Following a tumultuous Day One fraught with casualties for their alliance, the girls of Birds of Prey find it hard to fall into a steady sleep. Camping in a low part of the Stream Bed, they rotate posts all through the night - one girl keeping watch for threats, one girl caring for the badly injured Ayla Yangue (D4), and one girl getting the chance to try to sleep. 

 

As the night wears on, Asena Glory (D6) struggles against the pounding in her head. Ever since being hit by Tulle Bonney (D8, deceased), she hasn’t felt quite right. It’s almost as if her head and her body aren’t cooperating - and it is infuriating. Asena sits, periodically closing her eyes in an attempt to ward off the throbbing sensation. Next to her, Ayla lies unconscious. Asena strokes the girl’s black hair and feels her forehead; she’s burning with fever, and if her mentor doesn’t send medicine soon, she fears the worst. 

 

Nearby, Lorcan Amino (D5) keeps a watchful eye with her dagger in hand. Since the death of Dahlia Cowell (D10, deceased) she’s been angry. At herself, at Ezekiel Fruges (D9, deceased), at the circumstances that put her in the arena in the first place. Sure, she volunteered, and she doesn’t regret making that decision, if only to save her sister, but the root of the problem is the Capitol. It always comes down the Capitol. Lorcan mutters under her breath, angry expletives directed at the gamemakers and the Capitol citizens. 

 

Livianna Kart (D6) tries to sleep. She really does. But every time she closes her eyes and begins to drift to sleep, she’s startled awake by images of Tulle’s body impaled at the end of her weapon. She can’t escape the gruesome memory or her own guilt. Did I really have to kill him? Could I have gotten away with just maiming him, just enough to slow him down and get away? There’s no room for such thoughts now, though, because Tulle is dead and gone. 

 

It is still dark out when the appearance of a parachute catches all of the girls’ attention. Asena reaches up to catch the parcel and reads the tag attached to it. 

 

“Ayla,” she reaches down and tries to rouse the District Four girl. After carefully opening the gift from Ayla’s mentor, Asena begins applying the Healing Balm to Ayla’s chest wound. Livianna comes over to help her wrap the wound in Sterile Gauze, and seeing as neither girl is able to sleep, they hold silent vigil over their ally’s body, hoping they’ve treated her fast enough for her to recover. 

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Camped out in the Grass, Emma Adler (D1), Opal Van Rusch (D1), and Molt Scarlet Nafs (D2) take turns sleeping. While she’s on lookout, Nafs applies Healing Balm from her pack onto the cut on her forehead. She’s still a bit put off after seeing Noira Versailles (D2, deceased) die, but she knows that she must be stronger than her own feelings. 

 

Opal sleeps soundly, not at all concerned with the events of the previous day. She dreams of the Peacekeepers from back in District One; chasing them down, savoring the feeling of taunting them before strangling or stabbing or killing them in some other fashion. She hopes Day Two provides more opportunities like that. Chasing down Josaphine Nightblood (D12, deceased) was fun and all, but oh how Opal would have loved to kill the girl herself.

 

The soft thump of a parachute landing next to her wakes Opal and she opens it to find a Sterile Gauze and 10’ of rope. Looking over, she sees that Emma has received gifts as well: matches and a bottle of water. Opal uses the gauze to treat her forearm and is grateful to finally be able to remove her jacket from the wound. The fabric of the jacket is coated in dried blood, but no matter, Opal will just wash it when they’re able to find water. 

 

Emma’s glad that Opal is feeling better. She knows that she threw the fight yesterday; leaving Chantria Pomole (D11) alive was a mistake, one that cost her ally’s life. Perhaps if she had aimed for an artery or a vital organ rather than a leg, Noira would still be here. As the sun begins to rise over the arena, she looks over at her ally and district partner sleeping next to her. She smiles. At least, she thinks, District One will likely have a victor this year. I’d prefer it to be me, but if it’s Opal I wouldn’t be upset. 

_______________________________________

 

At the Tree, nestled comfortably in a knot, are the Outliers. Neon Wintermute (D3) watches the sun rise and smiles despite the anger that is bubbling beneath his calm exterior. He looks around at his allies: at Korey Sherman (D10) who is huddled into his side, at Cassia Aster (D11), curled into a ball by herself a few feet away from the rest of the group, and at Chantria, Twyla Rayon (D8), and Leoni Veneden (D3) who lay sleeping in a row. Neon finishes sharpening the blade of his sword and has to close his eyes to dispel the intrusive thoughts that have been hounding him since he entered the arena. Thoughts of temporary friendship and death and what he will have to do if he ever wants to see Darin again. He looks at his sleeping allies again and then curses the Capitol beneath his breath. He hopes it wasn’t loud enough for anyone to hear, especially not the gamemakers or the Capitol audience, but Korey rouses and blinks the sleep from her eyes. 

