(a/n): Here we are, everyone! We are officially in the Games! There is a lot that goes on this chapter, and I am very excited for you to read it! Writing action sequences is certainly difficult for me, as I've never really written it before, so I hope that you all enjoy it! Also, we'll be seeing more of the Tributes, and see more of Birch and the kids from District 12. So many dynamics I'm excited for! ^^
CHAPTER TWELVE
black water
Everything happens so fast. I watch as a handful of Tributes rush towards the various exits, near slipping on the moist ground, as others charge towards the Cornucopia. Jason reaches it first, brandishing a large axe, which he promptly swings and decapitates the head of the boy from District 3, who had been rushing to reach a sword. Blood spurts out of him like a faucet, his head rolling away and staring blankly. Without missing a beat, Jason grabs ahold of the boy from 2, and hurtles him towards the spiky rock protruding out of the ground, where he promptly impales himself and lays gagging. I expect Birch and Liber, along with the kids from 12, to run towards the exit; I prepare to even follow them. But my heart drops as I watch Liber run towards the Cornucopia, Lamia close at his heel. The kids from 12 are running towards an exit, but Birch is lunging to the Cornucopia.
So much for that. My stupid brother is charging towards the bloodshed beside a girl I barely trust, yet who has promised to Ally with us - and surely if she's an Ally, then Jason is, by proxy. But I can't let that be the deciding factor. I need certainty. With a growl, I lunge forward, going against every ounce of my better judgment, every practical thought in my head. Tributes are fighting one another, trying to impale each other into the rocks, or reaching out for weapons; I even watch as one girl bashes the head of another into the ground, feral and screaming.
Liber is ahead of me, reaching out to grab a backpack from off of the ground. He notices me rushing forward and looks around frantically, and grabs ahold of a spear that is close to him; long and metal with an obsidian tip. "CATCH!" he howls, throwing it towards me.
I manage to catch it, balancing it in my hand. I whirl around, the girl from 5 holding a machete which she lifts high over her head and attempts to swing down over me. I dodge it. The rocky surface is slippery, but I have balanced on more unforgiving surfaces before hunting in District 4. I maintain my balance and slice my spear against her heel, splitting open her tendon. She yelps and falls to her knees, blindly swiping her weapon. I kick her down and grab the machete for good measure. She shouts in anguish, but I ignore her, rushing towards my brother. I hand him the weapon.
"You idiot!" I snap. "We need to go!"
My eyes flicker towards Lamia who is standing a few feet behind Liber. She's holding a knife and eyeing me carefully, lifting it swiftly to throw it outward. I grab Liber and force him to duck before Lamia can betray us, but the knife flies over my head, anyway. I look over my shoulder; it lodges in the throat of the girl from 9.
I look back at her.
"We're Allies, right?" Lamia says, and I'm truly surprised by how delicate and girlish her voice is.
"We are," Liber asserts before I can say anything. He looks towards me. "We need to get out of here!"
Lamia glances towards Jason, seeming to be weighing her options. The burly man seems to be doing a fair job at defending himself and accumulating weapons, as Tributes scatter away from the Cornucopia and away from him, yet he keeps towards them. Meanwhile, I turn, my eyes locking upon Birch as he races towards a backpack. But behind him, a girl hoists a sword over her head. Instinct grips me. "Wait - Birch's our Ally," I say, to Liber, already booking it towards him.
I grip my spear tightly.
"BIRCH, DUCK!" I shout.
I raise my spear high. Birch's dark eyes widen and he, gratefully, ducks swiftly, and I, with careful precision, thrust my spear forward. It pierces through the air with a distinct whistle and penetrates the chest of the Tribute looming over Birch. The girl staggers backwards, the sword she was holding over her head falling from her grasp. Her bright green eyes are wide like saucers, staring at me with disbelief before she falls backwards. I rush forward, as Birch lunges to retrieve the spear from her chest. For half a second, as I stagger to a halt, I expect him to turn it on me. Instead, he thrusts it back into my hands.
"Thanks! Guess we're Allies now," he says, glancing around. "We need to go." He has a backpack around his shoulders, a sword in his hand, and a knife tucked into his belt. What an enormous risk it was to retrieve these things, I think. He reaches and latches onto my wrist, pulling me forward. "This way, come on!"
"Liber! I need to get him-"
"We'll find him later!"
