TW: Radiation poisoning suggestions in this chapter.
Day Two of the Arena
July 3rd, 2427
Aida Canterra, 18
Landon and the Twos are still not back from their little escapade, and it has now been over twenty-four hours. Aida isn't in the business of just sitting around and letting others get all the credit, and neither, she predicts, are Geneve, Brizio, and Emery.
As they pass through more piles of rubble, and between ruined houses searching for any sign of other tributes, Aida finds herself drifting closer and closer to the One girl. Ever since Geneve told her about her family's murder, Aida has been able to see her in a different light; she's no longer another faceless career in the way of Aida's destiny, she's a person with her own history, problems, and anxieties… just like Aida.
(Just like Sadie Lowlett.)
Last night, the pair's conversation drifted between many different topics, but Aida did manage to squeeze out some information about Geneve, despite the girl trying her best to steer the conversation in different directions every time it landed on her. She found out that Geneve has a girlfriend, and that she was adopted by the Head Peacekeeper - a man named Cesar, who she helps solve cases. Geneve spoke of him in high regard, and Aida knows just by the way she talked about him that she would do anything to prove herself to him.
(Aida knows all about that.)
Aida glances at the tall One girl out of her peripheral vision as she leads the group through the wasteland with a newfound confidence in her stride.
(She should tell Geneve about Sadie. Geneve told her about her family, after all.
If anyone would understand then it would be Geneve.)
(But she can't because what would Geneve think of her if she did?
Aida is exactly the kind of person that the detective career would help throw behind bars.)
(So, Sadie Lowlett must remain hidden under the surface, never to see the light of day again.)
As the group travels further away from the factory surrounding the cornucopia, the houses slowly become sparser and are replaced by thin brown gravel and black soot.
The haze around them expands causing their visibility to decrease, but at the very least, Aida can make out a large metallic dome surrounded by a crater.
Just then, an old-fashioned television with a smashed screen switches on from black. A news anchor with a classic mustache and wearing a smart suit begins reading from a prompt while his voice booms all around the arena. "Attention all tributes. I bring you breaking news that there has been a radiation leak at the nearby Powerplant. You are advised to wear your masks until the Geiger readers in your pockets are quiet again. If you get radiation sickness, then it is advised that you seek anti-rads. Take extra caution tonight, mutations will be more deadly, and stay near a light source at all times. This will be your only warning." The voice sharply cuts out.
"Did you hear that?" Aida exclaims.
"What the hell is a gei-whatever?" Emery asks.
Just then, the devices in all four tribute's pockets begin clicking in a frenzy, so loud and fast that they can't even hear each other's voices.
"Your masks! Get them on!" Geneve shouts. Almost immediately, the One girl pulls the mask over her face in a fluid motion by tugging her hood. Aida can still see her bright green eyes through a plastic visor over her face.
Emery is next to get his mask on. Meanwhile, Aida and Brizio are left fumbling with theirs, unable to get them over their faces. As Aida desperately tugs at her suit, she realises that it is stuck in the hood. Each second that passes feels like a minute. Her breaths grow louder and her hand shakes erratically, making it all the more difficult to fix her mask.
Aida looks to her district partner - he has finally managed to secure his mask over his face, but she is still struggling. "I can't get it on!" She yells, now breathing so heavily that she feels she is about to run out of air.
Geneve rushes to Aida and then yanks the mask over the dark-haired girl's face. Finally, she can breathe again. Her heart rate slows.
"H-how long was I exposed?" Aida murmurs.
"Only a few seconds… It'll be fine," Geneve says, rubbing her shoulder to bring her comfort - a very alien feeling to Aida. She looks at Geneve's hand confused, like she has sprouted claws out her fingertips.
Aida would guess an hour passes before the devices in their pockets go quiet again, but her entire concept of time has seemed to be muddled, so it could have been half of that.
One by one, the group gradually begin removing their masks with Aida being the last one to do so, hesitantly at that.
"Check it out," Emery calls. The young man is standing up on a mound, pointing off in the distance. "It's that old church-lookin' building I saw from the Cornucopia."
