The Deep Abyss
Day Eight of the arena
10:00 am
Since the gang's adventure in the revolving house with the demon mutt, the days have passed in a kind of equilibrium. They have settled in a permanent base in one of the dome houses in the upper section of the town, Kalo's leg has mostly healed - thanks to sponsors for the pack, and everybody has seemed to reach an understanding, even Kalo and Reinhardt, who have mutually agreed to keep the peace by staying out of each other's way.
However, a sinking feeling of dread has crept into the back of Kalo's mind, not just because she knows that good things can never last in life, but also, since day four there have only been two deaths - the unfortunate skinny boy from Twelve had a run in with Amur's spear on day five, and the girl from Eight's face appeared in the sky two days ago. That leaves just nine. The Capitol is getting restless, and Panem is getting restless; all five of the pack know it. They make up more than half of the remaining tributes, and that means they are going to have to fight pretty soon.
Kalo's eyes circle around, at their allies. Who will betray her first? Their eyes catch Reinhardt's, then he rapidly looks away - back at the bacon he's munching on as he's leaned against the house.
Then there's Jorah. Kalo can't wipe his words from her mind, his proposal, his warning, and the pain in his eyes. He has every right to want revenge, and who would Kalo be to get in his way?
"Kalo! Watch out!" Nisa calls out.
Kalo is snapped out of their daydream! They duck under Amur's heel as he attempts a spinning back kick, his foot grazing the top of her hair!
"Kalo, you gotta pay attention," he chuckles, preparing another kick.
Amur and Nisa have been giving Kalo a few lessons in career training for the last few days, much to the annoyance of their mentor, Kalo imagines.
"Fucker," Kalo laughs back.
She blocks Amur's next kick before returning one of her own. However, she lands too hard on her injured leg and groans in pain as it buckles.
"Take it easy," Nisa calls.
"I'm fine."
Kalo straitens out her leg and clenches her fists, they prepare to throw another kick, determined to prove themself - not just to the careers but to their father as well.
(The thought of him watching back home with a bottle of ale in his hand almost makes Kalo throw up.)
"Attention all tributes!"
The pack looks to the sky.
"The arena feast this year will be held in the town hall to the south of the city. For tributes in the north, a ferry can be used for faster transport. However, this will come with its own dangers. Bon appetit."
Kalo knew it. They had been idle for too many days. This was the Capitol's polite warning for them to make some action happen. As they look around at their allies, they see the same realisation hit them as well.
"What we thinkin', the ferry?" Amur asks.
"It would seem logical, we can handle any dangers," Reinhardt says.
The pack begins packing their bags with any supplies they'll need for the trip.
As Kalo's four allies begin heading down one of the stone staircases; she reaches out to them. "Wait!" She exclaims.
They turn back to her, and she realises she doesn't even know why she stopped them.
"Let's just… just try to stay together… nothing good comes from splitting up…"
Kalo's allies acknowledge her request with some subtle nods but Kalo knows deep down they just don't understand, they've never watched their siblings disappear one by one.
(If they just stick together as a unit, if they don't abandon each other - then that won't happen, will it?)
(Nisa won't abandon them? Or Amur? Or Frost? Right?")
Amur leads the way as they descend down the multiple interlocking stone staircases; they travel deeper and deeper into the chasm, and soon any light that's being emitted from the houses has been snuffed out.
A path leads them through the murky shops in the street. The pathway becomes narrower and narrower, until at the end, they discover another staircase leading underground to a little, wooden door.
A collective silent gulp runs through the group. It looks about the least inviting place in Panem. Either way, Amur creaks the door open, and before they know it, they're inside a tunnel.
It is almost pitch black inside, and all that can be heard are their footsteps bouncing between the walls with the occasional faint drip in the distance.
A soft pair of hands grip Kalo's arm - Nisa's hands. "Sorry… this might be a bad time to admit it… but I don't like the dark much," The Four girl whispers.
"It's alright, stay close to me," Kalo says back.
Finally, the group comes across some lights flickering from torches on the walls. They stop dead at the sight of one of the dark ghostly figures in front of them. The figure is clad in a black cloak, and standing in front of a small gondolier with an oar in its hands.
Reinhardt inhales. "Looks like that's our ride," he says.
The group hesitantly inch forward, stopping in front of the figure.
It holds out its bony hand. "In order to use the waterways, the Rat King demands payments. "Hand over your food or turn back."
Nisa instantly jolts backward. "No way! We need our food!" She exclaims.
