Thanks to AstralKnight98, Tales from the Cluttered Desk, owlthewriter, Dani H. Danvers, Very New To This, Skeekiest, Cori Anna, critixu, & SYOT Verses Discord for the reviews.
I know I keep apologizing, but this one is legit since it was +2 weeks. Sorry for the delay! I went out of town with friends one weekend, then there were some changes at work that distracted me, then was paralyzed by election dread (still am), and then I got sick. But we're back in the saddle. I plan to have the Games portion done by end of year.
Enjoy.
Chapter XXVI Carbonated Nightmares
Night 1 of the 59th Hunger Games
Without the night vision goggle, the climb would have been near impossible for Cas. The soft glow of the nearby cotton candy trees did nothing to help, their light fuzzy against the inky black obsidian. The obsidian rock blended into the night, absorbing all light.
Cas made his way up towards the girl from 5 with patience, careful with where he stepped and grabbed and of the noise he created. He was doing well until a small crack in the wall proved deceptively deep and his grip was too far in, sending his body weight off center and the extended lens of the night vision goggle crunching into the rock wall and into his eye, causing Cas to yelp in pain.
The sound was loud enough and close enough to wake Teagan, who's adrenaline kicked in at the noise. Her heart rate accelerated from being woken up and her heart nearly burst when she saw a Career climbing up towards her.
And not just any Career, but Casanova Rothschild of District 1.
She was too startled to control her emotions, letting out a frightful scream at the sight. While her lungs had betrayed her, Teagan's hands did not. The sword, which she had nursed under her blanket as she slept, was out like a viper's strike, slashing down at Cas.
Prone and gripping the rock wall, Cas had no choice but to dislodge in order to dodge. He released his grip from the cliff side and pushed off the volcano wall, free falling to the ground as the sword slashed through the air where he had been hanging a second ago. Cas landed with a loud thud, air blown out of him as he lay prone on the ground, thankful his armor had absorbed most of the impact from the nearly thirty foot drop.
He struggled to stand up at first, and he already felt his eye socket swelling from where the lens had been jabbed back into it. Cas tore the goggle from his face and rose, joints aching and armor pieces clattering together as he did. He unclipped his flashlight and focused its beam on Teagan, who looked feral she held a sword in her shaking hand.
Teagan was momentarily blinded by the flashlight, shielding her eyes with her free hand. 'Stupid, stupid!' she thought. She had to sleep though, but had blindly put too much faith in the height, the darkness, and the blanket to cover her. Of course the Career would be able to find her.
She lowered her sword, forcing herself to calm down and focus on the situation. She expected mockery from Casanova or taunts, but he too was silent, sizing her up just as she was doing to him. What started was a battle of the minds as both Tributes assessed all possible outcomes.
Casanova was alone, as far as Teagan could tell. That was unusual for a Career this early in the Hunger Games. Was Casanova just that confident in himself, did he prefer solitude, or had the Pack imploded already? The body count was shockingly high for not even twenty-four hours in the arena. It could be possible. If there were other Careers around they would have come out already, so Teagan was sure she was facing just one.
Cas also considered that. The obvious answer was to just wait for Elegance and District 2 to circle back around. They could work it out together from there, for now he was stuck in a standstill with a Tribute who had the high ground too. Not that she knew how to use it – or that sword for that matter. Still, Elegance's voice broke through to him, warning him not to underestimate non-Careers. Elegance was of course right, but what else could the girl from 5 do? And she couldn't stay up there forever.
Teagan, in fact, was considering the long shot option of just staying up there forever. It was quickly dismissed though as it clearly wasn't sustainable. She had food and water, but once that ran out the Careers would probably intercept any sponsor gifts that Olivia could get to her. Another fantasy passed through her mind of Casanova getting tired and returning to the Career camp for supplies, but the likelihood of that happening seemed microscopic.
Cas was already accounting for that. He had plenty of water left in his bottle and a small baggie of jerky tied to his belt. He could nibble and sip on those, waiting for Elegance and District 2 to arrive. It shouldn't be that long of a wait either. The three cannons that night meant Teagan was the last of the four the Careers were hunting on the northern island. Of course, the girl could also descend down and attack him. That almost made Cas laugh.
