"NO, You don't get it!" Kobe reasons out angrily. "Apples are apples and they're not meat!"
Orion says maliciously, "But they're red."
"It doesn't make them meat!" Kobe responds. Before the two can argue any more, they have arrived in front of a prison. Kobe pulls the door handle. He then tries to push it. "It won't budge."
Orion repeats Kobe's actions and agrees. He then points at a white object stuck near the door handle. "I think it's locked, and we don't have the key." The pair agrees to explore the pagoda instead. As they approach it, Orion asks, "Do you hear that?"
Kobe doesn't answer, taking this moment of silence to hear the same sound. "Maybe someone's calling for help." As they get nearer and nearer, they can clearly hear the moaning sounds getting louder and louder.
"I think it's the boy from One and the girl from Four," Orion says followed by a chuckle.
They made it to the pagoda's entrance. The exterior is colored in dark red and dark orange. They hear screaming, which made them look up. Windows can be heard being opened, and the scream gets louder. The sound is followed by a thud, and then bones cracking. Kobe's and Orion's ears perk up in fear from what they just heard.
"BABY!" a man screams.
It takes about a minute for the pair to realize that there wasn't a cannon, so Orion curiously peeks at the back of the pagoda, the source of the sounds. Kobe follows him cautiously, and what they see is a dead and naked woman with green hair.
"Tributes?"
Orion and Kobe look up to see a naked man with dark scarlet skin and warm-colored hair. They don't recognize him at all, and they have the common instinct to just run from the crime scene and the suspect.
"Hey wait up!"
They run far enough to think that they're safe from the devil, or at least it looks like a devil.
"Let's go back inside," Orion suggests, referring to the mountain.
"Okay," agrees Kobe in panic.
"The sun goes down, and I feel cold in this gown.
I froze over the lake, yet uneaten is this cake.
Boredom is what I feel, but this is a time to heal.
Soon, the stars will align, and everything will be fine."
Eltha reads over the poem she wrote during the day. She stares at the horizon, where the sun just sank.
"This is the second sunset, and I have yet to receive guests." Eltha visits her control room, checking at the monitors for any sign of tributes for the nth time of the day. She sighs in boredom. She feels guilty that she's not fulfilling her job, but it's not her fault that no one is visiting the water sector of the arena. She paces around the room in hopes of tributes approaching soon, but she's done this countless of times already. She can feel herself slowly going insane, doing the same things but expecting different results every time.
She is tired of waiting. She just wants to care for tributes. Maybe she can give them love, and they will love her back. "This is not going anywhere," she mutters. She gets tired of pacing, so she takes a seat and closes her eyes. She thinks of something in a relaxed manner. "There... has... to be... a way." She keeps her eyes closed for several minutes, until she comes up with an idea. She rubs her gloved hands together and stands up from her seat. "I have an idea."
Ciara and Arlenna feel funny in their new outfits. The jacket they launched with was washed, and it was already handed to them dry by the avox. They were given a choice to pick between green and brown clothing, so Ciara is now wearing a brown cotton short-sleeved shirt while Arlenna is wearing a green one. For their bottom, they get to pick the same colors, so Ciara and Arlenna both have the brown spandex pants. They were given a new pair of dyneema socks of the same color, and Ciara wears her orange beanie, while Arlenna already had her green one on her head ever since she woke up. They look at the window to see Halizeia harvesting on her farm.
"Let's look around. Maybe we can find something useful in here," Ciara suggests. Arlenna nods in agreement, and so they explore the mansion. They're mostly empty guest rooms, but on the basement is a cellar, empty too. On the fourth floor, they visit Halizeia's bedroom. It is themed in pink and brown, like strawberry and chocolate.
"Her bed looks so soft," Ciara comments.
"She lives here," Arlenna replies softly.