"We're literally going to a feast," Reinhardt retorts
After handing over their rations, the five allies hop onto the gondolier, wobbling it in the water slightly. Then, it begins inching forward over the slow, still, black water. Kalo glances around at their allies in the boat, enjoying the brief calm that the silence of the tunnel brings.
"Look!" Nisa calls.
She's pointing towards a silhouette directly in front of them in the torchlight. Kalo squints. There are three silhouettes on another boat, just ahead. One looks identical to the specter that's ferrying their own boat. However, the other two must be tributes.
Reinhardt lifts up his war hammer, turning to the ferryman. "Say ghost-boy, is there any way you can get this thing to go faster?"
The ghost doesn't answer him. Amur and Nisa exchange a look, sheath their weapons, and dive into the water, already hurtling towards the boat ahead.
Kalo sticks her hand out! "Wait!" They exclaim.
But it's too late. They've already disappeared out of sight - behind a corner.
"Stay with the boat!" Amur calls back.
Reinhardt rolls his eyes. "Urgh, idiots," he groans.
He straps his war hammer to his back. "Ain't no way I'm going in there."
With that, he leaps off onto the wall, then dashes through a side tunnel to pursue them on foot. It's happening. It's exactly what Kalo dreaded - all her allies are splitting up. They're left only with Frost.
Kalo braces to jump in after the Fours but Frost grabs their wrist.
"Amur told us to stay with the boat, remember?" He says with desperation in his voice.
Kalo slumps down into the boat. She's been here before, she knows how this goes.
The next few moments seem to pass like a train coming to a slow halt as Kalo is left in silence with the Five boy. They turn to him to catch him twiddling awkwardly with his thumbs. Kalo needs to distract their mind. This boy has the social skills of a mannequin but her choices are either him or the ferryman…
Kalo clears their throat. "You don't talk much, huh?" That is all she can come up with as if stating the obvious was ever a good conversation starter.
Frost glances at her - taken off guard, slightly.
"It's alright, you don't have to… actually I wish there were more people like you," Kalo says.
Frost sends them a slight smile. "A wise man once said - nothing at all," he murmurs.
Kalo smiles back. "I like that."
Kalo doesn't even know why she started that conversation with Frost. Whenever they were trying to escape from their father, they would run to their siblings for comfort. But then her siblings vanished, one by one, and she was left with no comfort in the world. Why are they allowing themself to make the same mistake with their allies?
BOOM
Kalo perks her head up.
"Was that…"
"A cannon," Frost nods.
Then the boat comes to a halt on the water. Kalo steps towards the ferryman. "What's going on!?"
But they get no reply, the arena invention seems to just follow a script, after all.
So, Kalo steps back towards the edge of the boat, readying herself to dive in.
"Wait!" Frost is pointing towards some movement in the water, heading towards their boat like torpedoes! When they get closer, Kalo spots ripped furry ears, and pink, spiky tales sticking out of the water!
"Rats!" Frost gasps, lifting his sword up.
But they are no normal rats - they are the size of a large dog and have ravenous pointed teeth and red eyes.
"I-I never knew rats could swim," Frost mutters.
"Well, these ones can!"
Kalo stumbles away from the edge of the boat but the rats seem to be ignoring them and heading straight in the direction of Nisa and Amur.
"Shit!" Kalo exclaims! "I ain't leaving them!"
She can't! She can't be abandoned again!
Frost throws off his jacket, revealing his muscly, tattooed arms. Kalo has heard of those tattoos before - they are tattoos held by a gang in Five that has control over a large part of the District.
The two of them leap off of the boat onto the stone platform on the edge of the sewer. An archway lies in front of them, leading to a dark corridor further in. The pair dash inside, soon discovering the body of the skinny boy from Eight, strewn on the pavement by another tunnel, with his head caved in by Reinhardt's war hammer.
A second tunnel goes to the left - back towards the water. So, Kalo turns that way whilst Frost turns to run the opposite way. "I'll find Reinhardt!" He yells as he disappears into the darkness.
Kalo sighs, she doesn't care if he finds Reinhardt. All she's concerned about is the fact that everyone is now split up.
Still, there's no time to waste. They have to save Nisa and Amur! The edge of the canal fades into view. Nisa and Amur are wading through the murky, black water after the tribute from Eight, with Amur in front, about to pin the person down.
Kalo freezes by the edge of the canal, breathing heavily. "Nisa! Amur!"
The pair from Four dart their eyes to her.
"Get out of the water!"
