An Especially Twisted Hunger Games

Day (and Night) 2

Idia

I have no idea why I woke up screaming last night. I getting ready to sleep while Trey took the first watch; everything seemed just fine minus the fact that it was him and not Ortho at my side. I settled in, shut my eyes, and before I knew it, Trey was shaking me as hard as he could while trying to cover my mouth. 

"Idia, what has gotten into you? If you don't stop screaming, someone might hear you- you're gonna get us both killed!" I flinch as I wake up. "Wmff mff ymff tmff abmff?" My speech is muffled by his hand. He sighs as he removes it. "Try that again?" "What are you talking about? I wasn't screaming at all. In case you haven't noticed, I've been asleep this whole time!" Trey looks at me as if I was still speaking gibberish. "Are you serious? You've been calling for help for the past five minutes! It's a miracle we haven't been hunted down yet. Why were you so afraid?" I shake my head and turn away from him. "I guess I'm just more worried about Ortho than I thought. I'm sorry." He sighs and puts a hand on my shoulder. "Well, we're all worried about someone I suppose. Don't worry about it." I usually don't like other people touching me, but for some reason I welcome his touch. "We should probably move our camp; there could be any number of people on there way here. I'll take up the watch again when we get there so you can get some more sleep." He nods and gathers what little things we have. We head into the darkness of the night. 

Trey stirs, bringing my focus back to the present. He turns to look at me, giving a half-hearted smile. "Good morning, Idia." "Morning." He stretches and starts to stand up but stops halfway, remembering something. "Did you see the list of the fallen? I think I was asleep when they showed it." I look down at my shoes; I had seen the list and was saddened by the names. "...Yuu, Jack, Malleus, Epel, and Vil. They're all gone." Trey lets out a gasp; no doubt he was listening to see if any of his dormmates were among the dead. "Oh no, really? Jack and Epel were just babies. Yuu too for that matter; he was with Ace and Deuce so much I almost felt like he was one of my own..." He trails off sounding sad. "Yeah. And poor Rook, losing both of his dormmates in the same day. I can't even imagine how that must feel." We both go quiet for a few minutes, avoiding the obvious topic that was on both of our minds. Finally, Trey speaks up. "And Malleus... someone managed to overpower Malleus." We look into each other's eyes, both knowing what that means. We don't stand a chance. 

Cater

I don't remember when we finally fell asleep last night. To be honest, the only thing I can remember is the sound of Rook's heart-wrenching sobs as he mourned his lost dormmates. Thank god he was asleep when the aircraft came to retrieve Vil and Epel's bodies; god only knows how he would've reacted to that. When he woke up this morning, the usually cheerful man was deathly silent, staring off into the distance. I tended to his wounds as best I could and he seemed to be doing better than last night, but now there is only silence. "Hey, Rook? Do you...wanna talk about what happened last night?" He continues to stare. "...I know it's hard, buddy. I just want you to know I'm here for you." "...kill me." My eyes widen in shock as he speaks his first words of the morning. "What? " "Kill me. I-I can't do it anymore. Without little Epel and my darling Vil I am nothing. Nothing! So please, Cater, please if you were ever really my friend, i beg of you. Just put me out of my misery." My heart sinks as tears begin to fall from his eyes. I know he must be feeling horrible, but this was not how things were going to end for him, not if I can help it. "No. Rook, no I won't do that to you." I pull him into a tight hug. He struggles and cries out but I hold firm. "Stop it. Stop it right now. You can't just give up just like that! Think of Vil and Epel- is this how they would want you to go? Begging your friend to kill you? Why, that's almost as bad as killing yoursel-" I stop suddenly remembering how I found Vil. "...almost as bad as killing myself. Like mon Vil." He whispers. Rook is no longer struggling; he seems to be taking in everything I've said. "I-I'm so sorry. I totally went too far." I hold him tighter. I feel him gently wrap his arms around me, returning my hug. "Non, you went just far enough, Monsieur Magicam. I understand now. I can't just let myself go because they are no longer with me. I don't want to be like Vil, taking the easy way out with nothing to show." He lets go of me and stands. "I know what I must do. Thank you for all of your help." The hunter gathers his knives and starts walking in the opposite direction. "What are you going to do?" I call after him. He turns and flashes me a dangerous smile. "I'm going to get revenge for my fallen friends, Monsieur Magicam. I am going to win."