The seventh day
-Lonan Fodor, 17, District 10-
Every day, he felt stronger. It was quite a relief to Lonan, who wasn't sure he would ever feel better. Sure, he'd been hurt before, but never physically hurt to that degree. He wasn't ready for just how much a body could hurt without giving out.
He was feeling like a fool for even considering volunteering someday. It was pretty dumb of him to believe that he would be able to handle something like the Games. He thought that after he was hurt so badly back home, he would never be able to be hurt again. Something about his pain made him feel invincible. He felt so low that he convinced himself he could never go lower. He felt like he could go through something like the Hunger Games and never feel worse than she made him feel. In his mind, she was the ultimate evil. Nothing could ever be worse.
Well, now he was starting to realize that there were plenty of things worse than what she did for him. And now, he was forced to tackle all of them head-on.
Lonan was so afraid of feeling any worse than he had through those months. He didn't like being in pain like that and never wanted to do it again. But now, he was realizing he didn't have a choice.
Why did he ever think this was what he wanted? Somehow, he thought that winning the Games would fill the pit in his heart. He thought that the fame and fortune that came with winning would somehow keep him from being an outcast any longer. He thought that winning the Games would be what it took to be loved by his friends like he once was. What, did he think that winning the Games would make everything just? Did he think his status as a Victor would suddenly make people take his side of the story seriously? He didn't even know Owen or Ceru, but they thought he was a good person, even when his past came out. They didn't know him for long, but they saw good in him. And yet, people that knew him for years, people that knew him deeply, people that trusted him as much as he trusted them, they shunned him. If the only way for them to believe his story was to be a famous Victor, Lonan wasn't sure if they were actually friends at all.
No matter what Lonan ever wanted, now he didn't have a choice. This wasn't how he would imagine himself in the Games. He imagined himself a Career, surrounded by tributes that were more willing to kill, a fan favorite, a shoe-in for the title… Making the people who shunned him quiver in their boots with jealousy, have them all falling on their knees in front of him, vomiting apologies that he wouldn't even give the time of day. Now, he wasn't even sure he wanted that. Their words, their sadness, wouldn't do anything to fix Lonan's hurt. They wouldn't change the betrayal. It wouldn't change everything Lonan had to go through to overcome what they had caused.
Did he really think a power trip like that was going to be worth the death of 23 other people?! What the hell was he thinking?!
Well, now, he supposed it didn't matter. Ultimately, the Games were inescapable for him. And now that he was here, he supposed he needed to just keep on looking forward. Unfortunately, the spoils he was so convinced would turn his world around felt so far away now. What else did he have to reach for if not that? He didn't have family and friends to go home to like Ceru. He didn't have wild dreams and aspirations like Owen. What did he have waiting for him besides a power trip that he isn't even sure that he wants anymore? Honestly, he just hoped that the longer he was able to stay alive, the more he would be able to figure out his purpose for surviving.
Then again, why did he deserve to live without a purpose over those that know how they fit into this world? Owen was so kind, and Ceru was so confident. How could Lonan value his own life over theirs?
Lonan sat patiently as Owen re-dressed and treated his wounds. They had so much first aid at their disposure, they might as well use it after all. He was a patient person, and also quite a gentle caretaker. Owen always had pain in his eyes, worrying about hurting Lonan even though he was being as gentle as a person could possibly be.
"When do you think we should try to get moving again?!" Ceru practically yelled, and Owen visibly jumped at the noise as both he and Lonan quickly shushed Ceru. The boy looked at them in confusion for a moment: duh, he couldn't hear them shushing: so Lonan put a finger over his lips. Owen's eyes were wide in obvious alarm, and it seemed instinctive that he reached for the closest weapon. Ceru stared at them, his eyes wide and his whole body tense as they waited. The winner's lounge was so huge, and everything looked so similar, that you could just never know. Lonan's heart soon slowed and he relaxed. Ceru relaxed with him, but Owen's body stayed tense, holding the sword he'd picked up with an unwavering grip. Ever since they were attacked by Charlie, he wasn't… Quite the same. Usually the difference was barely noticeable, but the primitive fear in his eyes, the shaking of the weapon he was holding like it was the difference between life and death… It was really hard for Lonan to watch.
"That was way too loud," Owen said, still not completely relaxed, giving Ceru a hard look. Ceru frowned and doubled back. Lonan felt the tension and knew that he couldn't let it continue to fester.