Aida strides up next to him and places her hand above her eyes to get a better look. "This place can't be as big as I initially thought," she thinks aloud. She peers around; suddenly she doesn't recognize any of her surroundings… or even remember how she got here.
"What? It feels like we've been walking for hours," Brizio adds, disorientated.
Aida turns to Brizio. "Yeah… does it feel like… like you don't remember how we got here?"
He nods slowly. His eyes are uneasy; Aida has never seen her district partner lose his composure like this.
"What are you guys talking about?" Geneve steps in with a bemused tone.
Aida grits her teeth and grips her spear tightly. She strides onward in the direction of the church-like building. She won't let this place defeat her. She'll kill at least one tribute before the sun sets. Her parents are watching, and she won't fail in front of them.
"Hold on! Aida, let's just take a minute," Geneve calls from behind.
"No! Let's not take a minute!"
But Aida's body doesn't give her a choice in the matter. Her head is heavy, like it is being weighed down by a thousand boulders.
Everything is… blurry.
She clutches her throbbing forehead and then slumps down on a pile of rubble.
Geneve charges over to her and yells, "Aida! What's the matter!"
"Nothing! I'm f-fine."
"No, you're not," the One girl responds, placing her hand on Aida's forehead to inspect it. "We need to get back to base and find a light source before it gets dark," she orders.
"Light source?"
"Yeah." Geneve furrows her eyebrows. "Don't you remember the game maker's warning?"
No. Aida doesn't say that though; she simply faces the ground in shame. "No! We need to get a kill!"
"I wasn't asking. I was telling," Geneve says, wrapping Aida's arm around her shoulder and helping her to her feet.
Aida aggressively shoves her away. "Don't you get it! They're punishing us because we're not doing our job!"
Geneve looks at the Four girl with stricken eyes. "You are not yourself."
"You don't even know me, Geneve!"
Why can't they see what's staring them in the face? We're not good enough. That's why the game makers are doing this. They're taking matters into their own hands.
I'm not good enough.
I never am.
Auren Demerre, 16
"So are we gonna just ignore that part of the announcement 'bout the lights?" Auren says as the group trudges through the dimming forest. She receives no answer from her allies. "Okay… I guess we could just aimlessly wander around this forest instead. Great plan."
Briar sighs. "Look… it could have just as easily been a trick. I mean do you really trust them?"
"Whatever…"
After the devices in their pockets quiet down, the group removes their masks; Auren exhales in relief.
The truth is - even if they wanted to find a light source, they wouldn't be able to. At this point, they have no way of knowing where or even when they entered this tangling black web of a forest. All that surrounds them are black trunks, roots, and spines that grow from the forest floor like mutated spores. What little light they had from the outside is rapidly fading with the impending night.
What's worse, there hasn't been sight or sound of any living thing for a long time. That was the one thing Auren could always rely on for comfort when Letta was sending her to bust another helpless kid's jaw in; the buzzing of bees or the humming of cicadas brought back comfort from a past life. But here, she gets no such luck.
Despite nothing being alive, Auren can… sense movement around them, it's like the forest is changing or shifting. Auren's not sure if it's the trees themselves or something else doing it; but either way, it sends a shiver through her entire body. She shakes the feeling away as soon as she feels its icy grip.
(She's not scared.)
The group decides to stop for a quick break just underneath a large, overbearing tree with multiple branches that jut out like claws that could reach down and pluck one of them up.
Auren glances around at her exhausted allies and then at the forest; it's getting darker.
"Still no sign of any light… but I guess if your plan is to get another one of us killed then you're succeeding, Briar," Auren grumbles.
Briar completely ignores the short-haired Ten girl this time; she doesn't even make eye contact. She simply takes a swig from her drink before fiddling around inside her bag. This makes Auren's blood start to boil. Does she even care that they could die?
Reese attempts to console Auren with a smile and says, "my mom always used to say "every adventure has its dangers," and I think this is no different."
