9

This One Night

So that's what happened to my bracelet. The cameras had stayed away from Marina for the most part, after she was robbed by the Careers of course. I almost forgot she still existed, but clearly she did exist to Finnick. He found her and low and behold, there were my shells wrapped around her wrist.

I was surprised how much I didn't mind. If they gave her strength through the whole ordeal, than I'm glad she had them. Happy, however, I had to wonder under what context he gave her the shells. Did he love her? No, I don't think so. Finnick was smart enough to resist those feelings when he knew they were doomed to die...

Or at least I hoped he was.

More likely he was being nice and they became friends. She was three years older than him anyway...and engaged to another boy-Ammon, I think his name was-so that had to be it.

I think all the hearts in Panem broke when he held her that night he found her. I was watching the games with his mother again and we hugged each other pathetically when he tried to revive her after she died. His father was there too but kept perfectly composed; the only revealing change I noticed was the way he clenched his jaw the whole time.

After Finnick had gone to sleep, they showed us the Careers. They were standing in a circle, Celeste, Hector, Viper, and Goren. They had finally recovered from the strangling smoke and were trying to decide what to do next.

"I say we part ways," Viper's voice cracked, "That canon means there's nine people alive now. We have no idea who's dead yet, but we can't afford any chances. If Finnick is out there, there's no doubt he's getting plenty of help from the Capitol. We can't stay together in a bundle for him to take out all at once."

They all agreed, but still didn't budge from the circle. Goren-a man of few words-was looking at them suspiciously.

"How do we know that the second one of us turns around, the others won't attack?" he asked in his bass voice. Celeste pursed her lips and looked at the others.

"Goren there's a sort of code amongst the Careers. You're from district six so I wouldn't expect you to know it...but basically when a group decides to break, you give everyone one day to disperse. It keeps the games interesting, it gives everyone time to plan, and if you don't you won't have a home to go to. You break the code and you lose all your honor. Get it?"

Goren smirked, "My district wouldn't care if I killed you all right now."

"You won't, if you know what's good for you," Hector warned.

With that, they reluctantly gathered their personal items, though it seemed they lost a lot after the volcano.

"Okay, so by tomorrow's midnight, everyone's fair game," Celeste said as a farewell, "May the odds-"she gave a quick laugh, "be ever in your favor."

Then they took off in different directions, all of them reluctant to leave the woods. Except for Goren, who made a beeline for the cooled lava. It was an odd choice because none of them had any food, and certainly the flat rock wouldn't. But then again, maybe he was looking for refuge more than sustenance.

They all fell into restless sleep, coddling whatever weapons they had left. No one was safe anymore.

When it hit morning in the arena, the screens opened with Finnick. He was thrashing in his sleep and in a very dangerous location. My heart caught in my throat when suddenly he rolled right off the side of the ledge.

"No!" his mother gasped, instinctually grabbing the air with her hands as if she thought to catch him.

But it was okay...sort of. He fell about five feet and seemed to wake up during that time. Then he hit the steep slope of the mountain and rolled violently down that for a short distance, fell another four feet, and landed face down on flat ground below. Winded, swollen, and bleeding, he still pulled himself up with a certain determination. He didn't even seem aware that he was injured at all.

"COME AND GET ME, I DARE YOU!" he roared into the air. It echoed all around the mountain, making it even more dramatic. They showed quick shots of the boys from seven and six that were somewhere on the mountain too, picking their heads up at the sound.

I had to admit it was an impressive display, it seemed like he was really ready to fight. And that's when a silver parachute fell into his hands, holding a trident.

"Wow," his mother gasped, staring with wide eyes at the screen. His father leaned forward in his chair in amazement.

"That's...must have cost a fortune to send," he whispered in an awestruck voice. A look of sheer victory crept across Finnick's face. Yes, this is what he needed to get him back in the game. I've seen his work with a trident before and he's marvelous at it, it's like an extension to his arm. I let myself hope he'd really come home.