The two find a shelf full of ancient porcelain. Ciara slides a glass door on one of the shelf's levels, realizing that it's not locked, so she slides it back, as she was expecting it to be locked. The porcelain doesn't have any value in the games, or at least that's what she thinks. There's no point in taking one and stealing it from here. Halizeia's room also has a walk-in closet and a makeup table. On the latter, they can see a small wooden box with a lever on the side. Ciara lifts it with her three finger, then transfers it to her left hand. She uses her fingers on the right hand to rotate the lever attached to the box, and a ballerina pops out as the music box plays.
"Ooh!" reacts Ciara in surprise.
They appreciate the calm lullaby playing from the music box. Seconds pass, and the music becomes slower and slower, until it stops playing. That's when Ciara puts it down. They decide that they're done exploring, so they return to their bedroom.
"I'm afraid a mutt will come our way if we don't do anything," says Ciara.
"I think so too," Arlenna softly responds.
"Let's leave after dinner, shall we?"
"Mmhm." Arlenna nods.
"Should we tell her now?"
"Hmmm... okay."
Arlenna follows Ciara's lead as they make their way down to Halizeia, at the kitchen.
"Sure! You can borrow them later," Halizeia says over the phone. She waits for a response, then replies with, "No worries. Bye!" She hangs up and finds the pair looking for her. "Yes?"
"We don't mean any disrespect, but we're planning to leave after dinner," Ciara says.
"Of course. We don't have rules to keep you here forever. You can even go out now if you want. This is not prison."
"Really?" Ciara didn't know she and Arlenna could have gone out, but exploring the inside of the mansion isn't bad too.
"Yeah, it's getting dark though."
"It's okay."
"But whatever you do, don't eat the fruits from the goldenglorie tree."
"Alright."
Ciara and Arlenna peek outside. While it's not yet pitch black, it's getting darker and darker by the minute.
"Where are they?" Horden asks Annaleigh.
Annaleigh reacts with, "Oh? Weren't they in front of us?"
"I don't see them at all."
"Maybe if we move forward, they'll be there waiting for us."
They walk forward. Annaleigh smiles slightly, knowing that her plan worked to separate themselves from the pack. Horden doesn't know this, and she's glad to have her best ally not be as smart as she is.
When they reach a dead end, Horden says, "Where did they go?"
Annaleigh can tell that there's a hint of frustration in Horden's voice. Even she would not be happy if she was left behind intentionally. It's just this time, she intentionally got them left behind, lost in the mountain. "I don't... know," are the only words Annaleigh mutters.
"What do we do now?"
"Hmmm... maybe we can find a way around here? Don't trust me one hundred percent on this. I was with you, and I don't know where they went to be exact."
"Okay, let's just look around."
Annaleigh hands Horden a pair of night-vision goggles.
"Thanks."
"There's finally more use for this." Annaleigh wears her pair.
For the next several minutes, they explore the mountain, trying to find a way out rather than looking for their allies. Eventually, they find a transparent chest, just like those in the cornucopia during the bloodbath.
"What's this?" Horden asks curiously.
"It's a sword," says Annaleigh, "a katana."
Horden tries to open the chest, but it won't budge. Annaleigh inspects it closely, and she sees pixel art faces of tributes once again above each gear.
"It's another combination lock." Annaleigh sighs. "Except this time, there are eight faces needed to unlock this. The most the bloodbath had was five."
"You opened most of the remaining cases in the cornucopia."
"Yeah, but I had the numbers on the pedestals to guide me there. Here, I don't have the pedestals with me."
"Oh."
"I can still try unlocking it."
"Okay."
Annaleigh notices that this chest has a white object attached beside the set of gears. She thinks there's a key card that can unlock this too, but she doesn't have it. She didn't find it among the supplies in the bloodbath. Perhaps it's with another tribute. She also considered the possibility that it's somewhere in the mountain.
"What do you say we call it a day and rest here for now?" Annaleigh asks Horden.
"I'm fine with that."
