Quick A/N- Trigger warning in the second PoV, suicidal thoughts/actions. If you feel uncomfortable reading that just PM/DM me and I can totally summarize it for you. The last thing I want is to make my readers uncomfortable. Alright bitches, time to get into the chapter :))
Angel Mayfield, Day 5
Time: 5:33 AM (5:33)
Quadrent~ Cornucopia
I stare into the dark embers of the giant flame in front of me. The darkness enveloping me and my surroundings, the only noise is the whispering crackling of the fire, a peaceful half-silence. It's my watch so both Kai and Misty drifted off to sleep half an hour ago. I look over at the pair, Misty curled up in her typical ball and Kai facing away from her, his legs extended out. Both had a blanket covering them, I sigh, they'd both be so easy to kill now.
I take a deep breath, shifting from sitting to kneeling. I know I can't kill them, there's two of them, but it's finally time to break away from the careers. Misty has been really off lately, almost itching to kill. I know that when she finally snaps, I'm the first to go. So best run away now, hopefully with better results than Onyx. Finally, it's time, the games won't last much longer with only eleven of us left.
"Onyx…" I whisper but quickly shake thoughts of my dead district partner from my head. It's time to focus on me, focus on winning. And the best thing for me right now, is to grab a bit of supplies and book it outta here.
Kai sturs a bit as I grab Misty's pack and carefully unzip it. I pack extremely quietly but quickly. Throwing Misty's canteen of water, a few packs both of jerky and dried fruit, a flashlight, some matches into my pack. The stuff lays on top of the shit I already carried. This is good, quite sufficient for just me, and should last the rest of the games.
I zip up my bag, quietly as to not wake up either of my sleeping 'allies'. They both don't move as I slide a jacket over my thick black hoodie. Adrenaline pumps through my veins as I place my sword back into the sheath on my belt. My hands shake but I ignore them as best I can and throw my bag over my shoulder. I slip my arms through the straps and turn back to Kai and Misty.
Narrowing my eyes I finger the weapon tucked cleanly in my belt. My mouth twitches with a spark of hope, a shimmer of bravery. I take out my sword with my right hand and brandish it bravery. I advance a small step towards the sleeping pair. Another, and another until I'm standing over the queen herself.
"Angel?" Kai whispers, slowly sitting up as I lower the sword closer to her chest.
"Fuck." I say, noticing the boy. I quickly get to my feet and take off towards the nearest quadrant. I don't even pay attention to which one, just anywhere to get away from the now awake Kai. I risk a glance back and see the boy shaking awake Misty before departing into the maze's icy walls. They shimmer as I sprint through them, twisting this way and that. My hair, tied behind my head in a ponytail, whips at my red face but I ignore it.
I pause, listening for footsteps following behind me. From either both Kai and Misty or just Kai if he couldn't get her to act fast enough. I'm sure it's both of them though. When none come, I drop to my knees. I have to stop now, my asthma can get really bad and the last thing I want is to have an asthma attack in the arena. I had one during my private sessions and passed out, that's something I don't wanna re-live.
"Angel, you did it," I whisper to myself, resting down in the ashes. I look up at the dark sky and suddenly the lights blink on. No more sleep, time to kill, time for death. Both the two from Eleven, Liz, and Kinnik, all gone with yesterday's events. What even happened to them? How'd that all go down? Hopefully injured some other tributes, I don't wanna have to kill more than I have to. "Finally." I whisper to myself. "Now where am I?"
I get to my feet and slowly turn my body in a circle, taking in the breathtaking sky-high walls. I shiver runs through my body as a fierce, bitter wind rattles my bones. Thankful for my extra coat, I turn and start to trek onwards. I unsheath my sword, to have the feeling of comfort run its way up my spine. I let out a small smile, the grip fitting in my right hand perfectly.
I keep walking on, smoky air burning at my lungs even though I'm far from the crackling flames of the cornucopia. The cornucopia almost every year is a giant place for weapons and supplies, but not this one. This one we got stuck with a bonfire. I let out a small sigh, placing one foot in front of the other to keep going.
