Night 2
Night arrived faster than the careers had expected. Before they knew it, the sun was going down behind the clouds, and the moon was rising out of the horizon. The moon itself was barely visible, but its light allowed them to see what they were doing in the dark more than they would have been able to otherwise.
Throughout the afternoon, the careers had made a plan. They would rest up a little more in the watchtower, then would proceed to leave the village in search of other tributes once night fell. Aphroditon was the main spearhead of this plan, suggesting it to the group and being pleased when they all agreed on it. Getting all six careers to agree on something was hard. At first, Teuthis had wanted to leave immediately, but he agreed eventually.
Aphroditon was having trouble staying still. The other careers had grown tired of his constant pacing in the watchtower room, and Verd had to talk to him to make him sit down again. He couldn't help it, he just needed to move. Sitting down when he could be looking out for other tributes through the window seemed like a waste of time.
Now that night had fallen, they'd all packed up their weapons and supplies after a quick meal, and were getting ready to leave their current residence. At one point, they'd sent Basalt and Cyana out for supplies in the village, and they'd come back with more food and another bag. He'd decided that they were the safest pair to send out, given that neither of them had their own apparent agendas. No tributes had been spotted at all, either, but they would have been able to hold their own in combat.
Carefully taking the stairs down out of the watchtower, he led the group outside. It was never a bad idea to be wary of their environment. Aphroditon knew that sometimes he acted before he thought, but he was doing his best to try and avoid that for their present situation.
"The way is clear. We're going to the cemetery, right?" said Lanista, looking almost excited at the prospect of visiting the collection of graves. Basalt rolled his eyes. This was the first time that he and Lanista hadn't seemed to be working as a pair, walking away from each other instead of together.
Thinking back on it, he knew that earlier in the day there had been a tense discussion between the two, one that he hadn't been able to hear very well. He'd gone up to talk to them at that point and they'd quickly fallen silent. At least Basalt had humored him and talked to him more after that.
"Cemetery first, and then we cross the river and head into the forest," replied Verd, standing in the very back of the group. Aphroditon had made Teuthis go in the middle, behind Basalt and Cyana, just so that he couldn't cause any problems. It was an odd feeling, worrying about someone backstabbing him, especially for someone that oftentimes just wanted to make friends with everyone around him. Basalt was more receptive to the whole friends thing than the others had been.
Passing by several other buildings, they finally made it to the cemetery without issue. It wasn't really necessary to visit the cemetery, Aphroditon was just curious about it and knew it would make Lanista happier. The wrought iron gates were already open, and there were several exits out of the cemetery in case there was an issue.
Just before they entered the gates, however, a silver parachute came drifting down from the sky. All of the careers immediately gathered around Verd, who caught it and opened the note attached to it. Looking around, she turned to Cyana, who appeared surprised when Verd handed her the package.
"What is it?" asked Basalt, curiously peering over her shoulder to read the note. Aphroditon read the note as well, and was intrigued to see that it was from district four. They obviously needed something, if they were getting a sponsor gift, though he couldn't imagine what it could be.
Taking it out of the packaging, Cyana revealed a pair of glasses. They had dark tinted red lenses, and when she put them on, they made her eyes look slightly bigger. Blinking a few times, she got used to them, and then glanced around at the group.
"They're reading glasses. I have trouble with my vision sometimes, not enough to warrant wearing glasses but enough to have difficulty reading all of the papers we've found. These also seem to function as sunglasses for the daytime, too, which is nice. I don't know why we'd get these as a sponsor gift, though," she said, frowning. Taking them off, she handed them to Teuthis, who tried them on and immediately shook his head, handing them back to her.
Distracted for a second, they all then turned back to the cemetery, Cyana keeping the glasses on. Lanista went in first, immediately bending down to inspect the first grave that was closest to them. A small gasp escaped her, then she turned around to point at the headstone to the group.
Sure enough, the headstone had a name on it. Serge Harold. He'd been the first tribute to die, and now he was immortalized on a grave. The six of them spread out, reading the rest of the ten graves to discover that each of them had the name of a deceased tribute on them. Even Strider's name was on one, and he'd died less than twelve hours previously.
The gravestones must have been put in place after each tribute died. There were no graves for the living tributes, but there were spaces in the ground where those graves could go. Aphroditon highly doubted that there was anything buried beneath the graves, but he wasn't very interested in finding that out. Lanista seemed a little less excited now, as if the idea of the graves being names she knew was killing her mood.
From somewhere across the arena, the sound of a cannon boomed, making them all be on their guard. After figuring out that it hadn't been anywhere near them, however, they let themselves be less tense.
The faces of the fallen had already happened earlier in the night, showing only three faces. They still hadn't heard enough cannons to get used to the noise. There would be no way of knowing who had died until they saw the fallen in thes sky again the next evening, but a rattling sound from the ground made them all jump back.
Emerging from the ground, another tombstone popped up, already engraved with a name. It rose up to its full high and then grinded to a halt, right next to where Arrow's grave was. Sure enough, this was engraved with the name of Florence Teana, the other district eleven tribute. Looking back around, the graves did seem to be grouped by district.
"I wonder who killed her," said Teuthis, kneeling down next to the grave to examine it. The stone was already worn and mossy, as if it had been there for a century already. Teuthis' musing seem less like a genuine question and more like a comment of annoyance. Aprhoditon wouldn't have been surprised if Teuthis was bemoaning the loss of a kill that could have been his.
They'd seen Florence run away toward the swamp earlier, so she must have died on another side of the arena. The group didn't have any plans to head back that way, as they'd already decided that they were heading over to the forest to hunt for tributes next, and there was more of the arena in the direction of the forest than there was the other way. They could see the mist that covered the barrier, and it wasn't for a long while in the way that the forest was located.
"There's got to be a reason why there haven't been very many kills. Do you think that the arena is bigger than normal? Or that the gamemakers have something else planned?" Basalt questioned, his face twisting. Normally, this question wouldn't have come from Basalt, but Lanista was too busy poking around the graves and Cyana was trying to read the documents from earlier with her new glasses. Cyana's task probably wasn't going very well due to the fact it was mostly dark, and currently nighttime.
"I'm not sure, but I'm getting tired of there being only three kills a day. I really hope it picks up soon, otherwise we'll be here forever," complained Teuthis. His hands were twitching as he adjusted his longsword on his back, the dark veins still visible. Aphroditon wondered if any of the other careers had noticed that yet.
