Chapter 33:
Night Three
Davy Emmerich, 14, District Five
Davy knows he's running out of time to follow through on his promise to the Gamemakers… The anthem has been shown on the wall with no faces today so they must be coming up on the 24 hour mark since he told them he would go back out today to find food. He doesn't want to risk the wolves turning on him and having his face be the next one shown…
He's not going to be a dunce like that cap proclaimed him to be… Davy glances over at the hat, still confused and hurt by it, but…he is starting to think that it wasn't Letha. There was no note with it and Letha would never send him something like that.
He is not a dunce.
Davy may be terrified, but he is not dumb. He knows what the Gamemakers want from him and if they think calling him a dunce will get him moving…then they're right. He wants to prove to them that he can do this, just as much as he wants to show Leandro that he is going to get back home to him. He has to get back home.
Which means it's time to do this. Time to find some food.
Davy stands in front of the door out of his room, knife in hand and hyperaware of the wolves behind him. With just a quick command from the Gamemakers, they can attack him and there would be no way he would get out of that alive if they didn't want him to. Which means he must show them that he is willing to do this.
For Leandro.
Davy takes a deep breath as he reaches towards the handle with a shaky hand, terrified of what he might find on the other side of the door, but less terrified of that than the wolves behind him that were once such comfort to him. Tributes are predictable. All of them are just trying to stay alive. But mutts? No one can predict what the Gamemakers have planned. Somehow six careers that have trained for years are less terrifying to him right now.
"Okay, I'm doing this," Davy says aloud and feels the device on his wrist buzz from his words, both to encourage himself to open the door and also to inform the Gamemakers not to attack him. No more waiting around…he has to get food.
Davy slowly opens the door, knife trembling in his hand with fear over having to use it. When no one is on the other side of the door, Davy hesitantly takes small steps, inching his way out of the room. He soon sticks his head out the door, just enough to look up and down the hallway to check that it's clear, but when he does, his heart starts racing immediately and Davy moves back into the room right away, but it's too late. He's been spotted.
Davy tries to slam the door shut as his wrist device's buzzing increases in intensity as Sky runs towards him before slamming her shoulder into the door, preventing him from shutting it completely. He puts his whole weight against the door, trying to get it shut, but she is doing the same to open it. His feet keep sliding on the stone floor, stopping him from getting the upperhand, and he turns to push with his back. He pleads at the wolves that sit against the back wall, watching him struggle, as tears of fear begin forming, "Please help me!"
But the wolves aren't the ones fighting to win the Games. Davy and Sky are the ones doing that.
Sky gives a huge shove against the door that sends him sprawling to the floor and she quickly jumps on top of him. Davy cries out as he tries rolling away from her, feeling her knife cut his shoulder. But she hangs onto him, even as he rolls over her and closer to the wolves. Sky grabs onto his hair, pulling his head back harshly and leaving his neck vulnerable and Davy barely has time to knock her hand away, but not before she starts to make a cut on his throat.
Davy's eyes begin to water in pain and fear as he realizes there's no stopping her from trying to kill him. He has to fight back against her. He swings his knife back at her and lets go of it when he feels it dig into flesh, immediately recoiling at the action. But it's enough to get Sky to let go of him and he pushes her away and scrambles to the opposite side of the room, watching as she pulls out his knife from her side, barely deep enough to do any damage.
Davy stares in fear as he realizes that he now no longer has a knife and he didn't even really harm her… "Sky, please, I don't want to fight," he tries to plead with her, hoping maybe she will stop, before realizing it's pointless since she can't even hear a word he just said.
Sky stares back at him for a few long seconds, both of them breathing heavy and Davy nearly petrified in fear. Sky says something before glancing down at the two knives she now holds, before starting to run towards him. Davy puts up his arms to shield his face from her, waiting to feel the sting of the knives, but it never comes.
