Thanks to owlthewriter, Dani H. Danvers, ladyqueerfoot, & FrostyShadow for the reviews. Again, moving slow on review responses due to work and wanting to plow through these chapters. Sorry!
But guess what, folks? We're done with slow chapters. We're going full speed now as the end is in sight. Enjoy!
Chapter XXXI A Shock To The System
Day 5 of the 58th Hunger Games
It was a game changing discovery and Olivia took a moment to savor it.
She had found the literal nerve center of the arena. A way to view every corner of the arena. To literally play Gamemaker in the arena… and it had been right under everyone's noses too!
She also took a moment to scoff at the Careers arrogance or stupidity. Did they know about this? If not, how on earth did they not work around the clock to get into here? The Gamemakers left a massive mystery right next to them and they just ignored it for days? The Careers truly were single minded kids, bred with only one idea on how to win before them – just go out and find and kill Tributes.
In their defense, Olivia supposed nothing like this had ever existed in an arena before. Sure, there had been plenty of arenas were Gamemakers allowed the Tributes to interact with things. She remembered that the 29th Hunger Games involved a dam that, if a Tribute got their hands on the controls – which a Tribute from 9 did – they could release the water and drown the other Tributes. That Tribute had later become Victor by doing that.
How much power were the Gamemakers giving her here? And could she actually use this discovery to get an edge?'
And if so… what kind?
Thankfully, the control were so simplified Olivia had no trouble with actually using it. A large screen took up one wall, showing an illuminated map of the entire arena. Each of the lines, red, green, blue, yellow, and orange, were shown, along with closures on the lines and reported damages. Olivia also learned how they all connected: Blue connected to green, orange, and to yellow via the above ground island. Orange connected to red and blue. Green connected to blue and yellow. Red connected to yellow and orange. And yellow connected to red, green, and above ground to blue.
On another wall were five televisions screens, each monitoring one of the lines. Through a control panel beneath them, Olivia was able to toggle between cameras on the respective lines, spotting the competition. She found Sarah and Amadeus making their way down the red line, Hayley on green, and Cara who was hiding… in a tree?
That last one got Olivia. Apparently she had ventured on the shitty lines this whole time. The green one looked quite pretty.
Looking at the map and the different camera views though, the arena seemed a bit banged up. The blue line was riddled with error messages and a check of the cameras revealed why, the whole thing was flooded! She tried to use the command control the keep exploring the blue line but received an error message by way of an electronic, female voice reprimanding her.
ERROR. ERROR. ERROR. BLUE LINE NON-OPERATIONAL. TRAIN LINE AND ELECTRICAL CURRENT… DISENGAGED. RECHARGE TIME… ERROR. TRACK OFFLINE. FUNCTION NON-RESPONSIVE.
"No shit." Olivia said out loud. Still… it presented an interesting question. A train line and electrical current?
Using a joystick, Olivia scrolled through the three options for the adjacent green line. One was labeled "DEPLOYMENT", another "SURGE", and a third "RECALIBRATION."
"Nothing ventured, nothing gained." Olivia said. She highlighted the first option and clicked the activation button.
COMMAND RECEIVED. ACTIVATION OF GREEN LINE TRAIN… COMPLETE.
Somewhere else in the arena, gears began to turn and a heavy thud sounded through the green line.
Shortly after, the electrical current began and for the first time for the Games, a track line came to life.
Hayley was walking along the green line, next to the edge of the tracks when she heard them start to click together.
Her stomach dropped immediately, expecting some sort of attack. She raised her axe, thankful that she had her armor in that moment, and looked around. Nothing was coming though. A little less jumpy, Hayley continued on her trek.
She seemed to be coming to something major. There was a big bend ahead in the tunnel and, to Hayley's surprise, there seemed to be sunlight coming from around it? She kept walking, hoping there was a water source. Her throat was sore and lips chapped. She needed hydration.
