Chase Holloway, 15

District 5, She/Her

June 12th, 97 ADD

11:23 AM

She lay with her back against the dirt and arms tucked behind her head, listening to the river run and watching the clouds drift by.

Fleur lay next to her. "It's kind of pretty here," they remarked. "In a way."

"I guess," Chase replied, hating that Fleur was right. It felt wrong, somehow, that Chase had spent her life busting her ass in Five's bone-dry deserts, and now that she'd escaped them and got to see something pretty, it was a place filled with death.

(Escaped? Since when did you want to escape Five? Thought you wanted to stay, take care of your friends, keep everyone going.)

(When had that started feeling like such a burden?)

"Prettier than Six, for sure," Fleur mused.

"I wouldn't know," Chase said.

"Oh, it's not that bad," Fleur said, "definitely not like everyone told me it would be. Lots of people there were plenty nice to me. But it's very dirty in some places, you know? And everyone was always tired there. And I liked the Capitol weather more."

Chase lifted a hand, playing with the collar of her shirt. "If you came to Five, I probably would've robbed you."

"You- what?"

"Yeah," Chase sighed. "Broken into your house or penthouse or whatever with my crew, took what you had and given it all away… it's not personal, swear."

Fleur rolled her head towards Chase, their eyes bugged out. "Are you a criminal?"

Chase squinted, not sure how to answer that. "Um… no?"

"But you just said you rob people."

"Tye used to say we were 'wealth redistribution agents,'" Chase said.

"Chase," Fleur said.

"I feel like we definitely talked about this already," Chase pointed out. "I told you I was in a gang."

"I thought you meant, like… gang of friends."

"I told you about Tye getting shot by Peacekeepers!"

"I don't know!" Fleur said. "I didn't want to assume!"

"I think I told you we robbed people!"

"I forgot!"

Chase stared at Fleur. The older girl stared back, and something about the combination of her bugged-out eyes and dropped jaw made Chase burst out laughing. Fleur started to smile, confused, and that only made Chase laugh harder.

"Why are you laughing?" Fleur asked.

"I don't know," Chase laughed. "This- this is just so fucked up. I would've robbed you blind!"

"Maybe we should've relocated to Five," Fleur said. "That way I could've met you before now."

Chase laughed even harder. "You'd hate me! Because I stole all your shit!"

"Maybe I'd catch you!" Fleur pointed out. "Or maybe- ooh, I could've joined your gang!"

Chase gasped for breath, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "And- and done- what?"

Fleur reached up towards the sky, wiggling their fingers. "Egg launcher testing."

The tears splashed down Chase's cheeks. "I- I can't-"

"Can't what?"

"Breathe-"

"Do you need CPR?" Fleur asked, her smile fading.

"No, no," Chase replied, wheezing. "I'm good. I- oh my god… that was good."

Fleur was quiet for a long moment as Chase's laughter died away. As Chase wiped a tear from her eye, Fleur said, "I'm glad I met you now, though. I think you saved my life."

Chase flicked the tear into the dirt. "Probably," she admitted.

"Why'd you do it?" Fleur asked.

"Save your life? Why wouldn't I?"

"I…" Fleur hesitated. "You're like… you're smart. You actually know how to do this stuff. I feel like you have a real chance," she said. "Wouldn't I slow you down?"

Chase's breath caught. You have a real chance. But that was terrifying to think about, so she focused on the other stuff. "Well," she said, "for one thing, you have a shit-ton of sponsors."

"Yeah," Fleur agreed. Just the other day, they'd received a box with a 6 on it. Chase had used the materials inside to make some snares, so they could eat things that weren't lizards.

"Also," Chase said, "you're my friend, who's really good at pranks."

Fleur's cheeks tinged pink like the blush she used to wear before the arena. "That was fun," they admitted. "I like dress-up. That was just like… spooky dress-up."

"It was awesome," Chase said with relish. "And, I mean. I know how to do some stuff, yeah. But that's 'cause I have to know. Otherwise, I would've died ages ago."

"In the Bloodbath?" Fleur asked.

"No," Chase answered, "in Five."

"Oh."

"...Yeah," Chase said. "But I don't know how to kill anyone any more than you do, Fleur. I've been in some scraps, and I've seen people bite it, but I've never… you know."

"Yes," Fleur said. "I know."

"So yeah," Chase said. "Hopefully that made sense. I dunno."

"It does," Fleur said. "Thanks."

(Besides, it wasn't like Chase knew any different these days. Take care of a gang that looked after orphaned kids on the street. Take care of a Capitolite who didn't know which side of the blade was the sharp side. If anything, the second one was easier, because she was only one person. Chase didn't have to worry about whether the gang was stealing enough to keep kids from starving. She just had to catch some lizards- hopefully a rabbit or two, soon- and hide from the bigger and badder tributes.)

(She wouldn't think of the possibilities down the road. That had never kept Chase going. She'd spent fifteen years putting one foot in front of the other, day by day. And that was how she would continue; she refused to change now, whether in an arena or not.)

Chase pointed at the sky. "That cloud kinda looks like a fart."

"No!" Fleur said. "I thought it was a flower!"

Chase snorted. "No, definitely a fart."