 

“What time is it?” Korey asks, noticing that the rest of the alliance is still sleeping. She fidgets with the locket around her neck.

 

“Early. The sun just came up,” Neon says. He looks tired, Korey thinks. 

 

“Have you slept at all?” she asks, suddenly concerned. 

 

“For a couple hours. Leoni and Chantria were awake at some point, wrapping Chantria’s thigh in gauze, so I took a nap.” Neon knows he probably looks awful. In truth, he didn’t really sleep at all. He couldn’t. How could anyone in here?

 

Korey nods solemnly and then begins rummaging through her bag. Finding a pack of nuts and seeds and some water, she lays out a small breakfast for herself and Neon. They two tributes are munching quietly on the food when the beeping of an incoming parachute wakes up the rest of their allies.

 

“Who’s it for?” Leoni asks, stretching her arms and legs. 

 

“Cassia, it’s from your mentor,” Chantria opens the package and passes its contents to her district partner. Cassia looks like a shell of the girl she was just twenty-four hours ago. Her eyes are empty and she avoids eye contact with her allies as she quietly takes the Healing Balm and Sterile Gauze from Chantria, scooting into a far corner of the knot to tend her shoulder wound alone. 

 

“What’s up with her?” Twyla leans in and asks Chantria. 

 

“I think she took yesterday hard. Noira, uh, well let’s just say her death wasn’t the most humane,” Chantria whispers back. She, too, can’t quite escape the horrific death. Especially since it was by her hand. 

 

“Well, team. What’s the game plan for today?” Leoni asks, finally standing up and looking around.

 

“I say we sit here and do nothing until they force us to move,” Korey says, lounging with her back pressed against Neon’s side. 

 

“I think we should try and pick off some easy targets,” Neon suggests. “I saw the District Six girls and Lorcan down in the Stream Bed, and I think the girl from Four is injured. We could-”

 

Neon is cut off by Leoni, who shushes him and stands as still as a statue, holding one finger up to her lips. She uses the other hand to gesture upwards, where not ten feet above them there looms a large, round, brown thing, perched on a branch. 

 

Chirp, chirp, chirp. Sounds come from the nest. Twyla and Chantria join Leoni in looking up and are startled to see a bird’s nest - complete with eggs and one very large female robin.

 

“That was definitely not here last night when we picked this place,” Leoni whispers, and the other two girls nod their agreement. 

 

“Those fucking gamemakers must’ve put it there during the night. How did I not hear it?” Neon curses. He gets to his feet and pulls Korey up with him. “We’ve got to go.”

 

“He’s right,” Cassia appears next to Neon and looks up at the bird. “Robins are particularly protective of their eggs and their young. If she thinks we’re a threat, we could be dealing with an angry horde of giant birds.” 

 

Korey’s face contorts at the thought of tens of elephant-sized birds ambushing them. “Alright, let’s go. Remember how I said I hate bugs? I don’t hate birds, but I hate the idea of being pecked to death.” 

 

Leoni, Twyla, and Chantria give small smiles and Neon outright laughs. Cassia continues to stare blankly up at the nest. 

 

“Okay, who has rope?” Neon asks. All six of them have 10’ strands, and in no time they have tied the pieces end-to-end. Cassia, being the most agile, volunteers to remain in the knot holding the rope as the five others each take turns climbing down the rope to safety. If one of them were to fall or lose their grip on the tree bark, it could alert the anxious bird and cause trouble, so they all agreed that the rope would be the safest way down.

 

As soon as Chantria has her feet planted firmly on the ground at the base of the Tree, Cassia unties the rope and shoves it into her backpack before beginning to quietly scale down the tree, trying her hardest not to make any noises or sudden, jerky movements should she accidentally lose her footing. It isn’t until she’s made it all the way down the tree that she realizes she has been holding her breath.

 

Cassia exhales, and for the first time since the previous day, looks her allies in the eyes and speaks without being prompted. 

 

“Okay, where to next?”