I look over my shoulder. Sure enough, Liber is racing away with Lamia, armed with the machete I gave to him, and the backpack in his arms. For a split second, he staggers in his stride, and looks towards me as I am pulled by Birch. He seems to consider me, but Lamia tugs at his arm, seems to yell something at him, and the two are bolting through a separate cavern. At once, my chest instantly aches and anger threatens to flood through me, but I can't let it overtake me. Not now. To be distracted during the bloodbath is to admit defeat and simply die. Rather, I grit my teeth and tighten my grasp on my spear, and I run with Birch into the cavern. We race together. The ground is slippery and it's tricky to navigate the tall, sharpened rocks which form around us, yet we do so well enough.
Someone behind us shouts, attempts to use a bow and an arrow; the arrows fly over our heads, missing us tremendously. I can hear the person slip against the ground behind us, and landing upon the rocks in question. Whether or not they died instantly or sat gargling in pain in their own blood, I can't say. I just run, and we keep running. There are so many different tunnels, leading to divided paths. Occasionally, Birch will pause to whistle; he'll wait, and in the distance a responding whistle echoes against the walls. So we keep running, until we stagger into a golden lit opening that resembles a grotto. We stumble, as the entrance leads to a drop off of about fifteen feet, looking down over a small body of glowing blue water, surrounded by sand and rocks; smoother than the ones behind us and even over our heads.
The glowing blue water is so clear that I can see to the bottom of it; it seems deep enough, I think; it appears smooth down below, albeit with a few rounded rocks resting along its bottom. The space is open, albeit partially enclosed; there's another entrance seemingly located between some large rocks, though it looks like a tight fit. In any case, I can see a shadowy, tiny outline peaking out from behind it, and another glancing around.
"Do you know how to swim?" I ask.
"No," Birch admits, swallowing.
"Just jump and I'll handle the rest," I say. When he doesn't reply, hesitating as he stares downward, I take the executive decision to push him. I follow immediately after.
Gratefully, he does not shout. We both land in the water with a splash, plummeting deep below the surface in the strangely warm waters, where we pause for a moment in time. I gather myself quickly, though Birch is immediately flailing, his mouth open as he struggles to breach the surface. I swim towards him, grunting in pain when his elbow accidentally slams against my lower abdomen. I grab ahold of him and force us both upward, kicking my legs as hard as I can. Once we breach the surface, he's gasping for air, and the boy from District 12 is rushing over, extending his little hand out.
I use all of my strength to keep the still thrashing Birch up, pushing him towards the edge until his arms latch onto the rocky sands.
I lean there beside him, gasping for my own breath, as exhaustion settles in my lungs, and as my legs start to cramp. Pathetic of me, I think. Then again, I've never exactly had to support the weight of a near grown man before, particularly one thrashing fiercely against me and smacking and elbowing me repeatedly. I imagine I'll bruise, though that is truly the least of my worries. I press my forehead against the sand, finding comfort in how it presses to my skin. Birch, meanwhile, is still gasping.
"A warning would've been nice," he says, looking up at the boy. "It's alright, Rust." The boy steps back, with Birch pressing his palms against the ground and forcing himself up. He clumsily pulls himself to the surface, where he rolls on his back and gathers himself. "I'm fine."
Rust casts me a wary look as I, too, pull myself out of the water.
Birch seems to notice this and smiles. "It's alright, Rust, she's a friend. An Ally. Remember, we talked about it," he says. "Thank you for that. I mean...I get it, but still."
I give him a thumbs up, then look down. In the hassle of trying to pull Birch up, I'd let go of my spear, and his machete rested at the bottom of the pool, too. Damn. "Wait here," I say. Before he can say anything, I dive back into the water. I'm used to the sticky feeling of saltwater, whereas this is clearwater; I see through it without the familiar salty sting in my eyes. I push myself downward, my arms positioned at my sides and my legs propelling me downward. I take a moment to gather my area, noting that the water extends into tunnels, just as the cave does. Curiosity compels me to investigate, but who's to say what resides on the other side? There could be mutts of some variety, for the Capitol certainly do love their Muttations. Bearing this in mind, as well as the fact that the tunnels extend into darkness, I decide not to test my luck.
I propel myself downward, until I grab ahold of the spear and the machete in question. I look over my surroundings once more to ensure my safety before I swim upwards. When I breach the surface, I'm grateful (and even a little surprised) that Birch is still there, flanked by the two children from District 12.
"You didn't leave," I say, swimming to the edge.
"You have my machete," Birch replies, smiling.
I push myself back to the surface, handing him his weapon. "Right. Allies, too," I say, looking down to the kids. Rust is still eyeing me suspiciously and Daisy seems worried. Both are drenched, appearing like wet cats. "Did you swim?"
