Chapter Thirty-Six, Mesmerized

Zinque had woken up a tad late compared to the other tributes. According to the sun, it was about 11 o'clock in the morning… Lazily, the boy stretched and yawned, trying as best as he could to ignore his sore muscles.

Up to date, he had to admit that he had been particularly lucky. No one had ever been after him and since he did not even have a clue about where he was, it was very likely that no one else knew.

The young man took the small Swiss knife he had gotten at the Feast and began to look around for a source of food. As he walked through the forest, he heard a voice humming along a lullaby and consequently decided to go the opposite way, not exactly requiring any kind of social activities with an unidentified tribute…

Eventually, the District 11 boy found some small game to hunt and thus started to build a simple snare with some fishing wire he had gotten from Harbor.

He had been in the process of skinning a rabbit when he heard rapid footsteps coming from behind him. His first reaction had been to hold on his catch and hide. You never know, he thought as he took cover in a nearby bush to watch a running tribute flash before his eyes. He stared incredulously at the teenager as he let him slip by. Since when was that one kind of fast?

It took a few seconds for Zinque to realize that he had just missed the chance of making his first human kill of the Games, but then he heard his stomach rumble. The kill would have to wait… The boy went on with preparing his rabbit, but stopped halfway through, not being able to resist the temptation of proving himself worthy of the Hunger Games.

Letting go of the rabbit, Zinque clutched his Swiss knife and looked at the ground, following the trail the previous tribute had borrowed. It's not like he won't get killed anyway, figured the young man's conscience, and I did give him plenty of time to escape… In all sincerity, he did not really enjoy the idea of killing another teenager, but he did not like the concept of being dead either, so he began to run, guided by the distant and terrified screams Artemis Fowl could not help but let out every now and then.

Silyah had been running after Artemis for what had seemed like a long while. The symptoms of her poisoning had yet to be completely cured, making her unable to keep up with him from the moment when he had left her side, screaming as if he had just seen a ghost. That boy is such a tiresome challenge to keep alive! The girl would have sighed hadn't she been struggling to breathe. But Artemis Fowl could not let himself die, right?

After a few more meters, the girl realized that there were now three runners in the race. A dark-skinned boy – Zinque, if Silyah remembered correctly – had joined the chase, putting an obstacle between Artemis and her. At least, Silyah could still hear her ally, meaning that she was not losing her pace.

Although the girl could not have seen it, Zinque grinned as he began to run faster. Unlike Silyah, he had no problem catching up with Artemis; he was getting closer to him with each stride. The young man could even see him clearly now. A few more feet and Artemis would be within his reach…

Silyah sprinted forward as she saw the District 11 boy accelerate. She would certainly not let Artemis die today.

In front of the platoon, Artemis was far from having a good time and the reason as to why was not that strange; being chased by hallucinations of dead people was not exactly on his list of favorite activities… Not to mention that he had not even noticed that his actual pursuers were far from being dead and that one of them wanted to kill him.

Not seeing clearly, Artemis tried to outrun his non-existent foes, unaware of the real danger he was in. The boy looked over his left shoulder, still seeing Kalheb and Aquilna following him. It was of course at this very moment that the raven-haired boy's foot got caught in a treacherous root. Needless to say, a contact with the ground shortly followed the event.

Zinque had been about to take that opportunity to jump forward and launch an attack on Artemis when suddenly, one small fist closed up around his massive wrist. The District 11 boy turned around, surprised to see that someone had been following him. However, before he could have any kind of reaction, the girl's second fist had a meeting with his face.

At first, Silyah had to admit that it felt really good to let go of her frustration on a human punching bag, but then, her cracking fingers made her wince.

Can I take down two people one after the other? wondered Zinque, clenching his jaw. Of course, physically, he was more than able to do so, but during that instant, he had been thinking of the moral aspect of the thing.

As Zinque laid his hands on the girl from 3, Artemis managed to snap out of his strange state, or at least, that was what he hoped. "Silyah!"

The brunette tried to dodge Zinque's assaults as best as she could, but her lack of coordination got the best of her. That was one solid punch she had just received in the stomach! The girl crumbled to the ground, gasping for air.