_______________________________________

 

Lea Spark (D7) and Hazel Rosewood (D5) sit side-by-side, listening as the alliance who made camp somewhere on the outside of the Tree vacates the area. They have kept watch most of the night, allowing Violet Jane (D12) to sleep. Earlier in the morning, Lea was able to apply some of the Healing Balm from her pack to the arrow wound on her calf, and Hazel, having obtained the largest possible backpack, gave her a piece of Sterile Gauze to dress the wound. 

 

Beep, beep, beep. A parachute floats down from the opening in the Tree and lands next to Hazel. I hope that didn’t just give away our exact location to every person, bug, and animal in this arena, she thinks, rolling her eyes. Leave it to the Capitol to devise such a completely stupid delivery method, complete with blinking light and alarm. Getting a sponsor gift, while nice, is essentially like turning on a homing beacon. All of Hazel’s negative thoughts are thrown out the window when she sees what’s inside the gift. She gladly digs into the large loaf of bread and begins drinking the electrolyte drink her mentor has sent. 

 

She and Lea talk about their lives in their home districts over a light breakfast, letting Violet get another hour of sleep before waking her up to continue their exploration of the inside of the Tree. 

 

“You know,” Violet says, taking a swig of water and walking between Hazel and Lea, “I thought the human-size bugs would be scarier.” The trio pass a cricket as long as they are tall and Violet giggles. “But they’re actually kind of cute!”

 

Hazel scrunches her nose. “I think ‘cute’ is an overreach.” Lea and Violet both laugh and they continue walking, exploring the twists and turns and different levels of the hollowed out Tree. 

_______________________________________

 

Lexa Woods (D7) has had a busy night. While it was her turn to keep watch, she used her dagger to carve some of the smaller rocks in the Stream Bed into weapons for herself and Mazie Forst (D9). Three makeshift knives and a very crude axe later, the sun has already risen and she knows it’s time to wake Mazie.

 

“Psst, Mazie,” Lexa crouches down next to her ally. She is saddened that only she and Mazie made it out of Day One alive and thinks of Josie and Zeke. Snap out of it, Lexa chastises herself. If you want to go home, they would have had to die anyway. She knows this is true, but it’s still a rather morbid thought.

 

Mazie wakes with a start and pulls her knife, and for a moment, Lexa is afraid that Mazie wants to end the alliance sooner rather than later. She throws her hands up to show she is unarmed and Mazie’s eyes go wide.

 

“Lexa! I’m so sorry, I’ve just been so on edge since it’s just the two of us now,” Mazie drops her knife and offers a smile. “What’s for breakfast?” 

 

Lexa laughs and pulls a bag of nuts and seeds from her bag. “This, or meat jerky. Take your pick.” 

 

“Ugh,” Mazie takes the bag of nuts and seeds and opens it, scooping out a handful. She chews slowly, savoring the little bit of food she will allow herself for the day. “It’s so cruel, don’t you think? They feed us such decadent food and shower us with extravagance just to throw us all in here to starve and die.” 

Lexa looks around nervously, not sure if they should be talking about such things when the gamemakers and possibly even the Capitol can hear their every word. She just nods her head, in full agreement, but not wanting to voice her thoughts for fear of being punished.

 

“Oh, I almost forgot!” Lexa picks up the three stone knives from the ground and offers them to Mazie. “For you.”
 

Mazie jumps up from the rock she’s sitting on in excitement and takes the knives from Lexa. 

 

“Lexa! You’re a goddess, you know that? The absolute best,” she puts the knives down carefully on top of her pack and pulls Lexa into a hug. 

 

“Just promise me one thing,” Lexa says, hugging Mazie back. “Don’t kill me with those.” 

_______________________________________

 

The Outliers trek through the tall Grass, Chantria and Neon leading the way to clear the blades with their respective weapons. They are headed toward the Stream Bed; having weighed their odds against the Birds of Prey and Team Nightlock, they feel confident they can win a fight against either group. 

 

“Can we go over the plan one more time,” Twyla asks. Leoni, it turns out, has quite the head for strategy. She and Neon have concocted a nearly fool-proof plan. It’s two-pronged, one part stealth attack and one part trap. 

 

“We find their exact location and set up traps a good distance away, making sure to cover each direction they could run in,” Leoni explains, turning to walk backwards so she can look at Twyla, Cassia, and Korey as she speaks to them. “Then, Chantria, Neon, Korey, and Twyla will attack their camp from three sides. With any luck we can at least take out one of them. If they try to run, the traps should stop them. Cassia and I will be waiting by the traps for anyone who falls into them.” The three girls nod their heads and they continue walking. 

