Cascade Bolt's POV – District 4 Male
"Cascade?" I heard a voice repeat my name for the third time.
Reluctantly, I opened my eyes slightly and yawned. It took a few seconds before I properly woke up and was able to stand up. Once I did manage to get on my feed, I saw Victoire standing next to me, holding her boomerang tightly in her right hand.
"What's going on?" I asked with a yawn.
"It's your turn for the night watch." She answered.
Oh yeah. That. I started to stretch a little bit to further wake myself up. I couldn't afford to be even slightly tired while I was on duty. Some of the other tributes could actually do some dangerous shit and kill us if they found us all asleep despite us being the careers. If the Career Pack fell apart like that, I was going to do my best to make sure I wasn't responsible at all.
"Alright then, I'll take over." I told my ally, sounding and feeling more awake. "You go off to sleep then. We're all going to need to be well-rested for tomorrow."
I turned away from Victoire, reached for my spear and started to scan the area around me intently, looking out for any possible threat to us. We had set up our camp at the edge of the forest close to the ruined city and nothing was in plain sight at the moment. That could change at any moment, though, so I needed to be ready in case of the worse.
"Uh… Cascade?" Victoire called out to me.
I looked back and noticed that she was still right next to me where she had been. She wasn't heading back to sleep – at least, not right away. She looked rather tired and seemed like she was going to fall asleep at any moment. However, she appeared to also look a combination of serious and nervous. I couldn't really pinpoint what she was feeling more than the other. It made me slightly concerned. Then again, though, it was also a relief seeing something on her face other than anger. She really hadn't been the same since the bloodbath.
"Yeah? What's up?" I questioned.
"We need to talk." She whispered to me in a voice that I could barely hear.
She then continued to speak in that same tone-of-voice, but I couldn't properly register what she was saying. She was just way too quiet right now. After trying to listen for a few seconds, I finally coughed and interrupted her.
"Can you speak up a bit? My ears are good, but they're not good." I said with a slight chuckle as I started to fiddle around with the spear in my hands.
She sighed in response before she walked a little closer to me: to the point where her body was directly against mine and I could feel her breathing against my ear slightly. I felt a small blush cross over my cheeks. Even though I wasn't interested in Victoire in a romantic way for a variety of reasons (the primary reasons being that she was not the type of girl I was normally interested in and because we were in the fucking Hunger Games), I could not deny the fact that she was extremely hot and having her this close to me was… nice.
"I can speak up, but I need to be careful with this topic." She told me before her eyes trailed off to the side. They were focused solely on both Ariail and Lepolio, who were fast asleep. "So, just try and listen a little clearer, okay?"
Realization dawned on me about the topic and the blush immediately faded away. What exactly are we going to be talking about that's so serious?
"You don't want them to know about this conversation." I noted to her.
"I don't; I don't want them to wake up to this conversation. More so Lepolio though, considering no matter how awful Ariail may be, Lepolio is the true dangerous one in the group." She replied sharply.
I turned my eyes toward Lepolio. To be completely honest, I agreed with that logic. While Ariail was our leader, Lepolio was clearly the strongest tribute here and someone who was just both physically and mentally intimidating. If there was one place I didn't want to be, it was on his bad-list, and if this conversation was potentially as dangerous as Victoire seemed to think, then I'd rather him definitely be unaware of it.
"Well, understood. This'll stay between just the two of us." I whispered back to her. "What do you want to talk about?"
"I'm thinking that at the final fourteen or somewhere around then, the two of us need to be split away from both Ariail and Lepolio." Victoire suggested.
I looked at her in complete surprise. There was an unspoken rule that the Career Pack needed to always stick together until the final eight, barring the deaths of a few members along the way from some of the stronger outer district tributes. I had planned on spending the time in the Career Pack until the break-up and just going on from there alone. The thought of leaving the alliance early never entered my mind, as it just seemed stupid. The years where the career alliance ended early always resulted in years where none of the careers won. Why would I want to go against the plans that got the most victors for career tributes like me? Then again, why would Victoire want to go against it?
"… And why do you think we should do that?" I questioned cautiously, trying to come across as neutral as possible.
"You saw what Ariail did to Kendra; he murdered her because of his own personal vendettas and because she was vulnerable. And I know for a fact that he'll do it again to any of us if the opportunity arrives. He's a snake after all." Victoire answered with a scowl and tightened fists. She made no attempt to hide her hatred for the self-proclaimed leader of the Career Pack. "I don't want someone like that working with me knowing that he may try and kill us whenever he gets in the 'mood', and I think we need to leave at the earliest opportunity possible. We take advantage of being in the Career Pack for just a little bit longer, but then we leave as soon as we can."
Kendra. Victoire was still angry about Ariail killing her. She nearly tried to kill him in the bloodbath to my surprise and, if it wasn't for Lepolio intervening, there was a good chance that one of them would be dead right now, if not both of them. Personally, I was glad to have Kendra out of the way this early to quell my own personal fears. The girl's skill with an axe legitimately terrified me and I knew that she was ruthless to kill me just like Dylan's friend was killed during his Games. Knowing that she was dead meant that, at the very least, I wouldn't be completely slaughtered like the girl from District Two did to River in his Hunger Games.
Still, I had to agree with Victoire. Ariail did kill her off in a way that left a very bad taste in my mouth. I never liked the guy when I met him and after that stunt, I had zero respect for him whatsoever. He was way too smug and proud and, even at this very moment, I wanted nothing more than to knock him off his damn high-horse. It was all a matter of timing when I'd be able to do so, but boy was I going to look forward to getting the chance to sucker-punch that bastard straight in the face.
The more I thought about it, Victoire did make a good point. Ariail was extremely duplicitous and temperamental. He acted on his ever-changing mood and his prejudices, and that made him very dangerous. There was no telling when he was going to see us just like Kendra: as weak and useless to him.
"So why not you, Lepolio, and I kill him off then? Or even now? I'm sure Lepolio would be open to the idea." I offered. A part of me felt odd that I brought up killing somebody so casually, but I quickly brushed off those feelings. It was the Hunger Games. Killing happened, and nothing was going to change that fact. Besides, it was Ariail. Other than that psychotic guy from District Ten, Logan, no other tribute deserved to die in the arena more than 'our leader'.
She sighed in response before taking another nervous look back to her district partner.
"I don't trust him either." She answered with a sigh.
"What's untrustworthy about him? Aren't you supposed to trust your district partner over everyone else?" I asked.
"Ariail killed off Kendra, and Alaska betrayed you and the rest of us." Victoire replied immediately. "I think our own alliance has shown how 'meaningless' the loyalty between district partners is."
"Point taken." Once again, Victoire had a point.
A scowl then developed on my face as I thought in further detail of my own district partner and her 'betrayal'. That was just another reason added to the list of reasons why I disliked Alaska. She revealed that both she, just like Ariail, was a snake. I hated people like them.
