Chapter Thirty-One - "Lost and Found"
I won't lie. Returning back to the dental office, only to find dead muttations, spent casings and shattered glass where Emery once was makes my heart sink. On the flip side, despite her apparent smarts for a girl her age, it's not a surprise she balked orders. Clancy is livid, naturally, pacing rapidly from left to right as if he'd misplaced something and only realized now. Not only do I have to keep in mind that we're in an active feast zone, but also mind on an increasingly upset Clancy.
"Where is she?" Clancy asks, launching his hands into the air.
I peer into the dental office for the nth time. Most of the doors are bolted shut so if she were there, she would be right there. "I don't know-
"Where is she?!" he barks again, louder.
One half of my mind is preoccupied with leaving this area before we're killed. Agitated, I give my head a vigorous shake. "I don't know, Clancy! If she was dead she would be right here with the mutts!"
"Then she's still alive." he begins to stomp down the street, to the next open door like we instructed. "She's not like the others. She's not an idiot. She charged into a house with a homicidal avox for Panem's sake-!"
"Clanc-...ugh, gods..." I don't think he genuinely understands what being allied with me entails.
He's not a day or two fresh off nearly getting ambushed and killed. Hells, I'm still wearing the bandages he and Emery dressed me in. Fully aware I'm barely seventy percent, let alone a hundred, I myself am quite surprised that we survived Lilith and her alliance. Not to mention Matix and his people. They could still be around, skulking for us.
Gallivanting around looking for Emery will only make us sitting ducks.
Still, I find myself holding my tongue as I join Clancy in searching the street for any sign of his sister. I specifically told her to find another open space if the office was compromised and she isn't in any of them. With all his sharp cussing and fervent pacing, he reminds me of Garrison when he doesn't get his way.
More gunshots and yells increase my anxiousness. The school's only a hundred meters away. To add to my stress, yet another cannon rings out in the distance. As my face drops, Clancy lobs a glare at me so hard I'm surprised I don't drop where I stand.
"Listen Clancy," I reason. "How about we do a listening halt-"
He's off again, leaving this general store for the streets once more, craning his head toward me for only a split second. "She's not here. Let's go back to the apartment!"
I shake my head and join him in a brisk jog. It's better than being here, that's for sure. I've seen this a select few times in Games history. The loss of a sibling in the arena with you. It never ends well for the survivor…if they survive long enough without their other half.. We reach our apartment now. City Mouse is nowhere to be found. Clancy hisses out the hottest curse I've ever heard, trumping my parents or any Peacekeeper I've come across.
Sure, no other cannon has rung, yet, but think of all the possibilities. Did an outlying tribute get her, take her back to their hideout and plan to end her slow? Is she lying hurt somewhere? Is she dying? I rip my mask off and stomp my way over to him.
"Hey!" I hiss at him. "Take it easy!"
The last thing I need is a six-foot-something, two hundred pound tribute madder than a mutt around me. I experience Clancy's anger first hand when my words strike a chord, him spinning around to meet me face to face. For the first time in a long time, I find myself taking a step or two backward.
"Don't tell me to 'take it easy'!" he roars, jabbing a finger into my vision. "I made a promise, a promise to my deceased mother that I would take care of her. If she goes, I'll have nothing! Nothing!"
Something like this was bound to happen sooner or later. I don't dare verbalize it, lest I get a hand around my throat again. So instead, I raise my hand in surrender and brace myself against the kitchen island in an attempt to regain my bearings. My heart skips a beat when my communicuff begins to vibrate. Our holographic friends decide to make their presence known.
"Tributes on the younger end of the spectrum often yield…poor results," says Vi.
"Your sister on the other hand is, how one would say, 'bucking the trend'" says Pax.
Through his anger, Clancy's expression becomes hopeful. "So, what you're meaning to tell me is that she's alive?" he says.
"For now, it seems," replies Vi.
"Her Capitol lineage isn't doing her much favors," Pax says with a shake of his head. "Naturally."
"Where is she-!?"
"You all need one, quite frankly," continues Pax.
"Especially after a day like this," adds Vi. "Luckily for you, there's one nearby. Though it has seen…better days."
