Author's Note
I do not own the Hunger Games.
"That boy," the girl from Four wailed, wrapping her arms around herself. "He's a monster!"
"What boy?" asked Azrayk impatiently.
"One of the other Careers?" Shelley asked.
Four shook her head. "He- Oh God!"
If not one of the other Careers-
Who else was left?
Four pitched forwards, sobbing and shaking. "Water- Please, do you have any water?"
Hyperion glanced at Azrayk, who still looked like he wanted to try running the Career girl through with his blunt spear. He grabbed Four's arm and gave it a firm yank, dragging her over to the stream. "There."
She almost collapsed into the water, scooping it up in her hands and gulping it down desperately.
No one was scolding her for not using iodine.
She splashed it over her face, scrubbing at her skin with trembling hands. She stank of blood and dirt and another male.
Hyperion stood over her with his spear still directed down at her head, while Azrayk loomed on her other side and Shelley a little way behind her. Arielle appeared to have fled entirely when the Career arrived, which shouldn't really have surprised him.
The cannons, however, did make them all jump.
The girl from Four let out a low wail, running a wet hand through her bloody blonde hair. "Nike."
That seemed to give Azrayk pause. "The girl from One?"
Four sniffled, still dribbling blood from her nose. She looked fucking pathetic, not at all like the angry, fire-filled girl he'd seen during training.
"Did your alliance split already?"
It was only the third day. Career packs usually lasted longer than that, at least the first five days, normally the first week.
She shook her head. "We were… exploring. And- h-h-hunting for other tributes."
"Right," drawled Azrayk. "And why aren't we killing her wolf-boy?"
She dragged a hand across her face, smearing her cheeks with blood. "He'll come for you," she said, looking up at Shelley. "You- and her- and your pretty sister."
Hyperion roared and kicked her hard in the ribs.
His mouth tasted of blood.
Luciente had been nice to her; obsessed with her, and this was what she came out with?
Azrayk seemed to do some quick calculations and come up with the same result at the same time as he did.
"The boy from Twelve?" he asked with a look of confused realisation.
Four nodded frantically and curled herself into a tight ball.
"The boy from Twelve?" Shelley echoed, looking sceptical. "The boy from Twelve did this to you?"
"He's a fucking demon," Four whispered, scrubbing at her eyes. "He'd set up some kind of traps; got a r-rope round Nike's neck. It was going to choke her, so Livi w-was trying to get her down, but then she was gone and- and- and-" She shook her head.
"I don't know, I don't know, I don't know!"
He probably cracked her round the head, Hyperion figured, given her injuries. Bound her up, got rid of the one he didn't want-
Shelley had gone a rather peculiar colour. "Did- Did he- He…" She waved her hand uselessly at her crotch.
The girl from Four burst into tears anew.
Hyperion had a sudden flash of lucidity, a barely remembered moment he'd thought was important at the time but cast away for things that had seemed more important in the heat of the moment.
Luciente on the hovercraft, peering at the girl from Twelve, gesturing at her breasts and crotch, the girl from Twelve making some silent reply.
Make sure that one dies.
He hadn't.
He hadn't even remembered about it until now.
He should have known better than that.
But he hadn't even seen the boy from Twelve during the bloodbath! If he had, he might have remembered, might have slashed his throat open instead of the girl from Three, might have saved little miss Four this.
"It wasn't meant to be like this," sobbed Four, drawing her bloody knees up to her filthy chest. "It wasn't meant to be like this, it wasn't meant to be like this!"
Azrayk cleared his throat. "We should kill her and be down another Career."
They should.
Of course they should.
Without her and once they found Luciente, their alliance would be the biggest remaining.
So why was he hesitating?
They were all looking at him, Azrayk and Shelley and the girl from Four, all of them expecting him to strike the blow.
They didn't have the guts, he realised.
They had never killed before, maybe not even the girl from Four, so they were looking to him to do it.
And still he was hesitating.
What do I do Luciente?
