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The Hunt
We join the others and see that Sunshine has cooked us bacon sandwiches. We were given a little oil cooker, a rare treasure. I dug into mine, loving the fatty grease staining my hands and face.
Sunshine was cooking them for about an hour, knowing Theo and I could rarely be full. And Iown didn't do so terrible either.
Once we had all finished gorging ourselves we cleared up. I doused myself in water and Clio watched in avid fascination as the water formed little stiches on my arm, and then closed it up all together. A silvery little scar was left, not unlike those on my wrists.
"Clio, have you got your berry?" I ask. She nods and reaches into the pocket of her shorts. She was wearing black leather shorts, a black turtle neck top, and black and yellow stripy socks. On her feet were battered converse and in her blonde hair a yellow and black hairband. Her earrings were dangly skulls.
Her makeup was too dark and menacing. Her face was delicate and beautiful, and really should have softer colours.
She counts on three and eats the berry. I watch her closely as immediately her power is activated.
Almost immediately her substance seems to fade, and she is almost wraith like. Her skin is almost transparent and everything about her becomes floaty. Her body is no longer confined to the laws of gravity and she floats a foot off the ground. Her hair floats around her like mine, but whereas mine is violent and unpredictable hers is soft and controlled.
"Wow…" she breathes. "I read in my pack that I would be able to control the element that is strongest here. I guess that is wind?" and then without warning a huge gust comes through us, nearly knocking me onto my feet.
I laugh with her. Theo comes over to see the commotion, and then Clio is floating all around him, coming up too close to his body than I would have liked.
His face goes a deep shade of red and he tries to walk away from her. It doesn't work and she just follows him wherever he goes.
I control the anger bubbling up inside of me. What I really want to do right now is form a sphere of water and drown her. Or make her head explode from the pressure I could apply.
But I resist. Just.
Clio leaves Theo alone and goes off to show Iowan and Clio.
For the rest of the day my allies and I sort through our abundance of supplies. We separate the dried food that could be used as snacks with the other food that can be cooked. And then we managed to collect 9 sleeping bags, 3 oil cookers, 7 tanks of purified water, backpacks full of equipment and supplies, and advanced 4 medical kits in little parachutes with bells on.
Theo wants to set up an alarm system to let us know if anyone comes into the cornucopia. So we help Clio make a thin mesh to go over the entrance like a door, and attach little bells to the door, meaning whenever someone enters the bells always ring alerting the others.
We unload all of the weapons out of the cornucopia and set up the supplies inside deep to make room for camp. We lay out bedrolls and sleeping bags, set up a kitchen station and Iowan starts work on a fire with a fire starting kit. He is more brute than brains so luckily it came with an instruction manual.
Knowing everyone's preferred weapons Sunshine, Clio and I go through them and set some out for each of our allies. All the bows and arrows go to Iowan, plus a long sword. Tridents and 2 spears go to Clio, and after that she hunkers down inside the cornucopia and polishes them until they gleam.
Two swords go to Theo, as do a few knives and a spear. Sunshine gets axes, which surprise me. She looks so girly now it is difficult to imagine her brutally butchering someone. And all the specialised knives go to me. I touch them with reverence, itching to use them on someone. The blade was black, made of some unknown iron. I throw one onto the cornucopia and it slices through it like butter. I nod appreciatively.
Iowan offers to guard camp while we go tribute hunting. He was cut badly on his front thigh and believes it would be better to rest it, and kill more tributes when he is better later on in the games.
I shrug and give him a pair of night vision goggles. The rest of my allies and I didn't need any, as the town and shopping plaza were lit up with street lamps.
Going along with my plan I lead my allies away from the estate and move towards the stores.
We pack a few supplies and medical kits, but mainly weapons. We don't bother to wait for sundown, the streetlights would light our way for us. I put on my coat, the one I threw down in the cornucopia, and to my annoyance find the sunglasses in the pocket. I thought I had left that in the launch room.
