The 78th Annual Hunger Games
Party for One
The world was Bianca Fonesca's to crack open like an egg. Or a head. At least, that's what she believed anyway. The girl, tall for her age, stood out among a crowd. Not necessarily for her appearance, but because she made herself stand out. Reaping Day was no different and in fact, Bianca hardly treated it like the potentially life-altering day it could be.
When her parents went to look for her that morning, she wasn't lying in her bed, awaiting the dreaded Reaping Day motions that the family went through. No, instead she had headed down the dirt path out to the ranches outside of town. Bianca had business to attend to that came before the Capitol getting what they wanted. A baggy jacket was pulled around her shoulders, colored an olive green color that could blend in among Ten's dried-out grasses. Her pockets were weighed down by some surprise she had in store for someone today.
Bianca wasn't the kind of girl to have friends. But Hugo was an exception. His house was the big one on the right side of the road, painted a dull and fading purplish color lined with what could have only been white at one point that had since flecked away. A small pen was set up behind the house with young sheep grazing, which then led out to larger fields in which cattle roamed.
She'd been through there a dozen times - Hugo had even helped her set up a concert there where she could play her drums. If Bianca could just get through today's Reaping Day, she could go downtown and play again tonight.
Bianca knocked three times hard on the creaking wooden door. Her fingers squeezed into her pockets and wrapped around her first projectile. A lockclicked and the door opened. Luckily, Bianca hadn't taken her hand out of her pocket just yet. Hugo stood in the doorway, his freckle-splattered face looking at her quizzically. He was tall and lanky, with flaming red hair. Already dressed for Reaping Day, he donned a sky blue button-up shirt.
"Where's your brother?" Bianca asked.
"What's in your pocket?" Hugo shot back.
"Nothing of concern. I was just dropping some stuff off for you guys before the Reaping. Is he home?"
An uneasy look passed through Hugo's eyes, but he swung the door wide enough for her to come in. The house had probably been beautiful one day - but that day had long since passed. It had for most of Ten. She spotted her target around the chipped wooden posts that led into their kitchen.
Cael didn't even have time to turn around before the first paint-filled water balloon smacked him in the back. The red paint splattered over his nice shirt and over the walls and floors to either side of him. He spun around, his mouth in a perfect 'O' shape. Bianca howled with laughter and lobbed the one that had been sitting in her left pocket, which popped when it glanced off his shoulder. The green paint splattered up and caught his cheek and hair, but she didn't stick around to see how much farther it did. Bianca turned on her heel and raced out of the house.
The wind blew against either side of her face as her worn out sneakers thudded against the dirt road. She knew that she was faster than Cael, faster than most in District 10. She'd been out-running unwitting peacekeepers since she was eight. Her mother had tried to insist on her dressing up further for the reaping but Bianca had other plans.. The old lace-ups were distinctly not what her mother had in mind. Still, they did make for good getaway shoes.
The little silver amulet that hung on her neck smacked against her collarbone. It was a family heirloom, passed from one to the other for years. Bianca knew that some would find it silly, but she didn't care. She still thought that the amulet held her ancestors voices, thoughts, and most importantly, wishes within them. All of those hopes and dreams of those before her were with her now. It made her feel…stronger. She needed that today.
District 10 was no small district, and its population had been growing now for a few decades. The old Reaping pavilion out in front of the old Justice Building was being swapped out for a new location outside of town. The paved roads turned to gravel, the chalky substance on everyone's shoes and lower pant legs. An old red barn - owned by the Porter family, if she remembered her grandpa's stories right, was now painted with a golden Capitol insignia, with a stage erected out front. Ten's familiar cow insignia was carved into the fading red wood. Bales of hay were stacked near each set of stairs leading to it. Bianca approached the table to get her finger pricked, holding out her hand expectantly.
"You're nearly late…Ms. Fonseca." The Capitol attendant's beady eyes looked up and down the sheets of paper in front of them.
"Right on time," Bianca chimed in return, withdrawing her hand and hurrying towards the section of other fifteen year-old girls. She nudged her way into the lines of people, seeking to gain a foothold on the edge of the crowd so she could get a good view of who was going to be Reaped.
She stood on her tippy toes while the anthem played and that old boring reminder of the horrors of the Dark Days and the Second Rebellion followed, seeking to find her parents. Her neck craned over a rather tall girl in front of her, and she finally caught a glimpse of them in the crowd. Her mother was shaking her head as she muttered something to her dad, a little smile playing at the edge of her lips. Oops, Bianca thought to herself. She hadn't told them that she was going to go somewhere before she got to the Reaping. Too late for that. I'll have to explain later. The last thing she wanted was to be grounded and not be able to go hit out her frustrations on aged drumset downtown.
"Now, for our tributes," Their escort was a clearly older man who should have retired some years ago. Maybe he was even working prior to the Second Rebellion, but Bianca had no idea. The makeup he'd put on was cracking in the summer heat of Ten. Rookie mistake.
"Our female tribute from District Ten…my, here we go…" His hand stuffed into the bowl and dug around for some time. Bianca yawned, glancing around at her peers. Which one of them would she not have to see around much longer…well, she hoped for Sage. She'd never been too nice. Kara was worse, but sometimes she had good pranks on some of the boys. Meredith was almost impossible to have at a gig… "Bianca Fonseca!"
"What the fuck?" Bianca's head snapped straight to the withering man on the stage. The whole crowd fell silent. "I meant…what the hell?" She said louder.
"Bianca Fonseca?" The man repeated, his eyes skittish and glancing around the crowd. She knew he had already seen her.
"No!" She heard a scream from the crowd and she winced. Her mother. Bianca blinked quickly a few times, unable to turn her head towards the sounds. She felt like putting her hands over her ears as the yelling continued and boots smacked against the rock.
"Idiots," Bianca murmured to herself, her hands grasping at her elbows and clutching her arms tightly to her body. "Shitheads." Each word was levied at peacekeepers along the way, but she didn't care if some of the girls took it personally, either. Many of them deserved it too.
"I wish all the other tributes the best of luck," Bianca announced whens he got onto the stage, faking a salute to the mayor, who was clutching at his tie. "They're going to need it." She had no idea which cameras were on and which were off, but she flashed a huge smile at one of them.
"C-charming…" The escort muttered into the microphone as he began to rummage through the glass bowl filled with boys' names. "Now, for the boys…Lorcan Aslani."
Bianca had to force herself to hold in a small chuckle, but a smile came to her lips all the same. She knew him, but everyone knew his father. The biggest asshole in Ten, there wasn't a day that would go by that he had all of his marbles inside his skull. Her mother had always told her not to even step foot near Lorcan, since 'his father may rub off on him'. From what she'd heard in school, it had. The first thing Bianca noticed as Lorcan approached the stage was that he was very tall, but skinny. His face was dour and sunken, but he didn't appear very sad, angry, or even surprised. Their names were announced once more and then they were ushered into the barn that the Capitol had kept promising would turn into their new Justice Building.
Two separate areas had been set up for the tributes, wooden support sticks marking where they were to stand. Bianca put her hands behind her back and kicked some of the hay around while they waited.
"Bianca!" Her mother's cry alerted her to them coming before they'd even stepped through the small door on the side.
Bianca all but fell into her parents' arms, clutching onto them. "I'll be back," She said before either of them had their first words out. "I've got this." She ran her amulet through her fingers. "This is what it's for."
She couldn't bear them to look at her like she would never come back. She couldn't allow herself to think that it could happen.
"Right," Her dad smiled, his voice thick. "We believe in you, Bee."
"You haven't called me that since I was nine," Bianca complained, but a smile crossed her lips anyway as she leaned further into them.
"I'll never stop," He swore.
Pre-Games (Training)
The third day of training for the Games brought more familiarity than the previous two for Bianca. She knew where to start - the knives station, as she had focused on the previous day. By now, she knew how to hold it right and where to aim, and due to a kind trainer, she knew where to aim on bigger opponents than herself. Her mentor-slash-stylist had encouraged her to seek out allies, but Bianca knew that wasn't within her wheelhouse.