"In Lepolio's case, he just seems to be more emotionless and cruel than when I met him." Victoire continued to clarify, interrupting my thoughts about Alaska. "I thought he seemed like an honorable guy who would make a good ally, but based on the few things he has said and talked to me about since the Quarter Quell twist announcement, he's changed. The changes make him a good career, yeah, but it makes me nervous about who he would work with. I think, in a fight between us and Ariail, he'd side with Ariail, because he would think that Ariail would be more useful to him than us. I know for a fact that he thinks he can manipulate him later in the Games, at least. So, I think it's best if we just left him out of our plans too."
"Again, agreed." I nodded in understanding. I then gave her a confused look. "So, it'll be just the two of us?"
"Yup." She nodded back in clarification.
I wasn't going to deny her request yet, but I was confused about why she was willing to work with me. She could have easily left me out of this and simply left by herself. She's easily capable enough to do so. So, why did she want to work with me?
Victoire seemed to realize that I was confused, because she started to explain herself.
"It really is dangerous to be completely alone in the Hunger Games. Sure you can, but the Gamemakers are more critical of 'solo' tributes and more likely to attack them. It makes sense to be with somebody for as long as we can be, and I'd like it to be someone I can actually trust." She told me.
"… And you trust me?" I, again, looked at her in confusion.
"Well, sorta." Victoire gave me a light smile. She ran her left hand through her hair before she started to speak again. "Maybe I'm being a little too naïve, but I like to think you're trustworthy. You remind me a lot of my little brother."
"Cameron?" I repeated the name she had told me – the name of the boy attached to her life.
"Yup. And if there's one thing I learned in my life so far, it's that I could always count on and rely on my kid brother." She giggled in response, which caused me to smile. I hadn't seen her laugh since her interview session. Victoire seemed to be back to normal, if only slightly at least. "So, are you cool with all of this? Us splitting apart from the rest of the careers and working together from then on?"
I liked Victoire more than Lepolio and Ariail easily. I knew this, so I tried to think neutrally and act based on my own best interest and what would get me closer to get out of the arena alive. Fortunately, the side that I liked better seemed like the best option. Victoire's point on trustworthiness was correct and I didn't want to be around Lepolio and Ariail for too long if they were more than likely going to kill me much sooner than later. And I was not interested in fighting Lepolio by myself right now. I could probably handle Ariail in a direct confrontation, but I was still uncertain about how I'd be fighting off Lepolio. Together with Victoire, however, we could both probably take him on if we needed to. Hell, we could probably take on the rest of the other tributes!
"Yeah, I'm cool with it. I'm in." I replied with a grin as I held out my hand.
Victoire returned my grin with one of her own as she shook my hand, cementing our deal. Immediately after, she told me goodnight and went to get some sleep. I then turned my attention solely on the area around me and took up my shift as the night watch.
I wasn't quite certain how long our alliance was going to last. Would we stick together until the final eight? Final four? I wasn't certain. But for now, I had one true ally that I could trust and I would have somebody willing to work with me in a fight against the other careers. That was something to be grateful about at least.
Alexandra Varas's POV – District 6 Female
I swear, the Hunger Games have turned me into an insomniac.
Not that I ever considered myself much of a sleeper back home. Thanks to all of my heists and black market dealings, I was often awake late into the night and got home nearly at the crack of dawn. I was used to getting two to four hours a sleep on most days, but that could at least be considered some sleep. Ever since the damn reaping, I've basically been unable to sleep. I only received about an hour of rest each night when we were in the Capitol despite the extremely comfy beds. Here in the arena, I wasn't even able to receive that luxury at all. Despite all of my best attempts, I just couldn't fall asleep for even a minute.
I was just too deep in thought to sleep at all. Either that or I was just being paranoid and my body was simply forcing me to be awake in case something was to happen to me. It was probably a combination of both.
After it became clear to me that sleeping was going to be an impossibility and that I was just wasting my time, I got up from my small little camp between a few large trees in the forest and grabbed all of my supplies. I gripped the bow in my hands tightly and started to walk slowly through the forest, looking for some animals that I could maybe kill for food. I made sure that I made no loud noises, so I wouldn't alert any animal or potential tribute nearby.
It didn't take long for me to find an animal: a barn owl. It was flying in the sky between trees, looking for its own prey.
Owls always fascinated me. I had always seen a few out of place owls in District Six and I noticed that they shared a lot of similarities with me. Like me, they only really came out at night to accomplish their tasks and relied on mostly their ears in an environment of mostly pure darkness. Unfortunately for this owl, however, I was used to being quiet. With that thought in my head, I lifted my bow, took an arrow out of my quiver, and prepared to attack. I then released the bow and hit the bird immediately. It never heard the arrow coming, or it just simply never had the time to react. Nevertheless, it fell hard against the ground, dead.
Quickly, I rushed over to its body and pulled out the arrow and placed it back on my quiver. I then picked up the owl's body and put it in my backpack. I'd set up a camp soon and probably prepare it so I could eat it. It'd make a decent meal and give me some energy to stay awake, at least.
As predicted, the owl tasted decent and didn't stay bad. I knew it was food and I'd definitely benefit from some extra energy if I wasn't going to sleep, so I ate every piece that appeared edible. Still, eating it left a bad taste in my mouth and I wasn't quite certain why.
Most likely because I'd rather be eating with my family.
It was only the first night into the Hunger Games and I was already starting to get sentimental and miss life back home. I didn't want to become nostalgic this early, when the ending was so far away. I couldn't really help myself, though. Since I was by myself and I had absolute no one to talk to and nothing to do other than hunt and hide from other tributes, I spent most of my time simply thinking. And, most of the time, my thoughts were about my family.
I could just envision sitting at the dinner table at my small house with my family. It would be one of the special days where mother actually prepared food. It would be some kind of meat, most likely chicken, with potatoes and we'd have bread. It would never be the overly posh food that the Capitol seemed to rave about when I was there, but it would be nice. It was all I wanted. All I wanted was to eat some of my mother's chicken and sit at the table with my family and listen to my family chat about their days.
To this day, I never understood why I was so attached to them. I never was fond of most other people. Plus, five people were a hassle to provide for and none of my siblings or parents earned a big enough paycheck to really provide for each other's needs. It would have been better for me to simply move out once I started taking thievery seriously and search for my own living arrangements. I definitely wouldn't have to steal as much and put myself out in danger if I were just looking out for myself. I knew this – it would be the most practical decision to just look after myself – but I couldn't do it. I just could not leave my family even if I tried.
I may not have liked most people, but my parents and my siblings were the only exceptions I knew to that rule. I guess they were my own treasure that I wasn't willing to let go. A thief recognized the inherent value of something better than most people, and I definitely saw their value as 'priceless'. Even if it made sense to leave, I just wouldn't be able to do so even if I tried.
God I'm missing them…
I looked up at the stars in the sky and started to think about home further. What was my family doing right now? I'd assume most of them would be asleep, unless they were forced to work a night shift at any of their factories. There was a chance they could be awake and watching right now, though. I wouldn't put it past my mother to be awake at least. Hopefully she isn't, though. Hopefully they were all just asleep. Maybe they can sleep well and dream for me while I can't. It didn't make sense for all of us to be stuck tired and awake in the middle of the night.