Now they relax and set up a temporary camp. Annaleigh has all the time she needs to figure out the numbers to unlock this katana. What are the chances that another tribute would bump into them?
An exit!?
Lainey is feeling anxious of this revelation. She thought the rest of the arena is gonna be inside a mountain. It makes her nervous to find out that there's more to this arena, yet she's also excited that she's not staying inside the dark mountain forever.
As she steps outside, she feels warmth. It's generally dark, as Lainey learns that it's already nighttime, but she can see a glow towards a cliff. She doesn't inspect it though. It's too far.
Where am I? she asks herself silently. She looks around, learning that she's on the base of the mountain. Is this the only exit of the mountain, or is there more to it? She finds a hole covered with a circular mesh object. There's no way for a person to fit right through the mesh cover, which should be a good thing. What is that? What kind of arena is this? Why are there buildings in the distance? She has so many questions, but so little answers. Had she not been fighting to the death, she would've appreciated this exploration more. She's never been to a place like this, having never traveled outside of District Eight.
Lainey thinks, Has anybody else been here? It's possible she could be the first to find this place. She hasn't seen anybody since the bloodbath, which she finds odd. At least she's moving, and if ever it's to the wrong direction, the gamemakers would give her a sign and redirect her. What else does this arena have? She has no idea. All she has to do is continue exploring, and answers will be revealing themselves to her one by one.
In Topland Tower, Corinna and Filly play video games all day. They woke up late and are just having fun, chilling. While Dorian is relaxed, floating midair just like Corinna and Filly, he uses this time not to play games with them. Instead, he uses this time to observe the two playing games. They have satisfactory teamwork, but neither of them are savage to each other. That's a good thing for him, because that means that it's very unlikely for either of them to betray him.
An avox brings in unopened soft drinks and straws for them to drink. Shortly after, Titan visits.
"Dorian, correct?"
Dorian nods politely.
"Well Dorian, I hope you're having a good time here. May I know how long you'll be staying?"
Dorian's thought process lights up. There's probably a time limit staying in this tower, but he likes to think this question as some kind of trick. "Still don't know, why?"
"Well, the weather tomorrow won't be nice, so I would advice you not to go out tomorrow."
But isn't the weather being manipulated by the gamemakers? Dorian needs to be careful with this "special mutt." He'll check the weather himself tomorrow. For now, he needs to stay wary. "Oh. Do you have more information on tomorrow's weather?"
"It's going to be very cloudy, so it might risk you bumping into mud, lava, water, and rocks."
The way Titan answered the question convinces Dorian that what he's saying is real, but he's gonna keep a close eye on him and on the weather. "I see. Perhaps I'll stay until the weather is clear."
"Stay for as long as you want. It's our jobs to accommodate you tributes."
Hold on. This might be a trap. Dorian would narrow his eyes in suspicion, but he refuses to show that reaction to Titan. He nods to Titan and says, "Okay," to end the conversation. The other detail that catches Dorian's attention is Titan's usage of "our," which can mean that there are others like him out there. The arena can't just be a mountain and a zero-gravity section. There has to be more to it.
Dorian wants to get out and explore the rest of the arena. Maybe he can even find tributes and hunt them down so he can win and... move on from his life. He shoves the thought away. For now, all that matters is that he should not let his guard down.
Titan puts down his shiny platinum scepter. The thickness is like that of a whiteboard marker, but the height is about three pens high. The bottom tip is a dull cone shape, while the top tip has four swirl patterns that are ninety degrees apart. The top tip also has a small translucent orb attached to it. Dorian can see faintly a small tornado brewing inside the orb.
"Can I join you two?" Titan asks Dorian's two allies.
"Sure!" Filly responds immediately.
"What game should we play?" Corinna asks.
"What game have you not played?" Titan asks.
Filly looks through the library of games, and finds three he has a hard time deciding between. Corinna picks two out of the three, saying that she didn't like the cover of the other one. Titan then picked one of the remaining two. Moments later, they are having fun playing a fighting game with many different characters from different series on many different arenas.
