Night One
Staccato
Staccato: A music articulation which indicates that a music note should be played separated from its neighboring notes.
Whisper Collins, 16
District Ten
Boom. Whisper stared as Arti's cannon sounded. She was dead. Ebony had killed her. And Ebony was hurt pretty badly, too, from the look of things. Arti's axe had sunk deep into their former ally's shoulder, and blood was streaming from the wound. It would get worse if he pulled the axe out. But if he didn't…
His legs were moving before his brain realized what he was doing. He was running. Away from Arti. Away from Ebony. Arti was dead, and he wouldn't be surprised to hear Ebony's cannon soon. Maybe he should simply have finished her off while he had the chance, but it was too late for that now. Too late to stop. His legs probably wouldn't stop now, even if he'd wanted to.
Whisper gasped for breath as he ducked inside a building, then bent double and began retching. They should have waited. Waited to see who was coming before attacking. They'd known Ebony was still out there somewhere, but they'd assumed she would be alone. What had she been doing with the younger boy?
Then again, they were district partners. Maybe they'd met up during the bloodbath, after he and Arti had left. After all, if Arti and Ebony had left him, wouldn't he have tried to find someone else to work with? Someone else to watch his back?
Whisper sank down against the wall and pulled his knees to his chest, trying to stop the sobs welling up in his throat. Arti and Ebony were gone. He was alone now. And maybe that was better. If he wasn't working with anybody else, then he wouldn't lose anyone else. He wouldn't have to see them die. Maybe he was better off alone after all.
Rose Thornton, 12
District Eleven
The streets weren't as dark as she'd imagined at night. Night in District Eleven was pitch black, since most people wanted to conserve their candles and lamps for when something was important, and only the richest had any sort of electricity. But here, there were street lamps everywhere. It wasn't as bright as daytime, but it was certainly bright enough to see by. Bright enough for her to keep moving.
She'd kept moving ever since running from the cornucopia when it had exploded. She hadn't had much with her at the time – just a bottle of water she'd been drinking and a knife she'd tucked in her pocket. But that would have to do for now, because she had no intention of going back there anytime soon. Even if none of the others had stayed, there probably wasn't much left of the supplies.
The others. Corin and Sebastian had been the only other Careers left by the time they'd been sent the explosion. There had been a cannon since then, but not immediately afterward. Maybe it had been one of them. She would find out soon enough, probably; it couldn't be too long until the anthem.
Suddenly, something caught her eye. Some sort of plant growing through one of the cracks in the sidewalk. Rose knelt down. It was a flower. A poisonous flower. That could be useful. Rose carefully picked a few of the petals and tucked them in one of her pockets, leaving a few on the flower just in case someone else came along. If they saw she'd taken some of the petals, maybe they would figure the plant was good for food or even medicine.
Rose shook her head. Right. No one would be desperate enough yet to try eating a flower they weren't certain about. It wasn't as if it would be very filling anyway. And most tributes would probably know better than to try to use a plant for medicine if they didn't know what it was.
Most. But maybe not all. And there was no harm in leaving a few petals. She could always come back later if she wanted to. Rose nodded a little and kept walking. Maybe it wasn't much, but it was a start.
Baoba Pitblossom, 17
District One
The sound of the anthem almost made Baoba jump. He'd known it was coming, of course, but it was still a loud, sudden sound. Things had been so quiet. He'd managed to find his way to a building that looked like some sort of museum, which was rather comforting in its familiarity. As the anthem played, he found his way to a window and looked out, hoping to be able to see the faces from inside.
Sure enough, Opal's face lit up the sky, the first to appear. Then the kid from District Two – the kid he had killed. Baoba clenched his fists. That was the whole point of the Games, of course – to kill. And the kid had killed Nirel, after all. Still, seeing their face in the sky was unnerving, and Baoba was relieved when it faded.
Their face was quickly replaced by the girl from Six, and then the girl from Ten. Last, Nirel's face appeared, and Baoba slumped back against the wall, shaking his head. Five tributes were dead. His only ally was dead. His district partner was dead.
