Thanks to AstralKnight98, Dani H. Danvers, critixu, Tales from the Cluttered Desk, Guest, owlthewriter, .23, Cori Anna, & Very New To This for the reviews!
Enjoy!
Chapter XXIII Bear Hug
Night 1 of the 59th Hunger Games
The cannon blast startled Maddie, who's shoulders jumped in surprise. How in the world did the other Careers find another Tribute so quickly? Cas, who was walking ahead of her, turned and chuckled.
"Nervous?" He asked her, insincerity dripping from his tone.
"It just surprised me." Maddie replied.
"A strong gust of wind surprises you, Maddie." Cas replied, continuing on.
Maddie let the insult stand. What was she going to do about it anyways? They were allies and she couldn't have Cas turning on her. Not when she was alone, and Nicola wasn't with her. She loathed Casanova Rothschild though. Ever since they met at the Chariot Parade the boy had looked down on her, also speaking in such a patronizing tone. It reminded her of how some of the older boys at the Academy spoke to the newbies; feigning friendship and then laughing about the boys later. Typical bullies, which Maddie could ignore, except Cas was dangerous.
She was also nervous about their hunt. Somewhere in this forest was that lunatic from 7, armed with a knife that the other Careers didn't seem to realize she had. Did they not see her running with it when they first tired to cross the sandbar? It was all Maddie's eyes could see until the mutt jumped from the water. Every tree they passed made Maddie wondered if her end was nigh, imagining the girl from 7 hiding in the rainbow trees and waiting for them to pass under so she could start stabbing.
Maddie shuddered at the thought and kept moving, thankful for her night vision goggle. There was some light on this island though. Every tree had leaves that were lit up, somehow able to generate light. Even the candy fruit was glowing, and sometimes they passed by pink mushrooms sprouting around the roots of the trees that glowed like lightbulbs. None of it was bright enough to banish all the shadows though, thus the importance of the night vision.
Despite the beautiful colors, her nighttime journey with Cas wasn't cheerful. Cas was chatty with everyone in the alliance – even boorish Pietyr – but with her, Cas acted like Maddie was the lowest of the low from the Outliers. It vexed her, and after a half hour of walking she couldn't take it anymore.
"So… you were adopted?" She tried.
Cas turned his head slightly back to her, beautiful features cold to her words. "You caught that, huh?" He asked.
"Um… what was that like?"
Cas laughed, tone harsh. "Great." He said.
"Oh, that's nice." Maddie continued. "So, the Rothschild family makes wine?"
"We don't make anything. We own the land and the vines and pay people to make wine. A key difference."
"Ah. And you mentioned that your family used to supply Monaghan cruise lines with wine, right?"
"When did I mention that?" Cas challenged.
"It was before the Parade…"
"I can't recall."
He was lying to her. Maddie just knew it. They kept walking in silence. Every few feet they'd spread out a little and scan the area for Tributes. Occasionally, they'd jump up, grab a branch and shake, trying to see if a Tribute fell out. None ever did and they instead usually had to dodge free falling candy fruits. Eventually, Maddie spoke again. "Have I done something to offend you, Cas?" She finally asked.
"Like what?" He asked, all innocence.
"I don't know. That's why I'm asking."
"Well, you are the only one of the Pack who didn't kill anyone in the Bloodbath. Makes you like someone from 12 at a dinner party."
Maddie bit her lip. Cas was smirking at the comment, his feature glowing green through the night vision. It annoyed Maddie that he still looked quite handsome in this light.
"Forget it." She said.
"Lets." Cas agreed.
They kept moving, the conversation dead.
Ophelia was as far from a doctor as one could get, but she was confident in her diagnosis: Ash was going to die soon.
If it wasn't blood loss it would certainly be from infection. How her partner had managed to walk from the Bloodbath to her was a superhuman feat in her book. But it seemed to be his last.