Davy feels the vibration from noise and moves his arms, staring in horror at the sight of one of the wolves now attacking Sky and pinning her to the ground. She tries to fight it off, crying out as the wolf bites her shoulder. Davy presses himself further into the wall, terrified at what the wolf is doing, knowing that could have been him if he hadn't decided to leave. Another wolf comes over and bites her wrists, forcing her to drop the knives. The wolf that has stayed by his side steps over to Sky and Davy assumes that she will make the kill, but she just stares over at Davy expectantly, before leaning down to nudge a knife in his direction.
Davy is horrified at what the wolf wants him to do – or rather, the Gamemakers. But when Sky whimpers and begins to cry, making the wolf pinning her down snarl in her face…Davy hesitantly begins to step forward. He doesn't want to kill…but he doesn't want her suffering. And if this is a test…failure will mean almost certain death.
His hand is shaking so badly as he picks up the knife, unsure if he can even do this… Sky looks up at him with pleading eyes, causing Davy to hesitate even further as in the entire time in the Capitol, he didn't once see her looking so scared. "I'm sorry," Davy whispers as he crouches down and shuts his eyes as he plunges the knife into her chest.
Davy can feel the room vibrate along with the very aggressive vibration from his wrist, indicating a sound that still petrifies him, even if he can't hear it. He stumbles back, opening his eyes and staring in horror at the sight in front of him as the wolves leave Sky's body be, his knife protruding from her chest and face frozen in fear. He begins to breath rapidly as the room around him spins, and he has to shut his eyes. But that doesn't do much to stop the images of her body from replaying over and over in his mind.
Oh God…he just killed someone.
It was a mercy kill…he was doing what the Gamemakers want from him…right?
Davy opens his eyes and all he can do is stare numbly at his bloody hands as he tries to come to terms with what he just did. He killed someone… Someone who attacked him first and it was a mercy kill…but still, he made the final blow. Sky is dead because of him.
A sob escapes him and before long, he is curled up as tears pour down his cheeks as he stares over at Sky's body, terrified that he killed her. "I'm so-sorry," he whispers to her, knowing it's too late for her to hear him, but needing to apologize. "I just- I don't want to die."
And the worst feeling creeping up inside of him is the knowledge that he has to do this again if he's going to win… And he doesn't know if he can.
His wolf comes up to him and curls next to him, but Davy recoils in fear now that he knows just what they are capable of doing. And he didn't even do what he promised and go find food… Will they be happy enough with the kill? But can his stomach even go longer without food?
Yet Davy can't bring himself to move…even if he wants to get away from the sight and smell of the blood filling the room. The adrenaline is fading away, leaving him tired and starved as a terrible thought fills his head that Leandro might be afraid of him for killing…but no…surely he understands with his mom as a victor that Davy is just doing what he needs to do to survive…
Davy barely picks his head up as a silver canister floats down in front of him, even though there is a '5' clearly on it. He's afraid to look inside and see what it is, afraid that his mentor is going to shun him… But eventually when the wolf next to him nudges his arm, Davy jumps and reaches for the gift, terrified of doing anything that would disappoint the Gamemakers. His hands shake as he opens it, this time from feeling weak after the rush of the fight and lack of food, but when he catches the smell coming out of it, he starts crying right away and thanking the Gamemakers for not taking away his sense of smell.
Davy carefully takes out the mug of hot chocolate – even topped with whipped cream just like that last night in the Capitol – and takes a hesitant sip of it, immediately overwhelmed by the rich chocolate taste. "Thank you, Mrs. Calder," Davy whispers, knowing his mentor will be listening. He sets the hot chocolate aside before reaching back in and taking out a loaf of bread with a note.
"The first one is always the hardest… It won't get easier from here on, but just keep being brave. You're doing what has to be done to survive and we're both rooting for you. – Letha"
Davy brushes away fresh tears falling down his cheeks at the support from his mentor and the Capitol. He has food…he doesn't have to go back out and try to search for food, at least not yet. And… They're now at the halfway point. He's made it this far…what's to stop him from going farther?
"I'm trying my best," Davy tells Letha and Leandro. He's trying so hard to stay brave, but it's so hard in this arena to do that. But maybe it's okay to not be brave for a little bit. Just as long as he is when it matters most.