He really could come home.

Fin climbed down the mountain with vigor, landing soundlessly in the jungle where the remaining tributes were hiding. He found a quiet nook and got to work on several grass nets. It was the most enthusiasm I've seen him use in the arena thus far. Caesar Flickerman agreed, according to the interviews he was doing with the gamemakers. The Capitol was tickled pink with Finnick's newfound zest. When a few peacekeepers came to interview Finnick's parents, that's what they asked about the most. Do you think Finnick can win, what's this sudden turn around about, blah blah blah. They left as fast as they'd arrived; Mrs. Odair was extremely camera shy, after all.

The rest of the morning was used up displaying how no one had any food except for Carson and Finnick because of their knowledge of the jungle's plants. All the rest were feeling the tight squeeze of hunger's fist.

"Attention ladies and gentlemen," Claudius Templesmith's voice rang over the arena, "It is time to announce our annual feast at the Cornucopia. The layout will be presented at nine o'clock, tonight. We realize that food of the need, and for some of you, this will be your last chance. Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor."

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O

A feast. Intriguing.

I didn't need food, thanks to Carson-though I'd never really thank Carson for anything-because I could live off the remains of the forest. And now I knew that the feast would draw in the other tributes to the center. It was time to act.

I'd finished twelve nets, not including the one I left after teaching it to Carson, and got to work. I set up snares as close as I could to the Cornucopia, but always made sure I had a landmark that would tell me where it was. It was difficult, sneaking around the jungle. I could hear some tributes snoring every once and a while, but didn't attack. I wasn't positive whether or not the Careers were still together, and to go bursting in on the attack could be potential suicide.

No, I had better plans.

I walked along the edge of the forest and noticed, out in the distance on the flat surface of the cooled rock, sat a dark figure with a fire beside it.

Must be Goren, no one else in here is that big even from this distance.

I decided to leave him be for now. If he was willing to sit out in the open, completely unhidden, he must want an attack. And I wasn't going to fall for it.

On my journey, I couldn't help but remember the pie I had so brainlessly gone after in the circle of vines; the one that may or may not have set off the volcano. Something about it had drawn me in, but now it just seemed so obscure and so dumb.

The Capitol and their stupid, delicious pies.

The snares took most of the day, partially because I had to be so quiet and sneaky, and partially because they were damn hard to make; but mostly it's because whenever I had to put my trident down, I'd have to check on it every ten seconds. I made up a song to help me remember where I put them;

The orange palm trees

The steep riff

Rock that looks like a man

The indent in the cliff

The big gray rock

The tree with a face

The bed of moss

The living vine place

Left of the Cornucopia

The odd purple mass

The flowerless meadow

The tall itchy grass.

I actually got most of it to rhyme which I was pretty proud of. But now darkness was rolling in again and the tributes should be making their way for the food any minute now...

A shout. The sound of tree branches. Yes, someone's already caught. I ran through the trees with my back hunched over so as not to draw attention to myself by the other tributes. It sounded like the trap near the clump of palms with the orange tinted trunks.

Sure enough, dangling in my net in an extreme panic, was a boy. I think he was the boy from District Seven, to be exact.

This is it Finnick, fish in a pool. Just do it fast!

I ran out from my hiding place, my trident held up for the strike. I expected to yell, or cry out heroically or say something at least powerful. But all I managed to shout was, "I'm sorry!" before sinking the prongs into the boy's back with a sickening, meaty thud. The canon fired almost immediately after, and the guilt threatened to wash over me. But no, I wouldn't let it. The time for weakness was over, and I had a home to get to. I yanked the trident out of the boy's back-the sound and feel of it nearly overwhelming me with nausea-and then cut down the net. The lifeless boy fell with it and hit the ground with a thump. I couldn't leave the evidence of my plan behind, so I cut the net away while doing my best not to look at him, and then threw the grass ropes into the plants where they blended in perfectly. Then I left so the ship could collect the boy.