But it's too late. Movement appears in the water again - zooming straight at the pair from Four. The two careers notice it, and begin scrambling to get onto the ledge!
The grotesque creatures descend upon the three tributes in the water, leaping out and slashing with their claws! The tribute from Eight is quickly overwhelmed as the rat creatures pile onto them, dragging them under the water while slashing and biting into their flesh! Screams of desperation are the last thing that can be heard before a cannon fires. Seconds later, the water is coloured red with blood.
A rat then leaps onto Amur before slashing his face deep! He yells in anguish before impaling the mutt with his spear like a skewer!
"Nisa! Go!" He groans, removing the rat from his spear, and turning back to face the others.
"Not without you!"
Amur thrusts his spear and two shrieks follow from under the water. "I'll be right behind you!"
Kalo escapes from their frozen state and reaches her hand out to Nisa who is only metres away now!
Amur groans as he receives two more slashes to the back. "Nisa-"
Amur is suddenly dragged under the water with tremendous force by what must be a dozen of the creatures. Kalo can no longer see him, only his desperate thrashing underwater. His screams are louder and more agonizing than the tribute from Eight!
"No!" Nisa cries, fruitlessly extending her hand out to him.
A plume of blood spreads throughout the water from where he was… a cannon follows.
BOOM
And just like that, Amur is gone.
Like moths to a flame, the rats immediately start racing for Nisa! Kalo needs to think fast! There are too many of them! How could she possibly kill them all at once?
Then it clicks! The Three girl's bombs!
Their hand scurries around in their bag until it's clasping one of the metal balls. Then, she throws herself into the water, simultaneously yanking Nisa away from the rats to safety.
Once the two of them have clambered out onto the ledge, Kalo activates the bomb in their hand.
"Say cheese!" She yells down to the rats.
Then she unleashes it on them! An inferno engulfs the entire area, and the scent of the cooking flesh of the rats fills their nose.
Nisa turns to Kalo, wide-eyed! "Kalo you… you saved me."
Kalo shrugs. "Well … you wanted to walk along the beach of Four, and never look back, didn't you?"
Nisa's eyes light up like the fire around them at the simple fact that Kalo remembered her words.
More screeches echo throughout the tunnels - heading straight their way!
"Come on!" Kalo yells, hauling Nisa up to her feet.
They take off back through the tunnels with the scurrying footsteps of the rat mutts hot on their tail!
The mutts begin crawling all around them from the walls to the ceiling! Kalo feels two claws slash into her back!
"Argh!"
Soon they will be torn to shreds unless Kalo uses the last bomb in their bag, but she was saving it for something else…
One of the rats drops down from the ceiling, baring its teeth and hissing! They're trapped! The bomb will be useless if it takes them with it!
SPLAT
The rat's head is suddenly squashed by a war hammer! Reinhardt emerges from around the corner! His face is covered in his blood with gaping claw marks running down it, and his clothes are scratched and torn!
"Move!" He yells!
"I never thought I'd be glad to see you," Kalo replies.
Together, they hack and slash their way through the rats until they come to a clearing in the sewer, where Frost is waiting with his blade drenched in mutt blood. The clearing has multiple tunnel exits however the rats are rapidly surrounding them from all directions.
"Bastard game makers! This was all a trap!" Reinhardt growls as the four allies stand back-to-back to fend off the mutts.
"What now?" Kalo questions.
"If… if we concentrate all of our attacks in one direction then we might be able to break through," Nisa suggests.
Not seeing any other alternatives, the group begins to slash, crush and stab the rats leading up to the tunnel on the left. This tactic means they take several more scratches from behind and to the side, and they cry in pain as more blood leaks from the holes in their clothes. One of the rats jumps up and sinks its knife-sharp teeth into Kalo's shoulder, and it stings like hell even after she has decapitated it with her katana!
The mutts pile and pile onto them, and Kalo feels like they are going to be suffocated under a ton of rodents.
Panting heavily, her eyes shoot open again! They spot a bright figure in between the piles of rats… Maika… she's extending her hand out…
Kalo practically throws herself at the ghost-like figure before finding herself under a hole with light shining through…
But as she's clawing their way up to it, her head begins to feel fuzzy like a thousand tons are weighing down on it and everything fades to black…
Kalo's vision fades in. She winces hard as a seething pain runs all over their body but particularly in their shoulder… A figure fades in above her - It's Frost. He's busy tying the last bandage to her arm. His face is so badly torn up that there are scratches on practically every part of it. His shirt is torn open as well, revealing more tattoos on his chest.
