Content Warning: Pretty much for this whole conclusion, as I'm trying to match the writing style of Author of Ice and FIre as well as I can, the content will be much the same. This includes swearing, violence, angst, all that stuff you've come to expect already. Again, I would really appreciate the feedback, especially from those of you who have read the whole story up til this point. Thanks!

Chapter 59: Hunger

Tullia "Tully" O'Doyle, 17, District 8

I've been walking for hours. So many hours. And I don't know why the anthem hasn't sounded yet. Has it really not been a whole day since….?

Since we lost another friend?

Since our alliance disintegrated?

Ever since I walked away, I regretted leaving Adia behind. I just couldn't process everything. Riri killing Arc, and then her telling Adia that I was the one that pushed Bolt and led to his death. I could have explained what I remember happening, that it was an accident…

But I just walked away, just like I ran away, leaving him behind...leaving...Magnus.

Every time I think about him, I seem to feel different emotions. At first it was just a deep sadness. Then it was confusion. Then guilt. Why do all the people around me end up getting hurt? Or worse, killed? I can only come up with two possible answers to that question: Either I have been so self-absorbed that I don't see why people would be my friend, would sacrifice for me, or I really am a person that is valuable enough in their eyes to sacrifice for.

Maybe after all the time I spent focused on being there for Magnus, focused on his needs, I forgot about my needs, about my identity. Did my friends really like me for who I am, not just what I do for them?

The Capitol's anthem interrupts my thoughts and resounds in the silence of the abandoned tunnels around me.

I don't want to see Arc's face up there; it's a painful reminder of this morning. But there were those two other cannon blasts from today, after his. The curiosity outweighs any further potential pain from remembering. So I look up at the ceiling.

The first face I see is the handsome face of Vesper Prospero from District 1. It looks nothing like the face I saw days ago at the Feast, before we descended into this madness. I wonder if his district partner had something to do with it, or another tribute.

The next face I see is Arc's. He looks happy, like he was when I first remember meeting him. The arena has left no one unaffected. It leaves me wondering for the fiftieth time today if he really could have been planning on killing his three allies in our sleep.

His face fades away, and the face of Reese replaces it. For the first time I realize that, for all of Riley's bluster, Reese outlasted him. But did Riley have anything to do with her death, even indirectly? That's the worst part of being here, surrounded by all this death. The uncertainty, not knowing how some of them are dying.

I take comfort in knowing how Magnus died. I feel as though my guilt is turning into something else, something like gratitude, maybe even awe. He selflessly and courageously sacrificed his own life so that we could have another chance to survive. The arena has changed everyone, but he had the chance to decide to spend the remainder of his shortened life in a positive way.

That has to count for something….

Maybe he did it because he saw something in me that I couldn't see for myself. He saw me at my worst, when I….when I gave into those Capitol pigs and played by their rules to get him his medicine. He saw what the arena had turned me into, and he accepted that. He didn't judge at all. At least, after he got over the shock of it all. I smile now as I remember his stunned face as he realized exactly what I was doing, as he took in the sight of me: stripped of my armor, taking off my sandals, only wearing my white tunic, pushing it up over my thighs until it barely covered my…

I break out in a laugh, for the first time in I don't even know how long. An honest laugh, because it's funny. Not in a sick way, but in a nice way, to remember Magnus and a happy moment.

Even after his death, he still helps me.

That decides it for me. I'm not going to waste his sacrifice for us any longer. He gave his life so that we could continue to live ours. That's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna find what's left of our alliance, or I'm gonna die trying. Me, Riri, and Adia—nothing will keep us apart. Nothing.

Chance Hensley, 14, District 2

I'm doing relatively well down here now. I feel loads better after throwing up earlier. That pork really had turned bad.

Today has been an eventful day, at least as far as the viewers are concerned. Three deaths in one day—either the gamemakers are vamping up to something big, or there's gonna be another break sometime soon. That's how I see things. And lately, I've been feeling pretty proud of the map I carry and the information I've gathered. Being young is definitely helping me fly under the radar again—I can sneak quietly through most of the labyrinth—that's what I heard someone else call this place.

And there's been no sight or sound of that monster, not since we saw the evidence of that door he had pried open like a can opener. Maybe they decided to keep it somewhere else while us tributes are "taking care" of one another.