"Agree to disagree."

Chase pushed herself up onto her elbows. "Wanna go check the snares with me? I'm hungry."

Fleur sat up, primly dusting the dirt off her sleeves. "Sure. As long as I don't have to touch it."

Chase rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. "Fine with me. C'mon."

Brizo Windrake, 18

District 4, He/Him

3:19 PM

No one was in a particularly good mood.

They made camp about an hour's walk from the closest bend in the river. Vince spent over an hour in that river last night, claiming they could feel remnants of the gas "in their pores." Brizo wasn't sure how river water was much better, but he didn't particularly care.

He hadn't spoken much since the ambush yesterday, but neither had anyone else. What was there to talk about? Brizo hated the sound of Vince's voice, Bastet would probably kill him if he said a word in his direction, and Tisiphone had stolen a kill from him. She knew how he felt when Mercury did it. This felt worse than when Mercury did it, though. Mercury hadn't promised to have his back. Mercury wasn't the one person in this damn alliance Brizo liked, and he wasn't the only person who seemed to remember Brizo existed at all.

(Just thinking about it made far-off thunderclaps echo in the distance.)

So when, in the middle of weaving a net to catch fish in the river, Tisiphone opened her mouth, Brizo wasn't particularly interested in listening.

"About yesterday," Tisiphone said, her shoulders still hunched over her work. Brizo could see Eight's ghost standing behind her, right behind the curve of her neck, watching him dully.

Brizo ignored her.

"I…" Tisiphone trailed. "I wasn't trying to steal a kill. That wasn't my intention."

As if she hadn't been the one to define what kill stealing was for Mercury just four days prior.

"The tide was turning," she said quietly. "There- there had already been a death. We were outnumbered. If we'd waited with that girl any longer, we would've been swarmed."

"I was taking care of it."

He glanced up. Tisiphone's eyes had lifted from her net-weaving and settled squarely on him. Vince appeared to be focused on the tree branch they were sharpening into a backup spear, but Brizo knew they were listening. Bastet stared off into the distance, her brow heavy, and Brizo knew she wasn't.

"You-" Tisiphone hesitated. "Is that what happened on the first day, too?"

"Did one of my allies underestimate me and take what was rightfully mine? Yes," Brizo replied.

Tisiphone flinched, but his guilt at that was overpowered by his sense of betrayal. "I just never thought you'd do the same."

"I- I know we were trained differently," Tisiphone said. "But I just- I don't think there was any need to…"

"We're here to put on a show, Tisiphone," Brizo interrupted.

"Torture isn't a show."

"'Torture?'" Brizo repeated.

(The thunderclaps were closer now.)

Tisiphone ducked her head. "That's just what it looked like to me."

"I was doing my job," Brizo snapped. "Defending the Cornucopia. Maybe if you'd trusted me, and let me kill Eight while you did anything else-"

"I was trying to help you," Tisiphone said. He could still see Eight behind her, staring at him. Mocking him. "I didn't want you to get hurt."

"And I didn't."

She looked up again, confusion knitting her brows together. "...Yes, you did."

"No," Brizo insisted.

"Then what about your shoulder?" Tisiphone asked.

"What about it?"

Tisiphone stared at him. (It only made the thunder harder to block out.) "She… don't you remember?"

Brizo looked down at the bandages around his shoulder, soaked through with blood now dried. "It looks fine to me."

"It wasn't fine yesterday," Tisiphone said.

Brizo tried to think back-

(Thunder pounded in his ears- lightning crackled in the sky above, and Brizo thought it would strike him any moment-)

-but found nothing.

"And your face," Tisiphone said.

"It's fine," Brizo said.

"It's bruised," Tisiphone countered. "Do you- do you really not-"

"It's fine," Brizo snapped. "I don't remember getting hurt. If it was important, I would."

There was something in Tisiphone's expression he couldn't read. "Do you remember what you said to her?"

"I didn't speak to her," Brizo answered.

"You did," Tisiphone argued. "You- you stabbed her in the shoulder and told her that you matched."

Off to the side, Vince snorted, and Brizo's cheeks flushed red. "I- no-"

"You tortured someone and don't remember it?" Tisiphone murmured, her brown eyes wide.

"I didn't torture-"

"What about the first day?" Tisiphone asked. "When you were fighting that girl from Nine?"

(Rain came down in droves, plastering his hair to the back of his neck, making it hard to see.)

"I remember Mercury stealing the kill," Brizo said.

"What did she look like?" Tisiphone pressed.

"Is that really important?"

"I just- I never thought you'd do something like that-" Tisiphone started.

"No!" Brizo insisted. "It's nothing. Sometimes I don't remember things and it's fine. The medics said I got hit on the head during the Wilderness Trials, that's where it started, but it's fine."

"The Wilderness Trial?" Tisiphone asked. "The one where all the other boys…"

"They died in the storm," Brizo said.

"But you were hit on the head. You don't remember," Tisiphone said.

"N-no- I don't- there was the storm," Brizo said desperately. "A lot happened that day- it was hard to keep track."

(-a bolt of lightning through the backs of his eyes-)

(-someone was screaming-)

"I always thought it was strange that everyone died," Tisiphone muttered. "It was a Wilderness Trial. Everyone was trained in survival already."

