed: 0]
22. Dagan Hollis (D9), Killed by Ansel Gephardt (D4), Sword through the heart [Day 1, Tributes Killed: 0]
23. Trent Bell (D6), Killed by Sky Carroll (D2), Axe through the chest [Day 1, Tributes Killed: 0]
24. Fuze DeLumiere (D5), Killed by Chance Mallerion (D1), Throat slashed [Day 1, Tributes Killed:0]
Eulogies:
Krystal: Ahh Krystal... she dreamed big (very big) but couldn't quite make it. I liked her though, and despite the twisted circumstances, I think her courage was admirable. However, for the most part, she was driven by pride and a desire to prove everyone wrong. I'm sure we can all understand that. Too me, she's also a literal personification of the Career ideal of 'blind ambition/pride'. Putting aside her disability, I think Krystal's change of heart early on in the Games reflects all the Careers. None of them truly understand how horrible and overwhelming the Games are, but Krystal was the first to figure it out this year. She also stood defiant against Chance, who was insistent on demoting her to the position of 'love interest', which in most stories is (in my opinion at least) the most one dimensional/least defined character tropes ever. I was happy that she fought against Chance on that, allowing her own vision for the Games to guide her. You'll be missed Krystal.
The comment about the food in Chance's section was a shameless shout out to another Fanfiction story (far better than this one haha)... brownie points if you can guess which one ;)
Well besides the lighthouse and the last ship, we've now seen almost all of the arena! Yeah! Also, to answer the questions that will follow I'm sure, no, no one heard the canon except perhaps Aileen/Ansel/Luna. Sterling's alliance was underground, far away from the storm and outside noise. Sky and Griffin were asleep and the blizzard would have covered the sound. Tassel heard it (or at least she thought she did) but she was far more concerned about keeping Twill alive in this chapter then a canon blast.
