Chapter 7: In Which The Worst Happens
"Here comes the rain again,
Falling from the stars.
Drenched in my pain again,
Becoming who we are…"
Green Day, "Wake Me Up When September Ends"
She hadn't left the chair since the interviews. She hadn't eaten or drank anything since then, let alone relieve herself. She hadn't slept either.
There was something nagging in the back of her mind, something that told her she needed to be there for whatever was coming next. Something that made breathing a little more difficult and her head ached — although, thinking back on it later, that could have been due to many different factors.
Matthew and Bobby picked up on her irritation and generally let her be, although she didn't mind when they held her hands and fell asleep against her. Their silence and presence was comforting.
Helena had gotten up numerous times and paced back and forth, before sitting down and worrying her hands. Her nails, like Annabeth's, were bitten down to the quick.
Frederick had gone and retrieved food on a couple of occasions, but he stayed with them for the most part.
Randolph sat quietly behind Annabeth almost the entire time. Every now and again, he would get up and use a toilet, but he'd return soon enough.
After another Tribute died, the air became heavy with tension and sticky with the coming rain. But the clouds growing darker by the hour did little to dissuade the District 8 viewers. There was no getting around it.
The end of this year's Hunger Games was coming close to the end, and Magnus had survived this long. He had earned his 9 with the skin of his teeth.
Annabeth felt a ping of sorrow for the Loomer family. She hadn't even realized the girl had died a few days ago. She'd been so focused on Magnus and his startling length of survival.
She wasn't sure when they had left the area but their seats had long since been taken over by people placing bets. Most of them were still betting against Magnus. She had half a thought to go over and strangle them. She tried to ignore them, but their sneering voices dug into her ears and stuck there.
Helena was the one who cracked and chased them away, in the end. She could be quite terrifying when she wanted to be, Annabeth would hand it to her.
Still, it was only a matter of time before Percy and Magnus ran into the remaining Careers.
That thought alone weighed heavier on her than anything else.
Everything felt so tangible now. And she wasn't ready for it.
As annoying as he was, Percy was perfect company for Magnus. They got along like plaid on wool. If only they both could survive…
But, no. This was the Hunger Games. Things like that only happened in her dreams.
The day mostly passed with them watching as the two remaining Careers tried to hunt Magnus and Percy down. Both of them had passed the boys' hideout twice. If Percy and Magnus hadn't made such a show about possibly being discovered, there was no doubt in her mind that the Gamemakers would have made it happen with a rockslide or something.
She would give it to them, the pair could be clever when they put their brains together.
As the sun set, however, Magnus decided to venture out of the cave.
"I'm better at finding food," Magnus said. "I was the best in training."
"You were third in training," Percy said, hobbling on his injured leg over to Magnus.
"Only to District 11. And they just happened to already know a lot about plants."
"How do you know so much about plants? And healing?"
Magnus shrugged, scuffing the toe of his boot on the ground.
"My dad. He has… had this book on herbs and healing."
Percy frowned for a moment before nodding slowly. Annabeth wondered if they had ever talked about their families. She couldn't really recall if they had — she was sure they might have at one point — but Percy seemed to be struggling to remember anything.
"You've never said anything about your dad," he said.
"Doesn't really matter," Magnus told him. "He wasn't in my life, so I don't really want to be in his."
"Same. Never really knew my dad. I was told he died in a boating accident."
"Someone from District 4 dying in a boating accident? Doesn't seem very likely."
"Yeah, well. It happens sometimes. People get cocky, you know? And they lose sight on what's important to them."
Magnus nodded, looking rather grim.
"I," he said. "I'll be back soon. I'm going to try and find us something to eat. Don't wait up for me."
"If I don't die of boredom first."
Magnus gave a short laugh and hiked down the thin trail. How they had both made it up there, she would never understand. Especially with Percy's leg.
Unless he was faking it?
No. Magnus would have known. He'd know right away. Injuries were his thing, after all.
And she and all of Panem had witnessed him being hit by the hammer. It wasn't quite a broken leg, but it was an injury, nonetheless.
Magnus was light on his feet as he crept through the forest. It was like he knew where to place his foot so he wouldn't step on a stick.
She frowned. Had he always been that good at sneaking around? She tried to recall the last time she had heard him trying to sneak up on her out in the woods. It had been a year, at the least.
But she couldn't remember him ever learning how to do it.
Something weighed down the pits of her stomach.
Had he purposefully been training for the Hunger Games without her? But… why?
Unfortunately, she didn't have more time to ponder the question. An arrow sunk itself in the tree just to the left of Magnus. The tip had grazed his nose, making him yelp and stumble backwards.
"Hey, 8." It was one of the Careers. Annabeth thought she was from District 2. "Want to see if you're faster than me?"
She notched another arrow and waited to see what he would do.
Magnus could only stare at her with wide eyes.
She loosed the arrow and it followed the first into the tree. This time, it got his ear.
He raised a hand up and touched it. When he pulled his hand back, there was a smear of blood coating his palm.
He took off before she could notch another arrow. Annabeth watched as the Career gave a smile and chased after him. She whooped and hollered the whole way.
Magnus tripped over anything and everything he could, and he ran into quite a few trees. Somehow, though, he made it halfway up the cliffside before the girl could catch up with him.
She smiled seeing how he couldn't move very far very quickly. She notched an arrow and shot it up to him. Too wide. She didn't factor in the wind.
Annabeth heard her grumble something, but it was unintelligible.
Another arrow was notched and this time it just barely missed him.
Magnus shuffled more quickly along the narrow path.
The camera switched to a split screen, showing Percy lying on the ground trying to encourage Magnus to move faster up to safety. Well, as much safety as the cave could provide, all things considered.
But Magnus wasn't fast enough. An arrow sunk itself into his leg.
He stumbled, almost falling down.
The girl below still laughed, notching a final arrow. It landed in his shoulder.
Magnus let out a gasp, blinking up at the sky. And then he pitched backward, towards the ground.
Annabeth did not stay around to see what happened next.