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Enjoy Night 1!
Chapter XXII Predators in the Night
Night 1 of the 59th Hunger Games
The Career Pack was excited, minus Maddie of course, for their evening jaunt. They had spent the afternoon relaxing, eating, and even napping so they were fully awake for a full night of hunting. The Pack was not so excited though that they threw caution to the wind. They made their way along the sandbar crossing carefully, immensely thankful for the sponsored night vision goggles – particularly when they reached the narrower sections of the crossing.
The Careers came from favored Districts, where electricity never went out and the night was illuminated for the most part. None of them had experience with total darkness, which they were now experiencing in the arena. The world was dark before them with only their flashlights and the occasional splash of rainbow colors from the waves, shimmering like neon lights thanks to the bioluminescence. The stars above glowed bright, but they didn't illuminate the world below. The ocean looked black like ink too, and beneath their murky waters was a monster mutt ready to snatch them should any part of them touch the ocean.
After about thirty minutes, they reached the northern island. The Pack took in the sweet smells of the location, noting that a few of the leaves were lit up softly, adding some color. Not enough to help their sight too much though. Their night vision goggles would have to make up for that.
Though the goggles weren't without flaws. "Things are giving me a headache." Pietyr complained, taking his off for a moment.
"And they look hell on our haircuts." Cas commented. "Though I guess for you it's an improvement."
Pietyr snarled at him but said nothing further. Maddie was resting nearby on the black rocks by the entrance to the island, watching everyone carefully. There was a tension in the air, but Maddie hoped it was just from the excitement of the hunt. Elegance, meanwhile, was feeling pressure of her own. Cas' and her plan would be starting in just a moment. And, unfortunately, Cas was relying on her to carry a good chunk of it. While she was well versed in the jabs and barbs of District 1 banter, mind games weren't really Elegance's thing.
Not that their opponents were really great strategists themselves.
Elegance had spent the the afternoon and even walk over debating the ethics of this plan. It wouldn't have been her way to break up the Pack, she'd prefer a contest of skills and the strongest among them survive – just like in the Academy back home – but she was willing to trust Cas on this.
Nothing else, of course, but just this.
"Everyone pumped?" Cas asked.
"Obviously. Let's just get going." Pietyr commanded. "We already wasted an afternoon."
"Before that, we need to figure out our teams." Elegance commented, getting the ball rolling.
"Our what?" Pietyr asked.
"Teams." Elegance restated. "So we can split up to hunt?"
"Why would we do that?" Maddie asked. Realizing everyone was looking at her funny – again – she tried to clarify. "We don't know what's on this island. Shouldn't we stick together?"
"The island is small enough that we don't need to." Elegance asserted. "If we split up, half and half, we can circle the whole island easily. We sweep the place, meet up on the other side, and then retrace the other group's steps to make sure no Tributes were missed."
"Sounds reasonable." Amaya admitted, carefully watching both District 1.
"But, we'd need to leave one person behind to guard the exit." Elegance continued. "Otherwise, a Tribute could sneak off the island."
"Not it for staying behind." Cas said immediately.
"I don't care who I hunt with as long as we start moving!" Pietyr groaned.
The others were less flippant about the situation. Amaya spoke up first, issuing a challenge. "Who would you like to hunt with, Cas?" She asked her ally.
"Me?" Cas asked, looking thoughtful. "I'm happy to go with just one another person."
"Why not me then?" Amaya asked.
"As fun as that sounds, I'd rather stick with Elegance. District loyalty and all that, you understand?" Cas said.
"Works for me." Elegance responded. "And how about Maddie stays guard?"
"Me?" Maddie asked, shocked.
"Her?" Amaya asked at the same moment. Pietyr remained on the sidelines, pacing back and forth like a child whose parents weren't responding quick enough. Nicola, however, remained quiet, watching things play out and debating what this shift meant. Next to him, Maddie was shooting him fretting looks, which he pointedly ignored, made easier by the darkness of their location.
"We probably need someone more capable guarding the exit." Cas suggested.