 

Korey, still playing with the locket around her neck, begins to hum a lullaby as they walk. As they near the place where Leoni will set up the traps, the hum steadily progresses into a whistle.

 

“Here is perfect,” Leoni announces once they reach a long stretch of grass right on the edge of the Stream Bed. “If I’m right, Ayla, Lorcan, Livianna, and Asena are less than a quarter mile away and I think they’re pretty low in the rocks. If you all can corner them just right, they’ll run straight into the traps.” 

 

Leoni sets to work, using her barbed wire and some rope to rig a series of traps and tripwires. Korey watches Leoni work, fascinated by her handy skills and aptitude for mechanics and traps. Skills like that aren’t common in District Ten. At the thought of home, Korey continues her lullaby, but this time, she sings.   

 

"In storm-blackened mountains I wander alone. Across glaciers I travel forth. In the apple orchard the fair maiden stands and sings, 'When will you come home?'"

 

While Twyla and Chantria keep watch while Leoni finishes up her traps, Cassia and Neon venture a little ways away and into the Stream Bed to make sure the Birds of Prey haven’t moved. They both feel immense relief to see that the four girls are still where Leoni expected them to be. They head back to the Grass to tell the rest of the alliance so they can take their places and put the plan into action.

_______________________________________

 

Mazie and Lexa sit on two adjacent stones, talking about their lives, their weapons at the ready should anyone decide to attack. 

 

“I guess we’re just unlucky,” Mazie sighs, looking up at the sky. “Or, me, rather. I’m unlucky. I lost my parents, then all three of my sisters to the games. Sometimes I wonder if it’s truly a coincidence, or some sort of punishment that we all ended up here.”

 

“Punishment from who?” Lexa asks, “The Capitol?”

 

“Maybe. Or maybe I did something really awful in a past life and this is my comeuppance.” 

 

“I’m really sorry about your family,” Lexa says, looking down at her feet. “I miss my sister, too. She isn’t dead, but I know she would’ve volunteered for me if she wasn’t too old.” 

 

“I wish someone had volunteered for one of my sisters,” Mazie laments. The two girls sit in silence for a few moments until the stones they’re sitting on begin to shake. It’s a low vibration at first, but the frequency gradually picks up until they’re both nearly thrown to the ground. The entire Stream Bed seems to be shaking, rattling the rocks and stones and debris littering the floor. A rock with the circumference of a steering wheel bounces and nearly hits Lexa in the head, and more follow.

 

“We’ve got to go!” Mazie shouts, grabbing her pack and the few items scattered around their campsite. She helps Lexa collect their weapons and then the two are off, running as fast as possible up and out of the Stream Bed. Thankfully, their camp wasn’t too far into the Stream Bed and they can see the safety of the stationary Grass. They’re nearly in the clear when a small and particularly sharp stone flies in their direction. Lexa jumps out of the way in time to avoid being hit, but Mazie doesn’t and the stone grazes the side of her thigh. It’s sharp enough to break skin and draw blood, and Mazie stumbles, nearly falling. Lexa helps her stay steady as they run the last few feet and fall onto the flat ground.

_______________________________________

 

Ayla has been awake for only a few hours but she wants to go back to sleep. She wants to sleep and wake up free of this nightmare. The events of the previous day are blurry but she knows three things for sure. First, Pip and Dahlia are dead. She had really come to like both girls in the short time she got to know them, but her district partner’s death weighs particularly heavily on her mind. Second, she killed someone. Another child. Another innocent child who was just trying to survive. And now he’s dead because Ayla put a mace in his stomach. Third, she was very close to dying. She probably would have died, too, if her mentor hadn’t sent medicine and her allies hadn’t helped her so much. Her wounds are closing up and healing well enough that she’s able to stand and walk on her own now.

 

Since being awake, Ayla has tried to do anything and everything to repay Lorcan, Asena, and Livi for taking such good care of her. She even managed to find water in the Stream Bed. After digging through the layer of rocks and stones, she found a layer of dirt (as she had anticipated she would) and below the dirt, viola! Water. The girls lit a small fire and boiled the water in Livi’s canteen before filling their water bottles.

 

The four girls are sitting together, using their packs as chairs, when the Stream Bed begins to shake and the stones begin to roll. 

