Hi everyone, and welcome to the newest chapter! This one was originally going to have an extra scene, in which a certain member of Nessa's team has a backstory of their own revealed, but in the end I realized that including it would have made the chapter too long. So you won't be seeing it until the next chapter. You will, however, be able to see whether or not Thresh and Clove survive their encounter with the Peacekeepers in that factory, along with some drama amongst certain other characters ;) So, without further ado, let's get started!
Roses Are White, Violets Are Blue; I've Got A Secret And So Do You
Nessa and her current companions ended up smuggling not two, but five Peacekeeper suits from the room they reunited in. Two of them were for Thresh and Clove for after they found them, and the third one was for the husband of the evacuees' new ally, Twill (who decided to wear the first two extra suits under her own for now so the real Peacekeepers wouldn't suspect anything). They just hoped they'd be able to locate the duo before the Peacekeepers finished them off—or at least before they finished Thresh off. Nobody knew for sure what would be in store for Clove if the wicked soldiers caught her, considering the fact that despite being forced to send tributes of their own to compete in the Hunger Games, District 2 seemed to be the Capitol's favourite district. But they knew one thing for sure: whether they liked it or not, they needed her on their team. Which meant that even if she hadn't exactly won anyone over, they still had to save her.
Luckily, Thresh and Clove—and therefore the Peacekeepers that were after them as well—had apparently gone into a stairwell and used it to get to a lower level of the factory at some point before Nessa and those with her left the room they'd met up in, giving Twill plenty of time to lead the team through the hallway and to the very end of it. That, as her new allies soon discovered, was where the helmet wing was; the part of the building her husband worked in.
They didn't take much time, knowing how little they had. The moment they entered the right room and found him, Twill simply told her husband—a tall man with slightly spiky chestnut-coloured hair and a moustache that looked like it had only just begun to bloom—everything she'd learned from Nessa, Rue, and Fern, along with the plan she'd already explained to the trio, while simultaneously tossing him one of the extra Peacekeeper outfits so he could put it on as she spoke. Then, once they were both finished their respective tasks, he grabbed one of the finished Peacekeeper helmets (which, unlike many Peacekeeper helmets, contained a black translucent shield that could easily hide its wearer's face) and put it on as well, before taking two more that looked exactly identical to the first and giving to his wife and Nessa. After that, they hid two more helmets in Rue's backpack before the team, now with him in it too, dashed out of the room to look for the stairwell. For the sake of saving time, it wasn't until then that Twill finally revealed to the other present females that her husband's name was Patch.
The group had just entered the second-highest level of the factory when the building's foundations were shaken by a third explosion that thankfully was also far enough away from them to hurt them. Although this one was slightly stronger than the first two, and once it transpired, Fern was briefly knocked to her knees as the impact happened. Fear in her eyes, she wondered aloud, "What are the Peacekeepers doing?!"
"Hitting the more complex manufactory machines every now and then by mistake," Patch replied, having apparently witnessed just enough of the current ordeal between Thresh, Clove, and the Peacekeepers to know what was causing the occasional explosions. "The stronger present ally of yours…ours…is quite agile, and the machines all happened to be accidentally struck in exactly the right places. I'm just thankful that the rooms we needed weren't as close to the ones the accidents happened to happen in."
"So how are you going to get the real Peacekeepers to let us handle Thresh and Clove?" Rue inquired. "None of us have any…airplane engines…" She stiffened, hoping Twill and Patch knew she was really talking about blasters and was just trying to keep it clean for Nessa's sake.
Luckily, both adults seemed to realize what she meant right away, because neither of them appeared confused by what she said for even a second. Even more luckily, Patch was able to come up with an answer to her question within half a minute.
No matter how many directions he veered down, or how fast he went, it seemed impossible for Thresh to truly lose the Peacekeepers. They were just too good at staying more-or-less hot on his heels, and every time a missed gunfire aimed for him ended up striking a textile-producing machine instead, causing it to explode, it would take all he had to get far enough away from the impact to avoid getting struck himself. At this point he was strongly hoping that he'd make a turn down the hall and happen to come across a hiding place of some kind. One he could dart behind just before the Peacekeepers made the turn as well and the possibility of them regaining sight of him and Two once again came up. And that such an event would happen soon.