"Ah, poor Alexandra. Are you lonely?" A voice spoke up, taking me out of my thoughts.
I immediately took an arrow out of my quiver and put it in my bow and I started to scan the area around me. Someone had called out to me. Someone was here!
"Oh? Why'd you take out an arrow? Did I startle you? I thought you would have enjoyed some company." The voice continued to speak. I noticed that the speaker was male and he had a tone-of-voice that was very slick and sounded very similar to some of the pieces of shit that I would sell my stolen merchandise to on the black market. "Or I guess you don't know what you want, do you? You want company but you hate people. It must be a troubling predicament."
"Who are you? Where are you?" I hissed in response as I pulled back on my arrow, ready to launch it at the person. I could tell by their voice that it wasn't any of the other tributes. It was something the Gamemakers had put it in this arena.
"Who am I? Oh, I find it amusing you think you are worthy to even ask such a question. You mortals have such an inflated opinion of yourselves." The voice responded sarcastically.
I gritted my teeth together as I continued to scan the area, looking for him. Whoever he – it – was, it was taunting and it was pissing me off.
"You know, I would have assumed you'd speak a little more. Were you not just feeling lonely? Am I not enough company for a moral such as yourself?" The voice questioned.
The voice sounded a little clearer in my head and I had a better idea of where this speaker might be. I then turned in the direction, towards a nearby tree.
"I don't need anyone's company. I never have and I still don't." I replied back coldly.
I launched my arrow directly below its branches. I heard the arrow make contact with something and I heard a small thud noise. The voice disappeared. Immediately, I sighed in relief. I then walked over carefully towards the tree to figure out exactly what was the source of the voice. After finally reaching the source, I looked at it in complete shock.
The voice sounded human, so I was expecting to find at least some Capitol mutt designed to look human in its place. Instead, I found a rooster, lying on the ground with my arrow sticking out of its chest. The rooster looked generic for the most part, but one detail stood out to me: there was an emblem that was on its stomach – as if it was implanted on it by someone. The emblem looked like a pair of sandals with wings attached to them.
"Ah, you had to shoot him. That was one of my favorite birds, you know?" The voice spoke up again.
I turned back around and readied my bow with another arrow. I began to look around frantically, trying to find this man.
"Who are you? Why are you here? What do you want with me?" I questioned him sternly.
"Oh, don't mind me. I'll take the hint finally and just let you be. Perhaps I'll come visit you again some other time when you are in a better mood." The voice replied. "When I do come back, though, make sure you make up your mind about what exactly you want. I'd prefer if you at least knew whether you want somebody with you or if you wanted to be alone."
"You aren't answering me at all! Who are you?" I continued to hiss.
I received no response, this time. I remained still for about five minutes as I waited for the voice to come back or for something to come out and try to attack me. Nothing ever came. I supposed that meant the voice did exactly what it said and was just leaving me alone.
Who was that though?
I legitimately hated dealing with variables I wasn't familiar with. I spent months planning particular heists just to make sure that every small detail was accounted for to make sure that I wasn't caught by anyone or any possible security system. The fact that that 'speaker' was able to sneak up on me so easily, distract me to attack something else instead of him, and then get away from me without me even noticing was intimidating. And, based on what it said as it was leaving, it was probably going to come back.
I never considered myself somebody easily frightened. I prided myself at being able to calm myself down at any moment and keep my emotions. I suppose after multiple heists and constantly risking my life for money made me immune to most fears. Right now, however, I wasn't able to control myself fully. This 'voice' actually made me nervous about what was out there in the arena.
What bothered me the most, however, was it knew what I was thinking about. It knew that I was lonely and that I was missing the company of my family. It called out to me about that exactly when I was just starting to really think about it. That was legitimately terrifying that I knew that. However, it was wrong about one thing: I was missing my family. I didn't need anyone else to fill that gap, however, especially not some random voice that I didn't even recognize. And I especially didn't want to have to deal with it later!
A few seconds before I simply sighed in relief. For now, the voice wasn't a threat. That could change at any moment, and I had no idea when it would come back. I just had to be ready for when it did, and in case the next time it came, it decided to try and kill me.
It seems like these Games just got a lot more complicated for now…
Icarus Bolt's POV – District 5 Male
"Be careful Icarus. We need to be careful in case if there are any other tributes here." Stephanie whispered to me as she inched further through the rubbles of the street.
I nodded in agreement and followed her. We had both woken up early, before the sun even came out, to move through the city back in the direction we came from. Stephanie mentioned wanting to check the cornucopia for more supplies for the 'suit' she and Ethan designed and I couldn't fault her on the logic. It would be interesting to see if the Career Pack or any of the other tributes actually left anything behind. If they did, then I'd be more than willing to take the last supplies.
There was still an inherent risk of returning to the cornucopia, as there was usually an inherent risk that the Career Pack may have decided to set up camp there. However, no Career Pack have done that in the past few years, considering that the arenas usually have been getting larger and larger. In these types of arenas, the careers usually don't stick to one place and change their camps so they can always be 'on the hunt' of the other tributes. Therefore, the risk of returning back to the cornucopia wouldn't be 'too' high. It was definitely worth winging it and checking if there were any supplies.
It took us nearly an hour of silent walking through the damaged city before we reached the cornucopia. Walking up to the pillars and the rubble that surrounded the giant center of the arena felt uncomfortable to me. Less than twenty-four hours ago, five people had died here: one of which being Ethan. Now, though, all signs of struggle were gone. There were no bodies lying on the ground and all of the blood was cleaned off. The Capitol had already taken action and cleaned up the place. It was just as it was before we arrived. And, even if we were to die here, it would be cleaned and preserved to look exactly the same.
Things like this showed just how much we actually mattered to the Capitol. Bah. I really wished father didn't chicken out during our escape attempt, or if I just had the balls to go short out the electric fence myself and get us to flee the district that way. There were some rumors that District Thirteen, if the place even existed, wasn't in any better condition than the Capitol and the other districts, but surely District Thirteen couldn't be any worse than the Hunger Games and this bullshit.
After a few seconds of thought, Stephanie and I walked towards different areas of the cornucopia. I remained on the outer edges and started to study the general layout of the area for supplies. Nearly every single weapon, with the exception of a couple of throwing knives, was removed from the cornucopia. Supplies, however, were still there. I noticed quite a few bags of generic supplies and food still there. The Career Pack, obviously, didn't see the need to take all of the scraps away from cornucopia. They simply just loaded themselves with all the weapons could carry and left behind most of the other types of resources.
It was extremely cocky on their part, but I'm not going to complain about that. If they didn't want these supplies, then Stephanie and I will be willing to take them.
"Looks like this was worth the trip." I told her with a light chuckle. "If we ration all of the stuff here, we probably won't have to worry about food for the first four or five days. Maybe even longer if we are even more careful with our eating."
"I know." Stephanie replied absent-mindedly, as if she barely registered that I had spoken. She was clearly busy studying something else.
"Did you find what you were looking for?" I questioned her. To be completely truthful, I wasn't certain if she was going to find much of anything useful to her here.
"Uh huh." She answered immediately.