 

“Oh my god, what now!?” Lorcan shouts, angered at the inconvenience. She just wants to sit and talk to her friends and act like they aren’t in a fight to the death at the present moment. 

 

Livianna is the first to act, picking up her pack and helping Ayla stand. Asena and Lorcan follow suit and the three able-bodied girls half-carry, half-drag Ayla with them as they run toward the Grass, dodging stones and debris the whole way. 

_______________________________________

 

“Shit, what is this!” Neon shouts. He, Korey, Twyla, and Chantria have just begun their part of the plan and are descending upon the Birds of Prey camp when the ground begins to shake beneath them. “Retreat!” 

 

The four run back to the safety of the Grass, watching dismayed as Asena, Livi, and Lorcan help Ayla across the Stream Bed. It doesn’t seem like they’ll come toward the traps until an extraordinarily large stone rolls across their path, nearly crushing Livianna and forcing them to veer right - heading directly toward the traps.

 

“We can still get them,” Neon says, holding his sword defensively and preparing for a fight. “They’re not expecting us at all and they’re distracted. It’s perfect.” 

 

Livianna is ready to fall over and cry with relief, she can see the Grass and the ground feels like it’s no longer shaking beneath her feet. “It’s over, guys. We can slow down.” 

 

Asena and Lorcan exhale and Ayla looks like she could fall unconscious again. Livianna is about to suggest they go back to their camp when she sees something silver in her peripheral vision. She turns just in time to block Neon’s sword with her bladed staff. 

 

“We’re under attack!” Livi shouts, immediately striking back. Livi and Neon spar - they’re pretty evenly matched, but Livi knows that Ayla is in no condition to be fighting and worries that she will be targeted. 

 

Lorcan is absolutely livid. She finds the games idiotic and senseless and monsterous. How can these other tributes, these lambs for slaughter, participate so willingly? Why would they attack another group of children? The rage fuels her and she channels it all toward the closest person to her. Unfortunately, that person is Korey. Lorcan draws her dagger and pounces on Korey, slashing and stabbing furiously at the other girl. Korey, who has a knife in each hand, holds her own well. She deflects most of Lorcan’s blows but this only seems to enrage the District Five girl further. Korey can feel herself slipping as more and more of Lorcan’s stabs find their mark - first to her arm, then to her leg and her chest. Her heart begins to beat rapidly in her chest and she throws up both her hands, attempting to stab Lorcan in the eyes, but missing and only shearing off a bit of her hair on either side of her head. 

 

“Aghhhhh!” Lorcan yells, bringing her dagger down hard and fast. Korey isn’t even sure where she’s been stabbed until she feels clammy and it’s hard to breathe. She tries to scream, but all that comes out is a gurgling sound and she realizes with a start that it’s blood. Lorcan scowls at her and then stands, leaving Korey lying on the ground with a hole in her neck and blood filling her lungs.  

 

Neon has never been more grateful for Darin and his fighting lessons. He’s able to keep pace with Livianna, blocking her staff and getting in a few hits of his own. He’s completely absorbed in his own fight - barely registering what his allies are doing around him. He looks up quickly and sees Lorcan stalking away from a body and he has to do a double take when he realizes the body is a very badly hurt Korey. He feels his adrenaline spiking and blocks a hit from Livianna with extra force, knocking the bladed staff from her hand. He doesn’t think as he strikes at Livianna with his sword and doesn’t even stay to see where he’s hit her. He’s rushing over to Korey’s side, tears already beginning to form in his eyes and his chest constricting. 

 

“Korey? No, no, no!” Neon pounds his fists on the ground, seeing that he is already too late. He pulls at his hair and lets his tears fall freely down his face, no longer caring who or what is around. If he were to be killed here and now, it would be for the better.

 

Neon picks up Korey’s hand from the ground and finds that it's sweaty and warm. He doesn’t care, though. He just wants a miracle to occur and for Korey to jump up, laughing at his tears and shouting “it was a joke!”. She doesn’t though. Her eyes are wide open and blood fills her mouth and spurts from her neck. Neon does the only thing he can think of and takes off his ring, Darin’s class ring and his tribute token. He presses the ring into Korey’s hand and holds it there - if she’s going to die, he wants her to have something comforting to hold on to. 

 

“Is… is this you… proposing to… me?” Korey manages in between labored breaths and spitting up blood. Neon manages to laugh through his tears, and Korey smiles, her teeth stained red with her blood. 

