May the Odds be Ever in Your Favour • changlix

Chapter 10

Changbin didn't return for a long time, leaving Felix and his inevitable boredom to fend for itself.

He tried to nap, but found that he was too stressed about potential threats to get any real sleep in. He tried to sit at the mouth of the cave to watch outside, but after an hour of nothing happening he shuffled back deeper in the cave.

So, he spent the next few hours fiddling with Chan's worn Rubik's Cube. The bright colour's had long since faded, but the gears and plastic still turned. Felix was careful to only eat two of the crackers during this time, despite his stomach growling in hunger and the fuzzy feeling of lightheadedness.

He fiddled with the puzzle cube, trying to solve it. He felt relaxed, with only the flowing waterfall and the creaking plastic breaking the silence.

Then, he heard voices.

Felix paused, not sure if he was hearing correctly, before shuffling in his sleeping bag to the mouth of the cave once more.

He's startled to see two girl tributes emerge from the forest, excited about the water.

They don't see the cave at all, instead drinking the water like their lives depended on it. Felix watched them, curious. Both had a backpack each, and one girl had a cut on her cheek.

He vaguely recognized them from training. The thin girl with reddish brown hair and the cut was Im Nayeon, and the shorter dark-haired girl was Park Jihyo of District 7. The same district that Jisung was from.

It was interesting to see how they worked as a team, with one filling a water bottle for later before the two disappear into the bushland again. Was everyone working as a team? It made the games a little less lonely.

Felix settled back into the cave, slightly reinvigorated. The sun was setting now, casting a shadow across his face. Changbin should return soon.

So he waited longer, fiddling with the Rubik's cube, when after twenty minutes another of the two strange cannon shots fire.

He jolts, his heart leaping into his throat. Another tribute was dead.

Was Changbin okay?

He tries to stand after a few minutes, nearly blacking out in the process, when he's caught off guard by a panting Changbin at the entrance of the cave.

He has a strange look of fear in his eyes, but relaxes at the sight of Felix. "Thank God. I heard the cannon shot and ran the rest of the way here."

He's holding a dead bird in one hand, a cut across his cheek, and he sinks to the floor to catch his breath. He carefully places the bird on the bag in the corner of the cave. "I saw a couple of tributes leaving this area. I... was worried."

Felix sits down again, wrapping the sleeping bag around himself. "What took you so long? I was worried about you."

"I went back to the cornucopia to get more supplies, and something for your leg." His mouth twitches. Felix feels his heart skip a beat. "There's only one way up to it. A few of the Career tributes have set up a camp around the way leading up, so I tried to climb the cliffs we fell down instead."

He pulls his sleeves back, showing cuts dotting his skin, and Felix winces at the sight. "Fell a few times. Caught the attention of another team and they chased me off."

"You didn't have to do that."

Changbin ignores him, frowning and peeling the sleeping bag back. "I'm not sure what we're going to do about your leg in the mean time. I'll take a look at it again now, if that's okay."

Felix complies again with the request, a little embarrassed to strip down his pant leg again. Changbin is red faced, holding Felix's hip down.

The bandage is crunchy with blood as  he unwraps it. The gauze is glued to his wound, but it seems to have stopped bleeding. Changbin frowns more, seeing how red lines spread up his thigh. Felix looks away, his eyes watering from the sight. That was his leg.