The thought was pretty depressing. But at the same time, there was a sort of freedom that came with it. There was no one left in the arena that he really knew. No one he needed to care about. The other tributes were just faces, maybe with a vague idea of what name went with them. He didn't know them. He didn't want to know them. He just wanted to go home.
Baoba stretched out in a corner and closed his eyes. It probably wasn't a particularly safe place to sleep, especially with no one keeping guard, but there wasn't going to be anyone to keep guard. He could either try to get some sleep now or put it off until he was completely exhausted. It wasn't as if a safe hiding place was going to suddenly appear. For now, here was as good as anywhere.
Lucinda Tweed, 15
District Eight
Rose was still alive. Lucinda grinned at Aloe and Percy as the last of the faces faded from the sky. "She's alive! Rose it out there somewhere! Maybe she's even looking for us."
But Percy wasn't smiling. "Yeah, and we left her. Ran off and left her to die. You really think she'll be looking for us?"
Aloe shrugged. "She didn't stay with us either. For all she knew, we could be dead. It was a mess back there; anyone could have gotten separated. I doubt she'd blame us for running."
Lucinda nodded. She hoped Aloe was right. Gently, she stroked one of the dog's backs. Just then, however, another began growling, his eyes fixed on something in the distance. The three of them sprang to their feet. Out of the corner of her eye, Lucinda saw Percy fiddling with his necklace, and she thought she saw him put something in his mouth. But what—
"Careers," Aloe hissed, just as the girl from Two stepped into the light of a street lamp. Immediately, Percy was gone. Lucinda stared at the figure disappearing into the distance. Aloe was just as baffled. "What the hell?"
"I don't know." Lucinda glanced down at the dog, which was still growling. "Easy, boy," she whispered, stroking its neck as the girl from Two strode closer, a cleaver in her hand. But it was just … just her. She couldn't see any of the other Careers. But not all of them were dead; only the girl from One other tribute from Two's face had appeared in the sky. The pair from Four, the boy from Twelve – they were still alive.
But maybe those two deaths had been enough to split the pack. Maybe this girl was on her own. Lucinda glanced down at Aloe. Maybe they could handle her. Maybe the dogs would help them. Or maybe…
Lucinda took a step forward. "Care to join us?"
Octavia Branshaw, 18
District Two
For a moment, they simply stood there. Octavia shifted the cleaver's weight in her hand – the cleaver she had retrieved from the fountain where Quint had drowned. Quint's dagger was tucked in her backpack. Quint was dead. Opal was dead. She had no idea where the rest of the Career pack was. Maybe joining these two wasn't such a bad idea.
Two. Octavia cocked her head. For a moment, she was sure there had been three of them, but it had been dark. These two, however, were definitely still here. Here, and surrounded by some rather fierce-looking dogs. The two tributes didn't appear to be armed, but there was no telling whether the dogs might be on their side, and she was outnumbered…
Octavia shifted the cleaver to her left hand and held out her right to the older of the two girls. "You've got a deal. Octavia."
"Lucinda. And this is Aloe."
Aloe shifted uneasily but finally held out her hand, which Octavia shook. "We've got food," Lucinda offered. "Some bread, meat, cheese – that sort of thing. And a few pigeons."
Octavia raised an eyebrow. "Pigeons?"
Aloe nodded. "Yeah. The dogs are good at catching them."
Octavia chuckled. "So how did you…?" She gestured to the dogs.
"We found them in one of the restaurants," Lucinda explained. "It was Aloe's idea to feed them, and they've been following us around ever since."
Octavia nodded, impressed. "Most people would have run."
Aloe shrugged. "You didn't."
"I'm a Career."
"So?" Aloe scoffed. "You think that means you're the only ones who can be brave?"
Octavia smiled and clapped Aloe on the shoulder. "I guess not."
Ebony Timberough, 18
District Seven
Pulling the hatchet out had probably been a mistake. There was more blood now – so much blood. And she didn't have much to stop the bleeding. She'd managed to tear off Arti's shirt, which felt wrong, but she wasn't exactly going to use it anymore. But it hadn't been enough to stop the bleeding. Not completely. She hadn't been able to tie it tightly enough around her own shoulder, and Whisper had run off.