 

“I didn’t even get to take you out to dinner,” Neon says. Korey lifts her other hand and wraps it around the chain at her neck - pulling hard and yanking off her locket. She hands the locket to Neon and smiles up at him one last time. A cannon sounds. 

 

Twyla and Chantria, who had been fighting with Asena and a barely-hanging-on Ayla, stop and look over to where Neon is hunched over Korey’s body, sobbing. This is just the distraction Asena needs - she throws her dagger toward Twyla and hoists Ayla up. The two girls run away while Chantria helps Twyla remove the dagger from where it has landed, stuck inside her shoulder.

 

Lorcan has changed course and, once she has ensured that Livianna, who was stabbed by Neon’s sword in the side, is okay, she chases after Twyla and Chantria, who are retreating.

 

“Get back here, you cowards!” Lorcan shouts, chasing after the pair and gaining fast. She has nearly caught up with them when she feels something pull at her legs and next thing, she is on the ground with barbed wire wrapped around her ankles. She watches as Twyla and Chantria disappear into the Grass. 

 

Cassia looks down at Lorcan, bound at the ankles with one of Leoni’s traps. Lorcan writhes in the bindings and is nearly feral. She screams and rages and doesn’t even realize that Cassia is standing right behind her with a scythe in her hand.

 

Do it, Cassia. Do it or that could be you next. Do it. The voice eggs her on and next thing she knows, Cassia is standing over Lorcan and is bringing the scythe down on her back. The screaming and wriggling stop and a cannon sounds.

 

Very good, Cassia. Very good.

_______________________________________

 

“What was training like in District One?” Nafs asks. She and Emma sit cross legged, taking inventory of their packs, while Opal sharpens her scythe blade. 

 

“Stupid,” Opal drawls, “You can only learn so much doing exercises and sparring teachers. The best way to learn is by doing.” 

 

“She has a bit of a reputation back home,” Emma whispers to Nafs. “Her dad’s the mayor and she had a… thing for killing the Peacekeepers.”

 

“Hm,” Nafs considers this for a moment. “As long as she wasn’t killing anyone I know, that’s pretty cool.” 

 

“What about District Two?” Emma asks, “What was training like for you?”

 

“I’d imagine much of the same. I’m not sure, though. My grandfather never let me train with my brothers and male cousins.” Nafs admits. “I learned by watching.” 

 

“And you’re still lethal.” Opal commends. Nafs smiles. 

 

The smile is wiped off her face when the ground begins to rumble beneath their camp in the Grass. A hole the size of a swimming pool opens and from the earth emerges a… groundhog? He’s huge. Gigantic, even. And he looks hungry. Without speaking, the three girls fall into action, working in tandem. 

 

Opal uses the 10’ of rope she received to create a tripwire, using two of Emma’s knives as stakes and tying both ends of the rope to the handles of the knives. 

 

“Hey! You big, stupid rat! Over here!” Nafs taunts the beast, gaining its full attention and luring it toward the tripwire. It’s large and scary looking, but not the smartest, and it walks directly into the trap. Its feet get caught up in the rope, allowing the girls plenty of time to use their remaining 25’ of rope to hog tie its legs. The groundhog makes a pitiful noise and rolls around, trying to free itself.

 

“Can I go first?” Opal asks, holding up her spear and approaching the wrangled mutt, a hungry glint in her eyes. 

 

“Be my guest,” Emma says, following behind with her sword.

 

The District One girls manage to mount the groundhog and begin stabbing its stomach, back, and chest, hoping to hit vital organs. At the same time, Nafs uses her bow and arrows to shoot the animal in the eyes and mouth. It takes nearly a half hour, but finally, the huge animal stops moving. 

 

“What a rush!” Opal squeals. She’s drenched in blood and sweat. 

 

“Should we move, in case the gamemakers get any more ideas?” Nafs asks, and Emma nods. The three begin to pack up their camp and then walk southeast toward the Tree. At the base of the Tree, they realize there are human voices emanating from the hollow part. 

 

“What do you say, ladies,” Opal suggests, grabbing Emma’s pack of matches. “Shall we smoke them out?” 

 

Emma and Nafs share a look before agreeing. Opal strikes a match and finds a drier part of the Tree’s exterior to light. Smoke wafts up and curls as a small flame begins to leap up the tree and then… sputters out. The flame that had been there a second ago is suddenly gone, extinguished. 