All while scouring the map, for once I understand the cryptic messaging the holograms deal in. "Clancy…?"
He turns to me. "Yeah?"
I casually wave him over, blowing up my map for him to see. I point to a complex of buildings seemingly untouched by countless decades of unuse. I especially make note of the white and blue "H" situated on one of the central buildings.
"If I could redo the games, it's where I'd go," I say to him. "Kill anyone to keep it, too."
Vi and Pax flash us those mischievous smiles once more before dissipating into the air. Countdown set for an hour appears on both of our cuffs which is confusing to me until I receive a message telling us to get to the hospital before the time expires. Wouldn't she just be there, alone? Or was she taken from the feast zone? Something tells me it's the latter.
"They helped us…" Clancy murmurs. "I mean, they flat-out helped us."
"The perks of being loyal," I mutter in reply. I doubt obvious hints we've received during our time here will ever be repeated again. It really makes me want to survive and recap this whole thing over again, just to see.
So, with an hour to prepare, we shake down our kit and rejig it for what's ahead. Naturally, the feast items are more so food rather than weapons. Binoculars are a welcomed add. The sponsors gave us a generous amount of ammunition when I came to. Adding our armored vests into the mix, there wasn't much rejigging but rather a lot of resting…for me at least. Clancy is as active as a TJ's nest, and rightfully so, pacing around so hard I think he might drop from drowsiness. I know the feeling. It's like waiting for an evaluation…or waiting for your pedestal to rise…
I decide to relieve him of his anxiety. "Wanna leave a little early?"
"I thought you would never ask…" he answers with a nod.
…
Outside is getting darker by the second. That, coupled with the heavy rainfall makes me wonder if the conditions are a blessing or a curse. Nightfall should make things plenty easier but as we just saw, nothing truly goes to plan. We get further help from Viondra via text message. Apparently height will be an advantage. Not too high, not too low. The Gamemakers meant for this area to be high with tribute traffic, seeing as the interiors we venture through are made so that holes are deliberately blown through the walls - 'mouse-holing' I recall Peacekeepers during war broadcasts call it - allowing for easy access. We see evidence of fighting even though the hovercrafts have claimed the bodies. Spent casings, dropped blades, guns and dried blood litter the various rooms we venture through. Through the window, I spot a cornucopia on the intersection. It must've been the third while the other two were in the city park.
"Was that yours?" I ask Clancy, nodding off towards the window.
"No," he replies as we ascend higher into the building. "Though I wonder how they saw it? The initial fighting. A whole Hunger Games worth of deaths in a single day, worse than the Fiftieth."
I simply nod in response. It'll be interesting to see once the dust settles. I quickly dismiss the thought, because the dust hasn't settled and in my eyes, it hasn't even flown. But it will flow, just now, as we cross a makeshift bridge suspended thirty feet in the air that transitions one office building to the roof of another.
As we cross I hear them in the night, packs upon packs of hound mutts scampering through the streets. I barely see them, black forms bobbing and weaving through the debris. It's their howls and jangling collars that do it. In unison, Clancy and I raise our cuffs to our faces. Whatever the Gamemakers set up, the time given to us has expired and their 'show' is about to begin.
It all adds up. It's all a ruse. The mutts raise hell while we sneak in, get Emery and then what? I remember the words of the holograms. Her Capitolite status gives her no favors. Whoever is holding her are hardened rebels. Hardened rebels that need killing. Who better to kill them than me? I hope to the Capitol it's who I think it is.
My communicuff's map updates again. A compass-like arrow appears overhead, acting as a guide of sorts. If I follow it, Emery is due to be in front of us soon. The hospital is a campus, with a central skyscraper and a ring of buildings surrounding it. Emery is southeast. We don't have to look very far.
After bounding down some steps, I spot a flurry of lights from a patch of skylights thirty feet ahead. The commotion on the street has Emery's captors in a tizzy. The howls, barks and snarls of the mutts mix in with the confused and frenzied yells of the tributes.
"This is it," I say to Clancy.
"You lead, I'll follow," he replies. "If things go haywire…"
"Then you go back to the apartment," I say, flicking my rifle off 'safe'. "With or without Emery and me if it shakes out that way."
