Chapter 29

Corvid says, "I say we head somewhere safe to rest. We can't be far from the grand finale, and we should take time to recharge before we go rushing into battle."

"Okay." I say, hesitantly, "But if we're getting close to the last showdown, don't you want to split up? That's what normally happens about now."

"Yeah… I really don't trust myself on my own." Says Corvid, unsteadily, "Plus, I don't know how you think you two are gonna get any further, with zero fighting ability between you."

I open my mouth to protest, but Rubis says, "Don't leave me alone with Midnight, stay with us, please Corvid." He checks himself, "I mean, yeah, you're useful. Whatever."

Corvid scoffs, "I'm not sure how useful I'll be in this mental state. I feel like I'm clinging to sanity by my fingernails. But at least I'm not letting go on purpose. I do feel pretty queasy, though."

"You look it." Says Rubis, "You're so pale you're almost glowing."

"Does grief usually cause nausea, fatigue and heart-palpitations?" Asks Corvid.

"No…?" Rubis replies, "Not unless you and Izzie had some spiritual connection that links your health… which doesn't seem unlikely with you two."

Corvid seethes, "I am still mentally unstable and strong enough to impale you if you make light of her death."

Unthreatened, Rubis asks, "Are you in good enough shape to fight when it comes to it?"

"Yeah, I'll push through. And you don't look so good yourself, Rubis." Corvid stands, stoically, "Come on. Let's find some shelter and get some rest."

Rubis and I get to our feet.

"Rubis!" I exclaim, "Is that your hair?"

A few locks of long, pecan hair lie where Rubis was sitting. More are stuck to his shirt. I pluck them off of him and run my hands through his hair to find more falling out.

"Oi, stop it." He snaps.

Rubis steps away from me, shaking his thinning mane. A few more strands drift out.

Corvid asks sceptically, "Is that stress and malnutrition? Or is that a bit of an extreme reaction to occur after a few days?"

Rubis' face suddenly flashes with realisation.

"Blue." He says.

Corvid's eyes widen.

"Is that why Izzie and I are – were – even paler than normal? And why I feel ill?"

"Must be." Says Rubis, "She affected us more than we thought."

"Let's just hope she hasn't put any lethal effects on Midnight…" Says Corvid.

"Agreed." I say, firmly.

I feel absolutely fine.

I reach up to my hair to check that the same destruction that Rubis is suffering has not befallen me.

My fingers come away with several greasy, black and white hairs stuck to them.

I scream.

My hair! My beautiful hair!

First the arena takes my perfect complexion from me, and now my hair?! Who will love me if I become bald?!

"Relax!" Rubis implores, over my hollering, "It's probably just because you haven't brushed it in years."

I stop screaming hysterically. I hope with all my willpower that he's right.

I whine and sob, as Corvid looks around frantically. How could they be more worried about me giving away our position than losing my hair?

We hear shouting in the distance.

Corvid bolts towards me and hastily lifts me over one shoulder. I thump on their back and continue to sob as they tear across the courtyard with me. Rubis follows us to hide amongst the rubble of the college building.

Pinty, Salto and Elsie rush into the courtyard.

"Shut up, Midnight!" Corvid hisses, "Ugh, my head is pounding already, without you sobbing in my ear."

"They're looking for us." Rubis whispers, "We need to move."

I do my best to calm my rattling sobs. Corvid and I stealthily follow Rubis in the opposite direction to the year-sevens.

After five minutes of hurried walking, ducking out of the eye-line of the college, we find a mostly in-tact house to hide in.

Corvid locates a spare key under a plant-pot and unlocks the door.

They mutter, "Minnesota, if you're listening, don't let them find us. Or at least, don't lead them straight to us."

Rubis scoffs, "What makes you think the head game maker will do what you say?"

"Because I have a plan that will make an amazing finale. A three-on-three fight will be over too quickly. This is already a super short game compared to normal – it needs more tension. I can make this great TV, Minnesota."

Corvid gives that lopsided smile again, which reminds me that they are the most unhinged tribute left.

I suppose we can't all be as strong as I was, when I thought I lost Rubis.

We must stay hidden in the house for over an hour, but it doesn't feel enough to rest and process the events of the day.

