Sakura belongs to SakuraDragomir, Mizell Loyer belongs to Marree A.K.A Amara, and Camas Speare and Twila Applestone belong to unknown people.
Enjoy this belated chapter! It was July last time I updated and now it's October, four months to the day, but better late than never.
~ Meghan
Arena - Day VIII
Sakura Dragomir, 14, District 10
They find me in my dreams.
I'm walking through the meadow, my hands brushing the flowers, but I can't feel petals on my palms. I see her, standing there at what should be the edge of it, but the meadow just keeps going. The colorful flowers are waist-high here.
Rye stares at me. She blinks her eyes, not saying a word.
"You're dead," I say to her. How can she be here? "I watched you die."
She opens her mouth, but coughs up blood instead.
I stumble back, and then Briony's standing next to me. She isn't in her arena uniform like Rye. She's wearing her interview dress instead, the one covered in sparkling gemstones. Her face is smiling and pretty, not reacting at all to Rye spitting out blood next to us. Briony just reaches up wordlessly to twirl the flower above her ear.
"You're dead, too," I tell her, and there's anger in my voice, because they aren't supposed to be here.
"You killed me," Briony giggles. She keeps twirling the flower.
I almost argue with her. I almost tell her that she chose to go up to those bear cubs, and I had to decide to save myself first. But why should I argue with a ghost? That must be what they are. Ghosts. Some of the older folks in District 10 say spirits still haunt places, long after they're gone from life, haunting somewhere - or someone.
"Leave me alone," I spit at them. I reach for the knives at my belt, but hand misses. They're not at my belt, and my backpack is missing. Fear sinks in my stomach, pulling me down, pulling me back as I take a step away.
"Looking for this?"
When I turn, it's the boy from District 5. Flynn. The one who died two days ago. The one who had dragged my from the riverbank and tied me up, made a fire to keep me warm, and asked my name. In his hand is my knife, the one I threw at him.
"You tried to kill me," he says. His brown eyes are warm.
I glare at him. "It's not my fault you died. I didn't kill you."
"I think it's only fair," he says, as I haven't spoken.
And then Briony's flower is a knife in her hand, slashing at me. I don't feel the pain, but I know she's stabbed me. Flynn joins her, cutting my arm, and Rye shoves me into the meadow, so deep under the tall flowers that I can't hear myself screaming until the sky lights up with my picture, staring back down at me.
My heart's racing as I wake up.
I don't know how long I lay there, frozen, curled up under the brush I've been sleeping in.
My fingers dig into the soft soil, cool and reassuring. Stable. I'm not in a dream anymore, it wasn't real. I close my eyes, focusing on the sound of the morning birdsong. When I open them up, I watch the light dapple on the earth. It looks peaceful like this, quiet and tranquil, underneath the long arms of a swaying tree. I might have woken up from a nightmare, but I'm still living in another one. Even if the arena seems safe right now, it's a deathtrap.
The vision of my stomach cut open with knives makes me groan, wiping at my eyes like I can wipe the nightmare away.
"It's time to get up," I whisper to myself.
I force myself to stand and stretch. Just like every morning, I stop to sort my supplies. Nothing's changed in my backpack - I still have the same stuff: some dried food left over from the cornucopia, two water bottles, and the edible plants I've collected over the past couple days. My two daggers remain at my belt, along with the three throwing knives, since two of my knives were swept away in the rapids. Sorting everything calms my mind, something constant, something I can accomplish.
I eat the last of my dried beef for breakfast, some water, and chew mint leaves. I'd been worried about a possible concussion from the river, but the headaches are lessening now.
"Time to go," I tell myself.
I sling on my backpack and pick up my scythe. I start my trek through the forest, heading towards the river. I need to collect more water, as much as I dislike heading out in the open again.
My eyes drift up to the blue sky, clouds dotting the air like cotton.
The cameras will be watching me right now, no doubt, unless something else is going on in the arena. The Gamemakers will want to show me on the move. Back home, my siblings will see that I'm still moving, still alive. What are they doing right now? Nick will probably be heading to work at the tannery. Derek must already be on his shift at the slaughterhouse. My twin, Serena, is probably sleeping in like always, curled up in our bed, warm. Kurenai will be up with the sun, playing dolls or running across the lane to her friend's house.
My friends will be watching too. Zoey and Rei and the others, maybe talking about me each day.
The thought makes me lift my chin higher.
I push a branch aside, ducking underneath. My gaze snags on a tall cluster of red-purple leaves just before I step on them. Red puffy flowers undulate in the breeze on them, looking too whimsical here. Others look like the flower has shriveled, holding seed pods.
