Klara Esposa, 18, District 2
Kikimora - Island A - 2140
"Who was the bag for?" Klara asks, their mind struggling to keep all the incoming information straight in her head.
Choux stealing supplies.
Cali stealing supplies.
Valerian playing a part.
Choux playing a part.
Lies. Lies everywhere. Lies follow Klara like a curse.
Like the afflictions of those her father killed in his negligence have fallen upon Klara herself.
The worst part of it all is how unsurprising it fucking feels. From the start, Choux was playing a game Klara couldn't, no, wouldn't see.
Just like their father.
They are not like that piece of shit.
"You're a traitor," Klara says, their eyes piercing through Choux's.
(She doesn't know what she expected as a response, but an eye roll certainly wasn't one of them.)
"You're going to take their word on it? Look at them, brandishing their weapons and their staged props in front of us like it'll convince us of anything," Choux spits in the direction of the Fours. Klara's eyes shift to them momentarily, but she can't bring themselves to pull away from Choux for too long.
(She looks into her eyes and she wants to believe the ally they've made, the person she's trusted, is better than what she's being accused of.
Klara can't accept anything else.)
They look Cali in the eyes and they see Ronan behind her and she sees the weapons carefully gripped around their hands. Klara raises her own, and it feels like everyone else around them has done the same.
"It's our word against hers, c'mon Klara," Ronan says in a poor attempt to ease the ever-rising tension.
"The word of two lovers, how trustworthy." Choux pushes away from the edge of the boat to close the distance between herself and the Fours, effectively putting herself within striking range of Klara.
Cali's rendered speechless, and all Choux can do is laugh.
"You didn't think we'd notice? With you flaunting it around so much? Cute," she moves her gaze from the duo to her district partner, who somehow coils himself up to be as small as possible. "And you, I'm sure there's something those around us would love to hear."
His face drops and his fear is so palpable Klara feels guilt swell up inside her.
(This isn't supposed to happen. There are so many players left and they can't work together long enough to dwindle down the competition until victory is in their sights.)
(All her training, and for what? For secrets and lies and tension to tear everything apart?)
Their dad would be so fucking proud.
Their dad is dead. Klara can't join him.
"Stop!" Klara's voice clashes with the impact of metal on metal from behind her and that seems to spring everyone into action. With a quick glance, they see Amatus with his sword raised.
Time seems to slow as he closes the distance between himself and Klara and there's nothing she can do to stop it.
There's nothing anyone can do to stop him.
She dodges back, avoiding the impact of the sword. Raising their own sword, they prepare to strike themselves.
Except, he keeps charging forward.
Klara wasn't his target.
The Fours are.
"Amatus!" They yell as Cali blocks the first strike with the bag in question. Amatus pulls it back, preparing to strike her again, when Ronan shoves her aside and blocks the blade with his own.
Klara turns to Choux, and a few things dawn on Klara. The first is how…unsurprised she is by everything that's just transpired in the passing seconds. Amatus and maybe Dahlia, Klara can't tell, attacking the Fours. Valerian panicking at the sight of it all. The alliance falling apart around them and Choux looking as calm as possible.
Klara wants to say she imagines the smile form on Choux's face, but after everything that's transpired, they can't.
They want to but they can't and that might be the worst crime of it all.
"Why?" she asks. It's a simple question in the most complex of situations.
-" Klara's words sting against their own tongue but that's not what causes her pain.
Her mouth isn't supposed to taste like iron. Her chest isn't supposed to hurt - why does it hurt?
She stumbles back, eyes falling down to the source of their pain.
Where they expect to see their jacket is covered by the handle of a knife.
How did that-
She coughs and the taste is horrible and the pain is horrible and she can't pull it out herself, but that's okay because Choux reaches over and pulls it out for them.
How kind.
Klara screams and swings the sword in the girl's direction, clipping on a piece of fabric but as far as Klara can see it doesn't cause damage.
Good, they wouldn't want to hurt an ally-
She's not an ally, she stabbed you in the chest.
….she did?
Klara's world spins around them as they fall to the floor of the boat. Pain takes over, seeping through their limbs and movement is not an option anymore.
The world is quiet and loud at the same time. Clanking of metal on the beach, voices yelling from both sides, and yet Klara doesn't hear any of it. Are her allies still fighting? Why are they still fighting? It's just a misunderstanding.
