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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐑𝐀𝐍, the colder it became. Even though the snow did not get any thicker, it wasn't hard for Sage to make out that the cornucopia was stationed smack in the center of the arena, making it probably the warmest spot in the whole place with the sun shining down on it. It will definitely be the go to spot to camp out, meaning it will definitely cause more brawls and deaths as the tributes will seek any kind of warmth they can receive.

Nine canons went off since the two fled the cornucopia, signaling a fallen tributes. Nine tributes, dead. The thought was enough to send a chill down Sage's spine.

Both Sage and Lorcan continued to run for what felt like hours, but couldn't be more than twenty minutes and despite the fact that it slowed them down a bit, Sage made sure she was covering their tracks. Her breathing was labored and she felt her side burning from never taking a break, but she didn't care. She just kept going, her legs burning and her face and fingers frozen from the low temperature.

She knew she could go on for another twenty minutes, but the same couldn't be said for Lorcan, who finally allowed his tired body to take over and he toppled forward, the bags and silver case breaking his fall. Sage immediately went to his side, panic filling her chest.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

Lorcan was heaving heavy breaths, shaking his head as he turned around, so he was facing her, but was unable to stand. "No. I just... I can't run anymore. I need a break."

Despite her heavy breathing, Sage sighed, dropping the bags from her shoulder and stepped away, surveying her surroundings. In the far distances, she could see mountains beyond the pine trees, outstretching nearly the entire North area of the arena. She couldn't see that far South, so she was unaware if there were more mountains.

They were literally dropped in the middle of a freaking winter wonderland, except there isn't anything 'wonder' about this whole situation.

Taking a minute to make sure they were in the clear, for now, she finally nodded her head and turned back to the blond male. "Alright. Let's take a break, get a look at what we managed to grab and then maybe start working on a fire so we can start boiling some snow."

Lorcan seemed very relieved and then set the machete to the ground and dragged the two bags over in front of him, opening the one red backpack and started pulling out contents. Sage did the same, making sure to keep her sickle sword close, but started digging through the first bag and then the second.

Once everything was out in the open, they examined what they had to work with and Sage has to admit, they did pretty damn good in their haul. They ended up with two thick ropes, a small but easily put together tent, a pack of matches, and two canteens that came from separate bags. One bag, the lightest one they had, had a much larger jacket than the one they were given, cotton gloves and a thick, thermal pair of socks. Unfortunately, there was one of each, so the two were going to end up sharing, and Sage can already tell there is going to be a fight about who gets what, but not in a way anyone else would think.

Sage has a feeling Lorcan is not going to be okay with her sacrificing everything for him, but that is an argument for much later. Hopefully never.

As for food, they did pretty good considering the alternative was nothing. There was a bag of apples, a half a loaf of bread wrapped in tinfoil, and berries. They are definitely going to need to hunt and it seemed like an unspoken agreement between the two that they are not to touch the food until they are positive they can't even walk without something in their stomachs. Sage is grateful she stuffed herself last night, despite not being hungry at the time, knowing she was going to need it to hold her over for the time being.

They did pretty good with weapons. Sage took the satchel that held the throwing knives and immediately started wrapping it around her belt. She had her sickle sword, which is the main weapon she was after and Lorcan had the machete she stole from Dick as well as a slingshot, something Sage hadn't realized he had grabbed until he just displayed it.

What really surprised Sage was what she found in the silver case Lorcan had snagged. At first, she didn't recognize anything in there when he opened it, but as she started to pull out the different tools, she immediately understood. They were climbing gear. Meaning, climbing those large mountains behind them was an option the Gamemakers clearly expect some tributes to make. Sage had no idea what half of this stuff did, but she figured it was best to have it then for anyone else to have it.

Lorcan ran his shaking hands through his long luscious thick hair and eyed the redhead across from him. Mainly he was staring at the side of her face, and Sage knew he was staring at the spot where Dick had struck her. Now that the adrenaline was pumping out of her system since they stopped running, she could feel it pulsing and there was definitely a large bruise forming. Dick is not a small guy and his punch hit true, now that they were temporarily in the clear, Sage could feel the throbbing close to her eye.

