Author's Note
First of all, I should apologise for the unexpected halt in updates. Things have just been rough in real life and I lost motivation for posting. This probably won't be a return to schedule, though hopefully I will eventually get back to that. In the meantime though, I do not own the Hunger Games, but you can enjoy this chapter anyway!
They stopped moving, at long last, as dusk began to draw in.
"We need to find a watersource in the morning," he said.
Without water they were doomed, but except in the few desert arenas they had done, the Gamemakers always included some kind of water source somewhere. It had evidently been decided long ago that watching tributes die of slow dehydration was no fun at all.
They sat in a small huddle, hemmed in by the trees, to look through their backpacks. His was the biggest, containing a loaf of bread, a pack of jerky, two packs of crackers, an empty water canteen (which meant there was definitely water somewhere, the Gamemakers didn't include them when there wasn't), a large bottle of iodine, a blanket, a box of matches, and a set of funny looking goggles. He held them over his eyes, but they only turned everything funny colours, so he stuffed them back into the backpack.
They had a small amount of food between them, several packets of crackers and a few pieces of fruit along with a packet of jerky. Shelley was the only one with water, and she carefully siphoned a small amount off into each of the empty canteens. "But the rest is mine," she warned, and that seemed fair.
None of them really knew each other.
None of them really trusted each other.
And some of them might have to kill each other.
At last the trees began to open up, growing further and further apart until they gave way to a small clearing almost entirely filled by a small wooden cabin. They studied it carefully.
"Do you think it's safe?" Heaven asked.
"Let's find out."
Bunny and Heaven gave her twin looks of surprise as Luciente headed up to the door and opened it.
Inside was a single room, furnished with three sets of bunk beds at one end and a short bench at the other. Another narrow door was opposite the one she'd opened, and she pulled it open to reveal a toilet.
Nathaniel appeared at her shoulder to peer inside. "Cool! But why would they put this here?"
"Let's not question it," Bunny said, joining them by the door now it had been designated safe.
They filtered into the small space, locking the door behind them.
"I guess we stay here for tonight. But we'll need to find water in the morning." She bent down to open the cabinets under the bench. They contained a few wooden bowls and spoons.
The Capitol anthem sounded around them.
"Come on, they'll probably be showing the dead."
They slipped out quickly, gathering in a group by the door to watch the now cleared sky.
The first face to appear was the girl from Three, with the number '23' by her image. Heaven gave a stifled sob. Next was the male tribute from Three, labelled '21.'
They all knew the one coming next, the boy from Four, labelled '20.'
After her came the boy from Seven, which meant several things.
First, Illenia was still alive, and, presumably, still with the Careers.
Second, Shelley was alive, which was nice for Nathaniel she supposed.
And third, both the tributes from Six were alive and safe.
Seven's District partner, the one that died instead of her, was next, with '17' next to her name.
Then was the boy from Eight, followed by his little partner. The last one was the boy from Eleven, Heaven's District partner.
"Noel," Heaven whispered.
Bunny squeezed her arm. "You okay?"
Heaven nodded, dragging a hand across her eyes.
They returned to the cabin and began to make note of who that left.
"The pairs from One, Two, Six and Twelve."
"The girl from Four," Nathaniel added.
Bunny glanced at Luciente. "She could come gunning for you."
"She won't."
"Shelley. And Azrayk too."
"Sixteen of us."
Sixteen.
Sixteen tributes.
How many of them would die before they reached freedom?
Some, she was sure.
He had chosen to climb up one of the trees and watch the sky for the dead. He had been the best climber of the three of them in training, and even now he could climb as easily as he could when he had been a child. He pulled some of the branches aside and watched as they appeared. The boy from Three appeared, which meant his strike must have been lethal. That had been an accident, but he didn't feel anything for it. He watched as the boy from Eleven faded away and then climbed back to the ground.
No Luciente, not that he had been expecting there to be.
She was strong, wild, free, and he had seen her escape.
They would find each other again, they always did.
"Well?"
Shelley asked. He listed off the dead tributes in rapid order.
"The boy from Four's out," the boy from Six said in surprise.
"Someone killed a Career," Azrayk mused.
"Hopefully they'll kill some more," Shelley muttered.
Arielle pushed a lock of chestnut hair from her face. "That means there's only five of them left. And the girl from One's not as good as the others, I noticed in training."
"Gives us equal numbers at least," Azrayk said.
Wylie squeaked. "Equal? With the Careers? Trained to be monsters."
Skyla shrugged. "It's better odds than it could be. That's all I'm saying."
"It's not often a Career dies in the bloodbath," Shelley agreed.
"They're going to be pissed."
Hyperion glanced through the trees. "This terrain won't make it easy for them."
This was his terrain, his territory. He could roam here, but they couldn't. Not easily at least.
Azrayk shot him a look. "What are you thinking?"
"We need to start laying traps. Make it harder for them."
