Act 15
"Garlic Powder; Part Two"

I had been sleeping in the cave I had found a while before and was discovered by Calla, from District 12. She and I had a bit of a standoff, though neither one of us was willing to make the first move. We were just holding our ground with our respective weapons, mine a knife and hers a heavy rock. I wasn't the best with the knife, so the fight could have gone her way if she knew how to defend herself with the rock. Though neither one of us ever got a chance to make the first move, as it was made by Helena. She apparently had been looking for me to get back for insulting her. She was beyond livid about that, though no one could blame her. Letting go of grudges was hard, as I still held anger towards her for killing Douglas and letting Gavin die.

Helena had brought back-up in the form of the rest of the Careers. It was Coriander who ended up killing Calla, who tried to run away. Delphine, Marcello, and Aur were there, though Gypsy wasn't anywhere to be found. Then again, she probably retreated from the group due to their stuff being burned; which was probably why they were all so angry towards me. I had helped destroy their stuff, along with Gavin and Dezji. Gavin was already dead and Dezji was probably hard to find. I was the only one available to get their frustration out at.

"You thought we would just let you off after you and your buds destroyed everything we worked hard to get?" asked Delphine.

I debated whether or not to respond. I desperately wanted to ask what she meant by "worked hard to get" and if she meant killing children smaller than her in a ruthless fashion. But the expression on her face, rigid and fuming, told me that it was a rhetorical question and that I was better to keep my mouth shut.

"Where's your friend, the District Eight boy?" asked Aur.

I still didn't answer. I was bound to die, being outnumbered and out-skilled. I wasn't about to bring Dezji in to this. Besides I didn't have an answer to give her anyway, as I didn't know where Dezji had disappeared to.

"Not willing to talk? Doesn't matter, we'll find him," said Delphine.

I was being closed-in on from all sides.

I'm screwed, I thought.

Suddenly a sound from nearby caught everybody's attention. A male voice was shouting out something inaudible. No one was able to be seen from where we were, though the voice came in clear enough to tell he was close. The Careers looked about to make sure it wasn't a trap. For all they knew it was Dezji trying to confuse them. I highly doubted it was him, as he seemed angry last time I saw him, but I would take any distraction I could get. I ran as soon as their faces were turned away from me. I don't know where I was running to, but I was pretty sure anywhere was safer than being surrounded by some angry, grudge-holding, highly trained Careers. And they didn't waste any time after I made my move. I could hear them coming after me.

I ended up running down the mountain towards the trees. I had worked so hard to climb that mountain, but a cave wasn't going to save me now. The only thing I could hope for was to run to forest in the valley and find protection in the hordes of trees and brush.

Snow was falling even more so today and it was still dark, so it was hard to navigate as I ran away. The Careers didn't seem to be having any trouble, but when you are so determined and narrow minded, anything can be easy. I didn't seem to have near as much determination to outrun them and survive as they did in trying to catch me.

As I ran, the mountain started to become a bit steeper. I didn't remember climbing these part, though it was the arena and for all I know they could have been changing it as time went on. The snow that had fallen was already becoming solid ice due to the frigid weather, making it entirely too slippery.

"Ahh!" I screamed as my feet slid out from under me.

I had stepped on a section of black ice, a dangerous type of ice that is almost impossible to be seen. It is just a thin layer of ice over a hard surface and due to its width, it is nearly transparent. I remember having it on the roads of my district during winter. It was best not to run on it, as once you slid, you were destined to continue and possibly get hurt. I wasn't thinking that there was going to be any black ice on my path as I ran away. I was sadly mistaken. I slid down the steep slope, hitting everything on the way down. I finally came to rest as the slope started to mellow out, but I had still gone rather injured. Cuts and bruises that I had gathered from rocks and branches of bushes were scattered across my body, mainly on my hands and face.

I staggered to get up and saw the Careers looming over me from the top of the slope. Aur had drawn her bow. Even with her injured hand, she seemed confident that she could hit me.

"Bitch!" she shouted as she let the arrow fly.

Apparently she wasn't as good as she had hoped for. The injured hand had made her aim shift a bit and instead of hitting me dead on, the arrow merely pierced my right arm. It still hurt to hell and back, but I wasn't dead… Yet.