Amelia Fensa, 18, District Three
The sudden sound of the cannon wakes Amelia up, sending a chill down her spine. She searches the room for Fox, momentarily terrified that someone is attacking them in their sleep, and relaxes when she sees him sitting upright, staring back at her. Amelia rubs her eyes and holds back a yawn as she sits up, unable to fully rest at all the past three days, too tense every time she closed her eyes to let herself relax. Her body is exhausted from barely eating anything except a few bits of plants, but her mind is so alert with the constant fear of being in the arena. Fear and the constant reminder that she could so easily end up just like Aero… But already she has made it farther than him, giving her a small bit of hope that maybe she can actually do this. "That brings us to eleven."
"It's only the third night," Fox says quietly and Amelia nods her head. "Feels like it's going too fast."
"It is a Quell," Amelia says through a yawn before stretching her arms above her head. "Look at how short the last one was."
"I really hope this one isn't that short…" Fox says quietly and Amelia agrees with that, terrified at the thought of these Games being only five days and having only two more days left of possibly being alive. "Who do you think it was?" Fox continues, fear trickling into his voice as with every time there has been a cannon, and Amelia can't blame him. Every time she hears one, she is brought back to a year ago and has to keep telling herself that she is safe and can't change the past.
"Hopefully a career," Amelia answers bitterly, feeling resentment rising in her from it being a career – albeit an outer District career – that caused her brother's death. "They can afford to lose some of their own at this point. Balance out the playing field. But if they really wanted that, they would have made them all blind."
Fox shrugs at this, "I guess we'll find out tomorrow night, if…" He trails off, leaving the sentence unfinished: if they're still alive this time tomorrow.
And that's a big if… One Amelia isn't comfortable with. Tomorrow will bring the next Trial by Combat and with their lack of action, there's no telling what the Gamemakers will do. How much longer can they rely on her recent family history in the Games or Fox's young family to keep them popular in the eyes of the Capitol? Probably not much longer…not with them at the halfway point and not having made any kills yet.
"We need to get moving," Amelia says as she starts gathering their feebly amount of supplies together. She doesn't understand why someone sent her a pirate hat and Fox a stuffed turkey hat instead of actual food or a weapon...something they could actually use to survive.
"Wh-why?" Fox asks quickly in confusion. "We're safe in here, so why move?"
Amelia pauses to look up at him, annoyed for a brief moment at his hesitation to do anything, before scolding herself for thinking this way. She also doesn't want to kill if she can avoid it, but there's the difference. She knows she'll try if her hand is forced but Fox…she really doesn't know. And that worries her as she doesn't want to see him get hurt, but also knows he will have to die eventually if she is to win. A thought that Amelia hates dwelling on, especially as he's told her more about his family. How can she possibly wish the pain she's been suffering through for the past year on someone else? Especially someone raising a young boy and with another child on the way? She can't…so as terrible as it is to think about, she hopes when the time comes, she isn't the one responsible for it…which is likely with possibly all of the careers still alive at the halfway point.
"There was just a death," Amelia answers as she turns back to their supplies, ashamed to meet Fox's eyes after just thinking about his possible death. But isn't it better to think that way about him than as a friend who she might feel like she has to protect in a fight? She has to keep reminding herself that there's no outcome where they will both live to make it easier for her to do what is necessary. "Audience should be satisfied by a death and preoccupied for a bit. And they don't want to kill too many tributes before they have their next Trial by Combat."
"About that…" Fox says slowly and Amelia knows from his tone that she does not want to have this conversation right now. "Amelia-"
"It's not going to happen, Fox," Amelia says, more so to reassure herself. She just can't bare thinking about being forced to finally fight someone else, let alone her ally. Yet it's just a matter of time until it happens. Which is why she wants to keep them happy with them doing things. "It's just not. Why have two tributes who don't know how to fight in it when they have six careers that will fight? Nope, it won't happen."