"That looks pretty bad." Lorcan mutters, reaching out and gently brushing his fingertips against the growing bruise, but retreating immediately when Sage flinches back.

"It's fine. It doesn't hurt." Sage lied. It hurt like a son of a bitch. But she can't focus on that now. She needs to put everything back into the bags, trying to stuff everything into two bags, hoping to lighten their load.

Lorcan watched her cautiously, as if trying to figure something out. After a minute, he just pushed back whatever it was he wanted to say and got up, helping her with the stuff. After a minute, Sage handed him the jacket.

"Here, put this on."

"Don't you want it?" Lorcan questioned.

Sage shook her head. "I'm fine for right now. I have more experience in the cold than you do."

Lorcan frowned, slowly taking the jacket. "Isn't District 9 like one of the hottest Districts? I heard it can be worse than 4."

"Yeah, during Spring and Summer. But we experience winter. Not nearly this bad, but it's snowed at least once or twice since I've been alive. Not having a home or a roof over your head, you tend to get used to it and adapt."

Lorcan paused, lifting his gaze back up at the redhead. "You were homeless?"

Sage bit her tongue, realizing what she just admitted out loud. Damn, the pain in her face is starting to get to her, making her say shit she shouldn't without thinking it through.

Sage started slipping on the pair of gloves over her freezing fingers and sighed. "For a time, yeah."

"But your mom-"

"They don't let children stay in Victor's Village when the victor kills herself." Sage grumpily cuts him off, shooting a look over her shoulder and immediately regretting it, seeing the pity in his eyes. Sage grumbled under her breath. "I'm going to go look for some firewood. Do not go anywhere, you hear me?"

"Sage, you are hurt. I'll go look for firewood-" Lorcan stood, but Sage just shot him a sharp look, causing the boy to halt.

"I told you I'm fine!" The redhead snaps, narrowing her eyes at the boy. Realizing her mistake, Sage took a second to collect herself before softening her eyes. "I'll be right back. We don't need a lot, just enough for an hour at the latest before we should move again. It should get dark in five hours, I want to say. Do me a favor, shove as much snow as you can into the metal canteen. We don't have anything else to use to melt the snow in, so we are going to have to be extra careful not to burn ourselves."

Lorcan did not argue, instead nodded his head and sat back down over one of the empty bags they were going to abandon.

By the time Sage had gathered what little wood she thought was dry enough to burn and they got the fire started, Sage using one of the ten matches they were given to start the fire faster and save time, they had boiled enough water to fill both canteens and then started off again.

Heading towards the mountains was the safest option for tonight, at least for the two of them to get whatever sleep they can before they really have to worry about being hunted or found. If her assumption is right, which Sage was hardly ever wrong, then everyone would be making their way back in the direction of the cornucopia or whatever was south of it, seeing as how it might be the warmest option.

They had walked for close to an hour before it started getting dark and the two made the decision to settle for the night. Lorcan had helped her gather the firewood and this time Sage used her hands to start the fire, wanting to preserve the matches. They made the decision not to eat tonight, but agreed to share an apple tomorrow morning before they started hunting.

Unfortunately, Lorcan has never hunted before. He was a fisherman, like his father had been. When Sage told him that she's been hunting since she was eight, he seemed even more surprised than when he learned she was once homeless. It might be why he was staring at her strangely, but Sage did her best to ignore it as she worked on the fire.

She got it going on the first try.

Lorcan scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief, causing the redhead to raise her head in his direction, quirking her brows at the male. "What?"

"You just keep surprising me, is all." He admitted, shaking his head.

