References to The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins, I do not own this story

15.

Wicker volunteered to crawl through the sinkhole, almost too eager to see what was on the other side. As soon as he did, he eagerly crawled back and told his fellow Amateurs what he found. They had all looked at him like he was seeing things. He sighed and told them to follow him. This was the kind of thing you had to see to believe. Latia picked all the vegetables from the garden and decided to store them in Alba's quiver, forcing them to fit amidst all the arrows.

They allowed some time to pass for Emmer to become air dried before he got dressed and they crawled through the hole in a single file line. In order it went Wicker, Latia, Alba, Emmer and Alexandrite. Apparently she wasn't in a big hurry to potentially be trapped in a small space, especially not sandwiched between a few other people.

It took several minutes but eventually they all saw a spot of light at the end, and once they reached it and the last of them got up on their feet, they marveled at what they saw: they were in a cavern. They were standing on a small patch of sand littered with smallish rocks, there were stalactites hanging from the cave roof, and from them water droplets occasionally fell. Leaning up against one of the walls were dozens of skinny logs lined up right next to each other. Not far from their feet was a small pool of water, the other side of which just seemed to go on into darkness, making whatever might be there invisible to them.

"This maze is crazy," Wicker said with an impressed smile as he looked around.

"Yeah," Alexandrite agreed, looking a little nervous.

Immediately after the two of them spoke, Alba looked up and saw tiny patches of light appear on the roof of the cave above their heads.

"Look," she said, pointing upward. Everyone did. "I swear those weren't there before."

"You're right," Emmer said calmly as he continued to look up in amazement along with everyone else.

Alexandrite, however, had noticed how sure he sounded about this, tore her eyes away from the lights and walked up to him in two strides. She whispered in his ear, "What just happened? What's in here? What are we in for?"

Emmer turned to face her and thought about it for a second. Then he leaned over and whispered to her, "The way out is through the water, and we have to light the way ourselves."

"Right. And how do we do that?"

"If I remember correctly—sounds. But I'll have to check the notes."

Alexandrite nodded, moving away from him and placing her hands on her hips. "By the way, my friends call me Xandra."

Emmer looked at her, a little confused. "Sandra?"

"Xandra," she corrected. "X-A-N-D-R-A."

"Oh," he nodded, somewhat thoughtfully. "Why haven't you been correcting anybody?"

She shrugged. "Oh, you know. What's the point, really? It's not like we're…ever gonna see each other again. After this."

Emmer studied her carefully. "So, we're not suddenly friends, you just figured 'If we're all going to die anyway, why not?'"

She gave him a melancholy smile. "Oh, what, do you think we're friends?"

"You know it echoes in here," Latia said, sounding tired. "It is a cave. We can all hear you."

"Hey, she says we can call her Xandra," Emmer announced half-heartedly.

"Oh, great." She turned her attention to Alexa—Xandra. "Hi."

"Hi," Xandra nodded in acknowledgement. "So, apparently the way out is through the water."

"Oh, yay," Alba said sarcastically. "I love swimming in dark caves where it's pitch black and I can't see a thing."

"We have to find a way to light our path," Emmer explained.

"Okay," Latia said, looking at him carefully. "And how do you propose we do that? Lightning bugs?"

"Not quite. I don't think," Emmer responded casually, not affected by her tone.

"Okay, what is going on?" Latia asked sternly, crossing her arms over her chest. "How did you know about the path here? I thought that Longwell didn't know anything about the Games this year."

"He thought he didn't. But…" Emmer shook his head and shrugged. This wasn't good enough for Latia who raised a suspicious eyebrow at him.

Xandra walked over to her and attempted to whisper in her ear, but Latia flinched away instinctively. Xandra looked annoyed, but only temporarily. This time when she did lean in and attempt to whisper to Latia, she stayed put and listened.

"Emmer has notes, he knows how to get out of here. At least I think he does. He's seen the blueprints for this place. Trust him."

Xandra backed away from her and Latia's eyes went wide with surprise. After thinking about it for a moment—seriously thinking about it, she nodded, seemingly accepting this as fact.

Satisfied, Xandra nodded and called out to the rest of the group, "Everybody gather around. We need to form a huddle. Come on, do what I say now, ask questions later, this is a very time sensitive operation."

Still confused, they did as instructed and stood around in a small circle. Xandra encouraged them to bring their heads closer so as to block out a view any cameras may have of them and what they were looking at. Emmer pulled out the piece of paper that now had some smears of dirt over it that he had been keeping tucked inside his jacket sleeve. He wiped it away as best he could, scanned over the paper until he found where they were and pointed:

Glowing Cavern

After the tunnel, make some noise. Sing a song. Has to be a certain volume and key or CONSEQUENCES

"That looks serious," Wicker commented.

"Yeah," Emmer agreed. "So, can anyone here sing?"

They all looked around at each other thoughtfully, trying to get an answer by their facial expressions alone.

"What kind of consequences?" Alba asked, clutching her stomach in that way that she did. It was like everything made her nervous. Not that they could really judge her for that in here.

