Night One

Cruxia Marshall, 18

District Four Female

The tension was so strong that Cruxia wanted to just get up and leave.

There was Jupiter, who was staring into space unseeingly, a sad look on his face, and Cruxia was sure that, probably, he felt remorse at what he had done in the morning. Cruxia had been astonished when she had seen him go like that at Cupid. Yes, he was crazy and short tempered, but she had still not expected such brutality from him, to the point of mutilating the poor girl. And now, he was just sitting there, looking angry and upset with himself at the same time.

And then there was Nereus, who was angry. He had not spoken a word ever since they had let the children go. He had been pacing the park, arms crossed across his chest, and generally ignoring the words of the other Careers. Cruxia had suggested a couple of times that they should probably go out and look for other tributes, and while the others were down for it, Nereus' mood had worsened and Jupiter had not shown any reaction, so they let it be, leaving the hunting for the next day. But now, they were all bored and tired, and their moods were not that great either. It was honestly not a scenario that Cruxia liked, for now nobody was talking due to the awkwardness of the whole thing, and she sat down on one of the swings, the night breeze gently cooling her skin. She wondered about going into one of the fancy buildings, probably a restaurant. What would it be like in them? Would they be filled by mutts or was there a chance of finding actual, nicely cooked food in there? She didn't know, and she knew it was an absurd idea to venture into what could be a lair of mutts, but it was an entertaining idea nonetheless.

But there she was, sitting on that swing, swaying gently. Nereus passed her a couple of times as he paced the whole area of the park, and she saw Napoleon was talking to Jupiter, probably trying to help him in any way he could. Margaery and Basileus were near the actual cornucopia, that raised platform, talking in hushed voices. Cruxia still couldn't believe Basileus gave such a painless death to Bell, as painless as he could have, she might not have even realised it. He had looked so annoyed, so cruel all this while…

When Nereus passed her the third time, she could see his cheeks glistening in the moonlight. It was not very clearly out there, and she had to strain her eyes to see it, but she was sure. So, she got off the swing gracefully, and walked up to him, reaching out for his shoulder gingerly. She hesitated for a second, but she was concerned, and so she touched his shoulder lightly.

Nereus stopped in his movement, but that was all the acknowledgement from his side, as he stood there stoically. Cruxia sighed as she moved closer, walking around him so that she was facing him. he refused to meet her eyes, staring at the soft grass, as if he did not want to look at her, or anyone.

"What happened Nereus?"

He did not answer immediately, staring at the grass intently, refusing to even acknowledge her question. She did notice, however, another tear trickle down his cheek and a shiver run down his body, as if he was utilising all his strength just to keep himself together. Cruxia moved closer now, and gently grabbed his shoulders. To her relief, he did not brush her off.

"Why are you crying? What happened to you back then?"

"Nothing."

"That's obviously a lie."

"Look, I don't want to talk about it. I-I-I don't know!"

Cruxia sighed to herself. She did have a fair idea about what exactly was wrong. Nereus had been…off, since last night. He just had not been his sweet self, almost as if he was possessed by all the negativity in the universe.

"Nereus… it's not your fault."

The boy remained quiet as she kept her hands steadily on his shoulders. She knew he wanted to talk, and it was taking all of Cruxia's self-control to not blow up either at what had happened. it was not her place to do anything about it, nor could she have done anything in all honesty, but the fact that it happened was taxing for herself. She felt powerless especially since she acknowledged that she could have done nothing at all for Nereus. However, it was not the right time to get lost in her own thought, she had to first address her distraught friend, who was quickly turning into something that he was not.

"It is totally my fault," Nereus whispered, still refusing to look at her, "She managed to do it because I am dumb. She could do all this because I trusted her with everything I have. She has ruined everything because I was too stupid to figure things out, because I loved her blindly."

He was trembling now, trembling hard, as all the pent-up emotions started spilling out, his eyes pooling with tears of anger and sadness and helplessness even as he clenched his fists tightly.