Either they die, or you do.

The sky was dark enough now that it had to be getting close to the serving time of the banquet.

You shouldn't go, you have enough food.

I should go, even if just to watch.

I snuck my way back to the Cornucopia, checking my snares just in case any of them came loose or caught something. It wasn't hard to find, I could smell the food from a mile away. It smelled delicious. I peered past some leaves just to catch a glimpse of the situation. Viper was standing at the end of the table, squinting at something I couldn't see. Queerly enough, Hector was there too, though a few feet away. Either these Careers really were as stupid as I took them for, or they were still allied. Or they broke and they're under the honor code.

Didn't matter I guess. I needed to see what they were looking at, but it was difficult to move without making a sound. Feeling sort of foolish, I got down on my stomach and started to drag myself to the left. I hadn't realized just how badly I had bruised my ribs and limbs when I fell until that moment, but I had to get over it. If I made a revealing sound now, I was probably done.

When I'd made it about six feet, I risked another look. This time I could see a white scroll at the head of the table, reading;

Only the items that set the mountain on fire

Are safe and what you desire

All the rest will only bring death

Choose your food wisely, or breathe your last breath.

Odd.

But then I looked at the table, and sure enough amongst the assorted breads, meats, and produce, sat three perfect, delectable pies. Of course, it all made sense to me because I'd discovered the bug-filled pie in the jungle, but they hadn't. It actually seemed a little unfair, but who was I to complain?

"I'm not risking my life for this piece of shit riddle," Viper spat. She snatched the scroll off the table with a smirk and took off into the protection of the jungle. Hector looked at the food longingly, almost puppy-like, before slouching back into the forest as well. I couldn't be sure the close was clear, but I had to risk it, for poetic's sake. Leaning ever so slightly out of the cover of the bushes, I used my trident to skewer the three pies-one per prong-and pull them safely to me. Now all the rest of the food left was trouble, and perhaps it may even kill someone. Who knew? This could be my lucky day.

That's a sad thing to think, Finnick.

I shrugged it off and slunk away with my little treasures. My mouth was watering just at the very smell of them. I was so distracted I almost ran into one of my own snares.

Okay, make camp, then it's feast time.

I found my comfortable, familiar nook in the trees and began to dig into the middle pie that I believed to have strawberries in it. One bite and I was drooling like a diseased dog. How could anything ever, ever taste so freaking good? It was like-

Well I never got to figure out what it was like because a rock struck the trunk of the tree one inch away from my head. I shot up to my feet, grasping my trident defensively.

"I saw what you did there," Hectors voice growled, "the food. I don't know how you knew what that scroll meant, but I want those pies. Now."

He emerged from the dark holding out a sword and a ravenous hunger to his eyes.

I'm going to be killed over three damn pies.

"You can have them," I shrugged, kicking the one I'd just taken a bite from to him. He looked confused, glancing up and down between me and the pie.

"Well...you...wait. What did you do to it?"

"What do you mean?"

"You must have poisoned it..."

So he IS stupid.

"When? Somewhere between the time I took a bite and the time you threw a rock at my head?"

He scowled at me, demonstrating exactly why people say not to antagonize those stronger than you. But he was just so...hard to swallow.

"I'm going to kill you," he announced, pointing a finger at me. And though it wasn't the top thing on my mind I couldn't help but note that even his pointer finger was unusually bulky.

"Try."

He roared like a beast and swung his sword straight at my neck. I caught it in between the prongs of my trident and twisted it so it flew out of his hand. His face turned a beet shade of red and lunged, pummeling me to the ground. The arm with my trident was pinned under his knees, so there wasn't a lot I could do as he punched me across the jaw. I swear I could hear our bones crunching together under our skin.

Get free, Finnick.

I punched him in the jugular and wriggled out from underneath him, struggling to keep hold of the trident. Where was his sword?