(...who was screaming? whose voice was that?)

(it wasn't his.)

"Some of them should've made it," Tisiphone continued. "I remember some of them, I always thought they'd do well…"

"They were horrible," Brizo bit out. "You didn't know them like I did."

(someone's hand on his arm)

"But you…" Tisiphone trailed. "You wouldn't…"

(someone's neck in his hand)

"Wouldn't what?" Brizo asked, lifting his chin defiantly.

"When you fight people, you don't remember it," Tisiphone said. "You don't remember fighting Eight, or Nine… and you don't remember the Wilderness Trial…"

(nails dug into his forearm, trying to wrench Brizo's hands free)

("Stop it- Brizo, let go-")

"There's nothing to remember," Brizo spat. "Really, Tisiphone-"

"Brizo," Tisiphone interrupted. "Just- I have to ask."

(so he let go, and he watched him fall)

(he'd never heard Eaton scream before, he liked the sound)

Brizo was breathing heavily. His arms were crossed tightly, holding himself as he glared at his district partner.

"Do you remember the last night in the Capitol?" Tisiphone whispered.

(thunder booming- lightning crackling- never heard of him below average don't waste your time- rain in his hair his eyelashes his teeth- Brizo, we need your sword-)

Brizo was silent.

Vince looked up from their spear, their teeth clenched.

"Brizo," Tisiphone whispered, pleading. "Do you remember it?"

(everything was blurry, underwater

Eaton's face fell away

down

the

cliffside

thunder in his eardrums

turned into laughter

Rumi's hand outstretched

mouth smiling

Brizo would give them a sword

rain splattered on his face

hot

red

rain

Rumi's smile died

Brizo's came back to life)

(And as he looked at Tisiphone, her eyes full of doubt, all he could see was another person who didn't believe him. No one ever believed him. It was stupid of him to think that would change now, with her.

No. Tisiphone Fotis was just like all the rest.)

Tisiphone Fotis, 18

District 4, She/Her

3:26 PM

"Brizo," Tisiphone whispered, horror settling in the pit of her stomach. "You didn't…"

(She didn't want to believe it. She didn't want the pieces to fit together this way. She wanted to go back to two nights ago, when she didn't know what Brizo was capable of.)

"Of course not," Brizo spat.

Tisiphone's mouth twisted into a deep, deep frown. "I want to believe you. Please."

"Then believe me!"

"What do you remember?" Tisiphone begged.

"There-" Brizo struggled. "There was- there was a storm."

Tisiphone waited for something else, anything else, but there was nothing.

"I didn't see you anywhere," Tisiphone said. "I- I thought maybe you weren't there- I looked-"

Brizo's head was in his hands. "I don't- I-"

"Mercury kept saying Qibli could vouch for him," Vince said. "But you…"

Vince turned to look at Tisiphone, the doubt clear in their eyes.

"Stop it," Brizo snarled, black hair curling around his fingers. Tisiphone couldn't see his eyes.

She flinched. "Just say you didn't do it," she pleaded. "Please, Brizo. You didn't kill those boys, right? You didn't kill Rumi, right?"

"Why can't you believe me?" Brizo said, rocking back and forth. "You said- you said you were on my side-"

"Just say it!"

Brizo lifted his head, and the look on his face made Tisiphone's blood run cold.

(This was not the boy she'd met on the train. This was not the boy she'd taught the stars to.)

(This wasn't the one person she'd been sure she'd find solace in.)

Brizo opened his mouth and screamed, leaping toward Tisiphone. Tisiphone dropped the net she was weaving and fell back, barely enough time to shriek before Brizo was on her. He pinned her to the ground, his nails digging into her wrists.

Tisiphone writhed, jerking her knee up and into his hip, but Brizo didn't budge. He wouldn't stop screaming, and Tisiphone could barely look at him- who was this boy?

(Was this what he had been all along?)

Something hit Brizo, making his nails tear a few inches down Tisiphone's wrists before he was slammed to the side and off of her.

Vince stood above her, their face grim for a moment- until it shifted into something more sorrowful, more betrayed. "How could you do this?" Vince asked Brizo, their chest heaving despite the fact that Tisiphone was the one who'd been tackled. "To her, to Rumi-"

Brizo roared in response. Tisiphone rolled to her side, making to push herself to her feet, when a glint of metal caught her eye. Brizo had retrieved his sword, and he took his chance now to rake it across Tisiphone's leg-

Oh, god, oh oh oh it hurts oh no oh god-

-before Vince twirled their spear and knocked the weapon from Brizo's hands. Vince swung the spear shaft at Brizo's head, but Brizo ducked, diving back towards Tisiphone. Tisiphone held up her arms to shield herself, her eyes brimming with tears, but he got around her and his hands slammed into her throat and squeezed.