Allegro June, Day 5
Time: 9:02 AM (9:02)
Quadrent~ 2
I bang my head against the light blue ice wall to keep from screaming into the smoky crisp air. Cradling my wrist to my chest, I let out a small whimper. He's gone. The pain shakes my body as blood drips from the cut on my forehead. My heart screams in my chest, banging against my rib cage.
"Kinnik. Kinnik's dead." I whisper into the smoky air. He was the one supposed to make it out, he wasn't supposed to die. I don't care if that was unrealistic, he was the one who was fucking gonna make it out. How could he die? My chest squeezes tight, threatening to choke out the bitter air from my lungs. The crisp air burns as I inhale a deep breath.
Glancing over at the small axe, I can't help myself and let out a quiet scream. The Capital's fucking playing it's stupid goddamn game. Why'd he have to be the one to die? Why couldn't it have been me? I turn slowly and let my back fall push the ice wall. My knees buckle and I crumple against it, breaths racking my chest. I can't fucking do this. Whatever made me think these games were ever a good idea?
That's the problem, they weren't. They never were. But then again, if I didn't volunteer I wouldn't have met Kinnik. He'd still be dead but I wouldn't have met him. Still, be dead.
I'm normally not one to cry but tears fall down my face. I hold my knees to my chest, pressing my back up against the wall to keep my body from collapsing on itself. Both of my hands shake but I ignore them.
Kinnik is dead, he's fucking gone, because of my own district partner. I never really liked Liz anyway, trying to ally with her at first was a big mistake. She's too violent and rageful. That's why she killed him, revenge. It was all for revenge. Why couldn't I have been the one to kill Jocylin? Then Liz would've aimed for me. Better yet, I had the chance to kill her in the bloodbath. Why didn't I kill her then?
You idiot, you could have prevented Kinnik's death. He trusted you.
I try to take a deep breath in but the only thing I'm able to grasp are some short wheezes. Of course my lungs don't want to function properly, with my chest is closing down on them. Turning my breathing into harsh sputtering, shallow ones. I look down at ashes beneath me as another tear drip down my face.
"How could he die?" I ask, covering my face with my hands. "You just had to do that, did you?" I know Kinnik can't hear me but I don't care. He's fucking gone, and I wasn't able to save him. How could I let him die like that?
Instinctively place my hand on the back of my head and look up. Tears cling to my eyes, making my vision foggy. I quickly wipe them away, my face already a shade of bright devilish crimson.
I look at the knife, carefully tucked in my belt. The tribute uniforms had come with these cases, perfect for carrying weapons. I slowly and gently take the knife out, balancing the dagger carefully on my palm. I can't help but admire the forged lines deep in the beautiful blade. The Damascus steel layered, creating a stunning sea of rays drifting along the cold dark grey metal.
Sighing, I lift the small, thin blade to the stage lights, the light reflecting off the deadly weapon. I twirl the weapon nimbly between my fingers before lifting my hand and pressing the blade against my temple. I don't push it in, just stay there. Breathing hard as I stare forward at the ice wall in front of me.
"Kinnik's dead," I whisper into the harsh wind. It rattles my bones, sending chills down my spine. "But I'm not," I say, lowering the knife and taking a deep breath in. Or the best deep breath I can, which mostly just turns into more wheezing and sputtering.
Shakely I put the dagger down, laying it on the ashes. I wipe away tears collecting in the corners of my eyes and let out a small whisper. The wind steals my breath and I tense my forearm muscles. It howls in my ears and my body starts to shake. The cold chilling my body to the core. I curl up my body even closer, trying to keep body heat. The knife still laying discarded on the ashes to the right of me.
Ciara Teal, Day 5
Time: 10:12 AM (10:12)
Quadrent~ 3
"Oh come on, we should at least go and look for her," I say but Zach just sighs.
"Really? Sage and Celosia are both gone, can't you give death a break."