In surprise, I turned around to face her. Stephanie was currently directly in front of the giant cornucopia itself. She was looking at intently for nearly half a minute before she started touching its surfaces and knocking on it.
"It's exactly as Ethan and I predicted it would be." She commented aloud. A large grin developed on her face as she moved her hand onto different parts of the cornucopia. "This will definitely work!"
"You plan on using the cornucopia itself as a resource?" I asked once I realized her intentions.
"Uh huh." She replied again. She then turned towards me, smiled, and gestured for me to come closer. "Feel it. You'll see!"
A little hesitantly, I walked over towards her and placed my right hand on the cornucopia's surface. The material was made from some type of metal, but I wasn't sure what type it was. Regardless, it was definitely strong and sturdy. It was something that would be able to withstand quite a bit of damage. It was not hard to imagine the material being used for a suit of armor.
"Where'd you come up with this idea?" I asked quietly. I realized Stephanie was extremely intelligent, but this idea was brilliant. The material is fantastic!
"It was Ethan's idea at first. The cornucopia is always a constant resource in every Games, so it was something we could predict would be able to used." Stephanie told me with a smile. "Fun fact that Ethan told me: did you know some District Three factory workers often help build certain parts of the cornucopia for each Games? They aren't in charge of the whole thing, as Capitol scientists and the Gamemakers often have to check and redo certain aspects for quality control, but they are very familiar with this type of metal."
"I… did not know that." I shook my head at the thought. District Three helped with constructing the cornucopia each year? That was an interesting, if morbid, fact. I wondered how many parents in District Three went home from work each night knowing they may have constructed one of the biggest symbols of the Hunger Games – one of the places where their kids could die if they were to get reaped into the Hunger Games.
"Yeah, that's a thing. Ethan knew a couple who have actually worked on the material of the cornucopia, so he was familiar with how strong it had to be and how it could be formed together. So, he knew it would be perfect for our plans." Stephanie continued to explain.
"How reliable is the material?" I questioned.
"Very. It's made from a very sturdy metal." Stephanie answered. Her glasses started to lower on her face, so she pushed them back up with her index finger before speaking again. "I mean, I guess it is breakable, but not easily at all. I don't think there were any weapons that could really do much to it here."
"And can you meld it into a suit like you wanted to do?" I continued to question.
"Well, I know what I would need to do so." She answered sheepishly. "I gave Atticus a list of all the tools I'd need. He said he'd send them our way when he was able to get access to them."
"So it's just a matter of waiting for the sponsorships." I noted.
After I said those words, Stephanie's demeanor seemed to change. A frown crossed her lips and she looked downward, her glasses sliding down her nose again.
"Yeah… kinda." She sighed in response as she pushed her glasses back up again. "I wish I stood out a little more in the Gamemaker session or in my interview. Maybe I could've made myself seem a little more reliable and we'd get the tools a little sooner."
"You'll get a hold of them eventually." I told her. "Don't let that stress you out for now. The two of us probably have a good amount of sponsorships."
"Yeah, maybe you do, but I probably don't." Stephanie replied. "You're the guy that got a ten in your session. I got a measly five and I know that my interview didn't go over too well. I mean, yeah, I think I'll get them eventually, but it's probably going to be a few more days. And if it takes too long, then it might be straight up impossible to design."
A frown crossed my lips. Stephanie was normally a very cheerful and positive girl with everything she did and studied. This general positive energy was evident every second I saw her and Ethan working on their 'suit of armor' project. Every once in a while, though, that image would fade and the girl would show signs of some deep, hidden insecurities. For some reason, she had self-esteem issues. I didn't quite understand why she would have any. She's the daughter of the mayor, after all, and she's a genius. So, why does she have so little faith in herself?
I wasn't quite certain how to approach helping her believe in herself more. I told her how I was handling my emotions and how I was trying to take Ethan's death and that seemed to help her, but this was something a little more ingrained in her. People were complex and I barely understood others and how their minds worked. I had no idea what exactly what I was supposed to do or say.
For a brief moment, I remembered all the times where Tallie was feeling down from her own experiences in school or after arguments with my father. I remembered how I would always sit by her side with my hand on her shoulder and how I would tell her that 'everything would be okay in the end'. It always seemed to work for her, so…
Dammit Icarus, stop it. Stephanie and Tallie are two different people! One's your cousin who you're trying to protect. The other is someone who will have to die if you want to get back home! Don't treat them like they are the same!
I told myself that every day I ever started to compare the two. Despite these words, I couldn't help myself try to comfort Stephanie. I placed my hand on her shoulder and gave her a small smile.
"I wouldn't worry about it, still. You'll get your sponsorships soon." I told her. "Just give it some more time. Let the audience just see how smart you really are and you'll have your tools right away."
"I hope…" She sighed in response.
"I'm not hoping; I know it. I'm just stating a fact." I pointed out to her, tightening my grip on her shoulder slightly.
Stephanie looked back up to me and giggled slightly in response. She let a small smile grace her lips as well.
"That was kinda a cheesy line." She told me, still giggling.
"What? I'm just saying." I rolled my eyes in response as I let go of her shoulder.
"No, I didn't mean that in a bad way. That just sounds like something my brother would tell me." Stephanie said. "Don't worry, I know. I'll get the tools I need soon, and I'll begin working on our ticket out of the Hunger Games!"
"That's what I want to hear." I told her with a chuckle. Based on personal experience now, it seemed like Stephanie was somebody who was pretty easy to cheer up. This was good news to me, at least. It meant that I could probably always say or do something for her, no matter what happened in the Games, to get her motivated and willing to work on her projects.
"Thanks Icarus." She told me with a smile as she leaned forward and gave me a hug.
Her hug took me by surprise and, for a brief moment, I didn't know how I was supposed to react. I couldn't recall the last time I was hugged by someone other than Tallie, and even she only really hugged me when she was feeling extremely emotional. It took me a few seconds before I was able to respond back and return the hug, albeit awkwardly.
"… Don't think anything of it." I replied with a smile of my own.
We broke the hug soon after and I walked away, not looking back to my ally. I repeated the same advice that I had told myself before entering the arena: don't get close to her Icarus. Don't get close to anybody here. Don't let your emotions show. This is the Hunger Games. If you let yourself out in the open, you're only revealing yourself wide open to be damaged on an emotional level.
I repeated this mantra to myself as I sat down at the edge of the cornucopia and opened up a backpack that I had been wearing. I looked inside and saw all sorts of wires and material that I had collected during the bloodbath.
Stephanie wasn't the only one with plans on how to get us out of the arena. It was time to put all the training as the son of an electrician to good use.
Alaska Dayte's POV – District 4 Female
"Stop telling me what to do! I HATE YOU!" Oanou screamed at me as he stormed out of the living room and headed to his bedroom. He slammed the door shut, making sure I heard it. And all because I wouldn't let him go out fishing because it was stormy outside.
I rolled my eyes at his display. This wasn't something I was unused to. Oanou was the type of kid who got angry easily at the littlest things and would blow up. He would make a huge deal out of little things, lose his temper, and would generally start screaming and shouting. These moods didn't last too long, however. He would usually calm down shortly after and would, for the most part, act as if he had never been angry in the first place. It was all so confusing to me at times, and sometimes, was just plain exhausting.
