"I'm sure there's still game to be shot." Hugh adjusts the bow case on his shoulder. "They're probably just avoiding this area. You're all reeking it up with human scents."
Juniper crosses her legs, leaning back against the outside edge of the cave. "Are you sure about going out, though? We've been relatively safe in here..."
Hugh adjusts his glasses. "Starving isn't safe. We may have to move altogether when we've stripped the place of edible plants. But for now, we have to do something. We can't depend on constant donations anymore, after all."
Yeah. I don't know how many sponsors had bet on Klavier, but it was apparently more than the rest of us combined. Between that and the prices steadily rising like in every other Games, we're only going to get critical donations from here on out. Food would be critical, but there are so many mouths in this one alliance it has to be hard to afford enough, and, well, you wouldn't want us to start fighting each other for scraps.
Yesterday was mostly gloomy. A light drizzle, a few berries and leaves from the grove across the stream. Aristotle was killed—the day after he killed Klavier. I don't know if he got a nasty dental infection from the damage Simon dealt or if the Careers found him. Either way, we don't have to worry about him hurting anyone else. Aura and Ted, on the other hand...
"It's all right, man. I'll go with you." Robin gets to her feet, stretching. "I'm sure the two of us can find something. If it's far, you can shoot it, and if it's close, I can knife it!" She spins her survival knife in her palm twice before dropping it.
"Be more careful than that!" Hugh rubs his neck. "We're not going to find more of those lying around."
Robin rubs under her eyes. "Well, no, they don't grow on trees..." She twirls around. "But somebody else could have totally dropped one just like I did now!" Smiling she covers her mouth with fingers spread. "Right?"
Hugh sighs. "Anyway, we'll sound an alarm if anything goes wrong. I'm sure you'll be able to hear Robin no matter where we are."
Athena grins. "And we can use Apollo to communicate long-distance on our side!"
I... am going to try really hard to take that as a compliment.
"Okay." Juniper frowns, clasping her hands above her knees. "Be careful, though. And don't stay on your own for too long."
"We'll start back at noon." Hugh smirks a little more, tilting his face to the side. "I'm sure we can find a few things by then. If not, we could always eat Taka."
Simon's sword slashes a piece of Hugh's bangs off before I can even fully register the words. With a squawk, the 9 cringes back.
"How dare you insinuate such a thing?!"
Hugh waves a hand at him. "I-I was joking! For goodness' sake..."
"Well, I would find it much more amusing if you were to tumble down the mountain in pieces! Would you like to continue playing the jester? For I shall be more than happy to assist you."
"No! I'm done." He rubs the side of his neck.
"Come on, now." Robin puts her hands on her hips. "That's not very N-I-C-E, Mr. Birdman."
"B-Birdman...?!" Simon puts a hand to his chest as if struck.
"All right, that's enough of that." I push my hair spikes out of my face. "Go ahead before he changes his mind."
"Good suggestion." Still sweating, Hugh adjusts his weapon case so he can grip the rocks.
"Hmph." Simon strokes under Taka's beak, the hawk responding with what I guess is a happy screech. "Taka has just as much of a human soul as you or I." Eyes flashing, he turns to Hugh. "I suggest you keep that in mind."
"R-right." Hugh smirks but quickly turns around and starts climbing away. Robin takes off after him.
Still not sitting down, Simon leans back against the cave wall with another disbelieving scoff.
Juniper and Trucy lead us through the grove to get a few more morsels, but it doesn't take more than an hour. There's still some time to wait on the others.
It's incredibly hard to sit and wait around here. It makes you want to think, and what is there to think about? The competition. The most recent friends dead. Earlier friends dead. Current friends dying. Anything can happen here, and half of it has. And there's nothing to do but wait until the next thing and try to deal with that...
"How long are you going to make that scarf, anyway?" Athena leans over Juniper's shoulder.
Startled, the 11 looks up. "O-oh. Until I run out of yarn, I guess."
"You're lucky you got something to do." Athena thunks down next to her, palms on the ground. "Widget has a few games, but none I can play without a glove."
"Come on, sponsors!"
She sighs.
"What, are you bored?" Trucy bounces on the balls of her feet. "I can fix that!"
"Oh, can you?" She smiles.
Trucy poses, gripping the brim of her hat. "Of course! I'm a professional. Polly, come over here."
"Wh-what? What do you need me for?"
She keeps smiling. "Well, there aren't many impressive tricks I can do with just a couple and knives and your sword, but I can outline you in knives and—oh! I bet I could pull off sawing you in half!"
I draw back. "H-how about neither of those?! Can you at least ask for a volunteer, because I'm not volunteering for this."
"Oh, come on, Polly!"
Juniper frowns. "Some smaller tricks would be fine with me. You don't have to pick on Apollo all of the time..."
Athena grins. "Aw, but it's fun! All right, all right. What else have you got, Trucy?"