"We're in the hunger games, get used to the stupid death." I hiss, rolling my eyes. I want to get out of here as soon as humanly possible. So, if that means dragging the rest of my alliance to find tributes, let it be. I don't care, blood needs to be spilled. We have to play the Capital's game, even if it smears innocence along the icy walls.
"Still, you don't have to be all bloodthirsty."
"That's the game, killed or be killed. Whether you like it or not, it's what we have to do. It's already day five."
"I don't care, I don't wanna become what you have."
"And what's that?" I ask, confidently smiling at him.
"A monster." He sighs.
"Oh I like it, has a nice ring." I laugh, raising my eyebrows to the sky. He's actually serious, oops, I thought he was joking. I give him a light smile and he just stares at me back, his dark brown eyes cloudy. They reflect the blinding stage lights, shimmering against his pale features. I look at the sword I had sheathed to my belt and turn back to him. "But I'm serious, we have to play the Capital's game. Zach, we have to kill."
He stares emotionlessly at me and I let out a small shiver. The harsh wind whips at my curly hair, pulling it into its icy breath.
"I know, it doesn't mean I want to." He says.
"Oh shut it, you killed Sage just fine."
"Just fine?" he asks, eyes turning from emotionless to raging fires. "You think I killed Sage just fine."
"Well, you did it easily." I shrug, death was easy for me. You just can't think about it, push it all from your mind.
"That was before I fucking knew of the consequences." He says, balling his hands into fists.
"Zach, ugh, you can't think of the consequences in a game like this. You just have to play." I laugh.
"Well, I don't wanna play like you do."
"Fine, then go ahead and get yourself killed." I shrug.
"No, Ciara, we need to stay as a unit. You just can't keep trying to run off-"
"Do you hear that?" I interrupt and Zach slowly nods. A small quiet beeping noise from somewhere to the left. Zach turns in a circle, scanning around us. To the right, Sunna and Anne kneel beside Sunna's sponsor gift. They gently plant a few of the corn kernels but I doubt it'll even grow before both of them are dead.
"Wait, is that another gift?" Sunna asks, patting down the soil and getting to her feet. She doesn't tear her eyes away from the plastic pot, though. Watching it with anticipation.
"I'd say so," Anne says, giving Sunna a quick high-five before getting up and strolling to where Zach and I had been talking.
"Look, there," Zach says pointing to the sky as two small white parachutes drift down from the sky. Or at least what I presume is the sky, there's just bright ass lights on whatever ceiling there is.
"No goddamn way, two?"
"It can't be," Zach says, reaching towards the sky to grab the parcels. They float into his arms and he turns back to us, a smile settling on his lips.
"It is!" Sunna says, tearing her eyes away from the plant and heading towards where we stood. Zach hands Anne and myself a square metal box. Neither probably for me, but I'm glad I can open one. I look over at Annes's taking in the stunning details. Both have deep-set whickering orange flames and a long thin line running along the middle, separating the box into two halves.
I twist the top half to the right and the bottom to the left. A small gasp escapes my lips as a small sewing spindle and a slip of white paper fall out and onto the ashes. I narrow my eyes picking up the light brown spindle as Zach turns over the note. His fingers lightly touching it before he lets out a small whisper.
"For me?" he asks, staring at the paper, "what am I supposed to do with a spindle? I couldn't even sew back in Eight."
"Throw it at people's faces, obviously." Anne chuckles, twisting her box as I had done. I hand my district partner his spindle and he admires it. Anne lets out a small nervous laugh as out falls a blow gun and three darts from her box.
"Oh my." Sunna admires.
"Who's that one for?" Zach asks and Sunna picks up the small piece of paper.
"Ciara-take out the competition, Spencer." Sunna reads
"Awesome." I gush, gently taking the gun and inspecting its form.
"Wait y'all turn around," Zach gasps and we all turn as a unit to look at the two stalks of corn. They sprout up towards the sky from the pot, already at least seven feet tall.
"Oh my gosh," Sunna says, her eyes wide as boulders.
Misty Weaver, Day 5
Time: 3:20 PM (15:20)
Quadrant~Cornucopia
"I can't believe that little brat ran away." I hiss, "but she has stupid asthma so she won't get that far. We can just let the other tributes take care of her like they did Onyx."