The doctors who had diagnosed him as 'mentally disabled and unstable' had told my parents and I how to properly take care of him. The main thing above all else, though, was to have patience. Unfortunately, patience wasn't my best quality. I would often lose my patience with some of the shenanigans and reactions Oanou would do. There was one time where he had attempted to run off a cliff near our house into the house – all because I didn't hear him ask for no cheese on his sandwich! Who honestly reacts like that?
Thankfully, though, Oanou hasn't acted that badly in any of his 'moments' for about two years now and I've been able to become more patient with how I handled him. I started telling myself that he didn't really have too much control over his mood swings and temper, so why should I be too angry at him? I couldn't always follow that advice, but I always tried to. And, for the most part, it was working. These past few years, Oanou has been able to calm down much easier with me. Although, he still prefers our parents over me. If it takes me a good hour to calm him down, it only takes my parents a good five minutes to get him out of one his 'moments'.
Speaking of my parents, where are they?
They had left on a fishing trip earlier this morning and said they'd be back by dinner time. It was already eight o'clock: two hours after our normal 'dinner time'. Perhaps I wouldn't be worrying on a normal day, but it was stormy outside…
I know I was worrying over nothing. My father has been out on the ocean on his boat many days worse than this. However, I still couldn't help but be concerned. What was taking them so long?
I shook my head, brushing away my worries. I was always the type of person to worry over little details and let them consume me. I wasn't going to let that happen to me now, though. They were just running late. That's not a big a deal. Things happen and people don't always come home when they said they would. Maybe they caught more fish than anticipated and decided to go to the market and sell some? Yeah, that was probably it. They'll be back within the next hour.
… Or maybe they won't. You don't know that Alaska!
Once again, I shook my head and rejected my worries. I decided a good idea would be to get my mind on something else. Maybe I could cook something for the four of us? That way they'd have food when they get back home?
"Hey Oanou, I'm going to cook dinner. Do you want something?" I hollered out towards my brother's bedroom door.
Almost immediately, my brother's door opens and he comes rushing out. He jumps directly in front of me and gives me a large grin on his face.
"Salmon please! You know how to prepare it, right? Right? Right?" Oanou repeatedly ask me.
"Calm down, calm down." I laughed in response. It seemed like, just by the mere mention of food, he had calmed down and had already forgiven me. Guess, for now, he liked me as much as he liked Mom and Dad. "I know how to cook salmon. Let me just make sure we actually have some still in our storage."
"Yes! This'll be awesome!" He chanted happily. "And, oh, I know we still have some. Mom and I went to the market and bought some. Freshly caught and everything! It'll be delicious!"
"Really now?" I laughed again in response. "Well, I'll believe you. Let's get some fish and cooked and ready for dinner when Mom and Dad get home."
"Yes!" Oanou cheered loudly.
"Can you get the table set out while I prepare it?" I asked him as I walked over to the storage to pull out the fish.
"Do I have to?" He questioned with a scowl on his face.
Normally, I would tell him to do it anyway. Right now, though, he seemed to still be rather irritated. I didn't want to have him get another 'episode' right after he had just gotten over one so quickly and easily, so I simply shook my head and smiled back to him.
"No, it's okay. I can do it. I'll call you in when it's time for dinner." I told him.
Immediately, the scowl disappeared from his face and a smile crossed his lips. He rushed forward me and hugged me tightly.
"Okay, thanks a bunch Alaska! You're the best big sis ever and I love you!" Oanou told me happily. As fast as he hugged me, he let go of me and rushed back into his room and went back to doing whatever.
"Heh. Love you too little bro." I called out to him. I barely understood how his mind worked, but when he wanted to be sweet and adorable, he could really act like a good kid.
With him back happily in his room, I returned my attention to the kitchen and pulled out the salmon and began to start preparations for dinner and to cook it.
A loud knock on the front door of the house was heard just as I was washing my hands. The salmon had literally just been finished, was cooked, and was on the dinner table and I was now washing my hands after all of the preparation. A grin was on my face as I realized who must have been at the door.
About time they got back here. Wonder what they may have bought at the store.
"Oanou, can you get the door? It's Mom and Dad." I called out to him.
Normally, Oanou would have probably whined and begged not to go get the door. However, because, I mentioned our parents, the little boy ran out of his room and hurried towards the door with an excited grin. I watched him open the door and I was prepared to greet our parents. Instead, two peacekeepers walked in the front door.
"Alaska, why'd you lie to me? It's not them!" Oanou hissed at me.
"I… thought it was going to be." I mumbled nervously in response as I turned off the faucet of our sink and walked over. I was too nervous to even properly dry my hands as I inched closer to the peacekeepers. "Um, hello officers? Is everything okay?"
"The two of you are the children of Orson and Yuka Dayte, correct?" One of the officers asked.
"Yeah, that's us!" Oanou answered. "Where's Mom and Dad?"
"Did something happen?" I asked, shaking my head slightly. Father, although he was a great man, had a tendency sometimes to get in trouble with the peacekeepers. Thankfully he had never been executed or tortured or anything, but getting news that he had been arrested for a day or so wasn't too uncommon. All I could wonder was what he did to get both him and my mother in trouble that the peacekeepers had to come get us?
"I'm sure you are both aware that your parents went out to sea earlier this morning. And I trust that you both know that a storm brewed this afternoon." The other peacekeeper spoke up. I nodded in clarification as fear started to come back to me. "Well… Their boat just somhow drifted to shore just within the last hour, up-side down, and-"
"No…" I mumbled to myself. This can't be happening. He isn't going to say what I think he is. He can't. He won't. HE CAN'T!
"-your parents were nowhere to be found." The peacekeeper continued, ignoring the fact that he was interrupted.
"I'm sorry…" The other peacekeeper lowered his head solemnly. "… We've already contacted the appropriate officials and will send over the money they left in your name in case something were to happen."
No… No… No…
"I don't get it. You couldn't find them on the boat? What's the big deal?" Oanou asked innocently.
Oanou…
"Kid, it's kinda a big deal." The peacekeeper told my brother. "Your parents are… well, they're-"
"Dead." I finished the sentence as tears started to roll down my eyes.
Oanou turned to look at me. Shock was evident on his face as he stared at me in surprise. His surprise soon turned to disbelief as he immediately shook his head furiously.
"No! Don't play jokes on me Alaska!" He hissed.
"I'm not joking, Oanou. The peacekeepers wouldn't come for any other reason or to lie to us. They're dead." I repeated myself, my tears flowing from my eyes even harder. I fell to my knees and brought my hands to my eyes, and my voice fell to barely a whisper. "They're…"
"No… That's…" Oanou mumbled words to himself. I heard a 'thud' noise, meaning that he must have fallen to the ground as well. I couldn't really tell. There were so many tears in my eyes that I couldn't see properly. "No…"
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO."
"AH!" I screamed loudly as I woke up from my sleep.