Clove, meanwhile, was in utter shock. Why were the Peacekeepers trying to end Thresh's life by endangering hers?! Didn't they recognize her? Didn't they know she was the Capitol's only hope of catching up to the evacuees and now Eleven Girl's siblings? At least 24 hours must have passed since she'd first been assigned with her mission, and that was more than enough time for President Snow to give every Peacekeeper in Panem a live virtual announcement about it that was only accessible to them! Why weren't they making any effort to save her first—and THEN take care of him?!
Her surprise and anger increased as she glanced behind her, only to see those careless soldiers still chasing after them. They weren't shooting at them now, but she could see some of the Peacekeepers fumbling with their weapons, seemingly trying to reload them with ammo. The rest of the troop simply ran, blasters aimed but not in the process of firing. There didn't seem to be any trace of care or mercy in their eyes, and as this fact registered with her, Clove caught herself considering the possibility that President Snow had set her up for failure. That he'd secretly not cared about her feelings at all, only been focused on his anger at her for allowing Nessa to replace her as a tribute and then "cheating to help Cato win the Games," and had deliberately kept the deal they'd made a secret so it would look like she really did want to be part of the rebels' team.
Wait, what?! Where did a thought like THAT come from? The Capitol couldn't have been more generous to District 2 all these years! For as long as she could remember, her hometown had been blessed in many ways: being one of the wealthiest and healthiest districts, always being guaranteed a victor or at least one or two roles in the final rounds of each year's Hunger Games thanks to the training classes thousands of people including her had had access to since long before their twelfth birthdays, and even being entrusted with District 13's former responsibilities when Districts 3 and 6 could have just as easily been chosen to take them up! President Snow probably just had more faith in her than he did in the districts' Peacekeepers and kept her mission a secret from them so they wouldn't get jealous of her.
Yeah, that had to be the case. He'd even said so himself right before giving her the task she was here to complete—he doubted the Capitol's remaining Peacekeepers would be too helpful after many of their own had been killed in the Games by some of the evacuees! He wasn't trying to double-cross her; he just didn't want the Peacekeepers to even come close to suspecting he no longer had faith in them. Those soldiers were pretty brawn after all; even more (a lot more actually; she couldn't remember a time when even one Peacekeeper had attacked without making an elaborate plan first) brawn than Cato had been. If they found out their boss believed in her, a fresh tribute whose skills they hadn't even seen yet, more than he believed in them, they would really lose their tempers. They might even kill her; not for breaking any laws, but simply out of spite and jealousy. Yup—she was now a hundred percent confident that that was what was going on. She'd just have to (reluctantly) rely on Thresh for protection and desperately hope that neither of them would be harmed by gunfire.
Luckily, Thresh eventually did find a convenient hiding place—a large utility wagon containing a pile of Peacekeeper uniforms an inch taller than itself—in the exact good spot he was hoping for, and he managed to make his turn and dive behind it just in time. After positioning himself and his companion so they were both completely hidden by the wagon and its contents, he swiftly pressed his hand over Two's mouth as he silently tried to slow his breathing, while simultaneously clenching his other hand into a fist and aiming it at her face. He didn't attack her though; he was just letting her know that if she dared make any noise, she'd be dead by the time the Peacekeepers pulled them out of hiding.
Unfortunately, the Peacekeepers didn't exactly react the way the powerful tribute had hoped. When they got to the area on the other side of the wagon, only half of the troop continued dashing down the hall while the other half, under the immediate order of one of their own, stayed where they now were and closely studied the utility wagon. Silence filled the space, and when four seconds passed and nothing happened, two of the Peacekeepers began walking toward the wagon, their quick and sharp footsteps making it clear that if they looked behind the cart and found their targets there, the consequences would be far from pleasant.
Clove's eyes widened in panic. She wasn't mad at President Snow for not telling the Peacekeepers about the real reason why she was here; in fact, she greatly admired him for trusting and believing in her this much. Yet that did nothing to decrease her fear that her life—and therefore her mission to get revenge—was possibly about to be cut short. Of course there was still that chance she'd have the opportunity to beg the Peacekeepers for mercy and get them to only kill Thresh, but she wasn't about to let her knowledge of that make her overconfident. She'd learned from fourteen years of watching various Hunger Games footages that sooner or later at least two Careers (and even sometimes a non-Career or two) in the current arena would become overconfident, and it would always lead to their ultimate demise. She knew better than to make the same mistake that they'd made.