She slowed for a moment though and looked down. The gravel beneath her was shaking slightly, bouncing along the ground and clinking onto the metal track and walls of the subway. Then, the track began to shudder and metal rods popped out, clicking into place and ready for use.
'What the hell?' Hayley thought.
And then she heard the sound of a train, growing louder and closer.
"Oh fuck!" Hayley screamed. She started running, ignoring the exhaustion in her legs and body. The whole tunnel was shaking now, the metal clattering and sound of the train getting closer. She looked back and saw that clear white light was shining off the wall behind her, the shadows giving way as the train grew closer.
"No, no, no!" Hayley screamed. She rounded the bend and saw a paradise before her of trees and sunlight, but she had no time to admire it. As she went around the bend the train was now on the line behind her and barreling along its path. She screamed and kept running, unable to move faster than the train behind her.
"COME ON!" She screamed at herself, the next section to the tunnel was right there. She rushed at it, throwing her whole body into it.
A gust of wind behind her, the train had made the turn too and was right behind her.
There was a lot honk, as though to mock her and Hayley screamed again.
She threw herself out of the tunnel and to the right, diving into a nearby bush. Behind her, the train flew out of the darker tunnel, wind slamming into Hayley and the trees around her. Branches broke, leaves came loose, and the whole tunnel became a wind tunnel.
And then the train was gone, heading further and further down the line until it was almost out of sight.
Hayley lay in the grass and bushes, breathing unsteadily. She had made it, just barely though. The Gamemakers seemed to have turned on that trains, keeping them for the very end to drive up the drama. And they seemed to have no problem using them against her, despite her kills and apparent popularity.
She rose from the ground, arms and legs shaking from the near death experience. She took a moment to get herself under control and then continued on. As long as she stayed to the sides of this tunnel, she should be ok.
Olivia let out a sigh of relief. Hayley had dodged the train, but just barely. If it had killed her, Olivia didn't know what she would have done.
For the fourth time since spotting the train rushing at Hayley, Olivia tried to shut the damn thing off or stop it in its tracks to no avail. Once something was activated, it appeared that the function was then locked out from Olivia's control, as the message kept repeating.
ERROR. FUNCTION UNAVAILABLE. TRACTION CURRENT ALREADY IN USAGE. UNABLE TO DIVERT POWER TO ANOTHER FUNCTION. RECALIBRATION TIME… TWENTY-THREE HOURS AND FIFTY-NINE MINUTES.
"Oh, come on! One and done?!" Olivia shouted at the Gamemakers. Apparently she wasn't fully in control and had to be careful with how she used these. The green line was useless to her now and the blue line broken because of the flooding. That left red, yellow, and orange.
She knew where everyone was at this point, except for one very important Tribute. Where was Valdez, the last of the Careers? She looked through the orange line first and found no one but did spot a large bloodstain on the upper deck of a train platform. What had caused that? The yellow line was also empty and didn't have any noteworthy disturbances. Unless Valdez had sprouted gills there was no need to check the blue line. That only left red.
She found Amadeus and Sarah again, walking along the red line in silence. They smartly were not walking on the train track and seemed to be making their way towards where they all had made camp. Where Eddie and Aleko had died.
Olivia watched them go in silent anger. She hoped the two of them felt something when they saw the bodies. She wanted them to scream and cry in sorrow. She doubted she'd get such a display though. If the bodies were even there. How the hell were the Gamemakers even removing the dead Tributes from this arena?
She watched them for a little and then flicked to the next camera. Immediately she bolted up and gasped.
She had found Valdez and judging by the map, he was fast approaching Sarah and Amadeus.
She cursed at the sight. Did he already know they were there? What could she do?
She looked at the controls of the red line but they were the same as the others. Deploy a train, cause the electrical current to overcharge, or get the recalibration time. Nothing else! If she used the train, it could hit Amadeus and Sarah too. Valdez wasn't walking on the tracks either, she couldn't use them to fry him. And recalibration was useless.