Sage frowned, going to take a seat next to him. They had basically made another unspoken agreement that preserving their body heat was the best thing that was going to keep them alive. So that means leaning on one another... holding each other, especially when sleeping. It was a smart move, but Sage can't help fear it, not used to such intimate contact. She doesn't like simple hugs, for crying out loud. This is definitely going to be an experience.

"Surprising you how, exactly?"

Lorcan held his hands over the fire, both enjoying the warmth. "First at training, the way you fought... I mean I haven't seen fighting like that from anyone other than careers or..." He trailed off, not really wanting to say more.

But Sage knew exactly who he was referring to. "Peacekeepers." She finished for him.

Lorcan met her stare and nodded softly before continuing. "Then your individual assessment score. The only person to get that high of a score was Dick, not even the other careers got that high of a score. I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was. Then the way you handled Dick at the cornucopia. It was effortless, the way you just broke his leg like that, and yet you held back by not killing him."

"I didn't hold back," Sage confessed. "I wanted to slow him down, and I did. I used his weakness against him the first chance I got. He only had one, and it was a now or never situation. He is either going to die from natural causes, or his so-called allies are going to end him for slowing them down."

Lorcan remained deep in thought before looking over at her. "You said you are good at reading people. That's what you were doing at all those survival stations. You weren't practicing... you were observing weaknesses."

Sage can't help the corner of her lip tugging up into a sly smirk. "Azebel doesn't know what she's talking about. You are very smart, Ellison."

"How do you do it? How are you that good at reading people? At remembering the little things?"

Sage stared into the flames, debating for a second if she could even tell him the truth. The only people who truly know about her incredible memory is Hyacitnth and Adrian. Not even Walker knows how her memory is like a superpower. All she told him was that she was skilled at finding people's weakness, which she is. But he doesn't know that the reason she is so skilled at fighting, why her moves are like a career and a peacekeeper, is because she has spent her whole life watching and absorbing all their tricks and skills to memory so she can practice them herself.

Not even Adrian or Hyacinth knew the full truth, not really. They knew she was highly intelligent and remembered things most people wouldn't, but not that she used it to train herself in case she ever needed to defend herself.

Thinking long and hard, knowing the multiple cameras surrounding them in the most unexpected places, Sage knew nothing could go wrong for her telling him the truth. They were technically alone and anyone who would use this information against her in this arena, all trying to survive through the night. It's not like she is going to walk out of here breathing, so there really was no point in lying. Still, admitting this out loud, knowing not only the Capitol but everyone back home is watching this- it just made her want to hide behind her incredibly high wall she built around herself to protect her.

Lorcan wasn't demanding this information from her. He was simply stating his amazement, knowing she is just a fifteen year old girl from a poor District. All these skills she obtains are enough to surprise everyone and for some strange reason, she trusts Lorcan. She has ever since she first met him, maybe even before then, though she didn't want to admit it at first. He has earned her respect the minute he volunteered for his twin brother. And this respect turned into trust during the short amount of time they've had together. Sage is good at reading people and she knew Lorcan was someone she could trust.

"Do you remember who won the 56th Hunger Games?" Sage randomly asks the sixteen year old boy, causing him to turn to her with a frown.

"No. I mean, I know it was a female from a Career District, but I don't remember who."

"I'm guessing you don't remember the actual game itself? What the arena was? How many people died in the bloodbath? Their names?"

Lorcan blinked at her in a stupor. "Of course not. I was like four or five."

"I do."

Lorcan scoffed. "Yeah right. That was twelve years ago and you are a year younger than me. You couldn't have been more than four years old."

"Three and a half, actually." Sage correctly, still staring at the flames. "The arena was a red desert. Filled with boulders and cactus' and had the worst sandstorms possible almost every other hour. It was hard to hide during the day, because there weren't many places to hide unless you found a cave for shelter."

"The bloodbath had the most deaths in history. Fourteen. Everyone was fighting for their lives that day. Districts 3, 8, 9 and 12 were taken out easily. Every other District had at least one remaining, except for 2 and 5. Leaving nine remaining tributes. The game was very quick, only lasted two days, barely. Two tributes, Lynel from 5 and Marybeth from 11, both died from heat stroke. Sandra from 4 died the first time from the sand storm, having been suffocated by too much sand in her mouth."