"It is my fault my family is destroyed. My dad's dead, Sunil's in jail, Nerida is in jail and I'm here, here waiting to die… I got tricked into volunteering when I had no desire to do so. I-I gave in because I'm weak. I gave in because I was blinded by her love… the love for my family. I really thought I could prove Sunil's innocence if I won when I had no desire to be in the Games."

Cruxia was worried for Nereus. Yes, he was letting out all his feelings, speaking out all his thoughts and while she had thought that it would benefit him, she wasn't sure anymore. His voice was in the likeness of a robot- calm and soft… emotionless. She could feel the numbness of his heart even as she held him by the shoulders, the tears falling silently down his face.

"I deserve to die for my stupidity. She'll get what she has always wanted- to finish my whole family. she'll get the property and she will live happily while I rot in hell. But you know what, Cruxia? In spite of all this being my fault, I'm not okay with it. I'm not okay with dying here.

"I've been used all my life by the people whom I've loved the most, the people whom I've given my heart and my thoughts and for whom I'm always sacrificing my well-being. I'm done being the good guy. I'm one being the guy who supports everyone and who's sweet and selfless. I'm done playing the hero. I'm done being dumb."

He hiccupped after that, his nose running which he wiped on his sleeve. Cruxia's grip on his shoulders tightened and he took in a deep breath, exhaling slowly, eyes shut now. There was a silence now, a silence that was both awkward yet peaceful, and Cruxia surprised even herself when she hugged Nereus abruptly. She had not done it consciously, and he too flinched at the contact, but ultimately made no effort to release himself.

"You're not dumb. It's not your fault Nerida turned out to be such a prick. It's not your fault you trusted your sister with your life. It's not your fault that you're kind and giving and that you're hurting right now. None of this is your fault."

Nereus did not reply to that, he did absolutely nothing at all, even as Cruxia hugged him even tighter than before. She did not know why she was doing this, but seeing her District Partner becoming so numb just… hurt. That's how she looked at it. she was hurt seeing his pain and helplessness, and she too felt helpless for not being able to help despite knowing that she could have done nothing to ease his agony. It did not lessen the pain though, nor the guilt and the rage.

To her surprise, Nereus placed a hand on her back, reciprocating the embrace in his own awkward way, but it made her smile broadly nonetheless.

"It'll be okay," she whispered softly.

"I don't know Cruxia… I don't know anymore…"

"We'll make it work. You and I, we're getting out as victors."

And she meant it. After all, when there could be two victors, why shouldn't she make an alliance within her existing alliance? Nereus was the closest here to being her friend. It was natural that she gravitated towards him before anyone else. She really hoped he felt the same way. if he did, they could actually make it work.

"Let's see, Cruxia. Let's see."

Jet Leather, 13

District Ten Male

When Jet had woken up earlier during the day, he had, probably for the first time in his life, freaked out.

The girls were there, lying on the pristine marble floor, possibly passed out from exhaustion, or maybe just sleeping, he had no idea at that time. Jet had panicked hard then, for they were both unmoving, and he did not know how to approach the situation. He gingerly poked Cat's tummy, and was scared when she did not move or react. He then poked Nell in the hope that probably she would say something, and he was not wrong.

"Mmmm," she groaned, before turning on her side and begin snoring.

Jet was relieved to see this response and he sighed expressing it. He proceeded to check Cat's pulse after that, and when he felt it, quite regular and fine, he felt much better, his heart slowing down to a much normal pace and he stood up. it was now that he took stock of his surroundings, the soft ambient lighting that he was sure hadn't been there when they had arrived there post the bloodbath, the long black reception counter, the blood red carpet that was spread out from the door all the way to the broadest stairway, in the likeness of a mansion that he had seen in a film a long, long time back. The air was conditioned here, thankfully, and his eyes flitted to the ceiling with its many chandeliers, sparkling brightly with the combination of light and crystals, and Jet could just tell that it must weigh a lot. There were many of them there, and then he realised that all the lighting came from them alone, and not any other source.

