Thirty-eight – The Feast

The Finale – Division Two (13.2)

It must be four hours later that I can no longer fall into unconsciousness. Even though the arena remains pitch black, I know the sun will rise soon. I cannot afford to miss it by returning to sleep.

I also don't notice the exact moment Ryno stopped snoring. I figure I may have moved too much and interrupted him only briefly. But he doesn't move or go back to snoring. I can't even hear him breathe so that gets me worried. I put on my pair of glasses, reach over and put my hand in front of his nose and mouth to check whether he quietly died or something. I relax when I feel his soft breath on my palm. Why can't he just sleep soundly like this?

"Ah!" I scream when I feel my fingers in between a pair of teeth. I pull away and Ryno begins to stir and chuckle.

"How long were you awake for?" I ask. "And why did you bite me? You don't know where my fingers have been."

"You're caring about what's goes in my mouth more than what happened with your fingers?" asks Ryno, wiping his eyes. "Anyway, can't sleep?"

"Not really." I answer. "It's just very vital right now."

"Yeah, that's alright. We can talk while we wait for the right time." Ryno says, sitting up slightly. He is about to reach for his glasses when he stops. "I shouldn't wear these. One of us has to see when to get up and get ready for the Feast."

I remain lying, thinking how this really could be the last day of the Games, and probably the last day of my life. I feel that four of us will die before day seventeen can even come about.

"Hello, Henry there?" Ryno asks, looking at the top of my head thinking that is where my eyes are. "Got nothing to talk about?"

"I forgot to say good morning." I admit. "This is just all very crazy."

"What is?" asks Ryno. "And good morning to you too."

"Us." I answer. "We're literally in the final five, at such an individual-oriented time, and we're working together instead."

"Hey-" Ryno attempts to assure me with a pat but ends up poking my eye instead. "Sorry, I didn't know you were there. But uh, we're just too different from the other kids to be fighting each other right now. We're too close, probably even closer than the kids who are in the same district, usually. I think it's because of you, actually. I reckon I would be trying to kill any other person at this point but you."

Is this what they mean by me being different? Forming relationships, instead of severing them. Remaining peaceful in an environment plagued with violence. I don't feel like I am as peaceful as I was before. The intention to kill has slowly been going greater. I mean, I have made explosive traps that are meant to injure others. That is not being as different from the other tributes here. Still, there is no way I'd want to kill Ryno at all.

"I guess so." I respond. "Do you think we'll be remembered. By the people?"

"I don't see why they wouldn't." answers Ryno. "But if not, we can make them remember us when we make the Final Two. Create a legacy."

My heart pours out for all the other tributes who have died but haven't been remembered. The Capitol claims the tributes are remembered for their sacrifice in the Games, but that's it. Only that they are a sacrifice. They're not remembered for who they are, and their lives. That is why I'm so concerned for Ryno and I to be remembered if one of us dies. Remembered more than a pawn in the Capitol's agenda.

I don't want to be the boy from District 3 who died in the 66th Hunger Games. I want to be the boy who is the son of Alodea and Pascal, brother of Denary and Algo, friend of Ryno, friend of Radia, friend of Beetee and Jovan, and a lover of music.

"Henry and Ryno." I imagine. "Henryno."

"That sounds good, but I prefer Henryno." replies Ryno, pronouncing the "ry" like "rye" instead of "ree". "Alright, this is probably a bit random, but do you think girls like us?"

"Definitely not you." I reply. "But that is very random. I mean, we're dying here."

"But we're on TV!" exclaims Ryno. "There has to be some girls our age who find us good-looking."

I'm perplexed. "Dude, do you really think that's what we're looking for right now?" I ask.

"It does make me feel better." says Ryno. "But some might think I'm totally ugly, especially since I am losing my muscles."

I request to check Ryno's arms and I claim they are still larger and tougher than mine have ever been.

"Speaking of tough stuff," says Ryno. "Your boobies haven't really caught anyone yet, haven't they?"

"I don't have b-" I realise what he is referring to. "Oh, you mean the traps? Yes, no, they haven't. I don't know if they're still unexploded yet, though."

"Shame." says Ryno. "We spent a whole day on them. Hopefully they come into play somehow today."

When Ryno notices the tiniest bit of light finding its way through the building's small windows, he puts on his glasses and instructs us to get out of the sleeping bag and prepare for the Feast.

"Remember the plan?" asks Ryno.

I confirm. As it includes Ryno holding off someone and probably getting penetrated by an arrow or other weapon, I help him armour up as much as possible.

We wrap the piece of plastic around his body, from the torso under his armpits to his pelvis, under his shirt and pants. He doesn't look so comfortable and natural, but he claims he feels okay after moving around.