That was not at all what Teagan was considering, in fact she ruled that out first. Not a chance in all of Panem she could go toe to toe with a Career. There was another option rather than descending though, as she thought about the climbing gloves still on her hands…
"Tsk tsk tsk." She heard from below. She looked down at the Career, who was shaking his head and patting something on his side. It was the rings of chakrams, which he unsheathed and slung through his wrists, spinning them for effect, the sharp steel shining in the light. He had seen Teagan looking up the volcano and was giving her a warning. The chakrams wouldn't be effective flinging up at her now when she was aware and could dodge or bat away with her sword, but if she started climbing… it'd be easy enough to lodge one in her back.
Teagan had no options. She was firmly in the hands of the Career and stuck hoping for a miracle.
So, they waited. Just like Cas wanted.
Judging by the position of the moon, Darley thought he was done with his guard shift. Honestly, he was amazed he was still awake. Every part of his body screamed for him to lay his head down and close his eyes.
Diesel was curled up next to him in the branches of the candy fruit tree, lightly snoring as he rested. Darley thought he looked cute like that, almost a shame to wake him up. The only thing that stopped him from doing so was the sound of a disturbance in the jungle.
Darley didn't even know what to call it. It sounded like a wild animal was cutting through the trees and branches, ravaging each branch looking for food. Or Tributes. More than likely the latter.
Adrenaline kicked in again and Darley was on edge, the last bits of his exhaustion swept to the side. He thought rationally about it. Could it be a mutt? The Gamemakers typically left mutts until later in the Hunger Games when things died down. It could be a Career, they would throw caution to the wind and just start scrounging the locations for whoever they could find. Regardless of who it was, the path of the noise was clear. It was coming right for Darley and his ally.
They had no weapons. The pack Darley grabbed from the Cornucopia – an event which felt like a week ago – was only full of survival supplies, no weapons. Whoever was hunting them would come at them and neither Diesel or Darley could do anything to stop them. Their only choice was to flee.
But if it was a Career, they'd be in a group. They could run them down. Take both of them without a second thought, just like poor Wolf had been cut down. That wasn't how Darley would go out. Not a chance in hell.
He looked at Diesel, sleeping like an angel. Hopefully he'd stay like that and they'd just pass him by.
Darley wasn't willing to chance that though. He needed a distraction.
Carefully, Darley slipped the pack over his shoulder, aware of how close the noise was getting. He shimmied down the candy tree and hit the dirt, hissing when he realized it lit up rainbow colors with his movement. 'There has to be a way.' He thought.
He looked up at the tree, the answer coming to him. All the trees had candy fruits on them that glowed softly. There weren't any on the ground either. So… if some were, that'd probably draw attention.
Darley climbed up again, the "thwack" of branches getting closer. There was even a grunt, definitely human and definitely angered. He grabbed a nearby candy fruit and twisted, snapping its stem from the branch and dropping it to the ground below. He glanced at Diesel, who was still asleep and snoring peacefully. Darley moved onto the next branch and snapped another fruit, and then another, until all the fruits were on the ground. He then slide back down the tree and did a lap around it, making sure the dirt was upturned and the rainbow coloring bright before retreating further away to wait and see who was coming.
'Just stay asleep.' Darley thought, though knew that wasn't possible. Once the Careers came, Darley would sneak back the way Diesel and him came, slide under the red vines, and make for new ground.
No way he was going out this early. His star was just rising.
And it just wouldn't be fair for him to die this early.
Through the aroma of chocolate, Maddie continued through the cave tunnel, flashlight on and sword drawn in case of danger. Her bow was strapped over her shoulder, but Maddie was well trained and able to pull it and nock an arrow at a moment's notice. For the most part, Maddie had calmed, though the shock of near death remained and no doubt would for days to come, a depression on her psyche that she couldn't inflate.
'If I survive that long!' she worried.
She kept moving through the dark tunnel, stepping carefully and trying to avoid the chocolate on the ground. Some chocolate were puddles while others small pools, which sunk her leg up to her knee in them and forcing her tear her boot out with great effort. She kept moving, one foot in front of the other, desperate for an end to the tunnel and to feel fresh air on her face again.
