A/N: Hello, hello :) This took longer than I thought, but the chapter is longer than my others. Enjoy and I have announcements at the end.
Escule Hirosho
I smell the smoke before I ever see the glow of the fire. Either the creator is quite confident, or foolish. The weather is warm, so I can't imagine why you would need a fire desperately enough to risk your life. It could be a trap though, but my curiosity pushes me to investigate. I'll keep my distance anyways.
I follow the smoke trail and hide back in the bushes when I see the flicker of flames. There is girl sitting near the flames grunting as she hammers at something loudly. I'm interested in what she's doing so I risk being seen and move closer. That's when I see the long chain extending from her leg and I realize she is trapped to the tree. I can't pinpoint her identity, but I can see the glow of the fire reflecting off her dark hair. I'm guessing the girl is Alice from District 7
She is so absorbed in her work that I could probably jump out and kill her easily. The only problem is that I don't want to hurt her. I want to save her.
"Whoever you are, you might as well show your face," she says without looking up. I jump back in fear. How did she know I was here? I should stop taking the tribute's intelligence for granted. I take a breath before emerging from the bushes.
"Who might you be?" She asks squinting towards me. I don't know if I should give away my identity, but she's stuck where she is anyways. Unless she has a knife hidden I should be okay.
"I'm from District 5," I say.
She stops what she's doing and tries to get a better look.
"You're the kid who looks familiar. Do you mind disclosing your name?"
"Escule," I say dropping my pack and taking a seat on a rotten tree stump.
She shakes her head, and gets back to work at the chain.
"I used to live in District 7." I say. I know I've never seen Alice, but maybe she has seen me before.
The mention of District 7 catches her attention and she drops the rock.
"Hirosho is my last name."
"Hmm…" she scratches her nose and looks up towards the sky, then moves her eyes towards me.
"Why is your father still in District 7?" She asks suddenly.
I can feel the blood leaving my face.
"He's… he's still living?"
She nods and pulls her knees to her chest, and continues.
"He knows my father. I've seen him a few times, but I've never spoken to him."
"Wow." I have so many questions, but I don't know where to begin.
She rests her chin between her knees. The way she looks at me makes me think she's reading my mind, and I shuffle uncomfortably.
"Why isn't he with you in 5?"
So I explain the story. I explain how we lost him and how it was my fault. I tell her how I dreamt he was dead and how I was so sure he was killed during the riot.
"Well he's okay," she smiles. "I don't know what else I can tell you though, like I said I've never talked to him."
"No, that was helpful. Thank you so much."
"Now you think you can help me? Either that or you can just kill me and get this over with. I'll have to warn you though Escule, I will fight back." She lifts a knife delicately in her hand.
I immediately start shaking my head. "I had no intention… I mean I was just… I'll help you."
She exchanges the knife for the rock holds out to me. I take it as she dangles the chain back into the fire.
"A combination of low heat and lack of arm strength has made for slow progress. I've managed to bend the chain, but at this rate I won't be out before I'm dead."
"Dead?"
"Well this trap didn't just appear out of nowhere. Somebody set it."
I ask her if she knew who it was.
"Oh I know. He came to visit today. My lovely district partner set this trap, and now wants me to join his 'alliance'. What a joke. I know he'll just use me and then stab me in the back, probably literally. I don't want to be his lackey. I'd rather die, honestly, which is why I'm trying to get out before he gets back to see what my 'decision' is."
"I saw both of them a few days ago." I say recalling the experience where I almost lost my head.
"And you're still alive?" She looks surprised.
I tell her how I almost lost my head to David's axe.
"He's a killer," she says. "He played the weakling role well though, I have to give him that."
"He's only twelve! He can't be that deadly."
"Deadly enough to set this trap, deadly enough to recruit Jasten as some kind of tool, and deadly enough to kill Mika. Besides you saw how adept he is at throwing an axe."
"Yes, I saw Jasten too. He sent him to investigate the noise. He kept telling Jasten his mother was there."
"Sick bastard. See, you know how well he manipulates Jasten. I honestly hope the kid snaps at him."
I nod my agreement.
"But with my luck, that won't be happening." She says staring down at her bloody ankle.
