Chapter 30:
Day Two
Anastacia Astoria, 18, District One
If she wasn't blind, Anastacia would be a lot more embarrassed and angry at how things have turned out as she heads back into their camp with Delta. At least she can't see the looks on their faces when they tell the rest that the two of them were beat by a boy from Six who has prostheses for both legs. She guesses they now know exactly why Elias earned an eight in training.
Still, she's glad she won't be able to see the smug look on Major's face when she stumbles back in, dried blood on her forehead from getting knocked into the stone and following after Delta's angry footsteps.
But she is sad she won't ever get to see the smug look disappear from Major's face when she finally punches it away.
"What happened to you two?"
Anastacia turns her head in the direction of Odyssey, seemingly genuine concern for them in his voice. She gives a shrug as Delta speaks up in an angry huff, "Elias."
Anastacia trips over something and Demarcus lets out a noise of surprise. She catches herself and tries to pat him on the shoulder, but from the feeling of hair, she knows she hit his head instead. "Sorry Demarcus," Anastacia says quietly as she hears someone snickering and immediately turns in the direction of the bastard, sending a glare at her District partner. God, she can't wait to make him pay for what he did to Pad. She sits down next to Demarcus before she can trip over someone else – last thing she needs is for one of them to let her fall into the fire – and tries to hear if everyone is around. But it's hard to hear over the sound of Delta stomping around the camp. "He knows how to fight, that's for sure. And he was crying over his ally, so that's who the cannon was for."
"The girl from Ten?" Bell asks and Anastacia nods her head in Bell's general direction. She keeps note in her head of where she is, hoping she can get her alone so she can talk to the girl from Two about Major. At least she doesn't have to worry about Major overhearing her. "Nice job, Odyssey. She was the one you shot, right?"
"Yeah…" Odyssey says quietly, almost to the point where Anastacia can't hear him. He clears his throat before speaking up at a louder volume, "Well that brings us to fourteen left. Almost half of the tributes left are right here."
He clearly meant to be lighthearted about that statement from his tone, but Anastacia feels a tension settle over the group at that. They make up a huge portion of the remaining tributes and without any casualties to their group yet… How long until one of them turns on another? Or one of them gets badly injured in a fight? That could have been Anastacia…all because she can't fucking see.
Of course, the one to finally break the tense silence is the one person who has no idea what they are talking about. "Hey octopus boy, you going to tell me what's going on?"
"Octopus boy?" Anastacia asks in confusion as Odyssey answers Major, even though her District partner can't hear his response.
"They got hats and Odyssey's is an octopus while Major's is a squid," Bell tells her.
"Oh," Anastacia says quietly before muttering under her breath, "A snake would have been better."
Anastacia falls into silence, listening a little to Odyssey and Major as they talk about what happened. She starts tapping her fingers on her thigh, feeling like she should be doing something. The thought of their alliance making up nearly half the tributes has her on edge because if Major were to get the pack to turn against her, she only has one other person on her side for sure. And that's when Delta isn't being angry as she drags Anastacia off hunting someone and won't share who.
Which means Anastacia has to get at least one more person on her side. She knows Major has already gotten his slimy fingers wrapped around Demarcus. And at this rate with Major and Odyssey as travel buddies, he's a goner. Leaving one person for her to hopefully convince…
"Hey Bell, can you help me find…um…a blanket in the pile of supplies?"
Anastacia wishes she could see Bell's reaction because surely the girl is smart enough to realize she should have asked Delta instead. "Sure," she finally answers and Anastacia hears her moving and tries her best to follow her without needing assistance or tripping over anything – or anyone – again.
Once she feels herself step into the cornucopia and away from the view of the others, she crosses her arms and leans against the cool metal, hopefully facing Bell.
"So, do you trust Major?" Anastacia asks her, immediately getting a scoff from Bell that brings a smile to her face. "Well that answers that."
"I don't trust anyone in this arena," Bell answers her and Anastacia nods her head in agreement.
"Not even Odyssey?"
"I…" Bell starts and Anastacia can hear the hesitation in her voice. "Yes. Even though I shouldn't."
Anastacia stares over at her for a few seconds, wondering what it would be like to know she could fully trust her District partner to have her back in this arena. To not be afraid that her allies will turn on her and she won't see them coming or have any warning. To be able to sleep comfortably at night and not fear getting a knife in her back. But if she has to remain on guard 24/7 to win for Pad, then she will. After all, how could anything be worse than suffering through the loss of her best friend? "You're lucky."