As we set off I notice everyone else's outfits. Sunshine was in another red dress, but it was velvet with silver strands of thread in the material, making it sparkle. A black leather jacket and tights. And bright red wedges. I looked at her with disbelief.
"How the fuck are you going to be able to walk all that way? And be quiet? And run?" I ask snarkily. She looks offended and with a noise of protest she marches onwards, wiggling her ass. Clio gives me a look of disbelief.
We quickly walk through the field, and soon we're stood on the banks. We hunker down behind some meagre trees and scan the area in front of us. A metre in front of us is a concrete road and lining the street is a huge shopping mall. Lights are on inside the mall, and there is a mannequin holding open the door. Someone must have thought he was creepy and cut off his head and both his arms. They were all stuffed into the bin on the path.
From what we could see the mall was three stories tall. The front was made entirely of windows. Theo held a finger to his lips and faded into the shadows.
I watched in amazement as his body faded to darkness, and watched as a dark shadow flew across the night.
Within a few minutes he was beside us once more.
"Looking in the windows I couldn't see anyone straight away, but all the stores are fully stocked. Perfect places to camp. Plus, there was a snack bar and I'm hungry!" he grins boyishly. I snort at him. All that boy thinks of is food.
"Any other entrances?" Clio asks, and I smile at her. Whereas Sunshine stands admiring her red painted nails. Fuck sake.
"No not that I could see. So we have to go through the front entrance. But don't worry fish face I got your back." I glare at him. His smile quickly fades and we arm ourselves.
We cross onto the road, which feels weird under my soles. I have never felt ground this flat except in the Capitol.
I hear a scream and we all turn, poised for attack.
It was Clio. She was trapped she was banging on what seemed to be a clear wall. I rushed over to her, but I passed through it as though nothing was there. I walked back onto the street.
"I'm trapped!" Clio shouts, and hits the wall with frustration. "In my pack it says I am not to leave my 'realm' or whatever, so I guess that means the field. For fucks sake!" and then she runs off in a gust of wind.
"Well that was weird." Sunshine said, hand on her hip. "So if we're done looking after the little freak we can go into the mall? I want to get some new outfits!" and with a slip of her hair she trots into the mall. Theo rolls his eyes and follows her in.
I sigh and follow them in.
When I step inside I am hit with a cold breeze and I hurriedly tie my coat around my waist. And then I looked around me. It was like nothing I had ever seen before.
Rows upon rows of shops stood on either side of us. There was a huge open hallway thing with polished floors and a huge fountain which was spouting pink water.
I looked up and there was no roof, and I could see up to the second and third floor.
"How are we going to search this place?" I ask in amazement. Sunshine hurries over to me, clapping her hands together.
"Don't worry! I have a plan!"
And then she proceeds to sing as loud as her lungs will let her. Any boy able to hear her will have an immediate reaction. She sings of openness, and friendship, and safety and revealing secrets and yourself. She sings for about half an hour before there is a scuffle down towards the fountain.
I nod urgently at Sunshine to keep singing and she does. Theo quickly and quietly scoops me up into his arms and flies over to the store where we heard the crash.
I could barely take in the magnificence of flying, as it was over so soon. But I felt breathless and awed as Theo put me down. I shook myself out of the revere. We had some tributes to kill.
I looked up at the store front which was called: Candy Wishes. I looked inside, and it did not make me think of anything warm or happy like the name suggested.
Inside was a bounty of clothes made of dark leather, velvet and furs. To my delight there was a section of proper combat boots and I decide once these tributes are taken care of I will go get a pair.
There is another scuffle and I follow Theo, knowing his hearing is much better than mine. He leads us into a back room with much smaller rooms inside, with a curtain for a door. We rush through each tiny compartment until we get to the one on the end. And I almost burst out laughing at what I find.