Jet started walking softly towards the reception desk, both intrigued and wary. The place looked just so grand… he assumed it to be a hotel, and he had never been in one before. Hotels were expensive and only high-profile people booked rooms there, but he had heard good things about them. He had seen the main hotel of District Ten back home from afar, and although that had appeared to be grand then, it was nothing compared to where he was now. however, while he was currently interested in exploring the premises of this beautiful place, he couldn't help but feel a sense of fear and hesitation. In the arena, beautiful places often spelled doom, as far as he knew, and while none of them had been attacked for the entirety of the time they had been here, Jet was not sure their luck would last long.

It was this thought that made him stop. Probably, this was the best time to leave this hotel, he reasoned. And yet, his feet body refused to cooperate with that thought, as if it had a mind of its own, and his heart was pulling at him to the reception counter. He did not know what was happening but it felt to him as if something was calling him, calling him closer and closer and closer…

He heard a stirring behind him, and he quickly forced himself to turn around, only to see Nell sitting cross legged on the floor, yawning.

"Um…what?"

Jet blinked on hearing her first words.

"We escaped the bloodbath," he replied flatly, "And we came here, to this hotel. I think we all just passed out from exhaustion or maybe we fell asleep. I don't know."

Tink immediately looked completely alert at his words, her eyes darting cautiously even as they fell on Cat, who was still sleeping peacefully, curled up like a ball. Tink grabbed her arm gently and then started giving her a shake, repeating her name again and again.

"Cat, Cat wake up. Cat. Cat wake up. Wake up. Wake up Cat!"

"Mhmm," was all Cat did, before curling up even further. Tink was shaking her hard now, and any person would have woken up after this treatment as far as Jet was concerned, but not their ally, who simple turned to her other side, her lips moving as if she was chewing something in her dream…?

"WAKE UP!" Tink screamed, bringing her lips close to her ally's ears. Jet could feel the frustration off of her, the frustration of the situation that they were in. Jet watched from a distance as Cat yelled out in fright, sitting up straight in a rapid motion, almost toppling Tink down, as she looked around frightened, her bright eyes full of shock and caution.

"What happened? What happened?!"

"Nothing, haha. Just wanted to wake you up."

Cat heaved a sigh of relief at that, followed immediately by a loud annoyed groan. It was now that she looked groggy, rubbing her eyes and yawning, and Jet, who had been watching the entire thing happening with a disinterest, turned back around towards the reception desk. His heart was beating faster again, and he took a step forward, then another even as his brain shouted at him to turn back and leave. Jet was someone who used his thoughts and mind to make decisions, not his heart or feelings; thus, this overpowering desire to explore the hotel, beginning with that large counter, made no sense to him. Yet, he could not stop, his legs disobeying him as they moved forward of their own accord.

"Jet, where are you going?"

He barely registered Tink's voice as he simply drifted forward. He did not know what was happening? Was it some magic?! He did not believe in magic but…

…He figured it out.

He wanted to see it, see the hotel and see the lavish lifestyle the Capitol bragged about. His heart wanted to live it, experience it. Yes, Jet loved his cows, especially Moo and Benny, but he wanted to know what being rich meant. He had the opportunity right now, to live the life of the richest people in the world since he was in the Capitol in twisted sense, but he was here nonetheless. He wanted to see the Capitol, feel both the tangible and the intangible, and maybe, just maybe, his heart was fed up of him for always following his brain.

"Jet… JET COME BACK!"

The shadow from overhead moved just a bit, and Tink's voice was all he heard, when things came crashing down.

Nell "Tink" Tinker, 12

District Five Female

"Jet… JET COME BACK!"

Tink couldn't believe what she was seeing. Jet seemed to be hypnotised, walking ahead ignoring her. He suddenly stopped, and Tink screamed when the large chandelier overhead swayed hard, and in the blink of an eye came crashing down on her ally. Jet didn't even scream as it crushed him, the cannon exploding so loudly that her eardrums could have had burst.