Rust shrugs.
"Sort of," Daisy says. "We jumped and we just paddled as fast as we could."
It comes as no surprise that the lumber and coal Districts don't exactly have provisions for swimming, though I seem to recall it was apart of the training exercises; the kids must have partaken.
I look to Birch. "What do you think?"
"I think we stay here and catch our breath," he says. He points to the ledge where we had jumped. "That's the only way in." He then points to a thin tunnel, surrounded by rocks that appears to be a very tight squeeze. "And that's the only way out. If somebody approaches, we'll know."
I don't like the odds of our singular escape, though I don't doubt Rust and Daisy could easily fit and shimmy through that. Even I, a petite young woman, could squeeze through it with relative ease. Birch, however, who is relatively well-built and only a little taller than me, would have issues. Particularly given his backpack. Still, we're tired. We survived the Cornucopia. And, Birch is right, we need to get our bearings.
"Okay," I settle. "Then we need to get moving."
Birch crouches down, opening up the backpack in question. He sifts through it, pulling out an empty silver flask, a thing of rope, a wire, some dried beef, and a small, curved sickle. Not bad, I consider, as he counts out the strips of beef. It comes to about five. He tucks everything back into the bag, nodding to himself.
"Okay, good," he says. He reaches into his belt and hands Rust a knife. "For you. We'll find something for you, too, Daisy."
"I don't really know how to use it, anyway," Daisy admits, blushing.
I consider my spear. Its obsidian tip is perfectly sculpted and adorn with fine silver lines. A perfectly sharpened tip and jagged edges to ensure damage. The metal base of it is sturdy, as well; heavy enough, yet light enough to throw. It balances well in my hands. Good. At least I have something. But what I don't have is my brother, who had run off with Lamia. Maybe it had been in the frantic heat of the battle, in his panic rushing off with someone who was there, who he trusted. Yet he had looked at me, had not even bothered to try - and had run with Lamia. Looking back, I realize that they had left Jason behind, too. Then again, the man was busy reigning chaos as he swung his axe every which way, decapitating Tributes without a second thought. I wonder if he is our Ally, too.
I decide to consider him an enemy for now. I'm forced to see Lamia as my Ally, as well, because I have no other choice. My brother ran away with her, over running with me. They seemed to get along in the Training Center, and then there was the fact that he had been blushing during her Interview. Although my nerves are riled and I'm thinking of the worst possible scenario, I need to stay partially optimistic. If she wanted him dead, she would have killed him already. We just need to find each other again.
Birch clears his throat, catching my attention.
"What's the plan?" I ask him.
"I was about to ask you the same, spearhead."
I almost roll my eyes. "We need to find Liber. He's with the girl from District 1," I say. "She's our Ally."
"Your Ally," Birch says, appearing hesitant. "Not ours."
"You're my Ally as much as she is, if not more," I say.
Birch shakes his head. "And I have two kids from District 12. I don't think a Career is going to be willing to let them in," he says. "Besides, isn't that really big guy from District 1, too?"
"Yes, but I don't trust him," I say. "He's our enemy until proven otherwise."
"Understood," he says, glancing at Rust and Daisy, who are listening keenly in on the conversation. Neither look pleased. "I understand finding your brother. But my priority is keeping these kids safe, so if we find him and if the girl from 1 tries to kill us, I'm going to defend them."
I doubt Liber will like that very much, but I nod, anyway. "I'd do the same."
"Good." Birch reaches into the backpack and withdraws the flask, handing it to Daisy. "Get some water and fill it to the top. The cave walls are pretty wet, so I think we'll find more water. But better to get it now while it's quiet than later."
"There'll be plenty of water," I say, frowning. "I saw tunnels down below. But it was so dark I couldn't see across, and I wasn't exactly going to swim through them."
"Smart. Maybe it leads out of here," he says. "So...a cave, with tunnels in the water and within it."
"And an opening above it," I say, referring to the gaping dome above the Cornucopia. "The rocks and the water glow, so I don't think we'll be entirely in the dark. But if there's an opening over the Cornucopia, then maybe there's another way out of the cave, too."
"There's no way to scale it, even if the Cornucopia wasn't there," Birch says. "It's too high and it curves."
"I agree. But maybe there are others we can find," I say. "The way I see it, the Gamemaker had that opening to show that there is a way out of here, and into a separate section of the Arena - maybe a jungle or forest or even a desert - or it's a ruse to dupe the Tributes into going on a wild goose chase and getting themselves lost. After all, caves can be very mazelike."