She wasn't too afraid of the cave though. It reminded her a fair bit of her first "excursion" at the Career Academy when she was ten. The Trainers would take all the new Trainees to littoral caves off the coast of District 4. The trainers would lead the pack of new recruits deep into the cave and then leave, telling them to find their way out before the tide rose and the water flooded the whole cave system. It was a brutal test to give children and while Maddie later learned the Trainers had plenty of ways to rescues them if something went wrong, they didn't bother telling the scared ten year olds that day.
Despite the fear, Maddie had been the first to escape. It had surprised the Trainers who thought little of her after Keef's "failure" at the Academy, the first of many surprises that Maddie delivered on while she suffered through Career training.
It was thanks to that experience that Maddie knew she was on the right path. The air in the tunnel grew more humid and the temperature rose, matching the arena heat. There wasn't a breeze, but with the tunnel so narrow there was only one way forward and Maddie kept moving until she saw her escape.
The exit to the tunnel was just ahead. A crack in the wall, large enough for a Tribute to slip through, was her gateway to freedom. Maddie sheathed the sword and carefully angled her body through the gap, sliding through as her weapons and armor grated against the black rock. Her arm escaped first, then her head and she took a look around the large cave where she exited into, the cave opening just before her.
She almost screamed but managed to catch herself. Directly in front of her were three bodies, two dead and one breathing lightly as it slept. A monstrosity slept while the bodies of two allies lay torn apart by its feet.
Maddie quickly retreated back into the tunnel, chin shaking from fear as she pulled away. Only once she was back in the safety of the tunnel did she let out a pent up gasp, letting the anxiety pass through her. The entrance to the cave and her way out was guarded by a giant mutt in the shape of a bear, it's body unnatural like the thing had been skinned and turned into jello. And, violated and torn apart by the mutt's paws, were the gory remains of Elegance and Pietyr.
She carefully peaked through the gap, looking at the enemy. The gummy bear was massive and reeked of death, even from a distance, as though the smell had seeped into its gelatinous skin. The blood of Maddie's allies had, dark stains on the gummy bears claws and "lips" that had ravaged poor Elegance and Pietyr.
Maddie slunk into the shadowed crevice, contemplating her next move. The bear clearly made this cave home, Maddie doubted he'd leave and let her sneak away. She didn't want to retrace her steps either. So, that left sneaking past. Hopefully the abomination was a fan of naps.
She knew in her heart of hearts that she only had one choice: to fight. She had to fight the creature and hope she was strong enough to win. Too bad her nerves refused to believe it was possible. Maddie was playing a hundred horrible scenarios in her head, all of them involved her being torn to ribbons or having her head sliced off like the catch of the day.
'You got a 10.' Maddie told herself. 'You impressed the Trainers at the Academy. You're a good fighter. You can do this!'
Hardly. Her family bought her spot. Nicola was probably right and they bought her score. Everything she did she was a fraud. Maybe she should have just died when Cas tried to kill her!
'Stop it!' Maddie screamed at herself. 'You are not weak! You are not pathetic!'
Doubt was a gnawing feeling and it continued to eat at her though. She looked through the gap in the wall, at the beast and the carcasses of her fallen allies.
Could she do this?
Fest approached each new challenge with caution. It served her well in District 7 and so far had gone well for her in the arena.
So when she came across a break in the dry barked forest of the southern island, to a place of fizzling water and jagged rocks, Fest slowed down.
It hadn't taken her long to identify the "water" as soda. It was a luxury item she'd only tried once back in 7, black market of course thanks to her dad's connections. He had gotten one bottle for her and her brother Granger to share. It had been a special moment, a perfect moment that their father had delighted and watching her children react in shock at the carbonated drink.
It's what made her drink her from water, a smile coming to her face, her first in a long time.
So of course the happy moment had to resolve as quickly as it came.
Fest wasn't even looking. She had seen the white, minty pebbles with thanks from her looted flashlight, but Fest stepped in the wrong spot and one tumbled down. It hit the soda stream and several seconds later BOOM. The explosion made Fest's heart jump and she scrambled for cover as the water, now fizzing and boiling hot, flew through the air. It splattered against the rocks Fest hid behind, the heat in the air and sizzle making her mind freeze up from unpleasant memories. When the liquid cooled, Fest dared to peek her head out.