"Then why don't you stay behind?" Amaya proposed. "You already have the most kills out of all of us. Let us catch up. It'll make things more interesting for the Capitol."
Cas smiled sweetly at her. "Not a chance in the world." He said.
"We'll take Maddie." Elegance said.
Cas looked at her like she sprouted a second head. "Why would we do that?!" He demanded.
Elegance shrugged. "Why not? It's not like she'd hurt us or take kills from us, right?" She asked dismissively.
Maddie finally spoke up for herself. "I think Nicola and I should stick together. How about all District partners stay together? Everyone seems to get along with each other!"
Amaya and Pietyr would have disagreed, the latter of whom grunted at that suggestion. "We can't leave two people behind to guard the exit." Amaya conceded. "There's only four Tributes on this island and none of them are armed! It's a waste of a person."
"We can't separate Maddie and Nicky!" Cas said with a mocking tone. "They need each other!"
"I'll stay." Nicola spoke up, surprising the others, especially Maddie. "I'll stay and guard the exit. Maddie can go with 1."
"Nicola!" Maddie said, leaning in. "I do need you."
"You'll be fine, Maddie." Nicola told her. He was glad it was so dark. He doubted his face could have pulled that sentiment off.
"Fine, Maddie's with us." Elegance said.
"No!" Amaya jumped in. Something was tilting and she couldn't figure out which way. She was sure District 1 was playing a game with them, but for the life of her couldn't figure out what. Were they taking Maddie to kill her? What would that accomplish? Cas wouldn't be doing this if there wasn't an advantage in it. She quickly recovered. "The teams will be too unbalanced. Elegance should come with us and Maddie stays with Cas."
It was a quick fix and not fully thought out, but District 1 separated seemed like a smart move. If they were intending to kill Maddie, maybe Elegance could be leverage to stop that? Maddie was utterly useless, but Nicola seemed to care for her. He certainly followed her around enough. Maybe if Maddie was killed Amaya could spin that into somehow getting Nicola to side with her against 1, and Pietyr and her could take out Elegance, denying Cas an ally?
Pietyr, not really thinking about the Pack dynamics, wasn't thrilled with that. "I don't want to hunt with her. I don't even want to hunt with you."
"Fine, I'll join you." Elegance said easily. "And Maddie can go with Cas."
Amaya once again felt a shift in the world, like she'd bitten into a sandwich expecting one thing and was getting another. Cas shrugged though. "Fine by me. How did you say it, Pietyr? Let's just get going?" He asked, glad things were going according to plan. And Elegance thought she wasn't a convincing liar.
Maddie looked back at Nicola, but her partner was no help. He just nodded towards Cas and let her go. With no where else to go, Maddie joined him.
And thus, Nicola remained behind as guard, Amaya, Pietyr, and Elegance headed left and Cas, with Maddie under his wing, went right.
It wasn't wise to remain still for so long in the Hunger Games, but Teagan had been rooted to place since the list of the Fallen had played.
Seph was dead. Killed in the Bloodbath along with the rest of his alliance. Teagan was now the only person from District 5 left. She felt… awful.
Not for the right reasons though. She thought about Seph, quiet and young and wide eyed. She felt sorry for him and his big family, but nothing else. Shouldn't she feel guilty for leaving him behind? He was… had been only twelve. Weren't older District partners supposed to protect younger ones?
'He made his choice.' Teagan tried to tell herself, as if that that had any sort of logic to it. Making choices while in the Hunger Games felt a bit like your knee "choosing" to kick when it was hit. Everything was instincts and Teagan's had been wrong. She should have stayed with him. Maybe she should have stayed with Web too. She felt sorry for him, but when she thought about her almost ally she realized she had been right. If they'd been allied, she might have been killed along with Web.
'How cruel you are, Teagan.' She thought. But she was faring well on her own. She had made it through the chocolate swamp, jumping branch by branch until she reached the safety of the other side. She was now in a forest of cotton candy, where the trees were even edible though did little to fill her stomach. She felt sick after seeing the list of the Fallen and more sugar wouldn't help that.
