A/N: In response to developing questions about Rex/Trajan, I owe you guys as readers an explanation: since this story is the first in a multi-story arc, and since I was never quite happy about how Catching Fire just chucked President Snow into the picture without even getting to know the guy, I'm developing these two (as well as Octavian, in absentia) characters to begin to highlight their personalities and how they approach problems. How this comes into play will become more apparent over time; needless to say, they all play important roles. I'll try to make it a little less confusing though; that's one concern I've gotten a couple of, and I value each and every critique.
The approach to the Cornucopia led Sam and Storm to an entirely new difficulty on the following day. The golden horn atop the raised desert plateau came sharply into view with the rising sun of the morning, but getting there would require them to cross a narrow natural bridge over the former canyon, now quick-flowing river. They had already spotted the lethal tentacled beast within its confines; who knew what else lurked under the choppy flow of the water?
"Just take it slow, Sam," Storm urged her on as the two sized up the rock bridge. "Take it slow, take it safe. Then we can worry about the kids at the Cornucopia."
Sam felt the goosebumps returning as she looked across the bridge. There weren't heights in District 10 – everything was flat, and the tallest piece of land was the sloping and gentle Midland Hill. Sure, she had nearly fallen off the cliff on the first day in her escape from the Cornucopia, but peering down across a narrow bridge into brackish waters that contained who-knew-what weren't a way to quash unexpected fears.
"Don't look down," she whispered to herself as she stepped a toe out onto the bridge. "Don't look down."
Every step came as measured and deliberate as Sam kept her gaze straight ahead at the opposite cliff edge. About halfway across, Storm's sharp inhale told her something was wrong.
"What?" she asked over her shoulder, keeping her eyes up.
"Nothing," he didn't sound sincere. "Nothing, you're doing great. Halfway there."
The sound from below her told her what was going on, however. A gaping noise slopped up from beneath the bridge, like a toddler smacking peanut butter on a hot summer day. Sam swallowed heavily and slowed her pace – don't look down, just don't look. She gritted her teeth and hurried the last fifteen feet across the bridge to the other side, relieved when she reached the comfort of terra firma. As Storm started reluctantly across after her, she finally looked down to see what it was that had alerted her to danger.
Turbulence had started up in the water. Underneath the murky surface, a churning and swishing of the currents indicated the presence of something else…something bad. Seconds later a swath of water fell away and white teeth bore up at the canyon, snapping at the air and Storm's pheromones before sinking underneath the water.
The Gamesmakers are just following me with that thing…
"C'mon Storm," Sam urged helpfully. "Almost there."
"Yea, I know what's down there," he said with regret, frowning and continuing across the narrow bridge. "Not a great time to go for a swim, I guess."
"You might scare it away if you tried to swim," Sam offered jokingly, trying to take his mind away from the beast.
"I probably would. It'd involve a lot of flailing and arm-waving and drowning."
He scampered to the other side of the bridge as the mutt moaned and sunk back beneath the water. Whatever the Gamesmakers wanted to do with it, clearly now wasn't the right time. After all, they had a Cornucopia gathering to attend to.
"So…what's our plan now?" Sam asked as the two got moving again. "The Cornucopia's not far away."
"Let's find a place we can bunker down at; get a view of the approach," Storm suggested. "We know somewhere away from us are the cliffs that run down from the plateau, and off to the left somewhere is the tree grove. That means there's not a lot of places people can come from; any we haven't seen yet are probably hidden amongst the trees."
"You remember all that?" Sam sputtered. "All I remember is the trees and falling off the cliff as Royal was shooting at me."
"Well…she could be doing that again," Storm mused. "Since we're not in real need of anything serious, let's let someone else make the first move if they want to break from cover. We can see what we're up against that way and plan appropriately. If they're all killing each other, we can make a break for anything good, grab it, and bail."