However, this has the opposite intended effect, and Auren locks onto the freckled Eleven boy as her new target. "When are you gonna grow up?" She snaps.
Reese's eyes drop to the ground in despair.
Chaney jumps to Reese's defense. "Hey, what's your problem?" He snaps back at Auren.
"My problem? Look around you." She gestures to their unsettling surroundings. "Where are we? I'll tell you where we are: we're in Murder City, that's where. Population twenty-something… and dwindling."
Silence again.
Auren rolls her eyes, and shifts in her seat. "And who have we got in charge of our survival? This fucking criminal over here." She points at Briar, who continues to ignore her.
"Fucking joke."
Briar finally looks up at Auren from her bag. "I know what your problem is: you're afraid. Just like all of us. Only difference is you wanna hide it with this tough-act bullshit."
Auren's blood boils even more ferociously and she purses her lips. To her, someone accusing her of being afraid is the same as a spit in the face.
(She's not afraid, otherwise she's a victim again.
And if she's a victim, others can bully her again.)
"You don't know the first thing about me," Auren shoots back.
"Sure I do."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah," Briar nods. "I run into people like you every day back home. From my experience, you're more afraid than anyone else."
Auren's face boils red, she locks eyes with Briar. "Keep running your jaw, smartass, it's gonna get you hurt."
The group is suddenly like a ticking time bomb. An unbearable silence is cast over them, as Auren and Briar stare each other down. Chaney and Reese dart their eyes between the two rough girls as they duel with words. All the while the forest grows darker and darker…
But Briar does not break eye contact, so Auren resumes her verbal onslaught. "Let me tell you something-"
"What?"
"-I don't walk this world with fear in my heart, that's how I survive. I'm not a punk unlike you people," Auren growls, chest heaving.
"Keep telling yourself that then."
Auren finally explodes, pushing herself up off the log she was sitting on. She curls her hands into fists and steps straight to Briar. "Alright then, you mouthy fuck. Put your money where your mouth is. Stand up, and I'm gonna show you how it's done."
Briar throws her bag down, moving her hand down to her pocket, and then she slowly rises to meet the challenge while Chaney jumps to his feet like a guard dog on alert.
But, Reese is the first to try to step in between them. He tugs Auren by the arm. "Please! Stop!" he begs.
Auren shoves the small, lanky boy back down. "Get off me, Reese!"
Briar takes advantage of the distraction and leaps on Auren; the blond girl seizes her by her suit, trips her, and slams her to the ground. Auren feels the breath knocked from her lungs as Briar crushes her knee down on the girl's gut.
In the blink of an eye, Briar has a knife against Auren's throat. "Cut this shit out! Ya hear me!?"
Auren thrashes around underneath the Nine girl, desperately trying to swipe at her face despite the blade touching her throat. She groans, "you sneaky little…"
Just then, both girls freeze on the spot. Their attention is diverted to the clicking sounds that are emitting from the devices in their suits, which are louder and more rapid with each click happening almost immediately after the last.
Briar's eyes are drawn upwards. Her face drops and turns pale with dread. She releases Auren and then pushes herself up, stumbling back to where Reese and Chaney are standing; both boys also have their eyes super-glued on whatever's behind Auren.
Auren's stomach turns. She's not sure she wants to know what's spooked Briar, of all people. But when she rolls over to face it she soon finds out.
It is dark all around now. But, a few metres away there is a face staring at them - a glowing pair of eyes and a mouth; the outlines of which are jagged and sharp like they could cut through you. The mouth is twisted into a permanent grin.
Auren hesitantly scrambles to her feet and inches backward to join the others. "What the fuck…" she whispers. "What does it want?"
"You?" Briar answers, her tone sounding more hopeful than sincere.
"I don't like the way it's lookin' at me," Chaney murmurs.
Then, it zips closer at the speed of a shutter on a camera. The entire group jumps back.
"It's the light," Reese realises aloud.
"What?" Auren mutters.
"They said we needed to get close to a light source before dark."
More faces begin popping up in front of them, only broken up by the trees.
