Chapter Forty-Five: Watch Your Backs

Night One

Vick Even, District Four Male

I wonder how Mom is doing.

Her hospital room didn't have a television in it, but considering her son is currently in the Hunger Games, I'm sure someone's carted one up so they can see what's going on with me. I doubt I'm getting a ton of screen time right now. Chances are, they're focusing on the main alliances, only giving everyone else a passing glance just to reassure the audience that we exist (and possibly placate whatever fan bases we have in the process). I doubt I've gotten much exposure to the world.

And honestly? I could care less about that. Sure, it's not great, but the Gamemakers take great pains to make sure every death or kill gets broadcast live, so if I'm not on the screen at least she knows I'm alive.

Now's not really the time to focus on that. Instead, I need to figure out two things. One, what is my goal for tomorrow, and two, how impossible is it?

I decide it might be better to think about that over dinner. Earlier, I managed to catch an unusually stupid rabbit, which had the nicest tendency of standing still for minutes at a time until I eventually got a lucky hit on it. I'm not exactly an expert at preparing animals to be eaten, that's always been District 10's specialty, but it can't be too hard, right?

It is, in fact, that hard. Turns out, a trident is great for hitting large things but not so great at gently prying off pieces of something small. By the time I've realized the thing that was once a rabbit is now so badly mangled I'm having to strain really hard not to puke at the sight, it also hits me that I'd be better off trying this with literally anything else.

One sharp rock later, I manage to take it apart cleanly enough that what's inside my stomach stays there. I know this is risky because it's dark and the Careers could be looking for me, but I got pretty far away and I'm not eating this thing raw. If I had to choose between the Careers and food poisoning, I'd take the Careers in a heartbeat. At least they'd get straight to business.

Starting a fire actually isn't that hard, so in what I'm guessing is about half an hour I manage to cook this thing enough that I risk eating it, only to find out that no, it's still nowhere near done. Another half hour passes, it's full dark except for the fire, and at this point I'm done. I'm starved and if I keep this thing out much longer, it'll attract attention I really don't want right now.

The meat's not terrible. Nothing special, although it beats hospital clam chowder by a mile. Not sure how it'll keep, though. I eat what I think is reasonable, drop the rest in the bag I got from the Cornucopia while keeping it separate from everything else, then sit down, make sure the fire's out, then get to thinking.

So, I can hunt here. Furthermore, there's plenty of cover for when it's time to go to sleep, although I don't have any rope so climbing a tree is out of the question.

Time to figure out long-term goals. Obviously, I'm going to have to kill if I want to stay relevant, unpleasant as that may be. Do I start now and potentially make myself a target, or do I wait and hope I don't fall into obscurity while I do? When I do start hunting, should I actively seek other tributes or wait for them to come to me? Is leaving supplies out going to help lure them in or will it just cue them that it's a trap? The rabbit was easy enough to find, but food won't be available forever. Should I stockpile food and water now while I still can or travel light in the hopes that I'm a less appealing target to kill?

Everything's swirling around in my head, and it's giving me enough of a headache that I take a sip of precious water to try and calm it down. It takes a while for things to settle down, but I eventually conclude that I'll have to hunt, starting tomorrow. I don't even have to make any kills, but I need to put together a good-faith effort if I want the Gamemakers to keep me alive. Furthermore, stockpiling supplies seems like the way to go. If I need to run faster, I can always drop them.

With that out of the way, I should probably get some sleep. I need to be on my toes at all times during the day, so I can't stay up late.

I can barely see three feet in front of my face here, so maybe I shouldn't be too worried about that. It's so dark the Careers will probably only notice I'm there if they trip over me. I don't have a sleeping bag, so I'll have to sleep on the ground, but my clothes are dark enough that they should be suitably hard to spot.

After throwing dirt over whatever remains of the fire, I walk for a few minutes before finding a thick cluster of bushes. Not perfect, but they'll do.

Sleep overcomes me the instant my head hits the ground.

Sienna Starboard, District Four Female

It takes far too long for the other three to return. True night hasn't really set in yet, but it's much darker outside than I would have expected.

A quick count confirms that yes, there are three of them, and considering none of them are charging me at the moment I doubt they're the anti-Careers, a fact which is confirmed once they get close enough that I can see their faces. Godric's walking ahead of Clara and Galadia, but all of them seemed unharmed, if a bit tired.