Instead, she spent the first part of the day doing what she had the last few days: hacking at training dummies with her favorite knife. Being from Ten, she felt like she had a better grasp on some of the survival stations than others. Even then, you may not need all of them in the Games. You would probably need a knife.
"I've seen you over here a lot," A voice came from beside her.
Bianca took a deep breath and pushed it out through her mouth. Maybe she'll go away. She hit the dummy again with the knife and dug in. Pretty soon it would be as useless as the last few she'd had to throw away.
"Bianca, right?" The girl asked.
"How do you know my name?" Bianca grumbled as she tugged the knife out.
"We go over the tributes every night as a team. I'm starting to remember some names," She said.
"Ah, because you have a mentor that's already won," Her voice sounded mutinous. Her mentor was worth nearly as much as the gold he adorned himself with: not much. "District 4 and District 9. How lucky."
"It does help," The girl admitted. "My name's Isla."
"You already know mine."
"Right…" Isla's voice trailed off as she pulled her knife out. "Have you tried throwing them before?"
"Nope," Bianca popped the 'p'. "The trainer guy said that it would be best to learn how to do one thing really well rather than complicate it by learning a bunch of new things and forgetting them. I trust him." Not you, was left implied.
"Ah. I just…I don't think I'd be as good at being that close to someone else. I've worked a bit on throwing them, but I also tried out a bow. That was fun, but I probably need more work on it before I try and shoot it in the arena."
Isla was getting well on her nerves. Bianca didn't care about her at all, why was she even bothering talking to her? She knew well that Districts 1, 2, and 4 would ally together as they always did. Only during the 76th Games they didn't. She'd seen the boy from 4 talking to the girl from 2 the other day, and the girl from 1 was hanging out with Isla at the knife station yesterday. Was Isla trying to size her up? Make her worry? She wasn't worried about them anyways, there wasn't a lot Bianca could control, but she could control her worry. Isla was pretty too, and wouldn't have a problem getting sponsors. That was enough to make Bianca not want to talk to her.
"Cool," Bianca turned to go, but the girl just followed after her as Bianca searched for another station.
"Have you found anyone you want to be on a team with yet?" Isla asked her, jogging to catch up.
"No, and I doubt I will," Bianca muttered. "Not that it's any of your business anyway. Doesn't matter, I guess, since we all know who you're going to ally with."
"What do you mean?"
Bianca scoffed as she ducked into the rope-tying station, grabbing a loose rope from the stack. "Everyone knows, doofus. One, Two, Four. Lackeys."
Isla frowned, crossing her arms over her chest as her shoulders grew all tense and tight. Bianca knew that pose - she had her ruffled. The bullies always did that after Bianca called them on their crap. This girl from 4 was just like them.
"It's only the third Games since the Rebellion." Isla tried to persuade her from her stance. "We haven't trained as much, I'm just 16. Cyrus and Muse are 17."
"You're not supposed to train. It's illegal."
"You think the Capitol doesn't know?" Isla challenged in return.
Bianca's ears turned red. Of course they knew, Bianca knew that. Doesn't mean that it was right. There wasn't anything she could do except to get that girl away from her.
"I think you're weak." Bianca said simply, turning towards her and planting her feet. "Your whole alliance is. Everyone saw the boy from 1 - what's his name…Helios, right? Fall from the obstacle course? His ankle still isn't right, I saw him coming out of the bathroom. You're sixteen, the girl from 1 and the boy from 2 are each seventeen. The real threats are your district partner and the girl from 2, and you're terrified that they'll make it long enough to end you. So you're trying to butter up the rest of us to take you in when it happens. So here's my answer: no."
Isla was gobsmacked, her mouth open. Bianca had no idea whether what she was saying was true, but it was on her mind. The Careers seemed beatable, everyone was. Bianca felt like she could actually win, and it was driving her through training. The girl from 4 left her there at the rope-tying station in a huff, stomping back towards where the girl from 1 was shooting a bow ridiculously off-course.
A smile stretched across her face as she maneuvered her fingers through the rope. This was more normal. She could almost picture herself back home, sitting by the creek and tying knots on nets to catch fish in the summertime, her father's hands steadying the knots and pulling them tighter. The rope still seemed a bit thick at the knot, and she did her best to replicate what her father told her to do. Tighter, she strung it out.
"That was cool," Someone said, suddenly appearing at her side.
Bianca turned and saw a girl around her age, a bit smaller than she was herself. She had dirty blonde hair and a long face, a 5 stitched onto her shoulder to mark her district.
"Thanks," Bianca set the rope and knot down on the bench.
"Could you show me how to do that?" The girl asked.
No. "Sure."
Bianca picked up another rope and handed a third to the other girl. The girl from 5, Bianca corrected herself. If Isla was trying to remember everyone, then Bianca would have to try too. If her mentor thought it was important, it probably was.
"What's your name?" Bianca asked through gritted teeth.
"Svetlana," She said. Svetlana watched Bianca loop the rope around and followed her lead perfectly. "What's yours?"
She was pleased, telling Svetlana that her name was Bianca. They each did loops together, tying some of the most basic knots that Bianca knew. They would serve in a pinch, at least. Still, she wanted away from the station. It was only supposed to be a refuge from Isla anyway.
"So…I'm going to head to the throwing station. I want to try out the throwing stars, they seem cool," Bianca said. She had no intention of using them in the arena, but she wanted to skirt the Careers for the rest of the day if she could.
"I'll come to watch. I don't know many weapons, but my district partner showed me some of the plant identification. He's much better at it than I am," Svetlana said.
She didn't complain this time when the girl followed after her. The station wasn't empty, but there were only two people there. She'd nearly forgotten about her own district partner, Lorcan, but he was at the station. He was hopeless, but he had some strength to back himself up with. The other was a girl from 7, who seemed tall and had real muscles.
"What's your district partner's name?" Bianca asked as she took a few of the stars from the bin. A trainer hurried over to her to help show her how to hold them properly and throw them. Bianca tried to wave her off, but she just ducked and corrected her anyways.
"Lucero. He's over there," Svetlana pointed away from them. Lucero was tall and agile, but didn't have the broad look that some of the more intimidating boys did. Or even some of the girls had. Bianca wondered if he was quicker than even her.
"Are you going to be allies?" Bianca asked as she tossed her first star, which hit far to the right.
"I don't think so," Svetlana said. "I don't know if he wants any and I don't know how to ask. I'm just 14 anyways, and he's 17. He probably has a better chance."
He probably does, Bianca thought to herself. It got the wheels churning in her mind, though. Svetlana wasn't a big threat, but even if she could help her a bit, maybe it was worth letting her tag along. She didn't seriously think that Svetlana could beat her. And she seemed kind enough that she wouldn't slit Bianca's throat at night. Would it be better to have a team?
"Would you want a team?"
"Probably," Svetlana perked up. "If someone was willing to, I think I would. It helps with the loneliness, I would think. Not that I know, of course."
"Maybe we could be on the same team." Bianca floated the idea as she gave up on the throwing stars after the second bounced uselessly off the wall. "You know, if we make it through the first day."
The girl's eyes went wide and she nodded eagerly. "Yes, that would be great! We can share what we know and stuff. The private training sessions are tomorrow, maybe we could watch the scores come in together and make a strategy together?"
As far as she knew, their team had no plans to watch together or coordinate a strategy. "That sounds great." Bianca replied as the bell dinged to let them know the day was over.
One ally. For better or for worse.
Pre-Games (Interviews)
The good thing about having a stylist that didn't care a whole lot about whether or not her or Lorcan ended up getting out of the arena was that they were fairly willing to do whatever Bianca wanted as far as an interview outfit. She'd insisted on black, and had sat down with them a few times to discuss the ideas that her stylist had. That evening of the interviews, she was finally able to see it in the flesh for the first time. It was more lacy than Bianca had imagined, especially on the fringes of the arms and legs. At the elbow, the dress seemed to almost uncinch and widen towards her wrists. A little sparkle of color, a red gem, was placed in the middle of her chest, almost like a heart. When she slipped on the black heels that went with them, she felt more confident.