There is a boy tied to a chair with about a hundred pairs of tights. Rolled up socks are in his mouth and secured round his head with some more tights. He is struggling on his bond to free himself, obviously still wanting to do Sunshine's will. With curiosity I wonder how Theo isn't affected.
And then I realise why the guy made such a commotion. He was Cosmo. His one huge blue eye blinked at us as though only just realising we were here.
Hunched behind his empowering form was Felicity. Her gossamer wings were wrapped around her like a cocoon, as though to hide her from the world.
I reach forward and remove Cosmo's gag.
"Hello sweetie." I say, my voice sickening and threatening. Now his attention is away from Sunshine he is solely focused on me. His one big eye scans everything, from what I'm wearing to how I'm stood.
I reach into my bag and remove a long, wicked sharp knife. The light reflects off the black, glistening metal.
And then everything goes horribly wrong.
Felicity, who I've mostly ignored flies up and quick as a snake cuts the tights binding Cosmo. He breaks through the remaining ones and with a roar comes towards us. I notice that I am in danger of getting crushed so I quickly run as fast as I can away from the hulking beast. The ceiling is too low so Theo nor Felicity can fly and make their escape.
Felicity skips through the racks of clothing and emerges out of the store a second before I do. Fully aware that Cosmo is not far behind I lunge after the little girl. I grab her by the waist and she kicks and screams at me.
Cosmo, obviously thinking I am causing bodily harm, gives up on weaving through the clothes and barrels straight through them.
Theo is there quick and struggles to lift him up. He flies to the top of the mall before dropping Cosmo.
He barely makes a sound and lands onto the floor with a soft grunt. But his weight was enough to crack the marble and dust around us floats everywhere.
I waited to hear the canon, but there was none. I sighed in annoyance. Can this dude be killed or what?
Soon Sunshine appears, looking a little flustered. I glare at her in annoyance as I see she has changed her outfit. Stupid girl, does she not realise where she is?
While I was distracted Felicity, the wriggly little shit, bit onto my hand hard enough to draw blood.
With a surprised yelp I release my hold on her and she zooms up into the air. Of course, not without a little payback. She yanks onto the roots of my hair, pulling it hard enough to bring tears to my eyes. I run round in circles, trying to dislodge her but she holds on fast.
I then get an idea. Locating the water within the pink fountain I hold and store it where it shoots out. The pressure builds and builds and it causes my vision to blur as I use so much energy and effort in holding the water. Water is wild and isn't supposed to be tamed; it batters against my mind in its effort to free itself from my hold. And finally, when I can hold it no more the water bursts from the fountain and flooding the room and the fountain begins to break apart, the water sending flying rocks and debris into the air.
A rock goes flying and hits Felicity on the side of her head. It starts bleeding profusely but she manages to stay in the air. She hovers above Sunshine and I, just out of reach. Towards my left I hear a mighty crash and see Cosmo pushing Theo through the front glass of another shop.
"Sunshine! Try get her down! I'm going to help Theo!" I shout over the noise. She nods and runs over to the end of the room and up the stairs. I look at her with disbelief as I work out her plan. She's going to try land on Felicity.
Idiot.
Theo will have to wait.
I grab some rocks and throw them at Felicity. She manages to dodge them easily, but she keeps her attention on me.
I almost feel sorry for the little girl. You can barely see her facial features due to pink glitter coating every inch of her skin. But her ice blue eyes are wide and petrified. I feel my stomach churn as I see her fear, and can almost see her as Ruby or Emerald.
I clench my hands hard enough that my nails cut into my palms. I shake off those thoughts.
I had deluded myself while I was here. They didn't care about me. They despised everything I had become. They were weak. And so was Felicity.
She had to die.
I watched in cruel fascination as I saw Sunshine jump off the balcony of the second floor. And I watched in delight as she hit her target, sending their bodies sprawling onto the ground.
I drench Felicity, coating her wings and making them too heavy for her to make an escape.
