Day 5
It’s very early, barely past midnight, when shaking rocks the entire arena. Tributes are abruptly jolted awake to find what looks to be a wall looming over them, casting a shadow across the whole island. Standing several hundred feet tall is a tidal wave from the water on the Eastern coast. It’s suspended as if it could crash down any moment and arches around the island from the northernmost to the southernmost tip.
The Brutal Brunettes stare up in horror. Their camp in the Northeast corner of the island puts them directly under the wave. Jadette Topaz (D1) gathers her things and urges Ashlynn Reid (D8) to follow suit so they can flee to the other side of the island before the fallout.
They take off at a full-sprint into the Jungle, running over winding vines and uneven ground. They’re about halfway through when they see The Outsiders running for their lives to the Western beach as well. Finn Cressy (D10) carries a still-injured Aster Shay (D7) on her back. She’s followed closely by Meena Flammia (D9) who carries the groups’ weapons and packs. The tidal wave begins to slowly descend, as if in slow motion. It moves in a strange, sinusoidal motion, crashing first into the Eastern beach and the remnants of the Mountains and rippling its way into the Jungle.
Ashlynn feels her legs beginning to give out and she stumbles on some underbrush. Jadette pulls her up by the arm.
“Come on, we have to keep running!” Jadette has to scream to be heard above the crashing of the wave over the treeline of the Jungle. Water begins to pool at their feet and the wave is just overhead, threatening to crash down around them any moment.
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Mason Banner (D5) hasn’t slept all night. He holds Flint’s (D1, deceased) gold chain tightly in the palm of his hand as he continues setting traps of all kinds around the Beach Huts.
“I killed him,” he mumbles to himself as he ties some rope to the hilt of a knife. “It should’ve been me.” He secures the rope in the nook of a tree, double checking that the rope is taut.
Gabriel Rose (D6) watches as Mason begins working on another trap, still mumbling to himself and gripping the chain so hard his knuckles have turned nearly white. The sound of rushing water and multiple pairs of feet hitting wet ground prompts Gabriel to begin waking the rest of the Infinity Alliance, while still keeping a close eye on Mason.
“Wake up, get up,” Gabriel shakes Kai Albacore (D4) awake, followed by Ocean Simpkins (D4) and Waverly Aster (D2). “Something’s wrong.”
“With Mason?” Waverly asks, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and peering out the hut window. Mason is still setting traps but she sees the wave crashing over the Jungle and spilling out onto the beach beyond the trees. Ocean joins her at the window and gives a name to the phenomenon. Tsunami.
“Of course this is way bigger than anything we’ve ever learned about in Four,” she explains, “but it’s definitely a tsunami.” Kai nods his agreement.
“It looks like everything beyond the Jungle has been totally wiped out but I haven’t heard any cannons yet,” Kai notes. “Which means one of two things. Either everyone caught in the wave hasn’t died yet or they’re headed our way.”
Waverly pulls a canteen from her backpack. It’s got a little bit of poison left in it from the flowers so she pulls her shurikens out and begins to dip the points in the sap. “Here,” she says, passing the canteen off to Gabriel. He dips some of his stakes in the canteen and Kai and Ocean take turns dipping their tridents. There’s not enough left for Kai’s harpoon.
“What’s the game plan, team?” Gabriel asks, looking out the window again. Mason has run out of rope to make traps with and has begun to improvise, using the large palm leaves from a nearby tree. The sound of footfalls grows closer as the Infinity Alliance devises a last-minute plan.
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Jadette breaks through the trees and falls onto the sand, coughing and spitting up water. The wave broke and crashed down onto her and Ashlynn just before they made it out of the Jungle, crushing trees around them. Ashlynn lies on the sand to her left and further down the treeline she sees The Outsiders spitting up water and heaving up their dinners.
Jadette stands and begins walking further from the Jungle when something in her peripheral vision catches her attention.