"You wouldn't say that if you knew everything," Bell says with a humorless laugh and Anastacia raises an eyebrow at her in questioning. But Bell diverts the topic back to her, "Anyways, why are you asking if I trust Major?"
"Because I want to make sure you don't," Anastacia tells her, once again wishing she could actually see the non-verbal cues that could give away things Bell doesn't want to say. "He's a bastard who will do whatever to win with no regrets who he hurts along the way."
"But aren't we all just trying to win? You're telling me you wouldn't do whatever it takes to win?" Bell asks her and Anastacia starts frowning, knowing Bell absolutely has a point. "And why should I believe you? I think we both just agreed you can't trust anyone in the arena."
"I…" Anastacia starts, before cursing under her breath. Bell is absolutely right. "Just…think about everything he did when we were in the Capitol. Surely he did something that seems suspicious looking back at it now."
They stand in silence for a long minute, Anastacia just waiting for some sort of sign from Bell. So long passes that she starts to wonder if Bell has walked away without her hearing. Until finally she hears a small sigh from Bell and she mutters something under her breath that she doesn't quite catch, something about…me sure? No, that can't be what she said. Fuck this hearing damage from training. Anastacia raises her eyebrows at her and Bell clears her throat. "I see your point."
"Good," Anastacia says with a small smile of satisfaction. "He's a bastard that we cannot allow to win. Delta knows too and she's with me."
"So it's us against the boys?"
"Yeah," Anastacia answers, not having realized that up to this point. "Unless you can get Odyssey on our side."
"I don't know about that…" Bell says slowly. "He…we…no, sorry, I don't think I can."
"Please just try," Anastacia says, not really believing that Bell will actually listen to her. "He seems like a nice guy and you two are close. I'd hate to have to turn on him for siding with Major, but I will if it comes down to a fight between us. I don't think you would like that either."
Again, Bell is silent for a while and Anastacia is left wondering what happened between these two. They had been so close during training and during the party, until suddenly they weren't. "Sorry, I don't think I can do that. But I think us three girls can take him down without Odyssey."
Anastacia just shrugs at this. If Bell doesn't want to try to save Odyssey from the inevitable clash, so be it. The life of one doesn't matter in the long run of her plans after winning, and part of that plan is taking down her District partner. She holds out her hand in front of her and it only takes a moment for Bell to take it and shake it firmly. "Welcome to the plan to take down the snake."
Fox Durham, 18, District Ten
Fox doesn't want to sit in silence with Amelia, afraid to be alone in his thoughts and where they will take him, but he doesn't know what more to talk about. He could barely sleep last night as every time he shut his eyes, his mind kept replaying over and over and over again Adam's death. He kept thinking about his baby and just hoping with everything in him that the baby the Head Gamemaker's mother had been watching at the party was Adam's baby… He can't even begin to think about the alternative without bringing tears to his eyes.
But the worst part was when he finally fell asleep and the nightmares came and replaced Adam with Paloma.
He gave up trying to sleep after that despite being exhausted, too terrified from what he saw happen to Adam and the nightmares about his wife and unborn child. And so he sat in silence for hours until Amelia finally gave up trying to sleep too, haunted by her own set of nightmares surrounding the Games.
And so they talked. They talked and talked, both trying to keep their minds busy. Fox talked about Paloma and Maddox for a while, but stopped when he realized talking about family was making Amelia upset. She talked about the university program and Clark helping her apply. Fox could listen to her talk about the program for hours and hours, imagining what it's like to study at that level of education since he's been out of school for years. Even if he didn't understand half the things she talked about, he still enjoyed listening to her.
"Tell me more about your classes," Fox asks her, getting an amused look from her.
"Do you want me to just teach you what I've learned?" Amelia asks him teasingly, but Fox nods his head in all seriousness. She stares at him in surprise for a moment, "I don't know if I'm a very good teacher-"
Sudden fanfare of trumpets immediately puts them both on edge and Amelia reaches out and clasps his hand out of fear, holding on so tight Fox can feel his hand cramping up. "It's too early for a feast," Amelia whispers, her voicing shaking as Fox nods his head in agreement. "I'm scared."
"Me too," Fox answers honestly, even though he's been afraid for the entire time they have been in the arena. So afraid of someone finding him that would hurt him, unlike Amelia who agreed to be his ally. So afraid that he would die and leave his children without a father. And so afraid that he will be forced into a situation where he has to fight and hurt someone.