The Peacekeepers were now right in front of the utility wagon. Immediately two of them each attached their blaster to their belt, then shoved the wagon aside, revealing the two people behind it. However, before Thresh and Clove could be dealt with in any way, some extra footsteps were heard from the direction the duo had come from, and they along with the Peacekeepers turned to find a (in Thresh's case at least, though he didn't dare show it) worrying scene: three more Peacekeepers, two of whom were stiffly escorting Rue and Fern forward. Though, strangely, unlike the Peacekeepers that had just cornered Thresh and Clove, these ones had no weapons.
"Sorry we're late on the case," said the Peacekeeper holding Rue. "We caught two employees at this factory trying to rewire one of the machines on Level One, but they escaped before we could apprehend them. Then the machine incinerated our weapons. But thankfully, we did manage to capture the kids that snuck into one of the vents upstairs." He gestured toward his captive and her sister, in a triumphant but nervous fashion.
The Peacekeepers with Thresh and Clove looked surprised and confused, seeming to recognize Rue as one of the tributes who had been busted out of the arena. One of them, who was among those that had shoved the wagon aside, said, "I don't remember paging you in particular about the incident upstairs."
Another Peacekeeper nodded. "And anyhow, if you lost your weapons, why did you choose to tell us in person when you could have used your walkie-talkies?"
"True," agreed the first Peacekeeper, sneering threateningly at the weaponless trio of soldiers. "That would have saved us some time. You know very well that even Peacekeepers can be made into Avoxes should they perform their duties disappointingly enough…"
The Peacekeeper who had Fern replied (in a deep but almost feminine voice, the group couldn't help noticing), "Please, comrades, cut us some slack! We may have lost our weapons to a rewired machine and our walkie-talkies to these stealthy girls here who thought it would be funny to throw them out the nearest window, but we still caught them and brought them to you! Isn't that what matters?"
The first and second of the Peacekeepers with Thresh and Clove seemed to reluctantly realize this soldier's point. They looked at each other, not saying anything but clearly wondering how to handle the situation. Yet another tense silence quickly filled the area, and the evacuees' team's two strongest links stiffened. An agonizing ten seconds passed, and Thresh caught the third weaponless Peacekeeper—the one that wasn't holding an ally of his prisoner—slowly stepping back in apparent fear. Not exactly something he could imagine a Peacekeeper doing even in this type of scenario, but he almost instantly shook that thought off. There were more important parts of the current scenario to worry about.
Eventually the first and second of the taken-aback Peacekeepers turned their attention back to their newly-arrived teammates, a decision made. "Alright," said the second soldier, "Manny, Tex, Frankie, you can have a reprieve. But only because you succeeded in capturing one of the escaped tributes and one of the fugitives responsible for the recent uprising in District 11. And you are not to tell anyone that we decided to let this slide, understood?"
The first Peacekeeper nodded in agreement, after the weaponless ones did. "We'll have the rest of our troop handle those machine saboteurs for you while we're," he gestured to himself and the second Peacekeeper as he said that part, "busy helping you take them, and these two," he pointed at Thresh and Clove, "to the Capitol. I don't know why President Snow didn't put up any holographic wanted posters of these guys once they got out of the arena, we honestly thought it was because the Capitol's Peacekeepers got them already. I guess not though."
Then the Peacekeepers who were put in charge of the "machine saboteurs" left the scene, while the first two swiftly bent down and, despite the latter's best efforts to fight his way out of their hold, successfully managed to apprehend Thresh. However, the moment they had him in their clutches, Clove witnessed something that, compared to anything she could think of really, was completely unexpected. When Thresh and his other assailant's backs were turned and everyone else was too focused on the former to pay attention to her, the first Peacekeeper turned to face her ever so briefly and winked at her. Not in a mocking or even flirtatious way, but in a furtive, reassuring way. As if he was trying to maintain an act and only wanted her to know it…
Clove's heart skipped a beat. He did know about her secret mission! The District 8 Peacekeepers all knew! But wait. If they knew she was trying to help the authorities capture Nessa and her teammates, then why did they try to kill her just…and then she realized the truth. The Peacekeepers hadn't been trying to kill her at all. They'd just made it look like they were so that Thresh and everyone else involved in the evacuation attempt would think she really was just as much of a fugitive as they were. That way they'd trust her more easily, which would prevent them from doing anything bad to her until the Capitol's Peacekeepers caught up to them! Because of course the districts' Peacekeepers wouldn't be able to capture them themselves—if they tried doing that, they wouldn't be able to prevent or at the very least punish other kinds of uprisings like the one caused by those machine saboteurs not too long ago!
