Orion drags the body to the beach, where Nicola's clothes gather sand and small bugs waiting for the hovercraft to pick her up. I attempt to mourn in peace, but the same can't be said for the others. 

"You should have killed her," Vulcan says, inserting his incredibly unwelcome opinions immediately. "Haven't you ever heard of the concept of revenge, Ditzy? She was out for your blood, and what did you do about that? Nothing!"

"Oh, and what's with you, judging every little thing I do?" I fire back, earning a sharp look from Terra, telling me not to mess with him. "I don't need your advice, I can handle my own fucking life how I want to, and how I want to does not include murdering that girl!"

Vulcan takes a step closer to me, at least a foot taller, sword hovering dangerously by his side. "Are you calling me a murderer, Four?"

I lift my chin. "Do you want me to lie and say that I'm not?"

"Daphne!" Terra cuts in, hands raised between me and Vulcan, deescalating the situation. "Cut it out!"

"Why aren't you asking him to cut it out?" I say pointedly, gesturing very firmly towards my opponent. Terra answers only with a glare, not caring for anything more. 

"We should split up, go pick off more of the weak ones," Vulcan suggests, apparently moving on from the matter. "I'll go with Daphne."

Oh, there it is again. 

"Fuck no," I mutter, but he doesn't seem to hear. 

Mei follows in Terra's footsteps and throws each of us a glare. "Vulcan's right, we do need to split up. Me and Daphne will take the right side of the arena, Terra and Orion the left. Apollo and Vulcan, you'll watch base and make sure anyone who tries to steal anything of ours doesn't succeed. We'll meet back here by dawn, no later."

I feel something dripping down my chest, and when I feel my neck, my hand returns red with blood. As I apply pressure, I notice that the same can be seen on Terra's arm, fresh as mine. 

She meets my gaze with a slight nod as we set off, into the night, Mei by my side and Orion by hers. At least tonight I won't have to worry for her safety--not that I was any of the other nights, really, but Orion is a force to be reckoned with, and Terra will be fine. 

Mei chooses a random spot in the forest to go for, searching for any signs of life. Occasionally, I will scale a tree, having experience in climbing masts on ships, and look for smoke. 

The sun sets, and we find no one. 

The anthem blares throughout the arena, and me and Mei scramble to find an open field where we can watch. 

The first death is from District Three, and I recognize the face in the sky to be that of Hermes, the small slimy boy I'd watched the reaping of. 

Freiya is dead too, from District Six. I don't recognize her but Mei seems to, muttering the dead girl's name under her breath almost solemnly. 

There is Tupelo from Seven, the boy I watched die, the boy Terra killed. I want to close my eyes at the sight, but, stubbornly, they stay open. 

Both of the tributes from Eight are dead: Laine and Lun, the ones with the similar names and mannerisms. I wonder how their District feels about this sudden loss--although Eight doesn't win very often, so it shouldn't come as much of a surprise. 

A young boy from Nine, the same District as Zea, the girl Mei was wary of. The projection moves on to Merino from Ten next, and it is clear that Zea is still very much alive. 

Vidi is last, from District Twelve, and then it is over. 

"That's eight," says Mei, pushing herself to standing. "Sixteen left. Ten, without us."

I shiver. Ten is a very high number when it symbolizes people who could jump out of the woods right now with a knife and very legally murder you. 

Mei stares up at the sky for a moment longer, watching the projected-on stars flicker quietly. "Why'd you volunteer, Four?"

I look at her. "What?"

"I watched all the reapings, you know, getting a good look at my competition. You volunteered. Why did you do it? Did you know the little girl?"

It takes me a little bit to find an answer that isn't completely false. "Her name was Layla. I didn't know her."

"Well, aren't you a little acrobat, avoiding my questions like they're the plague," teases Mei. "Why did you do it? You didn't have to, did you?"

I take a deep breath. I've never really confided in anyone before--and this is also so completely different, because not only am I telling Mei about my past, I am telling the world. 

Layla is either listening in to our conversation right now, or will be seeing replays soon enough, which is what makes it okay. 

"My father was in the Games, too," I say, as if everyone doesn't already know. This time Mei listens, not interrupting. "And my sister, though she didn't win. I watched her die, a thousand miles away, through a staticky TV screen. And I watched our family fall apart, only deepening the cracks that my father's Games started."

A shaky breath, a moment of silence, of mourning. "My family was already fucked. I couldn't let that happen to hers, too, not when she still had a chance at life."

"That's very noble of you," says Mei, finally. "I'm glad your sacrifice will be seen through, then."

A blade beside my throat cuts off my breathing, the cold metal edge razor-sharp against my neck. My mouth opens in a gasp I don't dare to breathe. 

Mei smiles. "I didn't come here to make friends," she sneers. "The others will believe some random tribute took you out, won't they? 'Oh, it's so sad, he just appeared out of the forest, she was dead before I could do anything...'" she laughs snarkily, and my heartbeat rises, breathing unsteady. 

"You don't want to do this," I say, my voice shaking. 

Mei tilts her head, pursing her lips. "And why don't I?"

I can't give her a reason, and the smile growing on her lips shows she knows it. "You're nobody, Daphne. You're a nepo baby of a girl who won't attempt to live, even when given the chance! Don't think for a second I believe your little story about your family--you know that your life isn't worth saving, don't you? And that's very heroic and all, but there is no room for heroes in the Hunger Games, Four."

"I'm not a hero," I force out. "I'm just a girl, Mei. Just a seventeen-year-old girl. I'm nobody."

She doesn't relent. "Good, you admit it," she says. "But that doesn't change anything, now, does it?"

The axe drives into my neck. 

haha what's your opinion on mei now, oxceen? sorry abt that, though. originally mei was gonna be kind and stuff, but I changed my mind (and I might again bc this doesn't rly fit w the plot idea I liked, although it does suit her personality rly well)

also, this is the shortest chapter of the story so far, and probably for the rest of it, too. it's 1252 words, for some context. which is still pretty long but a good bit of that is the A/N too, and in comparison, the other chapters are about an average of 1400 words. 

thanks so much for reading! <3