Well, at least, more confident after she had taken a few wobbly steps and found her footing. It was like armor to her, it felt right. The group walked together to the staging area, where all the tributes had to wait in a line for their turn to be interviewed in front of all of Panem. They were filed in one at a time by district, with Bianca standing behind a lanky boy from District 9.
The first tributes seemed to go by slowly. There was a small TV set up where they were standing to watch, but Bianca was too far back to hear anything coming from it. Most of the outfits were a little gaudy for her taste, but the boy from 4's turquoise suit and the boy from 1's night-and-day get up was at least a little neat and suited them well. Soon enough, the districts were ticking by quicker. Six. Seven. Eight. Those tributes seemed to finish in a flash. Bianca wiped her hands on the front of her dress, trying to get rid of the sweat that seemed to be accumulating just after she wiped it off the previous time.
All of Panem. The words echoed like a mantra in the back of her mind. She hated talking to just a few people, now she had to speak in front of everyone? Bianca at least resolved herself not to be like the poor boy from 6 who refused to say anything after a few questions and sat in panicked silence. That had been hard to watch. Fake it if you have to, Bianca told herself.
"Dagon, you're up," The Capitol attendee said to the boy from 9, escorting him up the few stairs to the main stage.
Bianca stepped forward to the red line to wait for her turn. The heat was radiating from the stage lights, making her blink and clutch on tighter to the edges of her dress. She dared not listen to Dagon's interview. An eternity flashed of her standing there, fidgeting on the edge of the stage. And then it was gone, and the attendee was back, waving her on.
The lights were blinding, but she kept putting one foot in front of the other. The interviewer met her near where the two chairs were set up, holding out his hand to help her sit down and get comfortable. Caesar Flickerman had been there for many years, but he was a relieving sight for tributes, as he knew how to set them up for at least non-embarrassment.
"Welcome!" He crowed, both to Bianca and the crowd, his face switching directions between them, maroon hair glistening in the lights. "Welcome folks, and welcome to our tribute from District 10, Bianca Fonesca. Bianca dear, would you tell us what your favorite thing is about your home? What are you fighting to get back to?"
Her throat felt dry as she picked up the microphone that sat beside her. Her hand shook as she held it up to her face.
"I-I love my district. I miss my parents," Bianca felt like it was already going poorly, but she couldn't stop it. "I told them I'd win so I could come back. I guess I miss some of the others there too."
"Your parents," Caesar repeated, his hand clutching his chest as she faced the crowd once more. "Who wouldn't want to get back to their parents?" He pretended to hide a hand behind his back, holding it up before letting out guffaws of laughter. Bianca even managed a smile.
"My dear, you must have impressed the gamemakers at your training session. A seven, quite an impressive number. Care to share with the audience what you did?"
"I've been learning how to wield a knife," Bianca said, puffing her chest out as she held the microphone. "I think I'm pretty good at it, Caesar. Everyone else should watch out."
"Gamemaker Urban must've thought so!" Caesar chimed in with a winning smile, pointing out the young gamemaker sitting in the crowd. He flashed a thumbs up to roars from the crowd in response.
"We've heard here in the Capitol that you're quite a musician, yes?" He continued, quirking an eyebrow at Bianca.
"I love the drums," Bianca said before she could think deeper about her answer. "They make me feel better. I don't have to think as much when I'm just hitting the drums."
"Well, why don't you play something for us, how would you like that, folks?" Caesar stood up and waved his arms for Bianca to follow. The crowd cheered in response, and several Capitolites rushed a drum set onto the stage near where they'd been sitting.
Yes. It was the only thought in Bianca's head as drumsticks were thrust at her. One last performance at least. She climbed up onto the seat and looked at the array in front of her. The music seemed to carry her as she slammed the sticks down on the drums, adjusting easily to the new group in front of her. The world seemed to fall away and she was the only one left. She could almost smell the stale booze and hear the laughter of Ten's old markets and taverns where she played at home. Without thinking, she began to sing along with the music. The only thing that brought her back to the moment was Caesar beginning to clap to the rhythm and gesture for the crowd to get on their feet to do so too.
Any thought of them being the enemy, the Capitol who had sent her here was washed away just for that little bit of time. They were now just the audience, dancing and clapping along with her music. If it wasn't for the little red light that signified the end of each interview, Bianca could've kept going for hours. It was tough to even set down the drumsticks, clutching onto them before she thrust them at one of the workers and hurried off the stage.
Her mentor-slash-stylist was still standing near the TV to watch Lorcan's performance, so Bianca had a few lucky moments to hurry over to where Svetlana was waiting for her.
"You did amazing!" Svetlana gushed. "I love your outfit, and I didn't know that you could play the drums or sing like that. It seemed like everyone was having fun!"
"Really?" Bianca was relieved that it had gone as well for the audience as she thought it had. "That's…that's really good. Maybe it'll get us some supplies in the Games."
"Right! Anyways, after talking with Lucero and the others, they think that you had one of the best interviews this year. Ren from 4 did well too, and Helios and Muse from 1 were good. Meja from 2 was intimidating, but that's really her only selling point," Svetlana said.
"That makes sense," Bianca replied.
"Oh, here's the list of training scores, top to bottom," Svetlana fished out a piece of paper from her pocket. "I wrote it down when we watched and made a copy for you to look at."
Bianca searched for how far her name went down the list. Svetlana's scratchy handwriting scrawled each of them in a ranked list.
1) Meja, District 2 - 11
2) Ren, District 4 - 10
3) Gala, District 11 - 10
4) Helios, District 1 - 9
5) Cyrus, District 2 - 9
6) Azar, District 12 - 9
7) Isla, District 4 - 8
8) Arista, District 9 - 8
9) Muse, District 1 - 7
10) Bianca, District 10 - 7
Tied for 9th, really. Bianca thought to herself as she peered at the list. She noticed Dagon and Lucero weren't on it, she remembered their scores being lower. For how athletic Lucero seemed, his score of a 5 seemed low for him. She couldn't immediately think of Dagon's score, but she hadn't noticed him until the interviews, so that probably meant something.
"Meja must be really good," Bianca mumbled to Svetlana.
"Everyone's beatable," Svetlana reminded her of their new slogan. "A lot of it will be out of our control anyways. I'll see you tomorrow. Good luck, Bee."
Bianca blanched when she heard her say that, taken aback. The girl was gone before she could say anything else, but Bianca took a breath. You have someone to keep you tethered to the ground, she told herself. Just hold on.
Games - Bloodbath
Her stylist's back was the last thing she saw of the grey, plain chamber they were held in before the arena. Walking away. They would be fine, but this was the last look that Bianca may have of the outside world before she died. How was that fair? Nothing the Capitol did was fair.
Her feet were planted on the circular disc as the tube began to ascend through the ground. A hand clutched the pendant that hung around her neck. Whatever luck that was in it, she hoped it would give it to her now. Bianca stood frozen in place when she was raised into the arena, as the clock began to tick down, each number booming in their ears.
She had to close her eyes and open them again in order to see properly, as it was bright inside the arena. The fabric she was wearing was clingy and light, and the arena seemed to echo that. The sun was straight up in the sky as if it were noon, and the cornucopia sat in the middle of the ring of pedestals around it. There was a few hundred feet of plains for them to operate in around the cornucopia, before tall grass grew along with some narrow and seemingly under-watered trees. She couldn't see anything beyond that.
Bianca could see Arista, the girl from 9, two to her right. On her direct left was Jess, the girl from 8. They were the biggest threats around her, as the boy from 6, who was 12, was directly on her right. Okay, she thought, peering forward to see if there was something she could snatch nearby. A backpack to the right. She would take the chance that Arista would go deeper in for something else or dovetail to her right. She could handle the kid from 6.
Nerves grew as the count ticked down. At twenty, she spotted Ren two pedestals farther down from Arista. Svetlana was far off, at least seven tributes to her left. Even getting to her would be difficult. Ten. Nine. Eight. The count kept going, faster than she could count herself. Her heart hammered as the horn blew to mark the beginning of the Games.
