Indy's mother stood in an angelic aura before him, lowering to his level and gripping his now misty face.

"You look the same, darling. You haven't changed a bit."

Indy had once heard of a computer program that can imitate dead relatives by inputting past messages and audio samples of their speech, to mix into a slurry that can baffle even the most skeptical of such technology.

But this was far more than that. His mother's way of speaking was not something he had forgotten ten years later and now, through some artificial force, was reaching his ears again. It was almost sacrilegious.

"Why do you look so upset?" his mother asked, pushing away a few strands of hair from his clammy forehead. "It's just me."

Indy couldn't utter a single word. All he could think of was how much he wanted to throw himself into his mother's arms and stay there forever. But deep down, he knew that would lead to certain death. He couldn't let his heart lead when his mind knew better.

Without saying a word, he got up and started walking towards the mouth of the cave, where the light grew more and more intense even in the hazy purplish glow of the arena.

"Wait! At least say goodbye! Give me a hug!"

Esther, already halfway down the cave's complicated system, found herself getting flustered by how every tunnel looked identical to each other.

It was Altair, however, who was close to becoming the bane of her existence.

"What are we going to do?! Esther, I can't see, it's too dark! Esther!" He was starting to hyperventilate, using up what little oxygen filled the cramped tunnels. She turned to the sound of his voice since she could barely see his figure in the dim lighting. Had it been brighter, Esther was certain her face would have been red with frustration.

"Oh my God, calm down, will you?! It's not the end of the world!"

Altair began to tear at his hair in an aggravated sort of way, as if the walls were closing in on them.

As he continued to have his breakdown a thought formulated in the older girl's head. Having a companion had been nice, but Altair was little more than a liability with someone stronger like Indy around. If she found him again… would it be the end of the world that the tunnels had claimed what was easily the weakest link of their alliance?

I know I'm not going to win, but I'll be damned if I lose because of a snivelling little kid.

As Esther and Altair continued to traverse the tunnels, they both remained unaware of the fact that Indy was only six feet above their heads, going at almost the same pace as them.

Having climbed away from the vision of his mother, which he was certain was nothing more than some Gamemaker trick, Indy found himself in a crawlspace barely wide enough to fit even his slim body. His elbows were starting to get bloody from constantly brushing against the rocky ground. His pocket knife was snugly enclosed in his clammy fingers. Indy was unbearably tense; seeing his mother's face for the first time in ten years had almost spooked him as much as a recurring bad dream he had which featured a hard-boiled egg with a set of teeth and eyes grinning at him menacingly. He wasn't quite sure how else to describe how unsettled he felt.

Indy knew it could have been worse. He had seen previous Games in which jabberjays were cruelly implemented, equipped with the terrified and tortured voices of loved ones.

He continued to crawl, his speed decreasing as his energy levels did. He could use a drink of water but he knew he wouldn't be able to reach into his bag, much less fetch an item from it. So, with a parched throat and a somewhat diminished resolve, he crawled and crawled. He didn't know he was only around half a mile to an exit that led to the tunnel Esther and Altair were currently standing around in.

Speaking of Esther, she was just about ready to explode.

"I can't do this. I can't do this," Altair croaked. Esther put her hands on her hip and let out a large sigh, the sound echoing.

"Why. Not."

"I just can't…" Altair's voice sounded extremely thin, as if his sanity was fraying just from spending a few hours inside a dark cave system.

"Why did I get picked? I'm not strong enough for this. I'm going to die," Altair whimpered.

Esther rolled her eyes, wishing Altair could see her do it.

Wait. If he can't see…

Suddenly Esther perked up, slowly approaching what she thought was Altair. She reached out but found nothing, before moving her hands downward and finding that he was sprawled out on the floor.

"It'll be okay, Altair. I promise you, it will be okay." She started stroking his head in a somewhat condescending way, but distressed little Altair took genuine comfort from it. He fought back tears as Esther leaned in closer.

"Do you want a hug? I feel like you need a hug," she offered, holding out her arms.

Altair was confused. Esther had never been so comforting to him, but he had also never been in such a state before. He figured that's just what the Games did to you. But he had also been holding it together pretty well, even after being attacked by dogs on the first day. Maybe there just needed to be one more bad thing to push him over the edge.

His mouth quivering, he nodded, before realizing Esther probably didn't see the motion in the dark. "Yes. Yes, please."

Esther wrapped her arms around Altair's tiny form, and for a moment both tributes seemed to genuinely enjoy the peaceful embrace after a very tumultuous five days in the arena. But Esther did not intend for this moment to stay pure, or last longer than it needed to.