Tisiphone's chest constricted and her throat burned. She bucked and kicked and punched, her lungs thrumming, begging for more air. Brizo squeezed tighter, his teeth bared as Tisiphone fought back against him. She punched his temple, hit the bruise already swelling from yesterday's fight, clawed at his eyes, but he held on. Finally, she grabbed at his hands themselves, trying to free her windpipe. Black spots were creeping into the corners of her vision, please Brizo stop stop stop stop-

Someone was hitting him again. Tisiphone could feel the force rippling from their blows through Brizo's hands and into her throat, and it only made her lungs burn more. She writhed harder, desperation consuming her, and rocked back, getting her legs free- she felt his grip loosen just a hair and rocked harder again, and again, the darkness creeping in faster now- one more push!

She kicked him, and as his hands lost their grip, shoved Brizo up and over her head, flipping him into the dirt behind her. Tisiphone gasped and immediately began coughing, trying to scramble to her feet only for her leg to ripple with pain. She couldn't let him get her again, so she turned, reaching for where his sword had fallen into the dirt.

Before her hands closed around it, she saw Vince, still standing, their spear pointed down at the ground. At Brizo's chest.

"You killed the tribute I loved," Vince told him gravely. "For that, and your disturbing attack on Tisiphone, you cannot be pardoned as Mercury was."

Brizo tried to get up, but Vince jammed the spear down. Not enough to pierce a lung, but enough to hold Brizo to the ground as Tisiphone slowly got to her feet.

Vince looked at her. "You should do the honors, really."

Tisiphone opened her mouth, but the only noise that came out was a small choke. She shook her head vehemently.

"Do it."

Tisiphone's attention jerked to the left, where Bastet stood, spinning a knife back and forth. Tisiphone could barely see their eyes beneath her hat- just the deep shadows beneath them. It was the first thing Bastet had said all day. And those were the words she chose?

(Tisiphone wanted to scream. Where were you? Did you just sit there and watch him hurt me? But she could barely breathe, let alone scream.)

"Stop crying," Bastet muttered. "Kill him."

Tisiphone touched a hand to her cheek. It was sticky, and flecks of dirt clung to her fingers when she pulled them away.

"This is what we agreed," Bastet said. "Kill the traitor. It's him."

Tisiphone stared at her. This wasn't what Tisiphone wanted- she'd never suspected Brizo, he was her friend-

Vince gestured to her, their eyes almost kind. "Come on," they said. "You found the truth. It's your right. Spear's already in, just finish him off."

Tisiphone looked back at Bastet. They spun a throwing knife around their knuckles.

(It was true. This is what they'd agreed on.)

Tisiphone swallowed, hard, her breaths coming fast and shallow. She took a few halting steps toward Vince, favoring her bleeding leg, and wrapped her hands around the spear shaft. Vince stepped back once she had a good grip on it.

She looked down at Brizo.

His eyes were black and cruel. His hair was plastered against his head from sweat. His chin was swollen and two shallow cuts were spilling fresh blood on his forehead. Tisiphone didn't remember doing that.

(This was what she'd signed up for, right? She'd signed up to save the lighthouse. To save her sisters and her brother. Her mother was gone, and Tisiphone had to keep the light going.)

(And she'd already killed once. But that was quicker. She didn't have to look Eight in the eye when she slammed her spear down. When Eight died, the breath that escaped her lips and made the smoke coil around her face sounded like a sigh.)

Tisiphone took another trembling breath.

(She'd promised her mother to keep the light going.)

She squeezed her eyes shut, sending two more tears cascading down her cheeks.

(This was just another storm she had to weather.)

She shoved the spear down.

(Nothing more.)

A strangled cry, then-

Boom.

Tisiphone opened her eyes just as Brizo's hands, reaching up to claw her fingers where she held the spear, dropped back to the ground. Tisiphone stumbled back with a gasp, shaking fingers wiping at her cheeks. Her throat still burned and ached, and her leg was bleeding. She looked at Bastet, but Bastet turned away.

It was Vince who came to her. "Are you alright?" they asked quietly. Their voice was raspy now, from whatever had happened with the outliers and the gas.

Tisiphone hesitated, then shook her head.

(Words were still too painful.)

"Let's get you patched up," they said. "Can you walk? We can get out of here first. Probably for the best."

Tisiphone tested her bleeding leg, taking a few ginger steps.

"Hold on," Vince said. They turned, wrenching their spear out of Brizo's chest with a sickening squelch. They picked up her spear, too, and handed it to her, along with her half-woven net. They also took Brizo's abandoned sword.

"Bastet, let's-"

"This way," Bastet said, setting off at a brisk walk.

Vince gave Tisiphone a knowing look. Tisiphone didn't know what to do with that.

"Here," they said. "You're a bit taller than me, but maybe-"

Vince looped an arm under her shoulders, taking some of the weight off her hurt leg. "Let's take it easy," they said. "Don't want to make anything worse. We'll catch up with Bastet eventually."

Tisiphone nodded numbly. Vince eased her forward, and she leaned on them, still trying to catch her breath.

(She looked back at Brizo once before leaving the campsite for good. He was sprawled out in the dirt, staring at the sky. We can stick together, he'd told her. Had anything Brizo ever told her been true?)

(She knew the answer was no.

Somehow, that hurt more than any wound he could've left.)

Mercury Vidovic, 18

District 2, He/Him

8:22 PM

It had been another long day of aimless wandering.

(Mercury didn't know what else to do. There was nowhere for him to go, really. There was no way in hell he'd crawl back to either his ex-alliance or to Tomo after what happened. And he couldn't go back to Two- at least, not right now.)