Artemis's mind was now running at full speed. Why did situations like this one kept on sneaking in his life? Well, there was no time to think about an answer to that question, not when Silyah was in danger… Briefly he evaluated his surroundings, then took the closest thing at hand, which happened to be an acorn. He tossed it towards Zinque hoping that it would make the big District 11 boy look away from Silyah.

Feeling the slight 'thump' behind his neck, Zinque turned to Artemis. This was getting ridiculous! He had been punched by a girl and now, he had gotten an acorn thrown at him!

"Really? What are you, a squirrel?" Had Caskar been present and still delusional, he would probably have confirmed the theory.

No, I am a criminal mastermind, thought Artemis, so tempted to use the reply, but figuring that it would most likely not help his case. There was probably only one Panem resident who knew that fact and that was Silyah… So instead, the boy focused on the point at the base of his skull. Even though it was faint, there was still a small twinkle of magic left in Artemis… Enough to use the mesmer on Zinque. "Back away from her. You will not harm her, nor me," said Artemis, his voice sounding melodically deeper due to the layers of magic lacing themselves through it.

Zinque blinked back a drop of sweat falling from his brow. He was staring in Artemis's eyes, not really knowing what had just happened.

"Can someone tell me what is going on?" asked a new voice.

What a good question! thought Silyah as a fourth person joined the group…All of a sudden, this chase through the woods seemed to have turned into an extremely strange reunion.

A spontaneous plan then formed in Artemis's mind. "Kill Zinque!" he said, giving the newcomer the order with a slightly shaking voice. Due to his mesmer, the District 6 girl did not even give the command a second thought…

Silver Canemon – who had arrived shortly after having heard Artemis and Silyah's familial voices – took her blow cane between her fingers; glad to have received a new component for her weapon at the Feast.

Still feeling numb after his own experience with the mesmer, Zinque barely reacted when Silver got closer to him. The girl from 6 moved a tad slower than usual due to the same reason, but she was still fast enough to give the District 11 male a cut on the shoulder.

At this point, Zinque's survival instinct too over him; no magical bound prevented the boy from harming Silver. In one sharp movement, he raised his leg and kicked Silver's side, aiming straight for her ribs.

The girl stumbled back, her arm wrapping around her injured torso. A few of her ribs were probably broken…

Zinque gained in confidence as he saw his opponent in pain. That would surely give him some credibility in the Capitol. He grabbed Silver by the shoulder, violently punching her in the chest to then move up to her temples.

The brunette let go of a scream, twisting in Zinque's strong hands as Artemis and Silyah tried to help her out without many results. Silver clenched her teeth together, hurling the sharp end of her blow cane in Zinque's abdomen. As the boy tried to fight back, Silver twisted her cane in his stomach, deeply digging into it. Soon enough, a gush of blood escaped Zinque's lips and the boy fell on top of Silver… Then a cannon announced his death.

Silver gave a short gasp, crumbling under the dead body's weigh.

"Silver!" Silyah ran towards her old ally. "We're going to get you out of this…" Swallowing back her disgust, the District 3 girl tugged on Zinque's arm; trying to free Silver from the corpse prison pinning her to the ground. Artemis soon came to help the girl, not that it made that much of a difference…

Finally, with a lot of struggle, the two District 3 tributes managed to remove the deceased from Silver, who gasped for air, a pain-filled look on her face.

"So," she coughed, eyeing the two teenagers, thankful for their help. "Have you two snogged yet?"she asked quietly, trying to lighten the mood.

Silyah blushed as Artemis helped her drag Silver away from Zinque's remains without causing the injured girl too much pain. The boy also felt his cheeks grow warm.

Silver smirked. "So, did he need to lay dying at your feet, Angel?" asked the District 6 girl faintly.

Silyah bit her lip and nodded.

Artemis gave the two brunette girls a look. "That was what you had meant earlier; when you said that Silver had been right…"

"Yes… She never gave up on her view of our… relationship…" Silyah spoke the last word, unsure if it had been the right one.

The two tributes from 3 gently laid Silver on a patch of soft grass, realizing that they were not too far from the meadow in which Silyah had been defeated by a plum tree.

Artemis nodded slowly. "How did you come to such a conclusion anyway?" he wondered.