She pulls the chain out from the flames and gestures to it. I strike it several times without much of a dent.
"Bending more for you than it did with me."
I keep up the work until the metal grows cold and Alice adds more fuel to the fire and places the chain back in. There is a small chip in the link and Alice is starting to look hopeful.
"Just so we're clear, if I get out of here we are not allies. I work alone," she says.
"Okay," I say. "I'll still help you."
"I appreciate it and in return I won't harm you if we run into each other. Think of it as a distant ally."
"And same to you."
"I figured you weren't going to kill me or else you wouldn't have been spying in the bushes."
"To be honest, I just couldn't hurt you. I don't know why I'm still alive. I don't think I could bring myself to hurt anyone."
She motions to my supply pack.
"You must've hurt somebody to get all those supplies."
I shake my head. I almost died there.
"Someone saved me... unintentionally though."
"Oh yeah?"
"The brute from District 2 was about to kill me, but that boy from 12 diverted his attention. I think he though he was going for his district partner. You know the little 12 year old?"
"Yeah I know who she is. Hard to forget a young face like hers. Lucky for you... and I guess me too."
I laugh softly and she goes on.
"I would've been able to kill you… if I hadn't recognized you. Does that make me a bad person?" Her voice is steady, and matter-of-fact. Her question seems rhetorical but I answer her anyways.
"I don't think so. That's why we're here after all." I stare down at my feet. "I just don't know how we're expected to hurt one another. It's against all my moral values. Many of our families fought with each other for the same cause and now they expect us to commit murder. I've met many of the tributes and they all seem against the Capitol's punishment just as much as I am. How will the games be able to go on when the tributes are so reluctant?"
Alice just stares into the fire for a long time.
"They'll learn to kill. The tributes will come in here and know they will have to do what they have to do. Their motives will be selfish, and they'll stay far away for each other so each tribute is nothing but a name and an obstacle. Children will grow up with new morals that killing in the games is okay and they will accept that as time goes on."
"It makes me… so terribly sad," I say.
Alice lifts her head up and pulls her chain out again.
"Then let's give them something to remember," she says as she hands me the rock. Her eyes meet mine and I can see our thoughts echoing between the silence.
"I hope you weren't planning to sleep tonight," I feel a new flow of energy one that gives me hope of a rebellion. I don't want these games to become a tradition and so I will give them something to remember.
Kyra Valente
I lay unmoving, encased in the hay below me. We've been stuck in the barn loft since the day I almost lost my life to save Scout's. On the thought of her name I instinctively turn to look at her sitting on the edge of the floor, her feet dangling off the side. If it weren't for her we'd all be baking on the roof right now. Scout was the one who found the window that led us here. We are not out of the clear yet though. A dozen or so cow mutts still surround the area and until they are gone we are stuck here. Every so often one wanders a little too close and then on an unspoken agreement, Dorien will lower herself into danger and kill it with her knife. It's a slow and steady process, one that will outlive our supply of water. I keep praying for rain, but I know that this is not the real world, and the chance of the temperature dropping, or water falling from the sky into our laps will not be happening any time soon. We must save ourselves.
Scout's concussion has been healing. Dorien's frustration with Scout has subsided and has been replaced with the frustration of getting out. She knows Scout has unintentionally saved us; first by finding us water, and then by finding this loft in the barn, which provides us with shelter. Scout sits up and keeps watch at night because her nightmares often keep wake us. She'd rather sleep during the day when the terrors are her problem only. I look over at Dorien who sleeps a few feet away. The moonlight filing in from the window tells me that she is awake, though she is as still as a statue. I can see the blues of her eyes, unblinking and I wonder what thoughts torment her mind. She has been nothing but a mystery. I've contemplated asking her about her life, but I have a feeling that I would not get an answer. I suddenly realize it is not Scout's nightmares that will keep us awake, it's only ourselves.
Faunas Dunois
When I open my eyes the moon is sitting high in the sky. The first thought that crosses my mind is a question. What woke me up? I have the feeling that tiny creatures are crawling over my legs. It's probably just my imagination, I try to tell myself, and I reach down to scratch the sensation away. My hand instead meets a small hard body and I instantly jump to my feet.