Ophelia had dragged him to her hideout amongst the rocks, lowering him in gently and trying to make him comfortable. The problem was how dark everything was, she couldn't really see what the injuries were, only guess by how much Ash cried out in pain when she touched different limbs. By that metric, Ophelia guessed his arm and leg were broken.
Ironically, Ophelia's only frame of reference for medical care had been the Hunger Games. During the 55th Hunger Games, a thirteen year old girl from District 6 had served as her alliance's medic. District 6 had teamed up with Districts 3 and 8 that year and managed to do well despite losing two of its members in the Bloodbath. A huge reason for that had been to the young girl's medical knowledge that she learned from her mom and dad. It hadn't been enough to save her though. She and her ally from 3 had made it to the Final Eight, only to have their skulls bashed in by a boy from District 9 who went on to win thanks to his shockingly prodigious skill with a flail.
The girl from 8 might have died, but her skills had made an impact on Ophelia. Remembering that the girl had applied pressure at key arteries to stop blood clots and infection, Ophelia took off her's and Ash's belts and wrapped them around his broken limbs, hoping to slow things down. What those "things" were was beyond Ophelia, but at least she was helping.
Beyond his broken body, Ash had a fever as hot as a furnace. She had torn off bits of her cloak and soaked them with some of the fizzy water – she was unwilling to expend her sponsor water on this – to try and cool him down. Ophelia had to be careful though as Ash's face was sliced opened, ear to jaw. Occasionally if the moonlight hit just right, Ophelia would get a glimpse of skin dangling off, making her want to retch at the sight. She traded more of his cloak to try to bandage and keep things in place.
"What happened, Ash?" She asked.
Ash shook his head, "Found you. Found you! Found you!" He repeated, voice pitched and frantic.
Oh, and to pair all of it off, along with all his other broken parts, Ash's mind was fractured.
"Did they send medicine?" He would ask, desperately.
"No." Ophelia would tell him. Ash would moan, his body shaking like he was seizing, and then calm down. A few minutes later, the whole, horrific thing would start all over again.
"Did they send medicine?"
"No…"
More crying and moaning and eventually he'd settle again. Rinse and repeat.
After an hour of this, Ophelia had to step out of their shelter. She breathed in the bitter, sour air, thankful for it after the putrid musk of dried blood, sweat, and decaying tissue. She snorted, trying to get that smell out of her nostrils. When that failed she jumped down and splashed her face with the fizzy water. She felt like the rot was sticking to her skin and she scrubbed her face, hands, and nose furiously to dispel it. She kept going until her upper body was soaked and she let out a single scream into the night.
Thankfully, nothing answered back.
Ophelia was feeling empty, so utterly unprepared and useless. She spent most of her life avoiding entanglements with people. Now she was stuck with a dying partner and no way out. He seemed to think sponsors would save him, which had to be the fever's delirium talking. If they were Careers, sure, Capitolites would be tripping over themselves to help. Everyone else was for themselves. Ophelia was certain the Capitol had written Ash off and Caesar was probably sitting in his stupid chair in the stupid Capitol with his stupid makeup on his stupid face telling everyone a cannon was on standby for Ash.
Nobody in the Capitol would care.
Ophelia returned to the shelter, sliding back in between the opening in the rocks. Ash had drifted off, breathing fast and erratic. Ophelia had done what she could. There wasn't any point any sticking around for the gnarly end. She was suffocated by the smell and responsibility. Being chained was unnatural to Ophelia, and she was responding accordingly.
"I'm sorry, Ash." Ophelia said. Her partner didn't stir.
She slipped away into the night. The forest was calling to her, as it did back in 12, willing her to lose herself in it and escape from people and their problems.
Not even halfway across the curving sandbar crossing, Fest had decided that when she got out of the arena she'd never, ever be near the ocean again. How people in District 4 spent their whole lives living off of it was lunacy to Fest. There was something disconcerting about looking out over the dark waters and not knowing where the bottom was.