I frantically looked around the arena in fear. My heart was moving at what felt like a thousand miles a minute and my breathing was hard: very hard. It took me nearly a full two minutes before my breathing and heart beat relaxed. Once I was able to calm down, I took a deep breath and shook my head.
Dammit. It was that nightmare again .
Every few days or so, I would get a nightmare of the day Oanou and I found out that our parents were dead. Every single time, it hurt worse than the last time. This was no exception. Even though I had calmed myself down, I felt sick to my stomach and my heart.
"God, why can't that stop? Can't I just go a few days without remembering that?" I mumbled to myself in prayer.
In some regards, the death of my parents brought Oanou and I closer together. He started to listen more to me and I was able to calm him down easier. In turn, he helped me become a lot more patient and a lot better with dealing with my problems and with other people. We used this horrible tragedy to bring us closer together. Whenever I would have one of these nightmares, I would come into his room and sleep next to him. He would do the same with me when he had them, and he would have them more frequently.
Maybe that was why this one was worse. This whole experience is the first real time I've been away from Oanou since that night…
My eyes narrowed as I thought about my brother. It felt sick being apart from him for so long. I needed to get back home to take care of him. I wasn't going to let anything happen to him and, even if somebody was watching him right now, I couldn't guarantee for myself that he was okay if I wasn't there. I needed to get back to him. I needed to get back to him NOW!
With that thought in my mind, I picked up my supplies and gripped a throwing knife tightly in my hands as I started to move out through the arena. Unfortunately, I had screamed after I woke up from my nightmare. I needed to start moving in case I woke up any other tribute and alerted them to my presence over here. Besides, I doubted that I would be able to go back to sleep now at this rate, so I might as well go look around the arena for any other sleeping tribute myself. Maybe, if I found somebody, I could slit their throat and get myself that much closer to returning back home to my brother.
"I'm coming back home Oanou. Nothing's going to happen to me like what happened to Mom and Dad. I'm coming." I told myself these words aloud, hoping that if he was watching, he would hear me and believe me.
Raegae Oak's POV – District 7 Male
What the hell was that?
A loud noise that sounded like a scream had interrupted my sleep. I quickly got up from where I had been sleeping and I gripped the knife I had stolen from Winnie tightly in my head as I waited for something to come out. Somebody had to be close by.
It took a few seconds before I finally relaxed a little bit. It became clear that it wasn't something close by me. Some poor sap must have been caught already by one of the careers or something and screamed loudly in fear. In a few minutes, there would probably be a sound of cannon fire. One more person out of the way and I'll be one more step closer to getting back to District Seven.
With that thought in my head, I got back to the ground and leaned against a tree, ready to go back to sleep.
As soon as I had lied back down, I heard a very subtle sound that forced me back on my feet. It was much quieter than the scream, but it felt a lot closer. It sounded like movement: footsteps on leaves on the ground. Either some animal or mutt was here or it was another tribute. Whatever it was, it was going to face the receiving end of my knife!
My eyes scanned back and forth between the trees and the area around me, looking for whatever was around me. The grip on my knife became tighter and my breathing became tighter and tighter as I waited anxiously for something to come out. Can it hurry up already? What the fuck is out here?
Eventually, I finally got my answer as another guy jumped from one of the trees behind me. I turned around after hearing his movements and jumped away just in time avoid being cut in half by the scythe in his hands. With some distance placed between us, I looked at the dude and recognized him immediately. It was that crazy fuck from District Ten. Logan, I think his name was.
A grin developed on my face as I looked at the guy standing across from me? Heh. What are the odds? The dude managed to get an eleven during training and had managed to get a very dangerous reputation even amongst the people watching the Hunger Games. I knew that if I played my cards right and got a kill against him, my reputation would skyrocket. I would be rolling in sponsors for the rest of the Games. I had to do it – I knew I could do it. I'd be the guy to remove this plague from existence.
"You wanna fight, shithead? Well then, bring it!" I taunted as I pointed the blade of my knife at him.
Logan didn't reply verbally: he simply charged me again, gripping his scythe tightly. He reached me quickly and swung his scythe aggressively. I jumped out of the way in time of his attack and attempted to stab him with my knife in the side. He moved out of the way and got up close to me. He then swept-kicked me off my feet and slammed me against the ground hard.
Ugh… He fights a lot better than some of the shits that I had gotten into street fights with.
He raised his scythe high in the air as he prepared to cut me down on the spot. A grin developed on my face as I saw him try to end me. However, I'm not done here.
Before he could, though, I rolled out of the way and his scythe made direct contact with the ground. I got up immediately and charged him again, preparing to stab him in his chest. He saw my attack, however, and managed to block my attack with his scythe. He then pushed back on it with enough force that it knocked me backwards. I went directly backwards against a tree and hit it hard. I could feel pain rushing through my back and the back of my head.
Logan wasn't done, however. He rushed forward again, ready to attack. I gripped my knife tightly, ready to strike. When he got close, I managed to stab him in his right arm. He winced slightly in pain, but didn't react too much. He continued to come forward and delivered a punch directly to my face. My head made further contact with the tree behind me and my vision faded to black…
Where… Am… I?
My vision was still hazy. All I remembered was some dream where I had fought the crazy guy from District Ten and he had managed to beat me. It was obviously a dream, because I was still alive, but my body still felt really sore, as if I really did get the shit beaten out of me. I wasn't leaning against the tree where I had been sleeping. So where was I? And why does my body feel like shit?
I tried to move around, but I found myself unable to move. I struggled to move my arms and legs, but nothing was budging at all. I was stuck in place, for some reason. Slowly, my vision returned and I became aware of where I was: I was tied to a tree by both my hands and my legs and I was facing that damn river of lava.
"What the fuck?" I mumbled to myself. "What's going on?"
"So you are awake, I see."
I turned my head around and saw the District Ten boy, Logan, walking towards me. He had a manic grin on his face and his hands were tight around the scythe. Realization hit me: it wasn't a dream. That bastard really did beat me and I was now his captive or something.
"It's a good thing you did wake up. I was starting to get impatient and was wanting to kill you unconscious." He mentioned to me. I paid attention to his voice: it was extremely quiet, but it had some deranged quality to it.
"Well, you should've killed me! That was your big mistake: keeping me alive. Because I'm going to break free and I'm going to fucking kill you sack of shit-" Logan interrupted me by sticking the blade of his scythe directly into my stomach. Pain rushed through my body as I stopped speaking. "AHHHH!"
"You talk too much." Logan commented matter-of-factly as he dug his scythe further into me. This only caused me to wince further in pain. I bit my lip, making sure I didn't scream out again from the pain. "Your name is Raegae, correct? Raegae Oak?"
"Wh-What's it to you?" I hissed slowly in response. My eyes were focused more on the scythe that was within my stomach instead of the guy in front of me, however. Blood was already starting to pour out of the wound and I knew the second he removed his scythe, the bleeding would continue to pour even more. God, this hurts so much…
"Just making sure I was correct. I wanted to know the names of everyone I kill here." Logan explained as he removed the scythe from stomach. I winced again in pain and felt my breathing intensify. I watched the blood come out of the wound faster, just as I predicted. "That and a little bit about the person, but I think I know enough about you. You were always the most open amongst all of the tributes. So easy to read and so easy to predict. You were vulgar, crude, loud, and obnoxious: so stereotypically human and so absolutely disgusting!"