“Traps!” The word has barely left her lips when she hears Ashlynn give a grunt and turns to see her dangling upside down from a palm tree, caught in one of Mason’s traps. A flash of silver is followed by a gasp and a sputter. Ashlynn coughs up blood and lets out a cry as she pulls a shuriken from her chest; blood pours out of the wound as well as a thick, white mucus. The poison works fast. Ashlynn’s cannon sounds and Jadette looks up to see Waverly perched on top of a hut, ninja stars in hand. She turns to run but immediately bumps into Ocean.
Jadette sees that the tips of Ocean’s trident have a slight wet look to them and guesses that her weapon is also poisoned. She pulls a dagger from her pack and makes it her first priority to try to disarm Ocean, stabbing at the other girl’s arms and hands. Ocean is quick, tossing her trident from hand to hand and using the handle to knock Jadette’s dagger out of her hand. She levels the trident at Jadette’s chest and is about to impale her on it when Jadette pulls out a second dagger, which was concealed in her jacket pocket, and slices the hand that holds the trident. Ocean drops her weapon and lunges at Jadette, but the District 1 tribute sidesteps and Ocean falls in the sand with an oomph. She recovers quickly, but Jadette uses her sword to quickly slash her ankle and runs away leaving Ocean bleeding in the sand.
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With Aster’s leg still broken, her allies are reluctant to fight but Aster assures them that she can hold her own if they help her get into a tree. Meena and Finn find a tall palm tree and once Aster is safe, they run into the thick of things. They’re momentarily slowed down by Waverly who, once she’s spotted them, begins throwing shurikens in their direction.
“I’ll handle her,” says Meena, pulling a number of knives from her backpack and running toward the hut Waverly is on. She begins retaliating, throwing knives at Waverly’s legs and feet to try and knock her off balance. It takes a few tries but she manages to hit her in the knee with the hilt of a knife. Waverly’s leg buckles and she tumbles off the roof, landing in the sand below. Meena advances, holding another knife, but Waverly is quick to recover. She immediately grabs Meena’s knife-wielding hand and flips the blonde girl onto her back. Meena pulls another knife from her pocket and begins stabbing at Waverly, hitting her once in the shoulder and once in the upper arm.
“You bitch,” snarls Waverly, grabbing the knife from Meena’s weaker left hand and throwing it to the side. She frisks the other girl for more weapons and once she’s satisfied, begins punching the girl in the face. Over and over, mercilessly, even as the bones in her face break with sickening cracks. Waverly stands and is about to finish off Meena with her own knife when a coconut hits her in the back of the head. She gives a grunt and turns to see Aster, who managed to set her own leg with some branches and palm leaves, hobbling toward her with an axe.
“You’ve got to be joking,” Waverly laughs, taking another look at Meena who lies bloody and barely recognizable on the ground. Satisfied that she’s not a threat, Waverly takes off after Aster with just Meena’s knife.
Meanwhile, Finn looks around the Beach Huts for a vacant one to hide in. She hears Meena’s screams and contemplates going back to help her, but they stop not long after starting and, since no cannon sounds, she figures her ally is okay. She peeks around the corner of a medium-sized, dilapidated hut and is pleasantly surprised to find it empty. She’s on her way to grab Aster when she sees the young girl being pursued by Waverly. She wants to run to her, to project her, but she’s stopped by Gabriel and Mason, each armed with multiple stakes. Finn takes off running in the opposite direction and Gabriel throws a stake. It misses so he throws another. This one is closer, but Finn is quick and moves out of the way.
“You try, Mason,” instructs Gabriel. Mason shakes his head, still holding on tightly to Flint’s district token.
“No, I don’t want to kill her. I didn’t set those traps to kill anyone, just slow them down,” he mumbles, rolling the chain between his fingers and dropping his stake to the ground. “She’s not hurting us.”
“She’s getting away!” yells Gabriel, watching as Finn gets further and further away. It’s no use, she’s barely visible from the huts now. They’ll never be able to catch up.
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Kai sees Ocean bleeding in the sand and his eyes wander until he sees Jadette running away, down the beach toward the Cornucopia Island. He gives chase and throws his trident at her back, narrowly missing as she throws her body out of the way. This gives him enough time to catch up with her and he reaches out, grabbing her by the ponytail and yanking. She stumbles backward, her grip still firmly on the hilt of her sword. She turns on her heel and swipes her sword through the air, catching Kai in the face and opening a gash on his cheek.