Bending down, I run a finger along a thin scarlet stem. "Wait a minute..." An image from training floats into my mind, standing at the poisonous plants station with Briony. The image that the instructor had shown us of plant with sharp leaves and fluffy red flowers. Briony had put her hand up, excitedly opening her mouth-
"Castor bean," I murmur to myself, and to the cameras.
The Gamemakers must be watching me right now, looking at this deadly plant they placed. Caesar Flickerman is probably telling the audience its properties, and the harmful effects the instructor had told me. The beans it produces are one of the most potent poison, with only eight beans being enough to kill a person when ingested. Vomiting, seizures, diarrheia can follow, and end in death.
I grab one of the seed beans, crushing it between my hands. Sure enough, a small, speckled brown bean sits among the the shattered shell.
I almost throw it away, but hesitate.
"You tried to kill me."
Flynn's voice makes me cringe, but I stare at the poisonous beans in my palm. When I threw that knife at him, I wasn't trying to kill him. But I didn't care if I did. He couldn't have died from the tiny cut on his arm, something else happened to him. Maybe he eat one of this plant.
What would the audience have thought if I did chase him? If I caught up to him, and killed him? What if his cannon had been because of me?
It would get me sponsors. I would have someone cheering me on, as a real competitor.
A threat.
I take the bean and shove it into a pocket in my backpack. Picking more seed pods, I add them in too.
When I stand up, I move slower, taking my time. Maybe the audience is trying to plot out what I'm thinking. Maybe the Capitol is too stupid to guess it right now. With any luck, it'll add some intrigue and having the audience talking about me. Considering one of the Careers died yesterday, though, I'm not counting on it. It was strange to see the boy from 4 glowing up in the sky. He had been one of the last people I'd predicted would die, but maybe it was related to the boy from 12 dying the day before. That death had been predictable.
Eleven tributes left.
I take a deep breath. That's when I hear the voice.
It's too quiet to make out what they're saying, but it's high and light, floating on the wind through the trees. I freeze, moving behind a trunk, gripping my scythe tightly. My heart throws itself against my ribs.
I haven't seen anyone in 2 days. I had begun to figure I was the only person in the arena who had crossed the river. But now I'm definitely not alone.
The voice rises again, and I can tell it's a girl. Singing. "But before I can fly up, I've loose ends to tie up."
I frown. What kind of idiotic lunatic sings while walking around the arena? It's just inviting trouble.
My fingers curl around the scythe handle. I peer down at the blade, staring at the reflection of myself. What had I just been thinking, about the audience and the sponsors? They'd be impressed if I proved myself a real player. And this person singing in the woods could draw more tributes or animals to us. I couldn't really be blamed.
I took a step out from the tree, silently, creeping my way towards the voice.
"Right here in, The old therebefore." She started coughing, so hard it hurt to hear. Each noise was too loud in the quiet of the forest.
I rounded a tree, and stopped.
A small girl was dragging herself through the dirt and grass. The girl from District 12. Her short dark hair was messy and burnt, leaves stuck in the strands. Her face was streaked with something dark - ash by the look of it - and one of her hands was in a soiled bandage.
But what made me freeze was the burns covering patches of her body. They were red, angry-looking wounds, where some of her clothing had melted against the skin. The smell of burnt flesh made me nearly sick, but I willed myself not to be.
I took a step closer. My fingers ached with how tightly they held my scythe.
She finally looked up, noticing me. For a moment she just stared, and then she just laid her head down in the grass. "I'll be along. When I've finished my song."
I glanced past her. The river shimmered blue two hundred feet beyond us, just visible peeking through the trees. How had she crawled over here? She must've known how to swim. But what happened that burned her so badly?
The questions swirl around in my mind, but I try to ignore them. Instead I step closer to her, and hold my scythe higher. One well-placed strike, and she should be dead.
"Jacob?" she whispers. She coughs again.
The girl from 12 turns her head to look up at me. "Jake..." she breathes, her voice hoarse. "I thought you were dead."
I still, holding my scythe.
She smiles. "I missed you, Jake."
When I look her in the eye, she's staring at me, but it's like she's seeing through me.
"When I'm pure like a dove, When I've learned how to love," she wheezes, quiet this time. She reaches out her uninjured hand, shaking.
I don't take it at first, staring down at this broken girl from the most outer district. I don't even know her name. I remember her from her interview, though, dressed in that blush pink gown and kissing the boy from her district, a huge grin on her face.