It was already going to be hard.
But this was his sort of land.
Why not make it harder?
A sudden, long, high howl rang through the air. Hyperion raised his head, lifting to the sound in the fading light.
"What now?"
The howl rang out again. Animalistic, but not quite, ghostly and haunting.
He smiled. "Thought I heard something."
It came a third time, and then the woodland was silent again.
"I can't hear anything."
"Must have been mistaken."
She was out there.
She was calling to him.
He closed his eyes and called back, the sound echoing around his skull.
The answering call came strong and loud, echoing through the trees, long and low. Luciente smiled. Five miles, maybe more, south west.
This hadn't been part of the plan.
They were supposed to be together.
Nathaniel appeared behind her. "Are you alright?"
"I- I miss him."
"We'll find him." He reached for her hand, squeezed it tight. "I'll help you find him, I promise."
She smiled. "Thank you."
He gazed up into the dark sky. There were no stars here, only an inky blackness that swallowed everything.
It had to be artificial.
She rubbed thoughtfully at her arm.
"Is your arm okay?" Nathaniel asked hesitantly.
She frowned at him.
"Only you've been rubbing at it all afternoon. You're not hurt are you?"
"No. It itches." She rolled her sleeve back, traced the unnatural lump under her skin. She could feel it there, the pulsing, dying vibrations.
"Luciente?"
"Hm?"
"Are you afraid of dying?"
"Death is but another path."
"There's only been one twelve year old Victor in ninety four years."
She grunted an agreement.
"I don't want to die."
She smiled softly. "You're not going to be Victor."
That place belonged to another, bird in a cage.
"You're going to be free."
And oh how she wished she could have brought Ariel with her, shown her the world, but Ariel was trapped in District Ten and they were here in the arena.
"I… don't understand."
She ruffled his hair. "You will."
He was lost, needing to be found, but one day he would understand.
One day he would be able to run, wild and free, roam the land like they did.
She still wasn't sure what he was, why he was different.
He wasn't like her and Hyperion, wild and strong.
He wasn't like Ariel, born to be wild and strong with it beaten out of her by her aloneness and bars.
He was something different, as though he was always meant to be like them and came out slightly wrong.
Unless-
Unless-
Unless-
Maybe.
She looked down at him. He was still watching the sky. "It never gets this dark in Five."
"There should be stars."
He shook his head. "We have… street lamps, and light pollution. It keeps everything light." He wrapped his arms around himself. "I don't think I've ever seen outside darkness like this."
"You'll get used to it."
"Come on." She tugged on his hand and led him back into the cabin.
Author's Note
Now that we've seen for sure who's out of the running, here's the list of fallen tributes and those remaining along with their alliances.
THE FALLEN
There are no eulogies for my tributes, as they had no focus or development. To make it look neat and pretty, this is why Aros's placement is out of order at the bottom.
District Seven male, Sylvan Cale. Killed by Cairn Aphelion of District Two. Placed Twenty Fourth.
District Three Female, Bethany Copper. Killed by Damon Newbury of District One. Placed Twenty Third.
District Eleven male, Noel Garland. Killed by Nike Arellano of District One. Placed Twenty Second.
District Three male, Zircon Keyes. Killed by Hyperion Ripley of District Ten. Placed Twenty First.
District Eight male: Rufous Azul . Killed by Livia Dolabella of District Two. Placed Nineteenth.
District Eight female: Chenille Darter. Killed by Sedge Hastings of District Twelve. Placed Eighteenth.
District Seven female: Wisteria Arbor. Killed by Cairn Aphelion of District Two. Placed Seventeenth.
District Four male: Aros Curran. Killed by Luciente Ripley of District Ten. Placed Twentieth.
First of all, I want to say that there is a plot reason Aros went down so early and is the only submitted tribute to die in the bloodbath, and it's not because I hate him as a character or Dreamer as a submitter! I love Aros, he's such a sweetheart, and I love him even more because he was made to fit in with my headcanons. He just wanted to do his best and prove himself, but life kept on throwing him punches and he ended up in a bad situation here between Luciente and Ilenia. Thank you so much for this sweet boy Dreamer, and try not to despair too much! Aros very much still has a role to play yet!
CURRENT ALLIANCES:
CAREERS: Damon Newbury [D1M]; Nike Arellano [D1F]; Cairn Aphelion [D2M]; Livia Dolabella [D2F]; Ilenia Costello [D4F]
OMEGAS: Shelley Fisher [D5F]; Wylie Cooper [D6M]; Arielle Wayne [D6F]; Azrayk Blaze [D9M]; Hyperion Ripley [D10M].
SCYTHE GIRLS FT 1/2 OMEGAS: Nathaniel Volkner [D5M]; Abundance Harper [D9F]; Luciente Ripley [D10F]; Heaven Jonas [D11F].
LONERS: Sedge Hastings [D12M]; Tamika Tran [D12F]