And of course there was the giant Tribute eating mutt too.
Thankfully, her mind was her only enemy on the crossing. With her newly acquired flashlight and night vision goggle, the trip across the sandbar was simple. There were a few parts where the rocks beneath her were slippery and narrow, threatening to send her tumbling over into the waters below. She was more than agile enough for them, and not stupid like the girl from 6 to tempt fate. If the water so much as splashed against the the sandbar and rocks too hard, Fest immediately backed up and buckled down, waiting for the waters to calm before traversing the next spot.
Her patience was rewarded. She made it back to the Cornucopia island unscathed. She walked up the ramp slowly, cautious of any traps the Careers might have left to protect their camp. Surprisingly she found none.
Fest shook her head at such carelessness. The arrogance of the Careers knew no limits. Who abandoned camp without protection? The now corpse would have been better suited guarding this camp than the exit.
Ah well, it worked for Fest. And that's really all that mattered.
With nobody around and no safeguards, Fest explored the Career camp freely. She grabbed a large backpack first – the only bag that didn't have a hideous, candy themed pattern to it – and dumped its contents to the ground. A few empty water bottles and a first aid kit were inside, good enough starts to her own haul. She then began checking the boxes and piles for supplies. She was amazed at what the Gamemakers gave the Careers, and her mouth watered when she opened up one large container and found a fully roasted pig inside.
She tore into the meat with her bare hands, ripping off sizzled, golden skin and flesh. She devoured the tender meat and sighed, content as she continued to eat her fill. Finished with that morsel, Fest broke off one of the pigs' legs and chowed down on the meat as she continued to explore.
There was food a plenty at the camp it seemed, along with fresh, cold water she guzzled down, and a ton of other items that would be impractical for someone on the move to lug about. She nabbed a few more bottles of water, a sleeping bag, and some non perishable food like canned green beans, dried apricots, and of course jerky – a staple of the Hunger Games diet.
The only thing missing were weapons. Fest had seen plenty during the Bloodbath but apparently the Careers had wised up about one thing and decided to remove them. She searched but came up empty handed. No matter. The swords and knives would do.
And could be put to use immediately.
Drawing her sword, Fest approached the tents and canopies the Careers had set up and started slashing. She cut through the tents and fabric, ruining the tents, sleeping bags, and any protection from the elements the Careers had at camp. She even smashed the chairs, intent on robbing them of any comfort items.
Then, she moved onto the important items.
Coolers full of water were dumped over, spilling against the black stone and sure to evaporate quickly in the heat of the night. Fest had ten water bottles stuffed into her backpack and any others she found were dumped. She knew that the Careers' sponsors could just send them more, but Fest also knew it'd be a headache and eat into the money the Careers had.
Last, she moved onto the food. That mainly involved smashing food against the ground and beneath her boots. The only food item she didn't touch was the pig, which she ate more of before licking the pig all over and spitting on it multiple times. A little gift to the Careers.
The spit would have to do. What she really wished she had some poison. She could do wonders with poison, as she knew from first hand experience.
She remembered it so clearly. The table full of food, much like this camp was. Soft light of candles throughout the dining room, the snow drift building outside in District 7. After the fire, Fest had laid in bed for months. Bandages covered her body as she endured hours of pain as her skin healed. The worst had been when the bandages had to be fixed, or the ointments reapplied. She had screamed so loudly when they pulled the bandages from her tender skin, Fest blamed that more than the smoke from the fire for causing irreparable damage to her vocal cords.
But there the whole time had been her "adoptive" father. There had been nothing legal about the process. Fest had clawed her way out the burning wreckage of her family home and into the lynch mob that started the arson. They were ready to finish her off. Instead, they ran into him. Barric. Her guardian angel.
At least that's what he thought himself as.
