Chapter Seventy-Two: Target Acquired

Still Night Seven

Lacey Loveless, District Eight Female

I would have let Thomiah sleep, but the second I hear the anthem and see the light in the sky, I'm waking him back up again. Whatever this is probably can't wait until later.

Thomiah sounds groggy, which makes sense considering neither of us has been getting that much sleep recently, but he gets his weapon ready to swing before even I'm ready for it. "What is it?"

I say nothing, instead pointing at the sky just in time.

The first face they show is the boy from Three, someone I knew virtually nothing about from training but didn't seem like a major threat. He's swiftly followed by the girl from Nine, another unknown variable in this equation. Furthermore, her face being up proves my beliefs: while I assumed such when I thought I saw her run past and no cannons have been fired since the ones for the currently-displayed tributes, it means Zari's still out there somewhere, and it looks like I'm going to have to find her to get out of here if I counted right.

I get a nod from Thomiah when the anthem ceases. "I'm pretty sure I know who's left, but just in case, who's still alive by your count?"

Like a toddler, I use my fingers to count them off. "Three Careers. Zari. Us. That's everyone now."

Thomiah forces a smile. "Not the worst odds in the world. We find your friend, three-on-three is manageable if we get some lucky breaks."

As much as I admire his optimism, we'd need more than lucky breaks if we want to win that fight. If we matched each of us up one on one, in every scenario, we'd be the underdogs. Thomiah isn't quite as good as the boy from Two. The girl from One, Clara if I remember correctly, has me outmatched everywhere except perhaps mobility and range. Zari isn't much of a fighter to begin with, so no matter who I match her up with, she's probably dead.

We'd have to use every advantage we have to even stand a chance. The girl from Four seemed to have at least a shred of empathy hidden somewhere deep inside her, that's something I can play on if I need to. Clara has arrogance and temper to spare, perhaps I could get her talking; people like her love a good monologue, after all. The boy from Two at least seemed loyal to his allies; perhaps if we all dogpiled one Career he'd get distracted enough for us to do something crazy.

"Combat strategy," I reply. "Three on three could easily just turn into three one-on-one fights, but everything I've thought of so far makes that strategy seem questionable at best."

"And that's if we find your friend," Thomiah adds. "Could very easily become three-on-two, and that's not going to be a balanced fight in any sense of the word."

There's nothing that could make him disagree with him there unless we somehow got our hands on grenades or something equally destructive. Three-on-two, barring a miracle we'd get cut down in seconds. And in that case, there's no way the Gamemakers would allow Zari to win.

"That just emphasizes how much we need to find Zari," I say. "We don't stand much of a chance without her. I'd like to believe the Gamemakers will at least give us something resembling a chance to win, we've done enough for them."

"We still have a long way to go," Thomiah says. "Don't count on anything."

"I never have," I say. If there's but one scant benefit to being like me, it's that I'm not swayed from logic without a damn good reason.

I signal to Thomiah that he can go back to sleep so I can start my shift, but he waves me off. "I'll get some sleep in the morning if that's okay. Frankly, I'm not sure what I was thinking going to sleep beforehand, there's been too much nearby activity for only one of us to be alert at the time."

He's got a solid point. At least in the morning, it's harder to get snuck up on because you can see much better. "Makes sense to me. I'm not sure if you'll want to eat before or after you sleep, but I'm sure you'll figure that out."

Thomiah nods. "I'm sure I will."

The rest of the night awaits, and even though neither of us is going to be moving much, it's still going to be about as high-stakes as it gets at this point.

After all, the next few days promise to be the most important of our lives. It only makes sense that the night before it would match its intensity.

Clara Ridley, District One Female

This section of the woods is dark as can be and the moon's staying hidden, which is great luck considering my current plan.

Two other tributes who don't look like Godric and Sienna are conversing about something. They're keeping their voices down, so the subject remains a mystery, and they're remaining vigilant enough that I'd get caught if I tried anything now, but it leaves me with all the opportunity in the world to stay hidden and wait for an opening.

They take a few steps closer to me, and I prepare to move to somewhere better hidden until they get out of range again but then they stop in just the right position, allowing me a closer look at them without much risk of being spotted.

Once I figure out who the tributes are, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my best bet to make it to the finale is to kill them now. One of them's the bitch who killed Galadia, the sound of her voice making my fists clench. The other's tall and broad-shouldered, but he can't be Godric, his skin's too dark for that. Must be the boy from Eleven, so he's my biggest threat left where it isn't personal.