They're back on the roof from their vision, running across the roof that crumbles underneath them. They see the same figure standing safely on the roof of another building, arm extended for Klara to take.
Except this time, the face of the figure is visible, and as Klara reaches her hand out to take theirs, she's pierced by blue eyes and the same smirk Klara saw only moments before she was stabbed.
The same eyes that belong to the person she thought she trusted in these Games.
The same person who let them fall off the building let them fall into their own death.
The same person who led them straight into their dying breath.
This time as she falls, she sees their father at the bottom.
And then the world goes quiet at last.
Ronan Nieimi, 18, District 4
Kikimora - Island A - 2145
"Go!" Ronan yells to Cali as a cannon fires. Ronan saw the body fall on the boat, and over Amatus' shoulder, he can see Choux take the sword out of Klara's hand and run across the beach into the forest. He doesn't see Vitali.
Amatus just doesn't let up.
"You're a fucking traitor," the bigger boy spits in Ronan's face, pushing him back a few more inches. Ronan has to watch how he steps, as the unstable rocks beneath his feet threaten to give out at any time.
"Look around you," Ronan grits his teeth, bringing his sword up to block the next strike. "Your district partner is dead!"
"You're all going to die!"
He's insane! Ronan wants to find Cali, but she's out of his peripheral vision and he can't afford to take his eyes away from the monster in front of him.
He can't lose her but he can't lose himself in the process.
He's following Amatus' every move. Each strike followed by the next should wear him out, but Ronan can't wait that long. Not with Choux on the move and Dahlia circling the pair.
"Wake up!" Ronan shouts, taking the brief moment of his hesitation to come in around the side of Amatus and catch his side with the end of his blade. It only seems to make Amatus' rage grow, and soon enough Amatus returns the favor.
The blade slices his sword arm and it stings, but it allows him to fall back out of range of another strike. He takes in the scene around him. He has Amatus pushing him back towards the forest. Choux is nowhere to be seen. Ronan thinks he sees Vitali being chased off by Dahlia, but he can't tell. He can't see them.
He can't see Cali.
Until a blade flies through the air.
Unfortunately, Amatus sees the weapon in time to dodge a lethal blow. Ronan whips his head to the forest, and there she is. Ronan doesn't hesitate to rush into the forest.
(He doesn't realize the fog has fallen around them until they've been running for a few minutes now.)
"Cali," he says, slowing down to face her. He sees the world shifting around, the fog already at work. He can't let it go unspoken anymore. He can't lose her now.
"Ronan, we-" Cali begins. Ronan takes her hand in his own.
For a moment, he can forget all the pain in the world. He can forget the pain his mother caused him. He can forget the pain he caused himself. All the mistakes he made, all the regrets.
It led him to her and he wouldn't change that for anything.
"We have to-" Cali's words cut out as the darkness fully engulfs them both. It's like he's been taken out of the arena and placed in an entirely new world, a world void of sight and smell and noise.
He's alone. And that terrifies him.
He tries to call out for her, but his voice can't produce noise, or if it does, his ears can't hear it.
He walks around, and his legs still work, but they don't seem to take him anywhere.
(He doesn't know what to do. He can't lose her.
He can't lose himself.)
He bumps into something tall and takes a step back. A television screen lights up in front of him.
…Is that me?
The screen cuts to different feeds, and Ronan assumes the camera feeds are of the arena they're in. He sees a few seconds of parts of the arena he's familiar with, such as the cornucopia, the beach, and the boats. It's followed by some he's not, such as some mountains, and a dead forest. Tributes appear in some, not all of the feeds, but no shot stays around long enough for him to get anything out of it.
Until it lands on a single feed of someone he'd recognize anywhere.
Rosalen Nieimi.
What the fuck are you doing here? Ronan's eyes are glued to the feed, begging it not to change away.
He can't tell where she is. The thought itself is so absurd Ronan can't grasp the idea that it's real. He knows what the fog does, and he knows everything is an illusion, but that doesn't stop it from feeling so real and so terrifying.
Without facing the camera, Rosalen picks a direction and starts walking. The camera pans with her and Ronan can't pull his eyes away.