The Career jumped as she felt someone lift her to her feet, snapping her back to the present. Turning around slightly, she saw a Peacekeeper—definitely the weaponless one who hadn't shown up holding someone prisoner himself—pulling her into his clutches. He then escorted her toward the Peacekeepers that had Rue and Fern, and together, they along with a struggling Thresh and the two Peacekeepers that had him headed back to the stairwell, this time skipping the next level and going all the way to the very last one. Next, they exited the factory through its front entrance and began walking away from it, led by the Peacekeepers holding the youngest two prisoners. Seven minutes went by, and the group turned into an alleyway that was completely deserted. Not even any other Peacekeepers were there.
The first Peacekeeper who'd intercepted Thresh and Clove earlier cleared his throat loudly. "I assume that despite your dimwitted efforts to deal with a tampered machine you remember that this is not the right way to the District 8 Peacekeeper station?"
"Oh," said the Peacekeeper holding Rue, in a surprisingly playful tone, "it isn't? How silly of us." And then, much to the shock of Thresh, Clove, and the Peacekeepers holding the former, Rue was released, and her captor rushed forward and yanked the soldier that had criticized him away from Thresh. He then tried to punch him in the face, but just in time, his target grabbed his fist and not only pushed it backward, but also (surprisingly easily) shoved his attacker off his feet and onto the ground. This bought Thresh just enough time to take advantage of his remaining captor's surprise to see this and steal his blaster, which he was able to toss to his district partner right before his captor began to wrestle with him, trying by all means to subdue him somehow.
As Rue managed to catch the blaster without accidentally setting it off, Clove blinked at the sight before her eyes in disbelief—and then gasped as the Peacekeeper holding Fern released his captive as well before dashing forward and throwing himself on top of the Peacekeeper attacking Thresh. An even more unexpected surprise was that, as this soldier leapt toward that fight, he let out a loud grunt that was way too feminine to have possibly come from a man. It was a female Peacekeeper! Wait, what?! Was there even such a thing? As far as Clove knew, only men ever took up Peacekeeper jobs…and then, as she watched the second ambushed Peacekeeper pausing his attack on Thresh and starting to fumble with the woman instead, she felt her own captor let go of her. But instead of joining either of the fights going on in front of them, the soldier just stood there and worriedly shouted, "Oh, I can't take it anymore! STOP TRYING TO HURT EACH OTHER!"
Thresh, Clove, and the two ambushed Peacekeepers froze and spun around, dumbfounded. That was Nessa's voice! And before the ambushed soldiers had a chance to realize that Rue, Fern, and the two Peacekeepers on their side didn't seem one bit surprised by the revelation, the female soldier (if she really was part of that force) quickly scurried off of her opponent, who was then whacked in the face by Thresh hard enough to knock him out cold. He then went over, pulled the other Peacekeeper off of the one who'd started all the fighting, and repeated the action with him before he could react. He then confiscated his blaster, and suddenly, all became quiet, with the only noise transpiring being Thresh and his unexpected new allies' heavy breathing as they recovered from the big double battle.
Everyone simply stood there, waiting, half-expecting the unconscious Peacekeepers to suddenly jump up and reveal they only faked getting knocked out; an event that thankfully didn't happen. It wasn't until twenty seconds passed that Nessa finally broke the silence by asking, "C…can I open my eyes now?"
Still holding the blaster Thresh had tossed to her, Rue quietly inquired, "How…how long were they even closed?"
"I closed them as soon as Patch pulled that Peacekeeper away from Thresh," Nessa said, taking off her helmet.
"Patch?" Clove asked, confused. The remaining "Peacekeepers" then removed their helmets as well, and Rue finally explained to her and Thresh that she and Fern (and Nessa) hadn't really been held captive by any Peacekeepers while they'd been separated from them. What had actually happened was that, after the encounter between the large group of Peacekeepers and Thresh and Clove had begun, the trio had reunited and encountered Twill, a woman who worked at the Peacekeeper suit-making factory that, like her husband Patch and many other residents of District 8, was interested in starting a rebellion against the Capitol. She'd mentioned that the rebellion she had in mind "had its differences compared to Nessa's," but she hadn't had enough time to explain these differences because they'd needed to go save Thresh and Clove. They had then stolen some Peacekeeper uniforms from the room they'd met up in, recruited Patch, who had supplied them with their helmets, and eventually tracked down Thresh and Clove.