When the mob tried to finish her off, Barric stepped in and saved her. He took her back to his home, an elegant spot that was beyond the reach of many in District 7. He was wealthy enough that he was able to give Fest her own bedroom along with a nurse to care for her. Barric took over many duties though, making sure that Fest tended to and recovering.
'Don't worry. Scars will heal. Your mind is sound. Everything will be ok.' Barric would tell her.
At first, Fest assumed the obvious – that the man was lecherous and had taken her for darker reasons as older men were known to do. But as the days turned to weeks and weeks to months, it was clearer that his purpose was far more pathetic.
Barric wanted absolution.
He had been amongst the mob that started the fire, but before that he had led any even darker life. One of gangs and corruption and trading in humanities darkest instincts. A life that allowed a man such as himself to afford such beautiful trappings. But now, after seeing the destruction of her home and hearing the screams of the Grosveners, Barric had a change of heart.
'We'll make things better.' Barric told her many times. 'We'll make a new, better life together.'
Even burned to a crisp, Fest's father's lessons held sway over her. Take people for what they were worth, and if it's not worth much, then walk all over them. She knew a weak man when she saw one.
And she had scores to settle.
So, Fest played along. Recovered. Got stronger. Was a good daughter for this sad, repentant man. Made sure that when he died, the money and house and assets would come to her. And then, in the dead of winter, some mushroom powder she saved from the summer were spread over a nice dinner.
Barric was dead by morning. It would take days for people to find out, the blizzard in 7 had been so treacherous that people were forced to remain in their homes. It was plenty of time for Barric's body to start rotting and for the poison to blend in with the decay of a corpse. He was the first on Fest's new spree that culminated in the warrant for her execution. The first of many kills to come.
Fest looked to the southern island, stock full of supplies now and full armed.
There were many to come to in this arena as well. Fest would make sure of that.
Things were awkward as District 2 and Elegance set out, but to ease the tension they all had space from the other. The land between the ocean and volcano was narrow enough that they could comfortably split up and cover more ground. Elegance took the area closest to the volcano, Pietyr closest to the ocean, and Amaya held the middle. They were out of sight of one another, but still close enough that a shout could alert them to each other.
Elegance was at ease though and feeling like she was in her environment. Hunting Tributes was pleasingly simple and involved none of the distasteful backstabbing that Cas was playing at. He probably had a scheme for her too but Elegance wasn't terribly worried about that. She'd seen Cas fight and while he had skill, his style was so focused on showmanship that he left himself exposed at key moments. She could exploit that.
The more she continued on, the more Elegance felt she was in high spirits. The 59th Hunger Games were off to an excellent start for the Careers, the arena was one of the more aesthetically pleasing ones, and District 1 had already redeemed itself after the ignominious showing they put on for the 58th Games. Ten dead – eleven with that recent cannon blast – and four were due to District 1, a noble start. The Career Pack was doing quite well.
'At least until Cas really begins.' Elegance thought. His plan seemed too complicated for her, like he was inviting trouble with it. Frankly, she was shocked they even got past the first bit. Elegance was sure that Amaya was kicking herself. Part of her was nervous that District 2 would just attack her and be done with it, but imagining Amaya and Pietyr working together in harmony was laughable.
Besides, If they did choose to attack, Elegance was more than confident in her own abilities to take them. Hence why she told Cas she'd be fine going by herself.
She wondered how everyone back in 1 was taking this. Did they suspect? Maybe the Gamemakers had been able to listen in on Cas and her conversations. The technology they had in the arena was incredible and made Elegance think how much the Outliers probably hated them. If the Capitol could make a world made of candy, how could they not provide food for the Outliers?
'Sounds like good motivation to win the Hunger Games.' Elegance thought. 'Win, and the Capitol might actually start paying attention to you.'
Thinking of home got her thinking about Splendor though, an unwelcome diversion. Her sister probably wasn't watching though, something a favorite District like 1 could get away. Not that it was necessary to enforce it as everyone in 1 loved the Hunger Games, though Splendor would probably not watch to "prove a point" and take one of her silly, useless stands.