"We're back," Galadia says. "All quiet on the western front?"

"If you're asking if anyone showed up, that answer is no," I say. "I didn't see a soul between you leaving and you coming back."

"Well, that's good," Godric says. "Now, who wants some dinner? We can figure out who's taking which shifts while we eat."

I volunteer for the last shift. Not because I'm particularly exhausted or anything, but because that's as close to my regular sleep schedule as I'm getting. It means I'll get to watch the sunrise, which given that it's an Arena sunrise will probably look damn pretty. From there, Clara takes the first shift, Galadia claiming the shift after hers and Godric taking the last spot left. While that's happening, we sit down to a royal feast of apple slices, dried meat, and water. Nothing fancy, but still a lot better than what most can hope for in the Games.

There's not really much to do now that no one's hunting. Clara and Galadia shuffle over to the other side of the Cornucopia and begin talking to each other, Godric and I stay here and he moves to do the same. "You feel ready to hunt tomorrow or do you want to stay back again?"

"I can go," I say, even as every brain cell I have is screaming otherwise.

"Well, that's good," Godric replies. "We're going to have to rotate who we leave behind anyway. It can't be the same formation every time."

We talk for a while longer about thankfully more inane topics, keeping an eye out for any intruders as we do. Clara and Galadia appear to be doing the same on the other side of the Cornucopia, based on the snippets I'm hearing nearby. This goes on for a short while, but eventually, tiredness overwhelms my stress, and my options quickly devolve into lying down or falling down.

Thus, I retire to inside the Cornucopia, where three sleeping bags have already been laid out. I take the one furthest away, wanting to pass out right away but my overactive brain not letting me.

Godric follows me inside a few minutes later, Galadia sliding in last. Both of them tuck in, Galadia passing out in an instant with Godric taking a noticeable amount of time before he nods off. Yet I'm still awake, despite my urge to sleep.

Then, right when I give up and let my mind do as it may, that's when reality shrinks to a slit before fading away to a sea of black.

Thomiah Marshall, District Eleven Male

After spending an hour exploring every nook and cranny of this cabin, I think it's safe to say we've figured it out.

The cabin has two bedrooms, one bathroom, and the living room/kitchen combo that we walked into when we first found the place. There's one entrance in the front and one in the back. The sinks and toilets don't work, the only things that happened when we turned on or flushed them were that they emitted these weird rumbling noises. No water. I guess it couldn't be that easy, but it still isn't helpful. We found a can opener in the back of a drawer, some iodine pills in the medicine cabinet, and most strangely (and most helpful) of all, we found a vial of that serum the Gamemakers told us to look for inside the empty toilet tank. (What prompted the Gamemakers to put it there is beyond me.) By now, night has fallen, we've eaten what could reasonably pass for dinner (both Artesia and Odysea made remarks that it still probably beat whatever they were getting back home), and we've come to the agreement to set up shifts just like the actual Careers do. I'm going first, so right now Artesia and Odysea are dragging sleeping bags into the bathroom because it's the only room with no windows.

I make sure to let them know where I'm going. "I'm starting my shift. Artesia, I'll wake you up when yours starts."

"Thanks," Artesia says, heading to the bathroom before closing the door behind her.

I step outside into the humid night, squinting to try and get a good view of the surrounding area. The woods are thick on all sides, but right near where we're standing, there's nothing, so if someone tries to sneak up on us, chances are I'll catch them before they get too close. Good. In the Games, we'll need all the help we can get.

The lights are all off inside so as to not draw attention, so I just stand around in the dark for a few minutes before it finally strikes me I need to defend the place from all sides. Standing here won't do much good if the threat comes from the other side.

Thus begins my race to nowhere. The cabin's not that large, so even though I'm moving at what should be a leisurely stroll, a lap around it only takes about a minute and a half. I try counting whatever I can to keep myself occupied and alert: steps, seconds, the number of laps I've finished, and at the start, it works.

By lap five, it's getting boring.

By lap ten, it's getting frustrating.

By lap fifteen, it's stopped working, and I would have given up if not for one slight caveat.

That caveat being the movement I've just spotted in the distance.

Without hesitation, I throw myself against the wall of the cabin, pressing myself against the side in quick, awkward little steps until I'm out of view, against the cabin's back. Fortunately, there's an entrance there, but it takes all my resolve to not throw myself in and slam the door. Crawling like a toddler in case they try to look in the windows, I make my way to the bathroom.