"Speaking of the suits we stole, you can have the two extra ones now," concluded Twill. She removed the two extra suits she'd put on and tossed one to Thresh and the other to Clove, but kept her own suit on. Rue, meanwhile, gave the blaster to Patch, unzipped her backpack, and handed the last two helmets to their newly-rescued allies.
Thresh wasted no time in suiting up, but Clove simply studied the Peacekeeper uniform she received, hesitating. "Uh…isn't this a little big?"
"She's right," Nessa realized. "It's very big! Even bigger than her…"
"I know it's not exactly the best size, but it's the only size Peacekeeper uniforms come in," admitted Patch. "Twill and I can fix it so it fits you later if you want, but right now there's not enough time to do that. After what happened in there, we're better off locating Mr. and Mrs. Woolweave as soon as possible and then leaving this district."
"Oh," said Nessa, looking a little disappointed. "So…we're not taking any more dressup stuff?"
"Yeah!" Fern agreed. "If this is really the district in charge of making clothes for everyone in Panem, I wanna see what the real clothes here are like! I've never dressed like a rich person before, and I don't wanna have to get put in an arena later to do it!"
"And if we get more clothes, we'll have more disguises to try on later!" Nessa excitedly concurred, after nodding vigorously to indicate that the thought of having the opportunity to dress in more Capitolite outfits than the one (or ones) she was already wearing was just as pleasant as it was for the cheerful 9-year-old.
Clove clenched her teeth in annoyance that took all her strength to hide inside of her. If the rest of the team allowed these two to get all the clothes they wanted, then she could only imagine what kind of childish shenanigans she'd have to endure on the way to District 3. Nonstop dressup games and princess games and imitation games…oh, Nessa had better not pretend to be the very tribute she'd replaced. If she did, she SWORE that would be the last time she'd—
"Alright, we'll make a deal," decided Twill. There was a particularly heartwarming energy to her all of a sudden; as though listening to Fern and Nessa's pleas reminded her of some pleasant memories from her job as a teacher. "But first…are you planning to stop in any more places after our district to pick up your own loved ones and the rest of your alliance's?"
"The girl from 5 asked us not to seek out hers," said Rue. "But we will be going to my district, and Districts 3 and 12 too." She then caught Clove's eye and suddenly felt silly. She still didn't trust her, but in case she really had changed, she probably should have asked this question at least two hours ago. So, just in case, she did it right then and there: "Um…speaking of that topic, Clove…do you want us to pick up anyone you know too?"
Way to wait until we already passed my district, the closest one to the Capitol, to ask that question, Clove condescendingly thought. But she wasn't saying this in her head because she was hurt or anything. She already knew nobody here had really warmed up to her, and that they all only knew every district's location because Foxface had told them after gaining access to a map of Panem at some point before the Games had begun. So there was a chance that the tribute from 5 had just kept District 2's location to herself. Which meant mocking another member of the team for not asking a simple question until now seemed kind of pointless. Though it wasn't like the Career would have said yes anyway; everyone she knew back home practically worshipped the Hunger Games, and they most certainly felt no negative emotions toward President Snow. They'd want nothing to do with Nessa's evacuation plan, regardless of whether or not they were granted the opportunity to take part in it. Wouldn't that detail be obvious to them?
Nonetheless, Clove didn't reveal any of the rude parts of her current thoughts, and simply answered, "Yes, but…you know how District 2 is. They stand by the Capitol's side more than any of the other districts do, even 1! My family's going to turn us in or even bring us down if we invite them to tag along. So…we won't be able to include them in this."
Rue turned back to Twill, unsure of how exactly she should feel considering the circumstances surrounding Clove's true intentions and the fact that she had no way of knowing what the girl's family's might be either. "I…I guess that means we're also skipping 2."
"I see," Twill said. "Well…we cannot risk upsetting the Peacekeepers any further. So if it turns out Miss Woolweave's parents work at one of the textile factories that produces clothing for the residents of the Capitol, we'll see if we can sneak away some more disguises. If not, we can just smuggle some clothing from a factory that makes clothing for the lesser fortunate districts. But either way, you have to promise that you'll stay discreet, alright?"
"Sure!" Nessa happily replied. Fern, meanwhile, just jumped for joy and squealed a little, making her big sister chuckle.