Without thinking, I lower myself closer, and hold her cold hand.
"Right here in, The old therebefore." Her voice wavers. She looks at me, the confusion in her eyes replaced with something adoring. Something like how I look at my siblings, look at Serena, that kind of look that can convey more than words sometimes. The way I look at someone I love.
"Jake, I missed you," she whispers again.
Then the girl from 12 is silent. Her fingers slowly go limp in my hand. Her eyes stay staring, but that light, that look, is gone.
I only let go of her hand when the cannon fires.
Mizell Loyer, 17, District 7
The cannon sends a flock of birds flying.
I watch them streak across the yellow-and-blue sky, their dark wings flapping until they cross in front of the sun and it hurts to stare.
"Wanna bet it was Aqua or Camas?"
I turn around to find Zircon trying to smile at me.
"Maybe they got into a lover's spat and one of 'em finally kicked it," he says.
My laugh sounds hollow, even to me. "Maybe."
A hovercraft emerges from above, sailing across the arena. It settles across the river, over the forest there. I watch as the claw lowers into the trees and pulls a tribute from the arena. It's too far to make out the size or hair color of the person from here, and then the hovercraft is gone. The clouds keep floating through the blue sky as if the hovercraft had never been there. Is it even the real sky? Or is it just a screen projecting daylight?
I turn to Zircon. He looks away from the hovercraft, returning to rolling up his charred blanket.
His sleeping bag was burned to a crisp during the fire. Being on the edge of the campsite, mine was just a bit toasted on one side, but still functions enough. Most of Jade's was turned to ashes, but she was too stubborn to complain as we went to sleep last night.
I glance over at her sleeping form, turned away from me inside the cornucopia horn. It's where we've started sleeping since it was unaffected by the fire. The cannon didn't wake her. Usually she's one of the first to get up, preparing herself breakfast by the time the rest of us have cracked an eyelid. She had inhaled the most smoke of us three, though, and has the worst burns, so it's not a huge surprise.
Besides. Breakfast isn't exactly filling anymore.
"I'm gonna' go forage some stuff for us," I say.
Zircon looks up. "I can help."
I take in the sight of him, lit up by the morning. Yesterday had been such a shock, I hadn't really had the chance to pay attention to how he or Jade looked anymore. Or how I must seem. But seeing him now, he looked so different from the past week.
Zircon's jacket had been torched to nothing during the fire. There's a gash on his side, where he was burned, and his hands have them too in angry red marks. He's not the worst off, though, but still. There's a bandage on his wrist where the boy from 12 had cut him, and his nose is still purpled with a bruise. Suddenly he doesn't seem like the intimidating District 1 boy that I had met during training. He still has that gleam in his eye, that willingness to jump up into action. But now he's tired.
"You can rest," I say. I nod at Jade. "She'll need you here when she wakes up. I won't go far, though."
He looks slightly disappointed, but he nods, conceding the point. "See you when you get back."
I nod back, and pick up my ax from the ground as I head towards the woods.
The weight of my ax feels comforting while I walk. It's barely left my hand since the the fire yesterday morning.
I always sleep with it next to me, but when I smelled the flames and felt the heat, I had just started running for the river. It was only when I was halfway there did I remember my ax, and a new fear filled my heart. Without it, I'm practically useless, defenseless. I couldn't let the blaze take it. So I had run back, wrapped my jacket around my nose and mouth. I had grabbed the ax, and burned my hand on its hot metal, searing my skin, but I didn't let go until I was at the river. I was only able to relax when I had submerged my weapon in the water.
Around me now, the forest is alive. Birdsong fills the sky instead of smoke. A grasshopper leaps nearby, and the smell of fir trees makes me want to close my eyes and imagine home. I could be walking to the lumber mill right now, late as always, trying to catch up to Mama and Pa for our shift.
It's obvious that my allies don't see what I do when they walk around the arena. They've grown up as Careers, after all. To them, the arena is wilderness and all of the plants look the same as they trample them underfoot, chasing a tribute. What I see, though, is an endless expanse of things that can be used.
My allies watched their supplies and assurance of survival burn up in flames. Mine is in front of me.
The little red berries on the tree with pointed leaves are currants. The small leafy one with red stems are sheep sorrel. The bright green leaves with little white flowers are chickweed. I take handfuls of each, stuffing them into the makeshift basket I've made with my jacket. Then there's the plants to avoid, like the delicate pink blooms, oleander. Others, though, can be used as food or medicine, like the yellow carpet of dandelions, and even more chickweed.