"What are they?" Auren asks.
"I don't think we should stick around to find out," Chaney replies. He and Briar begin stepping back at an ever-increasing pace, followed by Reese and Auren.
Eventually, the four are in a full-on sprint in the opposite direction to the strange faces.
"They're getting closer," Auren gasps, glancing back.
(She suddenly feels powerless, like she's eleven again, and is being chased by bullies across the path leading to her school.
That was the last time she's run from a fight until now.)
More faces pop up in every direction - in front, behind, left, and right. Meanwhile, the devices in their pockets keep clicking.
They're everywhere.
Auren stops dead along with her allies. The faces are squeezing in around them from all directions.
They are cornered.
"What now?" Chaney blurts.
"Light… we need to get to a light source!" Reese exclaims.
"There aren't any! We're fucked." Auren pants.
"Then we make our own," Reese rebuts.
A light bulb activates inside Auren's head and she wants to kick herself. Of course.
"Quick! Gather some twigs!" Reese orders.
Auren, Briar, and Reese begin rapidly bundling some twigs into a pile, while Chaney searches through his bag, tossing several objects behind him. "I'm sure there was a lighter in here somewhere!"
At last, the Nine boy holds the lighter up. "I got it!" He tosses it into Briar's hands. Her fumbling thumb snaps desperately on the lighter as she wipes her perspiring forehead.
Finally, flames crackle from the pile of twigs, just as the faces are mere meters away and have grown giant, engulfing the teenagers in a circle around the fire.
But it works. The faces slink back behind the trees, desperate to get away from the light. The four allies are left huddled together, close to the fire; so much so that Auren feels the heat on her back.
Once the faces have completely disappeared out of view, into the dark, Auren pulls herself quickly away from her allies and stands back up. She wipes the sweat from her forehead. "Yeah, you better run! That's what I thought!" She shouts into the distance.
"Reese! You did it!" Briar says, facing the slim boy, who is clambering back to his feet.
Chaney gives Reese a pat on the back. "Hell yeah, Reese!"
Reese lifts his head up high; a satisfied smile is on his lips.
Despite the horrors that they narrowly survived, it's the first time Auren has seen Chaney excited, and Reese smiling since the games began.
"Not bad, Bean," Auren offers.
After this, the quartet sits next to the fire in silence. They obsessively check that the fire won't burn itself out every few seconds to prevent the creatures in the dark from returning.
At least half an hour goes by before Reese breaks the silence. "Hey Auren," he mutters between breaths.
Auren turns to him.
"N-never do anything like that to me again, okay? I'm not gonna take it anymore."
"Anything like what?"
"Pushing me around. Calling me names. None of that shit."
As Auren stares into his eyes, she feels a knot of guilt in her stomach. It's something she hasn't felt in a long time. He could be her when she was a little girl being pushed around by Letta and her gang.
(Did Auren ever really want to be a Letta? Or would she have much rather stayed as a Reese?)
Auren's head slumps. "I-I'm sorry," she mumbles, then she glances around at the rest of her allies. "I'm sorry," she repeats, louder. "I'm Afra-" she cuts herself off before she says it.
Reese gives Auren a gentle smile. "I understand," he says.
Chaney clears his throat. "Urm… are we all gonna ignore the fact that Reese just said a swear."
The Nines glance at each other before bursting out in a chuckle.
Reese turns red with embarrassment. "Oh… oops."
"If I survive this then I'm gonna tell your mom," Chaney quips.
Now Reese is laughing as well until he suddenly stops and frowns. "Wait… will you actually?" he asks, facing the tall boy.
More laughter, and this time Auren can't prevent herself from joining in, which surprises everyone sitting around the fire… including herself.
Meridian Birdie, 18
Meridian sits slumped against the inside of the train, that they have become trapped in, facing Day. They have no idea what time of the day it is. It's impossible to know whilst trapped underground in this metro station. Dark bags line their eyes from not sleeping all night. Their lips are dry and their stomach groans for food; Meilin and Liz have the food bag, so when Meridian and Day got separated from their other two allies, they also got separated from their only access to food and water.