Locusts, the size of my hand, are hopping around me. I stare down at my legs that are rubbed raw by whatever mandibles they possess. After the initial shock wears off I finally look out into the distance. The sand is all but gone. These creatures are swarming in a huge pack towards me.
I immediately sprint off. On cue the locusts begin swarming, flying towards my face, biting at my legs, and moving just as fast as I am. If I do not hurry the swarm will take me down, and I will certainly die a painful death. I make a feeble effort to swipe them away from my eyes.
I don't know how far away from the exit I am. After crawling through this wasteland for days it seems that it could be miles and miles, but then I am reminded of how lost in my mind I was. There is no feeling of pain, only panic and adrenaline pushing me to move. If I do not move I will die. I catch a glimpse of my arm to see the small bite wounds growing in size. The skin around the area is swelling quickly and some kind of yellow liquid is oozing from them. Maybe the bites are poisonous.
I try to make sense of what lies ahead of me, but it is too dark, and the swarming locusts are impairing my vision. I can see something flickering in the distance. I don't know if it's real or an image of my imagination, but there's a chance that it's the force field that surrounds the hedges. By now the locusts are working up my legs and there's a sensation of them dragging me to the ground. My legs are being eaten raw, but somehow they are still functional. They mass of locusts are growing and ascending upwards, but I am almost there. I could make it. I can see the flickering clearly and the fault in the one section that will allow me to pass. I only need to move faster, if only I could move faster. I fall a few feet from the entrance, and the locusts swarm my entire body.
I hear Chrys repeating 'you're a Dunois' over and over, and I realize this will be my last thoughts. I am a Dunois, but I was never worthy of the name. That's alright though because there are two others at home who are. My parents would be proud of them. I roll over to my stomach and cover my face. Agony spreads over my body, slowly at first, and then all at once. I never imagined dying to be this way. I thought that even if it were painful there would be some kind of peace. There is no peace here.
When did I become such a coward? Why am I so easily ready to give up? Wasn't there a reason I came here? I try to crawl from the mass, but the weight is too much, so I do the only thing I can think of. I roll onto my back, risking exposure on my face to try and crush them under my weight. Although some still pin to my back and attack my stomach I am able to gain footing and I make a dash for the entrance. I can still feel the locusts on my back, but I'm past the point of being numb. I stagger in front of the exit and then fall. A few more locusts crawl onto my legs. I drag my body out of the barren wasteland and onto the green of the maze. The locusts are still on my back and they are still coming out of the entrance to attack me again. Did I really think leaving would save me? Unconsciousness fills my brain before I can relinquish in the disappointment.
Kyra Valente
Dorien is pacing back and forth across the loft floor. Back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth. She is trying to make an escape plan, but with so many mutts surrounding the area there is no safe way out. It would be great if we could stay, but we are running out of basic supplies.
Being in the loft is quiet and my mind is free to wander. Lately I've found myself wondering what my life has meant. I wonder if I have really accomplished anything. The only thing I've done was help my mother keep the shop up as I watched a bridge wedge between us after Colton disappeared. I wonder if I made a mistake by keeping Colton's situation a secret. My parents will never know that their only son is alive, and I'm sure they will never stop searching. Would the loss of their daughter match that of their son? I guess I'll never know, but I hope I meant something to them. I hope my mother understands how much I loved her even when she left the weight of her world on my shoulders so she could find Colton. Maybe things were meant to be this way for a reason, but if there is a reason I'll never figure it out. I wish I could've spent more time with my brother in the Capitol; he was the one who made me feel like myself.
"Dorien?" I whisper as to not wake Scout who is sleeping soundly for once.
She snaps from her train of thought and turns to look at me. She is worn down, and for the first time I see Dorien as she really is; tired and loss.
"Do you think you're parents are watching you?"
She shrugs her shoulders. Dorien has never mentioned her parents, but she said she was never involved in the rebellion, so I assumed they would be alive. I figured that their family was just quiet and to themselves like Dorien is.
"I hope mine are, but I'm not sure why."
She shrugs her shoulders again, and I try again to elicit a response from her.
"Are… your parents alive?"
She shrugs her shoulders.
"You don't know who they are do you?" I venture.