Bianca tore off towards the backpack, trusting that no one would attempt to block her on the way. Others raced straight into the cornucopia itself, seeking whatever goodies laid within it. Bianca herself was hoping the things she wanted would be within the pack. Screams and sounds of fighting began to rip through the air as tributes ran into conflict for the first time. Her fingers laced through the handle of the backpack and scooped it up onto her shoulders. The boy from 6 that had been beside her had rushed in about fifteen yards in front of her to go for a package of bread that was on the table. He had managed to grab it when the spear sank into him from behind, Ren having caught up to him quickly.
That was enough of a sign for Bianca to turn around, scrambling for the line of tall grass at the edge of the cornucopia. She cast a glance from side to side and could see no one approaching her, so she jumped into the grass and edged towards the clearing. Bianca poked her head through the grass to get an idea of what was going on at the cornucopia. The dirt seemed to be dry, loose under her fingers where she was hauling herself forward. She hoped to get an idea of where Svetlana had run off to, but she was also curious as to who would make it out.
The fighting was already starting to die out some from where it had begun, but some battles waged in other parts near the cornucopia. Another younger boy from an outlying district was stabbed by a sword, held by Meja from 2. It was almost worse without the cannons going off, as she could hear the sounds of screams and the cuts through flesh and bone.
Dagon, the boy who had been standing in front of her at the interviews, had gotten nearly to the outer ring of the plain when Themis, the girl from 7, caught up to him. He had a knife himself, but Themis was more powerful and had her ax. The first swing cut his hand from his wrist, a sob wrenching from his throat before the second strike hit him in the head. Instinctively, Bianca ducked her head into the grass a split second before the blade came down, but another version of it played in her mind anyways, like she had seen it herself.
When Bianca held her head up again, she saw Cyrus from 2 getting knocked onto his back by Arista from 9, who would have been a help to her district partner. Bianca herself had seen enough, and she was going to take the bet that Svetlana had run from her pedestal straight back into the rest of the arena. She made her way along the edge of the arena carefully, keeping her eye out for any tributes running her way or stalking the edge for someone like her. Only two more deaths were what Bianca would hear, and there was no cheering. She had seen Muse, the girl from 1, get gutted by Gala from 11. There wouldn't be any celebrations by the Careers today, losing two tributes already.
Everyone's beatable. Svetlana's words were a comfort to her, causing a brief smile to pass her lips. Once Bianca approached the area in which she thought Svetlana had been standing at the beginning, she turned and headed away from the cornucopia. She tried to stay nearer to trees or hunker down into the grass as she moved, but she knows that it won't help as much as she wanted it to.
The treeline wasn't thick, and quickly gave way to sand. No hiding spots anymore. The sand went on for as far as Bianca's eyes could see. The dunes rise and fall, but it all looks the same. The heat was dry, which at least was better compared to the muggy heat she was used to back home. She took off at a half-jog, worried about tributes seeing her or following her into the sand. Some, she figured, would have headed into it. Others would have preferred to stick to the grass and trees where they had better views. But where was everyone?
Bianca was worried she was inching too far to the left, but gasped when she saw an opening in the sand ahead. It was a gaping hole, but could be missed if you weren't paying attention. She hurried towards it and saw a rickety wooden ladder that led down into the darkness. She swung her legs over the side to get a footing on the ladder and began to climb down. It must've gone fifteen or twenty feet before she stood on a ledge, sand caked into the rock.
Her breath was taken away when she looked at what it led into. It was an underground city of sorts, with at least two dozen small houses made of limestone or other light colored rock. Long wooden bridges swayed from different streets and to the ledge in which she was standing now. She could see at least two other bridges lead into the city from what she could only assume were other entrances.
The bridges floated above a deep pit that Bianca knew would mean certain death. She grabbed a hold of each side and began to make her way across anyways. It was cover, and she could look into her backpack then. Bianca kept a steady pace, refusing to look down. Before she knew it, she was on the other side with her feet planted on what felt like solid ground again.
Bianca followed the outside of a house to go around and head inside a different one, just in case someone came into the pit the same way she did. The wooden door creaked as it opened, but there was enough light streaming in from open windows that she didn't have to be afraid someone was hiding inside. She quickly shut the door again and sank to her knees against it.
She had made it through the Bloodbath. Many tributes didn't, as she had been able to see herself. Bianca pulled the backpack from her back and set it down in front of her, unzipping it to see what it contained. The first thing she pulled out was a tightly condensed sleeping bag. Useless with this weather, she thought to herself. But it would at least help her not sleep on solid ground. The next was a canteen, which she put up to her mouth and took a sip from. It was full, thankfully. There was a small knife, and an energy bar. All in all, not bad.
The cannons began to go off to mark the deaths from the Bloodbath. Bianca counted each one as they went. Ten of them in total meant fourteen of them remained. She decided not to stay in that specific house too much longer, taking a sip of her drink and deciding against eating any of the energy bar just yet.
When she pulled open the door, she heard another cannon go off. Someone was hunting. Bianca hoped against hope that it was Isla biting the dust finally. That would be too sweet, though. She stepped into the alleyway and stayed close to the houses. Then, the thought hit her. What if Svetlana didn't make it? Bianca assumed that she had gotten away, but she hadn't seen all of the deaths. Maybe hers was the cannon that just went off. As she was contemplating that reality, she saw a bit of movement from across the bridge in another part of the city. Bianca ducked down beneath a fence and peered over it.
Svetlana was waving at her from inside one of the widowed holes in a house. Bianca breathed a sigh of relief and headed for the nearest bridge that led to that part of the city. Going over it the second time was easier than the first, not least because she knew Svetlana was on the other side. Bianca hurried over to the door and entered inside, not even complaining when Svetlana hugged her.
"You made it!" Svetlana said gleefully. "I was hoping that it was you I saw."
"Good thing it was," Bianca replied.
"I saw Helios get the first kill, but I pretty much booked it after that," Svetlana led her over to sit. "You went in, though?"
"Yeah, I got this backpack." Bianca was reluctant to share with her, but she set it down anyway. She didn't like this ally thing, just about as much as she thought she would when she got into the arena.
"Mind if I take a drink?" Svetlana asked when she saw the canteen. Bianca just nodded. The other girl took a swig and they sat together to talk about what they had seen.
After some time passed, Bianca proposed that they try to get some sleep. She set out her sleeping bag to lay on and closed her eyes, jumping when another cannon went off. Figuring she was already awake, she scooted over to the window to see if they would show the faces of the tributes underground as well. The Capitol anthem began to play and she finally saw the shimmering Capitol symbol up in the sky.
The faces showed one at a time. Muse from 1. Cyrus from 2. Both from 3 and 6. The boys from 7 and 8. Dagon from 9. The boy from 11. The girl from 12. So Lorcan had survived the first day. Bianca was a little disappointed, but a little proud. At least they hadn't both gone on day one like 3 and 6. That would have looked bad. Bianca shuffled back to her sleeping bag and laid atop it.
"Did…did Lucero make it?" Svetlana's voice was small.
"He did," Bianca confirmed.
Bianca wondered what it was like for Svetlana, who was surely sitting there worrying about her district partner and actually hoping he would make it. She was lucky enough that she didn't have to worry about that with Lorcan. It must have been hard, or at least harder than it was for her. There were no more cannons or music that night and Bianca allowed herself to slip off into a light sleep.
Games (Day 2)
When she woke up the next morning, she felt groggy. While the sleeping bag surely helped, it was no substitute for the nice Capitol beds they'd been sleeping on for the past week. Still, when Bianca blinked her eyes open, it seemed bright enough to be mid-day even in their underground refuge. In fact, she was feeling warm from laying on the sleeping bag and the sun already shining down upon them. Bianca rummaged in her bag for the canteen of water and drank a few sips, which turned into a few more, and then a few more after that. She forced herself to stop and put the lid back on, setting the now-warm water beside her bag. They would need more - and soon.
Once Svetlana woke up and took some drinks herself, she didn't mention that there seemed to be less in it than the day before. But when Bianca had it back in her hands, it felt nearly empty.