(He had his answer. What was he supposed to do now? It wasn't like he could get to either Tomo or Teurian right now, not the way he would've back in Two. He understood his father's death now, so why was the loss still so heavy?)

He hadn't seen anyone else since leaving Tomo's alliance two days prior. That was probably for the best, because Mercury wasn't sure what he'd do if he ran into another tribute. Kill them? Did he even have that in him anymore?

(Probably not.)

No, it was just him and the horizon now. Maybe if he kept walking toward it, he'd find something new. Maybe he'd find an answer to this whole mess. Maybe Tomo would walk up and say Sorry, Mercury, you were right all along and my father's a piece of evil murdering trash! That would be nice.

So he kept walking.

How many are left? he wondered to himself. He'd heard another cannon go off earlier, but the sun hadn't fully set yet, so he wasn't sure who it belonged to. He did see Aveline and another girl in the sky last night. Seeing Aveline kind of sucked, but then he remembered his departure from the alliance and decided not to feel too sorry for her. After all, another cannon was another step closer to returning to Two. Even better that he didn't have to face her himself.

He squinted at the horizon. The sun was more than half gone. He probably needed to find a spot to spend the night soon. He'd slept right in the open the previous few nights and found no trouble. He'd probably do the same tonight-

"Help!"

Mercury stopped in his tracks, looking around for the source of the call.

Then it rang out again, high-pitched and panicky- "Help me!"

Without thinking about it too hard, Mercury started jogging toward where he heard the voice. It almost sounded like it was coming from a hill itself, but that didn't make sense, because it also sounded like a girl. A younger one- maybe one of the small ones from Five or Twelve?

"I'm stuck!" the girl's voice screeched. "Someone! Please!"

That was when Mercury saw the hole in the side of the hill, just big enough for a person to fit inside. He slowed down a bit, peering at it cautiously.

"Hello?" the girl cried. "Is someone there?"

The voice was definitely coming from the hole. Mercury froze.

(What was he gonna do here? He should probably kill this girl, right? That was definitely what Qibli wanted him to do, but… what was the point? He could just walk away, find a new spot to sleep.)

(But then this girl would keep screeching, and he wouldn't be able to fall asleep. Or she could get loose and come after him.

He sighed. No, he had to take care of this now. He'd make it quick- he was no Brizo.)

Mercury took a few steps closer. The sun was still up, but barely, and he could see that the hole didn't lead straight out in front of him- it led down. And now that dusk was beginning to settle, he could also see a faint light down there, glimmering in the depths.

What the hell…?

"I can hear someone," the girl said. "Please- I'll give you half my food, just help me."

Mercury ducked his head and slunk forward, one hand firm around his baseball bat. After a few steps, he was suddenly real glad he wasn't one of those guys who got antsy in small spaces. He took another dozen steps, and discovered the hole was no hole at all: it was a tunnel. And it was taking him down, down, down.

Thankfully, whoever was already down here had a light. At one point, the tunnel forked off, and Mercury couldn't help but stare into the darkness. How many of these things were there? Was this why finding tributes was so damn hard when he was still with the Careers?

But he turned away and kept going toward the girl and her light. He knew it was definitely her, because he was close enough that he could hear her crying.

Then the tunnel straightened out, and he could see her. Tear tracks stained her ruddy cheeks, making her big blue eyes look even bluer. Dark brown hair, the same color Jupi's used to be, was knotted into two tousled braids, and her hat was askew. She sat on the ground next to a flickering lantern, wrestling with a rope around her ankle- until she looked up and saw Mercury.

"Oh, thank goodness," she sobbed. "I- I was tryin' to make a t-trap here so I could catch some f-food, but I forgot where I put it and s-stepped in it, and now I'm stuck. My d-dad's a hunter, see, and I thought I c-could do it like he does, b-but- but of course not." Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. "D-Do you have a knife? To c-cut me l-loose?"

"Uh… sure," Mercury said, shifting his weight from foot to foot. He took a few steps closer, bracing himself. Just one quick hit, maybe two, and he'd get the hell outta this hole.

Meanwhile, the girl kept crying. "Thank you," she wept. "I thought I'd- I d-don't know, I w-would starve down h-here-"

Mercury closed the distance between them quickly, his fingers white around his bat. He looked down at her, his mouth pressed into one grim line.

(He shouldn't have been looking at her. He should've been looking into the darkness behind her.)

Mercury lifted the bat, gritting his teeth. "Sorry 'bout this."

The girl's face changed. The tears vanished, and the corners of her mouth lifted, and her eyebrows eased apart. "Now!"

Just before Mercury could swing, something- no, someone- vaulted out of the darkness. Something slammed into his head, and he fell to his knees, his eyes already rolling back in his head.

The last thing he heard before passing out was a boy's voice, low and rough. "This one will do just fine."

Then Mercury collapsed.

His head ached.

Mercury forced his eyes open. He was lying down, and it was too dark to see much. His ears rang. He lifted his head- god, it was heavy- and tried to reach for where he'd dropped his baseball bat. But as soon as he tried to move his arm, he found it had been tied back with something thick and heavy. So had his other arm. And his ankles. Somewhere far in the back of his mind, he knew he should be panicking right now, but his head was so foggy he couldn't think straight.