Dorian doesn't need to play. He may be bored, but he just needs to keep an eye on this suspicious white-haired man.
After dinner, Ciara and Arlenna decide to leave the mansion, noticing that this comfort is likely a trap. Besides, they were also getting bored inside the mansion, and they didn't want the gamemakers to throw an unavoidable twist their way.
Some steps later, they wander into the area of the goldenglorie tree. The tree with golden leaves is situated by a cliff. The grass surrounding the mystical tree is golden as a result of its power, according to Halizeia. The tree is larger than most trees around the area, and it has vines attached to it too. Arlenna and Ciara curiously approach the tree. They look at it in different angles, then Arlenna can see a long golden figure on one of the branches.
"What-" Ciara covers her own mouth when Arlenna shushes her.
"It's a snake," whispers Arlenna to her ally's ear.
While neither of them are super afraid of snakes, they back off immediately in fear of getting stuck in a sticky situation like a snake mutt attack. They're in an arena surviving. That snake may as well be danger to their lives.
It doesn't take long for them to stumble back to the mansion's entrance.
"Where do we go from here, Winnie?" Ciara asks.
Arlenna shrugs. She thinks for a moment, then says, "Maybe Halizeia has a map."
"Good idea!" Ciara knocks on the mansion's door.
Arlenna then remembers she has a map on her bag. Her eyes widen at that realization, but Halizeia opens the door for them already.
"Yes?"
Arlenna doesn't react about the map anymore, but the good thing about returning to the mansion is that they get to dispose items they won't need.
"Please take our cucumber," says Ciara. "We don't need it."
"This will be useful for me. Thank you," Halizeia responds with a smile.
At the same time, Arlenna gets to fill up their empty water canteen with water. Why did they think of this just now?
The avox also gives them food, packed in a fancy porcelain container. Halizeia tells them not to throw the container when they're done with the food in it, for it has "post-mortem value."
When they are done rearranging their supplies, Halizeia goes to the carpeted area of the library. "This is the map of Elymantyl. Currently, we are here." She points at the mansion. "However, I can only show you this, and I don't have an extra copy of the map."
"I do," Arlenna finally brings up.
"What!?" Ciara reacts angrily. "You suggested we come back here to get a map!"
"Sorry Gracie. I remembered it just a minute ago."
Halizeia says, "Can I take a look at the map?" Arlenna shows Halizeia the map. They all notice that the paper version of the map has less color, whereas the map on Halizeia's wall is more colorful. Halizeia suggests, "You can take this path right here." Halizeia draws a crooked line with her finger, pointing out the route for them. She taps twice at the end of the route. "There should be an exit right here."
"Okay, thank you," says Ciara.
"Thank you," Arlenna follows.
"Try to hurry though. There's a storm coming tonight," warns Halizeia.
"We'll be careful," Ciara says.
"Goodbye," Halizeia tells them once more. "And stay safe!"
"Bye!" they both respond in unison.
They follow the route Halizeia showed them earlier, then they realize something.
"Winnie, what did Halizeia mean when she said there's a storm coming?" Ciara asks.
"I was also thinking about that, Gracie," Arlenna replies. "We're in an arena."
"Exactly!" Ciara pauses to think.
Arlenna has to stop as well and wait for Ciara.
"What if she has information from the gamemakers?" Ciara theorizes.
"What the fuck!" Jeanne reacts.
She finds an exit for her team, but there is no ground. It's just the exterior of the mountain and a cliff of doom.
"I suggest we camp inside!" Argentum says.
"I think we should just find another exit," replies Jeanne.
The pair waits for the rest of the team to catch up to them before making a decision.
"Where are the other two?" Jeanne asks impatiently.
Brenna shrugs, and Rufus responds with, "Don't see them behind us." Rufus has a feeling that Annaleigh brought Horden to break off with the rest of the alliance.