Worse, Olivia spotted a subway platform between them. Valdez could just hide on the platform and escape the train. And if Sarah and Amadeus did too, then she was literally leading them to him. There were no broadcast options either, she couldn't shout or or signal to them.
With dread, she watched on.
Sarah held up her hand, indicating that Amadeus should stop. He knew better than to say anything, so he waited silently as Sarah listened for something. She pointed to her ear and then ahead. Amadeus closed his eyes, trying to hone in on the sound.
The crunch of gravel echoed faintly down the tunnel, heavy and with no attempts to conceal the noise.
Amadeus nodded to Sarah and, without prompting, activated his cloak and began walking on the train track. Normally he'd never set foot on the damned thing, but it was the only way to effectively hide the sounds of his movements. The gravel would give him away, even with the cloak on.
He made his way around a turn and past a subway platform. He turned another corner further down and, using his scope, made out the form of Valdez, walking towards them.
For a moment he flinched back in fear of being spotted, but the cloak did it's job and Valdez didn't notice him directly ahead. Quickly and quietly, Amadeus made his way back to Sarah.
"Valdez." He whispered as softly as he could.
Sarah's eyes went wide for a second. "What do we do?"
Amadeus thought for a moment. "We take him out."
Sarah shook her head. "We should hide."
"Two against one. And I have the cloak. And this." He said, holding up the stinger.
"He's a Career." Sarah tried again. Who knew if that stinger even had poison in it? The creature it was taken from was two days dead and the poisoned tip looked pretty dry.
"The only one left." Amadeus replied.
She wasn't going to win this fight. She shook her head, hoping Amadeus knew what he was doing. "What's the plan?" She asked, falling in line.
"Simple." Amadeus said, "Just fight smarter."
He'd been walking for what had seemed all morning on the red line. For a moment, Valdez thought he was going insane as all the tunnels looked the same. What if he was just going in circles? What if the poison had somehow messed with his mind?
The fear was gripping hold, but Valdez shook it off. He wished he could do the same for his physical ailments. Valdez was tired, achy, and, above all else, thirsty. He needed to keep moving and find a Tribute to kill. Hopefully that'd be enough to get him some water from a sponsor.
He rounded what felt like the millionth bend in the tunnel, only to come across a surprise.
It was the girl from 6. She stood in front of him, waiting for him right next to the tracks. Her face was neutral, posture tight and ready for a fight. But most shocking to Valdez was seeing an actual weapon in her hands, a mace.
"How did you get that?" Valdez asked despite himself. He was genuinely curious. The girl gave no response to that, backing up slowly. Valdez began walking towards her. 'Ask and you shall receive.' Valdez thought as he approached. What was her name again? It was something basic. Cara? Daisy? No, those had been different girls. Sarah! That was it.
It was probably important to remember the name of his first kill.
Sarah kept her eyes on him but didn't betray any emotion. She seemed scared of him despite being armed as she was backing up and then climbed up onto a platform off the tracks. She waited for him, keeping her eyes on him. Valdez followed and jumped up on the platform, raising his fists in an attack position. His arms were tired thanks for the poison, and she was armed, but Valdez felt confident.
"Let's have a good fight." He told her, offering her a nod.
Sarah actually looked surprised at that. He expect her to make the first move since she had a weapon, but once she hit the middle of the platform she remained still, as if waiting for him.
'Well… ok.' He thought. He was happy to oblige. He launched himself at Sarah, ready to bat away her mace and jab up for a jaw strike.
But as he moved, he suddenly felt pain erupt in his back.
For a moment, Valdez thought he had been struck by the reed his dad would use on him. But the pain didn't leave him, and when Valdez tried to move his shoulders to react, he clamped up in agony.
Something was stuck in his back.
Someone had stabbed him!
He turned slightly, unable to move his body fully around to see. To his shock, a disembodied arm was floating in the middle of the air, which shimmered behind it. Valdez thought he actually had gone insane, but the shimmer broke for a moment as the arm retracted and above it, a sliver of a face emerged.
It was Sarah's partner, Amadeus, wearing an assassin's cloak!