"He couldn't possibly know how loud he is talking," Lonan said to Owen, before turning to Ceru. "Next time, just try to control it."
That didn't help like Lonan thought it would, because now both of them were grumpy with him. He understood why they were both so on-edge, in a fight to death why wouldn't you be? But that's not a good way to win. Then again, he didn't have to tell them that.
"When do you think we should try to get moving again?" Ceru asked again, his voice quieter but not by much. Owen winced a little, and Lonan shot him a glance before turning to Cerulean.
"Surely the Gamemakers want us to move-" No sooner had the last word left his mouth than the dark brown cage shot up around him, trapping him inside.
"Lonan!" Owen exclaimed, and then covered his mouth with his hand at his own hypocrisy. Ceru was just sitting and blinking in shock, trying to process what just happened.
"I'm okay," he said. His heart was picking up a little bit though. What did the Gamemakers have planned for them? "I guess we don't really have to get moving after all. He stood up, and his head just barely grazed the top of the cage. He walked over to the bars separating him and his allies and tried to seem calm. He felt… Mostly calm. It was certainly unnerving being locked away like this, but right now there wasn't really a threat to his life.
But what if there's going to be…? He swallowed the thought.
Ceru was the first to approach the cage. His eyes were looking at a plate on the side of the cage, scanning line after line.
"Oh goody, we get to roll to get you out," he said. There was a small metal pocket that Ceru reached his hand into, pulling out six small plastic dice. "Come on Owen, you have to roll too."
Owen was still tense as he approached the front of the cage. Slowly, his eyes glanced at the plate, where something must have been written.
"What's going on?" Lonan asked.
"From what it seems, together he and I roll the combination of six dice. Different number combinations have different values, they're listed here. It says that each hour we get two rolls, and you won't be unlocked until we hit… Ten-thousand?! That's crazy!"
"Well, you two had better get started then," Lonan said. He had a feeling they weren't going anywhere that day.
Owen and Ceru exchanged a look as they rolled the dice in their hands, the anxiety reflecting on the other's face.
"Two, one, and… Three," Ceru said.
"Oh, I have a three and two fives."
Lonan's heart was pounding as he looked out at them. "How much is that?" he asked.
"Um…" there was a pause, then Lonan heard a small ding and his allies both looked up at the top of the heads. "Sixteen hundred!" Both of his allies groaned. Lonan sat down. No use in hurting his feet. They picked up the dice again and exchanged a look that was both nervous and determined. Lonan gave them a confident smile and both released the dice. "Five number straight! Four thousand!" Owen exclaimed, a smile crossing his face.
"Woah, nice work you two!" Lonan said. "Already over halfway there!"
"We're going to get you out of there!" Ceru said, giving his ally a big smile that was full of confidence now.
"I know you are," Lonan said. Honestly, this cage wasn't very comfortable. The metal floor was cold and hard, and screws stuck out of it in places so that no matter how he sat, they were digging into some part of his body. Not to mention how cramped it was… He could deal though at least there weren't spikes or anything.
"Do you need water or anything? We can fit it through the bars."
"Eh," Lonan said with a slight groan as he felt a pull on his injury when he shifted the wrong way. "I'm alright for now." But he wasn't sure how long he'd be alright…
All they could do was sit, wait for the timer to run out, and hope that the situation wouldn't get any more dire…
The second hour proved to be less lucky. In their first roll, they got a three of a kind and a pair, resulting in 600 points. Then, they got two pairs that resulted in 500.
The third hour gave them similar luck. On both rolls they got three of a kind and a pair, which was 600 each roll, giving them 7900.
Frustration grew when the fourth hour did not prove fairer, with a pair and three of a kind, and then with only three of a kind bringing up the score to 9,000.
Upon the fifth hour, Lonan's body was aching. He was at least not hungry or thirsty, but he really wanted to stretch his arms and be able to move in a way that accommodated his wound better. When the timer went to zero, the bars suddenly closed up with clear glass. Lonan and his allies both jumped at the motion. Lonan stood and hurried towards the bars, almost not believing it was true… But when he tried to reach through, he was met with the clear barrier. His heart started to pick up… Hopefully they would get lucky…
They talked to each other quietly, but Lonan couldn't get a grip on what they were saying. He squinted, trying to see, but reading lips was hard… Damn, Ceru made it look so easy… Lonan was frustrated he didn't know what they were saying… And they were starting to look the same way at the circumstance. He could see the frustration on their faces as he started to look for holes in the box, realizing it had become air tight… Ceru and Owen nodded at each other and released their last roll.