Cyana, now more present, gave him a look that made him quiet down. Lanista had come back from her studying of the graves, and now was staring up at the sky. A flurry of dark winged shapes had risen from the forest, drifting quickly through the sky as they immediately dove back down. They had to be bats. That was what he hoped, at least, because there was a chance that they could be something much worse.
"So, the plan is to head to the forest next, and then go from there?" Lanista asked. Aphroditon nodded, the careers all gathered around him. They'd have to cross the river again to get to the forest, but they'd seen a bridge on a path from the village while they'd been at the watchtower.
Going down the path was never the smartest idea, but the bridge was the only way to cross the river, as they hadn't seen any boats and most of them probably didn't want to swim. They had also been able to see a lake in the far distance, right before the cliffs and edges of the rocky area, so the river must have led down that way.
"Yes. There's bound to be more on the other side of the forest, and it seemed like some other tributes went in that direction from the Cornucopia two days ago. With any luck, we'll find another alliance there, and can take them out. Our strongest opponents, like Bridge and Caballus, are still out there. If I'm correct in assuming this, that means there are only three alliances left in the arena," he said, suddenly realizing something.
There were only thirteen tributes left. The careers were almost half of that, and if each of the two other alliances had three people each, then there really weren't a lot of tributes that could be found on their own. Olsie would still be out there, probably alone, but that would be it.
He suddenly was more wary of the other careers. He knew at some point that they'd turn on him, but he wasn't sure when, and had a sneaking suspicion that their alliance would dissolve soon. Verd probably knew this as well, and there would have to be a time where he prepared her for it. With any luck, they'd get the district twos with them still, but he wasn't sure if they'd stay in the alliance either. The fours were guaranteed to leave at some point.
Ready to leave the cemetery, the other careers were already almost out the gates by the time he finished his train of thought, his feet carrying him with them. Giving a covert glance to Verd, none of the other tributes noticing, she nodded back to him with worry in her eyes. Clearly she'd figured out what he'd been thinking about.
Their trip to the forest was mostly smooth from there, all quietly talking as they made their way parallel to the path. If they could avoid being on the path itself, they'd be a lot safer, so they only went on it when it came time to cross the bridge.
Aphroditon wasn't typically the type to worry, but every step seemed closer and closer to danger. This danger wasn't from the arena, or the remaining other alliances. No, it came from within their own alliance. His eyes were firmly fixed on Teuthis as the other volunteer walked in front of him. He didn't want the alliance to dissolve, but in his heart, he knew that it couldn't stay like this forever.
Day Three
Once inside the forest, the group stayed close to the path, in sight of it but not directly on it. There was less worry about an ambush now that most of the other alliances were gone, but they still had to be careful. Aphroditon was more concerned about his allies than he was about the other tributes. It had been too long since something had happened, and he didn't trust Teuthis at all.
He could hear Lanista and Basalt close by, having walked a little bit away from the group to scout. They seemed to be arguing about something, and while he couldn't make out most of the words, Lanista appeared to be fairly angry. She kept looking back in the direction of Teuthis and Cyana, then turning back to Basalt to quietly argue with him. Basalt must have been either losing the argument or giving up on dealing with his district partner, given his look of weariness.
There were only a few words that he could hear, but most of them made him concerned. While he wasn't in the arena to make friends, he still considered Lanista and Basalt the closest thing to friends he could get in this situation, other than Verd. Just last night they'd been laughing and joking in the watchtower, talking about their lives back home.
"Hey, Aphroditon? Can I talk to you about something?" asked Verd, coming up next to him and glancing over at the others. He nodded, and the two district one tributes walked over to a tree a little farther away, still in viewing distance of their allies. After making sure that Teuthis couldn't hear them, Verd sighed and shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
"Something is keeping the arena from hurting us. It's been too easy, there's no way the gamemakers would allow this. I haven't figured out what it is yet, but I'm trying my hardest. Back in the village, I found unused traps that obviously had been set up to hurt tributes. None of them went off. Either there's something very wrong, or our luck is about to run out," she said, voice lowered.
Pondering it for a moment, Aphroditon thought back to the village, and how everything had just seemed too easy. All of the kills, their travel, anything they'd done had been almost odd in context of the games. She had to be right about something being off.
Before he could respond, Basalt came walking over, Lanista having gone back to Teuthis and Cyana. Verd fell silent, and the group all returned to the center of the clearing. Putting on a smile and pretending to be relaxed, Aphroditon looked at his allies, then motioned for them to continue through the forest. Cyana went first, with Basalt closely behind.
The sun was high in the sky, beaming down through the mist. They could feel the rays on their backs as they carefully made their way through the undergrowth. Basalt had taken out a machete from one of their packs to help clear the way, while Cyana took the point out in front to check for other tributes and dangers.
"With any luck, we'll be out of here soon. Cyana, can you see anything out front?" called out Teuthis, standing in the middle of the group in front of Aphroditon. When Cyana didn't answer, Teuthis pushed his way past Lanista.
"Cyana? Cyana!" he yelled, dashing forward and almost falling into a large pit in the ground. Basalt came up behind him and pulled him back, keeping him from tumbling over the edge. The hole was about seven feet deep, just deep enough to make it hard for someone to get out. At the bottom were many small chains with spikes on them, all wrapping around Cyana and pulling her in different directions.
Immediately, Aphroditon began to get out the rope from his backpack, ready to swing it down towards the trapped tribute. Teuthis' face had gone completely pale, and his eyes were narrowed, staring blankly at his district partner. This was the first time any of them had seen Teuthis even slightly concerned, and it was almost terrifying.
"Hold on, we'll get you out," shouted Verd, slinging the rope around a tree and throwing it down to Cyana. She grabbed onto it, trying to untangle herself from the chains, tying the rope around her waist. Basalt and Teuthis grabbed the other end of the rope and began to pull, trying to get Cyana high up enough to get her out
It was clear that she was injured, and her arms and legs were both bleeding. She looked scared, and held onto the rope with all of her strength. Aphroditon moved to help the others with the rope, and with a great effort, they pulled her out, leaving her crumpled on the ground in front of the pit.
Teuthis rushed over, grabbing something out of his pack and holding it up to her. It was one of the blood vials, still full, and he held it up to her mouth and made her drink it. She was confused, as they all were, but must have trusted Teuthis. Immediately, her cuts began to stop flowing blood, and while they were still open, the wounds looked better than they'd been a mere second ago.
