Song Suggestion: Jon Bellion ft. Castro, Logic, & Blaque Keys – "When the Lions Come"

Place Values

Prim was sure Snow wanted to kill her now. Salt the Earth of her existence. He must be fuming, sitting in his luxury, knowing for this moment he could not end her because she was the darling of the game. It was of no use to deny this. In a week, it would not matter, her power hollow as bird wings, but now it did.

The only thing Brighton managed to grab on his first day was an ever-ready fire pack. It was why he was running from the forest to the frozen wastelands. They rationed the water and food, and they tried to resist lighting the fire for as long as possible. But when the winds picked up, the area around them so white from blistering snow a person couldn't see but a few feet in front of them, they finally broke down and lit the fire. It would stay lit for up to 24 hours, and then they'd have to move along. Her rumbling stomach reminded her they might have to move before that, if only to find something to eat.

Prim sat in front of the roaring fire, rubbing her hands together, attempting to feel something. The wind caused snow flurries around her, and even with the fire she felt the cold deep in her bones. Even living in District 2 with Cato, with all the perils that entailed, did nothing to prepare her for this. It was an engineered cold meant to decimate.

Brighton moved in his sleep behind her, giving a whimper. Whether from cold or nightmares, she did not know, probably both. He did not want to go to sleep, still distrustful, but exhaustion won, and she took the first shift.

A snapping of something echoed in the wind, and she tensed. She bet the Gamemakers cooked up something wicked and deadly for this wasteland. She wished she had Gale with her. He would know how to survive even these inhospitable conditions.

How long had it been? Four hours? Six? Did more people die? The wasteland stranded her in a sea of white, as she drowned slowly. She knew if they did not find a way out soon, it would kill her. It was the most dangerous section of the games for obvious reasons. However, the one silver lining was that she felt safe enough to light a fire. Who else would be crazy enough to camp out in a wasteland?

Despite herself, her eyelids drooped. She tried to pick them back up again, but it was of no use. She slipped down into dreamland.

A few Hours Later

She woke up just in time. A knife blade flicked past her cheek, missing its target and burying itself in the snow next to her. Ruby Rose growled, face cracked and bleeding, the rose tattoo weeping with fractures.

She attempted to tug out the knife.

"Cold makes metal stick," Prim said, remembering Cato's brutal lesson during training. She must do something unexpected.

Prim sprang forward and bowled her over, pinning down her arms to her sides. Ruby thrashed like a wildcat. Her back arched and an unearthly scream exited her mouth. The sound of desperation slicked down Prim's back, and she almost broke hold when Ruby thrashed again.

"Help me," Prim managed to get out through clenched teeth.

A tousled Brighton joined the fray, recently awakened and landed on them both. The weight caused all the air in her lungs to release, and she wheezed in bitter cold air. For each inch they rolled from the warmth of the fire, the icy fingers of winter snaked their way through her skin, attempting to peel her apart and freeze the liquid in her body.

"Get my rope," Prim managed to get out in gasps.

"Right. Don't let her go!"

Prim wanted to roll her eyes. Well fucking duh… I'll just let her wander away with a good day and a wave of good luck.

Brighton released his hold, and Prim briefly wished he hadn't. She didn't know how much longer she could contain Ruby.

He rummaged for what seemed like forever.

"Hurry!"

"What do you want me to do with it?"

Prim didn't know. It was their only tool she could think of that would be useful.

But it was a little too late. Ruby wrapped her legs around the back of her knees and flipped them around, reversing their positions. One forearm smashed against her throat while the other hand inched its way closer to the gleaming knife, encased in powdery snow. Sunshine glinted off it like a lost diamond.

Ruby grimaced in concentration. Prim attempted to block her hand, but it was of no use. Ruby's fingers grasped the hilt of the knife and yanked it out.

With a grunt, Ruby let go and raised both arms. Prim became a sacrificial lamb below her, hands instinctively going up to protect her face and neck, trying to turn away.

Before Ruby brought down the knife, Brighton draped the rope around her neck. It slashed tight as he tugged upward. Ruby fell backwards into Brighton, dropping her knife in panic. They collapsed into the snowy ground, making patterns in the snow as they twisted side to side. Her hands went up and attempted to loop themselves under the fraying rope, but Brighton did not let up. He pulled and pulled. The top part of her face turned purple and blood vessels burst in her eyes.