I opened my mouth to say something back, but the words died on my tongue as another wave of pain rushed through my body. I closed my eyes for a second as I tried to ignore the pain.
"Fuck…" I cursed to myself.
"However, I don't really know anything about your 'loved one'. Your little brother correct? What's his name?" Logan questioned.
"M-My brother…" I gave the boy a strange look.
"I want to know about all of my victims. He will die with you, meaning he is also my victim. So, tell me about him. What is his name?" He continued to question.
I ignored the pain in my body as I gave the District Ten boy a glare. Sycamore was not going to die, and especially not at the hands of this sadistic fuck. If that's what he wanted his name for, then he could do whatever he wanted to me: I wasn't going to give it to him.
"His name is 'Go Fuck Yourself'." I shouted at him coldly.
"So you don't want to tell me for some reason. Is his information important to you?" Logan noted. The grin on his face seemed to grow as he started to study me intently. "Well then, I think I'm going to have to try and convince you to change your mind."
The District Ten boy swung his scythe directly at me. He aimed directly for the thumb on my right hand. It was cut off instantly and sent flying to the ground.
"AHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed louder than I had ever screamed in my entire life. The only thing I could truly register was pain. My eyes were wide as they focused solely on my right hand and its missing digit. All that was there in its place was a hole in my skin that was releasing more and more blood.
"Raegae Oak, you are a prime example of human selfishness. You live for gratification and satisfaction for your desires. There are few more deserving of death than you." Logan informed me coldly with a scowl.
Deserved… death?
"However, as I said, you are selfish. You want things to be easy for you. So, we are going to play a little game." Logan informed as he brought his scythe to the next finger on my right hand: my index finger. "You think your brother and his 'information' is important to you, but I'm going to show you that it really means nothing to you when compared to your own life. So, I'm going to remove your fingers one-by-one and ask you different questions about your brother. I'll stop cutting them off once you finally start answering my questions." His scowl then developed back its usual, manic grin as he inched his scythe into my index finger. My eyes widened as I started to feel the pain. "We'll begin immediately. Now, let me ask you again: what's your brother's name?"
I said nothing in response, which caused Logan to inch the scythe further into my index finger. It was cut off immediately and joined my thumb on the ground.
"AHHHHHHHH!" I screamed even louder than before. Blood was now pouring out of two holes in my hand was hitting the ground even further.
Never before have I experienced so much pain in my life…
"This is the third time I'm asking you: what is your brother's name?" Logan continued to question me as he brought his scythe towards my middle finger.
I looked into the face of the boy in front of me. I was starting to feel dizzy from blood-loss and my vision was fading. He didn't look like another kid my age anymore: he looked like a demon. He appeared like an embodiment of evil itself.
Is… Is this hell?
"Please... Stop… I… Please…" I begged him between my heavy breathing.
"That's not a name." Logan replied indifferently as he, again, cut off the third finger from my right hand.
This time, I didn't scream. I resisted the urge and opted to, instead, bite my lips to stop myself from screaming. It did nothing to stop the pain, however. I could barely feel my right hand anymore at all. Tears were now rolling down my eyes, making my vision even worse.
Am I… being punished… for murdering Winnie? Was this the fate for somebody who murdered their district partner?
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" I repeated over-and-over again as tears started to roll further down my face. All I wanted was for this to end. I needed this to end. I needed to die…
Sycamore Oak's POV – District 7 – Raegae Oak's Little Brother
"What's your brother's name?"
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The same scene kept returning on the screen over-and-over again. The psychotic District Ten boy would ask Raegae for his brothers' name – my name – and Raegae wouldn't give it, so the boy would respond by cutting off another finger. Raegae would scream louder than the previous time and the cycle would continue. Raegae had lost all of the fingers on his right hand and now the District Ten boy had now moved onto the fingers on his left hand.
Raegae please… just tell him my name… PLEASE!
"My poor boy… My baby…" Mother cried to herself. Father replied by wrapping his arms around her shoulder, but he couldn't say anything to comfort her. He, too, was crying. They had never cared for Raegae much and had even kicked him out of our house, but even they couldn't deny how truly awful this was to witness. This reinvigorated some deeply-buried love for their son, the boy they had cast out onto the streets years ago.
Just like my parents, I was also crying. Unlike my mother and father, though, I didn't have anybody to help me. Whenever I was upset, I would have to go to Raegae to help comfort me. People always told me he was a bad person and that I should stay away from him, but he really wasn't. No one simply understood him. Whenever I needed somebody, he would always be there for me and he would comfort me. He would take all of my sadness away and would make me laugh in the process. He was a great brother and he could always stop me from crying. But now… now…
Why? Why was he putting himself through so much torture just for my sake? Why couldn't he just give the psycho District Ten boy my name? Why couldn't he just end all of the suffering for himself?
Just say my name Raegae, please. Just end it all for you…
It was probably a weird thing to think, but I wanted my brother to die. Even though it meant that the peacekeepers were going to come in and kill me the second he died… I didn't care. I accepted my death the moment when Raegae was first beaten and tied up by the District Ten boy. Now, all I wanted was for his suffering to end.
If there was a god out there, all I could do was pray that he would take pity and mercy on Raegae and end his suffering and bring him some peace in the afterlife. Because of all the people I know, and after all of the things that has happened to him in his life, he's the one person who truly deserves some peace…
Logan Faber's POV – District 10 Male
I had to admit, I was impressed with Raegae's willingness to hold his information. I expected him to cave after two or three fingers had been cut off. Here he was though: only his ring finger on his left hand remaining of his hands. The formerly-loud District Seven boy was now reduced to shriveling, pathetic mess who was crying and screaming every second from his own pain. It was actually pretty hilarious to think how much he has changed just within a few minutes.
"One last time Raegae: what's your brother's name?" I asked him for the tenth time.
Raegae didn't respond immediately. Tears rolled down his eyes as he looked me directly in the eyes.
"P-Please… Have mercy on me…" He begged.
Mercy? MERCY?
Rage flowed through my body as I returned his pitiful glance with a glare filled with all of my anger and a scowl. After all of my studies, after everything I have seen humanity do to itself, the other creatures around it, and the world it lived in, how dare such a pitiful human ask me for mercy?
Men only beg for mercy when they are at their weakest. Reverse the situations and you will find out how much 'mercy' means to them. 'Mercy' does not exist in the mind of the human species. It was a mere construct that resulted from their own useless begging. What a pathetic to ask me! What an absolutely DISGUSTING thing!
I didn't dignify his request with a verbal reply: I simply chopped off the remaining ring finger with the blade of my scythe.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Raegae's scream was instantaneous. His eyes were forced shut as he tried to cope with the pain and the rest of his body was shaking. His hands, if you could even call them that, were missing all of their digits and were now dripping blood. If I left him alone tied up in this condition, there was a good chance he would die within the hour from blood loss alone. It would be a long, painful death for him and was a very tempting idea, but I decided against it. What fun would that be for me if just let him die from his own blood loss?