She walks out of one shot and another one takes its place. Again and again, it changes, and Ronan is still encapsulated on this tiny screen that probably isn't really here but he can reach out and touch it and it feels real and there's not a single flaw in the vision. No wispy edges, or small areas that break the illusion.
It's all perfectly crafted. It makes him wonder, just for a second, what other moments in the arena could have been crafted.
Ronan becomes abruptly aware of the footsteps that approach him, and when he turns to face the noise he sees her.
"Get out of my head!" he screams, slashing his sword towards the projected image of his mother. She moves to the side, gripping his dominant wrist in her own. Her hand is cold and the shock of feeling the touch of a person sends him into a deeper panic. He tries to pull his hand free.
He doesn't remember her being this strong.
"How dare you lie to the world about me. How dare you drag the Nieimi name through the dirt like it's nothing. That girl doesn't love you. She won't accept you. She used you to get here, and you let her." Rosalen releases her grasp and shoves him back into the television. No, not a television anymore. A tree.
He feels the air leave his lungs but the shock doesn't solely come from the impact.
"You're not real." He grits his teeth and charges her, sword raised to strike.
A force knocks him to the ground and a pain sears through his shoulder. He reaches up to grab it and it's wet and the pain of contact makes him pull away.
He pushes himself back to his feet, but the effort is short-lived as the pain moves from his shoulder to his abdomen.
He can't even make out what, or who, is causing the pain. He just knows that it exists, and it's not good.
It's all he can do to focus on that pain when his mind can't stop thinking about Cali. Is she okay? Where did she go? These are only a few of the questions left unanswered for Ronan Nieimi.
The figure disguised as his mother strikes a third time, piercing straight through his chest.
And Ronan Nieimi feels no more.
Aizen Miura, 12, District 12
Azhdar - Island B - 2215
When the first cannon fired, Aizen had already been sobbing for hours.
By the time the second cannon fired, he assumed it was his own. Obviously, that's not possible. He can still see and hear and smell the world around him, so he can't be dead.
It's just not a world without her by his side, at least not a world he would want to live in. He has to find her. He's told this to Exa over and over again. He doesn't know when she stopped responding.
Somehow, she's able to clean the soot and grime off of his face and clothes and leads him to the cave he didn't know existed. Exa introduces him to Owain, which Aizen vaguely acknowledges, and they discuss a plan to find her.
(In theory, that's when he should pay attention, but every other thought occupies his mind.)
He looks around the cave that surrounds them. If he knew about it, maybe he could've brought her here. Maybe he could've saved her from the flames. Maybe they'd still be together now.
Why did there have to be flames?
The faces projected in the sky show a lot of people Aizen doesn't recognize. Each one that passes brings it closer and closer to District Twelve.
She isn't in the sky.
Where are you? Aizen feels another sob threaten to escape his throat and he barely swallows it back, all the while Exa and Owain try to talk to him.
Why are they trying? I'll get them killed too, Aizen's thoughts are in danger of rapidly declining and he's afraid of where it will take him.
(He remembers how he froze at the side of the river. He remembers how still he was as his father was swept away under the current. He remembers how, no matter how many times his mother pried, he couldn't tell her the truth.)
Aizen Miura's mind is a dangerously deadly place for a boy his age and if he isn't careful, he could find himself lost in the darkness. It could take everything from him.
It could take Mori away from you. She…she wouldn't do this, he has to remind himself.
That's the worst part of it all to Aizen, how being strong is so easy for her and nearly impossible for him. He knows how calm and collected she must be, how carefully she's traversing the forest to find him.
She deserves a better friend. He has to be better.
He gives himself three seconds. Three seconds to dwell in the darkness. Three seconds to push away the thoughts that are threatening to consume him. After that, he's going to follow Exa out of the cave. He's going to walk into the burnt wasteland. And he's going to find her.
One…
He sees her face. Her bravery.
Two…
He hopes she doesn't mind if he borrows a little bit of that.
Three…
His eyes flutter open and the world around him quiets down for the first time in a long while. He looks at Exa with a renowned confidence, one Mori would be proud of.
He can't wait to show her.
"I-I'm ready," he says to his new allies. He glances at Owain who has remained seated this whole time, and Aizen finally sees the full extent of his injuries. He hears echoes of the words they discussed with each other when he first arrived.