"But if it does…" Fox continues and Amelia finally meets his gaze, hating to see the resignation in his eyes. "I don't think I can fight you, I really don't…"
"But it won't happen," Amelia repeats, a little in denial that it is a possibility. Instead, she focuses on his refusal to fight. "And you'll have to get over that if you're going to get home to Paloma and Maddox and your new baby. They need you."
Fox looks like he wants to keep protesting this and Amelia silently pleads with him not to, knowing he will be dooming himself if he really makes the Gamemakers believe that he is not going to fight at all. And part of her just wants to keep hoping that he will get past that idea of not fighting and realize he has to. It would make his death easier if he at least went down fighting…
Which is what happened with Aero, so why can't she move on from his death?
Amelia turns her gaze away from Fox as she feels her eyes prickling like they want to shed tears, but her body can't form any from being dehydrated. Good, she can't be pitiful and keep crying in the arena over her brother who she might end up like if she doesn't get moving… No, she has to focus on getting some food right now, not on Aero. He would not want her losing her chance at winning because she was too caught up thinking about him… "Come on," Amelia says, her voice shaking as she stands up and has to reach out for the wall as the world spins around her. "We need to get some real food."
Fox sighs at this but nods his head, listening to what she said. "You're right," he says, even if his face is full of fear at the thought of leaving their safe room. "But…we don't have things to fight with."
Amelia holds up her flashlight and shrugs, "This will have to do. Let's go." She leads the way out of their room, looking around and trying to decide which way to go when they both look the same. "Left or right?"
"Right," Fox answers her and so she heads in the direction he picked, her heart beginning to race from the unknown things or tributes that could be waiting for them.
"Just be ready to run back if we see any of the careers," Amelia says cautiously to him, even though the hallway seems deserted. "Except the blind ones…but I doubt they are alone."
"Maybe they will be and we'll get lucky," Fox responds, but he doesn't seem too optimistic about that situation happening.
"We'll see," Amelia answers quietly, focusing on the hallway as they keep walking. "How do we even decide where to go?" She asks after they pass their second door without either of them making any move to enter either one.
"I don't know…" Fox says before she hears his footsteps slow. "Well…we could have a sign like that."
Amelia slows as she sees the open door up ahead, not trusting it one bit. She grips her flashlight tighter in her hands, ready once more to use it as a makeshift weapon. She glances back at Fox, finding him hovering just behind her and only feels pressure from him putting his hand on her shoulder. "It doesn't feel right letting you go in first."
"Oh don't start being all chivalrous now," Amelia shakes her head as she turns back around to face the open door. "I can fight just fine on my own."
Fox chuckles at this, "Oh I know. I can still feel the pain from that knee."
Amelia shushes him, even if she smiles a tiny bit, as they get closer to the open door. Her smile quickly disappears as adrenaline starts pumping through her, getting her tense and ready for a possible fight. She knows they need to go into that open room, it's what the audience will be expecting of them. "Alright, on three," Amelia tells him as she stops just out of view of the door. "One…two…"
"Three!"
Amelia jumps into the open doorway, flashlight raised high and ready to strike any tribute approaching them, but there's no one there. Nothing except for large piles of food.
"Seems like the Gamemakers wanted us to find this," Fox says, voice sounding a bit awed as he looks around at all of the food in front of them.
Amelia lowers her flashlight in her hand as her stomach starts to rumble from just the sight of food, but she still hesitates. "This seems too good to be true… Don't eat anything without me trying it first."
Major Emerson-Ness, 18, District One
Major needs to do something soon or else he's going to snap. He didn't expect this building frustration in him and he hates feeling like a fucking failure. Major Emerson-Ness does not fail at things. But he just can't damn think when around everyone on edge and ready to fight. He refuses to sleep and give up the one vital sense he still has. Not when he doesn't trust a single one of them. But there's just no easy way to get alone time in this alliance without raising suspicions. He can't just go off for a walk without Odyssey jumping to be his damn buddy like they're back in kindergarten.
Which sucks ass because he just can't concentrate on coming up with a plan as he lays on the ground, staring up at the sky and pretending like he's trying to nap. But as he stares up and sees something approaching, he starts to grin for a moment before it turns into a scowl when a silver canister floats down to the golden child of their alliance, not Major.