Maybe Zircon and Jade would starve out here, living in the forest. I wouldn't.
I stop, staring down at the bed of berries, leaves, and roots in my jacket.
I wouldn't starve.
For the first time since that damn gong rang at the bloodbath, I think about walking through the forest - the arena - on my own. I could sleep under the trees and only have to worry about myself. I could choose where I hunt and what I hunt.
I wouldn't be a Career, but what even is the Career Pack now? Isaac is dead, something I had half expected when his picture appeared in the dark sky last night. I'd still been a bit surprised. What had killed him? He had trained his whole life, and within hours of our alliance splitting up he was dead. The whole reason I joined my allies was for protection. It was to guarantee me more of a chance at survival. I'd already almost died in that fire last night, and now my two remaining allies were so burned and shit at survival that I was collecting food for them.
I squeeze my eyes shut and breathe in the scent of the fir trees.
District 7 dances in my head, and winning the victor's crown swirls in my head like music. I don't care about the money or the fame. I just want to get off the train and see my family, and hold Kalina again, pick Bel up...
I could get there without the Careers now.
When I open my eyes, I let the sunlight burn for a moment. When I turn back our camp, I know my decision. Maybe my mentor is watching me right now, and Ersatz is cursing at me, knowing what I'm about to. But I don't give myself time to think about it. It's the choice I have to make.
As I emerge in the clearing, Zircon is sifting through some of the charred rubble, looking for supplies he probably won't find.
"Hey!" he calls when he finally sees me.
I force a smile and wipe my sweaty hair from my forehead. "Hey." I pour the plants from my jacket onto a soft patch of clover, and start separating out the different types of plants.
Zircon joins me, kneeling down and trying to hide his grimace as he holds his side. "I always hated salad back home."
That draws a real laugh from me. "It's the best we've got. I don't know to how to cook, I've barely touched a pot, so raw food is the best I can do."
"We should try to hunt some real meat later," Zircon says. "I'm sure we could catch a rabbit."
I don't look up as I pour the chickweed together. "Maybe."
We're both quiet once the meager food is laid out. My stomach aches the slightest bit from hunger, missing the dried meat we had in our supplies. The idea of leaving leaves the pain in the back of my mind, though. A mix of nervousness and excitement runs through me, and all I want is to jump up and run into the safety of the forest.
"I'll be back," Zircon says, standing up. He shakes his head. "I hate having to take a piss under cameras even more than I hate eating leaves."
This is it. This is the best chance I'll get.
Electricity jolts through me but I keep my expression even. "I'll wake up Jade and we can have breakfast when you're back."
He waits for a moment before walking off, heading out into the forest.
The second he's behind the tree line, I rush over to my sleeping bag, rolling it up. We don't have backpacks anymore, so holding it will have to do. My ax is in my hand as I cross to the cornucopia horn and squint against the glare of sunlight reflecting off its golden surface. Inside is the pile of salvaged supplies. The three daggers aren't my priority since I already have a weapon. The water filter is just extra stuff I would need to carry, and I can filter the water myself. Among the canned food, a couple are empty from the beans we had for dinner last night. Next to them is the only thing not covered in soot: a metal jar full of Capitol-grade burn cream.
I immediately scoop up an empty can and open the jar. Scooping half the greasy ointment inside, I tuck the can into my jacket pocket and replace the jar.
Jade stirs beside me, murmuring something in her sleep. For a moment I think she's going to wake up and see me, dive for a dagger and try to kill me, but she nestles back down and falls asleep with soft snores.
I turn away and walk out of the horn. As I round the mouth, I nearly run into Zircon.
He scans the sleeping bag in my arms and lifts his eyes back to my face. "I thought you were acting strange."
I don't have to tell him I'm leaving. He knows.
A tense silence passes and his hand twitches, as if searching for a sword or spear he doesn't have anymore. He can't get to the daggers fast enough to stab me, and we both know he can't wrestle me with how much worse his burns are than mine.
"I didn't want to end things with a fight," I finally say.
Zircon finally steps aside. "Probably for the best."
Whether that's a comment about me leaving, or just refusing to fight him, I'm not sure - and I don't ask. I just walked past him and keep my eyes on the forest.
"Mizell?"
I look over my shoulder, but I don't stop walking away.
"Good luck," Zircon finally says. "But if I see you again..."
I can fill in the blank. We aren't allies anymore, there's no more loyalty, and I'll be just another tribute if we run across each other again. I'm not sure if I hope it'll happen or not.