"Looks like we are out of fingers to try. I guess you won the first round of our little game." I commented nonchalantly as I walked forward to him. I then pulled off his shoes and socks, releasing his feet. Raegae's eyes opened and widened as he realized what I was probably going to do next. I responded back by giving him the widest grin I could manage. "Now, let's move on to round two: your toes. We'll start with the smallest one on your right foot and we'll move from there."
"Please… No… PLEASE!" He screamed at me.
"You know the rules, Raegae: just answer my questions." I reminded him as I brought my scythe to the smallest toe on his right foot. My eyes were focused on Raegae's face. "What's your brother's name?"
I barely pressed the blade against the toe and Raegae's eyes widened even further in fear. Finally, the boy started to talk to me.
"HIS NAME IS SYCAMORE!" He nearly screamed the answer.
Heh. It appears that I finally broke him.
"How old is 'Sycamore'?" I asked him another question, pressing the blade further against his toe.
"TWELVE!" He screamed instantly.
"How tall is he?" I gave him another question.
"FIVE FEET EXACTLY!" Raegae answered.
This pattern continued as I asked more questions about Raegae's little brother: all of which Raegae answered. His name, age, height, hair color, favorite foods, hobbies, interests, general personality: everything I asked, I received an answer. With each further detail, I began to imagine 'Sycamore Oak' in my head. I got a firm image of a small twelve year old boy with curly hair and Raegae's skin complexion. I imagined this boy crying in front of me, tied up just like his older brother.
"It seems I was correct Raegae. Just like all human beings, you are selfish. What you considered 'private' information that you didn't want to share became unimportant when it conflicted with your interests. You valued yourself over your little brother in the end." I informed him sharply.
"Please… Just end it… Please…" Raegae continued to beg me.
I debated on continuing Raegae's torture, but the District Seven boy was starting to lose my interest. He had now been reduced to a submissive beggar. There was nothing left to break of him and he'd most likely tell me anything I asked. There was no challenge with him anymore, so there was no point to continue our little session. I could, instead, spend the time looking for more tributes to massacre.
"Very well… I'll end your suffering." I told him coldly.
I proceeded to cut the ropes that had Raegae tied to the tree. The District Seven boy fell to the ground hard and landed in a pool of his blood, right next to all ten of his fingers. He was so exhausted and in so much pain that he didn't even attempt to get up and run away. He was broken; he was completely, truly defeated.
"Raegae Oak, receive the punishment you deserve for your selfishness as a human." I informed him coldly.
With those words, I kicked his body as hard as I could. His body was sent rolling into the river of lava in front of us.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..."
Raegae screamed as loud as he could as his body slowly began to melt into the river bit by bit. Almost immediately after he started to scream, his voiced died and his eyes were shut. The rest of his body slowly inched itself into the lava before all of it was gone. There was no sign of Raegae Oak at all. He had simply melted into the lava and was gone from this earth: as if he had never been here.
Bang!
The grin on my face grew even wider once I heard the sound of the cannon fire. It was now official: I had made my first kill. I was one step closer to becoming a victor and one step closer to reaching my ultimate goal: complete human extinction.
I walked over to the pool of Raegae's blood and picked up his fingers. I tossed nine of them into the lava and watched them melt and join the rest of Raegae's body within the lava. I was about to toss Raegae's left index finger, but then a thought occurred to me: one that I had long forgotten.
Starting with my third kill, a notoriously vain woman who was the wife or a wealthy farm owner who prided herself on her hair and all of the money that she spent to maintain it (instead of using that money to increase the wages of all of the workers that worked for her husband, or for better equipment to work with the animals the workers worked with), I started to take 'pieces' of all my victims and keep them as part of some sort of 'collection'. From her, I took locks of her hair. From an old man, I had taken some of his teeth. From a girl around my age, I had taken her ear. I made sure to have at least one 'piece' of all of my victims so that way I could remember them and everything about their deaths forever.
With that in mind, I placed Raegae's left index finger in the pocket of my pants and kept on moving. It would be a nice addition to my collection and I was going to make sure it wasn't the only 'tribute memorabilia' that would be added to it. There were now seventeen other potential targets I could kill and I was going to make sure I would add more kills and have more fun along the way.
Burn to the Ground - 150th Hunger Games - Sixth Quarter Quell
24th Place: Ethan Neurus: Stabbed in the throat with a spear by Cascade Bolt
23rd Place: Winnie Goldstein: Strangled to death by Raegae Oak
22nd Place: Xander Lugar: Stabbed in the chest by Ariail Bardineux
21st Place: Demetriana "Demi" Walser: Decapitated by a boomerang that went through her neck tossed by Victoire McBlock
20th Place: Kendra Perone: Knocked unconscious by Jason Icarus, and then stabbed in the chest by Ariail Bardineux
19th Place: Raegae Oak: Tortured by Logan Faber before being melted in a river of lava
Eulogy for Raegae: Oh Raegae... You were definitely, if nothing else, memorable. Honestly, you were probably the easiest tribute here for me to write. There was something about you that was so easy to visualize. I could imagine what you would do, say, or react to nearly any given scenario. Having said that, that does not mean you were a simple character at all. You have a lot of layers of complexity hidden deep within your general obnoxious, loud self and you were a ton of fun to work with. I found you somewhat pitiable considering the circumstances with your parents, somewhat likable with your relationship with your brother, and somewhat detestable due to your actions and overall demeanor. Overall: you caused me so many different conflicting emotions, which is the sign of an amazing character. You're somebody I'm going to absolutely miss writing and I am very grateful that you were sent for my story. May you rest in peace...
Author's Note: Hey everybody! :) Guess who's back from Colombia?
Thank you for all the messages in the reviews and private messages. I had an amazing time meeting all of my girlfriend's family and getting to see the country where she was from. Colombia really is an absolutely beautiful country and I strongly recommend traveling if you haven't and actually want to go visit South America. The mountains are absolutely breath-taking. Just saying :)
Anyway, I'm back in the United States and I'm getting back in the swing of things with school. However, that also means I'm getting back to writing and working on the story. :)
A lot of you were predicting either Alaska or Raegae was Logan's target. I almost wanted to switch the target to either Bane, Alexandra, or Maddison because everybody forgot that they were all tributes working by themselves as well, but I decided against that. Every single death and event has a purpose and order in my story, and I wasn't going to change my plans. Still, a lot of you were pretty certain it was either Raegae or Alaska, so good job to all the people who predicted correctly.
Action is starting to pick up in the arena, and things are only going to keep moving even faster and harder from here. -Muahahahahahaha-
Anyway, thank you all so much for reading and reviewing. I love all of the support that I have gotten and all of the kind words and praise. I'm so grateful for it and I hope I'm still satisfying you all with my arena. Let me know about what you thought here and if there's any room for improvement you notice. I'll begin work on the next chapter immediately, and it shouldn't take as long as this chapter took! ;) I'll see you all at the next chapter!
Hope you all have a great night and a great 2015!