"We won't be long," Exa promises to him. She leads the two of them back out through the cave system, another thing Aizen shut out. He realizes how thankful he is for Exa. Anyone else would've killed him, and he wouldn't have fought back. She could've left him there, floundering around, attracting all sorts of attention to him. He doesn't know how many people have come to this island.
"How…did you get across?" Aizen asks softly as they walk through the burnt forest. The leaves are extra crisp and crunchy under their boots. His hands adjust the belt around his waist, the folded jumpsuit seemingly unscarred by the previous night's flames.
"There's a path through the mountain," Exa says softly. Unlike Aizen, whose eyes bounce between the trees in front of him, Exa carefully examines the ground.
Footprints. That would make sense.
"Is there, ah, anyone else? That might've….found it?" He asks. He thinks of the boat that returned to the other island, what, yesterday evening? Did the last boat leave them behind? Could another one have shown up?
"We haven't seen anyone. The fog probably disoriented them a bit," Exa says.
"Yeah, uh, smoke can be pretty disorienting," he says, unsure what she's trying to say. Is she blaming him? Thanking him?
"N…not the smoke. The fog. From…last night?" Exa finally pulls her eyes away from the ground to look at him. His confusion causes her confusion and he genuinely doesn't know what she's talking about.
So she explains the fog that covered the other island the previous night. She explains the nightmares they brought. The longer she describes it all, the more grateful Aizen is he nor Mori had to experience that.
He isn't ready to admit that fire was the better option, but he has to find some good in a shitty situation.
They continue searching in silence for some time. Aizen's feet ache but he doesn't stop. He doesn't even slow down. He has to find her before someone else does. He has to find her before nightmare fog, or more fire, or a mutt, or-
Stop. Aizen releases the breath he didn't realize he was holding.
"Hey, Aizen?" Exa interrupts his stream of consciousness with a question Aizen is eager to use as a distraction. "Mori knows some things about injuries, and how to treat them?"
Her question confuses him. Does she assume Mori will be injured? Is she worried Mori will be too injured for them to take care of her? How could she be thinking-
"I'm worried about Owain's leg. I…don't think I can make him better," Exa's words are accompanied by a light choke.
Aizen realizes what she's asking, and feels embarrassment take over.
"She knows some stuff, yeah. I'm sure she can help," he says with a truth that does something to calm Exa.
So they continue their search into the burnt forest, both desperate to find the girl who has made a reputation for herself hiding out in the forest.
Aizen simply has no other choice but to find her.
Vetiver Brune, 18, District 10
Mount Mshai - Island A/B - 0040
The mountains just keep going, but they continue to push on.
Vet and Chaffinch came across the mountains just before the fog fell, and Vet was pleased when the fog didn't follow them through the tunnels.
He couldn't stand the idea of seeing more death. Even if it's fake…it feels so real.
(It was the smell, last time. How did the Gamemakers so perfectly recreate the scent of blood around him? Was it simply the fog pulling from suppressed memories, or was the air infused with the smell?)
It would be worse seeing Chaffinch go through it, again, Vetiver thinks to himself. He recalls the poor boy's face when he pulled him out of the nightmare the previous night. Vetiver doesn't want to ask what Chaffinch saw, but that doesn't stop his mind from wandering.
He's so young, to be so scared. Vetiver thinks about himself at thirteen, about everything he had seen by then, to maybe try and comfort the boy. Words don't come easily to Vetiver, so he tried his hardest to focus.
(He thought about Selkie's death during the hunt all those years ago and he quickly stopped remembering anymore.)
So words haven't been shared between the boys in almost twenty-four hours. Nothing more than Vetiver asking Chaffinch if he's hungry, or thirsty, to which the boy always replies with unenthusiastic shakes of his head. Vetiver notices the smile that wouldn't leave his face in the Capitol has faded completely. He notices how little energy the boy seems to have. It's like he's a completely different person.
He can't imagine what he's seen. The carnage at the bloodbath…he doesn't think Chaffinch was ready for it.
(Vetiver wasn't ready for it either. Neither was his District partner, a girl too young and wiser than he was at that age. That leaves the question…was anyone ready?)