'Who are these two?!' Valdez thought in terror.
He had no time to react as Sarah was on him now, swinging her mace. He dodged once, wincing at the pain that flared up. Sarah followed up with a second and then third swing, but Valdez dodged again, now positioned away from the tracks. Sarah and Amadeus stood next to each other, watching him like prey.
Valdez reached back and tore the dagger from his back, only to find it something… organic. He looked at the thing, no idea what it was, and threw it aside in a rage. "If you want to fight, fight me without that cloak, like a true opponent!" He demanded.
Amadeus shook his head. "No." He replied simply. He activated the cloak again and the air around his body shimmered and then blended with the background, Amadeus vanished from sight. Meanwhile, Sarah advanced on Valdez, mace raised to attack.
Valdez, fighting through the pain, raised his arms to defend himself. He focused on Sarah, eyes darting occasionally to the sides to look for Amadeus. Sarah swung across, an easy dodge. She immediately adjusted her body and swung up, again Valdez dodged. She finished by slamming down directly at him, but he managed to grab Sarah's wrist, blocking the attack and preparing a counter with a jab at her neck.
Only for Amadeus to emerge next to them, a new weapon in hand. Valdez immediately disengaged from Sarah and jumped back, narrowly dodging the sharp tip of a tire iron in Amadeus' hand. As soon as he missed, Amadeus retreated into his cloak while Sarah renewed her attack. Her moves were slightly different, but Valdez noticed that they were the basic stances and attack postures taught at the Training Center. And just as she finished her attack, there was Amadeus stabbing out.
The second attack was closer to hitting him, and Valdez actually stumbled and fell to the ground. He squirmed away and forced himself back to his feet. He was up against one of the walls of the platform. Good for preventing Amadeus from sneaking around back for another backstab, bad as he was cornered. Once more, the pair from 6 stood before him, Amadeus' face slightly revealed.
They said nothing to each other. They didn't even seem friendly with one another. Yet they were moving in perfect tandem and matching expressions. Under the red lights, their emotionless faces shined. Valdez saw nothing there. No fear, anger, or happiness.
'Their monsters…' Valdez thought suddenly.
Sarah was attacking again and Valdez once more dodged and blocked Amadeus' follow up attack. They had pinned him to the wall now and Sarah was coming around again for a fourth time. How had they forced him onto defense?
And then Valdez realized, he had forced himself into the weaker position. Amadeus was dangerous with the cloak, but Sarah was just repeating basic moves she learned at the training center.
Valdez had been trained to fight killers. But Sarah wasn't that. And neither was Amadeus.
Sarah came in for another attack, but Valdez didn't allow her to finish the swing. He threw himself off the wall and at Sarah, who quickly tried to adjust. Valdez was faster though and slammed his knuckles into her throat, cutting off her breath.
Sarah dropped her mace and stumbled back, only for Valdez's fist to slam into her jaw. She fell to the ground but Valdez caught her and looped one of his muscled arms around her neck. Sarah panicked and tried to escape, but Valdez was too strong.
"You fought well." He whispered to her, meaning it.
With all his strength, he twisted and snapped Sarah's neck. It was quick, and Sarah felt no pain. She slipped out of his arms, limp. Her cannon sounded before she hit the ground.
Amadeus, still invisible, roared in anger and Valdez fled from the scene. He jumped off the platform and back onto the tracks, landing on the gravel and retreating to the other side furthest from the platform. As he expected, Amadeus didn't follow. Now with the gravel around, Amadeus' footsteps could be seen.
Valdez wasn't going to leave Amadeus up there though or, worse, run from a fight.
Picking up gravel, Valdez began throwing the bits of rock up onto the platform. The gravel clattered against the pavement of the platform and, very slowly, Valdez began to cover the whole platform with pieces of gravel. He watched as he threw them, looking for any movement on the ground or disturbance to the rocks. After five minutes, Valdez had almost the entire platform covered in rocks.