"Let her go," Prim demanded of Brighton. But he did not listen. And why should he? It was her life or his. Dog eat dog. Survival of the Fittest.

Except that was what Snow wanted. He wanted asphyxiation and spilled guts. He wanted to take this boy's soul and make it unrecognizable. It was his choice to make, but it wouldn't happen on her watch.

Ruby may die later, but not today.

"Let her go," she repeated and lunged forward, tugging the rope so Ruby could breathe.

"No!"

Brighton continued to strangle her, but Prim gave Ruby just enough oxygen to gasp. It was just enough for her to reach down and grasp a small metal rod sticking out of her boot. She flung it backwards. A crack and Brighton's eyes fluttered upwards, falling back into the snow unconscious. A well of blood flowed from the cut, painting the white snow with crimson droplets.

"Fuck," Ruby said when the rope fell. Her face was still purple, her hair wild, a rope imprint on her neck, already bruising, and for the first time, Prim noticed a horrible burn stretching down the back of her arm all the way to her wrist.

She glanced at Prim, eyes wide and pleading, a deep fear blossoming in the depths. And then she collapsed.

"Well," Prim said, attempting to catch her breath. It came in deep gasps. "What am I going to do now?"

A Few Minutes Later

Prim used precious strength to tug both unconscious bodies next to the ever-ready flames. She propped Ruby Rose up against her pack. She made a brief noise of pain and attempted to wake. Prim shushed her until her eyelids drooped again. Taking the rope, she wrapped it around her upper torso, being careful about her burns. She chicken-winged her arm out and up, making another knot so that it left her wrists immobile, but the injury exposed so that she could treat it.

Brighton was awake by this point, making moans and grunts. Prim ignored him. His wounds were superficial. She thought he might have a concussion, but his pupils weren't blown, and they were the same size, so she doubted it was that serious. Ruby on the other hand…

Her burn looked gruesome and serious. It was raised and puckered, charred and wet. The flames must have bit her hard, and Prim knew she would die without medical intervention.

Prim put a hand to her forehead. Despite the blistering cold, her head already felt like a sauna. Adrenaline mixed with a serious injury. She might go into shock. Prim got to work, tearing strips of cloth from the bottom of her shirt with a knife. It wasn't sterile, but it was better than nothing. She scooped up ice, not applying it directly to the skin. Ice on burns would seem to make logical sense, but in Prim's career as a healer, it only seemed to make it worse. Instead, she melted the ice in her hands until it was cool, not cold, and applied the water to the wound, attempting to cleanse it.

Prim wished for some sterile bandages and, at the very least, some alcohol. In its absence, she began wrapping the strips of bandages tenderly around the wound. It was at this moment, Prim realized she was being watched.

Prim, so focused on healing, had gone into a small trance unaware or her surroundings. When she looked up she saw Brighton sitting across the fire, shadows playing on his features, making him look a demon. He wore a frown and worried his lips with his teeth while holding his injured head with one hand. He glared out of the one eye not covered.

Ruby was awake too now, her tattoo shivering as her teeth chattered. Prim imagined petals could fall with the force. Her dark eyes stabbed her. She watched her movements like a bird of prey, suddenly seeing a mouse scampering on the ground.

"I'm going to kill you as soon as I find a way out of these ropes."

The threat fell flat. Prim shrugged.

"Fortunately, I was taught how to tie knots by Gale Hawthorne. You won't be getting out unless I wish it."

"And what about when the fire goes out? From the looks of it, it seems about half to dead. Not sure why you're tying me up anyway, if you're just going to kill me."

Prim shrugged again. There were holes in her plan, and she had not yet solved them.

"Don't try to analyze her. This one is off her rocker. Said she won't kill a fucking thing. Thought she was bluffing, but it's two down, and now I just think she's suicidal.," Brighton said from beyond the fire.

"Won't kill?" Ruby asked. "But these are the games?"

"I told you, she's crazy."

Ruby grew silent for several minutes, probably trying to analyze the person who held her captive. In the history of the games, there had been types who would not kill at the start. Eventually, the games and fear would wear them down. They'd miss their mother and realize the only way to reach her embrace again would be to put a knife through someone's flesh.