Suddenly, he heard a great click. The sides of the box slowly lowered to the floor, opening up. Lonan got the hell out of there as fast as he could, quickly catching up with his allies. They were high-fiving as he approached, both of them smiling and laughing and patting each other on the back.
"Thanks for getting me out of there," Lonan said, giving them a small smile.
"We're glad to have done it," Owen said with a smile.
"Yeah, now let's get you some dinner!" Ceru said excitedly, and he and Owen busied themselves getting food.
At the way his allies seemed relaxed and were talking together, Lonan smiled a little.
Maybe this little gimmick had turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
~.~.
-Camellia Gallen, 18, District 7-
The confetti cannon was bulky, but it was pretty light. God, she's actually saying that in the Hunger Games Arena?! She thought watching Syca fall in love with his District partner was bad (and hell, it still was awful), she couldn't even imaging having to watch her loved ones try to make do in this hellhole with a fucking confetti cannon.
"And a fencing foil," said the Malloy in her head, the optimistic bastard. But what the hell was a fencing foil going to do for them, one of them was fucking blind.
How stupid she must have looked with this bright yellow confetti cannon strapped took her back like it would actually save her from a coming threat. If anything, it would make her death look like a party.
The thought sent a shiver down her spine. Camellia wasn't ready to die yet. And she certainly didn't want to die like that. She had come too damn far to die now. Her only choice was to keep on going, keep on living, so that she could finally use her life for something that actually mattered… So that she could get home to her fucking girlfriend. And her boyfriend too. It was still so weird of her to think that he was still here, after all that time she spent trying to let him go…
But dammit, she just got him back, and she wasn't about to make him lose her. She wasn't going to put anyone through the pain of losing her. They'd had enough of that, each of them.
The confetti cannon suddenly felt quite heavy as she was thinking about this. This is what she won with her spin… She got a gift that didn't even fucking work. She had less tokens than she thought based on her training scores… Which meant that they had inflated her score on purpose. She tried to write it off as just having bad luck, but she couldn't help wondering if it wasn't luck at all…
Was she sabotaged on purpose? Was the Capitol out to get her because of what she did during her private session? Or worse, did they know about Malloy and were taking it out on her? Was she now in danger because of her relationship with Wolf, after the shooting…
She couldn't even think of Wolf without tearing up. She felt pain, sure, but it was probably nothing compared to what he was feeling. He was such a wildly caring person, just trying to give his sister a good time with Elliot before it was time for the Games… He finally seemed to be stepping up into that big brother role for her, but then the party ended so abruptly… Elliot tried to hide his pain over the whole situation, but it was far easier said than done. Camellia knew that for sure.
Camellia didn't feel that deep painful sadness like Elliot, though. Perhaps it was because she was so numb that nothing got through to her anymore. Perhaps it was because she was hopeful that something would come from what Numitor said. She ached for the lost life, she ached for Wolf, and the others that were hurting, but she had learned a long time ago that it wasn't worth it to wallow in sadness. Sometimes, it couldn't be helped… Those were always the most painful days. But living with it and moving forward was a skill that Camellia had mastered.
She was worried about Malloy for a little while. She had just barely caught glimpse of him disappearing into the backstage wing, towards the beginning of Numitor's speech, before Peacekeepers got involved. But, he was trying to run to her, and he was dragged away… So therefore, trusting that Malloy was safe also meant trusting Trap. And that thought was repulsive to Camellia. Thankfully, she didn't have to fret for long, considering she could see his smiling goofy face again a couple of days later. She tried to push aside the fact that the sponsor gift was obviously manipulated by someone, and just have the joy of seeing his silly smile and his new lavender hair, which honestly wasn't his color at all. He was obviously doing just fine, and there seemed to be no suspicion of any foul play for Out of Spite if they were still reporting on them, so Camellia rested well for affairs outside of the Arena.
Inside the Arena, though, was another question. She could fully trust her allies, at least, which was a relief. She could sleep easy with Elliot on watch, and she knew that Jace would put up a good fight for all of them if it came down to it. She didn't have to worry about scheming against them, that just wasn't how she wanted to play the game. She was sure that if the Gamemakers wanted to split them up, they'd employ some dirty rotten tricks: not like they hadn't before. She just had to be on her toes, ready to react if need be. So far, need did not be.