I nod to him and keep moving.
Camas Speare, 17, District 2
I turn the rock over and over in my hand, running my thumb along the edge until it hurts
"You wanna' help?" Aqua calls.
For a moment I consider not looking up at all. Sitting over here on the grassy edge of the riverbank before it turns muddy feels almost... pastoral. Like something from one of those banal paintings from before the Dark Days, the ones where people are laying in rays of sunlight in a green field. The blades of grass feel real against my arms, just as real as the rock. If I push my thumb just a little harder, though, I know I'll start bleeding - not too much, just a little crimson drop, just a little harder-
"Camas?"
I lift my eyes without moving. "Yeah?"
"You can help me over here," she says. She laughs but I can tell she's frustrated, that it's fake.
What else is fake about her?
I crack a smile. "You're a bit better than I am at that, though."
She's holding the spear I made, the one whittled from a stick. The one she drove through Isaac's windpipe yesterday. I hadn't expected her to stab him - to kill him - yesterday, and apparently neither had he. I hadn't expected him to take so long to finally die either, just laying there in the stream drowning in his own blood. It ran down the river like a scarlet trail as he kept coughing the stuff up. When the cannon finally went off, Aqua hadn't moved an inch.
"The hovercraft will need to collect his body," I'd finally said.
She hadn't turned back to look at me, just kept her head down, looking at Isaac's empty eyes, and nodded.
Now Aqua wipes a bead of sweat off her forehead. "You could still help, though. Learning wouldn't kill you."
I press the stone against my thumb until it bites my skin again. "Probably not." I consider just staying there on the grassy bank, but I know she'll keep insisting and fuck I'm hungry, so I get up, but I take my time brushing off my pants. "But I'm not wrong about you being better. You're just..." I smile at her as I walk to the edge of the river, "just so talented."
A talented fishmonger.
Aqua shrugs. I can't tell if she takes it as a compliment, or if she's even really listening. "Here." She hands me the spear. The tip of it is still red with Isaac's blood. "Just stay still in the water. The fish come up eventually, different kinds act different. There's mostly yellow perch here, and some other silver-scaled one I don't know the name of."
"Thought you guys know all the fish there are," I say. "Didn't even know it was that easy to tell them apart. You guys keep all up close and personal with them. I was kind of shocked you and Isaac didn't smell like dead fish when I met you."
She realizes that one's an insult, and her jaw works for a second. I almost hope she'll snap something back, sling a retort, but instead she just points to the water rushing around her ankles. "When the fish come up, just drive the spear down as hard as you can."
I quietly untie my boots and leave on the bank with my socks, rolling up my pants and stepping into the water. It's cold but the colorful pebbles beneath me aren't as slippery as I expected. I almost forget I'm holding the rock until I toss it into the water with a plop. I stand there in the water, holding the spear in front of me, half-paying attention to potential fish. I can hardly think about catching any. Mostly my thoughts just circle back to everyone at home watching me on television stand here in the river like a common fishmonger. Someone who's only lot in life is to catch food for other people. Someone who isn't meant for much.
I'm Camas fucking Speare. I trained since I could hold a knife at Academy in District 2. I wasn't just some student, I was the best and I was chosen to volunteer. I'm not supposed to have to rely on catching things, I shouldn't even have to rely on sponsors. I don't need anyone to fucking save me. I'm supposed to be the best-
A fish comes foolishly close, and I stab down at it. The spear missed the fish, digging into the silt instead, and the fish flits off.
"How the hell am I supposed to do this?" I snap, yanking the spear out of the water. "You made it sound-"
"What?" Aqua asks, arching an eyebrow. She folds her arms. "Made it sound easy?"
The insults want to come out, but I grit my teeth and settle for different ones. "You know, it would be nice if we didn't have to do this. If, I dunno, our supplies weren't burnt to ashes."
She stares at me, the wind ruffling her hair.
"Just saying," I mutter, stabbing the spear down and splashing the water, even though there aren't any fish.
"You think it was me?" Aqua finally says defiantly. "You think I did it? You believe Isaac-"
I jerk my head up. "You were the one who killed him while he was talking! I'm no mind reader, but that seems a little like you didn't want him to keep going."
"He's always been jealous of me, from the second I was chosen!" she says. Aqua points a finger at her chest. "I did better than him in class, and he hated every second of it. From the second I stepped on the train with him he was threatening me. There wasn't any district loyalty."
I watched her, squinting in the sun.