Elegance huffed at the thought, blowing aside a strand of her hair that had fallen on her face. She could worry about Splendor and everyone later. Right now, she had Tributes to hunt and allies to watch out for.
Amaya was also looking for Tributes and keeping a wary eye on her right, all while trying to decipher what just happened. She had been hoodwinked by District 1, though for what reason she couldn't decipher and it was eating her alive. Was the goal to get Maddie with Cas? So, what? He could get her on his side? Maddie couldn't fight. To get to Nicola? Maybe. He cared for her it seemed, but not enough to argue to stick with her?
Or, he just wanted Maddie to that he could kill her. And then what? Circle around, meet up with Elegance and the pair of them kill both her and Pietyr? It seemed more likely, but also incredibly risky. What would stop them from killing Elegance and then turning on Cas?
She kept turning it over in her mind, but was very unsettled with the current state of the alliance and felt herself in a precarious position.
Pietyr, meanwhile, wasn't thinking much at all. His focus was the hunt, glad to finally be doing something after days of sitting around the Capitol waiting for the Games to start. He figured he was doing ok. Two kills was hardly anything note worthy in the pantheon of previous Victors from District 2. There'd be no adoration and fame for such a small number.
At least there were a number of Tributes on this island to find, though that was number was now down to three. His temper flared thinking about how Cas and that cheater from 4 managed to first kill of the night. It wouldn't be the last. He was going to guarantee that.
The shoreline began to pull into the island, shrinking the amount of land between him and the volcano. Up ahead, Pietyr could see that terrain of the arena was changing too, with new sorts of trees. A few sharp whistles alerted him that his allies had found something and he moved inward to find them.
Amaya waited for the other two, whistling sharply a few more times to call them in. When they arrived, she pointed ahead.
"Looks like someone came through here."
A mass of trees stood before them, purple branches and red vines draping towards the ground. Elegance, familiar with this sort of tree, recognized them as weeping willows – or a twisted version suited for the Gamemakers' horticulture tastes. Sticking to a few of the red vines was one of the light pink cloaks all Tributes had. Elegance pulled her night vision goggle up and turned on her flashlight for a better look. Through the red vines, the Careered managed to make out a number stitched into the cloak.
"District 6." Elegance noted.
"Let's go get the runt." Pietyr snarled, heading into the vines. Amaya's hand on his arm stopped him, noting the white, sugary looking flakes on the vines.
"The vines are sticky." Amaya pointed out.
"I figured that." Pietyr replied tightly, bitter over how everyone in the Pack thought him a moron. "But we have swords. We can just cut through them."
To their relief, it worked. Taking his saber, Pietyr began slashing through the red vines, which stuck to fabric and skin but not very well to steel. Soon, Pietyr was carving a path for them while Amaya and Elegance followed.
Elegance kept looking about with her flashlight, noticing something in the distance. "There's a cave." She alerted the others.
District 2 noticed it as well, the mouth of it digging directly into the volcano's cliff side. "Worth checking out." Amaya whispered back.
"Damn right it is." Pietyr huffed and kept slashing. As they moved towards the cave entrance, Amaya monitored their surroundings. If the cloak was left behind, then Diesel had to have slithered away. Had someone helped him? If not, there had to be a trick to these red vines or else they would have come upon Diesel still stuck in them. The Gamemakers loved their little arena tricks too much not to put in a work around. As they passed the cloak, Amaya took note of the disturbed dirt beneath it, a little path cut through it. Diesel had crawled away, safe from the vines. And it appeared, judging by the patterns in the dirt, that someone else had made their own dirt path right next to him.
'Interesting.' Amaya noted. She decided to keep that little tidbit to herself.
The area cleared up as the three Career arrived at the cave. The red vine weeping willows formed a circle around it, plenty of space to maneuver and rest. "How do you want to do this?" Elegance asked.