How could Prim explain that she had already been in the game for a long time and was growing weary of the looming guillotine. Half her life she had tiptoed with death, flirted with disaster. She was tired of murder and hatred and fire and pain.

No more. Not from her, at least. The world could burn, and she would be water. Other people may not see the value or the courage in it, but Prim never felt so alive. It felt like the most dangerous thing she could do.

"Shouldn't you be with your lover boy?" Ruby asked her

"Which one?" Brighton snarked.

Prim mouth made a click sound as she tightened her jaw.

"Shouldn't you be with the other careers, making alliances to smoke out rats like me?" Prim snapped at Ruby.

The girl scoffed.

"An alliance? With which career? Jace the rapist? No thank you, I'll pass on his creepy ass. Besides, he almost killed me already once. I'm not about to give him another chance. And don't you even mention Cato. He doesn't need me to kill. He's not seventeen and scared. The only one not afraid of him would be Theodora or maybe you, and last time I spied on him, he had been a lone wolf, no sister-in-law in sight. Asking him to be allies would be a quick trip on a Capitol hovercraft."

"She's right," Bright said, "He killed the male tribute from District 4 at the cornucopia. The skinny one with long hair. Stupid fuck thought he could pair up instead of die. Cato made him understand his error. I was hiding under a branch. Almost shit myself when he walked by, thinking he'd find me too. The careers in this game don't play by the normal rules, which is why I'm gunna be straight with you, Prim. This one needs to die." He leaned forward, almost into the flames. "Any other district besides 1,2, and 4 and I'd think on it, but her… A career can never be trusted."

"I'm not a career." Ruby glared. "I was forced into this shit show."

"I'd forgotten you were reaped," Prim admitted. "How did you get an 8 then? That takes at least a little bit of knowledge."

"I'm not a completely daft or lacking in every category like the walking zit over there. I was in the academy until I lost to that bitch Lily Anna, the fucking cheater. I made it to level six, before being kicked out. So I'm not just some easy prey, and don't you forget it."

Prim almost responded, but Brighton stood with Ruby's knife in his hand. She wasn't sure how he got it.

"I'm not waiting anymore. Sorry Prim, but the bitch isn't even lying. She'll kill us. Look, I'll even do it. Your conscious can remain bright and shiny."

Prim stood up as well. Brighton was attempting to be intimidating, but she had gone toe to toe with Cato Carthage and would not wilt.

"Sit down," Prim said, calm but firm. "No one is killing anyone."

"Or what?"

"Just because I won't kill someone does not mean I will be pushed around. I have value alive and as an ally. Lose me and you lose you medical and edible plant knowledge. Good luck finding something to eat."

Brighton glared at her for a whole minute. The campsite thrummed with tension. Finally, he crouched.

"The knife," Prim extended her palm for him to hand it to her.

He chunked it across the fire with a glower, almost violent in his pout. It brushed by the flames before landing near her toe, glinting as it went.

"Thank you," Prim said, gently, bending over and picking it up. She hated the weight of it in her hand. "You see, when it comes to survival, everyone has a place value. Mine is valuable alive. Others are more valuable dead. I decided early on to ignore the fact that your value falls somewhere in the negatives. You bring nothing to the equation. Alone your survival prediction is dead by nightfall. Remember this. The only way you can make it through this trial and the next few is if we stick together, all of us. The Gamemakers want us at each other's throats. Blood will only divide."

Prim stopped just short of treason. She never felt more like Cato. She almost felt sorry for the upstart. The implications of what she proposed went past Brighton's head. His face fell in what must have been shame.

"Whatever. If she attacks you again, don't expect me to save you. Negative place value, my ass. I'm taking a nap. Don't bother waking me up except for mortal peril." He snuggled against his pack, inching close enough to the fire without getting burned.

Prim turned back to Ruby Rose, picking up her arm and continued to gently adjust the bandages. Ruby eyed Prim as if she was a curiosity that must be solved and flinched with each movement. Prim was impressed with how stoic she acted despite being in terrible agony.

"Your burn is very serious."

"I'm aware."

Her eyebrows were raised.

The implications might have flown by Brighton, but they did not get past Ruby Rose, a girl more intuitive than she looked.

"Together, huh?" Ruby asked.

"Together." Prim nodded.