“You’ll pay for that,” he yells, grabbing the sword by the blade and throwing it out of the way. He’s much bigger than Jadette and pushes her to the ground, reaching back for his harpoon. He holds it like a spear and Jadette struggles to get back up, army crawling across the beach toward her discarded sword. Kai follows her and she finally reaches the sword, holding it defensively outward but Kai swats it away with his harpoon and then cuts Jadette from left to right across her abdomen. Blood blooms on her shirt where the harpoon sliced and Jadette is sure she’s done for but Kai just wipes the tip of the harpoon off on his own shirt and walks away, apparently convinced the cut is enough. But I’m a Career, too, Jadette thinks to herself as she lies in the sand before standing and limping off into what remains of the Jungle, her arms held to her bleeding stomach.
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It doesn’t take much effort for Waverly to catch up to Aster, with her bum leg. The girl is small and clearly weak, but no matter. Waverly has seen girls this size take down full grown men at the Academy and knows not to underestimate her. She sees a small axe in Aster’s right hand and, having only one knife, she knows she’ll need to be strategic. As she closes in, Waverly raises her arm as if she’s going to throw her knife at Aster’s axe hand and, in response, Aster quickly throws the axe toward the Career’s head. Anticipating this, Waverly ducks and the axe sails over her head and lands in the sand behind her.
Aster is struggling to climb the tree she was in earlier and Waverly laughs, aiming the knife at the small of the girl’s back, when Finn comes running by. She snatches Aster from the tree and slings her onto her back like a ragdoll then takes off down the beach in a matter of seconds. Waverly gives a disgruntled sigh and throws the knife, not caring where it lands but smiling when she hears Aster give a cry. She walks back up toward the Beach Huts and passes Meena still lying listless in the sand, bloody and beaten. She moans in pain at the sight of Waverly.
“Sorry,” Waverly says as she picks up the coconut that Aster threw at her and uses it to bash in the remainder of Meena’s head. A cannon sounds.
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The remaining two Outsiders make camp at the Southern tip of the island, far away from the Infinity Alliance and the Beach Huts. They’re not sure where Jadette has gone, but they aren’t too worried about her. Waverly’s knife caught Aster in the back, just below her shoulder blade, but thankfully the cut wasn’t deep. She has patched up the wound with some leaves and is resetting her leg when a parachute floats down from the sky with her name on it. It’s Strong Healing Balm for her leg. She applies some to where the pain is most severe and onto her new wound. It begins to close up but the leaves are only doing so much to stop the bleeding.
A second, smaller parachute arrives a few moments later for Finn with a crisp, white envelope attached with a red string tied in a bow. Finn gingerly unties the envelope from the parachute and traces her finger along the familiar handwriting on the front.
“Father,” she whispers, tears collecting in her eyes. She begins reading the letter to herself.
My Darling Finn,
Although I was hesitant to write this letter, your siblings insisted I was the one you’d want to hear from most. The people of District 10 have watched you fight and persist with such adoration; I can hardly walk down the street without someone stopping me to commend your performance thus far. Your sisters and brothers barely sleep nowadays, they are constantly glued to the television. The shepherds have told me the livestock miss you, they all moo and bleat around noontime, which is when I know you’d go to see them. We all miss you, Finn.
I know our relationship has been tense, at best, since your mother passed and I know the blame rests squarely on my shoulders. How could I expect you, a child, to care for all of your siblings all the time. True, being the mayor is a lot of work, but my family should have been my top priority. I cannot believe it took you going into the Games for me to realize that. I would give anything to turn back the clock and show you how much I care for you.
I’m unsure what to say now. Please, just continue fighting. You must come home to us, we need you. I promise I will step down as mayor and devote my time to you and your siblings if you come home. Even if you don’t, although I can’t stand the thought, I will do my best to provide for your sisters and brothers even half as well as you have all these years. I don’t say it nearly enough, but I am so proud of you and all you have accomplished, Finn. I love you. Don’t forget that, even to your final breath.