Isaac dying hadn't bothered me. He had to bite it eventually. Sure, it would've been nice to add another credit to my measly one kill, but it spared me expending any energy and possibly hurting myself worse than I already am from the fire. I'd be lying, though, if I said I wasn't curious about what other words died in his blood-clogged throat. Their whole dynamic has been since training began. Despite how much Aqua tried to hide it, even the Gamemakers could probably tell.
"So... he came chasing us to, what, exactly?" I say. "Just keep picking on you? That doesn't make sense, Aqua, he didn't even have a weapon."
"He didn't need one," she says. She folds her arms and glowers. "He wasn't planning on killing me... he expected you to."
For a moment, I can't respond. The water flows around my calves, cool and bubbling. A fish swims by and I don't even bother to try to catch it. "You're saying he was hoping I'd turn on you? Do the work for him?"
Aqua glares at the sky. "I don't think he would've joined anything more than watching my ally stab me right then and there. He would've wanted to be in an alliance with you after that, I'm sure. Would've turned on you eventually after getting you to do his work."
"Funny," I deadpan, "because that's what he accused you of."
"Don't you think I would've killed you by now!" Aqua shouts. "I mean, I'm the one that's less injured here and actually knows how to hunt for my own food!"
I throw the spear back on the bank and climb out, heading for my boots. "I don't need you to feed me. I can get my own damn food. You wanna be the one to prove yourself to the sponsors, be my guest." I'm yanking a sock on when puts a hand on my shoulder. I yank away and pull on my other sock. I'm finishing lacing up my boots when she finally tries again, laying a warm palm against my arm. I don't shake her off this time.
"Do really think I'm capable of trying to kill you with the fire the other night?"
My answer doesn't come immediately. Is Aqua Marie really capable of trying to kill me? She killed Isaac last night, right in front of my eyes. But she hadn't killed anyone before that. It had been her idea to use the girl from 12 to catch the boy from that district. Why would she have let the girl set us all on fire after that? Besides, no way the girl from 12 would've trusted Aqua.
The idea of Aqua killing me, thinking she could take me down, is so laughable I finally stand up and meet her eyes.
"I stayed with you," she says softly. Her gaze searches mine, looking up at me hopefully. "I stayed with you, not the others."
I glance down at the rips along my sides, and the pink flesh that still throbs with heat underneath. "So... how did it feel to watch him die?" I look back at her.
Aqua's expression is unreadable. She swallows. "It felt like it was about time."
I sigh, nodding over at the spear. I'd like to move past the conversation, and actually eat. "I wasn't trying to question you by the way. About, like, your training or anything. I wanted you in our alliance for a reason. I mean, you were the best in the Training Center with tridents."
Aqua finally cracks a smile. "So... what you're saying is sorry?"
"Don't push it," I say, but I feel the hint of a smile on my lips. "Let's not talk about it again."
She nods and looks past me, opening her mouth to say something. Her face falls.
I turn around, tensing and half-expecting to see Zephyr or Jade creeping up. Maybe worse, maybe even a mutt. Instead, my eyes fall on the river. The water is half the level it was at before ten minutes ago. As we stand there, stunned, the water keeps going down as if were being siphoned right out before us. The fish are nowhere to be seen. Neither of us can speak as we watch until the water vanishes entirely, leaving behind multi-colored pebbles glistening in the sun, as if the river was never there.
"What..." Aqua finally whispers. "Where...?"
I clear my throat, all too aware of the thirst now making me wish I had drunk more an hour ago. "I guess the Gamemakers decided we don't need a river anymore."
Aqua looks mournfully down at the riverbed. She picks up a smooth red pebble, the last drops of water plopping onto her palm.
Twila Applestone, 12, District 8
If I close my eyes, it sounds like District 8.
The cicadas sing, their call flowing up and down, ebbing like the breeze rustling the tree leaves. If I keep my eyes shut, the wind flows through my hair, and it's like I'm leaning out my window on a spring evening. Any moment now, one of my siblings will come grab my hand and tell me dinner's ready. I'll be wishing the night could last longer so I wouldn't have to go to school. Instead, I could just stay in this moment a bit longer, the setting sun warming my face, the world in between the place of awake and asleep.
"What're you thinking about?"
I smile and open my eyes. Kale sits down next to me, zipping up his jacket against the slight chill settling in the air. "The cicadas remind me of home."
Her peers up into the trees. "You know, I used to hate how loud they were... like they were screaming. But you're right."
"I think they're funny," I say. I look up at the trees too, even though I know I won't see any of the bugs. They always hide so well.