Vetiver leads his ally through the twists and turns of the monstrous caverns. The scenery continues to change and shift around him, and no two paths look the same, but with all the paths they could be taking, Vetiver isn't certain he could lead them out again. He's fortunate they have enough food and water for a few days if they're careful. They were able to forage a lot prior to finding the cave opening. Yet now that they're here, he realizes how he didn't think about what comes next. How do they find their way out? What if they find nothing but a nest of mutts, or a group of other tributes? Can Vetiver fight them?
(Can he kill?)
..What's that scratching noise?
Vetiver looks behind him and he sees Chaffinch pulling his knife against the rock. He doesn't realize what the boy is doing until he pulls the knife away, leaving behind a single white arrow pointing away from them.
Chaffinch realizes Vetiver is looking at him. He points to the two of them, then towards the arrow.
A path back. The concept is so simple to Vetiver, that he's embarrassed he didn't think of it first. His father taught him to mark trees he passed while hunting for the same reasons. Sometimes he remembered, but his focus was never on himself, or his safety.
It was always on the dogs.
And now? Now it's on Chaffinch.
(And Chaffinch is picking up Vetiver's slack.)
"Thank you. That's very smart," Vetiver says. Chaffinch tilts his head up and responds with a weak smile.
Vet is glad to see it.
They keep pushing forward, with Chaffinch making similar markings every so often. Vetiver continues to focus on the potential threats ahead, feeling more confident with Chaffinch tracking their path.
There's only so much he can push before he requires a break, however. When he suggests the idea to Chaffinch, the young boy doesn't fight. He merely sits in a ball with his head resting on his knees. Somehow, it makes him look even younger.
(It reminds Vetiver of himself when he was that age.)
Vetiver tries to think of something to say to the boy, something to ease his nerves, or to help the time go by, but nothing comes to mind. He's not used to company. The only person he spent significant time with was his dad, and his dad never made a name for himself as a talker. Sometimes, Vetiver thinks his hunts with his dad were quieter than when he was alone. At least when the pups were his only company, he could say whatever he wanted and never had to worry about judgment.
They sit in silence, and yet that seems to be fine for both boys. Chaffinch seems lost in his own world, his eyes fixated on a small rock resting on the ground. Vetiver's eyes find the same rock.
And he notices how it vibrates ever so softly.
He's up on his feet just in time for the monster to tackle him to the ground.
He struggles to reach his throwing knife in his belt while simultaneously holding off the creature with his other hand.
Its fangs flash his face, drool dripping onto his shirt. It's the ugliest and biggest spider Vetiver has ever seen. He didn't think spiders could get this big.
That's because it's not a spider. It's a mutt. Vet pushes and pushes against the gross creature, afraid his arm will give out before he can reach his knife.
Any shift towards the knife pushes the creature closer to his face and that's not a risk he's willing to take.
This is how I die. He hears footsteps retreating behind him, and he doesn't blame the boy for running. Vetiver would run too. He shouldn't have been so careless. He shouldn't have-
There's a loud impact behind him, followed by the creature lessening the pressure against his arm. It's just enough for him to grasp at the knife and slide it into the creature's body.
It screeches louder than anything he's ever heard before. Louder than any beaver or bird or anything he hunted back in Ten. It jumps on the ceiling, loosening rocks onto the boys' heads.
Vetiver backs up, keeping Chaffinch behind his back, not noticing the pile of rocks in his arms. Not until the rocks take flight and connect with the creature.
It spits at the boys and jumps back down to the ground, and Vetiver doesn't hesitate to throw the knife into its eye. It screeches again, and again when more rocks are thrown into it. It turns around and retreats quickly, knife still in its eye. Vetiver sees the trail it leaves, a sickly green color. He still hears it screech, until it disappears fully.
Vet turns to Chaffinch. "Are you okay?"
The young boy still holds the rocks in his arms. He looks up at Vet, his eyes wide.
He nods. He hands Vet a rock, which Vet gladly takes despite having more knives in his belt.
"Thank you. You saved us," Vetiver says. The boy shrugs, looking at the rocks in his arms. "That was smart. Save some of them."
Uncomfortable near the goop the monster left behind, the boys follow the arrows back away from that location, finding a hopefully safer place for them to rest in.