Not that she blamed him much for that. She would've run away if she could. But that was out of the question now. It was just a matter of how long she could last before she bled out.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps. Quiet footsteps, but still footsteps, getting closer by the sound of it. "Over here!" she called out, hoping maybe Whisper had come back. Even if it wasn't Whisper, it wasn't as if things could get any worse. "Help!" she tried again, but her voice was getting weaker.
A girl came into view – one of the younger ones. District Eleven, maybe? Yes, that was right. The younger girl who had stayed at the cornucopia. Rose, wasn't it? She took a step back when she saw the blood and Arti's body. "What happened?"
"Couldn't tell who it was in the dark until it was too late," Ebony muttered. "Stupid. Shouldn't have happened."
Rose looked down at the weapons that lay on the street – the axe that had been in Ebony's shoulder, the dagger that had killed Arti. Both lay there, waiting to be used. Instead, the girl took something out of her pocket. A bottle of water. It was hard to tell in the dark, but it looked like she'd dropped something into it. The younger girl knelt down by Ebony and held out the bottle. "Here."
Ebony drank the water, then lay back down. The pain was already starting to fade. "What'd you put in it?"
Rose looked away. "It'll help with the pain, but…"
"But it'll kill me."
"Quickly. It won't hurt."
Ebony closed her eyes. Everything was already starting to get fuzzy. "Fair enough."
Percy Allen, 12
District Six
Boom. The sound of the cannon made Percy jump even though he'd been expecting it. Actually, he'd been expecting it a bit sooner. Even if the dogs decided to help, what chance would Lucinda and Aloe really have against the Careers? The other cannon would probably be coming soon. No, it was good that he'd gotten away while he could. He was happy about that.
And he was happy. But somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that was just the pill. He'd taken one as soon as he'd seen the first Career, then run as fast as he could. And he hadn't stopped. He couldn't stop. He had to keep going, had to get as far away as he could.
Percy was grinning as he crashed into something. Some sort of gate. He opened the latch and kicked it open, then kept running. There were some sort of animals in here. Something very loud. Percy giggled. He couldn't help it. He'd never seen anything like this in District Six. The animals in front of him were huge, and one of them had a ridiculously long nose. It looked so funny.
And it was charging straight at him.
Percy ran even faster, back the way he had come, then off to the left. The street lamps provided enough light to see by, so he kept running until he could feel the pill starting to wear off. There was a building up ahead, so he ducked inside, panting for breath. "That was a close one," he gasped, not really expecting an answer.
"Who's there?"
Percy jumped, ready to run again, but there was something in the voice. The voice was scared. "I'm … I'm Percy," he answered. "I was just looking for somewhere to rest. I can go somewhere else if—"
"Can you stay?"
Percy took a step closer, his eyes finally adjusting enough to see who was speaking. A boy sat on the floor, leaning against one of the walls, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Why?" Percy asked.
"I … I don't want to be alone. I left my allies, and…"
Percy's stomach churned. The pill was starting to wear off, and the rest of it was starting to sink in. He'd left Lucinda and Aloe, just like they'd left Rose. He'd left them to die. He hadn't even thought about it. He'd just been so scared.
Percy nodded, sinking down beside the boy, who wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "I left mine, too," Percy said quietly.
"Whisper."
"What?"
"My name … it's Whisper. And you're welcome to stay, if that's what you want."
Percy nodded, leaning in closer. "I … I think it is."
Elemeno Pereira, 12
District Seven
Elemeno stared at the approaching shapes, larger than any mutt he'd ever seen. They were thundering towards him, unstoppable, their hooves shaking the ground. Elemeno blinked. He'd read about creatures like these. He knew what they were.
Elephants.
