𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐬 | 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟕𝟔𝐭𝐡 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 ✔️

𝕏𝕀𝕀

It takes about two hours of following the silver footprints to reach the tributes who are making them. While Phoenix makes us jog most of the way, Axel and I force him to stop and take breaks, especially since Axel, Vesta, and Aurora are less physically capable than Phoenix, Isabelle, and I.

The tributes making the tracks are the two District 10 tributes. My heart sinks a bit when I see them in the distance - I was hoping it would be a different pair of tributes. From what I remember from their interview with Caesar, the District 10 tributes are in a similar situation to Aurora and me - the male tribute is the son of District 10's former mayor, and his girlfriend was Reaped alongside him. The two of them remind me of Aurora and myself.

"There they are," Phoenix says, a grin on his face. "Who's going to take them out?"

Aurora and I glance at each other, and I can tell she's thinking the same thing as me. I don't have the heart to kill the District 10 tributes. It's not their fault they didn't get to be in a strong alliance like Aurora and me. Maybe we would be in their position if we hadn't been approached by the Careers.

"Why don't you and Isabelle do it?" I suggest. "You two are the strongest out of the six of us."

Isabelle shrugs, taking out a throwing knife. "Let's not waste any time."

As Phoenix and Isabelle approach the District 10 tributes, Aurora looks away, her eyes trained in the other direction. I look away as well, but I hear a scream from behind me, and I glance back to see the boy scrambling back, defending his girlfriend against Phoenix and Isabelle. Phoenix thrusts his sword into the boy's chest, kicking him out of the way to expose the girl to Isabelle's attacks.

I force myself to look away. I grab Aurora's hand, squeezing it as hard as I can. Looking over, I see Axel and Vesta locked in an embrace. I can tell this isn't easy for them either.

Two cannon shots fire as the pair return. "That was easy," Isabelle says, panting a bit. "They wouldn't last a day in the army."

I gulp, nervous at the District 1 tributes' killing spree, but I try not to think about it. I don't look back as we head into the Arena.

We decide to make our camp a fair distance from the District 10 tributes. I have no idea whether it's day or night, but I don't care. I'm tired.

The physics of the Arena are very odd. When I sit on the ground, every place my body touches glows blue, leaving a permanent print. However, when I touch the trees, which have a cold and smooth texture to them, they don't turn any color.

The clearing we're in is surrounded by flowers. The flowers are all sorts of colors, but all of them seem to be the same species - they all have five petals and look like a star. I pick a blue one and hand it to Aurora as we make ourselves comfortable. "For my blue buddy," I say. She laughs, tucking it into her bag.

Phoenix and Isabelle start to play a game with string and beads from their bags that they know from District 1, and Axel and Aurora are roped into playing, so I sit next to Vesta as they play. Aurora's very competitive, so we have to remind her to keep her voice down as she fights the others on every turn despite barely knowing how to play the game.

"You really got a feisty one, didn't you?" Vesta says to me with a laugh.

I nod. "She's got a big spirit. But that's why I love her."

"That's beautiful," Vesta sighs. "It's such a shame you had to be sent here. A shame for all of us, really. But especially for you two."

"Thank you," I say genuinely. "Do you have a boyfriend back home?"

Vesta just shakes her head. It's hard to read her emotions. "I never had one. The opportunity never came, you know? I wasn't worried about all that back home."

"Do you wish you did? You're a sweet girl."

"I think I could have, but I was busy with the war. District 2 was a big battleground during the war, and since my father was a rebel leader, we were mostly trying to stay alive. But of course, I wish I had done more. I feel like as soon as I was able to go out of my house safely, I was sent in here. I spent four years cowering in fear, and it was all for nothing, you know? I just wish I lived my life more while I had the chance."

My heart aches for the poor girl. Vesta's a lot sweeter than I thought. She's being sent to her death with her own brother after all she's been through. I always thought that the couples like Aurora and I had it the worst, but I think siblings may be in a worse position than even us. Axel and Vesta have known each other their whole lives.

The Panem anthem begins to play, and the others stop their game to see which tributes are still alive. As long as Aurora and I are safe, I don't mind seeing anyone else in the sky, but deep down I'm hoping Selina is still alive and out there somewhere.

The boy from District 5 appears first, and I shudder at the memory of plunging my spear into his body. Since he's the first one, I guess that means that the District 3 tributes survived.

Next up is the girl from District 5, who is followed by the boy from District 6, the boy who Jesse killed. After him are both the District 8 tributes - there's the girl who attacked Aurora - followed by the tiny District 9 tributes. I guess the two of them didn't have a master strategy after all.

The last two are the District 10 tributes, who look just like how I saw them when Phoenix and Isabelle killed them. I still feel bad about letting them die, but I know it had to happen eventually, and better them than me.

There are nine tributes dead. Fifteen still in play.

As the Panem anthem fades, the white lines that cover the whole Arena suddenly disappear, turning everything around us into a shapeless black void. Vesta gasps next to me.

The only light left in the Arena now that 'night' has arrived is the glowing prints we've made on the ground, but other than that, everything is dark. I feel uneasy as I look around. I feel like a wild animal could jump out at me at any moment, and I'd have no way to prepare myself.

Eventually, Aurora finds me in the darkness and we sit in our own corner for the night. Vesta goes to sleep next to Axel.

Aurora and I are assigned the first watch, so we stay up while the others sleep.

"How are you feeling?" I ask her. I can't see her but I can hear her breathing softly next to me.

"Fine," she says quietly. "Glad we're still here. I feel bad for those District 10 tributes."

"Me too," I sigh.

We sit in silence for a moment before I whisper my next question. "Do Phoenix or Isabelle scare you?" I ask as quietly as I can. "I'm starting to feel uneasy."

"Yeah," Aurora whispers back. "I just feel like... maybe being so close to them may backfire if they decide we're not useful anymore, you know?"

I'm glad we're on the same page. I don't know how to feel right now, but I don't know if I can trust Phoenix to be reliable, and if that means Aurora's in danger, then I need to do something about it.

That can wait, though. For now, we'll have to stay in the strong alliance for our own safety. Phoenix hasn't shown any signs of turning on us yet, and he certainly gets jobs done that none of the rest of us want to do.

In the long run, though, Aurora means much more to me than all the others combined. I won't risk anything. I just have to be cautious. Hopefully, that will be enough.