Rallying, Teagan had to keep moving. Night had fallen and she needed a place to hide and rest, emphasize on the former. She had tried to peek at the Cornucopia but her binoculars had no night vision, so she couldn't see if the Careers remained there or were headed north. Hopefully they decided to stay in for the night, though Teagan doubted that.
The unfortunate part was that there really was nowhere to hide. She had tried to find shelter in the cotton candy trees, but the swirling mass of sugary, sticky cotton proved impossible for her to dig through. Even if she could, Teagan worried she might be suffocated.
That left two options: keep walking and hope she could find better shelter elsewhere on the island or attempt to climb the volcano cliff face and sleep on higher ground. Teagan had already spent the whole day walking and running, and then doing a fair bit of climbing over the swamp, so the thought of walking further wasn't appealing.
With that in mind, she turned inland and made her way to the volcano.
She passed by the cotton candy trees, which glowed softly in parts. Inside of them were little colorful lights, like fireflies were nesting inside. Thing were still dark, though she wasn't afraid of that. Her and Aunt V had spent many nights out in the open air of District 5, only a flashlight or campfire to keep them company as Aunt V studied the earth or monitored weather patterns. And the walk through the colorful cotton candy wasn't too bad. It was almost dreamlike.
Evidently, her mentor didn't agree with that. Above her a familiar chiming noise went off and a silver parachute drifted down towards her. It was close but just missed it's marked and splatted into a tree, the sugar coalescing around it and causing it to stick.
Sighing, Teagan was unable to tear the gift out of the tree but did manage to pry the container open, finding a flashlight inside.
"Th-th-th-thaank-k you." Teagan said, turning the bulb on and continuing on her way, leaving the container stuck in the tree. She passed by the cotton candy trees, the sweet aroma filling the air. It was almost suffocating but the air cleared as she got closer to the volcano. Pointing her flashlight up, Teagan examined the mountain. Aunt V had taught her a little bit about rock climbing during their outing and she scanned the mountain side for foot holds and cracks in the mountain to grip onto.
Teagan could just hear Aunt V giving her instructions, pushing her into new challenges with a smile and encouraging words. Teagan had always bristled whenever her mom and dad asked her to do stuff, but Aunt V always seemed able to break through to her. Maybe it was because Aunt V never expected anything from her, content to let her niece figure things out on her own and just be a helping hand instead of a guiding one?
A path became clear in Teagan's mind. She looked up at the sky, hoping Olivia was still watching her. "Gloves?" She asked. "Or powder?"
A few minutes later, another sponsor gift descended towards her. Olivia really was rolling in money. Teagan opened the small container and fished out a pair of climbing gloves – specifically designed to help with ascent. She slipped them on and turned to the mountain, beginning her climb.
Aunt V had taught her that balance was key for climbing. You had to focus on her hip movements and keep most of the weight in your skeleton, not your muscles. She climbed up, stemming off the black volcanic rocks and pushing herself up. Aunt V had taught her how to climb during one of their weather monitoring outings. District 5's wind turbines were in a low lying field surrounded by mountains, the air blowing off them and down into the fields and generating electricity for the District and Panem. Aunt V had taught Teagan how to climb so they could get a better idea of the wind gusts, laughing with Teagan as they did so.
Aunt V was gone, but Teagan liked to think somewhere she was still watching, proud of Teagan as she climbed.
The openings were few, and Teagan was forced into a mantle position more often than not, but eventually she was able to lift herself up further and hit a small ledge. She pulled herself up and over it and collapsed onto flat-ish ground, exhausted by the climbing. She gulped in air and recovered, before leaning over the side.
She hadn't made it that high up. Only about twenty feet. But it would certainly protect her from wandering Tributes.
A good of place as any to hide out for a night.
It maybe wasn't Ophelia's best idea ever, but sometimes you had to take a chance. Plus, she was just really tired.
The section of the island with the fizzy water ponds and rivers was marred by plenty of jagged rocks with tight sections Ophelia could squeeze herself into and hide. It was claustrophobic hiding in them, but secure and another Tribute would really have to be searching hard to find her.