He lets Chaffinch rest first despite the young boy's concerns. He tells him he's well-rested, and eventually, the boy is able to curl up and finds some rest.
(In truth, anytime Vetiver closes his eyes he sees that creature again. He sees how close it was to Chaffinch. If his eyes are closed long enough, he sees the boy dying in his arms.)
Chaffinch saved his life when he didn't have to. Vetiver owes him everything.
He can't fail.
Davidson Zinaro, 16, District 6
Boat - Traveling from Kikimora to Azhdar - 0110
Two cannons back to back keep Davidson wide awake.
He knows that's not the only cause, though, even though it's the easiest to blame. The reality is, every time he closes his eyes, he either sees the face of his dead sister, or the face of the boy he so carelessly killed.
He can't cope with either, so he's been avoiding sleep as much as he can. He can see the worry on Roman's face, but his ally remains silent.
(He probably doesn't want to talk with a murderer.)
That's all Davidson has become, isn't it? A boy who took another boy's life so carelessly. He's not an idiot, he knew this would be a sacrifice he would have to make to go home. He just wasn't prepared for it to be….
He can't finish the thought.
Ozzy has been a nice distraction. The boy paces the boat, examining the various pieces and internal workings of the device. He mutters about taking control of the wheel.
Davidson can't make out much of what he's saying.
Their boat departed first, with a second boat right behind them. With the shouting from the beach, they all lay low to avoid being seen. Once they made some distance, and the cannons fired, Ozzy risked a peak.
"There's a hole in that boat," he said so nonchalantly. They can't see who is on the boat if it's anyone, but if the attackers on the beach were that angry about someone getting away from them, they have to assume there is.
Davidson doesn't want to face another person. He doesn't want to kill again.
He knows what Harleigh would be telling him. She'd tell him to get it together. It would sound mean, but she would say it with love. She would be genuine.
She would want him to come home, especially since she couldn't.
Davidson sits on the deck and watches Ozzy move around entranced in…whatever he's trying to do. Every once in a while, Davidson hears him mutter something under his breath, something about shifting the automated controls.
It takes him a while to process what that could mean for them. If Ozzy really can take control of the boat, that would put them in the best position in this arena. They could go where they want within the limits of the arena. They could avoid a fight.
They could avoid killing until the end.
(Davidson hears Harleigh's voice telling him how foolish he is for thinking this option would be the easy solution he's looking for, but he chooses to push it aside because the other options only make him spiral further.)
Instead, he decides to offer a hand.
Ozzy perks up at the voice, and Davidson can't tell if he's excited for an extra hand or if he genuinely forgot the other boy is present. Either way, his eyes jerk around the boat until he says, "Help me lift this panel."
Davidson gets up and does as Ozzy asks. They lift up a center panel of the boat, revealing a series of unfamiliar mechanical parts intertwined with various metal connectors that reach out in different directions. One moves towards the back of the boat, and Davidson assumes that one connects to the main motor.
"Let's place it here," Ozzy says, and with Davidson's help, they set the panel down in the back. Ozzy kneels at the opening. "I think this is the device the Gamemakers use to make this thing move. I think this is the spark plug," Ozzy points at a small device Davidson has never seen before. "I think they can activate this remotely. And I think these pieces are what turns the boat." Ozzy points at more interconnected pieces. Davidson just nods.
"I think they have it set to move across the same route, but if I can disconnect these pieces…" Ozzy's thoughts trail off as he sticks his hand in the engine. The sight makes Davidson recoil.
"Careful," he says to the boy, but he's already pulling and prodding at the connections. A few disconnections and loud sparks later, the boat breaks to a halt, but the engine remains ignited.
"Yes!" He sets the pieces down and sticks his hand back into the engine. Davidson hears footsteps from inside the boat's cabin.
"What the hell?" Roman says as soon as he finds himself in the doorway. He looks at Davidson for answers, but he has none.
Instead, the duo just watches their strange new ally prod at the inner workings of the machine. Davidson doesn't know what Ozzy's doing, and frankly, Davidson isn't convinced Ozzy knows what he's doing either.
He continues to do it and soon enough, he turns a piece and the boat turns with it.
The boy's eyes light up, and Davidson can feel a sense of relief wash over him.