Surprised, Aphroditon walked over with Verd and knelt down next to the injured tribute, taking bandages out of his pack this time and helping to wrap them around her arms and legs. Her long half skirt was all cut and torn, while her flowy blouse looked like the sleeves had been through a shredder. They carefully dressed her wounds, and helped her stand, allowing her to catch her breath before they figured out what to do next.
"The ground just opened up. I'm sorry, I didn't see it in time, this is my fault," said Cyana quietly, leaning against Lanista for support. Teuthis shook his head, and glared at the pit. The chains were still ominously layered over each other, now stained with blood, and the edge of the pit had crumbled dirt all around it.
'Don't apologize. It's not your fault. We need to be careful going forward, let's have two people in the front. Lanista and Verd, you go in the front. Teuthis and I will go in the middle, while Basalt and Cyana will take the back position," replied Aphroditon, giving her a small reassuring smile. The others nodded, and once Cyana was ready to move again, they started back on their way through.
Apparently, the district four man had recovered quickly, as the color had come back to his face already. He clearly didn't like that he couldn't see Cyana, but wasn't going to argue about not putting her in the front again. Basalt helped continue to support Cyana as they moved. Not far from the pit, they came across what seemed to be the remains of a camp, with a fire that was still embers.
There were footprints leading away from the fire, but the careers immediately took out their weapons, looking around the area. They didn't trust that the occupants of the camp were truly gone. With eyes scanning the entire glade, Aphroditon notched an arrow, ready to let it fly at the first sign of enemy movement.
"Hey, guys!" said a voice from the side, causing the careers to jump. A fist came flying towards Aphroditon's face, knocking him over into the ground as Bridge came whirling into the clearing. They could hear someone running away from the other side, and Verd went to pursue the other tribute, most likely being Doyle.
Trying to pick himself up, Aphroditon could hear the sounds of a fight breaking out above him. Lanista was protecting Cyana, having shoved the other girl behind her, while Teuthis and Basalt were both teaming up against Bridge. Somehow, Bridge was holding his own, his immense strength working to his benefit as he threw punches and used a knife to parry Teuthis' sword.
Hitting Teuthis in the side and causing him to double over coughing, Bridge prepared to stab Teuthis, but was immediately stopped by a jab back from Basalt. Sweeping the district six tribute's legs, Basalt pushed Bridge to the ground, and then grabbed the knife in his hand, stabbing him in the side over and over again.
"You've seen him, right? The vampire. He's out there, lurking," said Bridge, gasping for breath and causing Basalt to pause his stabs for a second. Struggling Bridge tried to raise an arm, but had already lost a lot of blood.
It was like he was trying to point at something, unable to lift his arm high enough to do so. Basalt looked at the other careers, and seeing Teuthis and Aphroditon standing back up, he did a final stab and twist into Bridge's side. The cannon went off, and Verd came running back into the clearing, shaking her head.
"Wasn't able to get Doyle, he's too fast," Verd looked down at Bridge's body, meeting Aphroditon's eyes. Cyana sat down on the ground, catching her breath, and Lanista started fixing her bandages that had come undone during the rush to keep her safe. Teuthis walked over and kicked Bridge's body, obviously not caring enough to respect the dead man.
"So there really is a vampire? That's a little bit concerning," Lanista remarked, having finished fixing Cyana's bandages. Teuthis laughed and shook his head, clearly unphased. However, Verd had a glint in her eyes, frowning. Her hand went to her sword, gently resting on the hilt as she looked up at the sky.
"I doubt there's an actual vampire. He probably just said that to try and scare us. Should we make camp here for a few hours?" asked Cyana, limping over to the group. The others nodded, and proceeded to take a seat on the ground, making sure that there were no traps in the immediate vicinity. They had a while before it got dark, but it couldn't hurt to let Cyana rest after her harrowing experience. As long as they started moving again soon, they were fine to take an hour here.
As they sat, two parachutes came down, one landing next to Cyana. The other was blown by a gust of wind, instead landing in the fire and making the tributes scramble to try and recover it. The note attached to it was burnt, but the contents seemed fine. Teuthis grabbed the parcel that had landed in the remains of the fire, letting it cool down before unfolding it. Cyana's sponsor gift contained some sort of antibiotic ointment, and she immediately began to redress her wounds with it.
"Here, Aphroditon. It's for you. You might want to take a second, though," said Teuthis, passing him the note. The first few lines of the note were covered in soot and burned away, as Teuthis hadn't been able to grab it in time to fully save it. Reading it, Aphroditon felt a pit grow in the bottom of his stomach.
-are sorry for your loss. We offer our condolences in this trying time," read the note, a district one symbol stamped on the bottom. His name was on the back, but he still checked to make sure that it was really addressed to him.
His loss? He hadn't known anyone that had died, and his district partner was still alive. That had to mean that someone else was dead. His mind immediately fell to his family. That was the only way they'd send a note like this. Someone in his family had to be dead. Eyes going wide, everything else fell to the background.
If someone he loved was dead, he couldn't sit here any longer. Standing up abruptly, he began to head out of the grove, not caring if anyone followed him. He could tell that Verd was behind him, but he didn't pay her any attention. His mind was swimming, trying to figure out who it was. Was it one of his siblings? His mother? He let out a strangled cry at the thought of it being his father. Everything was numb.
Heart beating faster and faster, he hardly noticed when Verd put a hand on his shoulder. If he didn't learn who was dead soon, he'd lose it. It couldn't be anyone in his family, but it had to be. Falling to the ground, he started breathing much too fast, his world spinning. They couldn't be dead. He wouldn't accept it.
Night Three
Aphroditon sat, staring at the campfire with blank eyes. It had been two hours since he'd gotten the news, and he'd managed to slightly recover, though not very well. In that time, another cannon had gone off, marking the death of an unknown tribute. The other careers had been quieter than normal, their typical conversations reduced to hushed whispers. All he could think about was the fact that someone he was close to had died.
For a brief moment, it had occurred to him that the Capitol might be lying to him, but he highly doubted it. They wouldn't pay for a sponsor gift just to tell him a lie. No, it was real, and now the stupid message was occupying all of his thoughts. He hadn't even stopped to think about what other tribute had died.