Major sits up as Odyssey pops open the lid and Major immediately recoils as a horrendous smell smacks him in the face. "What the fuck is that?"
Bell covers her nose too and Major sees some of the others doing the same, all except for Odyssey who can't smell a damn thing. He pulls out a greenish brown spiked…thing…from the container and the smell just gets even worse, smelling like a mix of rotting food and shit and…ugh.
Odyssey says something about the item that Major can't hear – and for once not to his annoyance because Major wants nothing to do with that nasty smelling thing. God, now he really can't fucking concentrate with that smell hanging over their camp. But…the smell gives him an idea. One place he can go where no one would want to disturb him.
"I'm going to the bathroom," Major says with a huff as he stands up, getting a few looks from the others that are awake. "I'll be a while so please don't disturb me."
Odyssey says something that Major can't hear before giving him a thumbs up. Odyssey then leans over to pick up Bell's hat and then tosses the poop hat at him as he laughs hysterically. The hat bounces off of his head as Major just stares blankly at Odyssey, trying to control himself and keep from snapping at him right this second. God, Major is so fucking glad he can't hear his lame jokes. "Ha, ha, so very funny," Major says in a monotone before turning around to leave, instantly scowling at dealing with his bullshit.
Major stomps off from their camp, intentionally dragging his feet to kick some sand at Anastacia as he walks past her. "Oops," Major says innocently as she tries to reach out and trip him, but he just jumps over her outstretched arm and continues on his way, glancing back to see her brushing off sand and looking pissed off. Seeing her so mad almost calms him down, but then he catches sight of Odyssey and Bell and his scowl just deepens.
"Stupid District Two tributes," Major grumbles to himself as he stomps up the stairs to the first level of the coliseum, heading towards the so called 'Shit Pit'. He holds his breath when he reaches the top of the stairs and glances back at his alliance, finding no one looking in his direction. Hell, they probably can't even see him up here in the darkness and with him not using a flashlight…they won't be able to see him pacing this level and not actually using the bathroom.
Major takes off away from their bathroom area and once a good distance away, finally lets out the breath he was holding and breaths in thankfully fresh smelling air. He thought the locker rooms in One were bad but this is a whole other level of nasty.
Major comes to a stop and leans against the cool stone wall, finally getting a moment to just be alone and try to think. Yet his brain feels so slow and is struggling to even come up with any ideas, making him grow concerned. "Come on, Major, think," he mutters to himself, shaking his head and lightly slapping his cheek to wake himself up. "You can do this."
He doesn't have that much time up here to think before they get concerned that he either shit himself to death or ran off. Which means…time for a plan to take down the career pack…
But where does he even start?
Major glances back down at the camp, assessing each threat. And…he knows his biggest threat. They have been his threat from the start when he first noticed how close they were. And his attempt to get them separated at the party doesn't even seemed to have worked…
Bell and Odyssey have to go down first. And while Major is more than confident in his abilities to perform, he'd rather not fight them together. So he'll have to get one of them out first before taking down the other. Then…then he'll take on Four. Demarcus will be easy, just a little stab in the back will do with the trust he has in Major. Delta, he'll just let her anger get in the way. And then Anastacia…she definitely has to be last. Now he just needs an actual plan.
Major fights back a large yawn and he rubs his eyes, desperately trying to stay awake and fighting his brain and body screaming at him to sleep. But he can't. Not yet. Not until he has his plan.
So why the fuck is he struggling so hard to think of a plan right now? He's being a disappointment to his parents right now and everything they taught him…
Instead of trying to thing of new ideas, Major thinks back… Okay what has he done before to sabotage people?
Exposing Bell's crush and the lack of Odyssey's crush didn't work. He can't exactly manipulate one of them into having feelings towards him and keep them wrapped around his finger like he did with Shard. Well, maybe he could with Demarcus but that boy is the least of his concerns right now. So no manipulating romantic feelings. He drove Anastacia down a path of destruction from Pad's death, driven by rage…
So maybe he needs to do the same thing here.