"There's no water down here, is there?" Bianca asked her. The Capitol would make sure they couldn't just stay in a place this sheltered for so long. Where was the fun in that? She imagined them saying, a bitter taste in her mouth.
"I don't think so," Svetlana replied. "If there is, I haven't seen any."
They lapsed into silence after that. Bianca was jittery about the thought of having to go and scavenge for more water. She knew enough about the Games that it wouldn't be safe no matter where they went.
"We should go look for a source," Svetlana suggested finally. "If we sit here, we may wait until it's dire and that isn't a good idea either."
Bianca frowned. It was her water to begin with, and now she had to go put her life on the line to get more? Maybe Svetlana should go by herself to get some.
"I don't know, there's still a lot of tributes left…and the arena didn't seem that big this year." Bianca said.
"What choice do we have?" The younger girl shot back. "I'm not going to die from thirst or go crazy from dehydration. Even that drink only pushed the thirst back, it won't be long until my mouth is dry again."
Bianca scowled and crossed her arms over her chest. Maybe they hadn't done the best job rationing their supplies. "Fine. Let's go then if it's such a good idea." It was a good idea.
Svetlana had the wisdom not to respond and just begin to pack up the sleeping bag to go into the backpack for the journey. She even pulled it onto her shoulders for the time being. The two girls peered out of the doorway to make sure that no one was in the vicinity before they made for one of the ladders that led out of the pit and back up to the normal part of the arena. Bianca insisted that Svetlana go first since she had the supplies, turning around and monitoring the bridge that they had crossed from to ensure no one was following them.
Once her ally had gotten to the top and waved at her, she grabbed hold of the edges of the ladder and began her own ascent. Bianca was beginning to regret not eating more of the energy bar, her stomach growling mutinously. She knew before long her head would start to feel dizzy as her blood sugar plummeted. One foot after the other, she made it back up to the solid ground. The sun was high in the sky already, beaming down upon the sands below.
"We're going back down there tonight, right?" Bianca checked.
"I was planning on it," Svetlana shrugged. "Unless we find something way better up here."
The dunes seemed to answer the question for them that they weren't going to. The two girls walked together for about an hour before they got an idea of where to go, seeing some green interrupting the sand that stretched on and on.
"An oasis," Bianca realized, starting to see the sun glinting off a spot of water in the midst of the greenery. The answer to their problems - but she also knew that there were likely to be others after the same thing.
"Let's get closer," Svetlana suggested. "There's a taller dune there that we could hide behind and scout the area." She pointed ahead.
The two continued up to the dune and laid flat on the hot sands, scouting to see if they could see any other tributes. The water on the surface stretched far enough that they couldn't see anyone's figures on the other side of it, but they could see where it ended. Even if there weren't tributes there at the moment, it surely served as someone's base of operations. Bianca pulled the knife that she'd gotten out of the side of the bag and held it in her hands.
"Let's go," Bianca decided, pulling herself up over the dune and beginning to make her way down the slope towards the oasis.
There was sudden movement in the greenery around the water, and a girl emerged from behind a few bushes. Bianca gripped her knife harder, but her legs were shaking a little. The ax in the girl's hands seemed to be much bigger than the knife she'd happened to get in her bag. And Bianca feared that she knew how to use it.
Bianca had never been sure how combat would feel, or how it would begin. She wanted to throw out a one-liner, but her voice failed her. Svetlana had no weapon, and she had a knife that would need her to get closer than the reach of the girl's ax. The only logical conclusion would be that they were doomed. Luckily, Bianca hadn't always been one to rely on logic alone.
The girl ran towards them, ax raised. Svetlana scrambled backwards, so Bianca did too. The girl whipped her head around to see which one of them she would go after first, as she now stood almost between them in a V-like shape. She must've seen that Svetlana had no weapon and turned her way, charging at her with no intention of stopping. Bianca made a split-second decision to run after her, gripping her knife in her hand. Svetlana hit the ground in an effort to miss the swing of the ax, the girl's arms winging wildly as her ax swung farther than she'd intended.
Bianca launched towards the taller girl and sank her knife into her back. The tribute screamed and Bianca only had a second to wrench her knife out before she turned around. She desperately tried to put her foot on the handle portion of the ax to keep it at the girl's side and raised her knife to attack again. The other girl was ready and slammed her first into Bianca's nose. Bianca gasped in pain and doubled over, weakly thrusting her knife into her opponent's abdomen.
That time the girl fell onto her back and dropped hold of the ax. Her chest still rose and fell, but her eyes were closed and the breathing seemed to be shallow. It would only be a matter of time.
She attacked us first. Bianca's hands shook as she tucked the blood-soaked knife into the sand to try and get some of it off. Sand just stuck to the dagger, so she wiped it against her thigh and held onto it. Only now did she lift her eyes to see that Svetlana was still on the ground.
"What happened?" Bianca hurried over to her side.
"Clipped me, but I'm okay," Svetlana was sitting up, wincing as she touched a shallow slash on her arm. "I think I twisted my ankle when I fell."
Bianca reached down and helped her to her feet once again. After a few steps, Svetlana insisted she could do it on her own. The two girls went toward the water and Bianca opened the canteen, filling it with water. The cannon boomed as they finished.
"I'm not sure we should go back underground again," Svetlana said. "The water is here, and I don't know if my ankle will like the ladders."
Bianca's face soured. "It's much safer than staying up here. That was one tribute. What happens when the whole Career Pack arrives? You don't have a weapon, unless you want to try and pick up that ax."
They both knew the ax would be heavier than either of them could reasonably wield in a fight. Svetlana would have to continue without one.
"We could hide, like she did," Svetlana reasoned.
"I'm not waiting to be killed," Bianca spat. "I'm going back down, and I'll go by myself if I have to."
She was beginning to get to the point that she wanted to go by herself. It would be scary, being alone, but Bianca was starting to worry that Svetlana would get her killed. They were down to a dozen tributes, and Svetlana was young and had no weapon. For the night, though, Bianca didn't have much choice if Svetlana decided to go with her.
A shout pierced the silence. It was far-away, but still able to be heard. Bianca's eyes snapped immediately to Svetlana's, and her eyes were as wide as dinner plates.
"Let's go," Svetlana struggled to her feet, the two having to move slower on their way back.
A cannon fired again. They turned back when they were on top of the tall dune. They still couldn't see the far side of the oasis, but Bianca knew the fighting was happening there. The shouts had gotten dimmer as they got farther from it. A second cannon fired and Bianca let out a breath. That could've been us.
They were undisturbed on their way back to the underground city's entrance. The sun still shone high in the sky, beating down upon them. Bianca went first on the way down, and peered from the ledge. There still didn't appear to be anyone inside, which made her think that other tributes may not have discovered the entrances hidden in the sands yet. They'd pulled one over on some of the other tributes.
She stood on the ledge and gestured for Svetlana to come down next. She went slowly, one foot after another, but Bianca never feared that she was going to fall down. They shared a brief smile when Svetlana put both her feet on the solid ground.
"We made it," Svetlana was relieved, heading across the bridge with her ally.
"Let's stay close to the edge of town," Bianca suggested. "We don't want another ambush like what happened earlier."
"Her name was Themis," Svetlana said. "From Seven."
Bianca lapsed into silence. She didn't need to know that. "And two more are gone."
One more cannon fired after, as if punctuating her words. The house they were staying in had two levels, with the first open like the last one, and stairs that led up to a rooftop that they could go to if they wished.
The two began to make preparations to rest for the night, Svetlana offering to take watch for the first part of it. Bianca agreed, but she stayed up for most of it anyways, sitting by the open window and watching the exit they'd come in from. Light still streamed in from it, until the Capitol anthem began playing that night. Then, it went pitch black. The glow came from the Capitol eagle in the sky only, beginning the marking of that day's dead. Four had died, Bianca remembered. Themis and three others.