"Does it really matter?" Xandra asked with a sigh. "Facing negative consequences in a cave sounds like that can only mean one thing: a cave-in."

"Whatever 'consequences' that thing is talking about, I don't feel like taking any chances," Latia agreed, looking far away, most likely trying to think of a solution.

"So, a song," Wicker said, trying to get the ball rolling.

"Yeah," Emmer continued. "I was thinking we start out at a low volume, as quiet as we can manage and slowly raise our voices as if we're turning up a radio."

"Hold on," Xandra cautioned. "You're assuming that one of us can actually sing. Let's get the answer to that question before we set anything in stone."

"I mean," Alba began, slowly rubbing her stomach. "I'm pretty good."

Emmer felt his ears perk up at that. "Define 'pretty good'."

Alba gave a small smile as she shrugged.

"Okay," Wicker said with a slight chuckle. "Why do you keep rubbing your stomach? Is it a stomach ache, or—"

"Wicker," Latia chastised, sounding tired.

"What? It's an innocent enough question. I can understand if that's what it is. I mean, this is a stressful situation. Who wouldn't constantly be having stomach aches?"

Alba's expression darkened. "It's not stomach aches." There was a very long pause, filling the air with an awkward silence as Wicker and the rest of them waited for her to respond.

Alba squeezed her eyes shut, looking tired and frustrated. "I'm knocked up."

The words echoed off the walls as everyone stared at her, unsure if what she was telling them was the truth or not. Alba slowly glanced at all of them, not smiling, and it was clear that this was no joke. Not to her, anyway.

"What?" Emmer asked, shocked. "How?"

Everyone turned to him and raised an eyebrow. He looked around, feeling embarrassed and waved his hands slightly. "Forget I said anything. Please forget I said anything. Wait, did they know you were pregnant when you were reaped?"

"I didn't tell anyone," she said simply.

"But why?" Emmer asked. "I mean, the Capitol is just evil, but would they really force a pregnant girl to compete in the Games?"

Alba let out a bitter chuckle. "Yeah, I tried telling the Peacekeepers who dragged me on that train. You'd think that I told them I couldn't compete because I had a cold."

"Whose is it?" Xandra asked, and everyone gave her critical looks. She looked annoyed at their annoyance and pressed on. "A boyfriend? A one night stand?"

"Yeah," Alba answered simply and smiled fondly at the thought. "Boyfriend. Lauren. He died before I found out I was pregnant. We were in the same grade, dating since we were kids, but one day…some stupid accident, and the next day, poof. I still can't believe it sometimes. I'm about five weeks, I think."

Xandra looked carefully at Alba, and then looked at everyone around her. She closed her eyes and laughed without humor. Everyone looked at her, confused.

Then they heard what sounded like a crack and, unsure of where it came from or what it meant, a panicked Emmer insisted that she "Shh."

"I like you people," she realized out loud with a smile. "I like all of you. And bun in the oven or not, I don't want anything to happen to you. And it's complete horseshit that something bad has to happen to four of us for one of us to even have a chance at living. This…I mean, we're kids. We're all just kids. We're in a life or death situation, the fate of our districts, how well they're going to eat is in our hands, but we're just kids. We weren't even alive when the rebellion happened. Why are we being punished? I mean, this, this fighting to the death…This is not for children. Why is it our job to fix the damage done by some blood thirsty, mad idiots? It's not a child's job to answer for an adults' mistakes. We shouldn't have to be here. That's why they did it. My parents. Why they cheated the system for as long as they did. I mean, it's not fair. The odds are just completely stacked against all of us, or at least most of us, so why bother trying to play fair?"

She took a moment to catch her breath, not realizing she'd been talking so long without taking one. It took her a moment to look up and see that everyone was looking at her curiously. She smiled, embarrassed.

"You're right," Latia said softly. Her eyes were glistening with tears, but her expression was hard. "You're right." She looked up at the ceiling, but, she hoped, a camera was getting a good look at her face. "You're right. There's no way that this, that Panem is all that's left of the world. The Capitol and these games and the constant agony and struggle every single day. It has to end. I'm tired of it. My father, Dr. Clarke Burns used to say that 'Meet the average person. They'll spend most of their time saying to themselves, Well, what can I do? They use that as an excuse for the rest of their lives. Then there comes a time, a moment, where something is just so horrible, something so monstrous is done to someone who doesn't deserve it that What can I do becomes enough'. Enough is enough for me. Enough is enough when seeking knowledge and wanting something more than what you're told is enough and all there is is punishable by death."

Everyone stared at her as she turned her attention to them, and then she made a bold declaration: "I'm not playing this stupid game. I'm not killing anybody. Not for them. Not for entertainment. Not for my life, not even for food for my people. I'm not their leader, their government, it's not my job to feed them. It's theirs. The people filming us right now."

Emmer muttered something under his breath and thought out loud without realizing it. "They're probably gonna edit this out."

"Let her talk," Wicker insisted, quiet, but firm, his arms crossed over his chest as he smiled contentedly.

"Talk about what?" Emmer asked softly. "What is she saying? What, are we just all gonna live here forever because we refuse to 'play the game'?"