"I'll be honest, I didn't watch the entire thing-" Sage admitted, but kept the part about finding her mother who was having another one of her episodes to herself, it being one of times Walker was mentoring and not Deirdre. "But Willow, the Career from 2, had won the whole thing by tricking the last two opponents over a cliff, both falling to their deaths. It was both the quickest and probably the most gruesome games people had ever witnessed. Their names were Jonah from 7 and Kaley from 5."

Lorcan was staring at her with wide, confused eyes. "How-How do you remember all that? You were three years old."

Sage simply shrugged like it was no big deal. "It's the earliest games I remember watching live. I remember tidbits from things earlier on, but that's a bit of a stretch. I don't know how, I just do. Adrian calls it my 'freaky brain'. I just remember... everything. Anything. I can recite any literature book I've ever read from beginning to end. I can remember faces and names without any struggle. I can remember certain movements and replay scenes in my head like a moving picture. All I have to do is observe, and I input everything into memory and it never goes away. Even when I want them too."

"That's..." Lorcan trailed, not sure how to respond. "Insanely cool and incredibly freaky at the same time."

Sage couldn't help but cock an amused grin. "You wanted to know."

"Wait," Lorcan turned to her, his thighs brushing against hers from the movement. "So you became this little badass just by... observing?"

Sage nodded. "Of course not. I trained myself to become like this... it came in handy back home."

"What do you mean?"

"You know, you ask a lot of questions."

"I'm just asking you to elaborate on something cryptic you just openly admitted."

Sage shot him a look. "I don't normally talk about this stuff."

"Not even to Adrain?" Lorcan pressed.

Sage pinched her lips together, barely able to feel them due to the freezing temperature. "Not even to Adrian." But Adrain knows about her history with other kids giving her a hard time. Hard to miss the Capitol baby.

Lorcan remained silent after that, the two staring into the open flames, taking what warmth it provided. Almost immediately, the Capitol's anthem plays overhead and the two partners look up to the sky, seeing the logo as it starts showing the fallen tributes. Nine canons. Nine faces appear.

Marcie, District 8. Niko, District 10. Axton, District 5. Harmony, District 3. Gunner, District 3. Ember, District 7. London, District 11. Wyatt, District 12. Ricci, District 8.

Nine dead, fifteen remaining. So much death, none of her hands.

Yet.

When Sage told him she will take the first shift, telling him to get some sleep, the blond male leaned against her shoulder, trying to get comfortable on the freezing bed of snow and holding the large coat over both of them, the two huddled together.

As more minutes went by, Sage assumed Lorcan was asleep, but was surprised when the older boy spoke, startling her a bit. "It's not easy being a progeny like people would assume, is it?" He asked, as if he just figured out her entire cryptic message and what she concealed from him about part of her haunted past just moments before. And it was so subtle, in a way of trying to confirm his suspicions without pushing.

Sage respected that enough to answer. "No. It's not easy at all."

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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐔𝐎 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐆 the next morning, both having shared the apple and each took small bites from the bread they had wrapped and stuffed into one of the thermal socks to keep it from freezing. It was enough to give them the energy to continue moving and start hunting. Sage had let Lorcan sleep longer than she promised, so she was only working on two hours of sleep, which she was fine with. Lorcan, however, bit her head off for not waking him sooner.

During the night, Sage got to work building a snare from what little they had. It was difficult, the rope they were given was not nearly as skinny enough, given it was used for climbing, but she managed to use the spare rope they were given from one of the backpacks and tear it in half, using one of the six knives from her satchel. She used the fact that she got distracted making the snare that she lost track of time and that is why she 'forgot' to wake up Lorcan. He believed it, though Sage wonders just how long she can do this and get away with it without him questioning her motives.