An arena feature, the first she'd encountered and she was intrigued.
So, she found another pebble and tossed into the soda stream. Ten seconds later, the same explosion. She then threw in a broken off piece of the black rock, nothing. She tried the white pebble again, which overwhelmed her nose with the smell of mint, and another explosion that also occurred after ten seconds. The heat and sizzle were fascinating and, as she had too much first hand knowledge, dangerous to others.
Naturally, she took it a step further.
Fest had one empty water bottle in her large backpack. She fished it out and, unscrewing the cap, dunked it beneath the soda stream, the bottle slurping up the soda until it was full. Fest removed it from the soda and placed it carefully on a nearby stone before retrieving a white pebble. She careful dropped it in the bottle and fled to cover.
Ten seconds later, the bottle exploded, sending metal shards and the boiling hot water flying through the air.
Another rare smile came to Fest.
Fest had made a bomb.
The excitement wasn't her's alone. To her surprise, a voice was calling out in the night.
"Ophelia?"
The voice was weak, like the last gasps of an animal dying in the woods. Fest felt no need for alarm at the sound. She doubted the other Tributes were smart enough to use a Tribute as bait. The voice called out again, desperate and pained, and she followed the noise to a small grouping of rocks. She climbed up the rocks and looked inside, finding a small boy, shivering and covered in blood.
Fest took off her night vision goggle and pulled out the flashlight, shining it inside to get a better look. She couldn't recall the boy's name, but the bloodied number "12" on his clothing was enough to identify him. The boy was covered in blood, dried and soaked into his clothes and skin. There looked to be rudimentary traces of care given to him, but it was obvious based on the discoloration of the skin, the odd way his leg jutted out, and the rotting smell that he wasn't long for this world.
Once Ash's eyes adjusted to the flashlight, he was able to make out the burned face of Werifesteria from 7. He let out a scream, recognizing death when he saw it. Fest, for her part, wasn't as enthused. In fact, looking at the young boy, Fest could only think of Granger, though he would have been far younger than this boy.
He had been broken like this too. A beam of their home came crashing down on his back. Fest remembered the sick crunch it made upon impact and the wail that Granger released when his body was shattered and the fire spread to his pajamas. He had begged for help as the mob kept throwing burning items into their home, Fest unable to help him. He died slowly.
Carefully, Fest lowered herself into the cave. Ash, trying desperately to escape, could only move a few inches and let out plaintive cries of mercy. Fest drew closer as Ash tried to draw back into the stone around him.
"Please, please, please, please, please!" He begged over and over again, eying the sword on the maniac's waist.
Fest looked him up and down, sadness in her voice. "You're too hurt." She told him.
As with all her words, it came out as a rasp, intimidating and violent and terrifying to young Ash. "Please, please, please stop! Please! Please, no! Just leave! Just leave! Just leave!"
He was screaming now, leaking tears and snot that were red due to the dried blood. Fest grabbed her sword and drew it, though let it hang by her side. "You're in pain." She told him calmly.
"I'm fine!"
"No, you're not."
Ash screamed but Fest remained still, letting her words fall over the boy. Granger had fought too. Fest would have as well in their position. But enough was enough. Peace was needed.
"Just leave!"
"You'll die. Slowly. Painfully. Alone."
"LEAVE!"
"No."
"I don't want to die! Stop it!"
"Please, let me help you."
Ash's voice caught in his throat. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Asking him to sign off on his own death. Hours ago he had lamented the horrible fate of being crippled, of being weak in this world, now he clung to that future, refusing to let him be snuffed out. His dad had suffered but he still hung on for his family. Ash wouldn't give in either. "No! Leave please! Just go find someone else, please! Other people are on this island! Just please leave me! Leave me!"
Fest shook her head. "I'm trying to help you."
"You're killing me!"
"I'll make it quick."
"No!" Ash screamed. He hurled his body at Fest who easily pushed him back with her free hand, like pushing a tree branch out of the way. Ash came her again and again, each time Fest pushed him back, not raising her sword an inch. By the fourth time, Ash's body was wracked with pain, the adrenaline subsiding, and he submitted, broken and defeated.