Back in his hand, apparently.

The blade caught my shoulder, which hurt like no one could believe. Instinct took over from there and I started stabbing at him like I would a school of fish. He deflected most of them, but a few times I caught his arms and even his rips. Nothing lethal, unfortunately.

This guy helped rob Marina. Maybe even hurt her. Kill him.

Somehow he got hold of my wrist and I found myself on my knees, my torso contorted in such a way I wondered if Hector had any ulterior motives regarding this fight. My vertebras didn't appreciate it, some of them almost seemed to be slipping out of place.

"Aughhh!" I shouted, twisting myself so I could get away. I swung my weapon around and caught his chest, which got a satisfying cry from him. But then he grabbed the trident-something fish never did-and yanked me closer to him.

"You're going to pay for that," he rasped between breaths. He pinned me down so my head was tucked under my chest and took my left arm back, twisting it slowly and painfully. I couldn't move as I felt the bones gradually start to splinter, the tendons slowly starting to tear. It was the most painful thing I'd ever experienced, physically.

I flung my hand arm up, hit him on the eye, and leapt away with a sickening, crunchy popping sound. Then I was running, running as fast as I could for cover. Because I knew I needed to regroup, and I was also very aware that I was in a lot of pain. When I finally reached a resting point, I collapsed and tried to catch my breath. I had wounded Hector, that was good. But something was wrong with me, but my head was too muddled to understand what it was. Sleep came before I could figure it out.

~O~O~O~O~O~O~~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O

"It's okay, Dae, he's alive," Mr. Odair assured his wife, rubbing her shoulders. After that episode with Hector, we were all left in a state. The way his face contorted with pain when that guy was twisting his arm made my stomach hurt. But he got away, with his trident. So he could still win.

I'd been spending a lot of time with the Odairs, since Pearl kept having friends over and Echo was always staying out with other people. I had friends, but I felt like Mrs. Odair needed me here, to help clean, cook, and make nets. I suppose Finnick must have helped with a lot of this stuff while his father was away, now it was me.

The screen went to Viper, who was sharpening a knife with a smooth rock somewhere in the forest. She looked angry and was hunched over slightly to suggest her stomach was panging with hunger. Would no sponsors send her food?

Then a rustling in the trees sent her flying to her feet.

"Who's there?" she hissed, "come out."

Carson emerged from the foliage, hands up innocently. "Give me a minute to explain before killing me?" he asked, almost patronizingly. I didn't like his eyes, they were so cold, and his stride was so silent and smooth like a snake. Ironic, seeing as he was in the presence of a girl named Viper.

"Spit it out," she barked.

"I want to propose an alliance."

A knife whizzed through the air, nicked his cheek, and landed with a thud in the tree behind his head. Either he was expecting it or he had poor reflexes, because he barely reacted at all. Viper seemed perplexed but didn't yield.

"I just got out of one, actually. It's a little late in the game to be making friends."

Carson shook his head, a devilish smile on his face.

"It would be a short, mutually beneficial arrangement. I want to learn some skills with knives like you have. In return, I'll teach you how to eat off the things here in the woods."

She almost scoffed and already seemed ready to turn down the offer, "I don't need it. These games will be over in a few days tops, I can survive til then."

"You think you stand a chance against the others in combat, when your half starved and they have food?"

She looked at him sharply, her eyes spewing venom.

"None of the others have food."

"I do," he shrugged, "And so does Finnick, I believe. Celeste, well from what I've seen she can get the sponsors to take care of her. Goren and Hector have enough extra meat on their bodies to sustain them. You, however, are at risk."

She seemed to consider this, but something was in the way.

"She's too proud, she'll never take him up on it," Mr. Odair told the room. I found myself rooting for Viper in this situation, even if I didn't want her to win in the end. I hoped she'd kill this Carson once and for all.

"No dice, sorry," she whispered, narrowing her eyes.

