Tristan McKnight, District 4
Tristan helps Maeve carry the last of their supplies away from their camp and towards their new setup. Since they were stationed where the feast will be held, they want to put some distance between themselves and whatever gifts the Capital gives them.
"Where do you want this?" Tristan asks Maeve, holding a few small knives.
"Uhh, put it near the back, over there." She gestures towards the edge of their new camp, separate from their food and water.
"That should be the last of it." Tristan says. Maeve sets down the food she was carrying back and takes a seat near Casper.
"We should get rest before it starts." Casper suggests.
"Yeah, okay. Who needs the rest?" Maeve looks at her two allies. Neither Casper nor Tristan say anything.
"Fine. Guess I'll get some." She says, spreading out into a more comfortable decision.
"What's our plan?" Casper asks.
"Plan for what?" Maeve looks over at him.
"For the Feast. Other Careers are going to make an appearance. What's our plan?" Casper's question makes Maeve look away from him. It's a question that's been in the back of her mind, something she's been actively trying to avoid.
"We'll regroup, attack any outlying tributes that come. We'll be able to regroup, resupply, and get back in the game." Tristan says with so much confidence that Maeve wonders why he volunteered in the first place.
"Tristan…" Maeve begins before she gets cut off.
"We can't regroup." Casper says bluntly. Tristan looks confused.
"Why not? The Careers stick together until the end. That's how it's always been." Tristan's words become more defensive, as if what Casper's suggesting is finally sinking in.
"Over half the remaining tributes are Careers. There can only be two winners." Casper says more aggressively. Tristan shakes his head.
"We're not betraying our allies."
"They're not our allies anymore."
"Guys, just, just stop, okay? Let's get some rest." Maeve shuts them down, too stressed out to hear anymore. Tristan and Casper don't speak anymore, but that doesn't stop the thoughts from bouncing around Maeve's head.
What will she do if she runs into Alexandrine at the feast? Or Minnow? What will they do? Will they expect a mutual truce and focus on whatever outlying tributes show up? Or will they try and get rid of their biggest competitors?
Maeve closes her eyes tightly, desperate to avoid the inevitable for as long as she can.
Minnow Swanson, District 4
Minnow has never felt pain like this. Whenever she got hurt back home, which was rare, she was treated instantly. She always thought she had a high pain tolerance, that nothing could hold her down from accomplishing her goals. Most of that confidence has been lost, along with her functioning wrist.
She knows nothing is going to stop her from going to the feast. Whatever they provide, she needs it. She needs it to heal and to be able to protect her brother so they can return home. That's all that matters now. Winning, getting fixed up in the Capitol, and returning home with her brother. Nothing else is an option.
"Sis?" Mako kneels down next to Minnow who has barely moved from the bed since they arrived.
"What?" Minnow forces herself up. She needs to be ready for a fight.
"I'm going. I want you to stay here and keep an eye on our supplies." He's about to say more when Minnow cuts him off.
"No. I'm coming with you." She pushes past him to stand up, ignoring the ache in her legs that make her wobble when she finally gets on her feet.
"Minnow, please. Stay here." Mako stands between her and the door, as if to block her.
"I'm not letting you go by yourself. I'm fine!" She takes a step towards the door and Mako gently takes her injured arm. He examines it.
"The swelling isn't going down. You could damage it further."
"I'm not staying here." She pulls her arm away from him and pushes past him, pushing through the door and exiting out into the forest. The sun hits her hard, forcing her to raise her hand to block the light. She takes in her surroundings, realizing she has no idea where they are in relation to the cornucopia.
"Come on. I'm not waiting for you." Minnow shouts back at the cabin just as Mako comes out. She ignores his obvious anger and begins trekking through the forest, hoping they'll end up in the right place.
Evan Floyd, District 1
Evan knows he's getting closer to the cornucopia. He can just make out the beach on the horizon. He moves slower, staying on high alert for any signs of another tribute.
He realizes this is the longest he's been alone since he volunteered at the reapings. Although Crystal was adamant to come with him, he was able to convince her to stay with Alexandrine, who was in no shape to come with them. If Alexandrine was killed while they were gone, he would never forgive himself. Besides, if he doesn't make it back, they will still be able to win together. But he won't let that thought overwhelm him. He will make it back.
He crouches down low as the cornucopia comes into view. He looks around for anyone, his fellow Careers, or another tribute. But he doesn't see anything. Despite that, he knows not to get too comfortable. They're here, perched behind cover, waiting for the Feast to begin.
Only a short while passes before movement catches his attention out of the corner of his eye. He draws his knife in defense, trying to find the movement. He tenses up as he hears a branch snap somewhere behind the trees.
A loud running makes him turn to his left. He raises his knife just in time to block the swing from his assailant. He starts to panic, taking him longer than it should have to recognize the man on the other side.