We pick up our pace, skirting around the perimeter of the skylights to get a closer look. Through the grimy glass, aided by the various glowsticks littered about, in a large office space I spot them, two figures.
"Don't! What are you doing?!-"
"What's it to you?! You a loyalist now?!" shouts a familiar voice. "She's getting away!"
I breathe in, nodding to Clancy who returns it. I've only ever seen Peacekeepers do stunts like these, I guess I'm getting ahead.
"Obviously not!" replies the female. "We wait for Justin! This could be just another mutt swarm-"
"Who cares about Justin! They don't get it, everything happens for a reason. The mutts are a ruse-"
I line up my shot with the male tribute. He had me "Justin". I let out two bursts, shattering the glass as both of them cry out, the male louder than the female, all while leaping through the gaping hole I created, landing next to Lucas, who flops on the ground like a fish out of water. Clearly my rounds struck him in the spine, the lighting good enough for me to see the entirety of his back wet with blood.
Suddenly, my mind flashes with images of that backroad in 2. Naked on the road, Lucas' father looming over me, adjusting his belt with a sneer while my family lay bleeding around a mere inches away. I see red.
Lucas turns onto his back, drawing a pistol that's easily knocked away by myself as I straddle his chest, raising my rifle and slamming the butt down onto his face, not once, not twice, but three times. I'm so caught up in bashing his face in, the gun discharges multiple times but I don't care.
Through ringing ears, I hear Clancy's muffled cries of my name. I whip my head around to find him grappling with Tatiana. They're of comparable size and coupled with the darkness, their shadows are comparable to two beasts grappling for dominance.
I spin around, leveling the rifle towards her. My aim and movement is lethargic, giving my 'district partner' just enough time to retreat behind a cubicle and Clancy to hit the ground as I fire a burst and miss. I'm about to press the attack when a black ball gets tossed in our direction. I've seen this play out before. I yank Clancy by the hood and he has enough sense to scramble along with me, sliding into a cubicle as the grenade detonates, shuddering the ground beneath us while creating a torrent of dust and ancient paper.
Despite being nearly fragged, Clancy is still on task. "Emery-"
"Your cuff! You have an arrow too, right!?" I ask him.
"Yes, b-but-"
"So go, you know the drill! Go!" I holler at him. Besides, although she isn't Justin, I've been hankering to deal with her ever since the train ride. I notice he hesitates so I give him a slug to the shoulder. "Fucking go, Clancy!"
He nods, consulting his cuff before darting off towards a set of double doors. As he does this I hear a distinct thud between the door Clancy slipped through and me. I dive into the next cubicle as yet another explosion rocks the room. I rise to my feet and aim towards her peering form emptying my entire magazine into that cubicle.
I reload just as fast as I peer over the cubicle andshesgone…
I feel something sharp prick my side and I cry out, swiveling to face a snarling Tatiana who's about to plunge a dagger into my chest. I counter, stroking her jaw with the butt of my rifle. As she reels backward and lurches forward again, blade discarded and blood flowing from her mouth, I take aim at her but she recovers quickly, swatting the barrel away as I get a burst off. It goes off near her head so she gets stunned and I take aim at her face.
The gun clicks and my chest flushes with an immense heat so hot I think I'm having a heart attack.
Just as I discard the rifle and activate a gauntlet, Tatiana is on me again. She tackles me to the floor, winding me, with both her massive hands wrapping around my throat. The pain is immediate, forcing me to gasp for air I wasn't taking in.
My hands unpinned, I flail my gauntlet towards her head, causing her to cry out as the blade skates across her cheek. She adjusts her weight, clamping down both my biceps underneath her knees. My arms uselessly flailing by my sides, alarm bells ring inside my head.
Until they don't.
With the help of mine and her communicuff lights, I notice Tatiana has an entire bandolier of olive balls strapped to her chest. My right hand is free, and my lower half feels loose enough, free enough to…
One. I have a renewed sense of urgency.
Two. With a quick, fluent motion, I buck my hips into the air, pressing my boots into her back as I push her forward, spending no time reclaiming my breath as I scramble away wheezing.