Not that she was under any illusions of safety. Ten Tributes dead and being stuck on a strange island put fear into her she hadn't felt in her entire life. She was doing ok though, she supposed. Ophelia wasn't injured, she had clean water, and she had some shelter for the night. Some food would have have been nice, but she'd been without it before and she'd do so again. It was just trickier after five days of gorging herself in the Capitol, but she was disciplined.
Well, disciplined in this at least.
The hours passed but rest didn't come to Ophelia. She tried counting coal to little effect, her mind racing though her body was exhausted. She tossed and turned against the cold, jagged rocks in her hideout, unable to find comfort. Maybe she should just sleep in in the forest and keep moving? She poked her head out of the opening in the rocks, looking around for anyone. Nothing. The night was dark and shadows ruled except for the stars above.
She looked up at the dazzling lights above her head. She wondered what it would be like to be so high up, so above it all and unconcerned with people's lives? The experience in the hovercraft had been fun – despite the anxiety – but there hadn't been any windows to see the sky they flew through. What was the point of building something like a hovercraft if people couldn't enjoy it?
She tried again to fall asleep and failed again. Trying to quiet her mind, Ophelia turned to plans for the rest of the Games. Running away had worked well for her, but it wasn't a sustainable strategy. It was only the first day of the Hunger Games, so she could get away with not doing much. But if the days pasted and she remained still, the Gamemakers were bound to send something nasty her way. They always did that to the loner Tributes to make them interesting.
Not that she'd dance to their tune. She blew out a raspberry, mocking the Gamemakers and their would be plans.
Still, Ophelia needed a plan of some sort. And she needed food and more water. The fizzy water around her was ok and filled her up, but a couple of hours after drinking from it she had a headache she couldn't shake. So, what to do?
She was tempted to rush over to the Cornucopia and steal something from the Careers right under their noses. That would be dramatic, but not without issues. First, there was only one way on and off the Cornucopia isle. Second was the Careers could easily run her down if they spotted her. Third was even if Ophelia could outrun the Careers, the girl from 4 with that dumb bow that could pick her off from a distance.
So yeah… maybe she shouldn't steal from the Careers.
But she wasn't alone on the southern island. District 11 was trudging about somewhere, and Ophelia had seen them with backpacks. They also had weapons. Would the use them on her? Maybe? The boy from 11 was a grouch and the girl seemed like a bossy pants. Ophelia had seen her shrilly ordering her partner around the Training Center with the air of an annoying school teacher. Ophelia could just see the girl commanding her partner to gut her.
Ophelia blew another raspberry at that thought.
For now, the best idea seemed to be to just rest and start anew in the morning.
Or it would have been a great plan if a pained cry didn't distract her.
Instantly, Ophelia was up again. She reacted so quickly she bumped her head into one of the rocks hanging above her. Dizzy and with a lump forming, Ophelia looked outside her shelter for the noise, afraid of some mutt in the dark stalking her. The crying continued, sounding human and like they were in pain. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness but she wasn't a freaking cat. She couldn't see well in the dark and the shouting was coming from the woods, which seemed haunted at night and not at all like the lively forests around District 12.
"P-pleassse." Ophelia head someone moan, voice garbled and in agony. "Stop it…. Stop it…."
She recognized the voice. Slowly she exited her shelter, approaching carefully and making sure to avoid the water and the white pebbles around. She came up short of the noise, waiting to see if someone else was coming. The Careers in previous Games would sometimes wound a Tribute and leave them for bait to see if anyone would come and care for them. After several minutes, she approached her partner, confident they were alone.
"Ash!" She whispered, stopping just short of him. She fell to her knees, trying to make out her partner's face in the darkness. She could tell he looked up at her, but she couldn't recognize any features. Even the hideous pink on his clothing wasn't visible in the all consuming dark.
"Ophelia!" He sobbed, sounding elated. "I found you! I found you!" He choked out that last bit, crawling towards her. Ophelia was shushing him immediately, even putting her hand over his mouth. That was the wrong move as Ash reacted violently, jolting away and screaming in fear.