"Casper? It's me! Stop!" Evan holds his hands out in defense, shocked and confused. Casper also appears shocked, but there's something in his eyes that sends a chill down Evan's spine.
"Evan!" Maeve bursts through the woods. She puts herself between Casper and Evan, much to Evan's relief.
"Jesus Casper, you scared me." Evan forces out an awkward laugh. Casper cheekily smiles, stepping back.
"Yeah, sorry, man. I thought you were someone else." Casper explains, avoiding eye contact. Evan looks away from him as Tristan breaks through the tree line and joins them.
"Wow, I'm so happy to see you guys." Evan says with a sigh of relief.
"Are you alone?" Maeve asks. Evan shakes his head.
"I came here alone, but Crystal, Alexandrine and I have a camp set up. Not too far. She's not doing well." Evan explains. Maeve nods. She looks past Evan towards the area of the cornucopia.
"It's about to start." Maeve pulls Evan down and Casper and Tristan follow suit. Evan stares into the empty space, trying to suppress his anxieties. He thought reuniting with his allies would allow him a sense of relief, but after being attacked by one of them, he doesn't know where he stands. Would Casper have kept going if Maeve and Tristan weren't here?
A loud rumbling catches his attention. He watches as a hovercraft slowly descends closer to the ground. Two panels open up, and a claw-like machine lowers down a large table. The large claw disappears back into the hovercraft, replaced by a handful of smaller claws lowering half a dozen large bags. They are set on the table one by one, and Evan can't help but wonder which bag will contain the supplies needed to help Alexandrine. He wonders if they're left without labels on purpose.
The last bag is lowered and the hovercraft disappears into the air. Evan looks over at Maeve. She gestures for him to go towards the bags, along with Tristan. Evan's anxiety begins to rise, but he does as he's told.
The two boys sprint at the table. Evan grabs the biggest bag he sees and opens it up. It's about halfway filled with food and medical supplies. He starts rustling through other bags, taking out as many medical supplies as he can find.
Just as he opens another bag, he hears footsteps to his left. He raises his knife as a flash of black hair tackles him to the ground. He wrestles with his opponent, feeling a pain in his side from where they kicked him.
He finds himself on his back as his opponent is pulled off of him. He scrambles to his feet just as Tristan makes a swing towards Minnow, who backs up just in time to avoid it.
"Minnow! It's us!" Evan tries to reason with her. She glares at him and it's just then does he notice how much pain she's in. He can tell by the way she holds her arm by her chest that she's badly injured.
"We can share medical supplies, stop! We're in this together." Evan tries to reason with her. She doesn't say anything, the smirk that forms on her face is loud enough. Evan dodges just as Mako swings a large branch at Evan, ripping Evan's shirt in the process.
Tristan tackles Mako to the ground and the two stumble away from the supplies. Evan jolts back around to face Minnow.
"What are you doing?" Evan asks softly. He can feel his heart shattering with the realization that his hopes of reforming a strong Career alliance is gone. It may have never been there, but he held onto it anyway.
Minnow lunges at Evan but he's prepared. He dodges the attack and counters with a slice of his knife. He cuts her arm that causes her to stumble back.
"Minnow, don't make me do this." Evan pleads with her one last time, despite knowing it's futile. He looks over towards Tristan and Mako, who keep fighting, neither able to gain the advantage over the other. Tristan needs Evan
"You've always been weak." Minnow spits at Evan, advancing towards him. He easily dodges her and makes a fatal slash at her stomach. He cuts her side, causing her to collapse to one knee. Evan takes his knife and stabs her in the back. She collapses to the ground, the cannon signifying her death.
"Minnow!" Mako's voice cracks as he watches her body collapse. Anger fuels him as he rushes Tristan. He gets behind Tristan and wraps him in a headlock. Evan doesn't make it halfway towards the pair before Mako snaps Tristan's neck, a cannon firing before his body hits the floor.
Evan skids to a halt. He sees a movement out of his peripheral, but whoever it is grabs a bag off the feast table and takes off. Mako runs at Evan, who dodges just in time. Evan sees the fury in Mako's eyes, the fury of an animal. He's never seen anything like it.
"Hey!" The familiar voice of Casper cuts through the field. Casper jumps at Mako, cutting at his leg. Mako stumbles back, still as vicious as before. Mako clenches his teeth, looking at his two competitors. They stand at a stalemate for some time before a cannon firing catches them off guard. Evan turns around, but he doesn't see anything.
With Evan distracted, Mako retreats. By the time Evan realizes he's running away, neither him nor Casper have the energy to follow.
Adonis Herier, District 10
Adonis' heart races as he breaks through the forest. He managed to get a bag while the Careers were distracted. Last he looked, they were still fighting, but he's too afraid to stop running.