The first face was the biggest surprise. Helios from 1. A smile was across his face on the screen, it seemed almost eerie to Bianca. Themis was second, from 7 like Svetlana had said. She looked different in her picture. Almost regal. Her chin was up and facing away, she looked pretty. Third was the girl from 8, though Bianca didn't know her well. The last was Lorcan.
Bianca knew she couldn't show how she felt in front of cameras, so she just went to settle down on her sleeping bag. A smile graced her lips as she fell asleep.
Games (Day 3+4)
When she woke up the next morning, she knew it had to be around when they were supposed to change positions - sleeping and scouting. But Bianca didn't see Svetlana when she woke up. A sound echoed from outside the house they were in, and Bianca stood up from where she'd been sleeping under the stairs. She tiptoed towards the barely-ajar door. Svetlana was speaking, but it was soft and she could hardly hear it through the door.
Bianca froze as she looked out from the crack of the door. Svetlana was pushed up against the railing that kept them from falling into the pit, a sword drawn at her throat. Tears were streaming down her face as she shook. Another girl was in front of her, bloody from head to toe. Bianca didn't want to know if that was from kills or from being attacked.
"Water?" The other girl demanded to know. "Where's your ally, I saw you at the interviews."
"N-no, she's…she's not here anymore. We split up last night," Svetlana's voice warbled.
Bianca began edging away from the door without even thinking, hurrying back towards their supplies to grab the backpack.
"I haven't seen her face in the sky!" The yell was louder that time and Svetlana burst into tears.
Bianca slung the bag over her shoulder and made a dash up the stairs. She ran to the opposite side of the roof and peered over it. She saw a pile of hay sitting there and Bianca resolved to jump. One step back, then two, and Bianca ran towards the edge and leapt over the side. Svetlana's scream pierced the air as she hit the ground, and everything went wrong. Bianca was lucky that the cannon fired when she yelled into the hay. Her legs had landed wrong, and had ignited fires straight up them.
She did everything in her power to try to make some use of the situation, pulling hay atop her to try and hide her form from anyone coming by. A curse echoed from inside. Bianca knew it was Meja, the girl from 2.
Time passed slowly from then on. The door closed, and she didn't hear Meja coming towards her. She waited with bated breath, but no one came to finish her off. Svetlana covered for me, Bianca thought. Thinking was the only way to distract her from the pain that was raging through her legs. She thought I was still asleep. She thought I was still asleep…
. . .
Bianca's eyes blinked open later. The pain was still there, throbbing in her leg and pounding in her ears. Minutes or hours or days had passed, she didn't know. She heard the dull sound of a cannon shot. Was it hers? No that was silly, she was still alive. Or at least, she thought she was. Maybe Svetlana could help, she thought. No part of her could move, nor did she even attempt to try. Her vision began to swim and the thoughts turned to nothing once again.
. . .
The second time she woke up, the pain had dulled further. She hated to think about what it would feel like if she stood up, but laying amongst the hay seemed to be a good strategy for the time being. Bianca rolled onto her side and winced as it felt like a white-hot poker touched her right ankle. If she had any sponsors, she knew she would be getting something for the pain. Either she had none or they thought she would die, and neither option was that appealing for her.
Bianca laid her head back into the straw. Tears fell unbidden from her eyes. She knew that if she had her legs, she could still be a threat in the arena. Her fists were clenched at her sides, gripping the straw below. It wasn't fair.
All of a sudden, she had to freeze. There was a distant echo of footsteps. They weren't heavy like Meja's had been, so she knew that she hadn't came back to kill her. They were getting closer, closer…she closed her eyes. This was it. Bianca thought to herself, gripping the useless knife in her other hand. Maybe she could stab the person's foot and they'd double over.
"Bye mom, bye dad," She whispered. Just in case. They wouldn't forgive her if she never said goodbye.
Bianca gripped the knife in her hand and prepared to fight with whatever strength she had left. The footsteps stopped right beside her. Strangely, nothing happened. Surely they can see me? Bianca thought to herself, puzzled. A few seconds later the hay is being pushed off of her and she can see there's someone standing over her. Bianca blinked, adjusting to the light.
He had no weapon, he just had a backpack on his shoulders. It took her a moment to realize it - Lucero, Svetlana's district partner. Oh no, oh no, oh no…he'll know I didn't help her, Bianca thought to herself, fighting to keep a straight face.
"Going to kill me?" Bianca asked.
"Does it look like it?" Lucero replied, folding his arms over his chest. "Are you going to kill me?" He nodded at the dagger that she was still gripping in her hand.
"Depends," Bianca said. "Why are you helping me?"
"There's no time for questions right now. We have to get somewhere safer. Let's try to get you up," The boy from 5 said, leaning down to help support her weight.
Bianca had little choice but to trust him, leaning against him as she was helped to her feet. She winced as her feet touched the ground, pain making tears swim in her eyes once more. She didn't want to admit it, but she looked up at Lucero and said it anyway.
"I don't think I can walk on my own."
"At all?" Lucero guessed.
"At all."
Lucero kept his arm around her and they slowly made their way across one of the bridges. Bianca refused to look down, as she could only imagine herself plummeting into the pit and her doom because her legs gave way. Still, she wouldn't quit now. Not when there was still a chance to go home.
The ledge looked well-traveled when they reached it. Footprints were everywhere, and most of the sand had been heavily caked into the rock. When Bianca looked up, she blanched. How on Earth was she supposed to get up the ladder? There was no way that she could make it on her legs as they were, she'd fall and crack her head open or tumble into the pit and probably hit something even harder when she hit the ground there.
"Alright, balance against the wall," Lucero instructed her, helping her lean against the rock. "You're going to get on my back and we're going to go up the ladder together."
Bianca raised an eyebrow. Lucero was tall, but he seemed leaner. She knew she wasn't very big, but she still had doubts that he would be able to carry her to the top. Then they'd both fall, hit their heads, and die like she had predicted.
"Are you sure we won't both die?" Bianca asked.
Lucero laughed. "We won't. Thanks for the vote of confidence."
Bianca shrugged and took the bag he was carrying to put on along with her own. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hoped that he would be able to maneuver up the ladder. He rose to his feet and began to climb. Each step was slow, but if he was struggling, he didn't make it known. Bianca herself was trying to smile through the pain, never having been that tall herself.
"Is this how it always looks up here?" Bianca joked.
"More or less," Lucero replied.
He grabbed the rock at the top of the ladder and pulled them both out of the pit. Bianca looked down into it when he let her back onto the ground. She had a feeling she wouldn't be going back there.
Lucero helped her walk with him in the direction of the cornucopia, which she didn't complain about for the time being. If he was still alive, surely he had been hiding well if he didn't even have a weapon. They walked in silence, which was preferable to Bianca anyway. He skirted around the edge of the arena to a thicket of branches and bramble which hid grass that had been flattened - probably Lucero's nighttime spot, if she had to guess.
"So tell me," Lucero said when they were able to sit down inside it. "What happened down there?"
Bianca raised her chin. "Tell me why you helped me first. I asked that when we were down there, so I said it first and deserve my answer first."
The boy raised his arms in surrender. "I wanted to help you. I knew you and Svetlana were allies, so when I saw Svetlana's name up in the sky, I knew that something had happened with both of you. Arista, the girl from 9, was also up there, so I figured you were probably injured somewhere waiting for help. Plus, I don't want to kill anybody. I don't have great odds myself. So what happened?"
I was, but not in the way you think, Bianca thought to herself. She could understand not wanting to kill someone, but she thought he was naïve. There was no way out of the arena unless you killed someone. Well, she had heard of it happening before, but it was exceedingly rare. Great, I got a strong ally but he won't kill anyone.
"Um…right…" Bianca said, only now registering that she'd been out for far longer than she had thought. "It's just like you said, Arista came and fought both of us. She got Svetlana when we were downstairs, but I managed to stop her on the roof and fell during the battle, but she must have succumbed to her wounds. Yep."
Lucero nodded like it made sense. "Have you been anywhere else in the arena yet?" He asked her.
"Not many places," Bianca said. "We went to the oasis, and got attacked by the girl from 7. I - I saved Svetlana from her too." That part was true, at least. "We mostly spent time in the underground city, since there weren't many people there. I guess we relied too much on it."