As Geolo had feared, locating Sonia's parents did indeed take a while. As those of the rebels who were currently outside the hovercraft (this group no longer included Rue and Fern, since they were among those of its members who'd been recognized by some of the Peacekeepers of District 8; because of this and the impossibility of them being able to fit in the stolen Peacekeeper uniforms, everyone decided it would be safer if they stayed in the vehicle for the rest of their time in District 8) soon figured out, several residents of the town didn't really know much about the Woolweaves, aside from the fact that their daughter had gone from this district's freshest female tribute to a captured nation fugitive. Those weren't lies either—everyone who was disguised as a Peacekeeper could tell because everyone they asked was, even though (at Nessa's secret request) they weren't as harsh when they spoke to them and Clove's suit was noticeably loose, fooled by their getups. And the fact that the team still had the two blasters Thresh had stolen only made their act more believable.
The hijacked hovercraft, of course, trailed after them from above in camouflage mode, with everyone inside it now aware of Twill and Patch being part of their team thanks to Rue and Fern. The sisters, along with Astilbo and Toolip, were now observing every area of the vehicle's windshield, in an attempt to make things easier for their allies by scanning every visible area of District 8 and seeing if they could spot Sonia's parents. Although this was no easy task either, since they had to solely rely on the fact that they had to have some of Sonia's physical traits and Rue was the only one out of the four that knew what the tribute looked like right down to her eye colour due to her siblings having only been focused on their big sister when they were watching the 74th Hunger Games on TV back home.
As for Geolo, he did his best to focus on teaching Foxface how to work each of the hovercraft's controls, but it wasn't any easier for him. He was impressed that his pupil was a fast learner and could tell she was hiding an interest in handling machinery, but…this was the teaching he was supposed to give Sonia. She was the one who'd initially volunteered to become the hovercraft's backup driver, and she'd done it to help persuade him to let Thresh remove his tracker. And this was her district they were currently in…
Though somehow, this time he managed to stop himself from getting emotional. Maybe it was Foxface's reminders for him to keep his mind on the objective at hand, which had to come three times, or maybe it was his recent realization that once they were done in District 8, they'd be going to his own district. Which meant he'd probably have to leave the hovercraft, since only he would be able to lead the team to his mother. That meant there would have to be a backup driver available by the time they arrived at their next destination. It was best to give out his driving lessons now rather than later. Still, that didn't mean he wasn't still sad about the loss of his opponent-turned-ally…
For Foxface, however…as odd as it might sound, things actually weren't so difficult. They were in a tense situation and she wasn't exactly pleased that Geolo kept zoning out, but…while her life back in District 5 had been anything but cheerful, learning new things—especially when it involved something more complex—had always been the only comfort she'd ever known. It was an easy distraction from the pain of having a careless family and no friends, and a lonely but effective way to pass the time during the countless hours spent by herself. It was the reason why, up until right before she and Nessa had officially bonded, she'd been able to stay strong and keep herself away from the tearful outbursts and especially far away from suicidal thoughts. The things that anyone in her shoes for fifteen years would have surely experienced.
And though she refused to tell anyone this…even before the unnoticed eighth birthday that had first created her antisocial nature, learning had been a particular interest of hers. It was a weird type of fascination to have, but it was nevertheless the case. Foxface was never really cheered up all that much by analyzing and listening because she could never truly get away from how negative her home life had always been, but a feeling of tranquility was always there when she did this hobby; she could tell. Whether she was calculating which falling snowflake shape was most commonly seen, theorizing which of her district's power plants stood a greater chance of undergoing a crisis of some type based on what she heard regarding their performances (and, depending on each plant's functions, the weather), or studying the mistakes a few of her classmates made whenever they tried to steal each other's lunches or sneak out of school to take a day off (in other words, learn the exact thing they did that got them busted so she could later successfully steal homework assignments from the classes older than her own and secretly gain more learning opportunities), learning and enhancing her intellect…calmed her. Though she hadn't realized her favourite hobby stood a chance of saving her life until she became a tribute and her observations and stealthiness kept her both oriented and safe. Well, until her first night in the arena, when Nessa accidentally changed everything.
Nessa… Foxface couldn't help but glance through the windshield at the scene below them, where her first ally and those who were still with her were still searching for Sonia's parents, but didn't seem to be succeeding yet. She then shifted her gaze to Geolo, and the younger 11s, and for the first time since her emotional moment with Nessa, she found herself feeling a little awkward for an entirely new reason. Here she was, sitting next to two tributes that she thought it best to only work with and hide any admiration she felt towards them, and observing another member of her team, whom she not only admired, but had also decided to fully trust. Why did something about this scenario seem so strange? She was only playing it safe by not letting her guard down with the rest of the team, even if despite her knowledge of this, Nessa still thought that her trusting everyone else as well was a good idea.