Meridian looks through the window on the door to the next carriage. The muscular Two girl is pacing up and down like a mountain lion unable to reach its prey. When Day locked all the train doors, including the doors between the individual carriages, the Two girl got trapped in the carriage next to theirs.
Not wanting to face the career in combat, their plan is to hope that the career will starve to death before them. But unfortunately, the plan is not going very well. While Meridian is sure that Day can outlast the Two girl, he's not sure if he can.
(Here he goes again - messing things up for Day.)
He knows this is the point where he should do the noble thing and sacrifice themself for the girl sitting opposite him, the one whose life he destroyed. At least then he'd die saving the life he ruined. But…he can't. One simple fact remains - Meridian Birdie is not ready to die.
Meridian knows they'll have to release the doors soon and just hope their luck will continue and they can outrun the Two girl. They can't sit in here any longer.
The District Five pair's eyes meet, knowing what they'll soon have to do.
Meridian leans his head back wearily. "I'm sorry you're trapped in here with me. I'm probably the last person on Earth you wanna be trapped anywhere with," he says. "I'm… I'm sorry about a lot of things-"
"-just save it," Day sighs, looking away. "We could die at any moment. It really doesn't matter now, does it?"
"We could die… I think I owe it to you."
"Owe what to me?"
Meridian doesn't quite know how to answer that. The answer to that question is still a missing piece to the puzzle that is his mind, and he's not sure where to find it.
He opens his mouth to speak but they are cut off by the sounds of the lights rapidly switching off one by one, casting the train into darkness starting from the very back and gradually moving up towards the Fives.
Suddenly, Meridian is alert. They jump up to their feet and Day does the same. They stare down the train carriage at the traveling darkness, then squint as they spot something glowing in the shadows.
"Are those… faces?" They mutter to Day.
His district partner leans closer to get a look. "They look like… some kind of mutt."
Meridian's entire body shakes with fear then he stutters, "r-remember what the game makers said about lights and mutts earlier?"
The pair glance at each other before turning back to charge into the control room, where the controls for the electrics are.
As the power goes out in each carriage, so do the locks on the doors - each door slides open as soon as the lights go off.
The power outage hits the carriage next to theirs. Then, the only thing in between the Fives and the Two girl is gone.
The career instantly bolts through the door, raising her Warhammer. But she is not fast enough; the glowing faces are behind her in a flash, and her entire body is dragged back into the darkness with an inhuman strong tug.
Her cries for help reverberate through the train but only last a few moments before a cannon fires.
BOOM
"The lights!" Meridian yells, his words spilling out in a flood of panic.
Meridian and Day stumble into the front of the train together. Day rips the door to the control box, where the power switches are, straight off of its hinges. Meridian kneels down beside her to inspect the insides of the control box. In front of their eyes are ten black switches which control the power of each train carriage and more importantly - the lights.
.
"We need to reset all the carriages!" Cries Day.
Neither of them has time to read which carriages they are powering back up as they begin hectically flipping the switches up.
The carriage they are in is suddenly cast in darkness. Meridian's heart jolts in their chest. After that, each time he flips the wrong carriage light on, it's like a stab to the chest.
In the moments that follow, time seems to slow to a halt.
Is this it? Has Meridian and Day's lights been extinguished for good?
In that case, he has to tell Day the truth. He has to tell them how he felt on that last night they spent together; they were exploring the community gardens together, and then they stared into each other's sparkling eyes. That was the last night that he felt happy. He has to tell her how he felt on that night…
He attempts to grab his district partner's attention as they frantically flip various switches. "Day… Day…"
"What?" Her eyes are poised on the control box.
"If this is it… then… t-then I have to tell you something-"
"No. Don't think like that. It's not over 'till it's over," Day insists.
That's what Meridian always liked about Day - they could never stop themself from hoping.
Meridian gasps and slinks back as a large glowing face appears in their carriage. Dark shadowy hands shoot out from under the face.