Unfortunately for me, they're both awake at the moment, so trying to charge them is a terrible idea even if I'm pretty sure I can take them both out without too much of an issue. There's been way too much noise in the area, so every tribute on the hunt with ears must be congregating in this general area. Even if I win the fight, the noise could attract Godric and Sienna, and while I'm sure I could outrun them again if the need arises, I also don't particularly want to. The next time I face them, I'd like it to at least be on even terms.

That leaves my best option as waiting for one of them to fall asleep and handling them then. It's nighttime, so I'm sure that'll happen eventually. Therefore, all I have to do is wait and make sure they don't spot me before I'm ready to move in. Both of them have to be reasonably perceptive if they've gotten this far, so that might be a bit more difficult than I'd expect, but at the same time, they're not Careers. Maybe they've got something resembling training, or maybe they don't, but either way, I have the upper hand on them there.

Their conversation reaches a lull a few times, but right as it seems like they're about to split up one of them says something else and then they just keep going. I got a few hours of sleep before this, so I should be fine in that regard for a while, but at the same time, this is beginning to try my patience. I've got half a mind to scream, "Hurry up so I can kill you already! You're making me lose my damn mind here!"

Keeping still for just a little bit longer as the two of them keep on talking, I contemplate how to best catch one of them off-guard. Go right away? Wait for a few laps? Do it in the morning after hours of nothing? The possibilities are endless, and many of my choices could easily bear fruit. Which one to make?

Their conversation ends, and the time comes to make that choice.

Or, perhaps, not make a choice yet at all. I assumed they were smart and lucky before this, but not on this level.

I was expecting one of them to sleep and the other to start patrolling, which would give me the perfect opportunity to get rid of both of them: get the patrolling one as far away from the sleeping one as possible, drop them without making too much noise, and then the rest is a cake walk. However, instead, both of them stick together, and neither of them seems to want to move much. I'm assuming their field of vision covers enough ground that staying out of sight while getting closer is out of the question, and the area's too open for any other kind of sneaking to work, either.

Looks like now's not the best time for trying anything. Oh well. I can still get them in the morning.

Zari Morelett, District Six Female

Most of my past few hours (at least) have been spent on the move. I want to put as much distance between the Careers and me as possible, and I can't do that standing still. With my legs and my lungs both screaming at me to stop, I continue to push anyway, even if my pace has tailed off to speed-walking at this point.

It means I could also be getting further and further away from anyone who could help me, but I push that thought to the back of my mind for now. Nothing says that Lacey's in the same area, so for all I know, I could be getting closer. Let's hope that's the case given the circumstances.

As bad an idea as this sounds, I need to sleep for a few hours right this very second, or I might collapse on my feet and go to sleep anyway. Might as well at least do it somewhere I can attempt to hide.

The trees here are thick enough and tall enough to provide plenty of cover if I climb them, and some of them even look climbable despite my mediocre skill level, but I don't have any means of tying myself down and I don't want to die from head trauma by falling out. While no one I know personally has been a victim of that, the huge tree everyone from home likes to climb has caused a couple of grisly injuries. Someone even died a few years back because they'd both gotten pretty far up and landed about as wrong as possible.

One of my blinks lasts far longer than it needs to, making me force my eyes awake for just a little longer. I don't need much, just a decent hiding place that'll last me long enough to get some shut-eye and maybe plan my next move. I've used a million of those so far, so finding one more of them shouldn't be too difficult, come on, come on, come on…

The trees thin out, leaving me distressingly exposed at the moment, but then I see it.

There's a field of what looks like tall grass nearby, probably weeds. They won't do much for me while I'm standing, but if I'm lying flat, no one's going to see me in those unless they're right on top of me, and I don't have a prayer if that happens to begin with. They're swaying in the breeze, a bright neon sign for my brain, as I stagger closer and closer, they seem to almost be beckoning me in.

Just a bit further. One foot in front of the other. I'm almost there, I'm almost there, okay, I should be safe now—

My brain shuts off before my eyes do; I don't even register hitting the ground before I pass out.

Godric Runestone, District Two Male

The morning arrives with no further surprises. No mutts, no other tributes, no anything. Given that Gamemakers love to dump some final trials on the Careers before they reach the finale, especially if they're working with an advantage, I treat that as a win.

Sienna wakes naturally with the sun, stretching as she does. "Anything else happen while I was out?"

"Not that I know of," I say. "Let's set up breakfast while we still can, there's going to be a lot happening today."

Sienna nods.