Sam began to wonder who the smart one of the pair really was. Storm had formulated a sound strategy in a matter of seconds; one that if properly executed would give them a tactical advantage on the Careers. If nothing else, it wouldn't throw their lives away in a useless dogfight for supplies they probably didn't need.
"Claudius mentioned an…opportunity," Sam mentioned. "What do you think that was about?"
"Probably for the Careers," Storm waved it off. "Give them a chance to kill any tributes who were lying in hiding, like the three girls from the other districts. I kinda doubt they all last today."
As the sun rose higher and the two approached the Cornucopia itself, Sam began to notice things looked different than she'd recalled. More cover seemed interspersed around the golden horn that rose into the sky – rocks, shrubs, bushes – and the eucalyptus grove itself seemed to have swelled with extra trees, giving not just a touch of life, but legitimate hiding spots. No doubt the Gamesmakers had been at work modifying the area, making it as presentable and entertaining for viewers in the Capitol as possible.
Couldn't let a good death go to waste.
Storm and Sam bunkered up behind a mound of boulders flanked by thick yucca plants – it gave limited cover, but enough that they'd be hidden from the casual observer and would be able to see anyone coming in for an attack. It was more than defensible; only from the rear were the two vulnerable, and if that came to pass, they still would outnumber anyone but Fresco and Cascade. Neither of the two Careers had ranged weaponry, either, swinging the advantage further away from them.
"Probably any minute now," Storm said quietly after some time had passed. "Alright, it looks pretty basic. Once we see the two Careers and Royal out there, we'll have a better chance of where we're going."
"You think we can get away in the trees?" Sam pointed out. "It's not really dense like a forest, but it'll at least mean we won't get shot by anyone good with arrows."
"Yeah, assuming no one's left hiding in there, that's probably our best getaway," Storm nodded. "I'd prefer ground we already know, but the only thing that encompasses is a lot of ground-up dry desert. We'll just have to take our chances in there."
"Alright," Sam said. "Just…stay close, okay?"
"Yeah," Storm replied. "Yeah, and Sam…just…if one of us doesn't make it out today, there's something I need to say."
Without fanfare, Storm swept up Sam in his arms. Before she had the chance to question what he was doing, their lips connected in a kiss. Sam's mind flailed in confusion, but after a moment of uncertainty she found herself caught in the moment. Something warm and alive stirred within her as she and Storm shared the embrace. She had never kissed a boy like this before – and for a first kiss, she found herself wanting more. Storm backed away after a few seconds, his eyes never leaving Sam's.
"Worth a thousand words," he smiled. "Now c'mon, we got work to do."
But she didn't want that to end. Storm had unearthed a creature she didn't know she had inside her – one that clamored for life, for love, for something beyond being sacrificed to some false Gods in the Capitol for their amusement.
I don't want this boy to die. Not like this. Not here. Not now.
Too late for thoughts, however. A red flare shot out of the end of the Cornucopia's horn as the ground opened up. Five wicker mats emerged from the holes in the sand, each containing different items. Two held a pack of food and a bottle of water each; two others held weapons. On one of the latter sat a beautiful chrome bow with a set of arrows – Sam noted that Storm had his eyes set heavily on that – while the other held a long and dangerous curved scimitar. The final mat interested Sam the most, however – on the wicker sat a chrome metal shield, circular in shape and maybe a meter in diameter. Regardless of everything else, that'd offer her a measure of protection in direct combat and disrupt an attacker. It was priceless to her.
But everything had to have a purpose – was it meant for her?
"Remember, wait for them," Storm whispered, and it began.
The olive-skinned, dark-haired girl from 12 – Storm's district-mate – scampered out like a mouse from behind a scrubby bush twenty meters away. She was unarmed and unequipped with anything; likely, she'd only gotten away from the Cornucopia with her life. Based on Storm's descriptions of District 12, Sam wondered how she'd managed all this time.