Surely Bell or Odyssey would be destroyed by losing the other. But Major can't exactly waltz back into camp and kill one of them, even if he would like to. And he can't kill Odyssey when they are out as a pair in the arena because stupid Anastacia will never believe him. No…he needs someone else to do the dirty work for him.
Major can feel his brain struggling to put all the pieces together of the plan, yet doesn't understand why Pad is standing out in his brain. He hasn't thought about that kid this much in a long time, not since his parents taught him to get past the small bit of guilt he had from sabotaging their ranking before their suicide. So why does he keep thinking about them?!
Oh.
Major slowly begins to grin, the plan finally piecing itself together. He needs someone else to kill one of the Two tributes to set the other on a plan of self-destruction. And what did he do when he wanted to get rid of Pad?
He went to someone higher up and had them remove the problem.
Major clears his throat as he looks around him, trying to see if he can spot any of the many cameras that they have in the arena, but they're all hidden. He will just have to assume that they are watching him carefully. "Excuse me, Head Gamemaker Lukianas, sir," Major says quietly, glancing back down at the pack to make sure he is speaking quietly and won't be overheard. But none of them are glancing in his direction, so he must be speaking softly enough. Major has to hold in a laugh at the plan coming together, knowing it will tip off the others that he is up to something. "I have some suggestions on how to…spice things up in the career alliance."
Emilio Signe, District One Mentor
"Emilio, I swear if your tribute gets Lukianas to do what he asked-"
Emilio holds up his hand, trying to get Darach to stop threatening him. "Darach, stop, you and I both know we have no control over what he does now. And you're not really scary after I've seen you holding a tiny baby."
"Besides," Thetis steps in for Emilio's defense, even if it's not needed really, "You're the ones with a victor dating the Head Gamemaker. Surely your District is getting special favoritism."
"Highly unlikely, Thetis," Kat says quickly, arms crossed as she continues to stare at the screens, not deeming them worthy of her full attention. "Don't fish for excuses for why your tributes are disasters this year."
"Says the woman whose pair is caught in a love triangle," Okeanas chuckles at the mentors from Two, making Darach and Glacia cringe a little. Emilio raises an eyebrow at the two of them, wondering if they knew this was going on before Kat.
"Can we all stop bickering about this?" Muir speaks up, sounding exhausted from all of this, and Emilio can't blame her. Not when she stepped in last minute to mentor Demarcus. "Our bickering isn't going to do anything to stop them. If the Head Gamemaker decides to listen to Major and put two of them in the next Trial by Combat…well, there's nothing we can do except watch."
They all look over at her, and Emilio is the first to sigh and nod his head in agreement. "Just stop blaming me for what Major is doing. I didn't tell him to sabotage the others, just like Darach and Glacia didn't tell Bell to have a crush on Odyssey, or Okeanas didn't tell Delta to go on a rage – well, maybe she did."
"Oh listen to you all bickering like a bunch of old married people. You would think more of you are married than just Darach and Glacia," Stefan interrupts as he steps over to them, deep scowl on his face. "Lucky you, still having all of your tributes still alive. You know what? I hope they put two of your tributes in the Trial by Combat. It's about time for you to feel the loss that the rest of us have been experiencing."
"Stefan," Letha calls over cautiously to him, her eyes still red from crying out of fear for her tribute earlier tonight, and it's no wonder given his relationship with her youngest son. Galen sits by her side, supporting her through everything, just like he always does. "Please don't start anything."
"They started it," Stefan pouts and it's clear he's going to start stuff. "How can you just sit here listening to them complaining when they still have all of their tributes left at the halfway point? Maybe it's different when you still have a tribute left, but Seven has no one anymore. What about Eleven? They also have no tributes. And are you really complaining when there's a fourteen year old kid mentoring here for the very first time? Fourteen!"