Come home.
Love,
Your Father
Tears stream freely down Finn’s face as she finishes the letter. She reads it again. And then again. And then a fourth time. She’s sure she’ll read it over and over again in every free moment she has left.
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After collecting their weapons, which have been strewn about the beach and throughout the huts, the Infinity Alliance sits down to lunch: a hodgepodge of fish caught earlier by Kai and Ocean, edible plants, and the leftover trail mix and jerky from everyone’s packs. Although better than nothing, it’s an abysmal meal at best. Everyone is injured to some extent and there’s been no real attempt at first aid, save for bandaging up Ocean’s hand and ankle with some leaves. The group is listening to Gabriel tell an animated story about a derailed train back home when something under the ground shifts and the sand around Waverly begins to fall away, as if on an incline. A tube rises from the ground, enclosing Waverly like a zoo animal. It’s no more than a couple feet in diameter and made completely of glass. By the time it’s risen all the way out of the ground it stands more than 12 feet tall; impossible to climb or escape.
Waverly bangs on the glass, screaming and trying to use her shurikens to crack the glass. It doesn’t budge, not even a hairline fracture forms, and her screaming intensifies as salty, bubbling sea water begins filling the tube from the ground up. Kai, Gabriel, and Mason all try to break the glass, pounding on it with their hands, weapons, anything they can find to try and break the glass. They even try to stand on one another’s shoulders to reach over and pull Waverly out of the tube, but a protective barrier has been placed over the top of the tube to allow only air in and out.
Waverly becomes increasingly distressed, screaming and crying as the water fills the tube, slowly creeping up over her feet and then her ankles, knees, hips, chest. The water is up to her neck and she stands on tip-toe trying to keep her head above water for as long as possible. She knows she should be able to float but this water is weird. It’s extra bubbly and Waverly’s feet stay firmly planted on the ground no matter how much she tries to tread. She tilts her head back as the water begins to cover her face and then takes a deep breath as she’s fully submerged.
She opens her eyes to see her own reflection staring back at her. Gone are the faces of her allies on the other side of the tube, just her own scared face. She knows she can’t hold her breath much longer and finally she’s forced to open her mouth. The water burns her lungs and she screams, though she’s sure no one can hear her. The more she screams the harder it becomes to breathe.
The Infinity Alliance watches as Waverly’s body gives out. The bubbles stop coming from her mouth and nose and she stares out, wide eyed and unblinking. A cannon sounds and the tube immediately retracts back into the ground. Water comes spilling out over the top and Waverly’s body lies limp and lifeless in the sand.
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Jadette sits in the shallow water that now covers the entire West side of the Jungle. The entire Eastern half of the Island is underwater and uninhabitable, but the rising water levels are being held back by some sort of invisible barrier. She uses the plastic sheet from her “Goody Bag” to stanch the bleeding from her abdomen and lies on her back, looking up at the blue sky and shining sun. Under different circumstances it could be beautiful here, but now the arena is tinged with death and she’s the only one of her alliance left.
“Good afternoon, tributes! Too much water for your liking this morning? Sorry about that! Guess we’ll have to bring in something to counter that… be at the Cornucopia Island by sundown for the Feast to find out what it is!” Claudius Templesmith’s voice announces to the arena.
Jadette knows she has to go to the Feast. Her luck, if you can even call it that, can’t hold out forever.
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At sundown the hologram of Claudius Templesmith is greeted by five faces: Kai, Gabriel, Mason, Jadette, and Finn.
“Welcome tributes! Our reigning feast victor is Miss Finn Cressy of District 10, but that ends right… now! Today’s feast victor is not only going to receive immunity for the next 24 hours, but an actual feast! We’ll bring in five of your favorite dishes for you and your alliance! The only catch? You have to trade us: one feast for an egg. The eggs are currently being guarded by one protective mama, and I’ve gotta say, she’s not fond of visitors. The first one to retrieve an egg and place it safely on the feast table will be our winner.” Claudius explains. The tributes look at one another and then at the Cornucopia Island. The ground opens up and a platform, holding what Claudius called “mama”, rises and clicks into place.