Corvid spends much of that time pacing, in deep thought. Meanwhile, Rubis blows through his dart-shooter, which makes a very annoying whistling noise. I'm sure he's very musically gifted, but his instrument of choice makes it hard to support his version of 'rest'.

"How many darts do you have left for that?" asks Corvid.

"None. Shot my last one at Izzie." Rubis replies.

"So you just kept it to annoy us?" They snap.

"If that irritates you most, yeah."

Corvid says, "Right. I've gotta look for something. I'll be back here at sunrise."

"Not so fast." Says Rubis, "What are you looking for?"

"I'll tell you when I find it. Trust me, I don't intend to keep secrets from you, Rubis, but I do from some people."

I say, "Hey. I know you mean me, okay? Stop pretending you don't think I'm useless."

Corvid responds, "Pretending? I thought I've been quite transparent with the fact that I think that."

They walk to the door, with the spare key in their hand.

I say, "Well, you can't stop us following you. I won't go along with your plan unless you tell me what it is."

"Oh yeah?" Corvid smirks, "You can follow me if you want. I guess I can't stop you if you'd prefer to do the hard, dangerous part instead of spending time with Rubis. Alone."

I choke, "W-well, hang on. I didn't say I would sacrifice time-"

"Good." Says Corvid, "See you at sunrise."

"Wait." Rubis implores.

He drops to his knees in front of Corvid.

"Don't leave me alone with him. I'll follow you. I can keep a lookout for you. And I'm stealthy."

Sympathy flashes briefly across Corvid's face.

They say, "This is your last chance to be alone with him. Take that as you will, but I need you here to stop him getting himself killed."

"Why do you care?" Asks Rubis.

"I said I'll tell you later." Corvid insists.

With that, they slink out of the front door. Before we can stop them, the key turns in the lock.

"Corvid!" Rubis hisses through the keyhole, "You can't lock me in here with him! You're enabling him!"

"I'll be as quick as I can." Corvid whispers, from the other side of the door.

Then, I swear I hear them mutter, "See, Minnesota? Good TV."

Rubis argues, "Sunset is still hours away! Be faster than that!"

He gets no response. Corvid's footsteps pad away along the road.

Rubis turns to look at me, with fear in his eyes.

"I'm on my period." He blurts.

"Even if that were true, I wouldn't mind, Thunder-Chunk." I reassure him, "It's okay that you're nervous. But this might be our last chance to enjoy ourselves."

I loom over him. He is still on his knees, from begging Corvid not to go.

Two hours later, I am panting harder than I ever have. My legs ache from exertion and sweat trickles down my bare back.

Rubis is stretched out on a sofa, looking extremely satisfied.

"Are you… huff… there yet?" I ask, short of breath.

"Not yet." Rubis replies, "Nearly. Keep going."

"I've been at it for hours!" I complain, "You told me erotic dancing was the only thing that aroused you, but you don't seem bothered. Can't we get down to it properly, now?"

"Maybe you're just not dancing hard enough."

"Hey! I have practiced this routine to perfection in my mirror! There is no way I'm not oozing sensuality right now. Let's just get on with it."

I start to approach him, having stripped completely.

"Just a tiny bit more." Says Rubis, hurriedly, "It will be worth it, Midnight. Don't you want me to be at my best?"

A shiver runs down my spine at the thought of what Rubis could do with the right motivation.

I keep busting my killer moves in the middle of the living room.

Not long later, a key turns in the lock.

Corvid steps through the doorway, pale even against the glaring sunrise.

"About time!" Rubis says as he hops off of the sofa, "Midnight's exhausted."

I stop dancing and deflate with disappointment.

"We didn't even get to…" I stop talking to catch my breath.

"I can leave for another couple of minutes, if you want." Corvid smirks.

"Alright." Says Rubis, to my surprise, "Come here then, Midnight."

I sway where I stand.

Desperate, I take a shaky step towards Rubis, who is still heart-breakingly fully clothed. Exhaustion overtakes me and I fall flat on my face at his feet.

"Aw, you missed your chance." Says Corvid, "Get dressed and rest up – in that order."

While I put my clothes back on and desperately suck in oxygen, Corvid and Rubis talk.

"You really ran him ragged." Says Corvid, bemusedly.