That suits me just fine, and it gives me more opportunity to continue exploring this enormous place. I knew when I first laid eyes on the map that this place was huge, but actually walking through it, understanding exact distances between here and there, has given me more of an appreciation of just how big this place is. I wouldn't be surprised if it was at least half the size of the arena above ground, if not bigger. Since I helped out that girl, Sam, I've pretty much been exploring all day. I stopped once for a short nap, and then again to confirm the deaths that took place today. Even so, I would estimate I've only explored maybe 10% of what's on this map.

As for ways out of this place, I'm not sure there are any. I found that one locked door with a keyhole and marked it on my map. It's just a guess, maybe that could be an escape route, but if a key for it exists, I would bet the gamemakers won't give it up until they're good and ready. Sometimes I get the feeling that a lot of what's happening is going exactly according to their plans. Their stupid, horrible, maniacal, diabolical, plans...

Whoa, where did that come from?

Those thoughts won't get me anywhere. If I dwell on them too much, I'll get seriously bummed out. I need to keep going. This map, and the information it contains, is maybe the only advantage I have going for me. Just keep going...

"...Ha..ha….Ha..ha..ha…"

What is that? What...what is that sound? Do I really hear laughter?

It's high-pitched, so I think it belongs to a girl. My first assumption, is that someone has definitely gone off the deep end.

My second assumption is well...No. I don't really make any other assumptions, because, really, how could someone find anything remotely funny to laugh about like they are, especially in a place like this, at a time like this.

The laughter stops, but I know its source is around a left turn in the tunnel up ahead. I walk up to the corner and cautiously peer around it, very curious about what I might find.

It's a girl. Not just any girl, but the girl from District 8. One of the leaders of that big rebel group. How she came to be alone, who can tell? I know for a fact from the evening reports that her entire alliance is not yet dead. So what happened? And why was she laughing?

She starts up again, like she just can't help remembering a hilarious joke. Now that I see her as well as hear her, I throw out my assumption. This girl, Tully, I think her name is, is genuinely laughing. She has not gone mad or insane, not gone off the deep end as I supposed.

Have I finally found someone that hasn't been negatively affected by this arena?

Could she help me in my quest to find out more about this maze?

Well, there's only one way to find out. She's still trying to recover from her second fit of laughter as I slowly but purposefully walk around the corner. I try to do this in a way to let her know that I'm not trying to hide from her. She might eventually see me out of the corner of her eye, but I clear my throat to make my presence known.

"Ahem."

She slowly turns to face me, face still crinkled in a huge smile, tears shining on her face, her hands crossed in front of her, holding her sides from the laughter's aftershocks.

I can feel my face reflecting her smile. I can't help it; it's contagious. It feels so good to have a real smile on my face again, the way it used to feel back when I had Milo and Jenette.

Even though I'm not aware of the source of her laughter and happiness, it still feels good. And because of these feelings, I think she just might be the most attractive girl—no—the most attractive woman I have ever seen. Despite the dirty, tear-tracked face, her features are just beautiful. Her dirty blond hair, heart-shaped face, and curvy frame all contribute, no doubt, but I think if I could just harness the power of her smile alone, it could light up this whole maze, even without these torches.

We stand facing each other for maybe half a minute as I'm thinking these thoughts. Finally, I work up the courage to say something.

"Uh, hi."

Yeah, real smooth Chance

"Oh, Hi. Chance, right?"

"Yeah," I say. "And it's Tully, yeah?"

"Yep."

Wow, real talkers the two of us are.

Well, here goes nothing. "So," I continue, "I was exploring this tunnel until I heard you laughing. I came to see what was up. So, what's up? What's so funny?"

She hesitates, her smile slowly fading away.

"Well, it's been a long day. I was just thinking about a memory with Magnus. It wasn't funny at the time, but now, looking back on it, it's pretty funny. But, it's a long story, and pretty personal…"

"Oh," I say. "That's totally fine. Completely fine. I was just really curious how someone could be laughing like that in a place like this. At first, I thought someone had lost their mind, but when I saw you, I didn't think that anymore. I could tell you were laughing because you were happy, not because you'd lost it. And I knew that maybe, um…" my voice fades.

Tully continues to stand there, hand now on one hip. Her face seems halfway between confused and frustrated. "You knew that maybe, what?" She asks.

No turning back now. " I thought that maybe you were someone I could trust. So I stepped around the corner and now I'm risking pretty much everything I have. I've been down here alone almost this whole time. It's worked pretty well so far, but I know that can't last."

"Well," she finally says," You caught me at a good time, I suppose." She takes a couple steps towards me, so now we're within ten feet of one another. "I just decided that I wanted to go find my allies and rejoin them if I could. So maybe, we could also be allies for now."