"Come out, Amadeus!" He demanded. Valdez stuffed his pockets with gravel and jumped back up on the platform, scanning for his opponent. None of the gravel was disturbed, but the back of the platform was empty of them. Pulling out the gravel, Valdez began tossing bits of gravel towards that area and others, looking for the rocks to hit Amadeus.
His opponent didn't reveal himself, cowering in the back of the platform no doubt. Valdez continued inching his way closer to the dark corners of the platform, moving past Sarah's body. He threw another handful of gravel, covering the last part of the platform where Amadeus was surely hiding.
The gravel clattering against the wall and ground, hitting nothing else.
'Where was he?'
A sudden realization smacked Valdez in the face and he spun around, almost too late.
His vision flashed red, and he felt his side burst open in pain. Sarah's mace had hit his side, its sharp edges tearing into his abdomen as he was turning. Valdez screamed in pain and stumbled back, gripping his side and reaching out, managing to grab hold of the arm holding the mace. He looked down and saw Amadeus, materialized out of thin air. Behind him, Sarah's body had been moved.
'He was hiding under his dead partner!' Valdez realized, disgusted by Amadeus' dirty tricks.
With a shout, Valdez slammed a fist in Amadeus, hitting him in the face and sending the boy reeling back. The action caused Valdez to double over in pain, from the movement and his new wound. Amadeus was trying to scurry away into the shadows but Valdez, seized by adrenaline and fury, cut him off.
Valdez grabbed hold of Amadeus by the scruff, trying to rip the cloak off. Amadeus flailed, kicking and punching at Valdez though it was useless. Even injured, Valdez was stronger than him. With a cry of agony, Valdez grabbed Amadeus with his other hand and ran to the edge of the platform, throwing the boy from it and onto the graveled tracks below.
Amadeus landed with a heavy thud, quickly considering his options now. Sarah was dead, the Career wounded. The best option was to flee and let Valdez bleed out. He started to rise, only for Valdez to jump directly onto his back from the platform. The weight of the Career blew the breath out of Amadeus, who lay uselessly beneath Valdez as he reached around and unfashioned the cloak. Valdez threw it aside, too far for Amadeus to reach and then slammed a fist into the back of Amadeus' head.
He saw stars for a moment, and then tried to get up, only to be pushed back down. Out of the corner of his eye, Amadeus saw the Career breathing heavily, blood dripping from the wound, yet Valdez didn't seem to notice. Amadeus tried to crawl away, but only made it to the edge of the track when Valdez spun him around and put him on his back.
There was hatred in Valdez's eyes as he leaned in. "You fight like a thief! A common criminal! Die like one." He hissed.
Heavy hands wrapped around Amadeus' neck, suffocating him. Desperately, Amadeus tried to hit Valdez hard enough to loosen his grip to no avail. Valdez was putting all his strength into choking Amadeus who had no way to escape. He tried to grip the tire iron, tucked into his belt loop, and use it but Valdez freed one hand and tore it away from Amadeus and tossed it aside.
'This is it.' Amadeus realized in horror. He continued to struggle and flail, kicking out desperately to escape. He squirmed away a little, neck now over the edge of the tracks, but Valdez kept his grip and didn't let go. The poison from the stinger wasn't working fast enough or wasn't working at all! Amadeus' strength failed and the world began to go dark.
'I'm sorry, Dad.' Amadeus thought, full of remorse for his family. Poor Dimitri… he'd never see his brother again!
And then, Valdez let up. His fingers disengaged from Amadeus' neck and the Careers stood up and looked down on him. Amadeus gulped in air, trying to regain strength.
"Too clean." Valdez commented.
Valdez raised his leg and kicked down. It slammed into Amadeus' neck, producing a sick crunching noise. The impact forced Amadeus' neck down into the metal track beneath and bent it, breaking from the impact.
Amadeus went still, neck twisted at a disturbing angle. His eyes, red from the lights and popped blood vessels, fluttered for a few seconds and then went still. A cannon sounded and Valdez was victorious.