Then comes the first jacket layer. Then we dress him in the second, which somehow managed to fit over the first. I assess and Ryno looks well protected in the body, but much thicker and inflexible.

"Can you run?" I ask.

"Better not." he answers. "It's getting a bit hot in here."

I offer him some water. "Should we protect more of your face?"

"I have the glasses." says Ryno. "But I guess my head and my neck need more protection."

Ryno has kept the basket which held the food given to us on my birthday, and in some sort of luck, it fits perfectly around Ryno's head. I secure it to his head with a piece of string. For his neck and mouth, I make a mask and neck covering from my undershirt.

"Bro, how do you not smell bad?" he asks. "And imagine all of us have to wear masks like this."

"Oh, it's happened before." I say, without elaborating any further. "Should we protect your legs as well?"

Ryno waves them off. "Oh, they're not as important as what we've already covered." he says. "Anyway, I must look amazing with two jackets, a mask, and this basket. You've done your job as a stylist well!"

I know Ryno only means it as a joke, but I'm again reminded of my own stylist, and his disgusting conduct against me. Ever since it happened, I had the urge to just tell somebody. I don't want Tiberius to get away with what he did. It's too much Capitol corruption. But there was never a right time to talk to somebody about it. I planned to tell Radia one day, but she was taken away from me way too soon. And now Ryno is right here. I trust him and I could tell him... Or should I just let the whole thing go? I have kept the knowledge to myself for fifteen days. And Is it futile to tell anybody about it? It's not like my allegations will change anything. I feel like it's better for me if I do tell somebody before I die. I can't let this event disappear along with me, like it has possibly has with the previous tributes in my place.

"What's wrong?" Ryno notices my demeanour.

I take a deep breath and decide to tell him about it. For the first time, somebody else knows.

"My stylist touched me." I whisper in his ear.

Ryno laughs nervously, like he knows exactly what I mean, but wants to will it out of existence. "My stylist touched me, too." he whispers back. "She really wanted my suit to fit. Same with my prep team. That was brutal."

"No, that's not what I mean." I reply. "He did it in the Stockyard. Touched here and... Here."

Ryno grits his teeth. "Oh shit, no." he says. "Are you sure?" he asks pointlessly. He can see my expression.

"Yes, I'm sure!" I snap.

"I'm sorry, I'm just-" says Ryno, sighing. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

"I just felt... tainted." I say. "And still do."

Ryno looks like he's about to put his hand on my shoulder but pulls away. "That's just so wrong." he grumbles. "You have to win."

I know what he means by that. I need to live to tell others. Tiberius did what he did because he had no hope of me winning. He thought the knowledge would stay with me when I would inevitably die in the arena. But he didn't expect me to survive until day fifteen and be part of the final five. I'm sure he's nervous about my prospects of winning right now.

But I don't think it matters if I win and tell anything. Maybe he isn't nervous. He knows that even if I win, I can't do anything. In fact, it results in something worse for me. They might kill my loved ones, my family.

"Everything is just so fucked up." I say.

"Can I hug you?" asks Ryno.

"Yeah, hugs are fine." I say, and we share a long hug. Possibly the last one we will ever do before the Feast.

We let go. "Ready to go?" asks Ryno, gripping his sickle and slinging his bag the other way around for further protection of the front of his body.

"Yes." I say, and we both depart from the building with our packs for last time.

As we make our way towards the square, we both keep watch in the silent morning for any activity, but nothing catches our attention. It's like there isn't even a Feast at all. Maybe Ryno and I are the only tributes on this west side of the arena.

It's not until we reach the wall of the square when we hear the loud, sequential booms of the building we were in. Like Jovan's Games, the destruction of arena parts seem to happen earlier and earlier than expected. To think we were only in that building twenty minutes ago is a little concerning.

"No going back." says Ryno, as we shuffle along the wall.

As we are approaching the gap that enters the square, Ryno explains some points to me.

"I will peek my head to the side to see if there's any updates. People. The food." he says. "You keep watch for anything behind us.

"Agreed."

I stay behind Ryno looking at the mountains of rubble, while he pops his head around the wall.

"Nothing yet." he says. "Looks the same. And nobody is there."

"Nothing here either." I say, seeing no activity coming from the gap to the Northern Straightaway or beyond the rubble closer south. "Listen, about before. Just thank you for listening to me."

"Anytime." Ryno whispers. "I mean, why would somebody not listen?"

"Fuckery." I blurt out. I hear Ryno chuckle.

After a few minutes of no change, Ryno says, "I think we may have arrived too early."