“Oh, and I forgot to mention,” the projection laughs, “this is easily our favorite mutt in Games history. She’s a dragon.”
The tributes look horrified as “mama” blinks down at them. She’s ginormous, the size of a two story building with spiky, black scales covering her entire body. Her eyes are a sickly yellow color and five shiny, yellow eggs sit encircled by her thick and powerful-looking tail.
“You will, of course, be allowed to have one weapon with you, we’re not completely crazy!” The tributes choose their weapons and a gong sounds. Mama gives a roar and breathes out, releasing a blast of hot fire.
“Of course it breathes fire, why wouldn’t it,” Gabriel laughs, looking at his allies. They quickly begin devising a plan as Finn and Jadette go right for the eggs. Bad idea! Jadette, already slow from her earlier injury, tries to move quietly toward the cluster of eggs and is nearly within arms length of them when she feels a hot, shooting pain run up her right leg. The dragon has sunk her teeth into Jadette’s leg and when she releases, there’s barely anything left. The flesh is in shreds, ragged and bloody with bits of muscle and fat poking out. Jadette immediately passes out and a hovercraft appears to move her body out of the way.
Finn’s luck is equally bad. She goes on the offensive and tries to throw knives at the dragon’s eyes and mouth, its soft spots. She mostly misses, but one knife makes its way into the dragon’s eye, causing it to cry out in pain and, just as Finn wraps her arms around an egg, the dragon whips its tail and swats her away. She drops the egg and is sent flying almost one hundred yards. She lands face down with her arms braced for impact but the force breaks them both and Finn lies in the sand, her arms limp and useless.
The Infinity boys decide to try a more unorthodox method. The trio begins to slowly approach the dragon, setting down their weapons to show her they’re not aggressive. Mason approaches with his arms outstretched, humming a lullaby for her in hopes of putting her to sleep. At first, it seems to work and Gabriel and Kai are each able to grab an egg from her tail-nest. But as they make their way to the table on the far side of the island and Mason reaches down to grab his own egg, the dragon catches on and, enraged, begins spewing fire everywhere and swiping her claws at the boys. Mason notices Gabriel standing directly in Mama’s line of fire, and without a second thought, throws his body in front of the District 6 boy. A cannon sounds and Gabriel looks down at his burning hands and body, in shock as his clothes and hair and skin are on fire. But Mason’s body, charred and unrecognizable, lies at his feet. He drops his egg and makes for the water to extinguish the flames.
Kai looks back at his allies, dead and on fire. He’s nearly to the table when he feels something slice into his back. The dragon stands on all fours, her claws extended with a scrap of Kai’s shirt hanging from one. He doesn’t have time to worry as he feels blood running down his back, he reaches the table and gently places the egg on it. He falls to the ground and barely hears Claudius’s announcement or notices being picked up by the hovercraft as he slips in and out of consciousness from blood loss.
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END OF DAY 5 —
Jadette Topaz (D1): alive, injured (severe; right leg nearly bitten off by dragon and shallow cut
across abdomen from sword)
Waverly Aster (D2): deceased, 8th place - VOTED OFF
Kai Albacore (D4): alive, part of the Infinity Alliance, gained 24 hours of IMMUNITY (safe
from Day 5 voting) and a 5-course feast for Day 6, injured (severe, sliced on the back
from right shoulder blade to left hip by dragon claw, shallow gash on left cheek, cut on hand)
Ocean Simpkins (D4): alive, part of the Infinity Alliance, injured (severe, right hand and right
ankle sliced to the bone with sword)
Mason Banner (D5): deceased, 7th place
Gabriel Rose (D6): alive, part of the Infinity Alliance, injured (severely burnt all over body by
dragon fire)
Aster Shay (D7): alive, allied with Finn Cressy, injured (moderate, shallow wound below left
shoulder blade)
Ashlynn Reid (D8): deceased, 10th place
Meena Flammia (D9): deceased, 9th place
Finn Cressy (D10): alive, allied with Aster Shay, injured (severe; both arms broken by dragon)