Chapter Fifty-Two: Keep it Simple

Still Day Three

Clara Ridley, District One Female

When I see the building in the distance, I realize maybe now would be a good time to stop.

Galadia's trying, she really is, but even with me slowing down quite a bit she can't keep up with me anymore. I've considered taking some weight out of her backpack to make it faster, but considering my bag's already close to bursting and I really don't want to have to dig through our supplies to look for rope, I can only do that if we're not moving.

Pointing out my objective, I address Galadia. "Let's get to that building over there and see if there's anything in it, then we can stop for a bit."

Galadia nods, the expression looking painful. Unfortunately, such a thing is understandable. She's at least as well-built as I am, but considering I have somewhere around six inches on her it's pure logic that I find carrying the same-sized backpack a bit easier.

Emerging from the brush, we enter the clearing in something resembling silence. The building, a simple-looking structure that almost looks shaped from the earth considering it's mostly logs and boulders, provides some shade from the still-blazing sun I will happily take advantage of. Some rain or even some clouds would be nice, but we're on the third relatively-clear day in a row. Maybe the weather's going to be some kind of hazard down the line. I wouldn't put it past the Gamemakers to spring a hurricane or something on us out of nowhere.

Once we reach the wall, Galadia sets down her back, bright red in the face and drenched in sweat. As she sits with her back against the wall, taking in deep gulps of warm air, I drop my backpack, stopping only to pull out a spear in case someone decides to try and jump me.

"I'm going to see if there's a door inside," I say. "Holler if someone's coming, okay?"

Galadia nods once more, and then it's time for me to go exploring.

I don't get very far. I turn a corner, notice that I don't need a door because this side of the building is open to the elements, then I see her.

Sure, she's ducked behind a table in some kind of vain attempt to hide, but it's pretty clear someone's still there, and I know who it is. Just seeing her again makes me want to throw my spear, even though I know the odds of me hitting her are pretty low.

"Galadia!" I'm yelling as loud as I can muster, not caring if someone else hears me. "Over here! Now! I don't care how tired you are!"

I hear some grumbling on the other end, but I don't really care since Galadia actually does heed my advice. Once she gets here, I don't say anything, I just point. Galadia just looks confused for a second, but then she notices just what I'm pointing at and smiles.

Time to have some fun. "Well, it took way longer than I expected, but looks like I finally get to make good on that promise from before!"

The girl from Three's not taking it well, to say the least. "Please… please don't kill me…"

"It's the Hunger Games, bitch! Killing's all part of the game! Get used to it," I spit back, ready to march in there and finally satisfy my burning desire to kill that annoying little smartass. Smirking, I begin to march into the building…

Then a blast of heat erupts directly in front of me and before I can take another step, I realise the toe of my shoe is on fire. Leaping backward with a screech about two octaves higher than I thought I was capable of, I manage to yank off my shoe without setting my hands on fire, throw it on the ground, then find a nice-sized rock and drop it on the whole mess to put it out.

Once I lift the rock, it doesn't take much to realize the shoe is now useless. The sole's half-melted, the laces burnt to ashes and there's a gigantic hole in the top now. Sure, one shoe can't be that expensive to sponsor me, but I'd have preferred to not have my shoe get set on fire in the first place.

Now the girl from Three's snickering at us from behind her table. Well, that means she knew about this and was trying to lead us into a trap. And it almost fucking worked, to boot. If I'd stepped two inches further, the best-case scenario would be I'd lose some extremities and be in horrible pain for the rest of the Games, while I think you can figure out what the worst-case scenario would be.

"Great," Galadia says. "She's right fucking there and we can't do squat to her. Does this count as cruel and unusual punishment?"

"Maybe," I say. Then the lightbulb goes off. "How about we make this our base? One of us hunts, the other makes sure she doesn't get out."

"I really would advise against that," the girl from Three shouts from the other end of the death trap. "Unless your friends are right around the corner, I don't think one of you can take the anti-Career packs on your own."

"Zip it, we don't need your help," I say. "Galadia, what do you think?"

"I like that idea. We'll figure out how to get to her eventually. Or maybe she'll just come out on her own."

"Just to warn you, you'll be in for a long wait," the girl from Three says. "I've got more supplies than anyone could ever need."

"Well, we've got nothing but time," Galadia retorts. Then she turns to me. "Come on, Clara, let's get settled."