"Do you have experience with caves?"
I shake my head. "There are coves and grottos in District 4, and a few have entrances that go deeper, but I've never really tested my luck before."
"Says the girl who Volunteered."
"Says the stupid girl who Volunteered," I echo. "We should get moving."
Birch nods. "Right. Daisy."
Daisy rushes over, tucking the now full flask into the backpack. Birch tucks the machete into his belt, then nodding towards the exit. "Over there. Daisy, you first, then Rust, then Ceres, then me. Smallest to biggest."
We advance towards the exit. It's fairly tall and the exit itself is almost disguised behind a curve of rocks, which will serve us well should any unwelcomed guests start bursting through the above entrance. The gap between rocks is thin and the rocks in questions appear jagged, which is disappointing, though, gratefully, they do not pierce outward like knives as they did by the Cornucopia. Daisy hesitates at its entrance, before gulping audibly. I lean down, helping her turn and her body and her head so that she can shimmy through, then I do the same for Rust. Once they've started sliding with no resistance, I follow after. My clothes chafe against the rocks, and little jagged sections cut against the beck of my neck and even cheek. Yet I press forward, teeth gritting.
I can hear Birch behind me grunting, dragging himself and the backpack through. Gratefully, the backpack appears to be made out of sturdy material, so it doesn't tear against the friction. Neither do our clothes, which, it seems, were built for this structure.
I press forward for what feels like an eternity, gliding against the rocks, until we see the familiar golden glow off in the distance. Yet as we press towards it, I hear a noise; footsteps on the other side, along with muffled voices. "Stop, stop, stop," I hiss loudly, able to reach out and grab the scruff of Rust's jacket. The back of my hand scrapes against the rocks, blood trickling against my skin. I bite back a hiss, though it gets the message across.
Rust and Daisy both stop, with Daisy able to turn her head to face me; horror reflects in her eyes, her little body proceeding to tremble. I shake my head to the best of my ability, and make a quieted shh sound. She seems to consider shuffling closer towards Rust, but thinks against it as the footsteps echo louder. I can't see beyond where I am, safe for the slit outline of gold at the end of this little gap, but the voices have become clearer.
One of the voices sounds out of breath. "We need to keep moving and find water," says a voice, distinctly feminine. "If we're lucky, we'll find the girl from District 1."
"She's Allied with District 4, isn't she?" inquires another feminine voice.
"Alliances shift. And Liber Rythe is hardly a Career."
Two girls, I think, reflecting back over the deaths I could remember during the initial bloodbath. The boys from District 2 and 3 are dead, as far as I can recall, and I don't think I saw the girls die. Certainly I saw them fighting, but not die...this must be them, if they're discussing an Alliance of Careers. I strain my hearing, hoping they keep talking. A part of me hopes that they stick around and share details of their strategy, while the other part of me hopes that they will move along, so we, too, can get out of here.
"So, we Ally with Lamia and then kill him?" inquires one of the girls. "What about his sister?"
"We'll see, Mecha," says the other. "We just need to find her. God knows where they even ran off to..."
"And leaving Jason behind."
"I would leave him behind," says the other, as their voices become more distant. "The way he was killing, I wasn't going to get involved."
Eventually the voices fade, to my relief and to my disappointment. Birch makes a soft whistling sound, and the kids start to shuffle along again. Daisy seems to hesitate when she reaches the edge, pushing herself out and landing with a soft thud. When no other sound manifests, we follow after. After Rust, I jump out, to be met with a large, open cavern. The rocks glow gold, though some of the rocks have an underlying green hue that present an ominous feel. The cavern is quite tall and open, too open, and I can see the equally large hall the two must have taken to. In the center of the cavern is also a large body of water, though unlike the initial pool, this is as black as obsidian, and the green tint reflects off of its surface. It extends to the corner of the walls, dividing the cavern into two sections. There's another entrance across from the water, though it's too far to jump around, and I can't imagine trying to shimmy along the rock formations to get across; least of all when I can't see below.
Even if I hadn't spent years studying the Games, I would know a trap when I saw one. The water seems to move normally, yet it is so unusually dark. I furrow my brow. When I had been in the crystal clear water before, there had been that little tunnel which led to pure darkness. I wonder if this is where it would have led me. The tunnel had been wide enough for a human body, though I shudder to think of what would have awaited me on the other side.