"If it's a feast, we're not going," Amelia says stubbornly, but there's no scenario where Fox would have said yes to going to a feast. "We'll figure things out on our own."
"Hello tributes and welcome to the second day!" Kora Flickerman says cheerfully when the fanfare comes to a stop.
"How can she be so cheery about death?" Amelia asks under her breath and despite being a relatively positive person himself, Fox has no idea.
"I know you are all surely wondering what this announcement is, so I'll cut to the chase," Kora continues before pausing for a moment. "The Gamemakers have a special arena event planned for you! In the pit where you first launched, two tributes will be competing in the first Trial by Combat – a fight to the death with perhaps a reward for the tribute that stands victorious."
Amelia and Fox share a look with each other at this information, eyes wide in fear. That…is possibly the worst situation Fox could be put in, forced to fight against someone or he will be killed… And as he stares at Amelia, an even more terrifying thought fills him. "Two tributes…"
Amelia shakes her head, eyes turning glossy in fear. "Please not us."
"The tributes who will be fighting in the first Trial by Combat are…" Kora gives a lengthy pause, only giving time for Fox to grow more afraid that she is going to say their names. "Delta Zale and Carameuse Juniper!"
They both let out loud sighs of relief at the two names and Amelia slowly lets go of Fox's hand. "I guess there's a reason behind that 12…"
"Yep," Fox says, still terrified by the idea of being put in a fight against someone else against his choice.
"Delta and Carameuse, you will now be brought into the prep rooms for the fight. And while this is only between two tributes, we encourage you all to attend and view this spectacle! It is sure to be quite the fight. Also Head Gamemaker Seraphim kindly requests that the careers relocate into the stands for the fight and appreciate your cooperation. Best of luck to Delta and Carameuse and may the odds be ever in your favor!"
Fanfare signals the end of Kora's announcement and when it ends, silence fills the room. Amelia gets up and starts pacing, rubbing her eyes and taking shaky breaths. "Should have known they would do something like this, it's a Quell."
"But we're safe," Fox tries to reassure her, yet he doesn't quite feel safe. The announcement has shattered the bubble of false security he had and bitterly reminded him that threats can come at any time. "They didn't pick us."
"For now," Amelia turns to him and Fox immediately wants to start comforting her when he sees her eyes watering. "She said it's the first one. How long until they pick one of us and make us go against a career like Carameuse? Or against each other?"
Fox doesn't know what to say to her. He doesn't know what the Gamemakers are going to do… "We're going to be safe."
"We're in the Hunger Games, we're never going to be safe," Amelia says, voice low and sounding so hopeless. "I'm sorry, Fox… If I get put into a fight against you, I'm going to fight for my life."
Fox frowns at this, but finds himself nodding his head. "I understand…it's the Games. But that's not going to happen."
"How do you know that?"
"I don't, but it's what I'm choosing to believe," Fox shrugs at her, seeing in her face that she doesn't believe that.
"I don't want to end up like Aero," Amelia whispers to him, her voice cracking as she says her brother's name.
"You won't," Fox reassures her, wanting to comfort her before even realizing what that would mean for him. And yet…he isn't fooling himself. He knows that she has the better chance of winning compared to him.
Amelia shakes her head at him before turning towards the door. "I'm sorry, Fox, I never should have agreed to being your ally… I don't want to hurt you by staying with you."
"Amelia, wait!" Fox calls out as she starts walking towards the door, but she doesn't stop. He can't be alone in this arena…he's too scared of that. Fox runs after her, grabbing her arm and gently stopping her before she can reach the door. "Amelia, please… I don't want to be alone."
"I don't either," Amelia says as she looks back at him over her shoulder with tear stained eyes. "But I don't want to hurt you."
"We don't know that will happen. There's still more than half left. What are the odds they pick us?" Fox asks slowly, desperate to convince her to stay. He can't be alone…not after what he saw happen to Adam. If he is alone for too long, he won't be able to stop himself down the spiraling thoughts from watching his fellow dad die… "And right now we are safe together." He gestures between them, "No one is making us fight right now."
"No…" Amelia says slowly.
"No, what?"
"No, we're not being forced to fight right now…" Amelia continues, still not looking convinced. "It's just…it will hurt so fucking bad if I let myself stay. I know I'll get close to you and I don't know what more loss I can take. If I stay, we can't be all buddy buddy."