And that's precisely what we do, making sure to camp out right in front of the entrance just to make sure our target can't try anything cute. While it would be nice for one of us to be able to end this now, we're guaranteed to lose any weapons we throw and the girl has way more than enough projectiles to knock us off-balance and kill us even if we try and make a move on her. Thus, we'll have to take the slow route.

Either way, though, we should achieve the same objective.

I can't wait.

Thomiah Marshall, District Eleven Male

Now that it's just two of us, we have to be a bit choosier about the supplies we take with us. There's only so much we can carry and there's only so many scenarios we can prepare for.

Furthermore, having a base doesn't make as much sense anymore, since we can't leave someone behind to guard it. Getting ambushed is difficult enough when you're standing still and expecting it, no need to add to that risk by having it occur while we're hunting. Thus, we're probably going to return to that cabin one more time to do some supply management, then we'll take whatever we can carry and move on.

We haven't really come across any tributes, that one girl who showed up the first night notwithstanding. I'm not sure whether they're being guided away from this place by their mentors since we found it first (well, cryptic hints are cheap to send, especially early in the Games) or they just haven't found it (unlikely, but it's not like we're anywhere close to the Cornucopia at the moment), but the results haven't changed either way.

"It's kind of getting late," Odysea says. "Do you think we should start heading back?"

"Makes sense," I reply. "Maybe we'll find someone on the way back."

Honestly, I've stopped caring whether the person we run into is hostile or not at this point. More allies wouldn't kill either of us, and if we have to kill them? I've watched two of my allies get murdered in front of me. I can probably handle that at this point.

Walking has started to feel like a real chore. The brush is always really thick, plus Odysea's constantly on high alert because the Gamemakers mixed poison ivy and all its associates in with the regular plants. Most of the time, it's easy enough to spot, but I would have walked straight through at least one patch of it if not for her vigilance.

Thankfully, it's not too much longer before we see the cluster of cabins in the distance. Walking into the chilled air indoors a few minutes later, I can't help but feel a little down that our best option is to leave this semi-paradise behind.

"I could use some food," Odysea says.

I agree with that, so before we do anything else, we make dinner. Nothing ridiculous, but we feel more comfortable with eating a little extra since we want to carry as much of our supplies as possible with us when we leave for good. This means two cans of food for each of us alongside splitting a pack of crackers, washing it down with the last of the flavored drinks. That leaves us with three days' worth of food and water if we ration it carefully.

Then the time comes to figure out who's carrying what. I'm not quite sure how to go about it, but luckily for me Odysea's willing to come to the rescue. "Let's just sort everything by category. I'll handle the weapons, you can deal with the food and anything miscellaneous you think is worth bringing."

"Done," I say, and that's what I do as the sun goes down. All the food and water fit into my bag just fine, there still being enough room to fit a few extra things on top of it. The vial of serum is the first thing I pack, then a coil of rope, a pen, and some sheets of paper. That's all it can hold, so I close the bag, although I assume we can still carry things like normal people.

Once that's finished, the sun's almost all the way down and I'm little more than a train wreck. "Sorry, Odysea, but do you mind keeping watch for a while? I could use some rest."

"Not a big deal," Odysea said. "You hear screaming, come running."

"I will," I say.

I pass out before I hit the pillow.

Lacey Loveless, District Eight Female

We need to figure out our situation with supplies.

While we don't need to worry too much about water, since it seems that no matter what direction we move there's always a river that's not too far away, but food is going to become a real issue soon if we don't do something about it. Our Cornucopia food is long gone, and we haven't eaten anything since. Neither of us have found plants we can be sure are safe, and until that happens I don't want to try anything. I'd rather be hungry than dead.

Neither of us are really used to the situation either. During the downtime before we sleep, Zari and I have been talking so we can learn a bit more about each other. From how she's described her life up until this point, she never had problems with hunger or anything like it. Plus, she'd been spared the worst of the Capitol's influence; her parents well-off enough that they could live comfortably but not so well-off that the Capitol took notice.

However, when she started talking about her circle of friends, something cold and dark started clawing into my stomach and it hasn't left since. I'm dealing with enough shit during these Games, don't need to add memories of my last words to Taffeta on top of that.

Zari's stomach growls and growls hard, like it's actively trying to kill her. She looks down at it and groans. "Can you wait? I'm looking the best I can."