I pulled the arrow out and took off running again. They would be forced to take it slow down the slope if they didn't want to end up hurt like me or worse. I had some time to hide. And the perfect hiding place stood right in front of me. A tree with a small cavity underneath its roots was right there. The cavity was mainly filled with snow, but I could easily squeeze in and be hidden. And just as I made my way in to the cramped cavity, the Careers showed their faces.

"Where did she go?" asked Helena.

She was glaring, scavenging her surroundings for any sign of me. I didn't think I had pissed her off so much, but apparently I had. She didn't look at all happy to have lost sight of me and appeared even angrier that her companions had also lost sight of me.

Suddenly the voice rang out again, the same on as before.

"Gypsy!" the voice cried out.

Gypsy? Like the District Ten girl, Gypsy? I wondered.

I was sure to remain silent, no matter how much I wanted to tell the guy to stop shouting out. He was bound to get hurt if he continued. I didn't know if I could live with myself if I let another person get hurt without trying to help them. That is all I seemed to be doing since I started this. Still, I know I wouldn't be able to live at all if I did help them. The Careers would be sure of that.

"Looks like someone else is here," said Coriander. "You guys continue to look for the girl. I will take care of him."

The other nodded and split up, leaving Coriander ready to jump the unsuspecting tribute.

"Gypsy!" cried out the guy.

All of the sudden the boy who had been calling out for Gypsy stumbled out from behind some trees and out in front of Coriander. The boy was Dallas, or Dal as I remember he liked to be called. He was Gypsy's district partner and apparently had teamed up with her after she abandoned the Careers.

"Shit," Dal cursed under his breath upon seeing Coriander.

"I'm sorry dude, but this is going to have to be your last night," said Coriander.

For some reason, I felt a sort of hesitation behind Coriander's voice. I don't know why, but he seemed diffident about killing Dal even after he himself volunteered for the duty.

"Like hell," said Dal.

Dal had a makeshift spear he wielded. It was made from a sturdy looking stick and a sharp arrowhead-like rock tied to one end. Despite the brutish look of it, it seemed rather durable. Coriander had his knife and a sword at the ready. It may look like Coriander had the advantage, but a spear had a lot more reach than a knife or a sword.

Dal lunged at Coriander, holding his spear with a solid grip. He was determined to win this fight. And right than the safest place for me was to stay in my hiding spot. Coriander easily dodged the rock and whipped his knife out and at Dal's arm. Dal hadn't expected Coriander to be so quick and was caught off guard. The knife hit Dal's left forearm, leaving a shallow gash through his jacket. Anymore slashes in that area was bound to tear through his jacket and get his arm and that would be a disadvantage for Dal.

I continued to watch, silently cheering for Dal to win. While that would mean I would have to possibly go up against Dal, that meant I had one last Career to deal with.

"You're pretty good," said Coriander, panting as the battle continued at high speed.

"You too," responded Dal, also panting. "To bad you have to be on the wrong side."

"I'm on the winning side," said Coriander as he once again dodged Dal's spear. "I will always be on the winning side. It is the only way I am going to survive."

Survive…

I made the realization that Coriander wasn't as bad as I had thought during the Bloodbath. During the interviews I had thought of him as a "nice kid", like everyone else had. Even Lucida had thought him as that. Thing is, Coriander was probably a very nice kid. But in the Games he had become a ruthless, emotionless killer in order to survive. He was only doing what he had to do to live. I remember Gavin. Gavin kept his sweet personality the entire time he lived and was killed because he couldn't adapt to it. Coriander was the complete opposite. He had adapted to the challenges and hardships the Games through at him and had survived this entire time.

"I'm sorry to say this, but once you lose the sense of yourself, you have already lost the game," said Dal.

Dal had ended up right beside Coriander, which seemed to benefit Coriander more so. Coriander had went to turn his knife onto Dal's side, but Dal seemed to be quicker than him. Dal threw his spear down, hitting Coriander smack dab in the foot, the head of the spear actually going through his boot and foot both. With Coriander distracted by that pain, Dal quickly disarmed him of his knife and stabbed him in the throat. Coriander fell to the ground almost instantaneously. Dal just looked down at his body as Coriander's life slowly left him.

"Coriander!"

The voice came from behind my tree, so I couldn't see who it was. But from the sound of the cry, it sounded like Delphine. Upon running up to the dead body, my suspicions turned out to be correct. Delphine kneeled down beside Coriander's dead body as the gong rang out to announce his passing.

Shit, I thought. If they hear that gong, all the Careers may return. Then they would be bound to find me.