"Just strictly allies," Fox reassures her and watches her take a deep breath, before turning around to face him. "That's it, just allies. No being friends or anything."
But they both know it's rare for allies to remain just allies.
Seraphim Lukianas, Head Gamemaker
"We're all set to go, sir."
Seraphim nods his head at Laelia and takes a deep breath as he watches the two tributes being prepared for the Trial by Combat. He should be feeling more excited about watching the arena event he's had planned for months since shortly after they solidified the arena design. But he can't relax and enjoy it. Not until he knows for sure that the rebels are not going to interfere in any way with this and they will have removed the threat. Maybe for the next one on day four he'll be able to be excited about it. Then Holly will be gone. There's just too much uncertainty between then and now.
"And the careers have temporarily relocated into the stands surrounding the pit for the fight," Laelia continues, pointing at the screen showing the alliance as they prepare for one of their own to fight.
"Let's wait to show the two to the viewers until they have appeared in the arena, but get it ready," Seraphim directs his crew and Delta and Holly soon appear on a split screen as they're being directed into new launch tubes. Delta goes willingly into it, face burning with anger as she keeps switching her trident from hand to hand and bounces on her toes. Holly has to be pushed into the tube, no doubt knowing that there was a reason for her being there. Her bow is shoved in with her last second before the glass closes, bringing the two tributes back up into the arena for what should be Seraphim's crowning moment.
Yet he feels like he might start hyperventilating at any moment.
"Deep breaths," Laelia says softly beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder. He glances over at her, finding her looking very concerned about him. "We've worked out all the details about this and it will go smoothly. So just sit back and watch a problem be removed."
Seraphim nods his head at this, turning his gaze back to the screens as the two tributes are brought into the arena and the country – and the remaining careers – get their first glimpse of them in their new outfits. Of course, they aren't brand new outfits. There was a reason Seraphim told the stylists to make sure the chariot outfits were fully functional. And standing there in the sunlight of midday, weapons in hand and mutts surrounding them to keep them fighting, Seraphim can't help but be a little awed at it – the way Delta's sea blue armor reflects off the sunlight or the way Holly's cherry wood armor shows so many more deeper colors in the sun compared to the city lights. Seraphim knows that this is the kind of thing in the Games that he would have loved to see as a kid growing up.
And that brings a smile to his face.
"Yes, queen!" Odyssey yells at Delta, causing Bell to shake her head at him as she does her best to keep telling Anastacia and Demarcus what is going on. The girl from One smiles a little at the description of the tributes and nods her head, but Demarcus remains anxious about his District partner, despite the unfair matchup. And Major is just sitting there with his arms crossed, his eyes intensely following Delta as she prepares to fight and ignoring the rest of his alliance.
The two tributes stare each other down from opposite ends of the pit with two very different emotions. Holly is shaking in fear as she rapidly looks around her, taking in her location, the bear mutts surrounding the edges of the pit and growling in her direction, and of course, Delta. The career doesn't take her eyes off of Holly, trident firmly in her hand as she braces her feet to start running towards the girl.
It will be a completely unfair fight, but Seraphim only feels a small flicker of pity for Holly. But the rebels were not fair when they shot him last year or when they have repeatedly tried to sabotage his Games.
"Ring the gong and let them fight," Seraphim says coolly, rubbing the spot on his arm that still pains him to this day, and feeling no more pity for the rebel.
The gong rings once in the arena and it's all Delta needs to jump into action, racing across the pit towards Holly, trident poised and ready to use once closer to the girl. But Holly doesn't stay put either at the sound of the gong and she sprints towards the edge of the pit. Delta diverts her path as she tracks Holly, quickly gaining on the girl as she tries to race around the edge of the pit.
"Stop her running," Seraphim calls out to Magnus and the head of the mutts grins and gives him a thumbs up before putting in a command for his mutts. As Holly runs past one of the bear mutts, Delta gaining on her quickly, the mutt lunges forward and smacks her down, sending her sprawling and rolling across the ground.
Holly cries out as Delta catches up to her, screaming in anger as she brings down her trident to stab the girl with it, but Holly rolls away from her. The blades of the trident dig deep into the ground and Seraphim has no doubt that it would have been a fatal blow if it would have hit.
Delta lets out a yell of anger and leaves her trident embedded in the ground to tackle Holly, pushing the girl into the ground as she holds down her back. With a primal rage, she grabs onto Holly's shoulders and lifts her up before slamming her head face first down into the ground. She does this several times, leaving Holly's nose bent and bleeding profusely, but there's nothing she can do to stop Delta. No one can stop Delta in this rage.