"It made sense. I've kept moving, but come back here when I need to sleep," Lucero said as he pulled a few berries from his backpack to eat. "The sun only sets for one hour each night, from midnight to one. Then it's back right at noon for the next 23 hours. It makes it hard to sleep up here, which is why the city may be useful for some people."
"Oh." Bianca said. "I did notice that the sun was pretty bright all the time. I didn't know that, though."
"Right," Lucero said, popping another berry into his mouth. "The Careers have had a bit of trouble, too. You probably saw they lost two in the Bloodbath? Well, soon after your district partner got killed, the two from Four turned on Meja from 2. They control the oasis now, basically. I was on the other side of it getting more water when it happened. I was lucky I went then and not later."
Bianca munched on her energy bar as she realized that was why Meja had been so bloody - and desperate - when she came into the city. It was also probably the reason the other Careers hadn't been with her. She took a sip out of her water, and leaned down to massage her calves. They still ached, but talking was helping her focus on other things beyond the pain.
The two fell into silence again for about a half hour before the arena went pitch black, just like Lucero said it would. There were no cannons for people that died that day, and instead the announcer's voice was heard throughout the arena.
"Good evening tributes. We at the Capitol are happy to announce a Feast is being held at the cornucopia tomorrow at noon. Each of you has something you want desperately. We know what that is, even if you do not. If you show up…it may just be there." The monotonous voice droned on until the little beep confirmed that the message was over.
"I'm sure most are after water," Lucero said as he went to lay back on the grass.
Bianca curled up on the opposite end, missing her sleeping bag. "And what do you want?" She asked.
"I don't know."
She didn't believe it, but she didn't have that much choice. She drifted off despite the pain, knowing that the Feast was her only chance at victory.
Games (Day 5)
Bianca didn't even have to ask Lucero if he would go to the Feast for her. As the morning went on, she almost asked him once or twice. Before she had been in the arena, she would've. But she didn't know if it was Svetlana's death or the lies or something else, but she held back.
"There'll be bags there for each district left," Lucero told her as he finished off the last of the berries he had. "From what I've kept track of, there's District 2, 4, 5, 10, 11, and 12. Both from 4 are still there. I'll go in to grab our bags because you need it, but I want to position you on the outskirts of the grass to help cover me if something goes wrong."
She had no idea what cover she could offer, but Bianca nodded her head. Lucero would need help if someone attacked him, since he carried no weapon himself. He didn't ask for the dagger, and she didn't offer it.
They set out about an hour before the Feast was due to begin - or at least as close as they imagined it could be to an hour. The sun staying stubbornly up in the sky made it difficult for them to track exactly what was going on. No table was set up yet by the cornucopia and it was strangely silent. Bianca found herself in a mirror position of the first day, where she was laying in the tall grass watching as the Bloodbath unfolded. Only now she was a sitting duck dependent on Lucero getting back to her. If he died there…Bianca didn't even want to think about it.
The two sat in silence in the grass, Lucero perched on his feet but almost sitting on his heels in order to get a quicker jump once the table did appear. Bianca opened her mouth to ask him if he thought they'd misjudged the time, but shut it once she remembered the other five tributes would be prowling the area as well, maybe looking for a kill before the Feast even began.
Time seemed to stretch on and on before the same beeping sound was made as the day before. The table appeared suddenly before their eyes, and on it were the bags. Bianca had to strain her eyes to see, but the '10' bag was by far the smallest, a tiny red one that looked small compared to the rest. The '5' bag for Lucero was also smaller, but looked more like a golden pouch. The '11' bag was tall and narrow - water, Bianca supposed. The 2, 4, and 12 bags were larger and she didn't know what could've been in them.
"Do I go first?" Lucero whispered.
Bianca bit her lip as she thought about it, not seeing anyone in the line of sight at first. "You do what you think is best." He whispered.
If she knew the best option, she would've told him. Suddenly, a form broke from the treeline and confirmed their fears: going first was bad. A young man was dashing towards the table when an arrow shot out from Bianca's right and hit him in the chest, sending him crumpling to the ground instantly. Isla. Bianca knew it. A cannon boomed to mark the boy's death.
Everything went quickly after that. Both the tributes from District 4 raced into the open then and there, taking advantage of the clearing they made for themselves. They were moving…slower than Bianca thought. Hungry, maybe. The oasis had water, but she doubted there were fish in that shallow water. Bianca loosened the grip on her dagger as the two ran towards the table and away from her and Lucero.
Out of the other side of the grass, another form emerged heading straight for the pair from 4. The girl was tall and broad-shouldered. With one swing from her spear, she sent the boy, Ren, careening to the right to miss its tip. Isla reached back for an arrow, but the spear was in her gut before she could do anything else. Blood ran from her mouth before the cannon sounded. Bianca smiled. Good work, Eleven.
Ren was quicker than Gala and immediately bailed on his district partner. He scrambled to his feet and made a beeline for the grass. Gala grabbed her small bag and heaved her spear into the air, throwing it after Ren. There was no scream. He must've gotten away, Bianca thought to herself. Gala raced after the boy from 4, perhaps to retrieve the spear that she'd thrown.
Before Bianca could say anything, Lucero was on his feet and running into the cornucopia. She couldn't blame him - much of their competition was either already out or dead. No one emerged from the grass yet, and he quickly scooped up both the 5 and 10 bags. The 2, 4, and 12 bags remained on the table.
Lucero was running back towards her and relief spread through her faster than it should've. Meja came barreling towards them from the other side of the arena. I can't move, Bianca fretted, getting onto her elbows to try and get up to her feet.
They didn't have much time to prepare before Meja was there, immediately deducing that Bianca wasn't much of a target. She swung a sword at Lucero, who danced just out of the way of the blade's point. He was quicker than her, and in better shape. The wounds she'd suffered from the pair from 4 were still open from the day she'd killed Svetlana.
Bianca was able to get to her feet by the time Meja swung at Lucero again. She missed and hit the ground to his left, giving Lucero an opportunity to kick at the hilt of it. The force of his kick dislodged her hand from it and the sword fell to the ground. Bianca took a slow step forward, her leg making its disapproval known with a fresh shot of pain up into her thigh. She winced and took a step with her other foot. A shuddering breath echoed in her lungs until she gasped.
Meja launched herself at Lucero, no weapon in her grasp. She tackled him to the ground and quickly put her hands around his neck. He frantically tried to shake her, his hand repeatedly hitting her in the side of the head to knock her off balance. Bianca stumbled forward, getting two more steps before she collapsed on top of them, thrusting her dagger into Meja's back. She pushed the girl from 2 off with her own weight and the surprise from the stabbing. Luckily enough, her other wounds had already weakened her. If it was like with Themis, she knew she wouldn't have made it. With her chest heaving, Bianca pulled the knife out and laid her head back against the grass. The cannon marked the end of the battle.
Lucero coughed and turned onto his side, holding his neck. He flung the small red bag at her and waved off her concerns, just needing a moment to recover from what had happened.
Bianca undid the small string holding it together and it revealed a glass vial, holding a deep crimson liquid within it. She tilted it to each side. It had to be some sort of pain medication, or maybe it would even fix something, she didn't know. Bianca pulled the cork out of it and set it aside. She took the little vial and downed the red liquid. It tasted bitterly sweet as it went down, like cough syrup did at home.
Warmth began to spread in her legs and ankles soon after, almost like it was wrapping them in heat. Bianca wondered if it was like at home where people would warm up cloth to put on, but Capitol-like. She put her hands on the ground and stood up. Properly, this time. There was still some dull pain, but the next steps were more confident. She wouldn't fall.
Lucero stood up with her, holding his own pouch in his hands, the '5' being pushed forward by whatever was inside.
"What was in yours?" Bianca asked curiously as the two made their trek back to the thicket that they'd started in.
"Just more berries," Lucero said, opening up the pouch to show her. These were darker and smaller than the berries he'd been eating before - which she assumed were raspberries or something similar. She had no idea what these were.
"What now?" Bianca mumbled.