(He knows it's temporary, yet as Ozzy moves the boat away from both islands, he lets the relief wash over him.)
For now, he can leave the bodies of those he's killed back on the shore. And for now, he can let the fears of the fog rest.
He tries to enjoy it. He doesn't know how many moments like this he'll have left.
Ozzy shifts the boat far enough away from the path of the other boat, then turns off the engine. Davidson's eyes fall to the second boat as it continues along the path, a hole in the wood still allowing water to flow in. He's certain it won't last another trip.
Silence fills the air between the trio for some time. Eventually, Roman passes around some portions of food and water. Davidson is careful not to overindulge. The longer they can keep their supplies up, the longer it'll be before they're forced to return to land.
"I wish Reagan could see this," Ozzy mumbles to himself, breaking the fallen silence. Davidson vaguely recognizes the name as the girl that he was with during training.
The girl the Careers killed before pursuing him.
"She would be proud of you," Roman walks closer to the boy, whose excitement has quickly been replaced by sorrow.
"I can't believe she's gone. I can't believe…I let them kill her."
"You didn't let them do anything. It was a choice they made. A choice you couldn't do anything about," Roman's words are directed at Ozzy, but Davidson feels like his friend is speaking to him as well.
I couldn't do anything about Tamin.
"A choice that got her killed."
"We're surrounded by choices in this arena. None of them are…ideal. Some of them don't have the results we want. She would want you to keep fighting. For her, and yourself. And…I know your sister would want the same."
She would. Davidson's thoughts tell him without his input. He closes his eyes, the tears rolling down his cheek. Instead of seeing Tamin's face, he sees his sisters the day he said goodbye to her.
"Stay strong, okay? I…I'm going to fight like hell to see you again. Don't forget how much I love you."
"I love you too, Harleigh."
He never forgot those words.
He never will.
He'll see her again someday.
For the first time in a while, Davidson finds peace.
Astel Norwood, 17, District 7
Kikimora - Island A - 0210
Astel's concern grows with each passing minute.
She currently sits about halfway up a tree, further away from the cornucopia than she's been since this whole thing started. She was closer earlier when she saw the Careers pack up and leave. She saw the bag Choux left.
And then she saw two Careers return for it and her fear grew.
She thought it was another vision, too. One less deadly than the first, if she was careful. After they left, she simply sauntered in to scavenge for more supplies. Then, the darkness started to consume her. She couldn't see anything. She couldn't hear anything. She tried to make her body move, but it felt frozen in the dark.
Then came the cannon.
After the first one fired, it seemed to release the darkness' hold on her and she was able to flee. By the time the second cannon went off, she was already in the tree, where she has remained since.
She's still struggling to determine what's truth and what's a product of the fog. She knows the cannons were real. She knows Choux leaving supplies behind was real.
She doesn't know if the two Careers that returned for the supplies were real. She doesn't know who fell victim to the cannons.
She knows cannons are a good thing. They signify a decrease in the competition. They indicate Astel is still alive, still fighting to take the one spot reserved for Victor.
To be so in the dark though, that scares her. Her eyes fall to the ground beneath her, and the thin layer of dark mist that still covers it. It continues to shrink with each passing hour, but not fast enough. Astel can't watch it for too long, or her mind starts to play tricks on her and makes her believe the fog is rising. Often, she closes her eyes and focuses on listening for someone to approach.
No one has come yet.
She can't say she'd be upset if Choux never came back. It would certainly be…inconvenient if the cannon belonged to her. Having the benefits of Career supplies without the downsides of being in the Career pack has set her up nicely. She could do with a few days worth of what she currently has of course, and she's no stranger to living off nature for the rest of it.
Except, if the Careers found out the full truth, she may find herself in a position where the risk proved to be too great, after all.
She doesn't want to find herself in that position.
For now, she sits and waits. She thinks the fog has passed fully, the darkness has subsided substantially. She's disappointed in how dark it had been when the Anthem played, she only caught the last face in the sky and it was only the girl from Eleven.
It leaves two deaths unaccounted for. Two fewer people are now in the way between her and her mountains. Two fewer people for her to fight.
She won't be able to fight anyone if she can't sleep, but the idea of climbing down doesn't sit well with her. She doesn't want to put herself in unnecessary danger if she can avoid it. Ironically, she would sleep best if she secured herself in the tree, for the fear of falling is so much less than the fear of the unknown.