She knew she couldn't tell him her plan, not yet. Hopefully not ever, but any logical tribute in the strong alliance would want to split towards the end, not wanting to be the one to end the others' lives. Sage may be smart, but she hasn't really figured out how she is going to convince him to stay with her to the end without telling her true intentions. They are both going to make it out of these games, but only Lorcan will be the one breathing.

Once Sage taught Lorcan how to set up the snare, she let him follow her in hopes of tracking something much bigger than a squirrel or rabbit, that is if they managed to catch anything. The snare wasn't one of her best works. She had given Lorcan the heavy coat again, claiming she was fine with what she had, which wasn't a lie. How long she can keep this up, she isn't sure, but during the day wasn't so bad. Night is when it becomes pretty bad.

The first thing Sage track was small, definitely a hare but it was going in the opposite direction of their snarl. She's never seen one before, but she's read all about them in a book of different habitat animals. Lorcan kept up, taking her advance and walking as quietly as he could manage and not saying a word. It took almost an hour, but Sage managed to track the hare down, both standing behind the trunk of one of the large trees. She unsheathed one of her throwing daggers, twirling them between her fingers, staring at the beautiful creature with a snowy white pelt and red eyes.

Sage signaled for Lorcan to stay put and took a step out, the snow soft enough not to crunch too loudly under her boots, which was a blessing in disguise. Once in a better angle, Sage let all her self training slip out and she took aim, raised the knife over her shoulder and thrust all her might into the throw. The knife struck true, embedding in the small creature's side, close to the neck.

A satisfied smile danced on her lips as she went to the hare, scooping it up by its ears and pulled the knife out. "Sorry, buddy. Your sacrifice is truly appreciated."

Lorcan joined her, a grin of his on dancing on his lips. "Holy shit. Why did you bother with a snare when you can aim like that?"

Sage simply shrugged. "In case we struck out. I was hoping for something bigger, like a fox or a deer maybe. I know they are common in these types of temperatures."

"Well, I pity those creatures if you managed to track them down." Lorcan comments, taking the hare from her grasp and attaching it to the rope he had around his waist, so it will make it easier to run and fight without anything in his hands in case something happened.

The two continued on, and they managed to get a squirrel who was trying to run away up a tree, but Sage had been used to moving targets back home. She has made herself squirrel stew on more than one occasion before she met Hyacinth, which was just the meat boiled in water. If this was any other situation, Sage could simply imagine she was back home in 9, desperately hunting through a rare snowy winter and trying to avoid the tesserae as much as she possibly could, not wanting to risk any chance of her name being drawn more than it already had been.

Oh the irony of how her mindset changed in a matter of seconds the minute Adrian's name was called. The way she fought so hard to avoid any chance of being chosen, yet she volunteers herself instead. It was amusing when she truly thought about it.

However, Sage was not back at 9, sneaking out beyond the gates and into the woods. She did not have the safety of returning behind those wired fences, not that it was hardly ever any safety. She does not have to worry about waking up before the sunrise to make the trip from the Dread to the harvesting fields. She had a whole set of new worries and the reality of where they were snapped her back so quickly the moment a blood curdling scream echoed through the treelines, it sent a chill down her spine.

Sage didn't waste any time, grabbing Lorcan's hand and pulling him back towards their camp. The scream was close, too close. Whoever caused those screams are most likely heading their way. Sage did her best to cover their tracks, but once they got back to their campsite, they immediately grabbed their crap, Lorcan gripping the hilt of his machete and Sage doing the same with her sickle sword as they started moving quickly.

Another scream rippled, the same scream, and it sounded clearer this time. Sage halted abruptly, causing Lorcan to slam into her back. She immediately turned and pointed left. "That way. Go. Run!"

Lorcan did not question, just ran as fast as his clumsy feet could. Someone was chasing them. It was a feeling in the deep of her core. She knew it was going to come to this. Killing. She spared Tavis and Dick back at the cornucopia, because she knew she had slowed them both down from following them, but maybe that was a bad idea. And whoever was coming, was fast. She knew it wasn't Dick, it would be impossible with what she did to him.