Delta flips Holly onto her back and pins down her arms with her knees. She pulls Holly by the shoulders closer as she leans down towards the girl who whimpers in fear. "You killed him!" Delta yells at Holly before shoving her hard to the ground and the girl's head hits the ground with an audible crack. Holly groans in pain as Delta glares down at her, face red in anger, and Seraphim starts wondering if he'll need to cut the audio for the live feed.
"I'll destroy every last one of you!" Delta screams in her face before leaning back to begin pummeling Holly's face. Holly tries to raise her arms to defend herself against the first few blows, but Delta has her completely pinned down. Blow after blow hits Holly, knocking her head side to side, and she whimpers in pain with each one. But Delta doesn't relent. Not until her hands wrap around Holly's throat.
Holly tries feebly to push Delta off as her airways are cut off, but it's over. There's no way for her to escape the vengeful career. Holly starts gasping for air, her face turning purplish under all the blood covering it, and Delta leans closer to her, staring intently into the girl's eyes as she chokes the life out of her.
Finally, Holly's vitals flatline and Seraphim lets out a breath he was holding. The threat is gone. "Fire the cannon."
Boom.
Delta looks up at the sound of the cannon and it takes a few seconds for it to sink in past her adrenaline fueled rage. She slowly lets go of Holly's neck and stays there, breathing heavily before a smile slowly starts to form and she lets out a yell of triumph.
"We have our first Trial by Combat winner."
Arthur Bramble, 17, District Eleven
It has taken every ounce of Arthur's survival instinct to fight back the creeping paranoia that has been present since his sight was first taken away from him. It's only been growing with each passing hour. Being alone without his sight…he should have tried harder in training to practice without his sight, like Cal did… But Cal died, somehow… Arthur can only speculate what happened to his former ally. But he hasn't dwelled on it too long, not liking the bit of resentment deep in him that Cal never answered him calling for him at the start.
Arthur had thought he found a good place to hide after the bloodbath. After all, he had found a room full of food after getting no supplies at the cornucopia. And he doesn't regret leaving with nothing, not when there were two careers with him. Clearly it was the right choice when one looks at what happened to the other two tributes that launched with them. But then he took a bite of an apple that was just…off and then another one was, and Arthur put the pieces together then. Sure, there is some food in here that won't harm him. But there is also a lot that is meant to poison anyone that tries to eat it and lost their sense of taste. He didn't trust any of the food after that and was thankful when the sponsor gift arrived and has been surviving on the tea, slowly drinking it as it has miraculously stayed warm still.
Except…Arthur hadn't expected to use the thermos as a makeshift weapon. He hadn't thought twice about throwing the metal thermos when he heard someone, and that thought alone terrifies him. He relies so heavily on his instincts back in Eleven when it comes to survival and knowing his instincts made him attack first… He didn't want to hurt whoever came into his room. He doesn't want to hurt anyone, but knows that in the Games, it's only a matter of time until he has to if he wants to live… But he was scared and paranoid that someone was lurking around in the room and he had no clue who it was. If it even was a someone and not a something. But the thought of being in a room with some mutt that he doesn't know will push him over the edge to full paranoia, so he has tried to keep assuming it was a tribute. Yet if they came here once before, what's to stop them from returning? Will he be as lucky the next time and get away unscathed?
Arthur doesn't want to stay in this room any longer for that reason and fear that the Gamemakers will grow bored with him staying put and decide to kill him. His paranoia had kept him in place though, afraid that he would leave and run into another tribute and not know until he had a knife in his chest. There's too many careers left, enough to be out hunting at all times. He just needed the right opportunity to leave the room when he'll be at minimal risk.
And the Trial by Combat is that opportunity. After all, are the careers really going to go out hunting when one of their own is in a fight to the death? Well…maybe, but Arthur is counting on the answer being no. He knows his own instinct would be to watch what happened to an ally so he can only hope they are the same. And he sure is glad that it was not him that was picked to go against a career.
But he might be picked next time if he doesn't do anything and the Gamemakers decide to get rid of him.
That's it, he has to get moving. Arthur takes a deep breath as he leans up against the door, doing his best to try and hear out into the hallway, so dependent on that vital sense now that he has lost his sight. And yet…nothing. No footsteps. No talking. Just the sound of his own breathing. Okay…just need to go through that door.