A lantern appeared a few inches above his face. Mercury flinched back. "He's awake," the girl's voice said.

Mercury blinked furiously, trying to make his eyes adjust. They weren't in the same tunnel anymore. They were somewhere bigger now, enough that the girl's voice could echo.

"Where…" Mercury muttered.

The girl gave him a swift kick in the side. Mercury grunted, suddenly much more awake now. "What the fuck!"

Another figure appeared on his other side. This one was taller and lankier, and he wore a grin, his teeth glinting in the lantern light. He crouched down to Mercury's level. "I hope you're ready for this," he murmured, running the back of his forefinger along Mercury's jaw.

Mercury wrenched his head away from the boy, his lips pulling back into a grimace. "What the fuck?"

"Don't worry," the boy crooned. "It's all for Them. Your sacrifice will be remembered for generations. Your life will strengthen the Spirit of the Forest, along with the countless other souls who have already joined her. Be at peace."

Mercury's eyes widened. He looked at the girl, but her face was impassive.

"Let me go," Mercury said, pulling at his bindings. He twisted his head to the side, trying to figure out what he was tied to, and found a metal rail at each wrist. "Let me go!"

The boy's eyes fluttered shut. While Mercury continued yanking at his wrists and ankles and screeching, he mumbled something that sounded like chanting. The girl stood by all the while, holding the lantern. After several minutes, the boy's eyes opened again. He raised his arms. "For the Spirit!"

"For the Spirit," the girl echoed in a monotone.

The boy leaned forward, pulling a stick from his pocket. It had been sharpened to a fine point, and to Mercury's horror, the boy began dragging it along Mercury's cheeks. Mercury tilted his head back and forth, trying to get away, but the boy was resolute.

"I've always loved the runes," the boy mumbled, focused on his work. God, was he drawing on him? Mercury's cheeks stung. "They're so beautiful, don't you think?"

"Stop!" Mercury shouted.

"Stop moving," the boy tsked. "You'll ruin the design."

Mercury did not stop moving, and the boy did not stop carving into Mercury's face. After another long minute, he finally stepped back, satisfied, and turned to the girl. "I will go enact the final step," he told her. "Don't let him loose."

"I won't," she scoffed.

He smiled, and a chill ran up Mercury's spine. Then he disappeared into the darkness.

Mercury turned to the girl. "Let me go," he begged.

She tilted her head. "What? Because you were gonna 'help' me?"

"I, well-" Mercury stammered. "I-"

"I'm not stupid," the girl replied. "I saw you. Thanks for the bat, by the way."

She held it up so he could see, swinging it once experimentally before settling it on her shoulder.

"If you let me go I'll let you keep it," Mercury tried.

"I'll keep it either way," she pointed out.

"Then- uh-"

"I could see the ghost walking behind you," she said. "Nah, you're a threat. Threats gotta be taken care of."

"Nine?" Mercury asked. "No, no, that was a misunderstanding, I was trying to help Nine-"

The girl glanced up, to where the Nine girl was no doubt lingering behind his head. "Yeah. Sure."

"I was!" Mercury insisted. "C'mon- please-"

"Please," she mocked. "Yeah, no. Trust me, this could be a lot worse. I talked him out of chopping your legs off."

Mercury's heart leaped to his throat. "I-"

"Just sit tight," she told him.

"It's too soon," he pleaded. "I- I can't let Jupi down already..."

She blew a breath out through her mouth. "Well, should've thought of that sooner, I guess."

She turned away, swinging the lantern with her. "Aescelin?"

"Just one more moment," the boy called back, his voice echoing off the cavern walls.

Mercury squeezed his eyes shut.

(He was going to die. He was sure of it.)

A clang rang out through the cave.

(Would he change this? Was coming here- to the Capitol, to the arena- worth it?)

There was a horrible creaking noise. Metal ground against metal.

(He'd wanted to find out the truth about his dad's death so that Mercury could find justice. So that maybe Mercury wouldn't make the same mistakes. So that he wouldn't once again force someone else to screw up on his behalf, like his brother Jupiter.)

Clang. Clang.

(But maybe his dad didn't make a mistake. Maybe Jupiter didn't screw up. Maybe they both knew what they were doing all along.)

A shout of triumph sounded from somewhere… above?

(Maybe all they did was make a painful choice. His dad risked it all to run Prazdny out of Two. His brother stepped in front of Mercury to take that bullet.)

A whoosh.

(And if Mercury, knowing he'd make the decision to come here and find out the truth all over again, could understand anything…

…maybe he could understand that.)

(Yeah. He'd do it all over again.)

He closed his eyes.

For a moment, there was nothing but the worst pain he'd ever felt. Skin ripped, muscles tore, bones shattered into a thousand shards.

Then there was nothing.

Valentina Gammon, 16

District 7, She/Her

10:44 PM

The mine cart cleaved through the Career boy's torso, rolling a few more feet down the track before coming to a halt, its momentum interrupted by the Career's body. The ghost girl, mauled to pieces and eyes vacant, faded into the darkness.

Boom.