She flipped the small lavender coin around in her hands. It was fairly heavy for what it was and metal. She traced the ridges on the edge with her thumb, still deep in thought.
Malloy had said that Lux was good- hell, that he was responsible for Malloy standing in front of her! If he really was a good guy, surely he wouldn't be turning the tables against her, right? He was probably trying to save them, just like he did before... Unless he only saved those who were worthy…
…Hell no. If Trap Principato was able to live, they're really scraping the bottom of the barrel on that one.
But when she asked about being saved, Malloy drew back from her. He obviously didn't want to tell her that the answer wasn't definitely yes, but he didn't want to lie either. Camellia just wanted to slap Lux across the face and ask him why not now!? It wasn't for Wolf's lack of trying surely. What could be so different that Malloy wouldn't be confident?
It didn't take long for Camellia to put it together, though. It was her. That woman she'd had the displeasure of spending dinner with at stage one of the party. She always seemed to be close to Lux: to the point where Camellia thought they had a thing going on during training. In fact, Camellia wasn't sure she'd seen the doofus without her through almost the entire course of the Games. The way that she was so eager to laugh at the President's jokes: that weren't even worth a puff of air chuckle: and seemed oh so attentive to what he was saying. She must have been the reason that they were having trouble. Just the thought of that, and her stupid clowny face tattoos, made Camellia so fucking mad. If she was the reason that anyone died here that could have possibly been saved… Dammit, Camellia wanted to slap that bitch silly!
She took a deep breath. She had let her rage get the best of her before, but she couldn't afford that now. If they were already trying to sabotage her, it might be too late for Camellia. But she wasn't going to go down without trying her damndest, no matter what. She did deserve to live. She would do whatever it took to prove it.
"Are you sure it's a good idea to stay put like this?"f Elliot's voice broke her train of thought. It had been a fairly quiet morning: Elliot had a turbulent sleep so Camellia let him go once he was down. Jace was awake but seemed to be in his own space. And after an entire week the three of them had spent together doing basically nothing, Camellia was glad to have some space to herself. She only ever got it when she was pissing (or worse) or when the others were sleeping. She needed time to unwind. And when it wasn't dark, she could unfold the picture of "Oliver Bromley" and see him smiling up at her, next to Helen's note. Her second sponsor gift came just for her, the other two didn't get anything this time. The token that she was holding in her hands. And the note that came with it…
Save this for a… Special opportunity.
It wasn't like Helen to be so facetious (Camellia wasn't entirely sure she was smart enough for that, to be honest), so Camellia was certainly going to follow her advice. Who puts a fucking ellipse into a sponsor note for dramatic emphasis!? Whatever the case was, Camellia was hoping that maybe this would be the turning point in her luck… If the Gamemakers would allow it.
Elliot awakened and immediately squinted under the bright lights.
"It's so bright…" he said, his voice sounding low and still exhausted. "Did you guys try to wake me?"
Camellia gave him a reassuring smile as she saw the anxiety cross his face. "No," she said gently. "We decided it's best if you get some rest."
Elliot frowned, his face turning slightly pink at the realization that his allies could tell he had such a bad night. "Thanks," he muttered.
"Go ahead and eat," Jace said. "Chef's special."
Camellia picked a third of an apple out of the bag and tossed it to Elliot. He ate fairly quickly, and Camellia could see how hungry he was. She knew that ultimately, she was hungry too, but she tried not to focus on it. Even more worrisome, there were only two apples left in the bag before they were all gone…
"Maybe we should move," Elliot said. Those were exactly the words Camellia didn't want to hear. They were safe here….
"He's probably right," Jace said, almost as if he could read Camellia's mind (despite being turned towards the opposite wall and not either of his allies.
"I don't know guys," Camellia said hesitantly. She understood why they thought this way… But maybe if they could just hole up here…
"We can't just hole up here forever," Elliot said. Camellia let out a sigh. She knew that they were right. She had just been trying to enjoy the security of having some kind of a homefield advantage for as long as she could.
"You have to take risks to win, right?" Jace asked, his lip quirking up into an almost smile.
"I suppose you do," Camellia said. She didn't want to give the Gamemakers: particularly face tattoos: any other reason to be upset with her. "Let's do it."
Elliot zipped up the backpack that he was already packing up as he was talking. "I'm ready," he said, but his voice didn't sound so sure. He wiped the sleep out of his eyes and Camellia could tell how hard he was trying to look brave. Hell, she'd been that person once.