I can see Kale out of me peripheral vision to turn to me, but I know he isn't looking at my face anymore. "It's still there," I say without turning to him. "It doesn't bleed anymore."
He turns away. "Sorry..." He's quiet for a moment and we listen to the sound of the arena. "I just wanted to make sure."
I reach a hand up and press my cold fingertips to the mark on my neck that's healing. The cut that the girl from 2 left wasn't deep enough to keep reopening and bleeding, but still enough that it'll scar. I can already feel it scabbing, a rough line along my throat. Running a fingernail along it just makes me think of her face, so close to mine, and then so, so bloody. The sound of her trying to breathe as she died drowns out the sound of the cicadas.
Barely realizing what I'm doing, I raise my hands to cover my ears.
Kale's in front of me in a flash, concern puckering his brows. "Twila? What's wrong?"
My mouth is papery dry. It takes me a second to be able to speak. "Nothing... they're just too loud."
His expression is unconvinced, but before he can ask again Zephyr appears through a gap in the trees near us. His hands are empty, so the traps must not have had anything in them. I take my palms from over my ears, embarrassment making my cheeks warm a bit. It feels silly now. Shaiden isn't here, it's just the sound of the insects before dusk. Suddenly I don't want Zephyr or Kale to see me still thinking about the girl from District 2.
"No luck?" Kale says once he finally looks away from me.
Zephyr shakes his head. "Nah, but I did find some gooseberries. There's a patch of them pretty nearby we hadn't seen before." He pulls fistfuls of pale green, oval berries from his jacket pockets. He holds them out with a flourish. "A feast."
That makes me giggle despite my hunger. "A feast for the president of Panem."
We all sit down and eat the gooseberries, along with some roots that Kale had dug up with me the this morning. It's nothing compared to the bird from yesterday, but maybe there'll be another one tomorrow. We all sip from our water bottles and a reminder that we'll have to refill them soon. I don't mind the idea of walking to the little creeks again. It was nice stretching my legs and feeling safe, walking between Zephyr and Kale. We'd watched some of the frogs around the creeks leap into the water when they saw us. I wish I could've told the frogs somehow that we weren't going to hurt them, and maybe I could've held one.
A branch snaps.
We all freeze. My blood turns cold, like ice running through my veins.
When another branch breaks, I stand up. Kale gets up too, reaching over and grabbing his sword. Zephyr slowly pulls his green pack on.
The Careers haven't chased us in a while, but other deaths have been happening around the arena. There was even a cannon today. Who's to say they haven't finally found us again? My stomach churns, and I take a shaky breath, readying my feet to run. They won't catch me again. Not like Shaiden did.
The girl who steps out of the trees isn't a Career, though.
It takes me a few seconds to remember her name, vaguely coming back from the interviews when she wore a sparkling dragon dress. She's the one from District 10, who had the giant district partner everyone thought would do so well. Sakura.
Her long, dark hair is pulled back in a ponytail. Her pale skin is a bit dirty, like she's been sleeping on the ground, and she's skinnier than the last time I saw her that night on the stage. On her back is a medium-sized brown bag. She has two daggers tucked into her belt, visible with her jacket open, and a short, silver scythe glints in her hand.
We all stare at each other, nobody sure what to do. I glance between the sword in Kale's hands and the scythe in Sakura's.
"I'm not going to hurt you," she finally says. Her voice is a bit rough, like she hasn't spoken to anyone in a while.
"Obviously," Zephyr snaps back. "Pretty sure we've got you outnumbered." He jerks his head. "Keep walking and we won't kill you ourselves."
I jerk my head to look up at him. Where did that come from? Zephyr has never been that aggressive to anyone since I've met him.
The girl from 10 blinks, clearly thinking through her words carefully, before she sucks in a breath. "You're Zephyr... right? Briony's district partner."
"And?" Zephyr says, his voice steely. But I see the way his jaw tightens at the mention of Briony's name. "Last time I saw her, she was running off into the woods with you. And now she's dead. So keep on walking, Ten."
"The Careers killed her," Sakura says. Her face falls. "We got separated... I couldn't help her. I'm sorry. But don't worry, they won't be bothering any of us anytime soon."
Kale lowers his sword slightly. "What do you mean?"
Sakura tilts her head like it's obvious. "Their whole camp is burnt. I don't know what happened, but their alliance is broken now. The girl from 4 and the boy from 2 are over by the far side of the river, at least. I don't know about the pair from 1 or the guy from 7."
"You spied on them at the river?" I finally say.
