Survivor | The Hunger Games

ch.16

Iris walked through the dark and dingy cave with Tyler, making sure to keep a close and open eye out for a particular raven-haired girl. It's been a week now since Lana had disappeared and Iris was more than eager to find her. She felt completely humiliated by how Lana got one over on her. Iris in all honesty had no idea Lana was capable of doing what she did. Although she won't ever admit it, she was impressed. "I don't think Lana's in here. It's way too hot for any normal person to survive for more than a few hours without suffocating."

Iris scoffed. "It doesn't hurt to keep looking."

"Actually, it can. It's almost nightfall and if we don't start heading back now, we might get caught out there with those mutts." Tyler said. "We saw what it did to that kid from 7, I don't know about you, but I don't want to see my spine a few feet away from me as my heart has yet to stop beating."

"Calm down, I can see a light on the other side of the tunnel." Iris rolled her eyes.

"Oh, so we're already dead, great." Tyler sarcastically responded.

"It's almost like you don't want to find her." Iris angrily accused.

"I do." Tyler responded. "It just seems to me like you're overcompensating."

"Overcompensating?" Iris repeated. "For what?"

"For not killing Lana when both you and Darian were up against her." Tyler answered. Iris stopped walking and turned her whole body to look at Tyler.

"What're you trying to say?"

"That you're embarrassed and ashamed of yourself for letting her get away." Tyler said. "You probably came into the games thinking you were the best, only to be shown up by some 17-year-old girl who came into the capital with barely any muscle mass."

"Asshole." Iris scoffed before turning away.

"I don't think you understand how wrong you're going about all of this. We're running on fumes, how are we going to make smart decisions if we get into a fight with Lana and her new possible allies? Because news flash, she clearly has them, if she didn't, she'd be dead by now."

"Then we'll kill them too." Iris said. "Now get out of my way."

"Or they'll kill us and everything we've done to get to this point would've been for nothing." Tyler spoke. "I say once we find her and her allies, we go back for Penelope and Peter."

"No, we're not. We're ending her as soon as we find her." Iris said.

"Okay, then I'm going back." Tyler said.

Iris stopped him, before he could leave. "Hold on." She knew she would need back-up if she came across Lana and a few others, so she forced herself to tell him what he wanted to hear. "Find we'll wait."

"Swear?" Tyler asked.

"Swear." She almost stuttered. Satisfied with her answer, he continued walking with her. Once they made it out the cave and the sun started to set the sound of laughter caught their attention. Iris immediately knew one of those laughs belonged to Lana, their first night at the cornucopia she couldn't sleep and overhead Lana laughing at Peter's jokes. "It's her." She whispered to Tyler. They began moving like cats, slow and steady. As the pair got closer to the sound they came upon another cave, they peered their heads around it to see Lana, Emery and Declan spread out in the field picking Aloe Vera, Cactus's, and Yucca plants.

"Okay, now that we know it's definitely her with other allies, we should go back and come back in the morning with Penelope and Peter." Tyler said.

"It's just three of them and two of them are from 3. They look like they can't weigh more than 90 pounds. We can take them." She whispered back.

"Iris, you swore!" He harshly whispered.

"You know what, you head back if you want to. I'm going to do what needs to be done." Iris said before turning back and readying her crossbow. Without a second to waste, Iris positioned the crossbow towards the closes person by her and then lets the arrow fly.

✫ 🗡️ ✫

Watching your kid struggle with trying to live and then not wanting to try anymore was something not for the weak hearted. Having Lana away tortured Airroe and Bo. Their heart ached in ways they didn't think were possible. It was as if the capital had a physical hold on their hearts, tightening their grip around it and only letting go when they came close to death. It was a cruel and sick play on what the districts must endure at the hands of the capital. "I remember the day I found out I was pregnant with you. Marlene and I found out around the same time actually. We named you and Bo before we even knew your genders. That's how close of a friend she was to me. I miss her every day." Beth spoke to her daughter, Airroe. A sick and exhausted looking Airroe wiped her nose as she sat across her mother at the dining table. "I'm so glad you and Bo ended up together, it makes me feel close to Marlene even though she's not here."

"Is that why you came over, mom?" Airroe sadly replied. "To tell me something I've heard a million times before."

"No, I came because I'm worried for my family. You never come over anymore and you never allow me to come here." Beth said. "I just wanted to know my daughter was okay."

"I'm okay, mom." Airroe responded. "Now, please, go. I want to be alone."

"Marlene almost named Bo, Airroe but I convinced her that was a name for my girl." Beth continued. "From the moment the doctors told me I'd be having you, I knew how fierce and sharp you'd come out to be. I knew it even more when I first felt you kick. That kick was powerful, it sent shivers down my entire spine and though it frightened me I couldn't have been anymore happier. Having you was the best thing I could have ever done and when I lost your father, I knew not all good was lost because I still had you and then when you grew up and moved away to college, I knew I still had you. Even when I was terrified and overly anxious about you being on your own, I knew you'd be okay because my girl with a heart as big as the night sky was strong. She was fierce and sharp, like an Airroe."

Beth's speech made Airroe break down. She felt the same way about her own daughter. The daughter that is no longer by her but instead miles away, in a place she was least deserving to be in. "It's not fair mom. Why'd they have to take away my kid. What did I do wrong?"

"Nothing, darling." Beth coddled Airroe in her arms. "None of it is your fault. Her name was pulled out at random; you had no way of controlling it."

"That's where you're wrong." Airroe pulled away. "Last week, while Bo was at work, a man who worked for the justice building came to the door to drop off 2 boxes filled of canned tuna, rice, bread and milk. I asked what it was for, and he said it was for the 34 extra times Lana put her name in the bowl."

Beth covered her mouth with her hand. "Do you think she purposely waited to pick up the items so that you and Bo wouldn't have to worry about her name being pulled out during the reaping?"

Airroe nodded. "Yes, but see mom, it is my fault. The stress of me losing my job at the docks got to her. I couldn't provide for her, so she felt the need to provide for us which put her in the games." She sobbed. "I did that."

A dumbfounded Beth took her daughter in her arms and comforted her as she sobbed in pure misery.

If only she knew the actual truth.