The party was soon joined. As she ran forward, so too did both the short girl from 9 who Sam had barely even remembered and both the Careers. They'd been hidden relatively close to the Cornucopia, and as the two other girls came forward, Cascade brought his bident to bear in front of him. As he spotted a target and prepared to move in, the boy from District 4 went down.
It was all way too fast. Sam had barely seen the arrow come howling out of the forest before it found Cascade's neck, burrowed nearly up to the fletching. Fresco immediately dove and Sam saw something strange in his eyes – fear.
Fwoosh! Two more gaps in the ground near the beginning of the tree grove opened up and the first Gamesmaker trick was afoot. Sam briefly caught a glimpse of something maybe eight feet in height go bounding into the forest before Storm grabbed her arm.
"C'mon! Now's our chance!"
The girl from 5 came flying out of the edge of the forest. Another arrow flew out from the tree line, catching the girl from 9 in her temple and grounding her as she tried to reach for the scimitar. Finally, out came the eighth and final tribute of the Cornucopia – already having notched two kills and now hounded by two Capitol mutts.
There she is.
Royal had stayed fit and sharp during her days in the arena. She clutched a bright silver bow and wore a quiver of arrows – a lot of arrows – as she turned to face her pursuers. Her silver hair flashed in the sunlight when the first mutt emerged. A brightly feathered, two-legged avian built like a moa shrieked and honked as it dashed forward to catch its target. Its huge gray beak ended in a cruel spike that it lunged to use. Royal was faster – as the second mutt cleared the tree line, she nocked an arrow and let it fly into the first creature's eye. It flung itself writhing to the ground, gasping in pain.
Sam didn't think, just ran. Her legs pumped against the dry earth as sights and tributes whipped past her vision; howls from the dying mutt and the second one sparring with Royal roared over the shrieks of the girl from 5, avoiding Fresco's sword. There, right there! She could almost touch the shield as she dove and saw Storm go for the bow. The girl from 12 also went for it, but came up short as Storm hurled Gannet's wooden spear at her without regard for his district-mate. He missed, but she had no choice but to pull back and grab a pack of food. She had just managed to get running when Fresco came down with a vengeance.
Sam felt her fingers connect with the round shield, snatching it up and moving it up her left arm. She brought her head around just in time to see Fresco bring down his sword on the girl from 12, already injured with a huge slash across her leg. Her gray eyes pleaded for mercy as she futilely crawled backwards. Fresco snarled and ripped downwards with the weapon, goring her across the chest and eliciting a final scream from her lungs.
Storm had the bow up and ready as Fresco lunged for him. He sidestepped but fell off-balance from the attack, sending an arrow from the weapon into the ground. Too late – the one miss had given Royal enough time to clear the mutts, and now the silver-headed vixen was on the attack.
An arrow flew into the back of the girl from 5 just as she had almost cleared back into the woods, having already snatched up a water bottle and bag of food. Royal quickly discharged another arrow to finish the job before homing in on the three still battling around the Cornucopia.
This could be it, Sammy.
The arrow flew true, but Sam brought the shield up in time. Thunk! She took a step back from the impact of the blow as Fresco bolted away towards the desert flats. Storm let off a shot at Royal – a great shot even, but she was a wily foe. The girl from 1 somersaulted under the aimed headshot, rolled up and launched another round. She proved more accurate. Storm recoiled as the arrow slammed into his right pectoral, grunting in pain.
"Storm!" Sam shouted – I can't lose him now! "Run! Run!"
Sam let her bolas fly, saying good-bye to the weapon in a delaying move. Royal snarled and rolled to avoid the stones, easily clearing the weapon but buying enough time for Sam and Storm to make a break for the grove. The vixen eased up, satisfied with the remaining bounty – the scimitar and all the food and water.
"Don't stop," Storm panted. He'd lost his other spear in the pursuit, now clutching his new bow with one hand and his chest with the other. "Just keep going."
I will, Sam thought as eucalyptus trees flew by. I will.