My stomach responds to that with its own growling, seriously regretting that we had to ditch that squirrel I caught yesterday. "I don't think that's going to work."

Zari just sighs. The two of us get back to walking. Might as well try and find something to eat (or someone to take food from) while it's still light enough to see. I haven't been able to catch any more squirrels or the like despite several chances, but hey, maybe we can get lucky.

And then the deer bounds into view. And comes to a dead stop maybe thirty feet in front of us, to boot.

This has to be Gamemaker-staged, especially considering I'm still holding a knife. While I wouldn't consider myself an expert on the local wildlife by any stretch, I doubt animals in nature stop directly in front of something that could very easily kill it. Maybe it's something meant to force the wedge further between Zari and I, considering she hadn't been too pleased about me even killing that squirrel? Test our marksmanship? Distract us before they send another bear our way? I don't know and I don't care, but what I do know is if I get this, we'll have more meat than we'd know what to do with.

"Lacey!" Zari's voice comes in as a whisper-shout, a weird noise that can't decide what tone it's aiming for. Somehow it doesn't drive off the deer, which just provides further evidence of Gamemaker trickery in my book.

"Whatever it is, I'm sure it can wait," I respond, winding up and preparing to throw the knife. Slowly, so the deer doesn't bolt.

"But what if this is a test?"

I pause, the knife still clenched in my fist and the deer somehow still not having left. If anything, it's moved closer. "What the hell do you mean?"

"Maybe the Gamemakers are trying to bait us into killing it. And if we don't, it'll get us something useful."

That sounds ridiculous.

That also sounds exactly like something the Gamemakers would try.

Well, shit. I'm at a loss for what to do here. Damned if I do and damned if I don't.

Then the deer bounds off, faster than either of us can ever hope to run. Sure, I try for a short time and Zari does the same, but before long it vanishes into the brush where we can't track it, leaving us without any hope of gaining assistance from it.

While we stand still, trying to catch our breath again, I hear the telltale beeping of an incoming sponsor parachute. Maybe we got sponsored whatever this will be as a result of whatever that encounter turned out to be?

Then it lands. Nope, just a note. Flipping it over to read its contents, I quickly decipher String's curly handwriting.

—Next time, don't look a gift deer in the mouth.

String

Great. Now we're still out food. And our stomachs aren't getting any fuller. Guess it's back to squirrel hunting.

"I'm sorry," Zari says. She certainly looks the part, too. She's going hungry too, no sense in getting worked up over it. The last thing I need now is to lose my ally.

"I'm not going to say that wasn't your fault, because it was," I say. "That doesn't stop it from being a mistake that anyone could have made, though."

Zari nods.

"There'll be a next time," I say. "How about we just don't overcomplicate things anymore?"

Rhaemyr North, District Three Male

I wake to a picturesque sunset.

There's not a lot of good things I can say about the Arena, but for the most part, it's at least a pretty place. Besides the what-the-fuck-is-that creature trying to attack me last night, it hasn't even been that threatening yet. I'm sure that's soon to change, but I might as well have my fun while it lasts.

Moving's a bit hard at first due to my efforts at tying myself down, but once my fingers find the knot it's not too hard to untie. Before I drop, I make sure to untangle the bag of supplies above me, then send it down before dropping myself.

I'm not even sure what to do at this point. Food's not a concern, water's not a concern, I'm not hurt and I don't desperately need anything. On top of that, while I have a knife and a few other things I could attack with, I don't think I'm ready to kill.

Soon. I'll have to be ready soon, but not today.

Once night has fallen, it's time to move. The Careers probably won't be hunting at this time of day, meaning I've got a little more leeway when it comes to exploring, or at least less of a chance I'll be surprised by anyone I can't handle jumping out from behind a tree or something. Plus, it gives me more shadows to hide in. It's where I work best, anyway.

The night's still young. Might as well make the most of it.

Author's Notes:

-It's 5 in the morning where I live, I'm not going to talk for long. Chapter may be a bit unpolished because I wanted to get it out quickly. Plot will remain the same, but grammatical edits will be made tomorrow. (I'll delete this note when these edits are complete.)

-I apologize for the short POV scenes for non-allied characters, but I have a hard time filling up space when the characters have no one to bounce off of. Maybe I'll give them one or two extra to compensate, but that's something I'll have to think about for later.

-Hope you enjoyed, see you next chapter!