Sunshine gets up, breathless, and flips her hair out of the way. She prods Felicity's body with her food. "She's completely out of it. You go see if Theo is dead yet. I'll keep her here." I nod and rush into the store where I saw Cosmo's large form smashing up stuff.
The whole front windows were completely gone and there was glass littered all over the floor. It crunched beneath my feet and I wondered where they were.
The shop was another clothes shop, and I was pleased to note that these were clothes more my style. Maybe a shopping trip would be a good idea.
I hear a yelp of pain and run towards the back of the store. And there I saw something that stopped my heart.
Theo was handing from the ceiling. Bits of wire and rope were wrapped around his wings, his arms and neck. His toes were only just touching a shelf beneath him. If he slipped, he would end up hanging himself.
"Hang in there!" I whisper to him, and his eyes bulge out. His body was covered in bruises and scratches, his shoulder looked completely dislocated. He had lost a shoe. His face looked in so much pain as he attempted to free himself.
I would kill Cosmo.
Knowing there was no way I would be able to get up there and free Theo I set out to discover Cosmo. I rushed out of the store and shout for Sunshine to sing for Cosmo.
She sings as loud as she can, with a quick urgent beat.
And not too long Cosmo comes blundering in, his one eye big and unfocused.
"Now tell him to release Theo!"
And Cosmo goes back into the store, and doesn't take long until he is back out of the store with Theo's body slung over his shoulder.
This was the first night and I was already doing terrible.
Sunshine instructs him to go and sit down beside Felicity, who was tied up and gagged on the floor.
"So… what do we do now?" Sunshine asks, looking over at me.
"We kill them I guess." I shrug. "You can do it, I'll tend to Theo." And then I go to my discarded pack and get a first aid kit. I remove the rope and cables and see that there are red marks and welts where the bonds have dug in.
I clean out his wounds when I hear Sunshine begin to sing. I whip around and look at her.
"Why are you singing?" I snap and she looks at me with a mischievous grin. She then unbinds Felicity, whose eyes are wide open in terror.
Cosmo then rises from his perch, his dazed look still on his face. He lets loose a teeth rattling roar and charges at Felicity.
The little girl begins to scream and tries to fly away, but he just grabs onto her wings. She struggles and is screaming at us to help, but I know if I do I would lose sponsors. I bet I already did for telling Sunshine to handle it while I took care of Theo. Fuck.
And then the girls cries of desperation then turn into bloodcurdling screams. I watched in disgust as Cosmo ripped her wings off from her back. They landed onto the floor with a flutter, the thin pink membrane stained with blood.
Felicity lands to the ground, screaming and crying, trying to reach the cuts on her back.
I hadn't noticed before, but she was wearing a lovely delicate white dress. Now it was stained red.
"I asked you not to torture me!" she screamed at me, coming my way. Ignoring that her previous ally was now on a mission to kill her, she threw down the wings at my feet.
And then she did something none of us expected.
She turned and spat onto Cosmo. It would have almost been funny, if he didn't start screaming and the area where it landed started smoking. The air was suddenly filled with the stench of burning flesh.
She gave me a smug look. "Acid spit." And then she spat onto Sunshine. She dropped onto the floor with a scream, clutching the side of her face.
I just watch in amazement as the still bleeding girl just skips out of the mall.
Right. I had to act.
While Cosmo was temporarily down I unsheathed Theo's sword and began slowly killing Cosmo. He was huge, almost 7 feet tall. And his skin was much tougher than I anticipated. He barely noticed me as he tended to his arm. The acid seemed to have eaten away the flesh to the bone. Gross. But cool.
I ripped and slashed and stabbed, drawing blood which seemed to only affect him like little pinpricks. Theo was still passed out and moaning and Sunshine was screaming about her ruined beautiful face. So I guess I was on my own.
And then I realise the only vulnerable part of him. His eye.