"They're preparing for the finale," Lucero guessed. "It's you, me, Ren, and Gala. They whittled down the list far enough that they could put their final plan into action."
Day 5 (Night)
Both Bianca and Lucero stayed up for the anthem that night, marking the day shifting into night. It went in a second, like in one of those old grainy movies. The sun disappeared and the night sky spread across the arena. The Capitol eagle was projected and the anthem began to play its haunting hymn in the arena. She gripped her amulet in one of her hands. There was still plenty between her and victory, but it felt closer than ever.
She already knew the faces that would show up that night, but Bianca watched anyways. Meja was first. She looked completely different in the picture she'd taken in the Capitol. Meja wasn't pretty in the traditional sense, but Bianca thought she looked cool. It was an odd feeling. She'd killed the best friend she'd had in the arena, her ally. But she didn't feel angry with her. Bianca remembered how desperate she had looked. Her family was probably a wreck at home, just like Svetlana's was.
Isla was next. The bratty bully she'd met at training was gone. Bianca wondered if there were any girls like her in Four, watching with a sick sense of satisfaction. She thought there were. Some would cry crocodile tears, others would sit in their darkened house and smile as they cheered on her killer prowling the arena.
The last was the boy from 12. He was scrawny, Bianca could only imagine him in the dusty mines of Twelve that she'd heard about. She hadn't heard a peep about him since the Games began, she'd forgotten he was even still out there. There wasn't much thought she could spare for him.
"I'll stay up," Bianca offered to Lucero. "I got quite a bit of rest when I was out anyways."
"If you're sure. Wake me if you need me. If you want any of the berries, feel free," He nodded at where the pouch sat in the corner of their thicket.
Bianca wrapped her arms around his knees as she looked up at the night sky. The stars were twinkling above, but she could easily tell it wasn't like in Ten. There weren't nearly enough of them.
The reality of there being just four tributes left began to set in for her. She didn't need any time to think about it more, staring at Lucero to make sure that he was truly asleep. He was a threat now. One of three. Bianca packed up her bag again and began to squeeze through the thicket. She took a breath and took off, her ankles burning but not shooting stabbing pains into her legs like they were doing before.
Bianca left the treeline and the grasses entirely for the sands. The grains felt hot beneath her shoes, as they'd been baking in the sun all day. She found a medium sized sand dune to sit upon to have at least some cover from other tributes.
A few more minutes passed until a giant star ignited in the direction of the oasis. It was white, with green and purple around it, giving off more than enough light to illuminate the arena in its pale gaze.
The finale. Bianca knew what the Gamemakers wanted them to do. The oasis would be where it would all finish. She had no choice but to head that way, hands shaking. Her grip on her knife was still firm. She could go home.
As she walked towards the oasis and saw the near side in her line of sight, she noticed that there was an illumination coming from behind her. Bianca turned and covered her mouth with her other hand. The cornucopia's surrounding woods and grasses were all on fire. The blazes were reaching higher and higher with all the dry materials being swept up into it. A cannon fired and Bianca fell to her knees.
It wasn't her fault, was it? Bianca fretted, hoping it hadn't been Lucero in the fire. She remembered him in the first days, pulling her from the hay in the underground city, the determination he had to get her the treatment she needed. It hadn't been her, but was it the same as her holding the knife?
She didn't have any choice but to continue down to the oasis, sliding down the tall dune where they'd been ambushed earlier in the Games. There's no cover, but she's lucky that she doesn't necessarily need it. Why? Bianca was the third to arrive.
Ren and Gala were at the water's edge, a spear and sword clinking against one another. Bianca was content to wait them out, holding her knife close to her body. Gala had the strength, her spear slamming into the sword and sending the boy stumbling backwards. Ren had the agility, rolling or sprinting out of the way of the next strike that was coming his way.
If Bianca had learned how to throw her knives, she would have felt better about the situation. Going up against either of them was daunting in and of itself. She continued to edge closer, but was careful about keeping a distance between her and the both of them.
Bianca put a foot on the shore of the water when Gala went in for the kill. The spear sank into Ren's left side. The girl stepped closer to him.
"You knew I was hunting you, why did you wait so long?" She taunted him.
Some blood trickled out of Ren's mouth and he spat it at her. His right arm moved slow enough for Bianca to notice it, but too fast for Gala to react in time. He wrenched a knife free that was attached to his hip and plunged it into the girl's neck. She crumpled to the ground and a cannon went off instantly.
Ren pulled the spear out of his side and threw it to the ground. He was bleeding profusely, to the point Bianca wondered if she could wait him out and try to exhaust him. She knew that she could end it here and now, and took a few steps forward. Bianca was running, her feet flying in the sand. You could go home.
The boy from 4 was ready for her when she approached and her knife clanged hard on the edge of his blade. His movements were lethargic, the sword swinging at her almost in slow-motion. Bianca danced out of the way, only getting a shallow cut on her arm. Bianca came at him again a second time, plunging the knife downward. His hands caught it at the hilt and tried to push it away from him. He wasn't anywhere near strong enough and the knife sank into his chest. She stumbled backwards afterwards, careening into the sand. The cannon went off shortly thereafter.
"Congratulations to Bianca Fonesca, the winner of the 78th Annual Hunger Games!" The announcer proclaimed.
The hovercraft screamed overhead as it came to retrieve her, but she was only looking around her. Ren seemed so innocent in death, youthful almost. She wondered if he had family back at home. Gala was crumpled to his side. But beyond them, the sun was shining again and the forest was charred black in the far distance, only smoke still rising from it.
A Few Months Later
"Honey, there's someone here to see you," Bianca's mother called from the kitchen.
Their house was huge now, enough that she could live with plenty of space, along with both of her parents. She was currently bartering with them on creating a backyard stage that she could have parties to play at. Indira thought differently, that Bianca wouldn't like it if she couldn't just go in and go to bed if people hung around. She hated to admit that she could be right.
Bianca walked on her crutches over to the door and unlatched it, using her foot to push it open.
"Oh, hey Hugo," Bianca waved him in.
She refused to talk about the Games with anyone but him. Her parents always got too worried, and her prep team didn't understand it. Most of the time, there were expletives about the Capitol, which couldn't be said around them anyway.
"I brought eggs from the chickens." He held a basket in one of his hands.
"Thank you Hugo," Her mother butted in to grab the eggs to prepare them something to eat.
The two walked together out to the patio. The Victory Tour would be beginning before too long, and she would have to confront what she hadn't talked about yet.
"District Five is going to hate me," Bianca whispered to him as she sat down in one of the metal chairs, looking out over the plains where cows were lowing. It was peaceful, but reminded her at times of the grass in the arena.
Hugo bit his lip. "You haven't talked about them yet."
"I didn't know what to say," Bianca shrugged. "In the arena, your only job is to get yourself out. I know that. I don't feel…guilty for what I did, because it brought me back here. I feel guilty for lying. I should've told Lucero that I didn't save Svetlana. He should've known the truth. I should've told him I was leaving that morning in the arena."
Hugo popped the tab on his soda and handed it to her. "He knew."
"Huh?" Bianca turned to him.
"Oh, he knew." Hugo assured her. "That you had lied. Maybe not right away, but eventually. The berries were poison, Bianca. I don't know how they thought he could win with them, but maybe it was his only shot."
He told me to eat them. Maybe bizarrely, it made her feel better.
"I think about them sometimes," Bianca admitted. "Just what they would've done if they won."
"But you did," Hugo said, pulling something from his pocket. "Let's go do something because of that, yeah?"
Bianca's eyes lit up as she saw the drumsticks and snatched them into her hands. The last time she'd played for the Capitol. This time, she would play for herself.
A/N: Hello everyone! I would like to thank averyrandomauthor for Bianca! I had a blast with her and creating her story. This is a part of the 2023 Victor Exchange from the Verses Discord server, in which each author creates a Victor for others to write. I had the pleasure of writing Bianca's story. If you're interested in joining, never fear to reach out to any member who will get you set up! This was a super fun challenge to try and fit everything into a smaller fic!