A.N.: This chapter contains one swear word, near the end.
XXX
Carn Hurdy, 18, District 2
I sit down on a rock, trying to keep my eyes open. Shimmer assigned me to tonight's watch, which would be all right if I could just stay awake… We've been hiking around non-stop, and I'm tired. But it isn't just a tired gained from physical activity. I'm tired of the fighting. Tired of the fear and the pain. Tired of the Hunger Games…
Poison drips from a headless spider… Blood trickles down a screaming girl's face… A boy lies on the ground, his head at an impossible angle… The spider charges, pincers wide, hissing…!
The hissing is so realistic, it wakes me up.
I'm glad Shimmer didn't see that… How long was I asleep?
I look up, freeze, and scream.
Exactly how long doesn't matter.
It was long enough for my pack to become surrounded by enormous, hissing, venomous spiders.
XXX
Shimmer Argent, 18, District 1
I awaken to Carn's panicked yell, and I have a dagger in each hand before I'm completely up. My eyes widen as they take in the situation.
Spiders. About a dozen of them. We're surrounded.
Thera and Phenom have their swords drawn by this point, but they're glancing around in terror.
"Strike first!" I order. "Kill them quickly—don't get poisoned!"
The spiders hiss and charge.
I fell the one in front of me immediately with two knives to the brain, and its corpse trips up the one behind it. I run forward and slice through its neck, dodging away just as quickly. Any contact with that poisoned blood and my own bloodstream could prove fatal, and I didn't volunteer for these Games to get stomped by a spider!
Thera and Phenom are holding their own, each having killed some of the adversary, but Carn is just standing there dumbly with his broadsword held loosely in his hands.
"Use your blade, you useless baby!" I shout, throwing three knives into the chest of an oncoming spider. A furious look crosses Carn's face, and he lifts his sword and slices through two spiders with a roar of anger.
Good.
I hear Phenom scream, and I turn to see Thera separate a spider's head from its torso. The head remains stuck to Phenom's front, pincers deep inside his chest. He sags to his knees and then to the ground, and his cannon fires as Carn finishes off the last two spiders.
I look back at the spiders that I killed before, and I curse softly under my breath. Their blood has leaked onto the handles of my knives, all five of them. I can't risk using them anymore. That leaves me with only six blades at my waist, and only two of them have a poisoned blade.
"I hope that's the last of them," Thera mutters. I nod slowly, picking up Phenom's discarded sword and attaching it to my belt.
I don't think the swords are poisoned, because Thera's didn't kill that Five girl yesterday when she was slashed by it. There must not be poison in the spiders' necks…
Poisoned or not, I think, watching Thera out of the corner of my eye. I might need it soon.
XXX
Briar Tussen, 12, District 11
The sounds of someone approaching through the foliage send me running for the trees, but before I'm even a few yards off of the ground, the other tribute comes into view.
"Briar?"
I turn to face her. "Dally!" I exclaim. She places a cautioning finger to her lips as I drop to the ground again.
"I saw Jude and Robin sneaking around just a little while ago," she whispers. "Be careful."
I nod. "I was hoping that the cannon earlier was one of them…"
Dally shrugs. "My guess is that it was a victim of the Careers," she says. "Have you seen Anise or Kayla recently?"
I shake my head. "Not since the bloodbath… You?"
Dally shakes her head, as well.
"I hope they're okay…" I say. "Anise could probably outrun anyone, but Kayla's got that limp."
Suddenly a horrible thought crosses my mind, and I take a few steps backwards.
"You…! You're not…?"
Dally shakes her head again.
"I'm not going to kill you, Briar," she says. "I have a little sister just like you. I'm not gonna hurt you."
I relax, but not completely.
"Dally, I—"
A twig snaps.
We both turn in the direction of the sound, frozen.
Suddenly, two figures come charging into view. One of them is holding a battleaxe.
"Run!" Dally shrieks. I turn and scamper, dodging around trees as I try to get away.
Soon, though, it's clear that no one is following me. I slow to a walk, and then I stand with my hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath.
That was Jude! And Robin! Dally… Did they catch her? There wasn't a cannon… Or was there? I don't remember! Are they after me, now? No, no, I would hear them. Wouldn't I? I don't know!
I just don't know!
XXX
Kayla Rakkor, 15, District 9
I lie in the grass, staring down over the edge of my ledge. There's a trio of people walking far below me. Probably the Careers. Have they really gotten so small?
Time is ticking,
Ticking, ticking,
Ticking for the hunters
Pack is shrinking,
Shrinking, shrinking,
Shrinking down in numbers.
Maybe I could lessen them even more…
I quietly get up and grab a small rock from nearby. At this height, it could do some damage…but is it worth possibly giving up my position?
But if they thought that it was just a loose rock or something…
I creep back over to the ledge, take aim, and drop the rock, immediately hurrying back to the tunnel to hide. I hear a faint crunch as the rock hits the ground far below, followed by some shouts of consternation, but no cannon.
I missed. Damn.
XXX
The Head Gamemaker frowns as he looks at the statistics on the computer screen in front of him.
"The viewers enjoyed the spiders…" he mutters, just loud enough for his team of programmers and geneticists around him to hear. "…but that's the last of them!"
He turns to the geneticist at his right.
"Would it be possible to create more, and release them into the mountain tunnels, within a probable timeframe?"
The geneticist shakes his head.
"The spiders took weeks to grow from individual cells," he replies. "And they were sterile, so there are no eggs, no young to work from."
"This could be for the better, sir," Varinius says, turning his chair around. "It is the public opinion that we relied too heavily on the muttations last year. While they provided good ratings in the short term, viewers became bored."
"My findings support that claim," the woman beside him adds.
The Head Gamemaker shakes his head. "There was a time when it was easy to entertain the masses with our Games," he says. "Back when I was just a programmer, everything was new and exciting. Now nothing is."
He thinks for a few moments, head bowed, and then he looks up again.
"Where is Tacita Belillium?" he asks.
"The psychologist?" says the geneticist. "In her rooms, I think."
"Send for her," the Head Gamemaker orders. "We've done enough physical damage for now. Let's see what we can do to manipulate these kids' minds…"
"What are you saying?" Varinius leans forward in his chair.
The Head Gamemaker smiles.
"Everyone loves a drama," he says. "A broken alliance, a touching story… Tacita will know how to arrange the best show."
XXX
Remaining Tributes:
Tribute-Name-Age
1G Shimmer Argent 18
2B Carn Hurdy 18
2G Thera Adrastea 17
7B Jude Paraux 17
7G Robin Sarabia 16
9B Bergamot Palentia 17
9G Kayla Rakkor 15
11B Briar Tussen 12
11G Anise Leenan 15
12G Dalinder Fernswith 17