— 𝐣𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐱 —

━━━━━━ ☽【❖】☾ ━━━━━━

Rex was the last person I'd expected to come to my rescue. So the moment he stepped between Rena and myself, it was like I'd seen a ghost. There were several emotions clouding my judgement, but primarily I felt an overwhelming joy.

And just like everything else about the games, the second you think that you have a chance of surviving, the gamemakers switch the odds on you. It might have been a fair fight: Lux and Rena versus Rex and me. But we'll never know. Because that's the moment the entire mountainside shook and came crashing down in an avalanche of snow.

I'd seen Harlan and Honey sneak away when I'd been foolish enough to take on both tributes from district two myself, so that's where I guided Rex. The kids had a head start, but it wasn't long before we caught up and their expressions matched my own at the revelation that Rex was in fact alive.

"How?" Harlan laughed with wide eyes, all the while shooting an 'I told you so' look in my direction.

"Run now, questions later," Rex corrected as he scooped Honey up onto his shoulders.

We ran as fast as we could, but it was no match for the snow bearing at our heels. The white powder was only a mist at first, but the pressure that followed was intense. The cold ice burned my skin and the roaring drowned out any other sound from my ears. The air was crushed from my lungs and my mind began to panic. In a moment of unwelcome deja vu, I was drowning once more. Only I couldn't swim to escape this fate, my arms were pinned to my sides as I helplessly fell the rest of the way down the mountainside. And despite the fear I experienced on my own behalf, it was only greater for Harlan as the boy's chances of survival were less than my own.

Only once the equilibrium of my mind settled did I recognize that I'd reached the end of my descent. The clothing that the Capitol had provided prior to the start of the games were not intended to last five weeks. The winter coats were the first things to be destroyed, and the gray sweatshirts that now served as a top layer did little to protect from the ice extracting my body heat.

My body involuntarily shuddered at the chills that crawled down my spine while my teeth chattered. My arms remained pinned at my sides, and I couldn't tell whether the pain in my leg was from the cut Rena had given me earlier or if something else was causing more damage to the untreated wound. My fingers and toes felt like pins and needles were constantly being jabbed into them, and my face burned from the course ice it brushed against whenever I moved.

"H-Harlan," my voice quivered and his name came out as a whisper, as if there was some underlying fear that shouting would only add to the snow pile I was buried underneath. "H-H-H-Harlan."

I tried to pull free, crying out in both frustration and pain as I remained stuck. And then an uncontrollable coughing fit was summoned as the snow was caught in my throat and lungs.

"Hey, I'm here." Rex's voice was the equivalent of a soothing comfort as he freed my face from the snow. "I'm gonna get you out of here. You're gonna be alright."

"W-where's H-Harlan?" My teeth continued to chatter while Rex slowly started the process of digging me out from under the snow.

"Let's just get you out first," Rex insisted, not exactly answering my question.

I tried shaking my head, but my neck remained safe. "N-no! You h-have to find Harlan f-f-first."

"You're freezing," Rex contradicted. "And if I don't get you out, you're going to die from hypothermia."

My eyes narrowed into slits—less intimidating as my teeth continued to chatter and my body convulsed beneath the snow. "Then you better find him f-fast."

Rex clenched his jaw, but his defiant gaze softened as he rose back to his feet and shook his head. "Then who am I to disobey a goddess."

The following silence was deafening. True, the wind above continued to whip and whine, but my thoughts consumed every aspects of my senses. Now that I had slowed down, the memories rushed forward and urged me to process everything I'd witnessed.

Cannon One: Otto died in the ice cavern.
Cannon Two: Webb threw her dagger into Beckett's throat.
Cannon Three: Lux sliced Emory in half with his axe.
Cannon Four: Halo killed Tucker using her garrote.
Cannon Five: Webb retrieved her dagger and killed Halo.
Cannon Six: Lux cut through Webb's femoral artery; she bled out.