"I'm in front." Pietyr said instantly. "We've got night vision. They don't. We'll be fine."
"Such confidence." Amaya mocked, in spite of herself. The stick up Pietyr's ass was too easy to rattle.
"Just shut up and follow."
The trio approached the cave, weapons at the ready and goggles on, ready to descend into the darkness.
Instead, it came for them.
A blood curling roar came screeching out of the cavern, stopping the trio in their tracks. "Mutt." Elegance hissed, swapping her hammer for the pole axe to keep the creature at bay.
"Nothing we can't handle." Pietyr told them, saber at the ready.
"Did you forget about the freaking snake?" Amaya hissed back, machete up in a guard position, already retreating. "Fall back and let's see what we're dealing with."
The thing in the cave wasn't going to give them a chance. The sounds of movement echoed along the cavern walls and out into the open, the Careers realizing that the mutt was charging them. The mutt emerged and came to a stop when it spotted the three Careers. It stood on its hind legs and unleashed another guttural cry, one that rattled around the Tributes' ears.
It was a bear. A very abnormally large bear that had lost its fur and skin along with it. Elegance threw off her goggle and turned on her flashlight again, getting a better look at the thing. It's body was translucent, showing off a harden skeleton, pink veins, and pumping organs encased in a massive body made out of gelatin. As it roared, its "muscles" and body vibrated and the lungs – which floated inside a large rib cage encased in the gummy like material – deflated for the Careers to see.
Then it dropped back down on all fours and rushed them.
Elegance was first to respond. Raising her pole axe, Elegance chucked it at the beast. Its tip buried itself into the shoulder of the gummy bear mutt, halting its charge and causing the mutt to stumble.
"Hammer it's head!" Amaya screamed at Elegance, who was already running towards it for a follow up. But the beast bellowed and was back on its hind legs, shaking its whole body. The gummy material was reforming in the beast's punctured shoulder, its pink blood clotting the area where the pole axe had pierced. With a sick squelching noise, the bear's body rejected the pole axe and pushed it out. The weapon fell and clattered against the black stone. The mutt was healed.
The gummy beast turned to Elegance, sharp teeth and fangs bared. The mutt's black claws looked as sharp as its teeth, Elegance noticed.
"Oh damn." She breathed.
It charged her, attempting to give her a nasty hug. Elegance dodged to the right of the beast as it charged, rolling around the lumbering creature and barely missing its claws. She recovered her pole axe and swung it behind her, slashing into the beast's hind leg. The bear mutt stumbled again and pink blood dripped from the cut. While it had been able to shrug off a piercing attack, it struggled with cuts.
"Slash don't stab!" Amaya shouted, as the mutt struggle to recover from the latest attack.
Pietyr was on it. He sliced out with his saber, slashing through the gummy bear's back. It roared in response and swiped its hand behind towards Pietyr, who easily jumped back and slashed again. The second cut was through the bear's neck and it staggered, pink blood spilling from its neck. The gummy bear stumbled once more, let out a pitiful moan, and collapsed.
The arena was silent and Pietyr was satisfied. The others should just trust him more.
"Get away from it, Pietyr!" Amaya cautioned.
"It's dead." Pietyr spat back.
"Look!"
Elegance had her flashlight on the beast still. Through its skin, the Careers saw that the mutt's large heart was still pumping, sending blood throughout its body. The bear's rainbow eyes opened once more and it began to rise.
"Kill it now!" Elegance shouted, hammer up and going for the thing's head. She swung and smashed it into the bear, a loud "thunk" noise as the gummy skin absorbed the blow. The hammer made it deep, almost hitting the thing's skull, but came up short. The bear slammed its heavy arm into Elegance, knocking her back and blowing the air out of her lungs. She collapsed to the ground as the bear rose up, Elegance's hammer still in its rapidly reforming skull.
The gummy skin expelled the hammer, which fell uselessly onto the ground.
