Day 3
Jeanine woke up alone in the cave. Did those two really abandon her to her fate? She sat up as much as she was able in the confined space. She looked at the entrance with a glare, only to spot a figure sitting there. The brown hair marked her as Tris.
Jeanine crawled out to meet her. Tris turned her head a fraction, but didn’t move otherwise.
“Where is the boy?”
“He left. Took his spear and ran off. I don’t think he trusts us. Smart kid.”
“If he was smart, he would have killed us when he had the chance.”
“Maybe.” Tris stood. “I’m going to look for more food.”
“You do that,” Jeanine said.
As Tris walked off, Jeanine leaned her head against the rocky cave wall and closed her eyes. She opened them again when she heard a pinging. Without rising, she watched as the chute dropped a package near her feet.
For a moment she left it there, untouched. Then she knelt down and picked it up. It was pretty big. She studied it and smiled. It was a bomb.
————
She left him. She woke up with her head on his chest, she heard his heartbeat, she saw his serene face, and she left him. It wasn’t a good idea to get attached to anyone in the Game. All but one would die.
At that exact moment, someone else stumbled upon her path. Both girls froze and stared at each other.
Lula raised her hands placating next to her head, showing she was unarmed.
“Truce?” she asked with a laugh.
“Yes,” Cho replied immediately. That meant no killing. Not just yet. She just hoped she wouldn’t get attached to this one.
They walked on side by side when another girl appeared. The female Tribute of District 1.
She looked them over warily. It seemed she realised the odd weren’t in her favour.
It was Lula who spoke up first.
“Hiya. Will you join our team?”
There was a small pause.
Then, “Sure. Three is better than one.”
Their group moved uphill.
“We should go back to the centre of the Arena,” Lula said. “It’s not as cold there at night. If the others figured that out they will most likely be there, too.”
“That sounds great. Let’s go.”
————
The parachutes were truly a gift. Rumplestiltskin just received a chute containing bandages and medicine. He’d already taken care of the wounds as well as he was able, but the wounds had started to infect.
With this he wouldn’t have to worry about losing any body parts to disease. It still left plenty of other options to die from; an arrow to the head, an axe to the chest, a dagger in his stomach.
Rumple trembled as he thought of all the terrible things that might happen if he didn’t stop being a coward and kill off the other Tributes.
————
Will held the stick firmly in his left hand while he used the knife in his right to sharpen the end. It had been Hook’s idea to make a spear..
“Don’t you have any weapons?” he had said.
Will looked up. He shook his head.
“It’s a wonder you’ve stayed alive this long.” Hook retrieved his dagger from his belt and threw it into the ground at Will’s feet. “Here, use that to make yourself a spear.”
Will pulled the dagger free from the earth. He looked up at Hook.
Hook pointed a finger at him. “I’ll be wanting that back.” Then he walked off.
————
Jack wandered through the forest. He didn’t care that he made too much noise as he walked. He didn’t care that he was unarmed and anyone could sweep in and kill him. He didn’t even care if he made it out of these Games anymore.
He ran a hand through his hair, and took a deep breath.
“Keep it together, Jack,” he told himself. “Just keep it together.”
He adjusted his walk, taking care to tread carefully.
“You got this.”
————
Hook glanced back at the kid and scoffed. He was solely focussed on making his spear. He wasn’t going to last long. Hook had half a mind to kill him himself, but he wouldn’t stab him in the back.
He looked back down, where he was busy making his own weapon, a slingshot. A dagger was nice and all that, but not for long-distance. A dagger required him to be close while a slingshot worked best at a distance.
He grinned as he held up the slingshot. It would do.
Now to check on the kid.
————
Harry didn’t know how he and Eric kept teaming up. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Eric could never catch him. He was simply too fast. So instead of trying to kill him, he partnered up with him.
That did mean that Harry had to help him kill whoever else they ran into. Which, at the moment, meant the female Tribute from Eleven.
Harry immediately jumped in between Eric and Hermione. “No, wait, we could use her,” Harry blurted out.
Eric shot him an incredulous look. “You do know the point of these Games is to be the only one left, right?”
“There are still many of us left. We could use some help.”
“From a girl with no weapons?”
“She got a score of seven. That means she’s good.”
“A seven isn’t that good,” Eric sneered.
“I had a seven as well,” Harry countered. “Just because you had a ten doesn’t automatically mean you’ll win.”
It seemed Eric wasn’t convinced, or charmed, by his words. He was almost afraid he would just stab the girl and be done with it.
“I built a shelter,” Hermione burst out. “And I can make a fire.”
Harry saw the wheels in Eric’s head turn. He knew it was a tempting offer, since Harry knew Eric had neither.
“Fine, she can join us. But she’s the last one. The next one we meet is dead.” With those words, Eric shoved past Hermione.
Harry shot the girl a smile, but he knew he only postponed the inevitable. For neither could live while the others survived.
————
Henley moved quickly. She needed to find another Tribute and kill them. That was the only way she could get home. And she would go home.
She stopped and drew her weapon. She cursed her luck. Across from her was not one Tribute, but two. One of them carried a spear, while the other - Henley couldn’t help but groan - was District 1. She couldn’t kill two at the same time. She gripped her dagger tightly.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay.” Daniel said before she could either run or fight. “It’s okay. We don’t have to fight.”
“Is that so?” She grit out.
“Yeah. We could even… we could team up.”
Henley raised an eyebrow.
“So, what do you say?” He shot her a hesitant smile.
“No.” Henley turned to walk away. “I don’t team up with Careers. Or their friends.”
“I killed District 2,” Draco said at her retreating.
That stopped Henley in her tracks. She turned back to Draco.
“How?”
“Stabbed him. With my spear.”
Henley’s eyes took him in more closely now.
“And you?” she asked Daniel. “Who did you kill?”
Daniel started at being addressed. “No one. I haven’t killed anyone.”
She chewed on her tongue. “Alright. Let’s team up.
Daniel shot her a smile. Henley shot a warning finger in his general direction. “I don’t like you,” she told him. “Not now, not ever.”
“Got it,” he mumbled as he stared at the ground.
They started moving again.
————
Tris missed home. She never thought she’d miss is, but she did. She missed the dilapidated building she called home. She missed her brother, her mother, her father. It seemed like a lifetime ago the last time she had dinner with them. The quiet voices of her parents as they talked while she and her brother listened.
She wondered if she’d ever see them again.
Probably not. District 12 wasn’t known for winning the Games. That honour went to the Career Districts. All she had left of her District was her token, a simple watch, but it reminded her of home anyway. It was made there, bought there, worn there.
It was a little piece of home that she carried with her.