Even when the sky lit up with the pictures of the fallen tributes, he still was in a daze. There were only two tributes that had died since the last announcements, Florence and the unknown tribute that was now revealed to be Antimony. If he'd been thinking properly, he'd know that this was still a very low number, and would be more cautious the rest of the night.
Verd had taken over trying to lead the group, though Teuthis had made that endeavor difficult. Aphroditon just didn't have the heart to try and give directions to the others anymore. He knew that being this weak was a terrible thing, and yet he couldn't snap himself out of it. The names of his family kept rotating through his mind. It could be any of them, and he had no idea who it was.
'Let's start moving again. Staying in the forest for too long seems like a bad idea, we don't know what mutts are in here and we haven't spent a night here yet," said Verd, standing up above the group as they all turned to her. She made eye contact with Aphroditon, who just shrugged and slumped back down again. Teuthis rolled his eyes, but the other careers began to pack up their things, slinging their weapons into their sheathes and on their backs as they cleaned up any trace of them being there. With his quiver still strapped to his hip, Aphroditon fiddled with an arrow, then placed it back where it belonged.
Silently, the group finished packing, and then kicked out the campfire, which had been already burnt down to embers in the interest of safety. Verd took the lead, with Teuthis behind her, and the rest all followed. They hadn't made it very far when a noise from the bushes made them all go on alert.
Gesturing for everyone to stay back, Verd unsheathed her sword, holding it up in front of her as she crept toward the bushes. Before she could get there, however, someone came bursting out of them with her hands up, fear on her face and a dagger dropped on the ground in front of her. Wynd looked scared, and was clearly trying to not start a fight that she couldn't win.
The district five tribute certainly looked worse for wear. She was covered in scratches and wounds, and was focusing her weight on her left side. Splatters of blood covered her long dress, the hem now torn and rolled up. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, while her face was gaunt. The pack strapped to her back was almost empty, the contents all weighed down near the bottom. Looking closer, he could tell that she was shaking.
"Don't hurt her!" started Teuthis, immediately rushing toward her. "Wynd, are you injured?" he asked, holding out a hand to her. She recoiled, taking a step back, obviously still afraid. Shaking his head, Teuthis put his sword on his back, and peered around her to check the bushes. There was no sign of Pyre, meaning that she was all alone.
"Maybe? I'm not sure anymore. Pyre and I had an argument, and Antimony…" she trailed off, fighting back tears. It hadn't been very long since the cannon that announced Antimony's death, and the images of the fallen lighting up the sky. Still uneasy, Wynd was looking around at the other careers, most of which had lowered their weapons. Lanista still held her spear up, and Verd hadn't loosened her grip on her sword, but at least most of them weren't directly pointing weapons at Wynd.
Aphroditon himself still had a blank look in his eyes, but had come back enough to lower his bow and put his arrow back in the quiver. Trying to ambush the careers would be a death wish, so he doubted that Pyre was lurking somewhere nearby. It was entirely plausible that Wynd and Pyre had an argument, and that it had made the two go off on their own.
"Calm down. It'll be fine. I'm glad we found you," Teuthis reassured her, still holding out his hand. Wynd continued to lean away from him, but wasn't standing quite as far away as she had been initially. Shooting a warning glance at the rest of the careers, Teuthis dropped his pack on the ground and pulled out one of the vials, handing it to Wynd.
"Is this blood? I'm not drinking this," she replied, a skeptical frown at the vial making the district four tribute sigh. She handed it back to him, and he didn't push the issue. Aphroditon was surprised, as he didn't think that Teuthis was capable of doing that. More alert now, Aphroditon noticed that Basalt had moved to stand next to Cyana, who were both the two closest to Teuthis and Wynd.
Lanista backed up slightly, nudging Verd with her elbow. Something was clearly going on, but Aphroditon wasn't sure what. Wynd also looked confused, and then Teuthis spun around to face the group, pushing Wynd behind him. Cyana and Basalt both looked at him, and with a motion of his hand, an evil grin broke out on his face.
The three careers sprung into action, the sound of metal clashing on metal ringing out through the forest. Instinctively, Aphroditon raised his bow, trying to notch an arrow but being unsuccessful when Teuthis' sword slammed into him. Reeling, he took a few steps back, trying to clear his head as his rival lunged at him.
"Nothing personal! Oh, I've been waiting for this for so long!" laughed Teuthis, his other two allies currently fighting Verd and Lanista. Cyana was up against Lanista, who looked resolute but furious, while Verd had gone into a state of coldness as she parried Basalt's sword. In the split second it took to look over to Wynd, a mistake that he shouldn't have made, Teuthis' sword made contact with Aphroditon, slicing through his shirt and into his flesh.
Almost falling over from the pain, his bow dropped from his hand, clattering onto the ground and causing Lanista to pause. She drew the shortsword from her hip in between blocking blows from Cyana, tossing it over to Aphroditon, whose training kicked in as he picked it up. The next time Teuthis lunged at him, he was ready, sword held up and dodging the strike.
"How does that feel? You know, given that you're the oh-so-special chosen one, I thought that you'd be better than this! I couldn't be more grateful for your sponsor gift, that really made everything so much easier," Teuthis taunted, making Aphroditon narrow his eyes. He wasn't sure what he meant by calling him the chosen one, but he didn't like it.
"Piss off, Teuthis!" yelled Lanista from across the clearing. Aphroditon made sure his movements were still precise, not letting himself fall victim to the classic strategy of the taunt. He refused to answer Teuthis, even when he was still curious about what he was saying. For a second, he was tempted to bring their battle to Wynd, as he knew Teuthis would try to protect her, but he refused to stoop that low.
Continuing to fight, the two sides of the former career alliance battled intensely, neither side coming out on top as they struggled against each other. Verd had the upper hand on Cyana, who was getting tired, but even that wasn't enough to help rocket their side of the alliance to victory. At some point, Lanista had switched to fighting Basalt, and Verd switched to fighting Cyana. Wynd was standing back and watching it all, terrified, having picked up her dagger and pointing it at whoever got close to her.
The wound on his torso stung, and made movement hard. His parries were getting sloppy, and it was clear that Teuthis could tell. With a clatter, Verd managed to disarm Cyana, making Teuthis back over to his district partner and intercept Verd before she could land a fatal blow. Aphroditon tried to follow, but nearly fell over, noticing that he had a number of open wounds on his legs and arms as well. Basalt moved over to where his side of the alliance was, and Lanista pointed her spear at him.