"I'm ready too," she affirmed, as an auditory cue for Jace to stand up and put his backpack on.
"That makes three," he said, holding out an arm that Camellia took. Together, the group started walking. They walked for a little while without any trouble, past the dozens of identical-looking slot machines that were practically hypnotic there were so many, and they looked so similar… The only thing that was different was a large brown desk with a nameplate that read in golden letters, "CONCIERGE."
Right by the table, a door marked with a spade. The group agreed to go in and brave the winding staircases. It was a long and arduous process going up and down and looping around the vast, slightly dark cavernous stairwell. Camellia was on-edge the entire time, wondering who else they would soon encounter… They stopped when they finally reached a platform with a door on it marked with the same suit.
"Here goes nothing," Elliot said, biting his lip.
He pushed the door open, and the angry trio stepped out of the door, onto the Floor of Wheels.
~.~.
The seventh night
-Celestia Romilly, 18, District 1-
It had been another unsuccessful day for the Careers. Celestia hadn't gone out with the hunting party so she couldn't assess the reason for failure this time, but she could tell that her allies were not very satisfied with their progress. Celestia didn't feel they were doing that poorly: after all, there had been a death each day so far… Well, not yesterday… And not today… Okay, she could see the reason why everyone seemed to be getting agitated. But she also wasn't worried either.
The Capitol anthem played: the condensed version that indicated that there were no tribute deaths that day. She could only see the figures of her allies in the dark, which meant there was absolutely no way Celestia was able to tell how they were really feeling. She would just have to guess, but she wasn't always so good at that.
"I can't believe another day went past with no deaths," Arden said. Based on how she was scowling earlier, Celestia could assume that she was angry about the lack of success on the pack's behalf.
"We still have yet to come across whoever stole my bag," Remus said.
"That would be the boy from Five," Merc clarified.
"Aren't there three of them?" Arden asked, meaning the alliance that Owen is in.
"I thought there were only two," Kelwyn said, slowly. Perhaps in thought.
"No, there are three." She could feel everyone's eyes on her even in the dark. She hadn't really meant to notice: the sniveling route was more of the others' angle: but she remembered Lonan designing her chariot outfit, all that while back. She supposed that and how he approached the Careers early on was the reason that she always seemed to notice him. She also crossed Lonan's path at the party, as she'd found a quiet place to stay and he also came around that way. They'd all seen him with Cerulean in training, but Celestia knew that Owen was with them as she saw them walking back to the action together. Celestia wasn't the type to have a "mental notebook" like some that had come before her, but she had remembered that. She just had to remember that she was here to win, not to die. Easy enough. She didn't understand why other Careers had to wave their dick everywhere when it was just that simple.
"Well, we could take an extra on the search, just in case," Kelwyn suggested.
"And leave one person alone with all of our supplies?" Arden challenged, as if pouncing on him with words. "Most of our supplies are no use to us, but if someone that didn't have weapons gets their hand on them, it could mean disaster."
"You don't have faith in our fighting abilities," Celestia countered.
"Do you think you can take three tributes at once, that have plenty of supplies from Remus's bag?" Arden shot back, and Celestia felt herself getting quite annoyed very quickly. She took a second to take a deep breath.
"What if the tributes thought they could steal from us, but couldn't?" everyone looked over to where Mercury was, rummaging through one of the bags (hard to see in the dim lights). But when he pulled out a small tube, Celestia could see where his mind was heading with this.
"Glue?" Kelwyn asked.
"You want to make a trap," Celestia said.
"Why not? What else are we going to use it for? Gluing our own hands together?"
"It at least keeps them from having anything we don't want," Remus said. "I suppose we might as well."
"Let's go through and find things that we don't need or want," Arden said. "Once it's down, it'll take King Arthur to get it back, so make sure you never see a purpose for it."
"Who's King Arthur?" Celestia asked, genuinely curious, as they all started rooting through their bags.
"It's an old, old story," Arden said. "I… I don't even remember most of it. But my Dad used to tell it to me when I was a kid."
Celestia nodded a little bit, but didn't respond. She didn't want to be involved in one of those back home conversations. They always ended in disaster somehow. She wasn't here to talk about her life. Win, don't die. That was it.
"How many pairs of nunchucks do we want to get rid of?" Merc asked.
"We have three bottles of this stuff, so however many you want I guess," Kelwyn said.