Kalo can only imagine how bad they look. They run their fingers across their face, feeling the multiple deep scratches.
When Frost is finished, Kalo waves the Five boy away. She sits up, rubbing her eyes then peers around at their new surroundings. She's awakened in the town hall, where they were supposed to go in the first place. There are empty food sachets littered across the table, and first aid boxes with the bandages spilled out.
"How long have I been out?"
"A few hours," Frost responds, tying a bandage neatly to his own tattooed arm.
"Napping seems to be one of your favourite pastimes," Reinhardt sneers as he's busy gorging himself on a packet of rice.
He has cleaned the blood off his face, but there are still two large open cuts stretching from his eyes to his cheeks.
"That's a nasty cut you've got there, you ought to be careful," Kalo shoots back.
Reinhardt simply sticks his middle finger up.
Kalo scans her eyes around the grey building for Nisa. She's sitting on her own, facing the roof, and clutching her spear tightly in her hands.
Kalo takes a seat next to her, groaning in pain from the injuries on their shoulder and leg.
Nisa stares at her for a moment, wrinkling her forehead with surprise.
"Thought you could use some company," Kalo says, ironically.
Nisa sighs. "I think I finally know what you meant now, back in the Capitol about not wanting to make friends."
"Hate to say I told ya," Kalo shrugs, playfully.
But Nisa maintains a stoic expression and grits her teeth. "I won't believe that Amur died for nothing, I won't stop until I hunt down the last remaining tributes… and then we can be the final two," she says, looking to Kalo.
Kalo smiles back but cannot look her in the eyes, as her thoughts turn to her conversation with Jorah a few days ago. They cannot unsee the pain in his eyes or un-hear the dread in his voice.
"Try to get some rest," Kalo says, standing up and patting Nisa on the shoulder.
She pauses. Frost and Reinhardt are sitting apart from each other. Only six tributes are left and four of them are in this alliance. This alliance will tear itself apart, it's only a matter of time. But the question is: who will strike first? Nisa wants to get to the final two with Kalo, but has she thought about what will happen after that? Frost seems to have a code of honor, despite his past. Kalo's eyes fall on the most likely culprit… Reinhardt. It's just a game now, a game of poker, and tomorrow they'll both reveal their hands - Kalo knows it.
The battered, and bruised girl from Seven lies down against a wall, keeping the others in their vision. However, against her will, she finds herself drifting off, once again…
Shouting reverberated from downstairs - a sound Kalo had increasingly been getting used to since the death of their mother.
She sat on the roof of her home with her face in her hands, it was the only place she could get any peace, recently.
Thunder cracked in the distance, followed by a tirade of rain but Kalo stayed put. Moments later, a young man came crashing up through the hatch leading to the roof - Kalo's brother Hazin. He rubbed his hair before aggressively kicking a chair across the roof.
He hadn't spotted Kalo yet but when he did, his face sank with embarrassment. "Sorry… I didn't know you were up here…"
Lightning flashed overhead, and for a brief moment, his face became Amur's, blood stricken and lifeless.
Hazin approached Kalo, wiping the rain from his face. He took a seat next to them and sighed.
"Was Father mad about you having a boyfriend again?" Kalo murmured.
Hazin nodded. "Listen, Kalo. I'm not gonna be around anymore-"
"Why not? Where are you going? Will I see you again?"
Hazin didn't answer, instead, he took a deep breath. "Just promise me one thing - don't ever let anyone take away who you are, ok? Nothing can ever change that."
"But-"
"Promise?"
"Promise," Kalo repeated.
The next thing Kalo knew, Hazin had disappeared into the rain, back through the hatch in the roof, and out of the front door.
"Wait!"
Kalo charged after him down the dark, night street, with the rain crashing onto their face!
"Wait!"
Hazin stopped at a puddle and turned around but was suddenly dragged under by something with immense force. Amur's screams echoed through the rain, and Kalo was too late to reach him, watching as his hand vanished under the puddle.
He's gone - she thought.
The next moment, their father was by their side, placing his hand around her shoulder. Kalo glanced up at him, tears filling her eyes - although instantly washed away by the rain. "Is– is he coming back?"
Her father shook his head. "He's let me down, he's let you down, and he's let your mother down," he said coldly.
Even though the words stuck to her like jelly, Kalo knew somewhere deep down that they were a lie.
Nothing ever quite replaced Hazin's soft voice, and words of comfort that he gave Kalo….