Knowing what they were, of course, didn't make it any better that they were charging towards him at tremendous speed, their heads lowered, their tusks gleaming. There wasn't enough time to run. There wasn't enough time to do anything. Except…
It was stupid. Desperate. But there weren't any better options. Elemeno braced himself as the first elephant drew near, its trunk swinging. If he timed it just right…
In one lunge, Elemeno caught hold of the trunk and clung as tightly as he could. Okay. Okay, maybe this wasn't so bad. All he had to do was wait for the elephants to stop.
They would eventually stop, right?
Elemeno gripped the trunk. He wanted to close his eyes, but he didn't dare. What if he needed to duck? What if the elephant ran into something? Maybe it was better to let go. But letting go now would mean being trampled.
Elemeno risked turning a little to catch a glimpse of where the elephants were headed. There was a building up ahead, and there seemed to be several shapes in front of it. Tributes. As he watched, the figures scattered, except for one – one who stayed put, holding something up to their lips. "Fermi, what are you doing?" one of the others called as the elephants charged.
Elemeno closed his eyes. He didn't see what happened to the other tributes, but he did feel something – a sort of pricking along his neck. Suddenly, the elephant swerved, its trunk swinging to one side. Elemeno tried to hold on, but he could feel his grip slipping…
Suddenly, he was on the ground. Everything hurt – especially his neck. He'd landed on something. Slowly, he rolled over and pulled something from his neck. A dart. Elemeno stared at it, gasping for breath. Whoever had stood in those elephants' path had stayed there just so they could shoot a dart at him? That didn't make any sense.
It wasn't fair...
Fermi Schoenberg, 15
District Three
Fermi clapped their hands as the cannon sounded. "Did you hear that?" he asked, giggling. "I got him!"
Squirrel shook her head as the elephants disappeared into the distance. "Or the mutts did. How could you even tell you hit him?"
Fermi rolled her eyes. "I was standing right here. Pretty good view, all things considered."
"If you want to get trampled," Squirrel pointed out. "What were you thinking? You could have been killed!"
Fermi cocked his head. "You know we're in the Hunger Games, right? Getting killed is the whole point."
"I thought the point was not to get killed."
Fermi shrugged. "Only for one person. Twenty-three people, the point is getting killed. And getting trampled to death by elephants – well, that would've been a pretty cool way to go."
"Do you want to die?"
"Not particularly, but if I'm going to, it might as well be doing something fun, right? That's why I volunteered, you know. I just wanted to have some fun."
Squirrel blinked. For a moment, she looked like she was about to say something, but apparently she decided against it. So she settled for glancing around the area, looking for the others. "Don't suppose you saw which way Malachi and Eddie went, did you?" she asked at last.
Fermi shook their head. "Not sure, but they can't have gotten too far. They were probably just scared." She rubbed his hands together, grinning. Scared was good. Scared might bring out Hyde. And Hyde was a lot more fun than Eddie. Fermi giggled. "Let's go find them."
Malachi Thorne, 18
District Nine
Malachi didn't look behind him as he raced towards the bell tower in the distance. He'd shouted to the others to follow him, but who had listened? Who had actually heard him over the pounding of those massive hooves? Maybe no one, but he was pretty sure he heard breathing behind him. And he'd heard a cannon.
But only one. That meant some of the others were alive, at least. Malachi clenched his fists. He should have helped them. He'd wanted to help them. But he'd just been so scared.
Finally, his feet brought him to the tower, and he started climbing the steps. Yes, that was right. Somewhere high. Somewhere he would be safe from the elephants. They wouldn't be able to get him up here. They wouldn't be able to—
Malachi was breathing hard, but he didn't dare stop. Not until he reached the top. Then, finally, he turned around, and let out a sigh of relief. "Eddie! Oh, thank goodness. Did you see what happened to the others?"
"Not Eddie," the boy chuckled, and there was something … something off about his voice. "Oh no, Eddie was too scared. All that emotion, all that fear. It was enough for me to break through, and now I'm not letting go."
Malachi took a step backwards. "What are you talking about, Eddie?"
The boy in front of him laughed – a laugh that shook the bell tower. Immediately, bats poured out of the woodwork, awakened by the sound. "Not Eddie!" the boy shouted again. "My name is Hyde!"