Celestia separated the red bow and arrows and the rapier she won. She took out one of the empty food wrappers and an idea came into her head. "Pass me the other keychain."
She took the two fun keychains they'd won and put them in the food bag, fluffing it up a little bit to make it look like it was full. The others were full of the glowsticks that no longer glowed and other food wrappers. Soon, they had a small pile of fake food bags that looked good enough to steal. Finally, they poured out the contents of a small canteen into the bigger one which was half empty.
Once that was ready and the various weapons were chosen, the Careers put all of their supplies out into a neat pile. The placement was strategic: right out in front of one of the doors, with the camp a little bit further away to trick them into security. Remus had to make sure everything looked just right. Then, the gluing began. Celestia took a bottle, so did Mercury and Kelwyn. Together, they used the powerful glue very carefully to make sure nothing out of that pile could possibly budge, not even a little bit. Celestia used every last drop out of her bottle to make sure that nothing was going anywhere. The extra ko-naginata, the two nunchucks at the bottom for structure, the fake food bags and canteen, and the four axes of which they had four and none were used were distributed among the pile. The bow and arrows looked particularly delicious: right at the front, demonstrated in their glory.
Celestia's hands were cramped and tired when they were done, but it was a worthy plan of attack. Remus and Arden had finished debating which of them gets the sleeping bag and which gets no blanket, only one of the three pillows they had. Celestia wanted nothing more than to have more sleeping bags, which she knew she could sleep in. She really didn't sleep well with only a pillow.
No, what she wanted was some more light: a flashlight, night vision goggles, anything… By the time they were finished gluing, Celestia couldn't see much at all, and had to rely on the voices and grunts of her allies getting everything put together. Between them, they had no flashlights, no lanterns, and only one pair of night vision goggles. The glow sticks were somewhat helpful before, but now they're dead, reduced to the roll of fake bag fillers.
That meant that only one of them between her and Kelwyn could actually see anything that was happening. Thankfully she could trust Kelwyn. Kelwyn was the only one of her allies that Celestia felt she could actually "click" with. And the people she could click with were so few and far between…
Win. Don't die. It was that easy…
"Here, you take these," Kelwyn said. "Let me know if anything seems off."
Celestia thankfully put the night glasses on. "Thanks. It's odd that Careers wouldn't have any way to see. Fighting in the dark…" Celestia thought of a Games recap she'd watched recently. A trained Career, ousted by an outer District scrap, all because they turned out the last torch…
That was so long ago. That wouldn't happen to the Careers again…
Celestia and Kelwyn sat in silence after that. Celestia never minded that, it was nice to have someone else around but it was also nice not having to socialize with that person.
It wasn't long before Remus was snoring quietly, wrapped up in the comfort of the sleeping bag. Merc was soon asleep: Celestia could tell because of the way his jaw relaxed and he drooled a little bit. (If Remus knew that, there was no way he would sleep on that pillow again. Sometimes ignorance was bliss, she supposed.) Arden was the last to relax, but she soon fluffed up the pillow as she wished, and was sleeping like a baby.
"Do you really think this is going to work?" Kelwyn asked, glancing at the pile of supplies.
Celestia was sure to keep looking around and behind them so they wouldn't be snuck up on. "Perhaps," she said honestly. She really didn't know. "If anything, it won't be a bad thing."
"You're right." She could see him smile a little in the dark.
"Kelwyn?"
He looked up at the ceiling. "Yeah?"
"Are you upset that we didn't get any kills yesterday?"
He was silent. Silent for a long time.
"Kelwyn?"
"I'm thinking!" he said suddenly, and his eyebrows were furrowed in a way that told Celestia what she was so often told: I'm annoyed because you bothered me.
"Never mind then," she said, pulling her knees to her chest.
"I'm sorry Celestia," Kelwyn murmured quietly.
Celestia held her knees to her chest still, turned slightly away from him. "It's fine." She knew that it was ultimately her fault for being the bother. She just could never understand what made people think that of her. Why they got mad at her for things she didn't even think were wrong. It was exhausting sometimes. But she supposed she could just never escape it. Such was life… Not a life she liked, but you could never love everything you were dealt.
They sat in silence again, but this time Celestia didn't want to talk anymore. She just stayed focused on her job, just like she was supposed to. That was what got her up the training ladder, and that would be what got her home too.
"It's a hard question."
Celestia glanced over at him, as he continued.