"Day… you have to know. I-"
In the nick of time, Day finally hits the correct switch. Light envelopes the entire carriage, and the face vanishes as fast as it appeared.
The girl from Dawning Avenue and the boy from Fly High Energy slump back against the control panel of the train, panting heavily. Meridian has never been so happy to see the light.
After a few minutes of silence, Day mutters, "well she's dead," referring to the Scary girl from Two.
"Uh-huh," Meridian responds.
Day turns their head to him. "So… you were saying?"
"Hm?"
"You had something you wanted to tell me?"
"Oh… I…" Meridian begins twiddling with their thumbs.
They can't tell her yet. They can't tell her because he owes her an apology first - a true, sincere, heartfelt apology.
"It's nothing… not… not important right now," he murmurs.
The Five pair sits in silence together for some time after this until their thirst and hunger can't take it anymore.
"There's gotta be a way to get that door open… some control switch for it," says Day, staring at the train door on their right.
Then, lights activate all around them, lighting up the entire station. Not long after, in one of the other carriages, there is the sound of metal scraping against metal.
Two girls stumble inside the train after prizing the doors open with a metal pole - one is slightly taller and tanned while the other is shorter and paler.
"They must be in here somewhere," one says.
"W-what about the career?" The other says in a more hushed voice.
Meridian recognizes them almost instantly - Liz and Meilin. They've never been so glad to see anyone in their entire life.
The two girls' eyes light up when they spot the Fives.
Liz points excitedly. "There!"
Eight and Three race over to where Meridian and Day are slumped. But then Liz halts, her eyes examining the Five pair. "Are we… interrupting something?" She muses.
Meilin takes note of their dry lips. She quickly begins rummaging around in the food bag before producing bottles of water and depositing them in the hands of Merdian and Day.
"We're so glad to see you're okay," Liz says. "We've been following the direction the train went on foot since yesterday… then we heard a cannon and we were worried-"
"Then these creepy faces started appearing everywhere," Meilin chimes in.
"Not gonna lie, I think they could have been fun to draw," Liz interjects.
Meilin frowns at the Eight girl. "Liz?"
"What?"
"It was the career," Day adds. "The cannon, I mean. What happened to your two?"
"I think we lost them," Liz answers.
"Urm…Sorry to interrupt, but could we please get off this train? We've been trapped in here for like forever," Meridian says.
"Oh! Of course!"
Liz and Meilin help the Fives to their feet. Then, together, they wander out of the train, and back into the lit-up station.
Meridian sticks close to their allies as they journey through the underground. For the first time since he was in Dawning Avenue, he feels a sense of security, as strange as that sounds.
He's just glad they're all here, alive and well - Meilin, and Liz, and… Day. If Meridian has any say in it then nothing will ever change that.
They can't lose their happiness again.
Brizio Nardolillo, 18
The Capitol truly took Brizio for a fool. What's worse is - they were right. He can't believe he fell for their promise of "protection". Brizio has had plenty of dealings with crooks, who will stab you in the back as soon as you outgrow your usefulness; in fact, he was raised by them - his family and The Bonannos who they stole for, killed for, and peddled drugs for. He ran away from the false security of the Bonannos only to fall into the hands of The Capitol. Life has a cruel irony to it.
(Maybe he was so desperate for real protection for himself and Tancred that he lept at the first chance he got.)
They blackmailed me… they deceived me.
(Never again!)
The assassin looks behind him at his three allies, who are trailing him, and desperately scrambling over the rubble to get back to the cornucopia. Emery is just behind him, while Geneve is further back as she is helping Aida along, who is in bad shape.
Brizio's memory has been fuzzy ever since he was hit with that radiation earlier; it's as though his time in the arena before that is a dream that he's just woken from.
(He wishes he had.)
The throbbing in Brizio's head isn't helping either. He imagines it's what Aida is feeling too. He doesn't know what The Capitol did earlier. He was never educated about things like radiation or mutations. He never had to worry about such things when surviving in the back alleys of Four. He's not sure if The Capitol did blast him with radiation or just a gimmick of it, knowing their lies it's probably the latter. He knows one thing for sure - that he feels like he's ingested a gallon of poison into his body.