Latia looked at him defiantly. "I can survive in here for a long time. I can teach the rest of you to do the same. Whatever you don't know, I can teach."

"And how do you know all of this?" Xandra asked curiously. "Was it…your parents? They taught you how to survive in the Games?"

"They taught me how to survive, period."

"Can we just…" Emmer began, rubbing his hands over his face. He gestured to Alba. "We have a pregnant girl with us. Can we think about that for a second? Can we think about her? I mean if anyone should survive, it's her. Don't you guys think?"

No one disagreed. But it was Alba who actually spoke up first. "I want us all to live too. I don't know how that's possible, but I want it to happen. Listen, I don't know if I really want this baby. I'm definitely not ready to be a mother and I don't want to do this without Lauren. My family is…they're not…they're not ready for this either. And I don't want to raise a baby just so that on its twelfth birthday it gets thrown into…this."

Xandra observed her carefully before speaking again. "Look, I'm not saying that all of this isn't moving, touching, whatever you want to call it, but right now we're in a cave. An actual cave. Under the Arena, I think. Maybe. And I also think that we should move somewhere that is not a cave before we make plans for a pointless, meaningless rebellion, especially while the Careers are still out there."

Wicker was about to argue with her, but Emmer interrupted him and came to her defense. "She's right. Right now what matters is that we keep moving. Right now. And I know how to do it. Alba, you said you can sing. Do you know this old Covey song?"

Isley had recommended a song to him. Even told him a few lines. Emmer also noticed that he said all of this with a kind of sly, proud smirk, like this was some kind of private victory for him. When Alba shook her head, Emmer told her the lines that he had quietly sung while lying in bed in order to lull himself to sleep, a way to calm his quiet mind that was racing with fears of what awaited him the next day.

Then Alba started singing. Her voice was soft, sweet, but also playful. At first she was hesitant, then she started to gain more confidence and even enjoy herself. Her voice rang throughout the cave, bouncing off the walls, and from the sound of her voice a light appeared over the water in the short distance.

Thinking you're so fine.

Thinking you can have mine.

Thinking you're in control.

Thinking you'll change me, maybe rearrange me.

Think again if that's your goal.

Then suddenly the whole area above the water was aglow. What exactly was glowing, they weren't sure. But then they saw that what they had thought was a small pool of water was actually a long river. They still couldn't see where it went, but it was clear that it went somewhere. Hopefully somewhere out of the cavern. Everyone jumped up and down, even clapping with excitement, but calmed down when they heard those mysterious cracks again.

"Now what?" Alba asked softly, looking over at Emmer. "What, do we swim for it?"

"Let me check."

"That may not be necessary," Latia said, actually smiling for once. She pointed over at the logs on the wall and walked over to them. As it turned out, these logs were all tied together by a rope wrapped around them that was so thin it was nearly invisible from a distance. She moved the bundle slightly so that she could get a view of what was behind it. She nodded with satisfaction.

"Yeah," she called over to them. "It's a raft."

"What?" Emmer asked. "And it was just waiting there for us?"

"Well it wouldn't have been much use if we couldn't see, and now we can."

"Yeah, but can that thing even float?" Xandra asked skeptically. "And even if it can, can it hold all of us?"

"Let's find out."

They walked over to where she was to help lift it into the water, and sure enough the raft, which looked like it was as tall and wide as about two and a half of them, floated in the water with ease. Alba carefully climbed onto it, somehow managing not to fall into the water as she did so. She immediately closed her eyes, sure the thing would collapse underneath her. But no, it was still floating.

Wicker joined her on the raft, and it still didn't sink. Xandra joined, and then so did Emmer. But when Latia tried to join it began to sink, and she quickly jumped off.

Her previous smile now gone, Latia looked at the raft thoughtfully and said, "Okay, so only four of us can fit."

"One of us can swim along," Wicker offered. "Me or you. I can do it, I'm a strong swimmer."

"That's right, you guys live by the ocean," Xandra said. "But we don't know what's waiting for us when we leave. Oh, wait."

She smiled as she turned knowingly to Emmer who nodded, leaned in and whispered, "If I remember correctly, it starts off smooth and then eventually it picks up."

Xandra looked over at Wicker. "How strong a swimmer are you?"

Wicker flexed his muscles as an answer.

"No," Latia said firmly. She turned to the others. "He's a good swimmer. I've seen it."

"Strong enough to survive some pretty rough waters?" Emmer asked.

"I've swam in a storm before," Wicker said, a little more seriously, nodding in a determined way. "The waters were rough. I can do this."

"Are you sure?" Alba asked.

"Well it won't matter if we don't find paddles," Wicker pointed out.

Latia smiled and raised her finger at the wall the raft had been up against a moment ago.

Xandra raised an eyebrow. "Is that a stick?"

"A long stick," Emmer added.

"Oh I'm sorry, do you see any better options just lying around?" Latia asked.

No one did.

"Alright," Latia said, nodding, her smile back. "Then if everyone's fine with what we're doing—" She looked over at Wicker and gave him a slightly worried, questioning look. In return, he gave her a reassuring smile and they nodded at each other. "Okay. Then let's get out of here."