The cannon broke the silence of my thoughts as it echoed a seventh time. My lip trembled and my heart shattered believing the worst. Although they remained pinned at my side, my arms tried once more to free themselves. I was scrambling to reach the surface, yet moving nowhere while screaming prayers out to anyone who might hear.

"Juneaux!" My name was called and I fell silent. Tears streamed down the sides of my face as those wonderful brown eyes now looked down at me. Harlan's relief matched my own for a second before it flickered with concern as he looked over at Rex. "Her lips are blue."

"Help me get her out," Rex instructed, pulling the climbing gear from the pack on his back as if it might help.

The two worked together, clawing away at the ice and snow until their own fingers practically matched the color of my lips. Together, they pulled me free. I immediately wrapped my arms around Harlan, cupping the back of his head with my hand. I only released him long enough to place a quivering kiss on his forehead before pulling him back into a tight embrace.

"I was so worried," I whispered, refusing to let him go. However, I did notice the absence of one. With a fallen expression, I turned to Rex. "Where's Honey?"

His expression was somber as he helped me to my feet. He didn't answer my question; instead, he led Harlan and myself into the woods where the snow hadn't reached. In a small clearing, surrounded by a thicket from all sides minus the one we entered, Honey had been left before a crackling fire.

Just when I was beginning to assume the worst, she weakly turned her head in our direction with a pained smile. And that's when I noticed the red stain soaking her shoulder and the odd angle her leg was twisted in.

"She's alive," Rex confirmed, "But the fall broke her leg and she says the stab wound is from Rena when you dodged the first blow."

"Then who..."

"The cannon?" Rex interrupted my question, a dark look masking his features in a way I'd never seen. "Well, there's something else. Harlan, stay with Honey."

I kept my hand wrapped around Harlan's shoulders and shook my head. "He's staying with me."

"Someone needs to stay with Honey," Rex contradicted. His posture tensed. "Or are you suggesting we split up."

"If my math is right, there's six of us left," I addressed the elephant we'd spent so much time ignoring. "And I think we both know that the plan died with the others. Maybe before..."

"What are you insinuating?" Rex asked, slowly crossing his arms.

"How'd you make it out of that cave alive?" I asked. "A foot injury seems less fatal than the side you're still bleeding from."

"Otto was crushed by another icicle after we freed ourselves," Rex spoke between grit teeth. "I didn't kill him if that's what you're implying. I haven't killed anyone."

"What about the boy from district seven?" I countered.

Rex's jaw clenched. "That was different. You know that. I was protecting Honey, and Harlan for that matter!"

"Please stop," Harlan asked, begging each of us with his soft, round eyes. "We can make it. The four of us. As long as we don't let them win. We can't let them divide us."

I took a step back with a deep breath, nodding my head as I ran my fingers through the tangles and twigs stuck in my hair. "You're right..."

However, there was still some uncertainty lingering in the air. My gut was screaming at me, telling me not to get played. Rex saw straight through my facade—perhaps a side effect of spending five weeks in isolated company.

"You want proof?" Rex asked. "Fine. Bring Harlan and I'll show you I'm not lying."

As he led us back toward the avalanche disaster zone, the sun had set and the temperature had dropped another twenty degrees. Harlan remained close, both for warmth and the comfort of safety. Our boots crunched through the snow underfoot, paving a path through the debris.

Overhead, the Capitol's anthem echoed throughout the arena while the moonlight lit the way. Rex stopped walking as we reached a large pine tree, fallen and battered but with another surprise none of us had anticipated. Lying propped against the frozen bark was none other than Romulus Lovera of district two: battered, bruised, bleeding, and blacking out but alive nonetheless.

As if to add further proof to Rex's claim, the nightly projection began and explained who had fallen with the toll of the seventh cannon: Lux, District One; Halo, District One; Otto, District Six; Tucker, District Eight; Webb, District Eight; and Emory, District Eleven.

We took a moment of silence to honor the deaths of our allies, then slowly turned back to the boy of district two with the looming decision of what to do with the life that fate had placed into the palms of our hands.