I shift, unsettled. We're too open. We were cornered in our previous location and now we're exposed here. I glance towards Birch, who seems to be sharing my thoughts, as his own mouth tightens and eyes flickering uncertainly.
"If we go back the way they came, I expect we're heading towards where we started," I say. "But if we go where they are, we could run into them."
"There's that," Birch says, gesturing across the water.
"It'd mean swimming," says Daisy, apprehensively.
I shake my head. "It's not worth it," I say. "Maybe we take our chances with-"
Yet there's suddenly yelling and the sound of clashing steel, albeit distantly - and yet echoes prominently - from where the two girls had come. I can't say if they had started to fight each other, or if they had found adversaries, but the yelling and the violence is loud. There is a loud shout of pain, and steel clashes against stone; creating a terrible screeching sound that causes Rust to cover his ears. I step back.
"Not going that way," Birch says, looking across the water. "Hold on."
He grabs a hefty rock by his feet and hurtles it towards the water. We watch as it flies through the air and lands with a thunk into the pool; it is a natural splash, causing the water to tussle and then ripple in distress. But soon enough it stills, going back to that stillness of obsidian. Birch and I exchange looks as the fighting becomes louder. He looks towards the other exit, head shaking.
"Too risky to go that way," he says.
"You expect us to swim?" I say.
He shakes his head, eyeing the extremely narrow edge which rises just slightly over the lake, where one could barely shuffle across to reach the other side. Plentiful jagged rocks pierce out of the wall, either serving as something to possibly cling to or a barrier to climb or crawl under. Either way, I don't like those odds.
The sound of swords stops, and a canon goes off, but is followed after by a voice. "I think I heard something back over there..."
I grit my teeth. "There's no time to go back to the other side," I say.
Birch exhales sharply through his nose. "Go," he says to the kids, who look more than vexed to be having to crawl across treacherous terrain again. They find their balance upon the ledge and they begin to scoot, using the rocks pierced from the wall to cling to. He grips his machete tightly, pulling it from his belt.
The girl, Mecha, and her companion appear around the corner, both covered in blood, and appearing quite contented. Now that I see them clearly, I notice that the first girl - the girl from District 2 - is wielding a large, curved sword, while the other has two daggers in her hands. Both of them look rather surprised to see us, but then the girl from District 2 is instantly smirking.
"District 4 and District 7," she says. "That's surprising. Where's your brother?"
"Shopping," I deadpan. Out from the corner of my eye, I see the kids continuing to shuffle along the edge, one of them making a nervous sound as her foot nearly loses its footing.
Mecha glances towards them. "Cute. They think they can make it," she says. "You know, Four, if you need better Allies, we are looking for some expert hands."
"I'll take my chances," I say, adjusting my spear.
The girl from District 2 shrugs. "Suit yourself," she says, lunging towards Birch first.
Birch raises his machete to block her blows, using his physical force to block and then thrust her forward when their blades clash. Mecha is already charging towards me. I maintain distance, thanks to the length of my own weapon. I swing it towards her, almost knocking her off of her feet, but she manages to compose herself and swipes her daggers towards me. I remember watching and learning from the Games that it was significantly more dangerous to be caught in a knife fight than a sword, because the close proximity meant higher success from the wielder. Meanwhile, with my spear, I have the advantage of low proximity. So I jump backwards, unable to get a good aim to throw the weapon, but I certainly can do damage. I slice at her, dodging her efforts to cut towards me or even catch my spear between her two knives.
Birch appears to be having better luck, though I see the sword slice at his arm, causing blood to trickle upon the ground, near the edge of the water. I adjust my stance, allowing Mecha to get close to me, and then I duck downwards quickly and lodge my spear between her legs, it tucked under her ankle. I pull it back, slicing her tendon open and kicking her down. She falls forward, snarling in pain, and tries reaching for the knives. I kick one out of her reach and it lands with a plop in the water. Blood spurts from the open wound. I think to hesitate as she tries to push herself up, but I can't afford to - I can't, she's already made it clear she's going to kill Liber, and she's going to kill us. Leaving her alive, even wounded like this, is a liability. Before I have time to think about it, I plunge my spear into her back, directly into her spine, and yank it out just as quickly. She howls in pain and I kick her into the water. With her spine damaged, and blood pooling out of her, she won't survive it. The black water consumes her and she disappears with a final scream beneath the surface.
I turn, watching as Birch manages to shove the girl from District 2 back, who manages to catch her footing. Her full lips are peeled back into a snarl.
"You are going to die," she hisses, wiping blood off of her cheek with the back of her hand. She flourishes her blade, then goes to lunge forward.