Silver gave him a rather smug smile. "I guess I just saw some sparks," she replied before gasping in pain. "Bloody ribs…"

Silyah sat on the ground beside her as a hovercraft appeared in the sky, already picking up Zinque's remains.

"Well, looks like there's only us and that oaf of a Caskar left…" murmured Silver slowly. "Though soon, it's only going to be you and the oaf…"

"Don't say that…" Silyah shook her head. "We'll…" Silyah stopped halfway through her sentence, not really knowing what to do or say.

"You don't think Caskar is an oaf?" asked Silver, well aware that Silyah had not been referring to that part of the statement.

The brown-haired girl from 3 laughed softly despite the fact that she was already going through her first aid kit.

Silver coughed weakly. "So, lovebirds," she began. "How about showing the audience your love? After the scene we gave them, they'd adore a bit of romance…"

Silyah's gaze went from her first aid kit to Silver, giving her a glance that meant something like: 'Really, you think about that when you are seriously injured?'

Silver rolled her eyes. "Do I have to help you start?" she asked, moving carefully in order to grab one of Silyah's hands and one of Artemis's, dragging them closer to each other. "Do I have to tell you how to kiss as well, or can you figure that part out?"

Artemis's mouth hung open for the next second or so then, he looked at Silyah, taking in her features. There was probably no other being in the Universe who knew so little about affection than Artemis Fowl. Well, actually, there might have been one other person and she was just beside him with a similar expression on her face.

Silver rolled her blue eyes. "So you do need the help then…"

"Silver, do you really think this is the right time?" For a second, Silyah felt like the shy girl she had been before the Reaping.

"Angel…" said Silver, still referring to Silyah by her nickname. "I want to see you two together before I die…" There was no room in Silver's mind for her to even consider that she would heal from her injuries and survive the Games. "You see… You remind me of… Well, me and Edan…" There was a faint spark in Silver's eyes; the soft spot behind the attitude.

"You won't die, at least not yet." That was a very feeble attempt at being positive, even coming from Silyah.

Silver gave a faint chuckle. When she spoke again, her voice was as light as a whisper. "When your dreams seem too far from the reach of your hand," she sang faintly. "When the only thing left… Leaves your side once again… Then just call my name, let me help you through… Let's fly to Evire Strey," Silver ended her lullaby in a murmur. She had sung it before in the Games; once for Jehl, then for Novia and now, she sang it for herself and perhaps for the two District 3 tributes.

Silyah squeezed Artemis's hand. "What should we do?" she whispered, referring to Silver's state.

Artemis's face seemed more or less devoid of emotion. He did not know… "I…"

"May I suggest you kill me and go kick Caskar's big self-loving Career backside?" whispered Silver, knowing that she would not stand the pain for too long.

"Do you think that we would ever stand a chance against that jerk?" Silyah's eyes were both huge from worry and from astonishment. Silver, the invincible Weapon Girl had just asked them to kill her.

Silver chuckled once again. "You're the brains, Angel… Caskar is… Well… Anyway… He only has one eye, you know… I poked the other one out… You two can take him…"

And then, thought Silyah, I would have to go kill myself…

"This is absurd," said Artemis, having been quiet for a while. "We need you to help us."

"And then what? I'd not kill any of you… I'm already going to die, even if you don't kill me… You two have to get rid of Caskar and win… It is the only way this can end…" explained the District 6 girl. "And when you go on your Victory Tour together and come to my District, give this… To a boy named Edan," she said as she untied her necklace, handing it over to Silyah. "Say that I am sorry and that if he ever starts dating Locket, I'll haunt him from Evire Strey."

Silver seemed to have so much hope for the tributes from District 3 that Silyah almost felt like believing in her words. She took the necklace offered to her. She wanted to ask the District 6 girl what would happen if they were to fail, but if she really was to die, Silyah did not want her to bring worries to Evire Strey.

"Now…" even if it was hushed, Silver's voice was determined and strong. "I know you both hate shedding blood, but not killing me would hurt me even more… So…" The girl faced Artemis, aware that Silyah would not be willing to do such a thing. "As a genius, I'm sure you've got an alternative…"

Artemis's face seemed gloomy and pale, but he nodded as he opened his backpack, taking out the truffle box he had been sent by a "sponsor." They will come to use once again, he thought bitterly.