"Wynd, with us," called out Teuthis, motioning for her to join him. She looked torn. Aphroditon met her eyes, which were clearly stuck thinking about who to go with. Neither alliance would hurt her at the immediate moment, but both had their dangers.
Taking a step forward, Wynd's face switched to one of apology, walking right over to Teuthis and standing behind him. Lanista cursed, as now that side had the numbers advantage, but they were currently at a draw. Slowly, both sides began backing away from each other, weapons raised. The fight had been short, but long enough to make both sides tired.
Carefully, they backed out of the clearing, and the two halves of the former alliance started sprinting away from each other, unsure of whether the other would come back to fight them. Aphroditon let his legs carry him behind Verd as they ran through a path in the forest, going as fast as they could with their injuries.
After a few minutes of painful running, they emerged from the forest, crashing through the undergrowth to get to the light from the end of the treeline. In the distance was the mist, but before that were a set of tall stone walls. In front of the walls was a whimsical tower, visible above the trees, pointing straight up toward the sky.
The tower had a blue roof that had seen better days, but the door to it was open, and there was no sign of life around it. The three careers met eyes and dashed toward it, Verd helping support Aphroditon as they made it through the front door. Lanista had somehow grabbed two extra bags in the fight, neither of them belonging to another career but both acting as storage for what wouldn't have fit in their main packs.
The door slammed shut behind them, and Verd locked it as fast as she could. They fanned out through the tower, making sure there were no other entrances, and then all collapsed on the couches in front of the fireplace. The interior was worn down, but had an air of fantastical whimsy about it, with a spiral staircase and a cauldron in a corner. There were bookshelves lining the walls, and a desk with several documents set out on it.
His blood staining the couch, Aphroditon slid onto the floor, wincing in pain. Running hadn't done him any favors. Taking out the bags, Lanista revealed that she'd somehow managed to swipe all of the blood vials, along with most of their food and bandages. Verd looked at her with surprise, and she managed a tired half smile.
"I swiped them all before the split. I knew Teuthis was going to betray us, and that Basalt was going with him, so I grabbed everything I could to help us out. This has been in the works for the last day. Aphroditon, I think you were the last one to know about it," said Lanista, with Verd crouching down next to Aprhoditon to help bandage him up. He was grateful for the help, as it hurt to move any part of him. This slice on his torso looked severe.
'Sorry about your mentor, by the way. She must have been really close to you," Lanista continued, managing a sympathetic frown. This made Aphroditon confused. His mentor? What did she mean, his mentor? Porcelain would have been in the capitol, helping with sponsors, doing completely fine.
"Did something happen to Porcelain? We haven't gotten any word about her," replied Verd, just as confused as he was. Lanista stared at them for a second, and then something dawned on her.
"You didn't see the full note? I guess Teuthis did leave it in the fire for too long on purpose. Did you think someone in your family had died?" asked Lanista. Verd looked at her incredulously, and Aphroditon closed his eyes for a second to process. His mind suddenly cleared, and a wave of relief washed over him.
"The note said that Porcelain had been in an accident and had died right after the start of the games. Not sure what the accident was, though. This has never happened before, losing a victor while they were mentoring, so they probably had to let you know," continued Lanista.
"I thought that one of my parents or siblings was dead. Porcelain is really gone? I don't know what to say," said Aphroditon, immediately being very aware that the cameras were on him. He hadn't thought about the cameras very much during the rest of the games, but he knew that they'd been on him for such an important piece of information.
He remembered the last night before the games, where Porcelain had told him that he had no chance and should try to keep Verd alive. At no point had he wanted her dead, however. Aphroditon had never liked his mentor, but her death was a tragedy. Victors didn't normally die in accidents, the Capitol was too controlling for that. Something else must have happened. As he sat, still reeling, Verd had gotten up to examine the documents on the table.
"More stuff about a cult. It must be about the children of victory. I'm still not sure why this is in the arena, but it's here," Verd looked back at them, making eye contact with Aphroditon. Lanista seemed like she'd suddenly remembered something. Standing up, she went to look at the parchment, reading over it.
"Do you two know anything about this? Teuthis was saying something about Aphroditon being involved with them when he was trying to get me to join him last night," she asked, making Aphroditon squirm around on his place on the floor. He still wasn't sure how he was involved, but Verd had told him about Symphony being involved, so there had to be something more beneath all of this. The gamemakers wouldn't just put this in the arena without a reason.
"It's a district one thing. There was an execution several years ago, where they killed most of the members. I never knew much about it," replied Aphroditon. He didn't want to say Symphony's name, as letting the world know that she was involved would be extremely worrisome for her, so he let Verd continue with what she wanted to say.
"My grandmother was an integral part in fighting back against them. They ran the career academy for a few years, but by the time we got around to it, their hold on the academy was gone. Most of what I know about them involves their ideas about venerating the games, and trying to have one of their own win," she said, walking back over to where Aphroditon sat.
"I don't know why he'd think that I'm a part of them. My parents kept me as far away from the executions as possible, I don't remember much about it,' responded Aphroditon. Something was creeping in the corners of his mind, and he didn't want to address it now. The pain from his wounds was still intense, and he shifted, trying to get more comfortable.
With the bandages on, it was better than it had been, but the pain hadn't really decreased. Lanista offered him a vial, and when he didn't take it, she downed the contents herself. Verd frowned, her thoughts clearly taking up a lot of space in her mind. There was something she wanted to say, and when Lanista finished the vial, she began to speak.
"At the beginning of the games, I picked up this sword. It had an inscription on the side, but it's gone now. It told me that I was the 'vampire hunter' or something, and that I had to kill the vampire. Do either of you know anything about the vampire?" Verd began looking through the bookshelves as she talked, one particularly large book catching her eye.
Aprhoditon and Lanista both shook their heads, and were about to say something when the sound of the cannon went off. Someone else must have died. It could have been one of the other careers, but Aphroditon's best guess was that the rest of the former career pack had found someone alone and had killed them.
Settling in for the night, after barricading the door and making sure they could get out a window if necessary, the trio sat in silence. Aphroditon couldn't sleep because of the pain, but managed to get down a piece of bread. Verd was still looking through all of the books, trying to find more information about the vampire, and Lanista was keeping watch out of the window.
