Hello everyone!
In this chapter we will be back in Mags' POV and watch as things start to happen in the arena.
With only seven tributes left in the arena, the gamemakers will be eager to make things...interesting
what is in store for these teenagers? What is Gareth's strategy for taking down the careers? And will Ryder be willing to help after all he's been through?
Chapter Thirty-Five: Game Changers. Pt 1
I still feel my mind's fragility, my emotions and rational thought tipping precariously on the edge of another break down. But I force myself to remember that I still have a responsibility to keep Ryder alive, Lisa would've wanted me to stay strong.
So I take deep breaths, clench my hands into fists to stop them from shaking, and focus on the screens in front of me.
Dash left a little while ago to get some food. I told him to sleep, but he refuses to leave me alone after what happened. A small, selfish, part of me is glad he's so stubborn. I don't know if I could keep going without his support.
My eyes once again scan the screens showing Gareth's campsite.
It's genius really, he found a hollow in the river bank, thick vines grow over the edge and dip down into the water, effectively providing a screen of protection from outside eyes.
I know the hollow is something the gamemakers created because it's too large and evenly spaced to be natural, the sides, ceiling and floor all made of some smooth stone. It's the size of a small room, probably around ten by ten feet, with a six and a half foot ceiling. Not to mention there are cameras situated inside the space.
It took Gareth a while to climb down into the hollow while carrying Ryder, he had to make several trips, once for Ryder, and then two more for their supplies.
Now they were both situated in the little room, Ryder still unconscious, his head propped up on one of the packs, while Gareth sits near the entrance, keeping watch.
"Anything interesting happen?"
I jump, startled by Dash's voice so close. How had I not heard him come in?
"Uh...no, Ryder's still unconscious. Everything else is quiet."
He nods, sliding a plate of food over toward me.
I shake my head at the offered meal and turn my attention back on the screens.
I hear him sigh beside me. "Mags…"
I just shake my head again, not daring to let my eyes move from the screens, I need something to focus my attention on or I'll break down again, I can feel myself crumbling, I need to stay strong, and arguing with Dash is not going to help.
"Please." I say quietly, forcing as many thoughts as I can into the word.
He lets out another sigh, but doesn't try to argue with me. Instead turning to his own food and beginning to pick at it.
I can tell by the way he eats that he too has no appetite, but he's trying to keep his strength up. I should be too I suppose, but I can't eat anything right now, I'd just throw it up.
"Mags."
"Look, Dash, I know I should try and keep my strength up." I say, my voice shaking pitifully. "But I-"
"No, look." He says quickly, pointing at the screens displaying the inside of Gareth's hollow.
I feel my hope surge as Ryder's eyes flutter, and he reaches up to rub his forehead.
"He's alright." I practically sob, the relief unbelievably overwhelming.
Dash reaches over and grips my hand in his. "He's just fine, looks like the fever's completely left him."
A shaky breath escapes my lips, and I nod, wiping quickly at my eyes and focusing on the screens.
Ryder felt like he was buried in sand. His limbs all felt weighted down and saggy, but at least he wasn't in any pain. Which was weird because the last time he'd been conscious his whole body had been one throbbing mass of misery, now however, he just felt...limp.
All his muscles were impossibly loose, and he had a hard time moving at all, but his mind was beginning to catch up with him, and the events that happened came crashing down on him like a slap to the face.
Lisa was dead.
She was gone, he'd watched the hovercraft carry her away, and then...he'd passed out? There had been so much pain, his mind had been barely able to process any thoughts at all.
One thing he knew for sure, he should be dead.
The fever had been dragging him down into the grave for days now, and he had felt his life slipping away before he passed out.
So why wasn't he dead? And where the hell was he?
Slowly he peeled his eyelids open, blinking several times to focus his vision. He squinted, trying to make sense of his surroundings.
Directly above him was...rock? It looked like smooth gray stone of some sort, and whatever he was laying on was cool and hard to the touch. More stone?
He stiffened suddenly, his sensitive ears detecting slight movement to his left. Ever so slowly, he turned his head to look.
A tribute. The boy from nine by the looks of it, what was his name again? Gareth? He was sitting near the entrance of what he now saw was a small hollow in the side of the riverbank.
Had he brought him here? Why? What were his motives for moving him? And why hadn't he killed him yet?
Slowly, Ryder eased himself onto his side, then pushed himself up using his elbow. He paused, catching his breath as his eyes darted away from the immediate threat to search for some kind of weapon.
His eyes landed on his sword, and he carefully inched toward it.
The blade made a quiet "shink" noise as the tip of the metal grazed along the stone floor, and Ryder inwardly cursed as the soft sound caught Gareth's attention.
"Don't move." He said quickly, pointing the sword at the other boy's chest, trying not to let it show how difficult it was to hold the blade.
Gareth slowly lifted his hands in surrender, his dark eyes soft and calm. "Ryder." He said soothingly, his voice surprisingly low and rich.
"Don't." Ryder said as Gareth tried to move forward, his voice was shaky and pitifully weak. "What...what am I doing here?"
"I brought you here to get you away from any potential threats."
Ryder frowned. "But...you-you're a threat."
Gareth shrugged. "Only if you view me as one, and if I was, why would I have saved your life?" He glanced toward a spot on the ground off to Ryder's right.
His eyes temporarily flickered to where his had indicated, landing on a sponsor gift parachute. It was lying open, a vial of medicine and syringe nestled inside.
"Mags...and Dash, they...they sent that for me?" Ryder said softly.
Gareth nodded. "And by the looks of it the medicine worked perfectly. The fever is completely gone."
Ryder slowly shook his head, hand tightening around the sword hilt. "N-no...no, why didn't…why me? Why now? Why didn't they send help earlier? Why didn't they save L-" His voice broke when he tried to say her name, and he choked back a sob before dropping his head, face twisted in sorrow.
Gareth sighed heavily, the sorrow clear on his face as well. "I'm sorry, Ryder. But what could your mentors have done? There was no way they could've prevented what happened and you know it. You're just looking for someone to blame in your grief."
Ryder sobbed and dropped his sword, staggering back a few steps before falling to the ground and hiding his face against his drawn up knees. "Go ahead and kill me, I don't care anymore."
Gareth strode forward quickly, causing Ryder to lift his head.
He gasped in shock when Gareth's hand swung down and smacked him across the face, hard.
"No." Gareth said firmly. "No, you don't get to give up."
Ryder stared up at him in shock, eyes wide as Gareth continued to lecture him in a firm, but gentle way.
"You've been dealt the worst of lots in this world but the fact is, you were chosen. Now, no matter how awful that fact is you still have the responsibility to keep your head up and do your very damned best to succeed. So straighten up, keep your head high, and deal with it, otherwise Lisa would've died for nothing. Your mentors would've gone through hell trying to keep you alive for nothing. Everyone who's ever gone before you trying to claw their way out of this hell did it for nothing. All of it would've been for nothing if you just give up, and let the Capitol win."
Silence reigned for a few long moments, then Gareth nodded once, and offered Ryder his hand. "So stand up, and fight, fight for your life, fight for your mentors, fight for everyone who suffers and has suffered, fight for Lisa."
Ryder hesitated, then slowly took Gareth's hand, and allowed him to pull him to his feet.
The older boy smiled warmly, and clapped Ryder on the back. "Good. Now, shall we discuss my plan over some food?"