Malachi took a step back, raising his hands to swat a few of the bats away. There seemed to be more of them, and they were all swarming at him rather than Eddie. Rather than Hyde. He took another step backwards, and then another. Still, the boy in front of him was laughing, as if this were all some big joke that he didn't understand.
Then he felt a shove.
Eddie Hyde, 14
District Three
The cannon was almost too quick, Hyde thought as Malachi struck the ground with a crack. The cannon was immediate, which meant the older boy had died on impact. A shame, really. Hyde had been hoping to have a little more fun with him. Still, dead was dead. It was certainly the result he'd wanted, even if it was a little too quick.
He took the steps two at a time on the way down, wanting to make sure. It had happened occasionally before – a cannon for another tribute tricking someone into thinking their victim was dead, only for it to come back to bite them later. He wasn't about to let that happen to him. He hurried to where Malachi lay and felt for a pulse.
He really shouldn't have bothered, he realized as he looked up from the wrist he'd felt and saw the head. No one with their neck at that sort of angle would be alive. Hyde smiled, satisfied, then glanced around as he heard the sound of footsteps. Someone was coming. No, two someones by the look of it. Fermi and Squirrel.
Hyde held back another chuckle. He could feel Eddie struggling for control. Fine. Let him keep playing with his little allies for a while longer. Sooner or later, the whimpering little boy would realize what had to be done if he wanted to get out of this alive. Sooner or later, he would realize that it was Hyde who was going to save him – that it was Hyde who was going to survive.
But not yet, so he slowly slunk back into the depths of Eddie's mind, leaving the pathetic little boy weeping over the corpse of his former ally. It was mind-numbingly sad, really. He'd known Malachi for what? A day? And here he was sniveling and crying as if they were old friends. This was the Hunger Games. Everyone had to die. Everyone but him.
Squirrel Tail, 18
District Nine
"Eddie!" Squirrel called as she and Fermi raced towards where he was lying at the foot of the bell tower. Where he and Malachi were lying, she corrected herself as she drew closer. Only Malachi was…
Dead. Malachi was dead. She didn't need a second glance to tell her that. Squirrel knelt down beside the body and laid a hand on Eddie's shoulder, hoping he was still alive. No, he had to be. There had only been one cannon since the one that had belonged to the boy Fermi had shot with their dart. And the most recent one had definitely been Malachi's.
Eddie was shaking as he came to, stammering almost incoherently. "B-b-b-b-b-bats," he finally managed. "Th-th-th-there w-w-w-w-were b-b-b-bats in the t-t-t-t-t-tower."
Squirrel nodded silently. That explained the little claw marks on Malachi's face. But how had Eddie managed to escape unharmed? She glanced at Fermi, who shrugged. They weren't likely to get any more information out of Eddie for quite a while; he seemed pretty shaken up. "Maybe we should try to find somewhere safer," Fermi suggested.
"Or at least somewhere else," Squirrel agreed. Somewhere where there wasn't a dead body. She gently helped Eddie to his feet and half-carried him away from the tower.
Suddenly, a gentle pinging sound filled the air, and a parachute drifted down out of the sky. Squirrel caught it. Inside the package was a hatchet and a small slip of paper. She quickly read the words, then tucked the note into her pocket. "What'd it say?" Fermi asked eagerly.
"Just my name," Squirrel lied, the three words from her mentor, Dawn, already echoing in her mind. Don't trust them.
Squirrel glanced from Eddie to Fermi and then back again. She'd wanted to trust them. She'd wanted to believe that the three of them were working together. But clearly, Dawn knew something that she didn't. And Malachi was dead. Was he dead because he had trusted Eddie? But Eddie had seemed so inconsolable. But what if he was crying over what he had done?
Squirrel could see Fermi watching her with curious eyes. "Let's just keep moving," she suggested, helping Eddie along. "Find somewhere to stop for the night, and figure out the rest in the morning." But Squirrel already knew she wouldn't be getting much sleep tonight.