But something disrupts her. The black water ripples, the ground beneath us seeming to rumble, then all at once a large creature emerges from the water, its maw open wide as it lunges outward. All of us startle, yet fall backwards as it lands in a heap upon the ground. The girl falls backwards, just barely evading the monsters grip. When it lands, it shakes the cave, and the sharp rocky icicles over our heads jostle, threatening to shatter and fall upon us. My heart stops altogether in my chest, as we find ourselves face-to-face with a crocodile, but not just any crocodile. With half of its body still in the water, I can only guess its direct length; but based upon looks, I gander it must be at least twenty feet. Its body is a deep shade of orange, like a blood orange, yet black diamonds trail down the length of its figure, outlined by black. Its eyes are a ghastly shade of yellow, larger than any eye I've ever seen, and watching us cold and calculatingly. Its mouth is enormous, opening to reveal dozens of teeth.
It has to be a Mutt. The black water, I think. Camouflage. The tunnel that must've led from the first pool to this pool was too narrow for this creature to get through, though I most certainly would've swum straight into its path if I had been stupid enough to swim through it.
Horror falls upon the three of us as this Mutt realizes it has captured no prey, proceeding to look between the girl from District 2, and the two of us. Our hearts hammer as we sit in an unbearable lapse of silence and stillness, as though it would lose sight of us if we all but disappeared into the moment. Yet I can feel those large yellow eyes upon us, and when it opens its mouth again, it releases a feral hiss that echoes against the walls.
The girl from District 2, meanwhile, wheels around to run back from whence she came. The creature's large head snaps in her direction, and it pulls itself with remarkable speed out of the water, its large tail swishing outward so quickly that it knocks Birch off of his feet and causes me to fall to the side, landing with a splash into the black water. Just as it reflects above, so it does below. I see nothing; it is as if I am swallowed by utter blackness. My grip upon my spear tightens, refusing to let it go again. My ears are muffled, as if I have lost the entirety of my senses. But above the surface, I can hear what sounds like screaming, then a loud rumble as the Mutt suddenly whirls back around and glides back into the water. My eyes widen amidst the darkness, as I realize that I am no longer alone in the inky blackness. It has returned. Even beneath the water, I can taste the blood upon my lips amidst the clearwater.
The unmistakable sound of a canon resounds above me.
I lay still in the water, feeling my blood run cold, as I feel the large mass dive below me, its scaly tail brushing with the tip of my foot. I sense it diving lower, likely to feast upon its prey; but to build momentum, too. I remember watching a shark attack a dolphin from below once, its speed building the higher it went. My stomach drops as I consider this burly mass doing the same. I push myself forward, kicking my legs as swiftly as I am able. I breach the surface. Before I can even catch my breath, Birch's hand rips forward and grabs ahold of my arm, yanking me out with surprising strength. As I am pulled out, the Mutt lunges upward, its nose reaching the cave ceiling and its bloodied maw wide open. It narrowly misses my legs.
I stagger with Birch to the side.
I can see the girl's bloodied, decapitated arm hanging out of the Mutt's maw.
It plummets back into the water, splashing the ebony droplets everywhere.
My heart is hammering madly, terror gripping me.
"Holy shit," I say.
Birch is still holding me, his own grip tight with fear. He looks from the water to across it, where the kids have both settled. "GET AWAY FROM THE WATER!" he shouts.
"Wait, don't shout," I say, noting how the rocky formations above our head jostle again with the echo.
"We need to get across," Birch says, backing up.
I back up with him, finally pulling my arm free. I look up towards the rocks above us, noting how very large and very sharp they are, then back down towards the water. I think about how that thing merely breaching the surface had jostled them, and wonder how much effort it would take for it to get those things to fall completely. "We need to lure it out. Make noise," I say.
"You just said-"
"Look." I point up. "If we get one of those to fall, it could potentially kill it."
"Or kill us, and draw noise which will draw more Tributes to us."
"It's that or leave them there," I say.
Birch's eyes sharpen. "How do we get it out again?"
I think about how it had stirred when I'd kicked Mecha into the water, no doubt her blood catching its attention as it pooled through the darkness. I clench my teeth. I take the end of my spear and cut my palm open, then take a rock and proceed to coat it with my blood. God, it hurts...it hurts, but without hesitation, I take it and hurtle it into the water. It ripples, and there's a split second where I think it's not enough. But then there's a rumble, and the Mutt emerges from the water again, hissing. It throws itself forward, landing against the ground. It jostles the rocks, but it's not enough. I grip my spear and lunge forward, attempting to pierce its side; but its skin is so thick it barely makes a dent. All it does is piss it off.