"Tch. Whatever." Jeanne rolls her eyes. "We don't need them."
Silence sets in as nobody objects.
Rufus then responds, "They hate us anyway."
"They have the balls to? Ugh!" Jeanne makes another eyeroll. "Well, wow. Fuck them."
Rufus just made this up, and when Jeanne turns away from his direction, he smiles evilly. He just fabricated something for conflict to be born.
Argentum finally looks up and notices something weird. "Hey, why are there stuff floating?"
Although it takes them a while, they realize eventually that they are on zero-gravity. They swim their way to a floating island, because Jeanne said so. When they get there, they set up camp.
"Finally, fresh air!" Jeanne exclaims.
"Woohoo!" cheers Argentum.
In her control room, Halizeia switches the weather from gloomy to rainy. She hopes the girls have gotten far enough. Maybe she should've given them umbrellas, but then she remembers that they are provided jackets anyway. As long as they get far enough, they won't reach the incoming storm. If ever the girls, or anybody else, is still in her sector, then she wishes them good luck for staying dry. She knows she has to do this at some point, and this seems like the right time to do it.
The moment it starts to rain lightly, Chip decides to stay under the shelter. His algorithm tells him that staying under shelter should keep him dry. This part of the arena has so many trees. He'll be able to stay dry as long it doesn't rain too hard.
For one last time, he's waiting to see their faces in the night sky. Will he be able to with this rain? He'll find out shortly.
He is aware that his allies, including his district partner, have to die for him to become the victor of the Hunger Games. It wasn't truly his life's biggest desire to be a victor of the Hunger Games, but he doesn't pick who gets chosen to compete. It's like running a random number generator. Now, he's thrown into a death match, and all he has to do is survive. Well, survive in the meantime. He is less likely to get out of here alive if all he does is survive. Eventually, he'll have to do something witty, or fight. That's what a victor is made of.
There are a variety of possible actions when an ally of a tribute dies. Some of them, they pick up the pieces and avenge their dead ally. Others, they just rot emotionally until they die. Because of this, Chip will be avoiding the latter. However, he doesn't feel like he's anywhere near rotting with the deaths of Macy and Tira. It feels different to be alone, but he knows it is necessary at one point.
Maybe – just maybe – this certain event will move him. This was probably meant to happen so that he gets to grow. When he ran simulations, tributes who were left alive after their allies have died have some kind of growth, not just as tributes but also as people. Maybe this was for him to grow. Yeah, maybe Tira and Macy dying will let him grow mentally as a person.
While he knows that some actions can lead to saving Tira's life – not Macy's though, since she was already bleeding before he even woke up – the most efficient decision made by his algorithm is to run away. Running in to save her would be dangerous, although it'd be heroic. It would also risk him his life. Tira had a life back in Three, but so did he. Tira was thrown into the Hunger Games, not by her own choice, but the same goes for Chip himself. Chip knows that his allies are valuable, but his life is more valuable. For him to live, his allies have to die. Why did it have to be this early? He doesn't really know. It happened already, and he can't really change the past. He wouldn't change it either. Chip doesn't regret his decision. It wasn't an easy one, but it was what he needed to do in order to stay alive.
If he stays alive, and becomes the last remaining tribute alive, then he becomes the winner – or victor – of the Hunger Games. He will be rewarded for his win. Maybe he can share the money with his friends, Byte, Pixel, Tesla. He likes Tesla's leadership, and it's been a while since he's worked with her. Pixel is so energetic. He hasn't seen that energy too in quite a while. Byte. Byte looks like him they said. He then remembers that they are twin brothers. Could they really be? Why is he doubting this just now? How did he even remember this?
Memory is weird. Sometimes he can touch it. Sometimes he can't. When he works on computer programs, he can put data on memory cards, which can then be used to transfer from one computer to another. When it's his own memory though, he can't inspect it, transfer his files to other people, and share that memory. Memory-sharing for humans is different. He can forgot stuff. Computers don't forget unless the file is corrupt. It feels so weird to remember that he has a twin brother at home. He thought all these years that Byte is just his friend. If he becomes victor, maybe he and Byte should take a DNA test to actually prove it.