"Why does it matter?" She snaps.
"I'm curious as to why Dorien is the way she is, that's all."
Her facial expression tenses, and I can see her searching deep for the right words. She is unable to find any, and instead turns her back and continues pacing back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth. I lie back down in the hay and mindlessly pull at the straw.
"Kyra," I sit back up and meet Dorien's gaze.
"I know what the world is really like," is all she says.
And I know because I've seen it as well. I've seen it the way my brother was taken. I've seen it in the way my parents had to abandon me to find their missing family member. I've seen it in the way the mayor read the Treaty of Treason. I've seen it in the way the Capitol cheered during the parade for our deaths. I've seen it in the way they made my brother a silent servant. I've seen it in the way Boxer was killed without any say.I know what the world is too. It is full of deceit and greed, and no matter how many rebellions are caused it'll never change. So what do you do? You either fight it or accept it. I can't tell which Dorien has done.
Scout suddenly thrashes wildly in her bed, and Dorien stops pacing again. She shakes her head, and grabs the edge of the barn, lowering her body onto the ladder.
"Where are you going?"
"I can't put up with this right now," she says and I watch her descend. "Besides we need water. Either we get water or we all try to escape!"
"Maybe we should think this out first Dorien," I yell down to her.
"Isn't that what we've been doing?" She asks. "There's nothing, we leave or we die, and I'm not dying of dehydration on this loft!"
I can't let her go alone and I pick up my bag. I see Scout still stuck in her terrible nightmares. I don't know if I should wake her, or leave her here. Dorien jumps from the bottom rung. I need to decide now.
"Scout, get up! We're leaving!"
She doesn't stir and I rock her small body. She whimpers and then opens her eyes slowly.
"We need to go," I whisper.
She nods and reaches for her stuff. I make my way down the ladder. There are no mutts in the barn, but as soon as they figure out we're here they'll charge after us. Scout grasps a dangling strap from my pack and holds it protectively. I wave her forward. Dorien is peering out the door, but before we can reach her she darts out towards the water pump, or is she going to the exit? I don't doubt her betrayal.
I glance out and see a herd of mutts to the right of the barn, and a herd on the left. They are grazing, and look harmless, but after seeing Boxer get trampled to a pulp I know better. Dorien gets to the handle, and hesitates. Then she sees Scout and I, and pulls her hand away. She points to us, and then to the exit that lies about a quarter mile from the entrance of the barn straight ahead. There is no shelter or places to hide in between here and our way out. It'll have to be a straight sprint, and there is no guarantee that they won't follow us into the maze. She glances at the two herds nearest to us. They are unaware of our presence, and she holds up three fingers. She wants us to race the mutts to escape.
Three fingers, and I try to prepare myself dipping into a running stance. Scout does the same, the grip on my bag tightens.
Two fingers, and I'm thinking that we might be able to get out alive and well. We are all small and fast, and Scout has healed.
One finger and I feel adrenaline racing through my veins faster than I know my feet will be able to fly.
And then she lowers her last finger and I take off. Scout easily passes me, and Dorien sprints away from the pump and towards the exit. My lungs are burning from the dry air. I don't look back, but I hear the cries of the herd. They wail like they're being slaughtered, and I push to move faster. I am at the end of the pack. Dorien is farthest ahead, and Scout has a couple of steps on me. I push my legs to run faster.
Don't look back; I must keep reminding myself. Dorien is a few feet from the exit when her body crumples to the ground. She screams in pain and lies motionless. Scout reaches her and leans down to her. She gets a glance of what's coming and becomes panicked, looking to the herd, then me, then Dorien, and then the exit. I run faster and fly to the ground.
"Go Scout! I'll take care of her."
Scout shakes her head, but I push her out.
"Do it. We'll meet you out there!"
Scout doesn't want to leave, but she follows my orders anyways. I lift Dorien to her feet, while the herd quickly bears down on us. She is standing on her feet, but her ankle is not quite fit for fast running, and I'm starting to think we aren't going to make it. Now I must decide to leave her and save myself or try to save us both. There is decision in indecision, but I don't know if I have the ability to leave her here to die.