"I'll throw in how to make snares," Carson offered in a last-ditch effort. Why was he doing this?

"Show me. Show me the food and the snare, and then I'll show you the knife tricks."

"I'm not stupid, you'll kill me before you make your end of the bargain." They'd reached an impasse, so Carson sighed, "I'll show you one plant. And how to start the snare. You show me how to use a weapon, then I'll stay unarmed and show you the rest of the snare and another plant. After that, we'll go our separate ways. Deal?"

Viper appraised him a moment, then lowered her knife. "Fine."

"This is going to be interesting," Mrs. Odair said with a raised eyebrow.

Which snake will win?

"Annnnieee, time to come home!" Pearl called from some nearby point outside. I sighed, thanked the Odairs, and then scampered home before I encountered any peacekeepers. The games were on, so I grabbed some bread and sat down on my mat, waiting for Finnick to come back.

The girl from five snuck up to the table inside the Cornucopia. She checked, saw no one around, then grabbed an armful of food and shoved it into her little backpack. As a second thought, she shoved a roll into her mouth and ran off. She was dead a minute later. The canon fire split the night air, causing all the others to jump.

Poor thing.

It was deep in the night now, which meant the Careers were all fair game to one another. We watched Hector come stumbling through the trees, clutching his bleeding chest. Celeste was leaned against a tree, her pants torn in strategic places, her only shirt being her undershirt. She was watching him calculatingly, the shadows playing funny tricks with her face. She was so striking, even after the being bedraggled by the arena. If anything, it just made her look fiercer.

"Hector," she called in a tone dripping with estrogen. He froze, not knowing where the voice came from. She walked slowly towards him, letting the leaves caress her face and comb her hair as she advanced. He found her with his eyes and stared, not sure what to make of what was going on.

"Relax," she whispered, standing a few feet in front of him, "I'm not here to kill you."

"Look, Celeste, just say what you want to say. I don't have time to fool around."

"That's too bad," she smiled, looking at him with a certain gleam in her eyes, "that's exactly what I was going to propose."

Hector seemed caught in limbo between his bleeding chest and Celeste's provocative tone.

"What?"

"Hector, don't pretend like you haven't noticed the...tension...between the two of us this whole time," she purred, "Before this all ends, I wanted to propose one night. One night where you and I can just forget about these games and killing and just simply be...together." She bit her bottom lip on that last word, leaning her weight to one leg.

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Hector asked, bewildered. Celeste nodded, pulled her knife out from her belt and dropped it on the ground.

"Drop your sword," she ordered, pointing to the large blade in his hand. He looked at it, then back to her, then back to the sword, then back to her.

"This is a trap..."

Obviously he was going to need more convincing, so without missing a beat Celeste kicked off her boots and stripped until she was standing in nothing but her undergarments.

"C'mon, Hector," she whispered, taking a few slow steps towards him.

"The cameras..." he sputtered.

She laughed softly, "I don't think they can show those things on national television. And if they can...well...an audience might be sort of exciting."

Hector's mouth kept opening and shutting, be he was at a loss for words. Celeste got close enough now she could reach out and touch him, wiping the hair off his forehead and tracing his lips with her thumb. She got closer and leaned in, kissing his throat gently.

"Forget it all, just for tonight," she murmured into the crook of his neck, "Please. One of us isn't coming out, maybe both of us. Why shouldn't we have this moment?" Finally, it seemed, Hector's inhibitions yielded. He chucked his blade into a nearby bush and wrapped his arms tightly around Celeste's waist, kissing her hard on the lips. She returned it with so much vigor that they toppled over onto the ground, their breaths coming in short, desperate spurts.

"Think she's setting him up?" I asked casually. Pearl shrugged and watched the screen intently. But when it got too graphic, the cameras had to switch off. I guess nudity wasn't a big deal in the arena until they want to be nude...