He looks at his token. It's a computer chip on a bracelet. It was given to him because he would forget his name. Now that he thinks of it, it's actually funny that he could forget his name when he was much younger. Now, he's gotten used to it enough that it's a part of his life, being called Chip. He was named after a computer chip, which he also finds funny just because there are a lot of computer chips back home. Maybe someone from Ten would be named Cow, because there are a lot of cows there. Someone from Four can be named Fish, because it's the water district. He chuckles a bit at the similar and continuous thoughts.
The anthem plays, but it takes him a while to look up and realize that it's time. He sees Tira's gleeful face. She is the ally – no, friend – that would help him get his attention. After this, he will never be able to see that smile again. No one would call his attention anymore. The face that came after that belonged to Macy. Her face is also gleeful. She's so young, and immature, but she was within reaping age, and now she's gone too. He'll never be able to see that energy from her again. Both of his allies won't get to see whoever is waiting back home for them, but because he's alive, Byte, Pixel, and Tesla still have a chance to see him back. He knows his friends are waiting back home. There's no other choice but to become the victor of the Hunger Games. It's the only way he won't let himself or any of his friends down.
His thoughts have been running all day. It's about time he gets some rest. Sleeping under the rain is hard, but sleep is important, especially for a growing boy like him. He has to try falling asleep in this condition. He shuts his eyes in an attempt to sleep. His mind runs into more thoughts, like what would happen if Tira ran away with him instead of her begging for the little boy from Two not to kill her, what would happen if they didn't find the exit and stayed inside the mountain instead, what would happen if he still has his allies tonight. It bothers him that their absence is disrupting his sleep. He can't forget them because they stayed with him, even though his attention was hard for them to get. He's always in his big world of thoughts, just like now.
It takes a while for him to register the irony that his thoughts have eaten up his attention once again, as he can see brightness while his eyes are shut. Curiously, he opens them slowly to find the source. He turns around, and what he sees next is something out of a dream. A blue hovercraft is making a cow fly. Once it reaches the hovercraft, another cow is being abducted by the hovercraft. Chip thinks that it would not affect him, so he should just go back to sleep.
The blue light is too bright for him to try going back to sleep. Part of him wants to go there to see what is happening, but this can be a gamemaker's trick. Maybe once they abduct him, they will kill him, and then he won't become victor, and then his friends waiting back home won't see him return anymore.
He sees the hovercraft rotating in inconsistent intervals and directions, but it is no longer abducting cows. Instead, he realizes just now that the hovercraft is much lower than it used to be. It's as if the pilot of the hovercraft is searching for something. He saw a black hovercraft earlier tod- yesterday. The gamemakers have already picked up his dead allies' bodies. What else could they be looking for?
He doesn't have enough time to register what was happening. He sees blue light enveloping him, and he's flying into the hovercraft. By the time he realizes it, he is shocked and nervous. What is happening!? This wasn't in his algorithm. Is he dead? He's alive! He doesn't understand what's happening, or why the gamemakers would take him out of the arena if he's alive.
Chip feels that there is something wrong in his algorithm, because he never considered this scenario before!
Rufus and Brenna were given the watching duty at this time. With four of them left in the pack, their watch times have to be longer and their sleep times will have to be shorter.
Part of Brenna doesn't care. This was part of being in "the pack." What bothered her more is the lack of killing after the bloodbath. She has yet to find her next victim. She didn't volunteer to participate in the Hunger Games to become a security guard. She has to kill fellow tributes to emerge victorious. She's been itching to kill. It's a need, not a want.
Rufus is done. This pack is doing nothing. That's why Annaleigh left with her closest ally when she had the chance. Smart move. He should do the same. This pack is doing nothing but hindering his performance. Well, not so true, because he got away with it last night. If he continues to stick with the pack, however, then it might as well hinder his performance.