Valentina wrinkled her nose. Messy. She was glad she'd stepped back before Aescelin sent the mine cart down the track.

Speaking of her district partner, he came running in only a moment later, smiling wider than Valentina had ever seen him. "That was brilliant," he exclaimed, taking in the scene. The Career's body was gushing blood all over the mine cart tracks and the ground. Valentina didn't particularly mind all the blood, because that at least meant there was too much of a mess to see any of his bones or organs clearly. She had no interest in seeing any of that.

Meanwhile, Aescelin lingered over the corpse, tapping his fingers together. "Yes, yes," he muttered. He said something else, something that sounded a lot like "his blood nourishes the Spirit's earth as we speak," but Valentina tuned him out for her own sake.

(Frankly, she was just glad they'd managed to get a kill. Their plan had worked, and on a Career, no less. Hopefully they'd get some sponsor gifts from this- a proper weapon, maybe, or more matches, or more medical supplies.)

(Looking at the carnage, part of her wondered if past Valentina, seeing this, would've still talked to him back on the train. Yes, this was disgusting, but they just took down a Career together. They put on a show for the Capitol and showed they were real contenders all in one fell swoop.)

(Yeah, she probably would.)

Valentina waited a few more minutes, letting him revel in whatever the hell he was reveling in before interrupting him. "Ready?"

He turned. "Hm?"

"We should get out of here so they can get the body," Valentina said, gesturing to the corpse.

He nodded. "Right. The Spirit will want to claim it."

"...Right," Valentina replied. "And moving the cart was louder than I thought it would be. We might've caught someone else's attention. Also, I was thinking we could go outside. See if we earned any gifts."

"Wise. The Spirit will reward us for our deeds," he said.

Valentina stared at him for a moment before forgetting to play her part. Had he forgotten they were in the Games at all? That it was the Capitol collecting bodies, and Acadia sending them sponsor gifts?

…Should she even be surprised?

(God, what the fuck was wrong with this kid?)

"Yes," Valentina said, hoping he didn't notice her pause.

He'd already turned, surveying the cave they'd set their trap in. "Do you think we could use it again?" he asked.

"I don't know," she replied. "We'd have to find a way to get the mine cart back to the top."

"Pushing it would be difficult, yes," he mused. "Very well. We can do things the old-fashioned way next time."

Valentina frowned. "And that means…?"

He flashed a smile. "Oh, you'll see soon enough, dear Valentina," he replied.

Her skin crawled. "You have to tell me at some point so we can make a plan."

He waved a hand. "I will, I will. Alas, for tonight- may we dance in the Spirit's blessing."

"You can do that. I'll be clearing out of this cave now," Valentina told him. "Are you coming or not?"

"Just one moment."

Valentina rolled her eyes as Aescelin bowed his head, his lips moving in fervent prayer. She took the opportunity to test the baseball bat- she'd never played baseball before, but it seemed fairly intuitive. Hands on the thinner end, swing it at who she wanted to hit. That was good enough, right?

(She'd never had time for things like baseball. Barbeque had always consumed her free time, and that was the way Tina liked it. Barbeque had rules, logic. Barbeque was something she was good at, and she'd been so close to snatching first place before she was Reaped. Barbeque made sense-)

"All for Your glory, Spirit," Aescelin exclaimed, making Valentina jump.

"Alright," she said, barely holding back her irritation. "Let's get outta here."

Aescelin ignored her, keeping his eyes closed while tracing some kind of shape in the air and humming.

(She took a deep breath. She'd made it four days with this freak. She could hang in there a little longer. Valentina had no intention of becoming the next body tied to that mine cart track, and that was exactly where starting a fight with Aescelin about his stupid Spirit would get her.)

He opened his eyes. "Let us depart."

Valentina plastered on a smile. "Great idea. Let's go."

Mendi Navar, 14

District 12, She/Her

10:53 PM

Mendi sat upright as the cannon fire echoed in her ears, trying to rapidly blink the sleep out of her eyes. She looked at Patrek, her heart racing.

"I didn't hear any fighting," he told her, keeping his voice to a whisper. "We should be okay here, I think."

Mendi nodded slowly, wrapping her arms around her torso and hugging herself.

"Second one today," he muttered. "That's, what… fifteen of us now?"

"I think so," she answered.

Patrek exhaled. "Huh."

Mendi rested her chin on top of her knees and looked out at the river. It was a clear night, and while the river was too quick to reflect anything like a mirror would, the water was glassy and black. She could hear frogs and bugs, and she could see the moon overhead. The days in the arena were hot and sunny- she was definitely getting too much sun, because her face and the back of her neck were flaky and itchy- but nights were nice and cool. Mendi had never slept out in the open air before the arena. She'd always slept in her room.

(Or, for the last few months, in Mother's.)

Patrek hugged a knee to his chest. "Do you think anyone's watching right now?" he asked.

Her brow furrowed.

"They'll see highlights in the morning, right?" he continued. "They'll probably see stuff about whoever died just now. But I've been wondering lately how much of the slow stuff they see."

