Hugh wasn't the only one plagued with vicious nightmares while in the arena. Pluto squirmed and writhed about as he slept, letting out frightful whimpers and moans. His runt like body curled into a ball, gripping his dirty white blanket with bloodied nails. As he slept he saw two boys, the dead Park, and Galve, with him in a dreamscape ocean of swirling ash and stirring snow. He floated on the slow low waves, watching as a boy with blue lips and wet black hair rose from the ashes. He felt Galves clammy white hands grip onto his arm, colder than the grave. The corpse leaned into his ear, whispering in smooth breaths. "It's okay you killed him. You saved me from the waters, that bloody fountain I died in," He said as a white marble fountain blurred from the ashes and into Pluto's view. In it was a boy's limp body, wet and cold. "Don't think about Park or the bashing of his brains, just think about us," Galve whined, as Pluto trying to squirm away as he saw it all in rewind. Dragging Galve's body from the fountain; placing his hands folded on his chest and almost crying as he closed Glave's dead stiff eyes. "Please." Pluto began to whimper. "Please go away. Leave me alone," he said as he tried to shut his eyes, his lids frozen open by some unmovable force. Galve's grip on him tightened. "Just think of me, not of him, and you'll be fine. The longer you think of that bastard, the more you'll suffer. He tried to kill you, he would have, and so you plunged that club into his fucking skull," he whispered, his voice scratchy and hoarse. It was certainly not the voice he owned in life. Even Pluto knew that. "Galve, go away, please," Pluto begged, his voice growing in disparity. His chest grew heavy, hyperventilation beginning to creep into his lungs "As you wish," the corpse whispered with a sneer before falling back, being enveloped by the ashes. He disappeared, a devilish grin plastered on his face. A smaller figure rose from the ashes, a pale and small boy with messy red hair. Blood dripped down from the mess of his head, plastering hair to his forehead and skull. His head was misshapen, a large dent in his crown. He floated in front of Pluto, baby blue eyes floating in bruised sockets. Pluto's heart stopped, hanging heavy in his chest. Park was in front of him. Still clearly dead, but here- a zombie of sorts. "Pluto!" the corpse began to scream, stretching the dead stiff skin. Pluto began to weep, pressing his face into his hands, trying to cover his eyes. He felt Park get closer, his fingers prying open his hands. "Pluto!" he continued to scream over and over, flashes of his death appearing before Pluto's eyes. A boy gasping as the spikes of Pluto's club entered his skull with a deafening crack; the boy collapsing to the ground with the boom of the cannon, and the blood dripping from his nose and spilling from his head and into the blades of once green grass. "Go the hell away!" Pluto screamed, lifting his head to look "Park" directly into his dead blue eyes. Park's face held no expression other than the scowl permanently scarred into him as in life. Tears streamed from Pluto's chocolate brown eyes as he looked at Park, who began to whisper as did Galve. "Wake up Pluto," "What!?""Wake. Up. Pluto,""I- I just-""Wake up!" Merla shouted as Pluto shot up, sucking in a deep breath. His eyes widened as he looked around him, Merla sitting next to him. She pressed a finger to his lips, Pluto's heart slowing down. It was just a dream. Merla gave Pluto a somewhat comforting smile, before lifting her hand and cupping it around her ear, instructing Pluto to listen. Pluto could barely see her in the dark, just a faint figure glowing with moonlight. Quick and shallow, his breaths were that of a rabbit. Beads of sweat formed on the back of his neck as he twitched about. He looked around the once luscious grove, now a graveyard of white bone trees, their pale trunks scorched with fiery back marks.Pluto took a deep breath of the cool smokey air, hearing a rustle- a crunch. He held his breath, hearing the continuous crunch of dried grass. His eyes widened as his hand slithered over to his club. Merla followed, snatching her bow. She quickly notched a silver arrow and pulled back, ready to fire.Slowly a dark figure began to emerge from a cluster of dead trees. Pluto held his breath as he propped up his weapon, ready to defend himself. His fingers tightly closed around the mace watching as the shadow emerged from the grove. It halted in its tracks, a few yards away. They stood in the shade of trees, obscuring their face."You'd back away if you knew what was good for you," Merla commanded, pulling the arrow ready. Silence filled the air, the figure like a statue. Pluto sat on the ground shaking, his small hands gripping his weapon. "Who are you?" Merla asked slowly, as the figure began to shift. It stepped forward into the light, a tall and lanky boy with heavy purple bags under his eyes and gaunt cheekbones."Hugh. Hugh Wellben," the figure murmured, looking at Merla with wide trembling eyes. They all paused, looking at each other with uncertainty. Merla aimed the bow at Hugh slowly and cautiously."You have ten seconds to get out of here," she said. Black chaotic eyes stared at the boy in front of her, seething with violence. Pluto stared at her, sensing her stability, or lack thereof. He had seen this before, the same look she had whenever they talked of Park. Animalistic and hungry, her urge to survive was conquering her mind."I-I'm sorry-""Eight, seven,""I'll- I'll be leaving-""Five, four," Pluto squirmed uncomfortably, watching Hugh stand completely frozen. He hid like a rodent in the bushes, masked by bristles and thorns. "Three, two," "I-" "One," "Merla stop!" Pluto clamored, standing on his good leg, weapon hanging in his hand. "C' mon... Put the fucking bow down. He won't hurt us," Pluto said, eyes swimming between Hugh and the slim white bow. He raised a hand and placed it on Merla's shoulder. A long sigh escaped her full lips, the primitive rage passing from her eyes. "I'm sorry- I don't know what came over me," she began to stutter looking up at Pluto with wet eyes. "It's fine," he murmured before looking at Hugh, who stood frozen in the cold moonlight. He looked dirty as did the rest, covered in traces of soot, wiped away in messy smudges. "Hugh, stay with us for the night," Pluto continued. "We'll all talk about this in the morning. Merla, please just go to sleep," "Okay, I'm sorry, I really am," "It's