He still couldn't believe that Porcelain was gone. There was no time to dwell on it, either, and as he tried to sleep he thought back to his family. They were all safe, back in district one, and they'd probably be doing the family interviews with the Capitol if he made it through the next few kills. No, when he made it through the next few kills. Aphroditon wouldn't let himself give up that easily.
Day Four
After a night of very little sleep, the remaining members of the career alliance were awoken to a loud announcement coming from the sky. Instinctively, Aphroditon tried to move, only to find that the pain from his wounds was too great, keeping him from jumping to his feet. Lanista and Verd had automatically grabbed their own weapons and ran to the window, checking for any sign of danger from the outside.
"Tributes! The feast will begin later today. Next to the lake, there will be a table set up with important items for each of you. Good luck, and let the games continue!" rang out the voice, distinctively belonging to the usual announcer that did the games. Pristina Numera didn't do the announcing for the games, not usually, because she was typically doing interviews with mentors and the families around this stage of the games.
Looking to his allies, Aphroditon tried to get up in the least painful way possible. He managed to stagger to his feet with a grimace as he clutched his torso. The bandages had helped a little, but Teuthis had sliced him quite severely, and the wounds were deep. He wasn't sure how he'd be able to fight in this condition.
Lanista had relaxed slightly, leaning against the wall near the window. Like the other two, she had dark circles under her eyes from three nights of little sleep. However, she appeared more awake than he was, already on guard at the door. Both Lanista and Verd had minor injuries from the fight as well. Nothing they had was anywhere near as bad as his own injuries, though.
Verd had spent most of the night rifling through the books from the bookshelves, most of which were written in some archaic code that they couldn't decipher. The ones that she could read had ended up being storybooks or other things that weren't very useful to them. Going back over to the desk, she opened up a book that she'd started to read earlier, and flipped it open.
"This one is interesting. It actually talks about a vampire, but it doesn't seem to be factual. There's a whole story in here about a group of heroes sent to kill the vampire. Do you think they placed this here on purpose?" asked Verd, glancing up at her remaining allies. Aphroditon shrugged, knowing that everything in the arena was probably placed there for a reason.
"You're getting a little too into this whole vampire hunter thing. Here, Aphroditon, drink this. I know you don't like the idea of the vials, but I diluted it, so this should be better," Lanista replied, coming over to Aphroditon with a canteen of watery red liquid. Reluctantly, he took a sip, hoping that it would do something to relieve his pain.
The taste wasn't bad, and the texture was more bearable with the water mixed into it. Immediately, a sense of clarity came over him. He could feel some of the pain slipping away. It still wasn't enough to help that much, and he didn't think that he'd be drinking any more of the liquid. Lanista watched him carefully, and seeing that he didn't drink more, took the canteen and pocketed it.
"This story also talks about a hero, someone that helps slay the vampire. It's weird, though, because the hero doesn't win in the end. The only one that survives is the damsel, and once the vampire dies, everything else kind of collapses. I can't read the part at the end here," continued Verd once their attention was turned back to her.
"Well, that's encouraging. We haven't even seen the vampire yet, are you sure that it exists?" Aphroditon asked, finally standing up and bracing himself with the couch next to him. Verd sighed, but didn't say anything else. He knew that she was dedicated to her mission of slaying the vampire, but their main priority needed to be staying alive for the time being.
Lanista had gone upstairs, where there was another small room after a lot of stairs, and had come back with a roll of parchment. She unfolded the scroll, and then presented it to the others. On it was a map of the arena, clearly stating where everything was located. The wizard tower was circled in faded red ink, as if it had been circled a long time ago. Rolling it out on the table, she put other books on the edges to keep it flat, and then leaned over it.
"I found this upstairs. They said that the feast is by the lake, which means we'll probably have to go back through the forest unless we want to take the long way around. I think that the other alliance went in the direction of the carnival, which sounds horrifying, so let's avoid that area," explained Lanista with a solemn expression.
She was right that going to the carnival would be a bad idea, and that they'd need to be careful in avoiding the other career alliance. They'd probably run into them at the feast, which wasn't great either. Maybe they'd have more time to prepare, then, if they didn't run into them immediately. Aphroditon could only hope that the cannon last night had been for one of the other careers and not for one of the outlier tributes.
"We should start heading over to the feast now, then, if it's going to be halfway across the arena," said Aphroditon, trying to regain some of his old confidence as a leader. The events of the last day had been a blow to his psyche, and it was hard to recover. Lanista and Verd began to pack up their bags, and he worked on stretching out his aching limbs before assisting them with his pack. They had a total of five bags between them, and several weapons, so they had to be smart in what they each carried.
Bidding a farewell to the wizard's tower, they all filled out the front door, holding their weapons high in front of them. Quickly, they scurried back into the cover of the forest, keeping an eye out for any traps and narrowly avoiding a few along the way.
Their trek through the forest took a few hours, as they moved slowly and quietly. A few times, they had to stop and rest, keeping their injuries from catching up with them. Lanista drank one of the last vials, and later Aphroditon could see that her hands had started shaking as she held her spear. This concerned him, but he didn't want to say anything about it to her.
After several barely avoided traps, they came to the path, and quickly crossed it to continue their journey. They could see a set of old footprints heading in the direction of the lake, most likely belonging to one of the lone tributes still alive. When they reached a place that was close enough to the lake that they could smell the water in the air, Verd scaled a tree to look out above the forest in hopes of seeing how the feast was set up.
"There's a table out in the open, with no cover on either side. You can also see the castle and the part of the mountains that are in the arena from here. I don't see any other tributes, but the feast hasn't officially started yet, so we need to be careful," said Verd, coming back down from the tree with a fair amount of agility.
"We should all go in together. If one of us stays behind, there's a chance that we'll be ambushed, and if we work together we can get out faster," suggested Aphroditon. He remembered talking about feast tactics back at the career academy, but his career academy training was one of the last things on his mind at this point.
Staying behind the treeline, the three tributes waited for the better part of an hour before the announcer began to speak again. Immediately, they all went into a fighting stance, even Aphroditon, despite his wounds.
"Tributes, you may now commence the feast!" proclaimed the voice from the sky. Giving each other a look and a nod, the trio prepared to run into the opening, only stopping when they saw another group of tributes on the other side of the feast table.
Aphroditon could tell that the other group had already spotted them, and stood up as straight as possible, trying to appear as though his injuries weren't as bad as they actually were. He signaled to his allies, motioning for them to move forward instead of running away. He drew his bow, carefully aiming for the other group as they began to rush forward.