Panic filled her as she gripped the hilt of her sickle sword tightly, her heart racing when she looked over her shoulder and saw in a far distance someone was running in their direction. But something clicked in Sage's mind... more like she didn't hear something. A canon. There was no canon. Meaning whoever that scream belonged to was still alive.

A sudden urge to look back again caused the redhead to go against every survival instinct she had as she noticed a familiar male rushing towards them at such a speed she had never seen before. Not even the thick layer of snow was enough to slow him down. If her gut feeling wasn't enough, it was the scream of plea coming from behind that was enough to cause the redhead to almost pause. Almost.

"HELP!" The tribute called, still rushing in their direction. "Wait, please! I'm begging you! HELP!"

Lorcan looked back, frowning before meeting Sage's gaze. As the person got close, as well as his pleads, Sage was able to make out who exactly it was. Turner, District 6. Sage looked around him and noticed something very important. Bobbi was nowhere with him.

Turner managed to catch up and before he could get close, Sage shoved Lorcan behind her and held up her sickle sword at him. "Stop right there!"

A stricken look on the male's face was heartbreaking. He was fearful and desperately looked at the two, most importantly, at the ropes hanging out of one of their bags. His eyes widened hopefully. "I have food! Not a lot, but it's all yours. Just let me have that rope."

Sage did not lower her weapon or defensive stance, which caused Turner to look over his shoulder and back to them frantically. "Please! You can have whatever we have, just let me have the rope!"

He wasn't lying. He is willing to make the trade. Everything he had for one measly rope. The screams she heard early... Sage looked up at Turner. "Where's Bobbi?"

Surprised she knew exactly who he was worried about, Turner didn't waste any time questioning. "She fell down some tunnel. It is steep and there is no way I can get her out of it without a rope. She's not strong enough to climb out herself, so I need to lower myself down there, but I don't have any rope."

"By yourself?" Lorcan questioned.

Turner ran a hand over his short hair panically. "Yes! Please, I can't leave her down there. I promised her I would protect her."

Sage had never seen herself in anyone before until this very moment. The promise he made to the little girl, the one she had noticed how protective he was of her and how she cling to his side. He made the same promise as she did. A promise to risk their own lives and someone else home. Someone who actually deserves to go home.

Seeing the little girl flashing through her mind, Sage finally lowered her weapon and pointed behind her. "You are not doing it by yourself. Take us to her."

There wasn't much room to argue, not that Turner would waste precious time doing so. Instead, he turned in the opposite direction and ran back to where he left Bobbi. Lorcan grabbed Sage's arm, hesitant. "I want to help the girl too, but can we trust him not to turn around and kill us the minute we get her to safety?"

He made a valid point, but right now, all Sage was going on was Turner's promise to protect the little girl, just like Sage promised herself she would do for Lorcan. "If he does, I'll strike him down before he can even raise a hand at either of us."

That was enough for Lorcan as the two took off after Turner, almost losing him given how fast he was. That is definitely something the boy held back turning training. It reminds Sage of Walker, who had won his games by being faster than everyone else. She had watched reruns of his games a long time ago, but of course it was still a very active memory for her. Just like everything else.

It took several minutes for the group to get to the tunnel Turner had been talking about. It was close to the mountains, pretty wide but very steep and a long way down. Sage could hear distant crying and watched as Turner was leaning down the hole on his hands and knees. "I found rope. And help. We are going to get you out, Bobbi. It's okay."

"Hurry!" The cry came and Sage immediately got to work, pulling out both ropes. All the time spent at the knot tying section is about to pay off.

"Turner," Sage called the boy, bringing the boy over. "You both are going to propel me down. I will secure us both and you two strong men are going to lift us out."

"Why not one at a time?" Turner asked.