okay, just sleep. I'll be on guard, I um... I can't sleep well right now anyway," he said as he gently sat back down looking over at Hugh. Merla nodded her head and slowly laid back down, looking up at the stars before closing her swollen eyes. Pluto nodded at Hugh who slowly stepped forward, his eyes cautiously locked with Pluto. Hugh slowly sat down next to Pluto, unsure of what to say. He sat still, patiently waiting for Pluto to speak, avoiding any more eye contact. Pluto continued to look around as if on guard, the hilt of his club resting in his lap. He purposefully avoided eye contact with the gaunt pale boy next to him. He didn't know what to say. Hugh seemed unnerved- on edge. Then it hit Pluto, like a ton of bricks. Finnian Calibur died... Pluto had seen the two together quite often during training. He knew they must have been close- but now the boy and whatever relationship they had was dead. "Hey um, Hugh," "Yeah?" "I'm sorry about-" "Finn?" "Yeah," "Don't be. It's not your fault," Hugh murmured, his head drooped like a wilted flower. "I mean no- it wasn't. But I'm still sorry." Pluto responded before pausing for a second. "He was special to you, wasn't he?" "More than almost- more than anyone else," he said, without pause. Pluto nodded his head, immediately understanding the boy's meaning. Hugh sighed. "I just- I couldn't save him," "I'm sure you tried your best, we're all trying our best here," "Trying our best to survive- not protect others," "Maybe," Pluto muttered, looking over at Hugh. "I think that- well look at you now. You obviously cared for him. I have no doubt you tried your best," Pluto said, his words sinking into him. "Yeah," Hugh agreed, sounding unsure of himself. "I- I wasn't even there when he died though. He was all alone. It just all happened so damn fast. He made me leave. He fucking forced me to go and let him die, so I could escape," he sputtered, his voice creaking and cracking. Pluto simply sat, listening. "I know you're just trying to help- but I know it. I let him die," he finished before burying his face into his palms and beginning to silently weep. Pluto placed a stiff hand on Hugh's shoulder, frowning. He stayed silent, slowing rubbing his shoulder in gentle circles. Hugh looked up and gave Pluto a small humble smile. "I'm sorry- I'm overreacting-" "No no. Its um- it's fine," the runt said, taking his hand away and folding it in his lap. "I don't know what will happen in the morning but," he stopped. "Just let it all out now. The games are almost over. Hopefully, two people will be home soon," he whispered. Pluto doubted he would be one of those people, though he would never say it. "Thanks," "Of course,""Maybe I um- should get some sleep, its been a long day,""Fine by me. I'll stay on guard," Pluto said, smiling at his newfound friend.

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After the raging sun had gone down, the heat died with it. The blistering heat in the air cooled with the accent of the large silvery moon, hanging in the sky. The city was in smolders, a shadow of its former greatness. Armie Stranger had survived the catastrophe that destroyed the city, hiding in one of the bunkers hidden in the city. She had sat in her bunker, relishing the defeat of Shea as the city collapsed. Then when night had descended upon the ashes the bunker opened, it's scorched metal doors unable to ever close again. Armie had wandered out into the smoldering piles of waste. The arena had been reduced to mountains and fields of crumbled marbles and molten steel in a matter of hours. The neon nightlife of the arena had burnt away, leaving the arena to be illuminated only by the cold light of the moon. Armie had gone out into the wasteland, looking for signs of anything other than steaming rubble. In the distance she saw three grand effigies; one gold, another silver, and the third bronze. She hadn't seen the statues before, and so she started towards them. She figured one of the others would have taken shelter there for the night. Besides the cornucopia itself, no other shelters still stood. As she walked, her combat boots brushing through pieces of debris and ash, she began to think of all she had done in the games. So far three had died to the knives hanging from her belt; Hunter Gallowind, Kota Jackson, and Ark Lade. She smiled thinking of Ark. The asshole had it coming. All he ever did was bitch about how he was going to bring pride to his family or some cheesy shit like that. Armie relished in not having to deal with his sorry ass anymore. The other two weren't exactly prime targets though. Hunter attacked her first and Kota wasn't even her idea to kill. In reality, she could be held responsible for even three more deaths; Ruby Terrace, Finnian Calibur and Shea Prescott. Ark had killed Finnian, but she'd be lying if she said she would have saved the boy. He had already bled out by the time she and Ark had found him, collapsed in a bloody pile on the sidewalk. Shea turned out to be a "happy accident". The young woman had never meant to exactly kill her, but hey, she was dead and that fitted Armie just fine. And then there was Ruby. Armie couldn't admit it, but maybe she had begun to take a certain liking to the brat. She wasn't sure why she hung around with her for so long. She had plenty of opportunities to kill her, yet she never did. Maybe she wouldn't have been able to kill her, but choosing not to give her the life-saving medicine didn't bother the older girl all that much in the end. As Armie became lost in her head, thinking about the other tributes, something caught her attention. She was much closer now to the statue, walking for about an hour. As far as she knew, daylight wouldn't come for a few more hours. Yet not everything seemed normal. Armie stopped in her tracks and began to listen. She heard a faint sound coming from the distance, high and uncontrolled, like the screaming of a child or wild animal. Looking around, unable to tell where the sound was coming from she listened closer, hearing even more shrill shrieks and screams, all around her in the distance. She swallowed hard and drew one of her knives. The screams began to become louder and louder, more and more distinct. Multiple voices crowded the air, high and low, children and adults. They rang through the arena, distant echoes in the night. Armie's eyes dilated as she began to realize what they were. This was after all the finale of the games... They were the mutts.