I gather up all the remaining water in the fountain, and surround myself in it. Water droplets spray my face and clothes, and it revitalises my battered body. I sigh in content.
And now, Cosmo is coming to attention that he may be in danger.
He raises a huge fist and tries to smash into me and my bubble of water, and I feel my gills kick in. I quickly move out of the way and raise myself above his head. My scales come on and for once I am pleased, its like my own suit of armour.
He roars in frustration trying to reach me. His head is turned my way and I wait for him to lock his face onto mine. I slowly lower the bubble, keeping his face tilted upwards.
And then quick as a snake I stab him in the eye. I run the sword deep into his skull and I can barely hear his canon over the roaring water.
I let it release and I drop to the ground.
To my disgust his blood is a weird yellow colour.
I drag Theo and help support Sunshine into one of the stores, and watch the hovercraft come in from the skylight.
Two separate claws have to come to support his weight.
While that is going on I apply some antiseptic to the rest of Theo's injuries. The sting and burn causes him to moan in his sleep, and I contemplate kicking him in the head to wake him up. Something that doesn't become a reality as Sunshines screams require my attention.
I slap her around the face to get her to shut the fuck up. She's such a stone head. Most of the acid got in her hair, and only a droplet onto her cheek. It seemed to have burrowed in deep though, so I apply some antiseptic and bind it. Most of the more advanced medical supplies were back at camp. Though, here would be a good place to set up.
While Theo is still unconscious, I prop his body up against mine and brace it against the wall. And with a sickening crunch I fix his shoulder.
Unfortunately that is the time he decides to wake up.
"WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST DIE?" He said, jumping up to his feet and shouting.
Sunshine and I both gave him wide eye looks. He was a freak.
He winces and rolls his shoulder.
"Ouch, that hurts like a bitch. Guessing you saved me from scary ogre dude. Totally my hero. So we got two kills tonight?"
"No." I growl, shifting my glare onto Sunshine. She smiles innocently, and I get the urge to break her fingers. "Because Sunshine wanted to taunt the little girl, to have some fun. This may be the Hunger Games but if you do that again sweetie, I'll rip your head off. The girl got away." I say, my voice venomous. She flinches at my words, but I know it was understood. In training we might have been friends, but here she is just another obstacle. Right now, another tribute to push around until it was time to dispose of her.
Theo quickly interrupts the moment.
"Well, we still have about 4 hours until dawn? How about shopping!"
And that is what we did.
I arrived back at camp empty handed, as Theo was going to fly all my bags over here. Once in a while I'd see him fly overhead and salute me, but I mostly ignored him. Mostly meaning I tried and failed not to smile at him.
All my bags were ready and waiting for me. I felt like a Capitolite, getting excited over new shoes and clothes.
For today, I was in a new outfit. A more practical one. Though the weather was extremely warm I kept my shorts and gold fishnets. I had on a pair of black combat boots identical to the ones in training. I was wearing a plain white tshirt and a black jacket. I kept the shades.
I brought some clothes back for Clio too, knowing she needed a cheer up. I brought her steel tipped boots and suddenly she was all hugs and giggles. Her hair floated up all around her in excitement, and I felt mine imitate her.
Sunshine cleared her throat. "Ahem, Clio? Where is my hug? A little bitch spat acid on me." She pointed to her face which was heavily swathed in gauze. It wasn't even the size of a penny.
I went in to check on Iowan, and his leg had healed fast. He was extremely annoyed that he missed out on the action. Almost as furious as he was when he discovered Theo killed Kingsley instead of him.
"Well if you guard camp tonight I'll make sure we hunt down that little girl." He said, grinning menacingly. I nod my assent and he gallops off around the field to stretch his legs.
I settle down in my sleeping bag next to Theo. I'm just about to drift off when his voice breaks through.
"Liv, what the fuck are we going to do? Both of us can't guard tonight if Clio can't leave the field?"
Shit.