For all the good it did him. Valdez was huffing from the exertion, short breathes in and out as he felt himself struggling to breath. He didn't have a first aid kit he realized. All Valdez could do was look at the damage, unable to do anything. He felt he should be feeling more pain or fear, but his adrenaline was still running high, keeping the worst of it at bay.
The Capitol could send more medicine. He had just killed two other Tributes. That was impressive. Hopefully they thought so too and sent some help. Otherwise…
He had three other Tributes left. He'd have to hurry through the tunnels to find them and end them before the blood loss took him. Yes…. Yes, he could do this! The last Career standing, all he had to do was show he was fighting on.
With a new goal in mind, and timer ticking, Valdez stumbled off, walking on the tracks and continuing his hunt for the remaining Tributes.
He didn't give Amadeus a second look.
From the control room, Olivia had watched the fight play out on her screens. For a moment, it felt as though she were back in District 5 watching the Hunger Games as an observer, the Tributes just some poor souls who never had anything to do with her day to day.
She couldn't think like that this time. She couldn't separate herself from the reality or stuff it away in some dark corner of her mind where she'd never think of it again.
She had known Sarah and Amadeus. She had thought of them as friends. They had betrayed her, yes, but…
She was completing the actions before she even thought it through. Valdez, bleeding and looking delirious, was walking unsuspectingly along the tracks. The electronic voice confirmed when it was done.
COMMAND RECEIVED. TRACTION CURRENT OVERCHARGE… COMPLETE
Olivia watched the voltage counter increase, rising quickly from 500 volts, to 750, to 1,500 and it kept climbing.
She looked at the screen, reality snapping back at her.
What had she done?
The red line erupted in the a cacophony of metallic clicking noises. Valdez looked around, confused by where they were coming from until he heard them in front, behind him, and underneath him.
He looked at the track, confused. What exactly had happened?
Valdez glanced around and fell into a defensive posture. He was getting tired of tricks. He tried to keep light on his feet, but the wounds were making it difficult and he stumbled along the tracks.
For a second, Valdez thought he heard another sound, only it to cut out and his ears began ringing. The oddest sensation went through his body. All at once, it felt like he was jumping yet also falling from a great height.
And then his body seemed to lock up and his jaw clicked loudly.
A flash of pain, a flash of light, and then nothing.
A cannon blast sounded through the arena for all to hear, but nobody heard Valdez's smoking body collapse into the gravel next to the track line.
She watched it happen like it was an out of body experience. There was a flash of light as Valdez's boots stepped on the third rail and the electrical current shot through him. He seized for a little bit, eyes and mouth twitching wildly as he did and then the current short circuited and he collapsed. Valdez was dead.
Olivia had killed someone.
She waited for herself to scream or cry or even vomit. Nothing came, she stood there over the screen, the controls in front of her as she remained hunched over, shaking. Her breath was hitched and she didn't want to move. Faintly, she realized that she was in shock.
She had killed someone.
Olivia sunk to the ground, trying to steady herself. As she did, the voice module spoke up.
OVERLOAD! OVERLOAD! RED LINE ELECTRICAL CURRENT OUTAGE. RED LINE OFF LINE. RECALIBRATION TIME… TWENTY-THREE HOURS AND FIFTY-NINE MINUTES.
"I killed someone…" Olivia muttered over the voice. She grew more frantic. "I killed someone!"
She still didn't scream or cry. She realized she had the tools of finish the Games right here. She wouldn't even have to leave the control room if she played her cards right. All she had to do with play like a Gamemaker, draw people to her traps, and kill them in a brutal, violent, awful way.
How many unfortunates had died in a similar way in District 5? Olivia could name at least four from her school. It was a childhood horror of hers, of everyone in District 5, to die like that on a train track. Could she really do it two more times.
She remained deathly still, an unnatural calm over her. Only one thought kept going through her frazzled mind.
'I'm a murderer.'
Up Next: The Penultimate Chapter of the 58th Hunger Games
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