While Sienna grabs whatever twigs and dry leaves she can find for kindling, I use the opportunity to check on what we currently have. Considering our Games started with the vast majority of our supplies getting stolen, it makes sense that even with careful rationing and the occasional restock we've gotten close to depleting everything. We could be a bit more cautious and ration things carefully to stretch what we have a few more days, but I decide to be generous this morning. With everyone in the same area, there's bound to be a fight breaking out today, and there's no reason for us to be in anything other than peak condition for that if we can help it.

I spread out enough supplies for a decent-sized meal, which leaves enough food and water for maybe two meals if we stretch it and one meal if we don't. Sienna gets a fire going so we can eat something warm; even with today threatening to be another potential scorcher between the clear sky and the sun already blazing, last night was just chilly enough that something warm might do some good.

A solid breakfast is ready before long, and I'm more than ready to eat it.

Then the Capitol anthem starts and I jerk in place. We've already had the death announcements for tonight, so this can't be anything normal. So much for no further surprises.

Once the anthem concludes, I hear the voice of someone who I'm pretty confident is the head Gamemaker, even if the last time we saw her feels like a lifetime ago at this point. "Attention, all tributes. A Feast is being hosted at the Cornucopia tonight at sunset. Attendance is not mandatory but is highly recommended. As I know some of you may have forgotten where the Cornucopia is, please take a second to reorient yourself, for a signal will be given in five, four, three, two, one…"

Right on cue, a blood-red firework goes off in the sky somewhere in the distance. It doesn't give us much more than a general direction, but it should be enough for us to get there.

"One more time, in case you missed the first one."

Sure enough, another firework goes off, this one the same shade of red as the last time.

"Remember, nothing will be there until tonight at sunset, but nothing is preventing you from staking your claim beforehand. May the odds be ever in your favor."

As the announcement concludes, I can't say that I'm left reeling, but it has changed my daily plans, and I'm sure Sienna can say the same thing if she's maintained the same sensibility she's held for the rest of the Games.

"We should go," I say. "I'm sure the Cornucopia is a hike at this point, but whatever supplies are there is going to put whoever gets them first at a massive advantage for the rest of the Games; it's happened before and it'll happen again."

She looks like she agrees with me. "We could use more supplies. I'm sure any naturally occurring ones are probably going to be gone soon if they aren't already, just so everyone has a reason to go to the Feast."

"Not to mention, we might even be able to handle the rest of our threats while we're at it," Godric adds. "They've got to be wondering what the Feast could do for them as well.

"I'd imagine Clara's going to be there," Sienna says. "I'm pretty sure everyone else will be there or at least try to be there as well, but at the same time, they could decide to avoid it because all of us are going to be there too. Or maybe they even have enough supplies without the Feast, who knows."

I nod. There are too many possibilities to think about at the moment, and I'm sure we'll have all the opportunity in the world to discuss them on the way there; based on where the firework went off, we've got a few hours of walking to get there if we're not interrupted by something or someone else. Any interferences give us even more time to chat, but I'd prefer to avoid those for now, we've got enough things against us as is.

Sienna brings me back to reality. "Let's eat, then we can head for the Cornucopia. We'll get there with time to spare, I'm sure of it."

I agree with that as well; while finding a good setup location before the Feast begins is a good idea, we should probably handle our breakfast first. Sure, we might have the opportunity to feast later, but we're hungry now, and we might not get an opportunity to eat before we arrive. Might as well get our sustenance while we can.

If nothing else, our food is still warm, and the two of us devour everything before long. After cleaning up and masking our presence the best we can, the two of us turn until we think we're facing the Cornucopia (thank goodness it's both pretty big and pretty obvious, so even if we're a little off we're still likely to find it) and begin our trek towards what may very well be our final destination whether we survive what's to come or not.

The Cornucopia and the Feast both await us. If things weren't serious before, they are now.

Funny story, in the past handful of days, due to NaNoWriMo I finished both this chapter and the first draft of the next one, with a third chapter well on the way, which is why I'm posting way faster than usual right now. However, at the moment, only this one looks fit to post: the next chapter, while technically complete, is both really long and looks like it will require more editing than usual this time around. I'll try to get around to editing it sometime in early December, so it shouldn't be too long before the next chapter comes out.

Also, FFNs email notifications finally seem to be back, which is awesome. View count's still broken, which isn't great, but that I can live without. Hopefully they're still up by the time this chapter gets posted.

That's all I have to say for now. Thanks for sticking with me for so long, and I hope to see you next chapter!