An arrow whizzed past Basalt's head as the two groups ran for the table. Lanista got there first, and slung a bag with the number two over her shoulder, using it to block Cyana's sword as the other girl swung at her. Verd immediately locked into combat with Teuthis, who had a grin on his face as he struck back with his own sword.
Aphroditon kept to the back, but managed to grab the district one bag before ducking as Basalt aimed a punch toward his skull. Sweeping a foot out in front of him, he tripped the district two tribute, taking the opportunity to draw the short sword from his side and stab Basalt in the chest. Lanista turned for a second, but didn't let it distract her, still fighting furiously with Cyana.
The sound of something rushing through the air made Aphroditon dodge, narrowly missing an attack from an apologetic looking Wynd. The district five tribute held a dagger, but clearly wasn't sure how to use it, retreating when she realized that she couldn't hit Aphroditon with it. He managed to chase after her, an arrow primed and aimed at her head.
Something knocked into him before he could do so, however, causing him to gasp and almost double over. He stood his ground, spinning around to see that Teuthis had sprinted in his direction to hit him with the pommel of his sword. Verd had followed, still locked in combat with him, and managed to keep the other career away from Aphroditon.
Lanista had disarmed Cyana at this point, and was holding her spear against her throat as the girl struggled to get free. Teuthis, realizing that he was down an ally and had another close to being downed, sidestepped Verd and slammed into Lanista, freeing Cyana as he kicked Lanista in the stomach. Wynd ran over to him, holding the district five and four bags, and the three ran off, only Wynd looking back at Basalt as he lay in agony on the ground.
With Verd keeping an eye out for other tributes, Lanista and Aphroditon towered over Basalt, who was wincing in pain and couldn't get up. Looking to Lanista, Aphroditon motioned for her to take the kill. It was her district partner, after all, and he felt like he couldn't take that away from her. Surprisingly, she shook her head.
"I can't do it. District two would never forgive me. You do it, Aphroditon," she said, quietly. Steeling himself, he made sure she actually was sure, and then took the short sword out of Basalt's chest and immediately slammed it down again. Blood bubbled out of Basalt's mouth in a final cry, and his limbs slowly stopped moving. A cannon went off once more.
Realizing that this was the first career to die, Aphroditon had to step back and breathe for a second. With Verd and Lanista behind him, they ran for the lake, in the other direction that their rivals hadn't gone in. There were several caves in the side of the mountain base that looked like they'd provide enough shelter, and they weren't too far away.
As they ran, Aphroditon clutched his ribs, feeling as though he was going to fall over. Verd came over and offered him some support as they moved, keeping themselves from lagging behind Lanista as they went along. There had been no major injuries on their side from the feast, but they were still feeling the effects of their previous fight before that.
The sun was going down now, and they had to hurry to the caves to make it there before it fully set. Aphroditon mentally counted the number of tributes left. Only nine of them were still alive, and he suspected that the number would drop drastically the next day.
Night Four
The three tributes made it to the caves just as the sun was going down over the misty horizon. Finding a small cave with no tunnels or other entrances in it, they settled down, making camp with what they had. Careful not to start a fire and give their position away, Aphroditon made sure that their food rations were still aptly portioned, and that they'd be able to get through the cold night without freezing. They had a few blankets and sleeping bags, enough to help them through the evening.
Processing Basalt's death had hit them all at the same time. Lanista was staring blankly at the wall, expression neutral, while Aphroditon himself couldn't stop replaying the moment in his mind. He didn't regret killing Basalt, no, that was something that had to be done. It was just an odd feeling, killing someone that had been his ally and friend a mere day before.
He could remember Basalt's favorite color, red, and his bracelet that he always wore as his token. Thinking about it made Aphroditon fidget with his own token, also on his wrist. He'd given Basalt the red sleeping bag on that first night, a small gesture that hadn't meant much to either of them at the time.
Surely the other tribute had the same mindset as him. They were both career tributes, and they knew that the games were theirs to win. Death hadn't been an option, until it was. He couldn't tell if Lanista was shaken up by the death of her district partner or still experiencing problems from the vials.
Aphroditon had managed to figure out that Lanista's present shakiness was due to them running out of vials, as she'd been drinking them every day up until this point. He guessed that the gamemakers had put something addictive in them, and that she'd been dealing with the negative consequences of them running out for a few hours now.
Neither of the three wanted to talk. Verd was still silent, watching out of the cave entrance to make sure nothing was coming for them, and she kept shining her fancy sword with a cloth that she'd picked up at the wizard's tower. As the night grew later, and the cave got darker, they wordlessly divided themselves into shifts. Verd and Aphroditon would go first, then he'd stay up with Lanista, and finally he'd get sleep while Verd and Lanista stayed up.
As Lanista was sleeping, they heard another cannon, almost directly after the fallen images of the tributes in the sky. It had only been Basalt and Olsie, and they hadn't been entirely sure about her status. The cannon made Verd jump, but Lanista managed to sleep through it. That ever-present question of who the cannon was for still rattled around in his mind.
Eight tributes were left, then. Three in Teuthis' alliance, three in their alliance, and two stragglers, assuming that it had been someone out of an alliance that had died. He doubted Teuthis would let either of his allies die that quickly. For some reason, the district four tribute had been focusing on keeping Wynd alive, even though she offered no benefit to his alliance.
The rest of the night went by slowly, and Aphroditon was grateful to finally have a chance to sleep when his shifts were over. Lanista still looked awful when she woke up, but he trusted her not to wander off. Verd was strong enough that if something happened, she could handle it, and Aphroditon was a light sleeper.
As he tried to fall asleep, he came to another conclusion. The gamemakers had been leaving bodies in the arena for much longer than normal, depending on how they died, but the bodies hadn't been decaying. They'd seen Strider die on night two, but his body had been outside for hours, and nothing had happened to it when they woke up in the morning. Maybe the gamemakers were trying to intimidate the tributes by leaving the bodies out, but still needed to preserve them to bring them home.
Aphroditon drifted off into an uneasy sleep, his wounds still stinging, and woke up about two hours later. The sun was now rising, and light was flooding over the arena through the haze that surrounded it on all sides. He felt slightly better after he'd gotten some sleep, and helped the other two pack up their stuff before they left the cave.