"What the hell happened?" She asked, shocked by how weak his voice was.
"I found you! I found you! I found you!" Ash kept crying, his whole body heaving as his sobs continued.
Her efforts to quiet him weren't successful. More worrying was that her hand was covered in something. It was too dark to tell but she thought it was blood. Then, quite suddenly, Ash collapsed, utterly exhausted from his ordeal, and the arena was silent once more.
The first thing Ophelia did was pat him down to see if he had anything on him. Finding nothing, she put her fingers to his neck. There was a pulse, though a bit faint. His entire alliance had been killed in the Bloodbath and he had managed to escape, though not without serious injury it seemed. She was no doctor and wouldn't know the first thing about taking care of him.
She wasn't heartless though.
"Ash," she whispered to him, smacking him in the face a few times. "Ash, get up. We need to move."
Ash came back to life, groaning as he looked up at his partner. Carefully, Ophelia helped him to his feet and began dragging him away, back to her little shelter.
And into a thorny situation about what to do with him.
It was a dull job guarding the exit, but it did give Nicola time to reflect. Occasionally he'd lower his night vision goggle and make sure nobody was nearby. Only the darkness of the jungle looked back at him. He was utterly alone and soon he'd be the only person from District 4 in the arena.
He had sent Maddie off to her death. He was certain of it. Casanova was like an anglerfish, his charm the light drawing prey in and readying them to be devoured. Maddie, sheltered as she was, would seek it out and be lost in darkness soon.
And where did that leave him? Assuming the other Careers killed the four Tributes on this island, and Maddie, that would leave only nine Tributes left, which was typically when the Career Pack started to fracture. How exactly that happened varied year to year. Sometimes it became an all out brawl. Sometimes it ended amicably and everyone went their separate ways only to reunite in combat later. But, more often than not, it involved picking off the weakest District first and then turning on the other.
Maddie was nothing, but a lack of a District partner would make him the weakest member of the Pack. He hadn't exactly ingratiated himself with anyone either. Cas pretended to like everyone while Pietyr openly hated everyone. Elegance was polite while Amaya was all coy smiles. Nicola had made a life out of making everyone like him while insuring nobody knew him. He hardly knew himself.
Who would stick by him here?
Nobody.
There was a certain freedom in realizing that. In fact, Nicola came to feel like for the first time in his life he was truly tree. Everyone in the arena was. Sure, the Outliers were pathetic and scared – maybe that was just their natural state? – but in the Hunger Games, there were no other influence. Just themselves. The sponsors would send gifts, but the Gamemakers always gave the tools for people to fend for themselves.
The Hunger Games was a freedom from the world, and Nicola, no longer shackled by caring for Maddie, meant to enjoy it. He had two kills under his belt, sponsors liked him judging by the gifts, and he was separated from the Pack. Alone. He could do anything he wanted!
And then it hit him.
Nicola had no idea what he wanted.
He wanted to win, duh. But beyond that…. What? He remembered when he was younger, his dad had told him to embrace his peculiarities, to be different and take strength from that. It was a crock, of course, Nicola would never have become a chosen Tribute if he'd done that. But it also left him dreadfully plain. Was he wrong?
'No… what's the point of being different if nobody likes you?' he thought.
Still, he could make his own destiny. Things were expected of a Victor, sure, but most of the time they had free reign in the District. He could live life how he chose, remembered as a great Victor who rose above a terrible District partner and a powerful Career Pack to claim the title of Victor. District 4 would love him.
And he hated that he wanted their adulation.
What was left for him on this island though? Not much, except waiting to see who survived. And depending on who that was, maybe they'd come after him? Now seemed like a good time to break out on his own. Return to the Cornucopia, rest, and then head south for his own hunt. It was only Districts 11 and 12 on the southern island. Not a threat at all.
Behind him, he heard a plopping noise over the gentle crash of waves against the black rocks.
And then a rush of water and scream.