"Of course I want to say that I'm not happy we failed. But, well… I'm glad that I didn't have to fear for my life, or witness any horrors today."
Witness horrors? Celestia didn't like the gore, but she saw it as just another thing she had to do to win.
"I shouldn't have snapped though…" Celestia looked back at him and saw the tears that were pouring out of his eyes. He reached up and pressed his wrists against them, to stop them.
Celestia frowned, but she was confused as to why he was sad. "I said it's fine," she said. What didn't he get about that?
"Well, I still feel bad…" he said.
Suddenly, Celestia heard the noise of the door sliding open. Kelwyn must have heard it too, because his eyes were wide when Celestia met his gaze.
"Get ready to pursue," Celestia said. "They might take the bait."
Kelwyn's forehead wrinkled in concern as he did what she said, grabbing his spear and waiting for her cue.
That's when she came into view. The lone girl from District Five did not look good at all. She had a backpack and a sword, and now was holding a lantern. Rammie's eyes set on the pile of supplies. Celestia watched her approach.. Slowly, quietly, carefully.
Rammie set the lantern down quietly in front of the pile, squinting. Celestia watched as she flicked the lantern on, waiting for her to do it for Kelwyn's advantage.
Instead of a light, though, Celestia heard a huge crack, the fire of an explosion throwing Rammie towards them, who let out a small scream. "Let's go," Celestia said, getting to her feet and holding onto the ko-naginata she'd been fighting with. The scene was now alight with a small fire left in the lantern's wake. All Celestia could see, though, was a monster running towards her, pieces of glass shards hanging out of her face, blood tears pouring down her cheeks and dripping in front of her, a look of pure rage in her eyes. Celestia suddenly felt a sting in her neck, but didn't let it slow her down…
Damn, it's really hurting… Suddenly it felt like the world was knocked from under her feet, and Celestia crashed down on the ground. Her heart beat faster as she tried to make sense of the situation, but she couldn't move, her body was frozen, practically twitching, and she was suddenly hit with a killer headache. Sweat formed on her forehead and Celestia tried to get something out to Kelwyn, but she could barely even speak.
She could hear Rammie laughing as she loaded up another dart. "Just like that, she's down for the count," she said between laughs. Celestia… Was dying?! Was she dying?! She couldn't feel the urgency to try and get back up, to try and fight…
"Nothing you could do for her. But she was always a little weird, wasn't she? Wasn't really that pretty, wasn't that fast or strong. She was a weirdo. Couldn't do anything to save herself."
"Don't run away like a coward!" Kelwyn called to her. Celestia wanted to help, but couldn't get up.
"At least I didn't collapse and start spazzing out like she did. Really brings out the retarded part of her personality."
Celestia tried to hold on, using all of the energy she could to get back up on her hands and knees. She could see the figures in front of her, but above all she could hear Rammie's horrified screams, and Kelwyn shouting at her.
"Don't ever use that word again!" his voice boomed, only doing what it could to cover up Rammie's loud, pleading cries. She heard piercing screams from Rammie, and it didn't take long for the iron smell of blood to hit Celestia's nose and almost make her arms fall out from under her. Kelwyn ripped his spear out of her body and thrust it in again and Rammie let out another sharp cry, followed by a series of fast, loud sobs.
"What's going on?" someone else's voice, Merc, asked, and Celestia's mind was swimming. "Kelwyn!" She could hear her allies' voices all melding together, all of them above a whisper, all sounding harsh, interrupted by Rammie crying and pleading, until Kelwyn yelled out again.
"From darkness, into darkness." Rammie screamed again, and Celestia could hear the impact of the spear driving through Rammie's chest, with one last sob turned into silence.
More talking… All of them were talking over each other and Celestia couldn't figure out who was saying what…
"I'm here Celestia," Kelwyn said, sounding out of breath. "Just hold on for a moment…"
Celestia felt like she was going to vomit, and her arms gave out again, sending her to the ground.
"Celestia, please… Hold on…"
But she couldn't hold on… Celestia's eyes closed, and she let the darkness consume her.
~.~.
A/N: Back with another serving of WoFfles! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. We're really starting to cut down the numbers here. Somewhat, that is. Hope you enjoyed the chaos.
Chapter Question: What was up with that explosion? Additionally, do you think the Careers' trap will be worth the work they put into it?
Next chapter is a continuation of this, so eulogies are going to wait until next time.
See you soon for that!