"Towards the lake, then?" asked Verd, pointing toward where the feast had been yesterday. They'd seen the other alliance go back to the forest, and wanted to avoid an ambush. Aphroditon noticed that Lanista was moving very slowly, and seemed unfocused. Walking next to her, he nudged her with his elbow, causing her to turn.
"Hey. We'll find you more vials, okay? Just hang in there," he said, smiling slightly. This was a lie, as he had no intention of letting Lanista drink any more of the blood potions. That would only hurt her more, and repeat this whole process. He told himself that it was for her own good, and lying to her came naturally. This was both for his own benefit and hers.
Lanista nodded, and Verd gave him a quick glance. He wasn't sure if she'd caught the lie, but either way, she didn't approve of it. They made their way down the rocky path from the part of the mountain that was in the arena, trying not to trip on stray rocks or fall on the slippery dirt. A couple of times, one of them nearly fell, but the other two would always help them get back on track. Aphroditon was relieved when they made it back to flat ground.
Around the perimeter of the lake, they could see the remnants of the feast and their fight the previous day. The feast table was gone, as were the remaining bags, and even Basalt's body had disappeared. There were still bloodstains on the grass and rocks, however.
As they were heading back around the lake to investigate, trying to figure out where to go next, Verd noticed some fresh signs of habitation. They hadn't seen any animals in the arena at all, minus the bats that occasionally rose from the castle, and these looked more like marks from another fight than anything else. Pointing them toward the waterfalls, which came down from the base of the mountain, they spotted a shadow trying to hide in the rocky face of the cliffs.
Verd immediately began to walk toward it, careful to not walk in a straight line in case it was a person that had a bow, and raising her sword in case it was a dangerous creature. The shadow turned and ran underneath the waterfall, meaning that it had to be a person. From this angle, they could tell that it was a taller man. It had to be Doyle or Caballus. It couldn't be Pyre, and the other alliance wouldn't have split up for any reason.
Moving in a pincer formation, they quickly rushed toward the waterfall, prepared for a fight. Aphroditon held his bow out, ready to aim and shoot an arrow if someone jumped out, while Lanista clutched her spear in her hands as if it was the last thing tethering her to the earth. There was a passage behind the waterfall, leading them to a wider cavern behind it.
"Don't shoot!" came a tribute's voice, echoing around the cavern. Aphroditon didn't lower his bow, but didn't immediately fire an arrow at the figure. It was Doyle, the district twelve male tribute, holding his hands above his head and no weapon in sight.
"Please! I can give you information, just don't kill me!" he said, pleading with them as they drew closer. Lanista checked the perimeter to make sure Caballus wasn't hiding anywhere, then gave a signal to Verd that the coast was clear. Aphroditon wasn't particularly moved by the promise of information, as he didn't think there was much Doyle would know that they didn't already.
"Start talking," said Verd, walking toward Doyle and pressing her sword up to his throat as he stepped back into the wall. Surprisingly, he was fairly composed, but he'd always seemed to be smart in training. Just not smart enough to avoid an encounter with three careers that were all out for blood.
"Pyre is dead! I saw her body in the forest, it's pretty bad. Teuthis did it, but he told Wynd that it was us. I heard them talking, she believes every word he says, mostly. They're going to head toward the castle soon, but they're still looking for all of you. There was a rumor that there's something of extreme power in the castle, and that whoever gets to it first will be able to win," explained Doyle, suddenly intimidated by the fact that there was a sword up against his neck.
"Where's Caballus?" asked Aphroditon, as that was the only information he was interested in. He'd already figured that the other alliance was eventually going to head toward the castle, and while the promise of a secret weapon concerned him, he didn't think that it was an immediate concern.
"I-I can't tell you that," stammered Doyle, starting to shake. Lanista was still guarding the cave's entrance, and motioned to them that she hadn't seen anything else.
Aphroditon sighed, and Verd looked to him for approval. He nodded, having no qualms about killing the lone tribute. Verd could do it, though, as she was already close enough to their target. Taking her kill would just be rude at this point. With a lightning fast motion, Doyle crumpled to the ground, his neck severed as the sword slashed across his throat.
A cannon went off, proclaiming him dead. Aphroditon felt no remorse. At this point in the games, it was necessary, and he'd barely known Doyle. As they prepared to leave the cave, Lanista rifled through the dead tribute's pack, looking for more vials. She cursed when she wasn't able to find any, then stood back up.
"We should look for Pyre's body. I doubt that they'd stick around near it long enough if they're looking for us," suggested Verd, wiping her sword down from the blood that had splattered all over it. Nodding the other two left the small cavern, carefully exiting underneath the waterfall. It was a beautiful sight, but they didn't have time to appreciate it.
Taking the more covered way around the lake, the day was still dawning by the time they made it back to the forest. There was a small rope bridge hidden near the river, and they managed to cross it without incident. Otherwise, they would have had to go back to the major bridges, where their position would have immediately been given away.
As they entered the forest, they saw blood trailing across the ground, following it in the direction it went in as they kept themselves alert for any other signs of life. When they reached a clearing, a gasp escaped Lanista's lips, and they all stopped, frozen in their tracks. A horrible sight awaited them.
Pyre's body was in pieces, hacked at and cut up, strewn across the clearing. They could only tell it was her because of the red hair, otherwise it would have been impossible to identify. Her hand was in one corner, while her head was in another. Sinew and blood covered the grass, and small bits of skin were tossed all about. A sword was buried in what remained of her chest, one that wasn't recognizable as being the one Teuthis used, which Aphroditon could only hope was used to kill her before this happened.
This was the most brutal death they'd seen. Lanista went to throw up in a corner, though that could have also been for other reasons. Teuthis was a monster for doing this, something that they'd suspected but hadn't been completely sure on. How could Wynd believe that Doyle or Caballus had done this? The only option was if she hadn't seen the carnage herself, if Teuthis had kept her away from it.
There was nothing they could do to make the body less horrifying. Bending down in the grass, Aphroditon noticed a small metal pin, one with a flame carved into it. Taking it, he put it next to the largest piece of the body, then covered it with a spare piece of fabric. That was all he could do.
As they prepared to leave the body, if they could even call it that, he took one last look back at the mess. Pyre hadn't deserved this. If he saw Wynd, he'd have to let her know that Teuthis had done this. His blood boiled, rage pulsing through his veins. There was no way he was going to let him win. This was one step too far, even for the games.