Esther's blade, which was no more than a product of the sharpening stone and dull dinner knife that came with the little sack she stole at the bloodbath, was at least halfway into Altair's back after she whipped it out of his pocket and stabbed her ally with all her might. Esther wasn't sure if such a wound was even fatal, but Altair's weak gasp and subsequent face plant into the ground confirmed that she had at least done some damage.

"Sorry, kid. You're dead weight."

Altair did not respond, but a cannon hadn't gone off yet. A noise did emerge, however, when a bunch of rocks that collapsed under Indy's weight clattered to the ground. He had made it into the main tunnel, landing on the ground below the exit with a thud.

"Who's that?!" Esther demanded, raising her still-bloody knife.

"Esther? Is that you?"

Panicking, Esther realized that if Indy found her with Altair's body, he would certainly put the pieces together and do away with her. Not without a fight, but Esther also wasn't sure if she stood a chance against a larger, older boy.

"Indy! Thank goodness you're here. I can't find Altair anywhere." Esther draped her words with uncertainty and fear, having to make up for the fact that Indy could not read her expression, which also meant it could not betray her in that moment.

"Oh, you guys got separated?" Indy asked.

Esther gulped, trying to come up with a lie. "He thought he saw a light and started walking towards it. Don't know what he was talking about, because," Esther waves a hand in front of her face, "I can't see a thing."

"You and me both," Indy said, sounding tired. "I was crawling in some tiny tunnel for like, hours."

Esther grabbed Indy's arm, trying to lead him away from Altair's still-alive body. There was still no cannon, but he wasn't making a sound. No groans of pain or anything. She internally thanked whoever might be listening.

"Let's get out of here."

Indy struggled to get free of her grip. "Shouldn't we at least try and find Altair?"

Esther scoffed, a little more forcefully than she meant to. "He's probably out already. He did say he found a light."

It took Esther and Indy more than half an hour to finally work their way out of the back end of the tunnel. They both gasped as they took in the scenery; a peaceful oasis featuring green grass and blue water, sights that had become practically foreign to the tributes in the past few days. It sat in a somewhat secluded-looking area, blanketed by trees and pale yellow rock. It looked very out-of-place in the dream arena.

"Well, we made it," Indy said dryly, putting his hands on his hips. "Couldn't get out of there soon enough."

"You said it," Esther agreed.

Before they could say anything else, a deafening cannon sounded throughout the arena.

Esther was well-aware of who the cannon belonged to, but still painted surprise on her face.

"I wonder who it was."

A dark look passed on Indy's face, like a cloud over the sun.

"I think you know."

Esther raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

Indy chuckled and shook his head. He tugged at the hem of his shirt, finding it slightly sweaty after hours in a hot and damp cave. Indy had always been thankful that he was never one of those people who sweated in buckets.

"Never mind. So, what do you want to do now?"

Esther's mouth spread in a thin, slightly uncomfortable smile, and she found herself almost off put by such a casual question.

"I don't know, what do you want to do?" she asked nervously.

Indy opened his mouth to respond as he whipped his blade from beneath the sleeve of his jacket and swiped across Esther's throat so quickly that for a moment no blood poured out. When it did, however, the crimson fluid gushed out of her neck first in a steady stream, then in spurts as her complexion paled and the puddle around her grew.

"Don't be stupid. You didn't think I saw him? You really thought you were slick, trying to pretend he wasn't right next to you?"

Indy sighed, almost sounding annoyed that the dying girl below him did not respond to his rant.

"Look, I want to go home as much as you do, but that might have been the cruelest possible way to kill a twelve-year-old. Not to sound like a saint or anything, but he deserved better."

Indy had no more words to say to the increasingly-still girl and turned to leave, but not before receiving a response from her in the form of her own cannon.

14th: Altair Muhammed, District 9 Male: Stabbed by Esther

I liked this little guy, he was very cute and relatable for all the kids out there who like to invest themselves in a fantasy world like he did. I wish I could have made it a bit of a stronger element in his story but I couldn't think of any way to do it without it seeming unrealistic. Thank you Pi for Altair, our little Knight.

13th: Esther Yarnelle, District 8 Female: Slashed by Indy

Indy had always had a bad feeling about Esther and her somewhat badly-timed kill was the nail in the coffin. Since she was non-POV she had less time in the spotlight but I still liked her a lot! Thank you Willuna for Esther, at least you still have Salalai!

Kills

Vinna (2): Sixtine (assist), Garrett

Coilee (1): Ethan

Azure (1): Nerezza

Aslan (2): Sixtine, Sophia, Pontiki

Esther (1): Altair

Indy (1): Esther

DW (1): Armahni

Tributes remaining: Vinna (1F), Coilee (2F), Albert (3M), Azure (4F), Aslan (4M), Aston (6F), Indy (6M), Magnolia (7F), Salalai (10F), Ryker (10M),Andrew (11M), Lilac (12F)