"But Angel is stronger than Onyx," Kai says.
"Whatever, like that matters much."
"You can't underestimate the other tributes, that's a good way to get yourself killed," Kai replies, handing me one of the spears before tucking the other one into his belt. It slides into his sheath and he turns back to me.
"Thank you but I don't plan on getting myself killed." I quip back.
"Just warning you."
"Whatever, I don't care." I sigh, taking the spear from his outstretched hand. I relish in the weapon's comforting sense before looking back at my ally.
"You should care." Kai nods, sliding on his pack. He straps the bag to his back and shoots me a small smile.
"I won't get myself killed." I sigh, rolling my eyes at the boy, "you sure you didn't see which way she went?"
"Yeah, all I know is she was about to kill you." He nods.
"That bitch, I hate her guts," I growl and grab my ransacked backpack. I forcefully zip it up and throw it over my shoulders. The first and only night I wasn't alert and tried to actually get some sleep was the night she had to run away. I absolutely hate her. That idiot had gone through the camp last night, taking a good portion of supplies. Including the only water we had. I sigh and roll my eyes in Kai's direction. How did he not see which way she went?
"I know." Kai nods.
"I want to kill her but guess we can't follow her because someone." I narrow my eyes at Kai, "let her get away without seeing where she went."
"Oh come on, I was trying to get you up."
"Whatever." I sigh, "I guess we can just go in a general direction and try to find her, if not her then any of the other tributes. We haven't found anyone since the bloodbath."
"Probably because we're in a maze." Kai laughs but I shoot him a glare and he stops.
"No duh." I say rolling my eyes, "captain obvious."
"Whatever, so are we gonna go look for her or just stand here?"
"I'm waiting for you."
"Let's go then," Kai says awkwardly. "Which quadrant should we try and tackle?"
"I say that one," I reply pointing towards the quadrant to the left of us.
"Great." He nods and follows behind me as I make a trek to one of the maze's upper entrances. One that splits between two different sections of ice wall. We walk in utter silence, listening for footsteps for a while before Kai pipes up. "So, how was your life back in Four?"
"What do you mean 'how was my life back in four'?" I ask, not turning around to look at the tan-skinned boy. His red curly hair tied in a short stubby ponytail behind his head.
"Excuse me, just trying to ease the tension."
"There is no tension, not really after Angel left." I shrug.
"Sorry then." Kai chuckles.
"Nah it's cool." I whisper, "we should just be quiet. We can talk more tonight, just for now we've gotta look for tributes."
I glance behind me at him and he nods, "I guess you're right." With our pack slowly diminishing we have to kill as many people as possible and hopefully find Angel herself. But we can't do that when the tributes can hear us, now can we? I guess we could, they'd just know where we would and that wouldn't work very well-
"Wait Misty freeze." Kai harshly whispers, his voice shattering me back to reality. He grabs my arm and I stop in my tracks. I scan our surroundings quickly, looking for what he wanted to point out.
"Yes?" I ask quietly after not seeing anything. He taps his right ear lightly and my eyes widen. That's when I hear it, the ruffling of someone packing up things quickly.
"Who's that?" Kai asks, and my eyes widen.
"Who cares, come on," I whisper into the harsh wind. Kai gives me a nod and we take off, searching for the root of the noise. Neither of us exactly sure which way it was coming from, but we kept sprinting through lengths of maze. Kai runs alongside me, no longer following, and I give him a sure-footed nod.
"Come on Misty, you're so fucking slow." Kai teases and I lightly punch him in the arm, both of us still rushing towards the sound.
Elizabeth Oakseed, Day 5
Time: 3:49 PM (15:39)
Quadrent~3
I quickly grab my bag and throw it over my shoulder, shuttering as the weight hits my back. Looking back behind me I take off, the river has disappeared come morning and in its place a giant clearing. I sprint the clearing not risking a glance back as the voices and footsteps come closer and closer. Adrenaline beats in my chest, my heart throbbing in my ears.