Aurora Flash, 16
District Five
There certainly didn't seem to be much left at the cornucopia. Aura had decided to wait until dark to investigate what had caused the explosion earlier. She'd been hoping that maybe the explosion had simply scared the Careers away, that maybe she could grab a few more supplies, but there didn't seem to be anything left of the cornucopia at all. She wondered absently if the helicopters had had time to collect the bodies from the bloodbath, or if they'd all been blown to bits, too. The girl she had killed … Was her body heading back to her family in District One, or would they get nothing but whatever bits of flesh could be salvaged from the remains of the cornucopia?
Aura shook the thought from her head, trying to tell herself it didn't matter. Whether there was a body or not, the girl was dead. If she died, would she really care whether her body made it back to her sisters? It was just going to end up in a hole in the ground, anyway.
If she died.
So she would just have to make sure that she didn't.
Aura took one last look around the cornucopia. It was dark, but not pitch black, thanks to the light from the street lamps. It was enough to see by, particularly if you were used to dim city lights. It was rather nice that they'd gone with something more urban for this year's arena.
No. Not nice. That wasn't the right word. None of this was nice. But it was … advantageous. Yes, that was a better word. Tributes from more urban districts were usually at something of a disadvantage if the arena was something more natural – a forest or a field or mountains or that sort of thing. But this … while it wasn't good, it was manageable.
If only the ground would stop vibrating.
Aura froze. Not just vibrating. Shaking. And it was growing closer. She could see something in the distance – something very large and very fast. As quickly as she could, she ducked inside the cornucopia – just in time to see the animals stampede past, completely uninterested in her. Aura shook her head. She couldn't help feeling sorry for whoever they were interested in.
Corin Palmer, 14
District Four
There was something coming. Something big, by the sound of it. Corin could feel the walls shaking as she and Sebastian peeked out of the window of the building they'd taken refuge in. They hadn't found anything to eat, but it had seemed like a safe place to rest for the night after the cornucopia had blown up.
Now she was beginning to wonder if coming in here had been a mistake. Whatever was out there, it was headed towards them – fast. Would they have time to make it to the door? Corin glanced up at Sebastian, who shook his head. "Duck!" he called, and the pair of them dropped to the floor just as something came charging through the wall.
Suddenly, there were hooves – giant hooves, all around her. Corin held as still as she could, but would that really matter? The beasts, whatever they were, didn't seem too picky about what they were stepping on. One nearly stepped on her, but she rolled out of the way just in time – right into the path of a large tusk, which sliced across her shoulder as the animals thundered on. Corin barely heard herself cry out in pain over the pounding of the hooves.
"Corin!" Sebastian was right beside her, but his voice was still almost completely drowned out by the noise. He threw himself on top of her, pressing something hard against her shoulder. A piece of his own shirt, she realized. He was trying to stop the bleeding.
Corin grimaced as the last of the animals stampeded past. Why couldn't the Gamemakers just leave them alone? First they'd blown up the cornucopia, and now this. Their little pack was already small enough without the Gamemakers trying to wipe them out completely.
Suddenly, the thundering noise of the mutts' hooves was replaced by a quiet pinging sound. "Now what?" Sebastian growled as a parachute floated towards them. Corin flinched, ready for another explosion as Sebastian reached out and grabbed the package before it hit the ground. But this one didn't explode.
Sebastian Banks, 18
District Four
Sebastian opened the package carefully, in case it showed any signs of exploding. But if the Gamemakers had wanted to kill them, the mutts could easily have finished them off just a few minutes ago. In fact, they could still come back for another pass while the two of them were distracted. There was no need to go through the trouble of blowing them up.
But the mutts showed no sign of returning, either. Sebastian carefully removed a loaf of bread, some sliced meat, and a hunk of cheese from the package. Corin raised an eyebrow. "They sent us food?"
"I guess it makes sense," Sebastian reasoned, setting the food down and reaching into his pocket for a knife, one of the few supplies he'd had on him when he and Corin had fled the cornucopia. "They know we didn't have much food with us when we ran. Now hold still." He sliced off a few more strips of fabric from the bottom of his shirt and finished bandaging Corin's shoulder, then turned his attention back to the food. He sliced off a few pieces of bread, made two sandwiches, and handed one to Corin. "Not exactly the position Careers are usually in at the start of the Games, huh? Having to rely on food from sponsors?"