"Don't you fucking dare drag Clark into this," Astrid stands up and puts herself in front of Clark protectively, making the young victor poke his head around the side of her, briefly looking up to give her a look that's a mix of annoyance and gratefulness. But when he turns his attention to the other victors, he just looks ready to watch the drama play out. Beside the youngest, Dampero looks like he's barely following along the drama, just petting Clark's dog to calm himself as he keeps an eye on Elias now in a room with lion mutts that have accepted him like the wolves did with Davy. His fellow mentor naps in a nearby chair, having talked with Astrid and Clark frequently but not having a tribute to watch over.
Most of the other mentors seem content to stay out of the drama, at least those that aren't asleep. Glen has woken up from Stefan getting mad next to him, rubbing his eyes and trying to find his place in his book. Matla is tucked away in a corner of the room, taking over an entire table with her papers, working on some new project. Pinova is fast asleep in a different corner, Kanzi watching over her protectively so the young girl can finally get some rest. Hessian is watching from the distance, still awake despite Astrid's attempts to get him to sleep. And then Mazie and Pigmy watch from the bar where they were playing a card game to pass the time.
Meanwhile, Isidore and Johan are sharing hesitant looks, and with their two tributes in seemingly a good place with Amelia testing out the food before passing it to Fox, Johan slowly stands up and heads over in their direction. "How many times are you going to bicker among yourself? You should all know by now how much of this is out of our hands."
The career victors share looks, before Darach finally shrugs and responds to Johan, "Yeah, but we all want to get the next Quell victor. Two has a lot of pressure after the last one," He puts his arm around his wife's shoulder and Glacia tries to force a smile, but fails.
Emilio nods his head, agreeing with what Darach said, except…he feels like their pair is on a fast track towards self-destruction and ruining their chances of having a victor. "Did we mess up with picking them?" Emilio asks Thetis quietly, finally expressing the doubt that has been plaguing him since the bloodbath when Major fired that arrow so close to Anastacia and only got worse when she started scheming against him. And now this…
"Of course not, they know better than to sabotage One's chance of victory by some past feud," Thetis responds, sounding confident, but Emilio can see the doubt in her eyes from knowing her well. "One of our tributes is going to win."
"If not," Fonio starts, still trying to be part of their conversation for some reason unknown to Emilio. "Don't worry, Thetis, I can comfort you just like old times," Fonio winks at Thetis, which makes Emilio both sick to his stomach and curious, especially when Thetis flips him off. Kat's eyes dart between Thetis and Fonio, narrowing slightly before turning back to the screens, further fueling Emilio's curiosity. Fonio turns his attention to Okeanas, looking way too flirty for someone who just lost their tribute, but clearly this is how Fonio copes, "I know you don't need any comforting, but the offer still stands for you as well."
Emilio ignores Fonio as Thetis and Okeanas start berating him for being an obnoxious flirt, instead turning his focus back to more important matters. Dawn is coming soon in the arena, meaning they only have a few hours left to wait before finding out what Seraphim is going to do for the Trial by Combat. Part of Emilio considers calling Jory and seeing if he could talk to Zephyr, but knows that he can't ask him to do that.
They will just have to wait and hope the Head Gamemaker is fair.
Eulogies:
Sky Odum [9], Ranked 12th, Killed by Davy [5]:
Sky has always been a tribute I have stuck by, even when everyone else didn't. Her angst and all the loss she went through...I just always had plans for her in the arena to start to realize she really wasn't being fair to Marek. She's a young teen, can't expect them to know how to properly handle that kind of loss. She's always been fun to write and I've enjoyed having her in this story, but I knew she would eventually make a rash decision that would be her downfall. But at least she had that reconciliation with herself before she died. David, thank you so much for sending this angsty girl! RIP Sky.
And with that...we are officially at the halfway point of the tributes! I know I keep saying it, but yeah, buckle up because updates are gonna keep happening quickly from this point on XD Next chapter we're going to get our next Trial by Combat so time for predictions: who will it be? Will Seraphim be fair for that when he wasn't fair and intervened in the fight with Sky and Davy?
You'll most likely get the answer soon, I'm hyped for the next chapter XD And so I will see you all soon but if not before the month ends, I hope you all have a good end of the year and I'll see you in 2020!