He shakes his head. None of that matters right now. If they don't get back to their base before all the light has faded then he's sure there will be worse things in store for them.
A factory comes into view under the dimming light below the skyline, and finally, something seems to reactivate in Brizio's memory - it's the factory in which they entered the arena.
But the evening is drawing in and Brizio can barely see by the time they approach the factory doors. He turns, his eyes travel around the wasteland - glowing eyes and mouths with rows of razor-sharp grinning teeth materialize in the shadows, and soon enough they are the only thing he can see.
"I'm guessing those are the worse mutts they were talking about," Emery says, stopping next to the curly, dark-haired boy.
Geneve and Aida rush past them and then yank the door to the factory open. Once the two girls are inside, lights are automatically triggered inside. The Four boy is shoved towards the door by Emery. Once inside, he finds himself in a lit-up corridor with Geneve and Aida.
Emery is the last to cross into the light of the corridor. But, he is not fast enough - shadowy claws stretch out from under the multiple glowing eyes and he is dragged back outside with incredible force.
"Em!" Brizio gasps. He throws himself at the Ten boy, in an attempt to pull him back into the light.
The mercenary and the pie maker's hands wrap around each other then they simultaneously kick at the monsters in the dark, trying to get them to release Emery.
"Heads up!" Aida croaks, aiming her spear over her shoulder with the last of her strength.
Brizio and Emery duck their heads as the Four Girl unleashes her spear directly at the faces in the dark. The spear goes home and a primal screech follows, bouncing between the corridors. The creature that had a hold of Emery finally releases him, allowing Brizio to drag him to safety.
Once back on their feet, the four make their way down the corridor. They cross several flights of stairs and metal grates until they emerge above the circular structure around the cornucopia.
It is dark all around. It's only mere moments before the sounds of multiple tapping footsteps grow louder as they near the careers.
"They're coming!" Geneve exclaims.
Next to The Cornucopia, a campfire burns in dazzling multi-colours. Brizio is not sure who built it, but it doesn't matter. "Over there! Light!" He points.
They charge down the metal stairs in single file. When they reach the bottom, Brizio feels soft gravel on his boots.
But, Brizio knows they can't outrun those things. Soon enough, he can practically feel them on his back.
But just as all hope seems to have been snatched from them, a fireball flies through the night air and strikes the floor just behind the group.
Brizio can hear the creatures in the dark shrieking once again, but this time with a pitch so high that it threatens to burst his ear drums.
More fireballs come hurtling at the creatures; one of them lands right at Brizio's feet, almost scorching his boots. However, he gets the chance to get a better look at what the fireballs are - they are mostly just scrunched up paper draped in oil and then set alight, by the looks of it.
Brizzio turns his gaze in the direction of the campfire, where the fire is being thrown from. If he could facepalm in frustration then he would. Romulus and Landon stand by the fire; they are working together to crush paper into balls, and then setting them alight before throwing around at the faces in the dark.
Romulus's voice booms in the night air, "Turns out, they don't like fire much!". A satisfied grin is on the cocky boy's face.
Brizio seethingly purses his lips but is glad deep down for the help.
"Rom, Landon!" Exclaims Geneve. The One girl is the first to make it to the fire with Aida at her side.
"Not Rom!" The bulky Two boy calls out. He holds two paper fireballs in either hand proudly and declares, "I am Prometheus, demigod of the careers and the giver of fire!" Then he glances at Landon. "And this is my trusty sidekick - Carrottop!"
Brizio cringes hard inside. That boy really has the gall to liken himself to a god? Meanwhile, Emery can't contain his laughter as the pair of them reach the campfire together. "Carrottop!" The Ten boy blurts.
"Ya know, it's 'cos of my hair," Landon says tilting his eyes up at his long, dark red hair which is tied in a bun.
Romulus suddenly yelps in pain and releases the paper-fireballs. "Quick! Kick them away," he says, nudging the fire with his foot.