In the meantime, Carson had finished his first few lessons for Viper and was now learning how to throw a knife.

"Interesting," he observed, watching how her wrist flicked.

"Now you try."

After a few pitiful attempts, it seemed Carson got the hang of knife-work.

"He's a quick study," Pearl commented with raised brows. Carson began to hold up his last end of the bargain, and then the camera's zoomed in on him. He was showing Viper another plant, when he casually slipped another colorful frog into his hand. It was so subtle she didn't even notice and kept on talking plants.

"Then you roll the leaf up like this," he demonstrated, rolling a leaf around what appeared to be a root, only the other half was the frog, "And bite it."

He took a bite and for a second I thought he fell for his own trap, but it turned out it was only the decoy.

"What a tricky little worm," Pearl whispered, "I really hope she catches him."

"You take a bite, try it," he offered, holding the leaf out to Viper. She took it, smelled it, and then bit.

Her reaction was immediate. Carson tried to clamp his hands over her mouth like he did Armure, but Viper was faster. She grabbed his hand, twisted it behind his back, and spit out the food.

"What was that, what did you do?" she growled maliciously. Carson's eyes were wide and his knees were shaking.

"You bit it, it doesn't matter..." he tried to explain; "those things are insanely poisonous...Ouch!...You're dead."

But Viper didn't go down that easily. She twisted his arm back and then spun him around, attacking his face with her fingernails and fists. He was trying to fight back but-it was clear from the very beginning-he was all brain and not a lot of brawn. She had her hands clamped around his throat, digging deeply into his windpipe, when the worst of the poison started taking hold. She was choking, salivating, and twitching. Carson used this time to wriggle away from her, trying to stumble to safety. But Viper, writhing on the ground, managed to grab one of her knives from the tree, aim, and sink it into the back of his leg. He yelped but still managed to slither away alive.

"You COWARD!" she garbled, fighting her spasms, "You little piece of shit! YOU SNAKE!" her voice broke on the last word and she succumbed to the poison. The canon fired for her a minute later.

"That was intense," I sighed, sitting up straight. I felt bad for Viper; I was really rooting for her over that boy. But she injured him, so hopefully that would lead to his end. The screen switched to the bushes just outside the scene containing Hector and Celeste, just so we could hear their grunting and moaning sounds, before switching off to Caesar. He made jokes about how it must be killing the producers not to be allowed to air that action and how it was incredible how sexually charged the tributes are this year.

Their interview was cut short as the camera flashed back to Celeste and Hector. It was zoomed in enough so that they could only see both of them from the shoulders up. Celeste was lying on his chest, kissing him on the neck. I didn't understand why they were bothering to show this, when suddenly she clamped down on his jugular with her teeth. His shock quickly turned to alarm, but he didn't have time to react when she picked up a nearby stick and started stabbing him with it.

She kept going for the throat, making it one of the most gruesome and bloodiest deaths in the games. When it was done and the canon fired, she stood up and tried to spit the blood from her mouth. She didn't have any clothes, but his blood coated her body well enough.

"That was disgusting," Pearl groaned, making sure Echo was asleep and not watching. I nodded, appalled and yet mystified. She knew Hector was too strong for her, that she needed to find a weakness to use against him.

Well, she found one.

A silver parachute descended from the sky, a reward for her promiscuous theatrics. Inside was a feast for two, which I'm sure she could eat alone. She disappeared into the undergrowth, pulling her clothing with her. She only let herself grimace when she thought the final shadow had covered her face, but I saw it. I'm sure she was probably getting sick while hiding in those plants. Her moment of weakness.

I wanted to stop watching, to go to bed and try to sleep off the nausea that ensued after that grizzly death scene. But even with my eyes closed, I couldn't escape what I'd seen. The back of my eyelids were just another television screen replaying those deaths over and over and over and over. If I was going to have to watch something like that happen to Finnick, a friend, then I knew the scenes would never, ever stop.