No… Jet couldn't be gone…This couldn't be happening…

Had they survived the bloodbath only for this?! They had come so far… escaped those bloodthirsty Careers, literally risked breaking their legs and even dying, and this… this…

Tink just stood there, unblinking, staring at the heap that was the chandelier, her friend's corpse buried under it. It was as if she was in a daze, and she did not even notice the movement of the shadow that was over her own, she just stood there. And suddenly, somebody had crashed into her with their full strength, sending them both crashing down onto the floor. It was the shattering of the second chandelier, right where Tink had been standing a few moments ago, and it was then she gathered her surroundings. Cat had just saved her life.

"We need to leave!" she cried out, shaking her head very hard as her tics intensified. Tink blinked. Yes, yes of course. They needed to get away, they needed to get away, they needed to…

The air seemed to get colder and colder, not like the pleasant air conditioning they had been experiencing till now, but so frigid instead. Tink hugged her jacket around her tiny body, it honestly not being much help. The two girls started running towards the main gate, avoiding the path where the chandeliers hung overhead, although that was quite hard to implement in practice since they were everywhere.

The girls picked up their bags, and Jet's- Tink's heart skipped a beat- and tried to get out when she noticed that the air conditioners were emitting a white gas. It was so fine that they couldn't see it at all initially, and only noticed when they got closer to the glass door. Tink tried o hold her breath, but she was sure that she had managed to inhale that white gas nonetheless.

And she did not care.

There were so many things to do in the hotel. They could search for real food. Stay in a comfortable bed, play games that must surely be around in the kid's section. Why were they trying to get away? What was in it for them?

"Tink, why did you stop?! We need to leave!" Cat screamed. She had pulled the turtle neck collar to her nose and was holding it in place with her hand and Tink wondered why she did that. What was there to run from? Tink inhaled normally, and shook her head. She'd stay here, she'd stay here for the remainder of her life.

Nevertheless, Cat pulled her along forcefully to the glass door and pushed through… or tried to. The door refused to budge at all, no matter how hard Cat banged on it with her small fists. Tink felt relieved, now she could explore this place and stay here forever and binge eat to her heart's content. She couldn't understand why Cat was getting so frustrated, why she was swearing, and why she was running from one window to the other, hitting on the glass panes, but nothing happened. It was almost as if the walls of the hotel had heard what Tink wanted, and she yawned.

"Cat, let's go up. Maybe we can find something to eat."

Cat looked at her incredulously, as if she had said something rather ridiculous. Tink scoffed. Why was she behaving this way? Did she not want to live a life of luxury? A life that was away from all troubles of the real world? A thought flickered in her mind… something had gone wrong just a little while ago… But what was it? She couldn't quite remember it. Something had happened, something had happened that she should remember but she couldn't, but she pushed that thought away. Her eyes flitted to the staircase, and Tink started walking towards it dreamily. She walked and walked up the red carpet, feeling content and happy and sleepy, and she entered a beautiful corridor with statues lining against the walls, but she went on and on until she spotted the door, the door that she just knew would have her beautiful bed.

Indeed, it was there, the biggest bed that she had seen, with fat pillows. She saw an ornate mirror, and immediately she was there, checking her reflection. Hmm, she did not look the best. Perhaps she could take a bubble bath first?

"Tink!"

Cat was there now, right behind her, her mouth and nose still covered. Tink frowned. Why did she look so worried? Cat's behaviour confused her beyond belief. She didn't want to enjoy herself; she didn't want Tink to enjoy herself. How selfish was that?

"What is it?"

"Uh…" Cat said, and then giggled, "Well, you're right. This is a great place to live."

"I know right!"

"Yeah… and you know what is the best part about it?"

"What?" Tink asked eagerly, wanting to see the best part for herself.

"The view!"

"The view?"

"Yeah!" Cat exclaimed excitedly, "The view is fantastic! I was just checking one of the other rooms, and they have this huge balcony, almost palatial, with a view over the capitol. It's beautiful!"