"I'm trying to help you." Fest repeated.
Ash was in too much pain to respond beyond moans and haggard coughing, the impact of which only caused more pain to flare up. Yet he fought through it. For his brothers, for his father, for his District, for himself!
Once more he threw himself at Fest, struggling against the impossible. But Ash refused to give in easily. The whole world probably expected him to die, to go meekly, but he wouldn't give it to them or this little psychopath. His fists formed into balls and he slammed them into Fest's face, screaming and cursing and crying for her to leave.
It was easy for Fest to deal with him. Through the chaos, he didn't even see the sword stab up and into his neck. Ash's body twitched and he gurgled up blood as Fest leaned in closer.
"Be at peace." She told him, glad she had helped him.
Ash shook his head just slightly, eyes looking into Fest's soul. At the end, he refused to give an inch.
His cannon sounded shortly afterwards and he slumped over on the sword and Fest, who caught him gently. It was a kindness, Fest decided. She yanked the sword from the boy and pulled him from the hideout, laying him with care on the ground outside the shelter so the hovercraft could pick him up. Then she snuck back into the rocks and settled in for the night.
It was time for rest.
A cannon blast woke Diesel, who shot straight up and gasped. His heart rate was going a million miles an hour and he took deep breathes to get it to slow. Diesel than realized it was all for naught as he saw he was missing someone.
Darley was gone.
Diesel was up and climbing through the tree branches, searching for his ally. "Darley?" He whispered, hoping he'd answer. He kept looking and stuck his head out to check beneath the tree. "Darley, are you using the bathroom?"
No response. Looking down, all the fruit had been knocked off the tree and the ground was glimmering softly with a spectrum of colors. "Darley?" He called out again. .
A figure emerged from the nearby trees, a figure that was definitely not Darley. As the Tribute drew closer, the soft rainbow lights and moonlight illuminated her figure.
"Nope, not Darley." Amaya, the Career from 2, told him with a smile.
Diesel shrieked and retreated back into the branches. His heart had sunk into his stomach and mouth dry from fear. A Career had found him and Darley was nowhere to be found. Was that his cannon that just sounded? Killed by a Career when he left to use the bathroom or stretch his legs?! His thought and mind were on the border of breaking. He retreated back into humor.
"Nobody's home!" He called out.
"Excuse me?" Amaya asked, slightly bemused.
"I'm sure there are better Tributes for you to hunt! I'm really just middle talent material." He said. He remembered saying that to Dallis after their scores were revealed. What he wouldn't give to be back with her right that second.
"Actually, you're my first Tribute of the night." Amaya called out. "A little hint, maybe don't leave a bunch of glowing fruit and disturbed dirt around the tree you're hiding in."
"Uh huh. See, sloppy. Not worth your time. Off you go! I think that crazy chick from 7 is somewhere around. Maybe find her?"
Amaya put her hand on her chin, rubbing it in mock consideration. "Hmm…. Naaaah. I'm good."
Diesel poked his head out again. Amaya was standing beneath the tree, one hand on her chin and the other gripping the hilt of her sheathed machete. Diesel narrowed his eyes and met her confidence with his own. "Nobody likes a funny Career." He told her.
Amaya actually laughed at that. "Thanks. I needed that." She told him, standing at ease. "So, how do you want to do this? I come to you? You come to me? I'll even give you a weapon. It doesn't feel right attacking people who are unarmed. Not very sportsmanlike."
"It doesn't seem like you're not giving the 'you can just leave' option a fair shot."
"Are you going to keep cracking jokes? I thought your mutt food partner was the pain in the ass."
Diesel soured at the insult to Dallis. "Who hurt you, Amaya? Did you always think 'hey let's go kill some kids, sounds like a blast' or like… is this some sort of other issue?"
Now Amaya soured. "Ok, enough of this." She said. With quick reflexes, her hand dropped and she pulled a knife from her vest and flung it at Diesel. He screeched and retreated back into the branches, which shielded him by slowing down and tangled up the knife. Diesel snatched the blade out of them, laughing as he armed himself.