Yet he still hesitates. Arthur has never hesitated this much in his entire life. He always had to keep on a brave face in dangerous situations and a level head, knowing that he could make things worse if he started to panic. He's rushed straight into burning buildings before without thinking twice. But now he can't even step out into a silent hallway, held in place by fear of running into someone without knowing it and even worse, what he might do if that does happen.
"Just go, Arthur," he whispers to himself as he puts his hand on the doorknob. He won't get another opportunity like this again to move without the careers out hunting.
Arthur counts to three, preparing himself for whatever he might find, before opening the door and stepping out into the hallway. He waits a few long seconds, trying his hardest to hear anything that will send him back into the room. But the only sound in the silence is his racing heart. But the open is the worst place to be – and he doesn't even quite know what the arena looks like down here – so he steps forward, hand out in front of him, until he reaches the wall on the opposite side. He starts walking along it, keeping his hand against it and focusing on taking long deep breaths to keep himself calm. He can feel the wall sloping as he walks along until his hand brushes against a door, making him jump back for a moment in shock. He shakes his head at himself before reaching out with both hand, feeling for the doorknob. When he finds it, he doesn't open the door right away and instead presses his ear against it, afraid of who could be behind it.
But there's only silence. Silence that lets his paranoia grow until the announcement echoes around him, announcing Delta Zale as the winner of the Trial by Combat. The announcement has him rip open the door in fear that the careers will be on the move again and he quickly steps in and shuts himself inside. He takes a few moments to bring his breathing back down before starting to walk around the edge of the room, struggling to place what it is when it has such a foul smell to it.
A door clicks open – not the one Arthur entered from – and loud thumps sound on the ground and approach him before he can even hide or think about defending himself. Hot breath hits his face, stinking of raw meat before a roar has him cowering against the wall. "Please don't kill me! I was- I-" Arthur tries to think of a reason to give the Gamemakers that might stop them from having whatever the mutt in front of him is kill him – he can almost put the name to the roar – but fear has frozen him up, leaving only one thought.
He should have stayed put.
Delta Zale, 17, District Four
Delta stares at the crackling flames they all sit around in almost complete silence as the sky continues to darken with the setting sun. None of them have quite known what to do for the remainder of the day after the Trial by Combat, leading to the unusual circumstance of all six of them being present for more than one hour. The adrenaline of her fight has long since passed away, the blood washed off her hands, and leaving her behind with…she doesn't even know what she is feeling right now. She thought killing Holly would fill her with satisfaction at finally destroying a rebel like she has promised to do ever since her father was sent out by them to the most dangerous place and got him killed. She swore vengeance on the rebels and she got that.
But why does she just feel numb and empty and without a purpose? What does she do now after killing Holly? She knows the answer is to keep fighting and win the Games, but that's always been the overall goal of volunteering. That still seems far off, especially when all six careers are still sitting together around the fire with only thirteen tributes left. She knows her biggest challenges standing in the way of her winning are sitting with her.
"How are you doing?"
Delta looks up from the fire at Demarcus as he carefully sits down next to her, doing his best with his new blindness. She stares at him in confusion at why he's asking this – they're on good terms, but Delta wouldn't exactly call them friends between her inability to know what to say to people her age and Demarcus being, well, Demarcus. She gives a grunt and a shrug before turning her gaze back to the fire. "I'm fine."
Delta can see Demarcus nod his head from the corner of her eye and they sit in silence for a few minutes, which Delta is fine with. Well, normally she would be fine with this. But sitting in silence just leaves her in her mind and in this confusion of what to do now.
Finally, she gets a break from her thoughts as the anthem begins to play and she turns her gaze up to the sky at the Panem seal, waiting for the one face that will be shown today. Holly's face appears along with Kora announcing her name for those that can't see, but she announces her under her false name. Delta stares up at her face, feeling a little flicker of rage in her once more, before reminding herself that she is gone. She is no longer a threat.
All too soon, the sky grows dark and they fall into quiet once more. Demarcus clears his throat next to Delta, but she doesn't look over at him. "You fought well today."
"You didn't even see the fight," Delta answers him as she leans back to lay down on the ground. She puts her hands behind her head and stares up at the sky, trying to get comfortable in the new set of armor she assumes they'll let her wear for the remainder of the Games. She'll take the advantage as her reward for being loyal to the Capitol and taking out someone they wanted dead.
But why does she still feel so unfulfilled?