Three. I scramble and shamble a few feet ahead, somersaulting into a cubicle.
Four. I eye the wall, desperately hoping that Tatiana doesn't come barrelling over after me. A loud thump and a violent gust of wind envelopes the room with a horrible wail mixed in within it. I let out a sigh of relief.
Five. I win.
I stagger out of the cubicle, wading through the dense smoke over to a fallen Tatiana, who lies trembling on the ground in a pool of her own blood. I casually step over the mess that is her, securing my rifle from off the ground. It seems to have caught some metal fragments but it's still serviceable. I saunter back over to Tatiana, locking eyes with her. Ever since the trains she has had it out for me and vice versa. I've heard her words - her threats - on the pilfered security tapes Viondra shared with me. She was looking forward to "shutting me up for good".
I smile, bearing my teeth from ear to ear. So much for that, eh?
Tatiana knows it's over and tries to form words, only for blood to gush from out of her mouth.
I make certain to step on top of her, pressing my boot down and twisting it, relishing in the loud wail she lets out. As nice of a kill she was, she wasn't good enough. There are far more important people I need to pick a bone with.
I kick Lucas over, ignoring his cries while planting a boot on his chest. The butt did a number on his face, his left eye swollen shut and his nose skewed awkwardly to the right. When he grimaces at me, I notice that some of his teeth are either missing or chipped considerably.
He hocks back and attempts to spit a wad of blood at me, only for it to land on my boot.
"Go on…" he bites out. "Go on! You won, kill me too!"
I apply more pressure onto his chest , relishing in the pitiful squeal of pain.
"A few hours, give or take," I say to him, as if I'm answering a question.
Through his bout of agony, he shakes his head. "...What?"
"After what yours did to mine, I spent a few hours lyin' on the road, so shocked by it all, the only reason I remember is 'cause I clinged to your folks' names," I explain. "Dixen. Matix. Shadd. I made a promise to get 'em back, any way I could. Luckily for me, your name was called. 'Ere we are now."
He studies me for a few seconds. "That was my uncles doing, not me-"
"You're the next best thing!" I snap back, glancing over to Tatiana's fallen form as her cannon rings out. reminding me that I need to regroup with Clancy and Emery. I crane my head back to Lucas. "I was gonna blow your head off with this gun. 'Stead, you're gonna lie here and your folks back home are gonna sit there while you waste away. Feel how I felt, lyin' on the road, wonderin' where it all went wrong. Wonderin' 'why me?'"
"You're crazy…" he says, nodding to himself while chuckling through bloodstained lips . "We all know it, but it needs to be said-"
I roll him over and launch a boot into his back as he lets out a pathetic yowl. I get down to his level and seethe into his ear, "Havin' nothin' t'lose tends t'make ya that way."
I eye Emery's gear on a nearby table and move to collect it. Leaving Lucas to rot, I consult my cuff and give chase to Clancy and Emery, maneuvering through blocked doors, caved-in ceilings and floors until I hear gunfire and yells. A racket of male screaming echoes down the hall, muffled, but clear enough to make out. As I turn to my right I see a tribute flailing about, his cuff a beacon in the dark. I continue walking when I confirm it's a District 9 male, colliding into the glass dividing him and I as he pounds it desperately. He notices my light and thinks I'm with him. The entrance into that space is blocked with a hefty desk, probably put in by them to prevent others from getting in.
I'm not touching it, obviously.
"Hey, hey!" he follows me, along the length of the hallway from his side. There's blood on his hands, trailing along the glass. "Astrid!? Thom!? What're you doing?! Let me out of here! Let me out!"
I stop. Why not humor him? I press myself against the grimy glass, grinning as his features fall further into shock at the sight of me. I step back, noticing a black form with yellow eyes racing up behind him. Nine's face is put through the glass and he screams, wriggling desperately to escape the grasp of the mutts descending on him. He manages to poke his head out once, two times before the mutts tug him in again, their snarls and barks drowning out his cries of pain.
"Zenobia!" Clancy and Emery come shambling in from my right, flinching at the sight of the boy from 9 being flung against the glass one more time leaving a faint, bloody imprint. They look worse for wear, exhausted, with various tears, scrapes and bruises on their person. Tiny Emery looks so awkward, trying to support her gargantuan brother. Annoyed by the Nine boy's screams, I guide them back to where they came.