Mendi considered this. As intense as the Games were, things had been fairly quiet so far. She and Patrek spent a lot of time sitting around and listening, or looking for food, or purifying water. But mostly they were silently keeping watch. The first day was awful- Tiernan's ghost reminded her of that every chance he got- and their near run-in with the two tributes a few days ago was scary, but otherwise… things were quiet.

"Who knows," Patrek shrugged. "Maybe they went to bed anyway. Maybe it doesn't matter."

Mendi craned her neck so she could look right up at the sky. "I… I don't think anyone's watching me," she murmured.

"Oh," Patrek said. "What about your Mentor?"

"Maybe."

"It's her job. I'd hope she's paying attention."

Mendi thought back to the night before the Games. No matter what happens in there, I'll be rooting for you, Sienna had told her. And Sienna was right about getting away from Tiernan- which Mendi still wanted to do more than anything else- but he wouldn't leave her alone. His dead eyes still stared at her, accusing her of so many things she hadn't done. That her father hadn't done either.

(She knew that there were far more people like Tiernan watching her in the Games than people like Sienna.)

Mendi sighed.

"I hope Grover's watching," Patrek said. "And I hope my family's asleep."

"Family?" Mendi asked.

He nodded. "My parents, and my little sister, and my older brother and his wife."

"That's a big family," Mendi said.

"Used to be bigger," Patrek muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing," he said quickly. "I just… I hope they're okay. My, um, my dad's not doing very well, so… yeah. I hope everyone's okay."

Mendi watched him closely. His gaze flicked to the dirt, and he pulled in his outstretched leg to hug both knees now. It was hard to make out much of his face in the shadows. Before she could say anything else, he changed the subject. "Is it just you and your parents in Twelve?"

Mendi couldn't remember the last time someone used present tense for her family. She nodded. "Yes. Me and Father and Mother."

"Cool," he said.

She thought of the house she'd stayed in, waiting, all those months. "I miss Father's garden," she murmured.

"Garden?" he asked.

"Yes. He gardens a lot. Replants things and tries to make them grow," Mendi answered. It was never wildly successful, which Father said was because of all the pollution. But she liked that he tried nonetheless, and she liked that he let her help.

"Back in Eleven, I worked in the greenhouses," he told her. "It was like indoor gardening all day long."

Mendi tried to picture that. Gardening without kneeling in dirt and hunching over plants to pick the bugs off while the sun beat down on her back. She didn't get very far. "Wow."

"Could've been a lot worse," Patrek said. "It's Eleven. But I didn't mind it."

They sat there silently for a long moment. Mendi kept trying to picture gardening indoors. She was sure she wasn't doing it right, but she liked the sound of a house full of windows and plants. She'd been in that dead house so long-

(-no, not dead, just waiting-)

(-not dead not dead not dead-)

-with its drawn curtains and gathering dust, that it was nice to remember it differently.

"If I win the money," Patrek said, "once I get a cure for my dad, maybe I'll take home all the plants from work and make a garden. My mom can help me, and we can grow food, too, like tomatoes."

"Me too," Mendi said, imagining her mother by her side, plucking a ripe tomato from a vine. The sun would be warm on her skin, and her mother would laugh and she would be there, right next to her.

Her eyelids started to get heavy again as she thought of her mother. Her mother would hum while she picked the tomatoes, and she'd have a wide basket for them because Mendi and Father would grow so many. The neighbors would come by, asking for some, and Father would shoo them away without a word, leaving the Navars in peace.

Mendi slid back onto her elbows. Patrek noticed. "'Night, Mendi. I'll wake you up in a few hours."

Mendi didn't reply, too far into her fantasies to pay him any mind.

The last thing she imagined as she laid her head against the dirt again was her mother tucking her in. Her mother pulled a blanket over Mendi and pushed a stray piece of hair behind Mendi's ear.

Mendi smiled to herself and fell asleep.

(24th: rumi valmorida, d10 (killed by brizo windrake))
17th: brizo windrake, d4 (killed by tisiphone fotis)
16th: mercury vidovic, d2 (killed by aescelin ibbara-ixtal)

kills:

aveline: 1
bastet: 1
mercury: 1
tisiphone: 2
brizo: 1
aescelin: 1
jem: 1
mendi: 1

alliances:

wisdom, jest, tomo, jude, jem, chevre
invincible, bastet, tisiphone
chase and fleur
valentina and aescelin
patrek and mendi

featured ghosts:

true mckellar, d8, fool's gold (killed by tisiphone fotis)
shazia burnell, d9, fool's gold (killed by mercury vidovic)
tiernan merle, d12, fool's gold (killed by mendi navar)

thank you to dyl and phobie for brizo and merc! brizo was the last career i received, and the amount of accidental enabling in that form was incredible. the pregames kill truly could not have happened without him being Like That and i appreciate it so much. i don't think this answer is super surprising to many of you but hey i hope it was fun anyways! i really don't know why dyl nerfed him like that but damn it was awesome. merc also provided some very fun moments that were thankfully usually less violent. sorry i kept implying you murdered rumi that's on me. you were simply, as your father was, a scapegoat in the wrong place at the wrong time. isn't that a fun parallel? i think so!

anyway, that brings us to the end of phase one! hooray! can't wait to kick off phase two :D

thank you to goldie for betaing and blog will be updated soon!

rb