As Geolo continued showing her which controls did what, Foxface tried her hardest to continue paying attention, but it was hard to do so with unwanted temptations to socialize starting to build up inside of her, stronger than they'd ever been back in the gymnasium. What was happening?! This was absolutely not the time to be thinking these thoughts! Sure, Rue and Geolo were admirable, but they could still betray the team! She had to stay strong…
"So I can't zone out but you can?"
Foxface dejectedly stared down at the floor. She must have forgotten to hide her distraction from her facial expression! Geolo had clearly noticed she was deeply caught up in something other than his teaching, and now he was practically calling her a hypocrite. Except he actually looked more concerned than annoyed, which might not even be the right way to describe the part of his expression that wasn't necessarily worried. As for Rue and her siblings, they were now staring at her in surprise, but the concern within the oldest girl and Toolip's eyes was undeniable. The fox-like tribute couldn't really say she blamed them for being surprised; they'd all either seen her in person or on TV, and during her time in the arena, she'd made it clear that she was the kind of person who would only zone out if she was an immense amount of pain. Which, now that a twisted ankle was her only injury, was obviously not why she'd zoned out just now.
"No," Foxface quickly said, ashamed of herself and already knowing her companions were going to stop at nothing to try and get her to admit what was on her mind once she finished her reply. "No, I cannot. Neither of us can."
Silence enveloped the hovercraft, as Geolo turned away in an apparent sadness, Foxface uncomfortably waited for her companions' interrogations to begin, and Rue, Astilbo, Fern, and Toolip simply stood there expectantly, something clearly on their minds but wanting to keep it in, likely because they had a feeling Geolo was thinking it too and thought it would be better if he brought it up.
Finally, Geolo spoke. "Maybe…maybe we should take a break from driving lessons and just focus on getting anything else that might be on our chests…off our chests. We've likely still got a lot of time before our teammates find Sonia's parents…"
"Yeah," admitted Rue. "I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but these lessons aren't going to go anywhere if you're both too caught up in…whatever you're caught up in."
Foxface stiffened. There was no way she was telling them what was on her mind this time. If she did, it would only make things more complicated between her and the majority of her allies. "No," she said, deeply hoping her refusal would get through to Geolo and the 11s. "Our most important priority is the driving lessons. We will simply have to double our efforts to maintain our focus."
"That's…that's just going to make it more stressful," Geolo told her, evidently choosing his words carefully. "At least, for me. I'm, well…the thing that's on my mind…I think it's taking so much of my focus because I haven't talked about it with anyone since it happened last night. I mean I mentioned it but I didn't really talk about what I thought of it…"
Rue sighed, wistfully. "You miss Sonia, don't you."
And just like that, Geolo's eyes watered once again. "How did you know?"
"Well, she was one of the first people you met who wanted to save your life," the twelve-year-old knowingly commented. "But out of all of us, she was the one you were on the best terms with. And last night…you got pretty emotional ever since you had to tell Sonia's mentor about her getting captured."
"Yeah," added Astilbo, nodding sheepishly. "It was like your best friend died or something."
Geolo gasped a little, and then leaned against the control panel, gripping it tightly as his crying turned to silent sobs. He'd been so preoccupied with mourning for Sonia that he'd forgotten he was also supposed to be mourning for Tally, who deserved to be mourned for just as much as she did! Neither of them had really referred to each other as best friends despite having been friends for four years, mainly out of fear that doing so would jinx their relationship and result in one of them getting reaped and the other being forced to watch them die. Yet she definitely qualified as a best friend…or rather ex-best friend after the gymnasium incident. So of course when Astilbo had said that sentence, it instantly made him think of her. She was, after all, a very close friend of his who had died. Except last night he hadn't been thinking about her during his tearful moment. He'd only thought of Sonia, which was the faithful part of the scenario. But then again, she was a friend of his that he'd only really known for less than a week. He and Tally had known each other for much longer than that.
What kind of friend am I, best or not? Geolo thought to himself, more wracked with guilt than he'd ever been since his friendship with his district partner had ended and especially after her death. Ever since we lost Sonia I've been grieving for her when there's a chance she might not even be dead! And Tally…I never really forgot about her, or the fact that she's dead, but I didn't cry for her or remember to feel sad since I saw her picture displayed with the other bloodbathed tributes'! How many times do I have to be disloyal to her?!