Rubis replies frostily, "Yep. You were gone a long time. I had to get creative."

"Sorry about that."

"Did you find what you were looking for, at least?" Asks Rubis.

"I did, yeah. I set something up on the other side of Churchill Gardens. But I need you to help me out with something over there."

"Are you going to tell me what this is about, yet? You know, I can't read your mind like Izzie seemed to be able to."

"She couldn't read my mind." Corvid states coldly.

"Oh, was she that used to following your orders, she could predict them?"

"I did not order her to do anything!" Corvid growls, "We were a team. Something you wouldn't know anything about, by the way you use people."

They glare at Rubis.

He says, "Why would you want a human connection, when it just leaves you a mental wreck when they're taken from you? Or if it makes you waste time carrying your friend, so you can't get out of a collapsing building?"

Corvid seems to stop breathing.

They say quietly, "Are you blaming me for Izzie's death?"

"I'm not blaming you. I don't care that it happened, why would I blame anyone?"

Corvid fumes, "You are so lucky I value collapsing the system more than I value my own satisfaction."

I'm not convinced that Corvid won't attack.

"Guys, guys!" I say, "We shouldn't fight; we're a team! I need you both to get along. After all, you won't be good cannon-fodder for me to win, if you're at each other's throats."

At their disbelieving expressions, I say, "Sorry, it's just the way it's gotta be. Did you think I'd let anyone win but me? You can't fight it."

I can't for the life of me make out Corvid's expression.

Then they burst into maniacal laughter, so loud that I worry the other tributes will find us.

It's as though they are so enraged and distraught, that their body has forgotten how to express specific emotions.

Without warning, Corvid grabs their axe from the chair it has been resting on, and swings it aggressively into a wooden cabinet. The sound of china ornaments smashing inside makes me flinch.

When Corvid dislodges the axe, the cabinet door creaks open, followed by a cascade of china.

Corvid stares at the pile of debris. They breathe deeply.

"I didn't realise you were that unhinged." Rubis comments, "Imagine being affected that much by the death of a friend. Couldn't be me."

"Do you have an off-switch?" Corvid spits, "You're lucky I need you for my plan."

"You still haven't told me what your plan is." Rubis complains, "I'll stop bullying you when you tell me."

"I'll tell you when we get to what I've set up." Says Corvid, through gritted teeth.

Rubis huffs with exasperation.

"That doesn't sound like a trap at all." Rubis rolls his eyes, "But you would have killed me by now if you wanted to. So fine - were you wanting to go now?"

"Yeah, might as well." Says Corvid.

"Hang on." I say, raising a hand to get them to hold up, "I can't walk all that way like this. I'm still utterly worn out. Give me half an hour. Maybe forty minutes."

"It's a five minute walk to the other side of Churchill Gardens, Midnight." Says Rubis.

Dizziness hits and I lie down on the dusty carpet.

"Make that an hour." I say.

"You're not coming with us, anyway." Says Corvid.

"I'm not?" I say, offended.

"He isn't?" Rubis sounds relieved.

"No." Says Corvid, "There's something really important, that only you can do, Midnight."

"Ooh, tell me!" I demand, springing to my feet.

Corvid explains my mission.

"Rubis doesn't have a weapon at the moment. He shot a tranquiliser before, right?"

"Yeah, at Izzie." I confirm.

Corvid grits their teeth. Their knuckles turn white around their axe.

They press on, "And he missed. So that dart is still in the building. Rubis needs every defence he can get, so it's up to you to get that dart back, Midnight."

"That would be pretty useful…" Says Rubis.

"But isn't it in a collapsed building?" I point out.

"I'm counting on that part of the building to still be standing, so they could recover Izzie's body." Corvid says, reluctantly, "And if it isn't, dig through the rubble."

"It'll be like looking for a needle in a haystack!" I say.

"Well, if you want Rubis to be utterly defenceless and die, that's fine by-"

"No! I'll look for it! Where do we meet?"

"Churchill Gardens. Don't stand in plain sight, in case the other tributes pass through." Corvid instructs.

"Okay." I say.

I stand, fully clothed again, with my sword at the ready, to light the piles of rubble.

I will find this weapon, for Rubis.

The more help he can give me to win, the better.