"But we left the building at just the right time." I say.

"Do you think we should come up with a code word or something like that?" asks Ryno. "Like a word that we shout at each other and we're the only ones who know what it means."

"Like a word you can shout to signal me to run in and get the food?" I ask.

"Yes!" clarifies Ryno. "Something inconspec- incon- inconspic- something normal. Like 'loaf'."

"I like 'loaf'." I say. "How about a different word for when one of us is in danger?"

"Yeah, good idea." says Ryno. "But I can't think of any. Quick, say the first word in your head right now."

I shrug. "Poop?" I was meant to say 'fish'.

"Poop it is-" Ryno pauses. "Why where you thinking of-? Never mind. 'Poop' could work. Can confuse the other person."

Ryno peeks back. Again, no activity for the next few minutes. I'm getting more and more anxious. I guess Claudius Templesmith said the Feast will be at dawn, but by the light without my glasses on, it may as well happen right now. Maybe they want everybody to be ready for the Feast.

"How do you think your district is feeling right now?" I ask Ryno.

"They'd be really excited." says Ryno. "Usually they're not overly hopeful because so many District 9 tributes make it this far but are never able to close it out. I have hope they're not just excited for me, but for both of us."

"Why?" I ask. "Me winning won't help your district at all."

"I guess you're the next best option." says Ryno. "How about your district?"

I wonder if everybody has woken up. No doubt the televisions are on at every workplace, but the people who usually stay at home are probably at the Forum to witness the events as a collective. Unless Capitol officials are urging my family on, they would be staying at home, just watching. Maybe the peacekeepers are getting in on it. "Yeah, they'd be excited, too." I say. I know a lot of them want me to win for fame and riches, but I know my family wants me to survive. "I guess a District 9 win won't be so bad too." I whisper. "Might forge an alliance between our districts in the future."

"If we could all just be friends." imagines Ryno, then he looks back into the square. "Something's happening."

I jerk. I try not to take my attention away from what is behind Ryno. "What is it?"

"The cornucopia's splitting open." says Ryno. Sure enough, I hear a quiet humming sound. "It's starting to shine under the sun."

I take a deep breath. "You ready?" I ask.

"I've been ready for so long." he says. "We've been waiting here for like what, half an hour? How about you? Ready to become the Final Two?"

No, I think. "Yeah." I say without confidence.

"Nice, let's still keep an eye out." says Ryno but then he gasps and takes his head back.

"What? What happened?" I ask.

"I think I see Jade at the top of the stairs." says Ryno. "It was definitely a girl. She's the only girl left, right?"

"Yeah." I answer. "Are you going to go get her?"

"Not yet." says Ryno. "She has her bow and arrow out, ready to shoot at any movement."

"You didn't recognise her by the bow and arrow?" I ask pointlessly. "Can I see?"

Ryno and I swap our positions and I slowly peek my head out. Ryno is definitely right with Jade on top of the stairs in front of the palace doors, but she seems to be aiming east and not focusing on anything this way. Then I spot a figure run out from behind the tail-end of the cornucopia.

Dominic.

He must have come from the east, which is baffling because I was there just last night. Did he not see my light or hear my footsteps?

From the small glimpse I have of him, he looks totally different from when I last saw him almost four days ago. He has lost a lot of weight in the span of a few days. His arms no longer look as burly and he is slouched. The fog, the rain, and the starvation may have gotten to him the most. He makes his way around the tail and moves to the mouth, where the round table draped in a white tablecloth rises out of the ground.

I didn't take a good look at the food on it before I pull my head back, fast. Now it's Ryno's turn to ask what I saw.

"Dominic's at the food." I say.

"What?" Ryno asks, pulling me back so he can inspect the situation. "He's taking so much into his pack. There's water, bananas- No, not the bread!"

"How much food is there?" I ask.

"Enough for us." he answers. "Dom's moving around too much. Jade can't get a clear shot. She's distracted. I'm going in."

I grab his hand. "Be careful." I say.

"Don't worry." he says. "I'll just be hugging the wall. Remember, 'loaf'. Hopefully I won't have to say 'poop'."

He slowly turns around the corner of the wall and disappears. Alone again.

After a few seconds, I hear nothing, but I know shit's really about to go down soon. I peek out to see the showdown, and whether Ryno is okay.

Jade has made her way further down the stairs now, trying to focus her arrow on Dominic, but he is frantically scooping whatever he can into his pack. He is not the calm man that I remembered him by. He is panicked. He is desperate. I don't think he has even seen Jade almost right in front of him. I wonder if half of Jade's hesitation with releasing the arrow is wasting one on somebody so starved. If she spots Ryno, I'm sure she will switch her attention.