(She fixates on these things to avoid the truth. To avoid the fear that lurks in the fog and the visions and the unknown threats that move around.)
Footsteps approach from the distance and Astel stops breathing to focus on it. Are they real? Are they another illusion? She can't tell.
The movement gets closer and Astel shifts ever so slightly to try and make out who it is. She swears at herself as a branch cracks from the shift in weight, and she only hopes the newcomer didn't hear it.
At least she can see the new arrival. Blonde hair peeks through the darkness and it's so bright Astel thinks it's part of an illusion, but then the familiar voice calls out to Astel and she has no choice but to acknowledge her.
"What happened?" Astel asks, adjusting herself to get a better view of the ground beneath her. Sure enough, Choux is alone with nothing but a small bag and a bloodied knife. It's strange to Astel how bright the red shines under the moonlight.
Choux's hair. The knife. Everything is just slightly too saturated to be real.
"The Careers turned on each other. I barely escaped," Choux responds after a few seconds pass. "We must put more distance between us and them."
Astel realizes what the girl is asking her to do, and frankly, she doesn't love it.
"Is it safe? Was anyone following?" Astel asks, trying to search the area Choux came from.
Trying to see past any lies is proving to be much more difficult than Astel anticipates.
"Yes. It's safe. Two are dead. The rest scattered," she says, much quicker this time.
The only way out is down.
So down Astel climbs, carefully moving down the tree the same way she came up. She keeps her weapon close, just in case.
As she lands two feet to the ground, she's finally able to look Choux in the eyes. She's finally able to see the blood splattered on her clothes. She's finally able to ask the one question that's been on her mind since she fled from the Cornucopia.
"What happened?"
Choux shrugs so nonchalantly Astel could almost forget whatever happened ended in two deaths. That alone unsettles Astel.
Choux's story only amplifies that.
She hears how Amatus went crazy and started yelling at everyone, accusing them of things they didn't do. She hears about how Klara attacked Choux first, and she had no choice but to defend herself. She hears about how Choux fled as Amatus' blade came in contact with the pair from Four. She hears Choux say over and over again how much of a shock it all was to her.
All the while she seems to hide that shock she describes to Astel.
Astel is silent for a while after Choux finishes her explanation. She hopes the silence makes Choux nervous. She hopes it might root out the truth.
But Choux's face remains as still as always and Astel is starting to believe her completely.
(Except one minor detail nags in the back of her mind.)
"The pair from Four. They returned to the cornucopia after you left, did they not?" she asks. The memory, one she initially thought was simply embedded with darkness from the fog, is starting to look more and more clear.
Until Choux shakes her head 'no'. And everything feels like it's falling apart for Astel.
"Let's move. There are still plenty of Careers left hunting us down."
Uneasiness still swirls in Astel's mind, but she has no choice but to follow her Career ally further into the woods.
All she can hope for is for the rest of the Careers to kill each other before they find her, unaware the most dangerous threats lies the closest in proximity to her.
Wow this was a chapter huh.
18th: Klara Esosa, D2, killed by Choux Macbeth, D1
Klara has been one of my favorite characters to write this fic. I loved their backstory, I loved her determination, and if it wasn't obvious, I loved her interactions with Choux. I struggled writing their death, and I really did want to write her out of it, but alas, she got Choux'd. Ben, I cannot thank you enough for trusting me with them, and I'm sorry their trust was their downfall. :heart:
17th: Ronan Nieimi, D4, killed by ?
Ronan, Ronan, Ronan. He had so much spirit and spunk and him and Cali were always fun to write (even if it meant torturing rb a little :heart:). His dedication to his brothers and to Cali were always fun (and a little sad at times) to explore, but he really did have a good heart and good intentions (even if he didn't know how to best go about them). Thank you for sending him in phobie, and uh, I'm sorry rb :heart:
Sinking ship: Eleanora
Choux's bestie: Astel, Choux
Bro alliance: Roman, Davidson, Ozzy
Reunited!: Vetiver, Chaffinch
Hiding in mountains: Owain, Exa, Aizen
lost in the fire: Mori
various places / alone: Valerian, Cali, Amatus, Dahlia