The bear roared and the fight was back on.
Elegance was up fast though and, with pole axe in hand, met the mutt's challenge. She speared the creatures through the chest, the point of the pole scratching against the beast's rib cage. She couldn't kill it with a piercing strike, but she could immobilize it. "Slash it! Slash it!" She screamed, muscles tensing as she used all her strength to hold the shaft and the mutt in place.
Pietyr was there to get the kill. He moved to slice at the beasts left side, dodging its claws and cutting through the gelatin body. The mutt's jelly body vibrated again from the cut and Elegance gripped the pole axe tighter, pushing it deeper into the beast as its gummy flesh tried to expel it. "Kill it, kill it, kill it!" She shouted.
Pietyr raised his saber once more, primed for a cut through the beast's throat. But the mutt, with renewed strength, used its right claw to push down on the pole axe, dropping its entire weight into it. Elegance screamed and lost control, the pole axe snapping out the beast's chest and Elegance's grip. The bear mutt, free and with its full weight pressed down, fell to the ground.
With Pietyr underneath it.
Quite suddenly Pietyr was being crushed under the mutt, its body slamming him into the ground. Pietyr tried to move but his breath was gone and his limbs too heavy, while his armor pressed into his flesh. His right arm was free and he used it to stab his saber into the mutt's side, trying to get it off.
The mutt was at this point exhausted of pain and, with one of the pain makers in its grasp, took advantage of it. The beast rose up slightly and with a growl struck at Pietyr, clamping its teeth into the Careers' exposed neck.
Pietyr wasn't able to scream, his windpipe crushed by the strength of the animal's jaw. Blood spewed everywhere, coating the gummy skin of the bear, Pietyr, and the volcanic rock around him. Elegance screamed in shock at the sight as the bear began to shake Pietyr violently like a dog with a chew toy. It tore out a chunk of Pietyr, sending blood and tissue flying through the air, and then returned for more. It rose to its hind legs and then slammed its front paws into Pietyr's chest, crushing his armor and his chest cavity in an explosion of gore.
A cannon blast brought Elegance back to reality. Her pole axe was lost, underneath the bear and now Pietyr's managed body. She looked around wildly, out of breath and frenzied, trying to locate her last ally.
Amaya was gone.
Elegance fled, leaving behind the gummy bear as it feasted on Pietyr's exposed innards. When it swallowed, its grisly meal was seen descending the beast's throat and pooling into its belly. Dizzy and in shock at the attack still, Elegance ran into the forest and through the red vines, looking back to make sure the bear wasn't following her.
Suddenly she was snagged on the vines. She looked up, noticing the red vines were sticking to her tightly. She grunted and tore away from them, managed to escape only to fall into another. Each vine she touched caused a reaction, and red lights streamed upwards inside the vine, an alert to where someone was. Elegance tried to break through the vines with her hammer, but the blunt weapon was unable to cut anything and failed to free her.
Tangled and stuck, Elegance went from her knife to saw her way out. Through her panting, Elegance noticed that the sound of crunching was no longer touching her ears. She looked back and saw that the bear was now trudging slowly towards her, growling.
"No! No! NO!" Elegance screamed, sawing desperately at the vines around her. The knife cut through the first and Elegance moved onto the next, desperate. To her despair, the vines didn't stick to the bear, who's gelatin body prevented the red vines from latching onto it.
"Get away! No!" Elegance screamed, cutting through another vine. Only two more.
The mutt didn't give her that chance. It finally rushed her and, with claws sharp and at the ready, cut through the vines and Elegance.
Screams followed, the bear's and Elegance's. The branches of the trees shook from the force of the attack. Elegance's high pitch wails echoed through the air until they abruptly stopped.
The third cannon of the night sounded as the gummy bear mutt dragged Elegance and Pietyr's bodies back to its cave.
Up Next: Night 1 continues as we check on the Sour Island