 

“There’s no wind or anything,” Opal pouts. “It must be the gamemakers. They don’t want us to have fun.”

 

“Relax, Opal,” Emma says, rolling her eyes a bit. “They have to come out eventually. We’ll just wait them out.” 

 

And so, the career girls sit at the base of the tree, weapons at the ready, waiting for the Moonlight Alliance to emerge. 

_______________________________________

 

It’s past midday and the inside of the Tree is getting crowded. More and more bugs seem to arrive by the minute, from every crease and crevice in the Tree. Hazel, Lea, and Violet know they need to be careful - any one of these bugs could be poisonous or aggressive. It’s getting harder and harder to walk without bumping into one and Hazel is getting irritated. Just as much as she hates rude people, she hates rude bugs.

 

“We should go somewhere else,” Hazel recommends. “It’s only a matter of time before we piss off a tarantula or something.” 

 

“Yeah, you’re right,” Lea concurs. They both look to Violet, who nods her head in agreement.

 

The three girls are just about to begin the climb out of the Tree when they hear voices outside. 

 

“We’ll just wait them out.” That voice definitely belongs to one of the career girls, although Lea cannot say for certain which one. 

 

“We have to go out another way,” Lea says, sure that if they try to leave the way they came in they will be killed. 

 

“There is no other way,” Violet points out. The three stop and think, trying to stay out of all the bugs’ ways. 

 

“That’s not true. There’s a hole on the other side of the tree. It’s not very big, but we’re all so small I think we could fit through. If we go out that way, the careers will never see us going.” Hazel suddenly remembers the little hole she noticed during their explorations that morning. 

 

“Hazel, you genius!” Lea gushes. “Lead the way.”

 

Hazel leads them to the back of the tree. A few levels up and there it is, a small hole that is barely four and a half feet in diameter, but is definitely large enough for all of them to squeeze out of. The tricky part will be climbing down from the hole, as unlike the entrance, there are no obvious hand and footholds. 

 

“Good thing we’re all decent climbers,” Lea says hopefully, exiting through the hole, legs-first. She struggles at first to find purchase and nearly slips, but once she finds a piece of bark large enough to accommodate her weight, she is able to easily scale down the tree. From the ground she quietly shouts commands, helping Hazel and Violet exit safely. As soon as Violet has reached the ground, they take off running toward the Ant Hill.

_______________________________________

 

“I’m okay, I’m fine,” Livi reassures Asena and Ayla. She is bleeding, but she will live, provided she can get some Sterile Gauze soon. The three girls are still reeling from the ambush at the Stream Bed and Lorcan’s death, but they move at a steady pace through the Grass and toward the Ant Hill. Ayla struggles to keep herself moving - her wound may have healed but she’s still not fully recovered, and trying to help Livi is draining. But she knows that the others must have felt the same about her yesterday and resolves to keep pushing, no matter what. 

 

It’s nearly dusk when they finally make it to the Ant Hill. 

 

“Do you think you can go in?” Asena asks her allies. Neither looks to be in the right condition for any kind of climbing or jumping.

 

“Honestly? No,” Livi says, wincing in pain. Ayla doesn’t respond, but her gaunt face is enough of an answer. 

 

The three girls opt to make camp in the Grass directly next to the Ant Hill. They tie their pieces of rope together and keep it handy nearby. If danger comes near, their plan is to jump into the Ant Hill and drag the rope behind them, leaving a trail for when they need to escape. 

 

“What a shitty day,” Asena huffs, finally sitting down and laying with her back propped on her pack.

 

“You can say that again,” Ayla agrees. Livianna is already fast asleep.

_______________________________________

 

“Neon, are you okay?” Leoni sits down next to her district partner, putting a comforting arm around his shoulders. They’re all devastated at the loss of Korey, but he is taking it the hardest by far. He hasn’t released her locket from his grip and his knuckles turned white long ago. 

 

“No,” Neon seethes. Sure, he’s upset. But he’s also angry. Angrier than he was before. But he knows he can’t let the anger get the best of him. He has to win this now. So that he can go home to Darin and make sure everyone knows about Korey and her legacy. “But I will be.”

 

The Outliers relocated to another part of the Stream Bed, making sure to stay toward the Grass in case of another earthquake. Chantria and Twyla sit, braiding each other’s hair and keeping a watchful eye on Cassia, who sits a few feet away staring into the dark. 