"Are you alright?" I ask them.
Emery whines in the affirmative while Clancy grits his teeth. "Could be a lot worse, so much worse," he says as Nine's cannon rumbles. "Are we leaving now?"
Matix flashes through my head. If Nine was here, he's here too, somewhere. I quickly remember that he is stuck in here with me. A confrontation now wouldn't be good. We have mutts to contend with. I nod. "Yes. but I'm not sure where to go-"
"There's a stairwell just through the lobby where we came," Clancy answers. "We can take it to the roof and we're golden."
I nod. "Lead the way-"
"Up bup bup!" Paulus exclaims, waggling a finger as he pushes himself off a beam and jerks a finger toward the hall I came from. "Matix may be stuck in 'ere with you, doesn't mean you leave 'im fresh for the fight either."
"Zenobia?" Clancy calls. I ignore him.
"Take advantage of this Zen," Paulus yearns. "He's on the ropes, push the ref aside and hit 'im again!"
"Zenobia? What's the matter with you!?"
I turn back to face my allies, replacing my magazine spent on Tatiana with a fresh one. I can't let an opportunity like this pass. "You two go back to the apartment."
"Huh!?" Clancy babbles. "What do you mean-?"
"What about you?!" exclaims Emery.
"C'mon, you heard me!" I snap at them, handing Emery her supplies - rucksack, pistol and belt. "I'll be right behind you, go!"
Clancy scoffs in apparent disbelief, shaking his head while turning on his heels and coaxing his sister to come along. Matix and his gang surely had to have used that spot Clancy and I entered, given the copious amounts of lighting. So I backpedal, making sure to avoid raving mutts that pound madly at the glass where the Nine boy fell. Lo and behold, lights flash behind the glossed glass of the space that holds the broken bodies of Tatiana and Lucas. I waste no time ripping one of the doors open and training my rifle on the nearest live target.
My sights line up with Thom hovering over Lucas. My entrance causes the redheaded boy to glance my way, his face etched with shock. That shock quickly melts into a look of determination as he points a black object at me. We waste no time exchanging bullets, all while scrambling into defensive positions. He's got a bead on me, pinning me against a pillar with a flurry of shots.
Through the racket of gunfire I hear them, through the door I entered from; scampering, snarling, barking. The mutts must've broken through, wanting something else to chew on.
I quickly flank left, barely catching Thom escaping through a nearby entryway. I pursue, ignoring Lucas' groans of pain as I bound past him. Just as I push through the entryway, the barks of the mutts are as clear as day. Lucas' screams are as clear as day too, rattling through my ears long after the doors slam shut.
Thom doesn't make it easy for me, turning over filing cabinets, wedging doors with desks all while shimmying through annoying nooks and crannies.
"A Thirteen soldier, fleeing from a fight?!" I call after him, scoffing. "You're pathetic!"
His response comes in the form of bullets. They don't hit me, but rather skitter into various objects, illuminating the pitch black halls with sparks. He can only run so far without tiring. I line up my sights as best I can with his shadowy figure and fire, relishing in the cry he lets out as he scrambles around the corner. He drops something, a spear from what I can see.
As I turn the corner I don't expect him to run back into me, my heart leaping as he closes the distance, pressing me and my rifle up against the wall. I shove back, resulting in a back and forth that sends us careening into an assortment of furniture. The flashlights attached to our bodies and on our cuffs makes our grapple a dizzying one. I got you, I think, using my rifle as leverage as I pin him to the ground, bracing the gun against his throat. He's not Matix, but he'll have to do-
I gasp aloud as pain blossoms in my left hip, causing my grip on the rifle to slacken. In the light, I barely catch Thom's look of scorn as the butt slams into my cheek.
I cry out, rolling onto my belly as I only just see Thom escape into a stairwell. Cheap bastard, I think as I let out a shout of anger. I'm about to scramble upward when I hear a single, deep bark.
I steadily crane my head up. A few feet ahead, a pair of yellow eyes appear through the dark.