With that Prim reached in her pack and brought out the pill bottle. She had twelve in all. Taking one, she placed it next to Ruby's mouth. Her eyes widened. These pain killers were the type that erased pain completely without muddling the mind.

"You're giving me medicine?"

"It'll get rid of the pain for a time but isn't a cure. If we get back to the forest, I may be able to find something to help, but I'm not sure we can do much else without Capitol intervention."

Ruby's face scrunched into all sorts of lines, but she opened her mouth and took it, taking a swig of water from the canteen with it. After gulping, she once again stared at Prim, as if shaken.

"You're an idealistic little fool, but I think you might be the most dangerous of us all." She grinned. "I might have to kill you before the zit."

Her voice was softer, as if teasing.

Prim couldn't help but grin back. District 1 and 2 were filled with people who glorified violence. Their gallows humor was what made them human. She had begun to appreciate the threat merged with wit a long time ago.

"Place value, Ruby, remember place values, especially since you are dying, and it looks as if I'm your only hope."

Ruby drew inward.

With that the both looked in the fire, lost in their own thoughts.

A Few Hours Later

A gong sounded. It rumbled under the snow, shaking Prim awake. It thrummed along the air, the sound waves rippling around her. She felt it in her bones.

"What was that?" Brighton said, shaking himself awake as well.

"My guess is it's something deadly," Ruby deadpanned. She was awake, almost nonchalant, her arm still chicken winged out. A part of her bandage sagged, revealing her wound weeping with puss. By the look of it, Ruby might not have much time left.

"What should we do?" Prim asked.

"We need to leave," Ruby said, something a little off in her voice. A tremor betrayed her.

Prim agreed. Something did not feel right, the air too still. The wind died down. The snow drifts gleamed around them, and the brilliant sun baked them in the sky, already giving each of them sunburns across their faces. It hovered in the middle of the sky, telling the participants it was noon. Prim didn't waste any more time and stood, gathering up her canteen and a few crumbles of beef jerky.

"What are you doing?" Brighton asked. "We can't leave the fire. We'll die out there."

"I think we do. Something's wrong. We've stayed still for too long, and that gong—"

"It sounded before the fire too." Ruby said.

Prim pulled back a second. She was right. It did. Moments before the fire and smoke, that deep reverberating gong sounded. It was something to do with the design of the game, she was sure of it. Though that didn't help her in the present.

"Well fire can't burn on snow," Brighton said, "so I think we're—"

"It won't be fire again, fucking moron." Ruby said.

"Call me moron one more time you—"

"Hold up," Prim said, interrupting them, "What's that noise?"

A high pitch whistle sounded on the breeze. As it grew louder, she realized it was blood curdling screams that ripped their way under the skin and buried in the soul. Prim resisted covering her ears.

Both Ruby and Brighton grimaced at her, realizing at the same moment that they were in danger from something they could not see or predict.

"What do we do?" Brighton asked, pacing around the fire. He somehow held the knife again. It slashed around his thighs as he made a trench in the snow while walking back and forth.

"Untie me," Ruby said. She struggled to stand. Between the knots in the rope surrounding her and the weakness from her wound, she plopped back down.

Prim whole body hummed with anxiety and the indecision on what to do.

"Don't you fucking do it." Brighton cried out. "She'll kill us!"

The whistling grew louder. The high-pitched screaming beginning to mess with her head.

"Allies," Ruby pleaded with Prim, locking eyes with her, "I want to be allies. Untie me and I'll help you with whatever is coming."

They didn't have much time left. She felt something insidious on the breeze. If she left her as is, Ruby would die. However, once the danger passed, there was no telling if she would stab her in the back as she promised.

"Why?" Prim asked, talking loud enough over the screams, "Beyond the present danger, why would you want to be allies?"

"Because Cato is the biggest threat besides Jace, and I'd rather get on his good side. I'm safest with you."

"You still shouldn't. You'd have better luck on your own. I'm not going to kill, so I might just be a burden."

"No, I probably shouldn't, but in the end, I should. It's the difference between wrong and smart."

Prim nodded after a few precious seconds, still not convinced she was making the right decision.

"Okay."

"Good, because it's fucking coming. So if you're going to untie me, you'll need to do it now."

Prim's head snapped up. On the horizon, a darkness rolled towards them. A pitch-black cloud, coming down like a nightmare wave, sucking up all the light in its path.