Odysea seems to have dropped like a rock, but Artesia's still awake. It seems my mere presence is enough to make her throw herself to her feet and shake Odysea awake, but she hasn't heard the end of it.

Once Odysea's conscious, I drop the news. "Someone's here. Grab a weapon, we're going outside."

We do that. Sickle for me, scythe for Odysea, knives for Artesia, and we slink out the back before peeking around the side, trying to see what, exactly, we're going to have to deal with.

Fortunately, upon closer inspection, it's not the Careers, or even a Career, singular. Too small, too thin, and no way in hell would they be alone. I think it's a girl, but hell if I know at this point.

Odysea whispers a question I really hoped we'd never have to ask. "Kill her or just chase her off?"

"Let's play it defensive," I say. "If she runs, let her run. If not… you know what to do."

It doesn't take much. Once we emerge from behind the cabin, whoever that is takes one look at us and bolts. We're not really in a position to chase her and really don't want to this time of night on no sleep, so we just watch her to make sure she goes into the woods, then Artesia and Odysea go back to sleep (or at least try) and I'm back on guard duty, making sure whoever that is doesn't come back for round two, or even bring someone else this time.

Well, the good news is, I should have no problems staying awake now.

Clara Ridley, District One Female

I wake to Galadia shaking me.

"Clara, it's time."

Still a bit groggy, I move as silently as I can, crawling out of the Cornucopia on my hands and knees until I'm under nothing but the stars and the moon. Galadia's standing a few yards away, a bag slung over each shoulder and a grin I can only describe as mischievous adorning her face.

"Your bags are on the other side of the Cornucopia," Galadia whispers. "Just be quiet. Sienna sleeps like a rock, but Godric keeps jerking around and getting me nervous he'll wake up any second. Either of them wakes up, we're both screwed."

That begs an obvious question. "Why don't we just kill them now?"

"That just means the Gamemakers will declare open season on us," Galadia says. "We need comparable rivals so they have a reason to keep us alive, and the anti-Career groups aren't going to cut it. Plus, we're going to get enough hate for this from our audience, but at least some people might like it because they haven't really seen something like this before. We kill them, those who like the Careers will hate us and those who dislike the Careers will still hate us, because we're still technically Careers whether we like it or not. Good luck ever being sponsored anything after that happens."

I nod, shuffling over as quietly as I can, looking down to make sure I don't trip over anything. Scarlett, the girl they sent last year, was far too clumsy for her own good, and that clumsiness nearly got her killed several times before it ultimately did her in for real. The last thing I need is for someone else to hear us.

That doesn't seem to be the case, though. I'm at the front, heavy bags over both shoulder and a spear in my dominant hand, and Godric continues to snooze away.

I turn to face Galadia. "Are we really doing this?"

"You know it," Galadia says. "Now, come on!"

We move around to the back end of the Cornucopia, not running yet because it will make too much noise. But once we get about a hundred yards away and see no sign of either Godric or Sienna, we break into a run, the woods swallowing us up before I'm ready.

Once we know we're out of earshot, it takes everything I have to not burst out cheering. Free at last. No more dead weight, and undisputed leadership on top of that. Everything I wanted out of these Games, just like that.

"Hey," Galadia says, hardly panting at all despite our pace. "You feel kind of bad for them?"

"Eh, not really," I say. "We didn't take everything, right?"

"Of course not. Carrying all that would be a nightmare," Galadia says. "I mean, we took more than half, but we didn't leave them with nothing, either. I don't mind being hated, but I don't want to be universally hated if I make it home. I just consider our supplies a severance package."

I don't know what to say to that, so I just nod. "So, we're going to need to put some distance between us and them before we find a place to crash. How far are you looking to get?"

"As far as possible," Galadia says. "Let's stick together, and we should be fine."

Just like that, our partnership has been cemented, and I feel ready to take on the world (or at least the other tributes) as we race side by side through the moonlit woods.

Author's Notes:

-Yes, I just did that. And no, I'm not sorry about it. It's the Hunger Games! There's no time to feel sorry.

-The third vial of serum is now accounted for. Five more lay hidden, waiting to be claimed. Who will find them, where did the Gamemakers hide them, and what exactly are those "side effects" they were talking about? Read on to find out.

-See you guys next chapter!