It hisses angrily, swinging its large head towards me. It lunges forward, but I duck sideways out of the way. It continues to swing itself, its large body creating a ripple in the ground which extends to the ceiling, where I notice those sharpened points start to dismantle. More, I think.
I let out a loud shout, as loud as I can, and try to aim for the eye this time. It seems to sense my plan and swings its head, managing to get my spear into its mouth. I fear it'll snap it in half with its iron grip, but Birch catches the beast's attention as he swings his machete, managing to chop the tip of his tail off; it still hangs by a scaly thread. The Mutt release a feral hiss, almost a roar, and swings its entire body around, this time knocking itself against the wall. One of the rocks falls, landing in the water. Another falls after, landing too far away, but it's something.
Birch manages to dodge the Mutt's open maw, swinging the machete down upon its snout. It hisses and flings its head back and then forward against the ground.
"LOOK OUT!" Birch lunges towards me, his arm hooking around my waist as he pulls me forward and then to the ground, as a rock lands itself right beside where I had been standing. But now we're on the ground, and we're vulnerable. And the Mutt has whirled around to face us, its tail hitting the wall again.
I quickly push myself to my feet, then into a crouched position. I lift my spear high and aim it, prepared to thrust it forward as a last effort towards the Mutt's face, its wide red maw opening when there is another jostle above us, and a large, triangular rock falls; landing point down upon the Mutt's head, crushing it instantly. Black blood spurts everywhere, splattering the walls. The body proceeds to thrash as the nerves react to the assault, eventually stilling. Its tail twitches, but the Mutt is dead.
Birch and I lay there for a moment, both breathing heavily.
"Good one," Birch says.
"Yeah," I say. "I think it's the only one..."
"Better be," Birch says, glancing towards the black water. "Probably not the last one in this cave."
"Probably not," I agree. I push myself to my feet and offer my hand to him.
"Was that your first kill?" he asks me.
I glance at the Mutt, then to the water where I had pushed Mecha's body. But then I think about the girl whose heel I sliced open during the bloodbath, who I had just left there. Surely she was dead at this point, killed off by somebody else, or having bled out. "Let's get out of here," I say, instead. The kids are still waiting for us on the other side.
"Good call."
Birch picks up the backpack, now thoroughly drenched in Mutt blood, and proceeds across the ledge, trying to balance himself against the points protruding from the walls. I follow after, using my spear as a makeshift cane to guide my movements. Once we reach the other side, I breathe a sigh of relief.
"What was that thing?" Rust asks.
"A Mutt," I explain.
"What's a Mutt?" Daisy asks.
"Muttation," I elaborate. "They're used a lot for the Games...just never seen one that big before."
"Guess the Gamemakers are ambitious this year," Birch says, shuddering. He looks to the entrance. "This way. I'll go first. Daisy, Rust, you stay behind me. Ceres, you cover the rear."
I nod, a bit touched he trusts me to cover their backs, yet I'm not sure I'm entirely trusting to Birch watching our fronts. Still, he did just save me from being possibly crushed, so there's that. "You got it," I say. Hopefully Liber doesn't encounter one of these things. No doubt more like this thing await us throughout this cave, and less likely it'll be that we'll have an advantage like this again. The Gamemakers will notice...and they don't like loopholes.
I shudder a little as I walk on, proceeding to think about Seneca Crane and his promise. As the nephew to Lucius Crane, the head Gamemaker, and presumably in line to be Gamemaker himself someday, surely he has influence. He has made it clear that he means to Sponsor District 4 - and after my display here, he has no reason to doubt my capabilities (God only knows what Liber has been doing, though) - so maybe, maybe, something will be influenced in our favor. Still, I dislike that possibility and its insinuations, particularly as I am now watching the backs of two children and one very trusting Tribute, who, for whatever the reason, has taken it upon himself to protect them. I can't say that I don't understand his sentiment. After all, I am in the Games for the sole purpose of keeping Liber alive. But he doesn't know Rust and Daisy. To choose to protect them is a death sentence, particularly as they stand from a backwater District with only one Victor.
If he has ulterior motives, I can't say what they are. I just hope it doesn't come down to me having to kill them to protect Liber...but on the other hand, I don't think I could let them die by the hands of someone else.
Regardless, I need to find my brother. Once I do, I can sort out my priorities, and remember why I'm here.