Tink's eyes brightened at that. A fantastic view? A balcony that was almost royal? She sighed happily. That was the beauty she was here for. She nodded in excitement like a child that was about to receive a brand-new toy, and Cat ushered her towards the balcony, sliding the glass door aside, and pushing her out onto it.

The moment she was out, cool gusts of wind hit Tink in the face, slapping away her drowsiness, making her wide awake… and very aware.

"What the hell was I doing?!" she cried out as she recalled how stupidly she had been acting. She had wanted to stay in the hotel, live her life there. She had earlier been forgetting something important, but now she remembered it again; Jet had died there. As the realisation hit her again, along with the memory of her own actions and obsessions with staying there, she couldn't help but gasp startled, and her eyes pricked with tears that she did not shed.

"Dude, you were insane back there," Cat commented, uncovering her nose finally, "It was that stupid gas back there. Jet must have inhaled it there without knowing, and for some reason it might have affected him more…"

The gas… the gas. Tink remembered the white fumes that were coming out of the air conditioners. Yes, she had tried to hold her breath but she had inhaled it anyway. Now she knew shy Cat had been so particular about covering her nose and mouth. But then…

"How did I recover in a second?"

"You didn't," Cat sighed, wrinkling her nose and sniffing, "We've been here for ten minutes and you had almost passed out. Then you suddenly became yourself."

"What?"

"It's not the time for it. We need to leave. I've got this rope, let's climb down."

Tink just stood at her place trying to process everything while Cat checked whether the rope was tight enough or not. She signalled to Tink that it was good to go, and the younger girl walked over to the rails even as Cat started climbing down. It was hard for her, and Tink could see that she was terrified and yet going strong. This really helped Tink to gain more clarity than before, and when Cat was safely on the road, Tink followed suit. She took much lesser time and her feet landed on the road. Gingerly, she released the rope.

And then it washed over her again, how Jet just died in front of her. She was there, she had been standing close to him, she could have had saved him. she could have had done something, something! But she had let him go, she let him die, she didn't do anything… her fists clenched by her sides as she lips quivered, her eyes looking at the beautiful hotel, tears flowing down her cheeks. She had let him die… she didn't save him…

"You could have done nothing," Cat said kindly, putting her hands on Tink's shoulders, "Neither of us could."

However, Tink was deaf to her words. She was not the closest to Jet, but he was a friend, a child, just like her. And he was gone right in front of her eyes.

And she did nothing.

"Tink…"

The younger girl spared a glance towards Cat, gesturing her to go on.

"We have to win Tink," Cat whispered, "There are only two of us left. There can be two victors. We have to win."

Those words were like thunder on Tink's ears. No, she wanted to live alright, but Cat had probably said something that she might not have had the intention to. If Tink was t choose one victor with her, it would always be Cat, and she hated herself for admitting it. At the same time, she knew that Cat had the same thoughts. Probably- Tink gulped as she thought this- probably Jet going was the best thing that could have happened to the two girls.

And she burst into tears at that thought. How could she be so selfish? How could she find a positive in the demise of her friend? What was she becoming? Cat pulled her into a hug, and Tink threw her arms around the other girl, sobbing. She rarely ever cried, but tonight was such a night that her tears had to flow, and she was in no place to stop them.

"We'll get through this, Tink. We'll get through this."

Eulogies:

18th- Jet Leather (crushed by a chandelier): Jet was an amazing character, and I loved the boy so much. He had a really interesting perspective, and I enjoyed writing him a lot. He was a really tough guy, with an intriguing love for animals, and he was actually relatable too. Rest in peace Jet, you'll be missed.

Alliances:

The Hunters: Jupiter, Margaery, Napoleon, Nereus, Cruxia, Basileus

I'm Playing You: Aron, Akira

This Was Bound To Happen: Kai, Dakota

Sisters: Cat, Nell

Anti-Careers: Josephine, Lyanna, Cairn, Avni, Rook