-Part Thirteen – Vengeance—
Arthur set out with his shotgun after the group had grudgingly begun their search for food. Antonio could barely walk from the pain of moving his head. He remained at camp while the others injured merely had their wounds treated with water and cloth from a spare shirt. Yao's hand was healing better than Arthur expected, but signs of infection were beginning to show.
Arthur had an idea of where Lovino could be hiding, but the wide map of the arena meant he could anywhere. It was unlikely that Arthur would find him. He wanted to see what was beyond the lake and he planned to spend the day searching there.
Lovino was beginning to worry over what he had done. A fear spread over him and he couldn't escape it. Deer wandered near the tree he hid in, not noticing him yet. He rolled two berries in his hand. They were poisonous, but he had no intentions of eating them. The idea appealed to him an hour ago, but the suicidal thoughts were now gone. Thoughts of his brother were enough to keep him alive.
With a sudden urge to explore, he jumped from the tree into the tall grass below. The deer scattered instantly. He watched them bound away to the edges of the forest, where they disappeared into the shadows. He followed after them slowly, the tall grass impairing his movement. He passed another oak tree and a glint caught his eye. He paused and looked back at it. Something seemed to be sticking from the tree, but it was shining in the sun. He walked over and stared at the handle of a knife. "I'm starting to see things."
He reached out and grasped the handle. The knife slid out of the tree easily and the blade shone bright in the sunlight. It was sharp and unscathed. In perfect condition."Clever idea…nice move, gamemakers." He said, looking towards the sky.
The head Gamemaker watched the screen intently while a smile crept onto his face. "This is going nicely."
"Panem certainly likes it. From what I've heard, they actually enjoy the idea of a group forming." Another gamemaker stood beside him. "But fighting always gets them excited. The two deaths, again only from what I've heard, have been too 'natural'."
The head Gamemaker nodded. "Tensions are building. I can feel it. No sponsors either. That peace loving group is going to starve."
"Of course. But we've had that happen before…"
"Terribly boring, of course. But we have some fighting, some natural deaths, some starvation, and some odd attacks. They're getting creative."
"Someone said the dog was too much. Too early."
"Yes, yes. Let them complain. They always have something to say. But this year is far too amusing to complain about. So many twists, they are the perfect group of tributes to measure reactions from."
"Maybe you should lay off the interaction. Let them survive a bit."
"I was thinking the same. I'm the one in charge, remember? Now, I'm hoping to see some bloodshed. Tribute Six seems to be heading after Tribute 12."
"Of course." The gamemaker nodded and turned to another screen.
Arthur was finally at the bottom of the hill. Now all he had to do was find Lovino. He had seen the black outfit walking to the forest and he was sure it was his target. His gun was already loaded and ready to shoot. He grinned with confidence and set off through the grass. Within a few minutes he stopped walking and bent down to investigate a burnt circle of land. A few sticks were scattered around the site and some grass was flattened nearby. Arthur stood up and sighed. He couldn't decide whether he should wait and ambush Lovino when he came back, or hunt him down.
His decision was made for him.
When he turned his head to look across the clearing, he saw a figure cloaked in black staring back at him. It started walking towards him. No doubt it was Lovino. Arthur broke his gaze and looked around for a place to hide and at least have some sort of advantage against Lovino.
"Oi! Who are you!" He could hear Lovino and from a quick glance he noticed he was also sprinting towards him. Arthur gripped the barrel of his shotgun and pulled it to his chest to position it. When Lovino came into view, he would fire.
Lovino jogged his way to Arthur and stopped when he could recognize the attacker. "Arthur, why are you pointing a gun at me?" Lovino tightened his grip on the hidden knife. He knew exactly why Arthur was pointing the gun.
"Come closer and say that to my face." He muttered. Lovino was a few meters away and Arthur felt he couldn't get a good enough shot from the distance.
Lovino paused. He raised his weapon and dashed forward, swerving randomly in hope of dodging Arthur's gun.
He tightened his finger on the trigger as soon as he noticed Lovino moving. The bullet exploded from the gun, but the kickback threw Arthur to the ground and the gun flew from his hands. Lovino nearly ended on the ground too when he heard the deafening shot.
"Dammit…" Arthur muttered, wincing and trying to get up. Lovino jumped forward and placed his foot on Arthur's chest. He kneeled down and brought the knife gently to his target's throat. Arthur froze at the sight of the blade.
"Why did you come to kill me?" Lovino questioned, narrowing his eyes accusingly.
"This is the Hunger Games. Peace is overrated and impractical."
"So why kill me? You aspire to win?"
"Just as much as you do."
"I was forced here. I feel no reason to win other than to live. I get no joy from killing." He paused and looked at the gun lying near them. "But it looks like you do."
"I was asked."
"So now you're a pushover? Willingly doing others work, even if you're not sure if you trust them."
"Why the sudden psychology lesson? If you're going to kill me, I would expect you to do it." Arthur's bravado was wearing off and his voice shook near the end of his sentence.
"I just wanted a chat before your unti.." Arthur shoved Lovino off him and jumped to his feet. Lovino sliced the back of his hand on accident and was swearing over that on the ground, struggling to get up.
Arthur ran for his gun.
"Get back here bastard!" Lovino cried, brandishing his knife. Arthur swiftly grabbed his gun off the ground and swung around to meet Lovino. Holding the shotgun by the barrel, he swung the stock of the gun at Lovino's neck.
There was a dull crack and Lovino fell to the ground. When Arthur bent down to pry the knife from his hands, he heard the cannon fire.