"Yeah," I say. "I was wondering about that when I first saw you. I knew your alliance wasn't all gone, and I saw that Arc died today. Care to share what happened?"

"It's probably easiest to say that the three of us felt like we needed a time-out from one another. We've all made mistakes. That's what I've just decided. We've all made mistakes, but that shouldn't stop us from making the most of our lives here and now. So I'm going to go back and find them, especially Adia. Is that enough of an explanation for now?"

"Definitely," I reply. "And is Adia the girl from District 3?"

Her eyes light up. "Yes, why?"

"Well, um, it's just...I know where she is, or where she was an hour or so ago. Actually, I have a pretty good idea where everyone is, or was recently." I start to pull out the map from my pack. "I found this yesterday, and I've been exploring and making notes on it and..." I lose my train of thought as I notice her response.

Her eyes widen, and there's that smile again, that paralyzing smile of hers.

Suddenly, she's rushing towards me, rapidly closing the remaining feet between us.

I barely have time to flinch before she wraps me up in a super-tight hug, squealing with delight.

Adia James, 15, District 3

Grrrrrrughhhlll

This time the growl I hear only slightly causes me to jump as I'm walking along yet another tunnel. Earlier I was dozing off alone in a room when I first heard it. Scared the shit outta me. But then I realized where it was actually coming from...

My weak-ass stomach

In its defense, it has been days since we ate, a chicken leg and orange each. And that was only because Riri had the foresight to stuff her face at the feast and pack away food for the rest of us while we were….

What was I doing? Oh, right..I smile.

I was swearing up a storm at Riley, the psycho-giant, for looking at Magnus the wrong way. But really, Magnus collapsed even before Riley could turn around to face him. With both of them gone now, it seems so, so, trivial….so….

Whew! Just gotta sit for a couple minutes and rest.

I've been searching for Tully ever since this morning. I regret not following her immediately when she slipped away early this morning. At the time, I didn't want to see them. We all needed a break from each other after what happened with Riri and Arc, and what Riri said about Tully killing…

..Bolt…...

After all the friends we've lost, I still have trouble believing they could actually do those things. Was Arc really gonna kill us in our sleep, or has Riri finally cracked under the immense strain of the maze? And Tully, did she really cause Bolt's death? I know the gamemakers purposely kept the identity a secret, but Riri seemed so sure of herself, saying it in such a matter of fact way. There's no way it was on purpose…

If I've kept track of the nightly anthems and tribute recaps correctly, this is our twelfth night in the arena, and our third night in this huge maze thingy...uh….what's the word for it?

Labyrinth

And that's an accurate count only if they haven't messed with our sense of time. With only the torches to give us light, this could be our second night in the labyrinth, or more likely our tenth, cuz that's what it feels like. So, it's understandable that anyone would be losing their minds, with all the pressure from stress, anxiety, fear, death, exhaustion, hunger…

Grrrrruoo…..

God, it's like my stomach has a mind of its own and it's reading my mind and it knows exactly what I'm thinking about and What the hell am I talking about?

.You're losing it Adia….

.Well at least I have a stomach….

And now, not only are you hungry, but you're having a crazy-ass conversation with yourself. That's fine. That's great. That's fan-freakin'-tastic!

The two cannons earlier and the faces on the ceiling tonight were further proof that everyone else's nerves are just as frayed as mine. I was expecting Arc's face, but I had no idea I would see Vesper's and Reese's as well. If anything, I would have guessed Tesla would go before Vesper, once he realized just how screwed and twisted around her finger she made him to be. Everyone else could see that manipulation a mile away. And who knows where Reese was? For that matter, who knows where anyone is? It's not like they gave us maps to follow in this underground playland…..

Footsteps echo down the tunnel. I'm quite a ways from the last intersection I passed, but I can tell it's coming from that direction. I immediately slump down on my shadowy piece of the floor and don't move. The footsteps draw closer, and I can make out a boy's voice now…"but this door, it's the only door I've seen that's locked with a keyhole."

I see a pair of figures step into the intersection. After all day searching, I don't know if I could have been more surprised than I was upon seeing Chance and Tully stop at the intersection, look each way, and then consult a map that Chance is holding.

Ok, maybe if it had been Riri with Tully, it would have been more surprising.

But seriously, not only is it Tully, who I've been all over the maze looking for, but they're holding a map, A MAP, of all things to be holding. WTFuck