"I…" Demarcus says slowly before giving a nervous laugh. "You're right. But Bell described it and it…well you reminded me a lot of Okeanas."
"I like that comparison," Delta answers quietly, feeling just a bit smug about the comparison to her mentor. Who wouldn't want to be compared to Okeanas? She's a legend in Four. And so is the woman she mentored who is now mentoring Demarcus. "You're lucky to have Muir mentoring you."
Delta turns her head to look at him, finding him turned back towards her. He gives a small shrug at the statement, "She's very nice, but just…so last minute."
"Yeah," Delta responds to him, not knowing what else to say. Again they fall silent and Delta thinks about their mentors, wondering what they are doing right now. Maybe they're getting some sponsors for her. Surely people want to sponsor her after the fight. Well, assuming Okeanas doesn't bitch them out by being her normal self.
The image of her doing that makes Delta chuckle to herself. Demarcus gives her a confused look and she just shakes her head. "Nothing, just thinking about Okeanas."
"I see," Demarcus responds seriously before slowly smiling at the unintentional pun. "I don't actually see," he says with a small chuckle.
Delta just shakes her head at the bad pun, already having heard it or some variation of it too many times from Odyssey and it is only day two. "You have spent too much time with Odyssey."
"So if people don't mind, I think I want to head out tonight."
Delta turns her head towards Bell and gives as much of a shrug as she can from where she lays on the ground. She doesn't care what the others do right now and she doesn't want to head out tonight. Why should she when there's no tribute she's trying to hunt down?
Delta watches Odyssey write out something to Major, who picks his head up to look over at Bell right away. "I'll go hunting with you."
Bell stares at him for a long moment, her face unreadable. "I'll stick with Demarcus." Anastacia gives a snicker at this as she keeps slowly sharpening her sword and staring across the fire and Delta isn't sure if she meant to be glaring at Major because she's currently staring at no one.
Major briefly shows offense on his face when Odyssey writes out Bell's reply, before turning it into a sickly sweet smile. "Well I don't blame you, Demarcus is a good guy. No problem at all."
"Demarcus?" Bell asks, turning her attention back to her assigned partner.
"Yeah," Demarcus stands up next to her and brushes off his toga. "Do I have time to get ready?"
"We have nothing but time right now," Delta answers and she realizes that's the problem. She has all this time to just sit and think without any immediate goal. She still doesn't know why she doesn't feel fulfilled by killing a rebel. But she knows that she needs to have something else to focus on right now, something to devote all her time and energy towards.
And she knows what she could do.
Delta sits up as Bell and Demarcus begin their prep to go out for the night, but Delta isn't watching them – she has her focus on a different pair of tributes. The pair from One. Major might not be a rebel, but he's still a bastard. And if someone does something to betray someone, Delta doesn't care who they are.
They need to get destroyed.
Eulogies:
Holly Alder [7], Ranked 14th, Killed by Delta [4]:
I knew it, you knew it, we all knew this was coming and there was no chance Delta was going to let Holly get out of there alive - the question had just been whether the rebels would help her or not. And we have our answer to that. Holly has been such a blast to have as part of the subplot with her convoluted way of getting more wrapped up in the rebels than she planned to! Thank you JAJ for sending her in! RIP Holly (or should I say, RIP Carameuse).
Well, I can't tell you just how long I have been waiting to get to the Trial by Combats (TbC). What's a Colosseum without some gladiator fights? I've had the idea for them since before the Overlooked finale so a long time lol. And now we are finally here! No more hinting about what the "arena event" is after many hints about it lol. And I hope the first one did not disappoint with that fight between Delta and Holly.
So here we are, end of Day Two, and the drama is just getting started and it's only going to keep increasing as we get further in. As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter, especially the TbC! (Yeah I know, I shamelessly took the name from Game of Thrones lol).
Also the SYOT Alliance Forum is currently hosting the third annual SYOT Awards! We are in the voting time and have lots of great nominations, so if you're interested in voting, check out the link on my profile! :)
Also if you like my victors, I've recently started up a little for fun series called The Victor Memoirs! Each chapter takes a look at a moment from each victor's Games for some fun worldbuilding. If it's something you're interested, definitely feel free to check it out! (Also it is part of the sponsor point system so yay more points!)
Well hopefully Night Two will be out soon! I'm guessing I should at least have one more update this month before the year is over, maybe two. So see you then and buckle up, the Games are not going to slow down!