"At least we have sponsors," Corin pointed out. "Someone out there still thinks we're worth sending food to. That's something, at least."
Sebastian nodded. It was something. Not much, but something. The Gamemakers had blown up the cornucopia. They'd sent mutts after them. But someone still wanted to help keep them alive, help their little Career pack get back on its feet. Sebastian took a bite of his sandwich, shaking his head, wondering if that would really be enough.
Fabrion Morrison, 16
District Eight
At least he hadn't gone too far. Fabrion smiled to himself as he crept back towards the hospital. He'd snuck off a little ways – far enough that they probably wouldn't follow him – and gotten a little rest. With any luck, the other two thought he was long gone. Maybe they had even let their guard down a little. He might be able to sneak back in and reclaim some of his supplies. The audience would like that.
Not that he really needed supplies – not yet, at least. He still had the food that was in his backpack, as well as a number of knives and scalpels he'd stuffed into his pockets. He'd left some of the supplies in a pile in the hospital because that was easier than carrying them around, but it would be a while before he was desperate.
Which was why the audience would love this. It was one thing for a tribute to steal because they were desperate. That was all well and good and exactly what was expected during the Games. But for someone who was already in a pretty good position to try to steal from two of the other tributes … well, that was interesting. That would grab their attention. Even if it didn't work out – even if they turned out to be paying too much attention for him to actually snatch anything – at least he would have tried.
Fabrion crept closer, and suddenly, he thought he heard something. A voice. Mumbling, maybe, or even … humming? Singing? Yes. Yes, that was it. As he snuck closer, he could even make out some of the words.
I've tasted love beyond all fear.
And you should know it's love that brought you here.
And in one perfect night,
When the stars burned like new,
I knew what I must do.
Fabrion held his breath as he crept in through the open door. He could see the two tributes now. One was lying on the floor, eyes closed. The other – the one who was singing – had his back turned to Fabrion. Fabrion could see a bag of supplies nestled near the sleeping tribute. All he had to do was grab it and run.
Lark Lucas, 18
District Twelve
"Now!" Dario shouted, whirling around as Lark sprang to his feet to confront the intruder. At least, that was what he'd intended. The idea had been for Dario to make it look like they were distracted, like he was singing to try to lull Lark to sleep. It had been a good idea. The trouble was, Dario's voice actually was surprisingly soothing, and Lark had actually begun to drift off. So instead of springing to his feet as intended, he staggered rather slowly in the dark, his mind still a bit foggy from the beginnings of sleep.
Immediately, the intruder took off back through the door he'd probably come from. "Damn it," Dario hissed, knowing their moment was gone. They weren't likely to catch up with the other boy in the dark – not with the head start he had now. "Thought you'd be a bit quicker."
Lark flinched. "Sorry."
"You should be."
"Well, I didn't see you go after him."
"Wasn't my job. You were supposed to tackle him; I was supposed to finish him off."
Lark shook his head. "Maybe next time."
"If there is a next time."
Lark shrugged. "Look, there have been plenty of cannons so far. The audience isn't exactly starving for action right now. Besides, he didn't get anything, so he might be back later."
"Maybe, but the same trick won't work twice." Dario grunted. "Didn't even work once, really. You weren't supposed to actually fall asleep."
Lark could feel his cheeks growing warm. "I was tired, okay? It's been a long day. And in case you've forgotten, we are going to need to get some sleep at some point – for real."
Dario smirked. "Yeah, and since you blew the ambush, you get to keep watch first."
For a moment as Dario lay down, Lark thought about arguing, but he thought better of it. He had rather made a mess of the plan. Besides, maybe Dario would be less grumpy in the morning if he wasn't so tired.
Dario Baretti, 18
District Five
"What was that song, anyway?" Lark asked as Dario rolled over, trying to find a more comfortable position.
Dario sighed. "Learned it a while ago, from an old lady I met once."