She turns to look down at me. Her expression is unreadable. "Not spied, exactly. I was crossing the riverbed and could see them far away. I guess they'd been there for the water or fish or whatever, but now that's is all dried up-"
"Dried up?" Zephyr says, the anger dropped for confusion now. "What do you mean?"
"The river," Sakura says, glancing between each of us. "Didn't you notice? It emptied this afternoon, a few hours ago. The water's all gone."
We're silent as the revelation passes over us. I look over at my shoulder at our half-full water bottles on the ground, the ones we'd just been saying we'll have to refill. We have iodine tablets, but use are they if we don't have any water to put them in? It hasn't rained once since we got in the arena, the river and creeks running off it have been the only source aside from sponsors.
Zephyr and Kale exchange an alarmed look.
Kale takes a step forward, lowering the sword completely. Sakura doesn't move. "You're sure it's dried?"
"Every last drop," Sakura answers. She shrugs. "I crossed the river myself when it was still full. Nearly drowned. I was over on the other side of the arena." She hesitates. "There was a meadow and no one else. I was alone. But once the river dried, I figured there might still be water over here, but all the little streams are dry as dust now too."
"The Gamemakers just made this a whole lot harder," Zephyr mutters. "Shit."
"I have some water," Sakura says. "If you need any extra."
Zephyr laughs humorlessly. "We don't have any extra room, sorry, no more mouths to feed-"
"And food," she continues. "I know how to forage."
Kale doesn't seem convinced either, and starts to shake his head.
Sakura sighs. "Listen. The Career Pack doesn't have any food or numbers anymore. I'm gonna best honest, I don't really feel like forming an alliance, but it's the smartest thing to do right now. At least until the final eight. It would guarantee us all a bit of safety. I have food and medicine you all can use. I know you guys scored pretty high and I didn't, but I'm not useless."
Kale and Zephyr are quiet, sharing a look like their debating telepathically with each other.
I step past them. "We accept."
"Wait-" Kale begins.
I look up at them. "If the water is gone and the Careers are separated, it only makes sense. For a little while." I turn to Sakura. "I'm Twila."
She sits with us in our little campsite, and tells us all about her time in the arena so far as the sun falls below the horizon. She lowers her head sadly when she recounts how the Careers separated her and Briony. She laughs bitterly when she talks about having to use a log to cross the river before washing up on the shore, half-alive and coughing up water. She does share her food with us, some more roots and berries. It's not much but it's something.
We tell her about our time so far, too. Well, more so Kale and I. Zephyr is suddenly occupied in resorting his supplies. We tell her about the Careers chasing us and running across Zephyr, how he saved Kale. Then we tell her how they found us again. Kale trails off, when Sakura asks if that was the same day that Shaiden died, and then perks up excitedly.
"Did you see her die?" she asks.
Kale peeks at me. Behind us, Zephyr has stilled. "I killed her," Kale finally says.
Sakura nods slowly, glancing at me before smiling for the first time.
It's nice having another girl in our group, and it's interesting getting to talk to another tribute who had a different life during the past week than us. I'd honestly forgotten that she was even here, she'd been kind of overshadowed by her district partner. I feel a bit guilty for discounting her. One part of her interview comes back to me, though.
"You have a sister, right?" I ask.
Sakura nods, seeming a bit surprised I remembered. "Yeah... a couple actually. One is my twin."
"That sounds so nice." I smile. "I have a lot of siblings, having a twin sounds special."
"She is," Sakura whispers.
When night falls and the cicadas are replaced with an owl, the anthem makes me jump. The dark sky lights up and we all look up as the face of the girl from 12 appears. The anthem gives a flourish and then it falls quiet.
Sakura grabs her scythe. "I'll take the first watch."
"No," Zephyr says immediately. "I will."
A tense quiet passes over us before Kale waves his hand at them both. "I'll take watch. You all, get some rest."
Zephyr still gives Sakura a terse look that clearly says even though I might accept her into our alliance, he clearly doesn't. To her credit, Sakura doesn't seem fazed. She just nods at Kale.
"It's good to meet you, Twila," Sakura says, turning me before she curls up to sleep.
I smile, a genuine one.
11th Place .:. Zoe Colette (14) - District 12: It was obvious this was going to happen sooner or later, I feel like. And I do like my canon compliant fics. Zoe was a really strong character. Like her counterpart, Jacob, her profile was lost in the SYOT Purge of 2012, but I feel like she still had such a resilient and unique personality. She always surprised me with her courage. In my headcanon, Haymitch thought of her when he saw Katniss and his star-crossed lovers.