"Come on Misty, you're so fucking slow." Kai teases, their voices close. My face turns red, wind whipping savagely against my skin. I don't even dare to breathe, they are so freaking close. I let out a small cry into the wind as they come out to the clearing. I pick up my pace, sprinting my heart out away from the two careers.
"Look!" I hear Misty shout. Fuck they're onto me.
"Come on," Kai says and I throw myself into the ice wall on the other side of the clearing. I whip into the maze, daring them to follow me. Their footsteps pound in my ears as I tear up the ashes beneath my feet. I grab the wall to propel myself forward, heaving a grunt as my shoulder collides with the ice.
I pay it no mind, legs threatening to collapse beneath me. Each step fueling me even more. This can't be it, no no. No. The pair's talk gets closer and I can't help but wipe the beads of sweat glistening from my forehead. My breath comes in wheezes but I don't dare stop running as fast as I possibly can. I'm not ready for this to be over. If Cel, Sage, or Syd couldn't win, I have to at least try. I can't let careers stop that.
"Where'd she go?" Misty hisses and I hold my breath to see if they'd lose me.
"This way!" Kai says, turning the way I'd gone. Let out my breath and keep sprinting away from the pair, twisting this way and that, as fast as I can. My heart screams in my ears, blood pounding in my veins. Their footsteps gain on me, covering ground quickly. I'd taken out a career before, but Onyx was the weakest of them all. I couldn't take on both Kai and Misty, results would surely be catastrophic.
I'm glad I have my vision back, even if it's blurry, because without it I'd be long gone. I'd be long gone if I didn't hear them as well, that wouldn't have allowed me the time I had to throw everything in the bag. I left Cel's flint back on this side of the river clearing, but that's the least of my problems.
For now, I have to worry about the careers following behind me. Both of them running, following my trail. But neither has been able to catch me, I'm not dead yet. The game isn't over, I just have to outrun them. I am not exactly the fastest runner, but I can run for quite a long time, giving me an advantage over the careers.
"That's not how it works, jeez." I hear a voice laugh but I pay no mind to it. It's not Kai or Misty's and therefore not my problem.
"Oh, don't act like you're not having fun." Another pipes up and I recognize his smooth voice. The boy from Ten, Abram Butcher.
"What the fuck?" I whisper, my voice hoarse. I freeze and stop running for a second before shaking my head and continuing on. I'd much rather take on Abram and Lily than the two careers.
"Kai, it's the voices again," Misty says, her voice softer as if from farther away.
"Yes, we're in the sound quadrant. We can't let them distract us, they're not real," Kai sighs, his voice closer than Misty's but still pretty far. I let out a sigh of relief, the voices aren't real. I guessing this has something to do with the fact I smelled pine trees in the last 'quadrant'. What does Kai mean by quadrants? Is he talking about the giant clearing river thing that separated the two sections of maze? That must be, right?
I continue jogging through the maze, trying to get farther away from the lost careers. Cold sweat dripping down my neck and upper back but I don't bother to wipe it away. I keep my pace up, making my way through the light blue icy maze.
"Drums?" the girl from Three, Jocylin, asks. She's dead, right? So I guess Kai's right, the voices are fake. Or prerecorded and played to try and fuck with our heads. My breath starts to drop back down to normal and I can't hear the two anymore but I don't stop. I can't stop.
A/N: Annnnd we're back with another chapter! Shaboom. No deaths this chapter so yay :)) I gave yall a break with four deaths on day four (haha four and four) but yeah, death is on the way, next chapter undoubtedly. Yas. Any ideas on who dies next?
Also yes, seems I'm gaining speed with this updates but really without the help of my internet family -mainly Joseph, Rune and Rafael, even though all of yall are absolutely amazing- for helping me find inspiration for three of these PoVs and sprinting with me. (Even tho I know only Rafael's reading atm, all of them deserve a shoutout cause without them, this update would have taken freaking forever!) Umm and yeah, that's all I got. As always- have a good day/night/afternoon.
Bye for now,
Marie