"Didn't figure you'd be the singing type," Lark chuckled.
Dario rolled his eyes. "Usually only around my sister, Petunia. It was just … the first thing I thought of, I guess."
"Because you miss her."
"Never been away from her this long before," Dario admitted. No matter how bad things had seemed in Five, no matter how rough he'd had to get, Petunia was always there waiting at home, and that was enough. It was enough to know that he would see her again, and that she would always bring out something … something human in him. Something he was sometimes afraid he was losing hold of.
What would happen if he didn't come back?
Dario pushed the thought from his mind. He would be coming back. He'd made it through the first day of the Games, and he could make it through the next. And the next. And the next. As long as it took. Whatever he had to do. He would make it home, and Petunia would be there waiting for him.
Dario closed his eyes, humming quietly to himself. Slowly, humming turned to singing.
You who I cradled in my arms.
You, asking as little as you can.
Little snip of a little girl,
I know I'd give my life for you.
Dario smiled as he drifted off to sleep. Back in District Five, Petunia was watching. She would be watching him. For now, it was enough to know that she was there, that she knew how much she meant to him. That he would do his best to make sure he came home to her.
Aloe Brittle, 13
District Twelve
"Did you stay awake all night?" Lucinda asked as she sat up slowly, yawning. "You were supposed to wake Octavia, and she was supposed to wake me."
Aloe shook her head. "I guess I just lost track of time."
Lucinda cocked her head. "That's not it, is it."
"What?"
"You didn't want to wake her up because you didn't think you'd be able to sleep while she was keeping watch. Am I right?"
Aloe shrugged. "She's a Career."
"Yeah, but there's not exactly much of a pack left," Lucinda reasoned. "Maybe we're—"
"What? The new Career pack?" Aloe rolled her eyes. "Give me a break. She didn't want to fight because there were two of us and a pack of dogs. That's it. She doesn't trust us, so we shouldn't trust her."
"She trusted us enough to fall asleep with one of us keeping watch," Lucinda pointed out. "You could have killed her at any point during the night, but you didn't. That's trust. I don't think she's planning on killing us – not yet, at least."
"Not yet?"
"Well, this is the Hunger Games. We can't be allies forever. But that's true about you and me, too. If it came down to the two of us, what would you do? What would you expect me to do? Eventually, we'd have to fight. But that doesn't mean we can't trust each other now."
Aloe shook her head. "I still don't trust her."
Octavia chuckled as she sat up. "Then you've got the right idea, Aloe. But so does Lucinda. That's how Career packs usually function, after all. All those well-trained tributes, working together because they know it's the best strategy … until it isn't."
Aloe snorted. "So what went wrong this year?"
Octavia shrugged. "Quite a few things, apparently. Lucinda was right; there's not much of a pack to go back to, even if I wanted to." She smirked. "Looks like I'm stuck with you for now."
Here's where placements currently stand:
24th - Vicarys Flask, D6. Stomach sliced with a sword by Hyde.
23rd - Nirel Jackson, D11. Stabbed in the chest by Quint.
22nd - Opal Granite, D1. Stomach sliced with a dagger by Aurora.
21st - Quint Delgado, D2. Drowned in a fountain by Baoba.
20th - Arti Aveneuro, D10. Stabbed in the chest by Ebony.
19th - Ebony Timberough, D7. Poisoned by Rose after being sliced with an axe by Arti.
18th - Elemeno Pereira, D7. Shot with a blow-dart by Fermi.
17th - Malachi Thorne, D9. Pushed out of a bell-tower by Hyde while being attacked by bats.
District Placements:
12th - District Seven. Best Placement: 18th.
Current Alliances:
The Careers still have sponsors: Corin & Sebastian
Getting suspicious but still together: Fermi, Eddie/Hyde, & Squirrel
Making friends with stray dogs and a Career: Lucinda, Aloe, & Octavia
Getting some sleep - for real this time: Dario & Lark
Left their allies when things looked rough and found each other instead: Percy & Whisper
Alone for now:
Baoba
Aurora
Fabrion
Rose