"Thanks for the knife!" He shouted down, only to see that Amaya was climbing with alarming speed up the tree to meet him. "Ah shit!" He shouted and retreated back while climbing up on the the tree branches to escape. Amaya was far quicker than he would have thought in all that armor and reached Diesel quickly, stabbing out with the machete. Diesel just barely dodged the tip of the blade and scurried out onto the branch and threw himself out of the tree.
He flew through the air and into the next candy tree over, crashing into the thick rainbow leafed branches and gripping one with his right hand. He held the knife in his other and refused to let go, causing him to kick out and try and hook one of his legs over a branch for support. His coordination wasn't great though and Diesel lost his grip and plummeted to the ground, landing hard and causing a puff of rainbow dirt to fly through the air around him.
Diesel had no time to recover as Amaya was cutting through the branches with her machete, their remains falling to the ground nearby. Diesel was up and running away as Amaya, seeing her pray flee, carefully jumped to the ground and continued the pursuit.
Where Diesel was going he had no clue. He thought immediately of running back to the red vine trees and the no doubt terrifying mutt in the cave to take on Amaya, but realized that'd be too far. Darley and him hadn't explored any more of the island the other direction, so who knew what lay that way!
He looked back, Amaya running just a short distance behind him. He shouted as he saw how quickly she was gaining thanks to her stupid Career training, and the realization hit that he was near his end. This is how he'd go, cut down by some lunatic Career for all of Panem to see. His whole life, everything he'd endured with his dad, all the years he spent recovering from it and building friends, all of it was worthless now. He felt pathetic, like the scared boy back in his bedroom while daddy beat away at him.
Maybe it was the breaking point. Maybe it was insanity and fear of death taking over him, but Diesel refused for that to be his end.
The world wasn't winning like that.
So, Diesel turned and faced the Career.
He turned abruptly, just as Amaya was about to reach him. Her machete was raised and ready to swing out and slice him across the back. But Diesel hit the breaks and there was an opening, Amaya exposed and her weight off. He did something crazy. He spun around and slammed into the Career.
Amaya was too surprised by the change in direction and caught the full brunt of it. She twisted, trying to balance out her body weight as Diesel's right shoulder slammed into her and, with his left, the knife stabbed at her waist.
Amaya growled and used her free arm, as they both fell to the ground, to pull Diesel's body back just enough. The knife hit Amaya in the chest instead, which was covered by armor, and dinged off it uselessly.
The pair collapsed to the ground, Diesel on top of Amaya. Diesel screamed at himself to recover and get up and start stabbing but Amaya was far better trained and stronger. She recovered first, kicking Diesel off of her and slicing out with her machete, which caught Diesel's left side and cut it open.
Diesel choked out a scream and started to fall back to the ground but, with a flourish, Amaya caught him by the throat and finished the job. She stabbed into the boy, directly into his heart, and cut through Diesel's thin body.
In that moment, the pain wasn't that bad, Diesel realized. In fact, Diesel had many times dealt with far worse. 'Thanks, Dad.' He thought, his mind fixated on that. His body shuddered and he coughed up a glob of blood. He wanted to say one last clever thing, something for the world to remember him by, but his throat was clogged with his own blood, drowning out his words.
The pain subsided and darkness took him. Maybe he'd see Dallis there?
As soon as the cannon sound, Amaya yanked her machete out of the boy from 6 and threw him off her, angered that so much of his blood had gotten on her. She was even angrier at herself for being so careless. If Diesel had aimed lower he could have stabbed at her unprotected legs, causing serious damage and maybe even nicking an artery. If he'd been properly trained he would have done just that.
'No more mistakes.' She told herself. She looked at Diesel, who's body lay next to her bleeding out in the dirt. "Nice try." She told him, speaking honestly. It was impressive, but no where near good enough to beat her. The Dustborn Prodigy. She kept telling herself that.
She stood up and set off to leave but caught herself. She looked back at Diesel and flipped him over and crossed his arms. A small sign of respect for someone who had actually fought. She could honor that.
She left Diesel behind, who's dead eyes looked up the starry sky while his body lay surrounded by soft shimmering light, a tear escaping his dead eye and streaming down his cheek.
Next up: Night 1 ends, Day 2 begins
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