The group of six work together to kick the fireballs away. But despite that, Romulus was right, the faces hate fire - they are backing away from the fire as if it is toxic to them like poison.
"Alright then, Prometheus. It looks like you made it back okay. I take it you had a successful hunt?" Geneve sarcastically asks.
The boys from One and Two freeze and glance at each other awkwardly.
Geneve impatiently shakes her head. "And Meridia?"
"She… uh… fell behind," Landon answers.
"So what the hell was the point in - you know what? Nevermind."
"Hey, who were the two idiots that just saved your asses?" Romulus protests.
Is Geneve now starting to realise the impossible and unbearable task of trying to control Romulus? - Brizio ponders.
Suddenly, Aida drops down and slumps against the concrete structure of the cornucopia, clasping her head. "I really… don't feel so good," she complains, her dark eyes are bloodshot.
Geneve drops her weapon and falls down beside her. "You need to rest!"
The Four Girl lets out a groan of frustration. "I don't have time to rest." She attempts to stand back up but Geneve forces her back down.
"Rest! Gosh, Aida." Then, the leader of the careers furrows her eyebrows when she sees Aida's nose. "Aida… your nose…"
Brizio notices it too. Blood has begun dripping out of both of his district partner's nostrils.
Aida is clearly in bad shape. Her allies rapidly bring her a cloth for her nosebleed and then a sleeping back to lie on.
Afterward, for the next few hours, the five careers that are still standing, keep a tight, defensive perimeter around the fire.
"Tomorrow, we need to go out and search for the medicine that the announcer mentioned," Geneve informs them. This time there are no objections from anyone.
A few more hours go by like this. Eventually, it becomes clear that those faces aren't coming back to the cornucopia while their fire burns. There is finally a clue of what time it is when the death announcements confirm Meridia is the only death of the day.
Geneve keeps checking up on Aida, who responds with verbal confirmations.
When the danger has mostly subsided, the throbbing in Brizio's head makes its unwelcome comeback; he feels as bad as Aida looks. The young man sits down on the gravel holding his heavy head. He hasn't told the others. He won't. He can't show weakness now, not ever. His brother is depending on him.
Emery is suddenly beside him, on the gravel, and this time, the assassin is taken by surprise.
"Why did you do that?" Emery questions, his eyes staring into the distance.
"What?"
"Rescue me back there? I'd be one less person in your way of getting home."
Because I made your mom a promise
"Because we're allies?" Is his answer.
Brizio is not prepared to drop the bombshell that he met Emery's mom yet and she helped him assassinate The President. Not that he'd even believe him if he did.
Emery sighs with a cheeky grin. "Goddammit, Brizio." He pecks the Four boy's cheek with his lips. But then, Emery freezes, turning pale, his eyes move to Brizio's nose. "Oh no… not you as well."
Brizio places his hand up against his nostrils. He feels blood dripping onto the skin of his palm, and when he pulls his hand away, he gets a glimpse of the dark, red liquid.
Emery sinks his head down, and despair floods his eyes. "You coulda said something…"
"I'll be fine," Brizio states.
"Tomorrow, we're getting you the medicine… I'm getting it for you. You saved my life, I save yours."
Brizio nods, finally accepting the help. He's not used to being vulnerable, when he was growing up, his father never let him, and when he ran away from home at the age of thirteen, he became the sole provider for his brother.
Even so, he finds himself not minding the help.
Deaths
21st: Meridia (District Two Female): Killed by the Faces In The Dark.
Here I have introduced a few new concepts including the radiation poisoning. I'm mainly using it to affect tribute's minds and further confuse and disorientate them for now but it also makes the mutts more deadly. Then we have the faces, they actually turned out creepier than I intended sorry about that lol but I decided to only do 4 povs for this chapter because while the concept of the mutts was fun, it started to get a little repetitive. Next chapter will be more focused on the other alliances. Each chapter I'm aiming for 4-6 povs. Also, our last npov is dead! Let me know your thoughts and see you next time.