Chapter 6

Confessions

The Arena

I blink my eyes, and feel stillness around me. Am I dead? Did Shimmer kill me?

Once my vision clears, I see the pine trees, and feel hard ground. "I'm alive."

Hendrix nods from beside me and Lexi coughs, and flings her arms around me. "Oh, Fern! I was so scared!"

"What?" I groan, rubbing my neck. "What happened? I just remember Shimmer choking me."

"Right after you blanked out," Hendrix explains. "I got in a fight with Shimmer. It lasted for a while, and finally we just stopped. She cut me pretty bad, but I cut off one of her pig-tails and gave her a black eye. She took Lexi's medicine and then ran for cover before I could catch her. Probably back to Pepper, Tide, and Leon. Then I carried you back, and you slept for three days."

"Three days?" I say loudly. "Who's dead? What's happened?"

Lexi grins. "A mutt swarm of locust. They must hate pine trees, because they didn't bother us. Leon got gobbled up by them."

"And the boy from One was the person who died on the Feast day. Then, Spindle did-probably from the dehydration, and finally Leon," Hendrix says.

I nod. So, Spindle is dead, and so is Leon and the boy from One. Only a few of us are left.

I nod, and clutch my stomach. "How did you keep me alive?"

Lexi shrugs. "You would cooperate. Like... you were half awake! If we told you to drink water, and poured it down your throat, you would."

I smiled. "Thank you."

She nods, and holds out a handful of nuts. "Want any? We found the walnuts all around here. Their pretty good."

I smile, and take one. She coughs, and wipes her eyes.

"So, has anything else happened?" I ask Hendrix.

He shrugs. "I think the Careers split up."

"And he and Tide are the only boy's in the Arena," Lexi says, cracking a grin. "Only seven left."

A loud boom breaks the air, and I sigh. "Make that six."

After a while, we decide to go look for some food. Hendrix glances around, his sword tight in his grip. Lexi kicks a few rocks around. I begin thinking about how this all going to end.

At some point, we're going to turn on each other. Hendrix could easily kill both me and Lexi in one swipe. But I have my ax. My ax will keep me alive.

When we get around a field that dotted with cactus's, we look at one, deciding if it's poisonous or not.

Lexi snaps her fingers, and grins wider than before. "I know this! It's not poisonous! You can tell by the form of the buds and needles! It's called a Barrel Cactus! The food-trainer told me so!"

I trust her completely, so in one swift motion, I bring my weapon slicing the cactus diagonally. Some water splashes out, and we use our empty bottles to drink. It's sweet, and I can't get enough of it. The cactus inside looks like any other fruit meat, so we help ourselves.

In the end, the cactus meal was delicious. And Lexi was right. None of us are vomiting or fainting. When Lexi goes to find some Bitter Apple plants she thought she saw a few yards back. While she disappeared into the small little grove of trees, I face Hendrix.

By now, we're lying on the ground, staring up at the sky- or I mean, dome. "Isn't it amazing," I whisper. "That they've created this. With the push of a button, they could create a... sand tornado or something and kill us."

He gives a weak laugh. "Don't give them any ideas."

I smile, and breath out through my nose. I pull twist my red hair in my palm, sometimes chewing on it. "I'm not sure if I want to die or live."

He gives me a look. "What're you talking about? Don't you want to make it out?"

I sigh. "Yeah, I need to get home to my sister. But, the thing is... For me to win, someone has to die. I've killed two people. Two living creatures. I'm a murderer. I kill. I'm not sure if I deserve to win."

He nods. "But that was in self defense. It's not like you were hunting squirrels or rabbits or deer. That's cowardly and makes a person worthless. You're stuck in here, and you're forced to do this."

After a few moments, I look at him. A question that's been swirling in my head comes out. "Hendrix, why did you save me? You could have let Shimmer just kill me. Why did you rescue me? No one would have blamed you for my death."

He seems to think about his answer carefully, and then looks at me, his eyes connecting with mine. "I guess that was my way of saying I liked you..." he says quietly, and looks back at the cloudless sky.

I feel my cheeks turn pink, and not from the sun. I suddenly think about everything over again. Do I like him? No, I don't think I do. I just think that I want something to cling to.

Suddenly, a scream splits the calm, hot air. I bolt up, and so does Hendrix. For a moment, everything's quiet. Then, it comes again. A small shriek that's closer and sounds terrified.

I see Hendrix's eyes dilate in fear, and I realize who it is a second after him; It's Lexi.