Meanwhile, I see Ryno just shimmying himself along the wall to my left to avoid being seen by any of the two. But he is seen. Jade suddenly turns and lets an arrow fly towards him just as he's nearing the corner. I try my absolute hardest to stifle my yell.

Ryno! I scream in my head, worried about another ally being killed with Jade's arrow. But with the distance between Jade and Ryno, the arrow merely lodges itself in the basket over his head. By the fact that Ryno remains standing, the arrow has not penetrated his skull. Saved by the basket.

I don't have enough time to relax when Ryno starts to charge at Jade, but Dominic, who must have heard Jade's strings releasing her arrow, finally notices Jade and starts to charge at her as well. Jade, seeing Dominic will reach her first, aims an arrow at his head, most likely. Dominic only has little time to move and I hear him roar, clutching his shoulder, pierced by the arrow.

Dominic is a little stunned, but with Ryno being an immediate threat as well, Jade takes the time to flee. She heads east with her bow and quiver of arrows, and Dominic follows her. They disappear from my line of sight.

This leaves Ryno, who has stopped next to the foot of the stairs, looking around, wondering what to do now. Our plan had five people in it, and there's one person missing from it so far.

Where is Ringo? Is he comfortable enough to decide not to attend the Feast? Did he receive so much praise from the sickening betrayal?

I spin around to expect the boy with an axe right in front of me. He is not. Ringo isn't anywhere here. It's just me and rubble.

"LOAF!" I hear Ryno's voice shriek from the square. Shit! It's time to go in.

Without thinking, I sprint past the wall and towards the cornucopia. I see Ryno, still at the foot of the stairs, staring up at Ringo, who has finally emerged and making his way down. He came from inside the palace, where Jade also came from. Were they working together? I can't even fathom it.

When I get closer to both the cornucopia and them, I see Ringo's face. He looks in the best condition out of all of us, but he has murder in his eyes. He has his axe ready to be swung once Ryno is within his range. Ryno begins to run backwards west, hoping to draw Ringo to him and away from me. But Ringo doesn't even take notice of me, where I have reached the cornucopia.

Dominic must have stolen half of the banquet. I rip my pack open and begin to stuff whatever item is left in my pack in the same chaotic way Dominic did. Except I also pay attention to what goes on in the square.

Ringo swings his axe at Ryno, but it only scrapes Ryno's pack as he steps back to dodge it. Ryno tries to slash back with his sickle, but Ringo is fast enough to recover from his swing and block the sickle in the blink of an eye. If Ryno had a better weapon, a sturdier one than Ringo's axe, then he can overpower Ringo. But seeing Ringo now, even as a young boy, he is too good. And that scares me.

As I swipe in more apples, pears, bananas, and cooked whole potatoes, Ringo and Ryno clash, blade against blade, but Ringo is pushing Ryno back further and further west, where we were. I hear them grunting and talking, but I can't make out their words.

A cannon sounds out, stunning me. I look at Ringo and Ryno, and they are still fighting. That means Jade or Dominic is dead. There are four of us left.

I don't have time to dwell on that now. I almost fill my pack, but I see that Ringo has pushed Ryno all the way to the western gap in the wall. Is Ryno becoming weak? Or is his only intention to hold him off?

I hear Ringo's young yell. Ryno seems to have slashed Ringo in the arm, but not enough. It doesn't faze Ringo too much, and they keep fighting beyond the wall. I have spent too long here, I need to help Ryno now. Even if he hasn't signalled for me to come.

I sling my pack over my shoulder and I sprint back. I take the knife in my belt, ready to stab Ringo, whose back faces me. I am too filled with adrenaline right now to suppress my feeling from killing Ringo. Ryno is in danger. I can't stand back like I did with him and Quentin. And Quentin is not as bad as Ringo is. Ringo is murderous. A traitor.

I'm close. Fifty metres away from the two of them. I have to protect Ryno. I don't care if Ringo turns around and swings his axe at me. I die, but Ryno lives. And he kills Ringo while he is distracted.

Thirty metres. Ringo and Ryno seem to be at a deadlock, pushing their blades against each other. Ringo having the stronger weapon, starts to bend Ryno's sickle, enough to push it out of his hands. My knees buckle. Ryno is unarmed. Ringo has his axe.

Before I know it, Ringo swipes his axe at Ryno's stomach, but his protection only deals it as a blow. Ryno is winded, and cannot run away in time before Ringo buries his axe in Ryno's leg, right at the knee.


/ybntptkf

Next: 39 - The Names; The Finale Division Three (13.3)