"Well..."
As she prepares to ponder her options, a roar comes from above. I can feel the tremor of the mountain before a sudden wave of heat comes down.
"A-aaah!" Athena covers her ears and looks up. "Wha—!"
Shivering already, I follow her gaze.
A few stories above us, rocks are flying out from some ledge. It's mostly horizontal, a soaring line of everything from gravel to a chunk half my size, but it starts to rain down within a second. Every piece hits the rocks above us and skids down, and I'm able to sidestep all of it.
"What was that?" I turn to Athena. "Did you hear Robin or Hugh?"
She shakes her head. "But no cannons, either—"
Another boom nearly knocks me off my feet, and, judging by the shouts, the others are just as taken aback. I take a look around before Simon shouts for us to run.
Another flurry of rocks is coming down now, huge chunks and smaller ones all accelerating towards us. Simon is already dragging Athena down the path to my left, but I hesitate. The rocks are only rolling down. Maybe, if we can get to the trees in time, they'll be able to break their momentum.
"Apollo!" Trucy, already some distance ahead of me, reaches an arm back. "Juniper! Hurry up!"
"R-right!" I swing my backpack around to the front and take off after them, Juniper right behind me.
A few chunks of rock have made it to our level—small, airborne ones that scratch at my scalp and poke at my torso. But the larger ones aren't coming down slowly by any means—they have some friction to deal with, but they're still tumbling toward us.
Ted must have set this up. Even if it's Careers, two of them against all of us wouldn't be the best fight. So if he could sow some bombs by our shelter and get rid of us that way—
Wait, the tunnel! It's going to be closed off!
I cast a look back, and, with the ledge in front of our hideout, there's no question boulders are going to fall in front of it.
Shoot! We had just found a place to stay, and now...!
Ugh! There's no helping it! Right now, all we can do is save ourselves. We didn't leave anything too important in there, anyway.
...No, the forensics kit!
But... I guess... it's really not that important... strictly speaking. It's pretty bulky, and we don't have any real use for it. It was important to Ema, but... it's not like she can use it. We just have to keep going without her—I mean, the kit... Both, I guess.
"Waah!"
Behind me!
"Juniper!" I turn just in time to see her crashing onto the path face-first—she must have tripped.
"A-Apollo!" She starts to push herself, but the rocks are too close back there. She'll never make it.
No...! Not her, too!
I turn the rest of the way and sprint towards her. She's only managed to prop herself up a bit by the time I come to a stop.
"It's okay," I pant, reaching for her shoulders. But when I glance back at the rocks, they're too close. There's no time to get her out of the way.
Darn it!
I shield her as well as I can and get as good a foothold and handhold I can find.
The first rock glances off my far shoulder, pushing it forward a little. Juniper is hunkered down now, so it doesn't shove the backpack into her face.
Some stinging gravel forces me to shut my eyes as more rocks come. Skipping stones that punch and bounce off. A big one that crashes straight onto my back.
"Aagh!" Teeth gritted, I force myself to stay in position. If I lose my grip, we're both done for.
Another rock hits the side of my neck, another slashing across my left forearm. Two more hit my back, one cuts my cheek, one smashes my elbow, tears across my hand, smashes into my back, cuts my shoulder, pounds my arm...
I lose track. All I can say is, thank God the one that hits my head is small.
Chest heaving, I tremble, scream caught in my throat as a few smaller rocks brush my calves. I... th-think... it's over...
Choking, I risk a look up, an extra shot of pain going down my neck.
A stone gashes across my right eye.
Nearly knocked off my feet, I at least confirm that nothing else is coming before my arm starts to give out.
"A-agh..." I try to tighten my grip, but it just sends a jolt down my forearm. But I c-can't... fall now... I...
My back starts to throb before I feel the blood trickling down my arms, down my cheek. The tension and exhaustion in my limbs is suddenly nothing to worry about as pounding, burning, piercing pain bubbles up all along my back and arms.
"A... a-aah... AAAAAAAAH!"
I—I can't... can't h-handle... N-no, my hand...!
My grip fails, and my foot catches in its nook as I fall sideways.
I... Die? Am I a-about... It hurts... A-aaah...
A shrill shriek meets my ears, compounding my headache, as something shoots across my abdomen, keeping me from going any farther.
That's... That's good... Ow... G-gah...
The pain makes everything else an unwanted buzz. I can only handle so much. I... can't even handle the pain by itself... I... And my eye... And... H-how much am I bleeding? I c-can't tell...
"Junie! Junie. It's okay—"
I don't know when exactly I started screaming, but I certainly haven't stopped. So my throat's gonna be raw, too... Who cares...
"—Trucy's taking care of him—"
What's g-going on?
"—Are you all right?"
If I can't tell... can I please... lose all consciousness?
"It's okay. Let's talk it out. Talk to me, Junie."
Please...