I continued to sit in silence, though I panicked inside my mind. I would be found out and killed. I needed to live to get home and support my mom. If I died now, I would leave my mom without anyone to take care of her. She would probably die at the hands of her morphling and the dealers who supply her, Pill and the like. I couldn't die unless I wanted to let my mom die as well.

Delphine looked up at Dal, who had already grabbed Coriander's knife. He wielded both his spear and the knife, ready to try to take on the peeved girl. Delphine didn't say anything, instead grunted in displeasure as she sprung towards the District Ten boy. She didn't pull any weapons, instead bared her hands at him. Dal was a bit thrown off and ended up toppling backwards as Delphine fell onto him. He was quickly disarmed by her and her hands found their way around his throat. I would think he wwould be able to throw the light Delphine off of him, but she appeared to have a good grip on him. Her legs were tightly hugging him, so she couldn't be moved.

I closed my eyes as I heard Dal gasp his last breaths. I opened my eyes to find Delphine smiling at the sight of Dal's dead body.

"You're dead," she said.

She was so into the moment, she didn't notice someone sneak up behind her. It was the boy I had seen awhile before, from my seat in the tree; the District Three boy. He had snuck up behind her and had grabbed the knife that was lying in the blood-stained snow.

"Correction, you're dead," he said as he sliced her neck from behind.

Her body fell forward, laying on top of Dal's dead body. Two gongs rang out in memoriam of the two fallen tributes. The District Three boy, Octavian, just stood there, neither happy nor angry at the sight. Instead he seemed to be thinking, analyzing, something.

"I know you're there," he suddenly said. "Calico."

He said my name in a low voice that sent shivers down my back. It almost made me scream how intimidating this boy could come off as. If I hadn't known any better, I would have thought him as one of the Careers with as much confidence and strength he radiated.

Having had my hiding spot been discovered, I slowly climbed out from the cavity and confronted him.

"These idiots may not have noticed you, but trust me, I am a whole lot smarter," said Octavian. "I kind of wished you would have stayed in there though. It would have been a lot easier to kill you."

He had dropped the knife and grabbed Coriander's sword from the scabbard at his waist. He pointed the silver sword at me, smiling ever so slightly at the fact I only wielded a knife. He gave a small chuckle as I stood there shaking. He seemed to be getting off at my fear.

"You're pathetic, you know that right?" he asked mockingly. "You run away from everything and hide to try and survive. You obviously don't know how to fight and think you can still live through this even though you clearly cannot. You're down right pathetic."

I did look like a mess. I had minor scratches and bruises covered me and my arm wound had turned my purple sleeve a dark burgundy. Still even with all my problems, no one had the right to insult me, let alone this boy. I had survived this long after dealing with the Bloodbath and having encountered the Careers three times now. I may have looked it, but I was anything but pathetic.

"Shut your face!" I shouted.

I guess he didn't expect me to charge him, but I did. He had tried to ready his sword, but I ducked down and stabbed him right in the abdomen. He fell backwards and started to gasp. He desperately tried to stop the blood from pouring out of his wound, but with no avail. I stood over him with my knife and shoot a glare down at him.

"Never call me pathetic, you jerk," I said.

With one final blow, I launched my knife down at him and into his forehead. I ended up killing him with all the anger I held up. His death was rather quick as I soon heard the final gong after the knife was lodged in his skull.

Have to hurry, I thought.

With all those gongs, the Careers were bound to return. I wasn't going to be able to return to my hiding spot, because they would probably find me if they truly searched. I picked up the other knife and put it in my bag. The sword and its scabbard found their new home at my waist. I kept my original knife in my hand as I shot a look at the four fallen tributes one last time. With that, I ran.

So four deaths this chapter. Including the first part, there were five deaths during day five. Ironic I like to think. I wasn't even thinking about it when I was planning out the deaths.

Anyways, about the title. Garlic powder is a strong tasting and smelling spice used in a lot of cooking (especially in my household). So with the story needing some "spicing up"… Title is a spice, the story needed spice… Get it. I know, bad joke. I'm sorry.

There is a total of six districts out of the Games. District Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, and Eleven.

Deaths in this Chapter

*Coriander - Killed by Dal; Placed 12th.

*Dal - Killed by Delphine; Placed 11th.

*Delphine - Killed by Octavian; Placed 10th.

*Octavian - Killed by Calico; Placed 9th.