"And risk you killing my partner and leaving me down there to die? Screw that. I'm helping Bobbi, not you." Sage tells him. Turner did not argue as Sage secured the rope around her waist tightly and edged towards the opening of the hole. "Slow and steady. I will walk down, keep hold tight and do not drop me."

"Have a little faith," Lorcan comments warmly.

Sage just rolled her eyes and slowly started coming down. As she did so, the soft cries got louder. "Bobbi? My name is Sage. Do you remember me?"

"K-Kinda." A sniffle sounded. "Where's Turner?"

"He's helping a friend of mine lower me down so I can get you out of here. It's alright. You can trust me."

Sage almost slips but manages to catch herself. This was very deep, and as Sage looked around, it definitely was not just a fluke. The tunnel hole was planted here. Most likely to trap a tribute, a way to watch them struggle to figure a way out of here on their own. Hell, they are probably watching this, not expecting what they are witnessing right now.

"Turner said I can't trust anyone but him." Bobbi says softly, though it was loud enough that Sage managed to hear it.

"Turner's right. You keep listening to him." Sage looked over and paused, narrowing her eyes on something that moved. It was pretty dark the further she went, but she heard the mechanical movement. Oh yeah, that's definitely a camera. This was definitely put here for a show.

As she finally reached the ground, she looked over Bobbie carefully, the young girl was gripping her arm to her chest, tears staining her cheeks. "Are you hurt?"

"I hurt my wrist when I fell." She admits.

Sage nodded and turned around. "Get on my back and hold on the best you can, okay?"

Bobbi did as she was told and hooked her arms around the redhead's neck, wrapping her legs around her waist. Sage made sure she was secure before tugging on the rope. Immediately, the rope was being tugged and Sage was walking up, arms held out to the sides to help get a better grip. It was slow and the boys were doing a good job pulling, almost effortlessly.

By the time they got to the top, Sage climbed out and dropped to the side, Bobbi immediately getting off and running in Turner's direction, who lifted her into his arms and held her tightly, sighing in relief. Lorcan was at Sage's side immediately, looking her over. "You okay?"

Sage nodded, and accepted the blond's help when he extended her hand, allowing him to pull her to her feet. Brushing off all the dirt from her hands, Sage turned to see Turner was refusing to let Bobbi go, but grabbed the only pack he had and tossed it to her. "Here. A deals a deal."

Sage narrowed her eyes at the pack, before shaking her head. "No. We have all we need. Take your stuff, and keep one of the ropes."

Turner's brown eyes widened, not expecting that. "Are you sure?"

"Dude, we are not taking the only things you guys have to survive," Lorcan commented, patting him on the shoulder. "Take it."

His tense eyes softening, Turner nodded gratefully. "Thank you."

When Sage and Lorcan grabbed their things, they turned to leave, but were stopped by a small voice calling out to them. "Wait!" The two turned and Sage saw Bobbi jumping out of Turner's arms, running to her. Sage went still as Bobby wrapped her skinny arms around her waist, hugging her tightly. Bobbi looked who, smiley toothfully. "Thank you, Sage."

Sage didn't know what to do, just let the girl hug her and smiled awkwardly as Bobbi released, she quickly did the same to Lorcan before going back towards Turner. Sage was not used to such contact, it was so foreign to her. Grabbing the rest of her things, she looked over at Turner. "Good luck."

Turner glanced over at Lorcan, as if also knowing Sage's true motives, realizing that they had made the same promise to save someone else over themselves and nodded his head. "You too."

As they separated, it wasn't long before Lorcan asked the most anticipating question. "What do you think the gamemakers are going to do to retaliate what we just did back there?"

It was a good question. We are here to kill each other, not help those who we haven't formed alliances with. It makes them look bad. It doesn't entertain them enough. This is definitely something that might piss them off enough to retaliate.

"I guess we will find out soon enough."

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This might be my favorite chapter so far. Next chapter is going to be very intense tho, be prepared. I'm excited for it!

Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! More to come soon!