I also need to sort out my brother's, too. Rather than running with me towards our other Ally, Liber chose to go with Lamia, even abandoning her own fellow Tribute. I feel conflicted on calling it a betrayal, because maybe he had no choice; the chaos and bloodshed becoming too intense, forcing him to turn and to run. And yet, I told him Birch was our Ally. He saw me run, could have helped me; we could've run together.
He chose Lamia, instead.
I hope you're alive, I think. Please be alive.
I just wonder if we'll be welcomed when we do find him, even for myself.
(a/n): Lechuguilla Cave was another huge influence here! I highly suggest looking at the pictures, you'll absolutely see where I drew inspiration. XD I also found an article about 50 orange crocodiles living in a cave and effectively surviving off of bats, and it gave me the inspiration for a new type of Mutt. I knew I wanted a variation of Mutts in my story, as I just finished rewatching Mockingjay Part 2 and they are just absolutely terrifying. So I drew inspiration from two parts. The first part being, finding this article, as I googled dangerous animals that live in caves. But I also had inspiration from Annihilation, with that crocodile scene. I definitely based my creature off of that, with some influence from the bear, for sure. Writing this chapter was just so much fun! The entirety of it was different from what I normally write, and I also enjoyed taking my own spin on the Games. There is a lot of innerworkings going on Game-wise, in front of and behind the scenes.
I'm also inclined to say that we will also be seeing more chapters from Finnick's POV! ^^ I want to portray what goes on behind the scenes, too, with the Mentors and how they work with the Games. Also, not going to lie, I have heavily considered writing a POV chapter from Seneca's perspective, but I like keeping him shrouded in mystery. His character and intentions are purposefully vague, at least I hope, so I wonder if it would expose too much to have a chapter, or even part of a chapter, from his POV. What do you guys think? Would you like to see a Seneca chapter?
Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! It was really fun, albeit challenging, to write an action sequence!
Review replies
tuba: Wow! Thank you so much for taking the time to review all of my chapters, I really appreciate that! ^^ I'm so glad you like my story so far! I also have to say, thank you for your comments on Neleus! Neleus is definitely a character who I find to be complex, and greatly enjoyed writing for! Killing him off was upsetting for me, as there was so much more of Neleus I wanted to explore. But his death was, unfortunately, vastly necessary to isolate Finnick and spur him back to President Snow. I will say, we will be seeing some flashback sequences with Neleus in the future, so I'm excited for you to see those! As far as Lamia and Seneca go...wait and see. ;)
dingleburry: Haha, thank you! Honestly, I was always fascinated by the note that stepping off the podium would result in the Tribute blowing up. We never saw it during the Games and, as far as I know, it's never referenced that a Tribute ever did that. So I just wanted to include it in my story as a detail and reminder of, oh shit, this is a thing. I also wanted to start the Games off, as you said, with a BANG. XD And thank you for all of your compliments! The love scene was challenging to write, but I'm glad you enjoyed it. ^^ I was very apprehensive, but it felt right. Plus, bumping the chapter to M was necessary, as the violence alone is going to escalate, so may as well have started off with something loving and gentle before getting into some real nitty gritty shit. XD
TRIBUTES OF THE 68TH ANNUAL HUNGER GAMES
DISTRICT 1
- Jason Ironjaw (18)
- Lamia Lowvale (15)
DISTRICT 2
- Unnamed Boy (age unknown): DECEASED
- Unnamed Girl (age unknown): DECEASED
DISTRICT 3
- Unnamed Boy (age unknown): DECEASED
- Mecha Duskway (18): DECEASED
DISTRICT 4
- Ceresea Rythe (18)
- Liber Rythe (15)
DISTRICT 5
- Unnamed Boy (age unknown)
- Unnamed Girl (age unknown): DECEASED
DISTRICT 6
- Unnamed Boy (age unknown): DECEASED
- Unnamed Girl (age unknown)
DISTRICT 7
- Birch Indica (17)
- Unnamed Girl (age unknown)
DISTRICT 8
- Unnamed Boy (age unknown)
- Unnamed Girl (age unknown): DECEASED
DISTRICT 9
- Unnamed Boy (age unknown)
- Unnamed Girl (age unknown)
DISTRICT 10
- Unnamed Boy (age unknown)
- Unnamed Girl (age unknown)
DISTRICT 11
- Unnamed Boy (age unknown)
- Unnamed Girl (age unknown): DECEASED
DISTRICT 12
- Rust Underhorn (13)
- Daisy Plaindrop (12)