Astilbo realized he must have said something wrong and stepped back in regret. "Sorry," he told him. "I should have said that in a different way."
"No, it's not that," whimpered Geolo, the sound of his voice trembling more and more as each word came out. "I just…forget what I said about talking things through, I need a minute to myself…!"
And before Astilbo and the girls could say anything else, he ran into the cargo bay and ducked into the corner of the room that was farthest away from the entrance/exit of it. Once he was gone, the remainder of the group fell silent, none of them certain of what to do now other than keep their eyes on the windshield and see if they could spot anyone who might be Sonia's parents. Rue was more than tempted to go after Geolo and see what she could do to comfort him, but he wanted some space. They all needed to respect that…even though they could all hear him sobbing from where they were…
As the seconds ticked by, Foxface awkwardly stared at the control panel, feeling embarrassed and guilty. It was her mistake of getting too caught up in her thoughts that had led to Geolo running off like that, and as she realized just how important it really was that he talked about his emotions with someone before carrying on with the driving lessons, she found herself wondering how things would have played out if she'd just obeyed her companions and revealed her own. Sure, they were pretty complicated, and confessing them would probably feel a bit awkward…but Rue did have a point. The driving lessons weren't going to go anywhere if both people involved in them were too emotionally sidetracked and refusing to talk about it, and Geolo had proven what she'd said to be true by admitting that not talking about what was on his mind was starting to increase the pain he felt regarding it. Was her unusually high lack of attention a sign that the same thing would happen to her if she didn't discuss her thoughts?
Foxface heard Geolo still crying and even thought she caught him saying his district partner's name, and she sighed. This wasn't the first time he'd gotten so emotional during their adventure; she'd witnessed the breakdown he had had after the team had first decided to pick up their loved ones before leaving Panem, and then there was Rue's mention of an emotional moment he'd apparently had last night because their separation from Sonia had impacted him greatly. And now here he was grieving for her all over again, and grieving for Tally simultaneously, so mentally disoriented that he was disobeying his own advice to her despite having admitted strongly needing to follow it. He was falling apart, and something had to be done before it led him and his team to a downfall. It seemed to her that he kept getting rattled by one thing after another, and that was only going to increase until it caused an enormous problem for the evacuees and company.
The fox-like tribute glanced at the 11s, and immediately could tell by the look in Rue's eyes that she was thinking the exact same thing as she was. The two of them then glanced at the cargo bay, and then both of them wound up softly saying in unison, "We have to talk to him."
Both female tributes then realized they'd spoken the same thing at the same time and looked at each other in surprise for a moment, before Foxface quickly added, "But do not steer the subject towards me. Only focus on dealing with him."
Astilbo gave her a knowing frown and started to reply to what she said, but Fern cut in, "No. Just…no. She's not the one sobbing in the other room."
"But—"
"Forget about it, okay? Just go with me so we can talk to him."
Sighing, Astilbo obeyed his younger sister and followed her, Rue, and Toolip into the cargo bay. Foxface, however, stayed put, and not because of her twisted ankle. She just needed some time to think. She knew exactly what Astilbo had been about to say, and that the thoughts that had been distracting her were undoubtedly going to be addressed as soon as the siblings were finished helping Geolo. In case her thoughts caused her the same problem Geolo's thoughts were causing him, the best thing to do would be to persuade her to talk about them. She didn't think they would, but at the same time, she wouldn't blame the siblings for trying to get her to come clean regardless of how hard she tried to convince them to surrender. They didn't know her the way she herself did.
There was no way out, and Foxface knew it. But she couldn't simply tell the group what was on her mind—if she said she admired some of them but wasn't exactly keen on trusting any of them out loud, that would create unnecessary tensions between her and her current companions that could easily stop them from working together as efficiently as they needed to. Clove might even take advantage of the situation once she found out about it and turn the entire team against her! Or at the very least, Geolo…but still. No, she had to think of something else to say. Although, would lying really get her anywhere? Why did she have a feeling Rue would be able to tell right away if she wasn't being honest?
Foxface let her head sink into her hands, and heaved a muffled sigh. She'd had some pretty uncomfortable moments during the quest she had been swept into, but this one was by far the most awkward moment of all. Why hadn't she, like the last few times, just remembered to not let her inner emotions overtake her facial expressions?
Wow. Will Nessa and those with her ever be able to find Sonia's parents? And what will become of everyone that stayed in the hovercraft? The next chapter will hopefully have all the answers…