"I'm leaving," Rufus announces. He's done with following the leader. He's done being used for others' security. He's done being part of the pack. At least he won't be the first to leave, so if he would be targeted for leaving, then good luck to them finding him and Annaleigh.
Brenna looks at him suspiciously. He's leaving again? "You're gonna hunt?"
"No."
Brenna raises an eyebrow.
"I'm leaving the pack."
Brenna is surprised to hear this, especially as early as day three.
"Look, Horden and Annaleigh are gone. We're just following Jeanne around. We're not actually killing and hunting tributes. We're doing nothing, and I'm getting bored and sick of this."
Brenna thinks that Rufus has a point. They're not killing because they're just following Four girl Jeanne. Brenna considers leaving, but Rufus is not hunting, and she does not want to fragment the alliance. Well, it's already fragmented, but she doesn't want to fragment it more. "I don't want to fragment the alliance... any further."
"It's already fragmented. There's no use trying to keep the six-pack intact."
Rufus has a point. She considers the possibility that the other two will find them and reunite with them, but from how it sounded earlier, maybe not. She doesn't really know. She's hoping for them to return to the pack.
"If you wanna wait here and be the lovebirds' watchdog, you're more than welcome to, but that's not what I'm here for."
Brenna is really considering leaving, but she still refuses to fragment the pack any further. She can't stop Rufus if he's speaking like this. If he's leaving, she'll just let him be. "I'm staying."
Rufus nods politely. "Farewell then." Rufus swims off the floating island, never to return to the pack. It was more of a liability than an asset anyway. He's approaching the mountain, returning to where he came from. This arena is a complex one, and for him to have explored some of the mountain, as well as the northern two sectors, he feels like he's better off on his own.
That conversation made Brenna lose trust on Rufus. While she doesn't show how she's feeling, she's disappointed in Rufus. She expected better and thought he will help them keep the pack tight and together, but nope. Oh well. He can screw himself.
Alistair has a messed up body clock. He's awake this early in the morning – more like he's awake this late – because he slept through most of the day. The stress of working as a gamemaker includes being sleep deprived. Well, he got his decent sleep yesterday at least. There's more days to the 140th Hunger Games. This is just the beginning of his messed up sleep schedule.
Alistair yawns once more. "Last one, can somebody tell me what happened to the boy from Eight?"
"He moved from his old spot to his new one," replies Nova. She finds the screen with Ingeo, pointing at it once she found it. He's sleeping on the rocky ground. "Someone said earlier that he is already near an exit.
"Hmmm... he is," Alistair agrees. Prior to that, Nova updated him on everyone else: Arlenna and Ciara are on their way back to the mountain under the rain; Dorian, Corinna, and Filly are still inside the tower playing video games; Orion and Kobe are back to their respective sleeping spots from last night; Dante did not move at all; Annaleigh and Horden are sleeping at the area of the katana's chest; Jeanne and Argentum are sleeping on one of the floating islands on Sector One, while Brenna is keeping guard of them and their supplies; Rufus is about to reenter the mountain from Sector One; Lainey is at the base of the pagoda in Sector Three; and Chip...
"Chip's not being rescued out of the arena, is he?" Nova asks.
"No. We can relax on this matter. It's just particularly unique."
They look at the screen with Chip sleeping inside the hovercraft with his seatbelt fastened.
AN: Surprise update! I'm proud that I finished writing this whole chapter from start to end in one day. Although I already have the outline ready not long after I finished the previous chapter. Also, I updated for the second time this month. Yay me!
I decided to cut a full check-in from Dante and Ingeo since they're still in the mountain with little to no progress. Instead, we know what happened to them through the gamemakers' summary.
I'm interested to hear your theories and predictions if you have any. Also, don't forget that you can guess who dies next for sponsor points.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter! :)