I scramble to a kneeling position, frantically tugging at the trigger as it charges. With how heavy my rifle sways, I'm surprised I got it as the mutt skids to a halt, blood spraying onto the ground as the rounds split its head in two.
I barely have time to react to the second mutt nipping at their packmate's heel.
The second mutt bounds over its fallen friend, colliding into me as my back slams hard against the cast aside, my forearm is the only barrier between my chest and the mutt's jagged teeth. I find myself shrieking as the mutt clamps down hard, raking its teeth back and forth like a saw. Using my free hand, I activate its gauntlet and plunge the blade into its body until the hound's snarls turn into whimpers and its heavy weight slumps onto my body.
"Zen get up!" Paulus yells. "He's getting away!"
With a snarl I lurch onto my feet. What should be an effortless thing to do makes me feel as if I've run a marathon. Before more mutts arrive, I collect my rifle from off the ground and shamble down the stairwell. As I force my body to comply, I think to myself; I'm just gonna get myself killed. I slow to a snail's pace, clinging to the banister like a lifeline. Paulus makes his way next to me, fuming.
"What're you doin'?!" he snaps.
"Can't you see?!" I yell back. It's dark. Outside and inside. There's a pack of dog mutts running amok coupled with tributes who would love nothing more than to kill me and vice versa. I make it to the fourth floor before giving up entirely, choosing to slump against a wall and look over my arm. It bleeds like a drippy faucet. Damn it, I think, fumbling through the medkit strapped to my harness. Can these mutts sniff out blood in the air? How the hell am I supposed to get back - wait…
I hear noise. Voices. I have the gaping hole in the office wall to thank. I push myself up and make my way over. The street below is awash with orange flame, the centuries of overgrown foliage quickly being eaten up by whatever the tribute set off. The barking of the mutts can still be heard, their black forms darting to and fro in an attempt to forge a path through the wall of fire to get at someone.
The flame's glow allows me to spot those someones. Matix emerges from the tall grass, followed by Irene, Lilith and Eldwyn. My mouth parts into a smile as I drop down to a prone position, flick the selector to 'single fire' and peer through my scope. They're yearning for people to join them.
"Come on, come on-!"
"Hurry, you're almost there!"
Just my luck, Thom and a Nine girl shamble through the brush, the former practically hanging off her like a sack of potatoes. I brace the rifle against my shoulder, line up my reticle to the lower halves of their bodies.
I don't want them dead…yet. I want them lame, I want it to hurt for as long as possible.
I let off four shots.
Their allies exclaim in shock as Thom and Nine both tumble to the ground with a cry, writhing and crawling around aimlessly. The mutts get through, pouncing through the flames onto the disabled duo. They try to defend themselves but to no avail, as one mutt clamps his jaws down on Nine's head, one mutt takes Thom by the leg and tosses him to its packmates. It's too dark to make out but I see objects flying about. Matix screams out and tries to press forward, only to get held back by the others. Two cannons ring out in rapid succession.
I take my face from out of the scope, set my rifle aside and smile. The first genuine smile I've had in weeks. The Dixens weren't enough. Lucas Shadd wasn't enough either. Matix started this, he was in charge. And now, he's lost something.
How does it feel to lose your closest friend, Matix? I think, watching him as he pathetically extends a hand towards the mutts going to town on his allies. How does it feel to watch him get torn apart by a pack of mutts? Not good, it seems.
Irene squints her eyes my way, extending a finger toward me. "I see something!"
Matix follows her finger, wasting no time producing a pistol from his holster. I'm already up and running by the time bullets are ricocheting around the spot I once laid.
All the while I stagger off, a sweet sound of laughter escapes my mouth.
Tribute Numbers as of Chapter Thirty-One.
D1 - 2 (-1)
D2 - 3 (-2)
D3 - 5 (-1)
D4 -3
D5 - 3 (-2)
D6 - 3 (-3)
D 7- 3 (-1)
D 8 - 3 (-1)
D9- ELIMINATED (-2)
D10 - 3
D11 - ELIMINATED
D12- 4 (-1)
Tributes Remaining: 31
No coming up next this time around...wanna keep it secret.