I think of what my brother would do. I think of the reason I want to live. Dorien's eyes are scared and pleading. She has something to go home to as much as I do, so why am I forced to pick the person whose life matters more?
Athea DiMae
Although I've heard enough cannons I am not use to the bang, and I twitch unexpectedly. I'm glad I wasn't under the electric wires. Lucian sees my display, but makes no comment. Another tribute has died and that's how it works.
"Give me a hand?"
He leans down and helps me lift the bulk in my arms against the pack.
"How long do you think?" I ask staring at the bulk.
"There's no saying if they're even going to live," Lucian says.
I place two fingers against the warm vein under the jaw. It's beating albeit quickly. It reminds me of the day Micah brought a baby rabbit home that he found hiding under the house.
My mother broke into a fit when she saw the poor thing. She commanded Micah to take it back to its mother, and Micah cried. He had found it without a mother and although Mom was strict she bent at Micah's will. So we found it a box, and a towel to lie on. Micah put carrots in it's new home, and I guess Mother didn't have the heart to tell him that the rabbit was too young, and it would never eat the carrots.
Micah made his bed that night on the floor next to the box. He named the poor thing Jumper. When I knew he was fast asleep, I remember reaching my hands in and engulfing the rabbit in my palms. He was still but his heartbeat was raging. I stroked its ears and begged the Lord to keep him alive. Not for me, but for my brother. Eventually I set the bunny back down and crawled into my bed for the night.
My mother always told me that God would be listening, but he must've been busy that night because the next morning when I picked the small animal up it's heart was not beating. My mother warned me not to tell Micah the truth. She said it would be better for him if he thought the bunny just found its mother. Micah was only six years old and even though he was very knowledgeable, death was not a subject my mother often touched on. Even I, at ten years old didn't quite understand the finality of death like I would learn to know it after the rebellion.
I did as I was told. When Micah awoke I made a story of how Jumper's mother was looking for him. I realize today that my story was not really realistic, and Micah never bought it. Instead he became very angry and threw his toys at me before screaming and running to his bed. There he spent the day. At one point I went in to see him and the only sound was that of his sobbing. It was not the sobbing of a six year old; it was the sobbing of an old man who had lost his wife, of a child who had lost their mother, or of a boy who had lost the dog he had owned since it was a puppy. That was the day I learned how hypersensitive Micah was to the world; it was also the day I realized how final death was. Jumper's death was just a small vision of what was to happen a few years later.
When my mother and father died, I cried like Micah had done years ago, but my little brother did not shed a single tear. He simply wrapped his arms around me in a child-like fashion and told me that God was listening.
When I pull my fingers away from the rapid pulse I imagine the scene to play out in a similar fashion. A fast heartbeat tonight will equal a nonexistent one tomorrow.
"Athea?" I turn to Lucian attempting to make a small fire, and failing miserably.
I instinctively walk over to help him. He does not need to ask.
"Why did we save a tribute?" I ask as I strike a match for him.
The question has been taunting me. Of course I wanted to save the ragged body, but at what cost? Lucian and I had gone out to find a source of water and instead we brought back another body that needs to be cared for. If I attach myself to this human being it will be like another Lucian; a tribute I will have to kill, but never will be able to.
"This isn't just any other tribute, Athea."
"How so?"
"You want a rebellion, am I right?"
I nod tentatively.
"This is who we need then."
I reach behind my leg and feel the chip pressing from the skin.
A/N: So you'll have to wait to see who that cannon was for in the next chapter. It could be anyone who was mentioned in this chapter, well except Lucian and Athea. So I have two things to say:
1) If you're interested in getting involved with another SYOT, Audmirable has one called Gimmick, it's under my favorites. In my most humble opinion the writing is amazing, and there are still quite a few spots open!
2) I decide to put together a little 'collage' of sorts of pictures I found that I thought resembled all 24 tributes from this story. The reason I did it was because I wanted a 'vision' of what they looked like. They are all my interpretation, so they may not meet your standards. If you guys are interested in seeing it though I'll upload it to photobucket or something and post a link on my profile, just let me know!
Anyways I'm going on vacation next week. I might have another chapter out before that, but if I don't update for a long time don't worry. I'll be back then, and this story will be finished. Thanks for reading! :D