He doesn't even see the boy until they're both on the ground. Adonis stands up and is face to face with another tribute, a boy he doesn't recognize.
The knife enters the boys stomach before Adonis realizes what he's done. The cannon fires, snapping him back into reality.
"Thread!" A girl's voice precedes the body crashing through the woods. The girl sees the body of the dead boy and covers her gaping mouth. Adonis realizes they must be allies as her sword slices through him.
Eros, I'm coming to see you. Adonis closes his eyes for the last time.
Maeve Landstone, District 2
Maeve rushes into the clearing and joins her allies, or what remains of them. She screwed up. She misjudged where the threat would be. And Tristian is dead because of it.
Evan collapses to the ground as Casper rounds up the supplies. Maeve kneels beside her fallen ally.
"Evan?" He ignores her. He stares off into the direction Mako ran off to.
"They attacked us. I let my guard down. I'm so sorry." Maeve doesn't know what compels her, but she wraps her arms tightly around Evan. He doesn't push her away, like she would have in his situation. Instead, he hugs her tightly, too afraid to let go.
"Alexandrine is alive, yes?" Casper's directness pulls Maeve out of the moment. She pulls away from Evan and helps him stand up.
"Yes, yeah she, she is. I'll take you to them." Evan and Maeve each take their share of the supplies, leaving only a little behind, and the three of them venture off into the woods. As they walk, they don't exchange any words.
Evan is relieved when he finds his allies alive. Crystal is just as relieved, but Maeve notices once Crystal recognizes her and Casper, she seems less warm and welcoming.
"Oh. Hey." Crystal says somewhat nonchalantly. Casper huffs and crosses his arms, causing Crystal to look away from them.
"Sorry. I just…I didn't expect anyone but Evan." Crystal turns her attention back towards Alexandrine, who, although conscious, is barely functional.
"Here. We can help her." Evan kneels down and takes medical supplies out of his bag. He takes out a bottle of pills and coerces Alexandrine to take two. Afterwords, he takes his time cleaning her wound with the strong disinfectant from the Capitol. As he redresses her round, he dismisses the thought that they could have sent these supplies anytime. But instead, forced them to suffer from it. Forced children to die for it, for entertaining those who can't entertain themselves.
Warren Faulkner, District 11
Warren finishes taking the last of the supplies from the feast before retreating back towards the woods where he know no threats will lie. He waited patiently as the rest of the tributes fought amongst and killed themselves. He merely swooped in and took what was left.
Granted, his supplies are limited and getting more necessities would have really boosted his confidence this late in the game, he can't complain. He left with his life. That's not something that can be overlooked.
As Warren settles in for the evening, he takes count of what he has left. One loaf of bread that is growing an unappealing white fuzz, a water bottle that's half filled, a knife, and some pieces of rope. His pickings from the feast were small, a full water bottle, a bag of crackers and a wedge of cheese. The most valuable thing he got from the event was knowledge.
The Careers are fighting amongst themselves. He had hoped that would happen. Hoping they would kill each other before he had to face them. Two Careers dead, two more tributes that he didn't see. No matter. The sky will show him soon.
Warren had worried what the arena would do to him. He's spent too many years watching the victors who come out of the arena turn into completely different people. Violent, manic, and depressed. Many come out missing pieces of their body, but they always overlook the mental trauma they've experienced.
Warren knows it won't be an easy fight out, not with over half of the remaining tributes being Careers, but he allows himself to think positively. To think of home. Maybe he'll find himself one of the lucky ones who goes home normally. Who fades into the background, to never be spoken of. Just, for a moment, he allows himself this luxury.
The anthem plays and the faces are displayed. The boy and girl from Four killed at the feast along with the boys from Eight and Ten. Nine left to face whatever the Gamemakers may bring.
It's definitely been a minute since I've uploaded, and for that I want to apologize. I know not many are still reading, but if you are I'd love a review to keep me encouraged! I do plan on finishing and since I'm going into the holidays I will hopefully write faster than I have been.
ALLIANCES
Career Pack #1: Maeve Landstone, Tristan McKnight, Casper Chevallier, Crystal Vine, Evander Floyd, Alexandrine Laurent
Career Pack #3: Mako Swanson
Alone: Hodaka Granger, Warren Faulkner, Yeong-Ja Song
DEATHS
23rd-Pepper Lokma (D7F)
22nd-Hayley Onyx (D4F)
21st-Ashleigh Cane (D12F)
20th-Marshal Woods (D7M)
19th-Crane Bavari (D2M)
18th-Lancia Audren (D2F)
17th-Elise Linderman (D8F)
16th-Eros Herier (D10M)
15th-Mathias Hayes (D12M)
14th-Ashley Oak (D7M)