Suddenly, the serpent mutt was breaking through the surface of the water and writhing over the sandbar crossing. Nicola shouted and spun towards the ocean. He unsheathed his short sword, fearing the creature would come towards him. It never altered course, it's screaming dying down as it descended back beneath the waves on the opposite side from which is emerged, leaving him alone.
Nicola let out a heavy sigh, thankful to not have to fight that thing.
His breath caught in his throat though as a sharp pinch ran down his neck and spine. And just suddenly, a yank, like someone had just tore his throat out.
Nicola swung his sword out wildly behind him, slicing through air. Disoriented, in pain, and feeling too lightheaded, the movement threw Nicola off balance and he fell backwards into the dirt and sand, which lit up underneath him. His whole side was wet and his stuck his hand up to his neck, feeling what it was.
Water? What had gotten him wet?
He tried to rise. With a wobbly leg, he supported himself and pushed himself up only to fall back down. Something was wrong with him and he touched to his neck once more, now feeling the area where his flesh had been split open.
He tried to scream but it came out a croak, bloody bubbles escaping his lips. Desperately, he grabbed at the night vision goggle, his bloody hands coating the sides as he dropped the goggle into place and looked around for his attacker.
She wasn't hard to find. Standing unnaturally still in the darkness, features illuminated a ghoulish green through the night vision, was the girl from 7 with a bloody knife in her hand. Her eyes, which glowed thanks to the goggle, looked at him with a curiosity, like a fisherman weighing his haul. Nicola tired to rise again but only managed to flail, his limbs suddenly very heavy.
Seeing this, the girl finally approached. She moved slowly, clearly savoring the moment. From a safe distance, never underestimating her prey, she crouched down and looked him over. Her head titled a little, eyes bearing into him and his soul. She only made one comment about her kill.
"Turns out you're just meat." Fest rasped. Nicola could have sworn he saw the curve of a smile on her lips, understanding her taunt as it cut deeper than the knife strike. He refused to give her the satisfaction, he tried to take a stand once more, to stand for himself, but was barely able to raise his body off the ground. Nicola collapsed into the dirt, his arm jerking once more, and went still.
A cannon blast echoed across the arena, loud enough the thick branches of the trees shuddered at the sound. The first Career was dead.
Fest took a moment to gloat over her kill, satisfied with her work. Turns out the flashlight from her fanny pack was good enough to summon the beast that lurked beneath the waves. She had waited in the thick branches overlooking the entrance to the island, counting down the minutes until half an hour had passed since the rest of the Careers left. No way for them to return to help her kill. She then stuck her head out through the branches and tossed the flashlight into the ocean. As Fest hoped, the beast distracted the Career while the crash of the waves and the mutt's roar covered the noise she made as she dropped from the branches and ran up behind the Career for a kill.
And now she could reap the reward.
Fest approached the corpse and showed little care for it. She stripped it of all its belongings, it's weapons, it's flash light, it's jug of water, even bits of food it had been carrying. Most prized of all was the amor and goggle, which she took off the body and laid out nearby.
First, she unscrewed the top of the water jug and drank deeply, her first drink since entering the arena. Thirsty quenched, she moved on to the armor. The armor was fitted for someone bigger than her but the straps could be tightened and soon she was wearing dependable armor that had the bonus of masking the hideous pink striped shirt underneath. The fact that it still had blood on it was a bonus for Fest.
Armor on, she clipped the weapons to her waist, the two swords first than knife she had used to kill the Career. Other knives the Career had brought were fitted to her as well, one strapped around her leg, another her arm. Finally, the night vision goggle were looped around her head, completing her new look.
'Start small, work your way up.' She thought, tossing the fanny pack aside. She walked away from the corpse and towards the sandbar. Passing the black rocks the marked the entrance to the sandbar, Fest looked out over the arena, it's endless potential opening up to her.
She lowered the night vision goggle. With a click, the battery whirred to life and illuminated the world, the sandbar path before her clear as could be.
It was time to move to the southern island.
Up Next: Night 1 Continues
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