 

“She seemed better before the fight. Now she’s just worse. It seems like she’s barely here,” Twyla whispers, and Chantria nods. 

“She killed Lorcan. She’s never going to be the same,” Chantria responds. No one can ever be the same after this, she thinks.

_______________________________________

 

“Guys,” Emma stands, “I think we missed them. I haven’t heard anything for hours.” 

 

It’s dark, and the Fearless Fighters have done nothing but twiddle their thumbs for hours. 

 

“So much for a fight,” Opal mopes. She puts her scythe and spear back in the pockets of her backpack and scowls at the Tree. “They must have found some other way out.”

 

The girls walk back towards the Cornucopia, having decided to set up camp there for the night. It’s a relatively safe area and provides decent protection and a vantage point of the rest of the arena. 

 

“Today was so boring,” Opal sighs, sitting down with her back to the wall of the horn. “Anyways, who wants to take the first watch?” 

 

“I can,” Nafs volunteers. Emma doesn’t argue with that, so she and Opal head into the Cornucopia to get some sleep. Nafs sits alone, feeling the absence of Noira tenfold.

_______________________________________

 

“It looks safe,” Lea has inspected the area around the Ant Hill twice and found no tributes or mutts or bugs. She can only hope the same conditions are true inside the hill. 

 

“Are we really going in there?” Violet is a bit nervous, admittedly. Not really a fan of the dark, she’s unsure of what lies inside. 

 

“Where else can we go right now?” Hazel asks. No one has an answer. 

 

“Okay, well. Ladies first!” Lea exclaims, jumping into the opening in the Ant Hill. She’s followed by Hazel and Violet. The three of them land with a thud and are enveloped in pitch black darkness. Even once their eyes have adjusted, it’s too dark to see where they are going. 

 

“It looks like we’re staying here for the night,” Hazel says, unrolling her sleeping bag. “I doubt anyone else will venture down here. Let’s all just get some sleep.” 

_______________________________________

 

After stopping at the Cornucopia and finding it empty, Lexa and Mazie continued north toward the Grass. They made camp in a particularly dense patch of grass, hoping it would give them enough cover to sleep through the night. 

 

“Before we sleep I think I’m going to set up a few traps, just in case,” Mazie says, retrieving rope from her pack. She sets up a handful of tripwire traps around their camp in the hopes that they will alert her and Lexa to any intruders. Her leg wound has stopped bleeding, but could use some help in the morning.

 

“Hey, Mazie,” Lexa says as they lie next to each other in the dark.

 

“Yeah, Lexa?” 

 

“Even if you do have bad luck or bad karma or something, I’m so lucky I found you.”

 

Both girls smile up at the stars before falling asleep.

_______________________________________

 

END OF DAY TWO STANDINGS

Emma Adler (D1): alive

Opal Van Rusch (D1): alive

 

Molt Scarlet Nafs (D2): alive

 

Neon Wintermute (D3): alive

Leoni Veneden (D3): alive

 

Ayla Yangue (D4): alive

 

Hazel Rosewood (D5): alive

Lorcan Amino (D5): deceased, 17th place

 

Asena Glory (D6): alive

Livianna Kart (D6): alive, moderate injury (stabbed by a sword in the left side)

 

Lexa Woods (D7): alive

Lea Spark (D7): alive

 

Twyla Rayon (D8): alive, moderate injury (stabbed by a dagger in the right shoulder) 

Mazie Forst (D9): alive, moderate injury (cut on the side of right thigh)

Korey Sherman (D10): deceased, 18th place

Cassia Aster (D11): alive
Chantria Pomole (D11): alive

Violet Jane (D12): alive 

_______________________________________

​

ALLIANCES: END OF DAY TWO

Fearless Fighters

• Emma Adler (D1)

• Opal Van Rusch (D1)

• Molt Scarlet Nafs (D2)

 

Birds of Prey

• Ayla Yangue (D4)

• Asena Glory (D6)

• Livianna Kart (D6)

 

Moonlight Alliance

• Hazel Rosewood (D5)

• Lea Spark (D7)

• Violet Jane (D12)

 

The Outliers

• Neon Wintermute (D3)

• Leoni Veneden (D3)

• Twyla Rayon (D8)

• Cassia Aster (D11)

• Chantria Pomole (D11)

 

Team Nightlock

• Lexa Woods (D7)

• Mazie Forst (D9)