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โ€” ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ง๐ž๐š๐ฎ๐ฑ โ€”

โ”โ”โ”โ”โ”โ” โ˜ฝใ€โ–ใ€‘โ˜พ โ”โ”โ”โ”โ”โ”

We only stood at the entrance of the cave's mouth for about a minute. It's all we could tolerate really. Even though we were covered from the sun's direct contact, the heat was unbearable. And the light was so bright that all of us were forced to squint as we stared out into the sand-coated wasteland. Where the world has once been white, and dangerously beautiful; it was now beige, but no less brutal.

As if to prove the gamemakers point, a few skeletons littered the ground beneath the cliff side. The large skulls were unmistakably those belonging to whichever mutts had survived the winter, only to die and decay when summer came. It was like they themselves had looked us in the eyes and claimed that there would be no survivors as not even their own creations were cared for enough to provide shelter.

I glanced over my shoulder at the others. Beads of sweat dripped down the sides of their faces. Harlan kept close to my side, uncomfortably wiping his glistening face with his hand every few seconds. Rex had a hand pressed to his forehead, but he was still forced to squint as he sought answers in the wasteland before us. Romulus's jaw had tensed, and his eyes narrowed but only enough to see without squinting as much as the rest of us.

"Why haven't they destroyed the cave?" Romulus asked, breaking the solemn silence.

"I don't know," Rex replied, shaking his head as he ushered Harlan and I to follow him back inside, "But I don't intend to stand out here and fry just to find out."

"Why do the gamemakers decide to do anything?" Harlan asked. "Does it really matter? We have the cave still, we might as well keep using it."

Romulus didn't move. My brow slowly furrowed, preventing me from taking another step. Harlan stopped when I did, even though he was overheated and wanted more than anything to retreat back into the cool depths of the cave. And only after he realized that we had stopped following him, Rex stopped and turned back around.

"Romulus?" I questioned.

"The gamemakers do everything for a reason," Romulus contradicted the previous claims. "So if they left this cave standing but demolished the rest of the arena's terrain, I can't help but wonder what's worse: what's out there... or whatever they might put in here with us."

"Honey." The chilling whispered was uttered from Rex's lips with a look of horror before he took off down the cavern corridor at a sprint.

Harlan took off after Rexโ€”showing just as much concernโ€”and I followed a step later. Romulus was the longest to stay behind. I caught a glimpse of him turning to stare out into the open expanse of sand just once more before I darted around the corner where the temperature easily dropped at least ten degrees.

After spending three weeks in just one locationโ€”recovering from our wounds and trainingโ€”it wasn't hard to believe that we had the corridor routes memorized. After another right and two lefts down the winding corridor, we finally arrived in the chamber that we deemed the medical wing.

Perhaps that had been our downfall. We'd gotten too comfortable and forgotten the dangers of the world around us. We'd forgotten that we weren't the only survivors in the mock situation of this ancient world. We'd forgotten the horrors of the past nine weeks, going about our lives as if we were some nomadic family moving from cave to cave when the situation deemed it necessary. Perhaps the gamemakers saw that as impertinence. Perhaps they saw it as defiance against the grueling system of murder and death.

And these weren't the only things we'd forgotten. Because as we arrived at the chamber entrance and our eyes widened at the sight of the muttation slithering it's coiled body around Honey's small form, we recognized that all weapons had been left in a pile within the training chamber.

Rex's jaw clenched and his hands quivered, realizing that he was helpless as he watched the fanged creature slink closer to the girl's face. Its sleek black body proved that it could easily swallow a child whole as it only needed half of its own form to surround Honey in a crushing grip.

Harlan slipped free of my grip that tried to keep him out of harm's way. Although he too was trembling, he stooped down and grabbed a few rocks that littered the floor. The boy inched his way along the chamber walls, ignored my hissed warnings.

"Harlan," I tried to call him back, but the whisper alerted the mutt. It flicked its tongue and lifted its fanged face in my direction. Its slitted eyes practically glowed as it whipped its head around the room.

I held my tongue.

Once the beast turned its attention back to the girl it was crushing in its clutches, Harlan acted before I could follow him into the chamber. He launched one of the rocks that he'd collected and it slammed into the side of the snake's body. The mutt shuddered and turned its head in the boy's direction, only to be met with another rock to the face. Harlan cheered with glee, but recognizing that he'd run out of rocks and had angered the beast, he covered his mouth and froze.

"Harlan!" my voice cried out in a choked scream as my feet rushed forward, acting before my brain had time to act. I wasn't quick enough.

It felt like the world was passing me by in slow motion as the snake lunged and Harlan dropped to the ground, covering his face as he curled into a ball filled with fear. I could feel the blood rush from my face as a chill shot down my spine. The hair on the back of my neck bristled as a crushing weight filled my chest while a hand snatched my shoulder.

My head whipped around, catching sight of Rex as he pulled me away from the chamber with a face equally as pale. I tried to fight against him, hitting and kicking as if it might make a difference. I only stopped when he pointed back toward the chamber where Romulus finally joined the group and rushed forward without hesitation.

He'd apparently stopped by the training chamber as he effortlessly flipped his sword in his hand while he charged the snake. With one clean upstroke, he separated the head from the body millimeters before its attack against Harlan could land. The head slammed against the ground as the creatures tongue lolled out the side of its mouth while its eyes immediately glazed over.

I shoved Rex's hand away, running past Romulus to reach Harlan. I wrapped my arms around the boy, immediately brushing his overgrown hair from his eyes while I examined his for injuries.

"Are you alright?" I asked, hardly waiting for an answer as I frantically looked him over. "Did it bite you? Are you hurt?"

"I'm alright." Harlan's lips trembled as he nodded his head, unable to look me in the eyes as his own remain trained on the decapitated remains of the mutt beside us.

"What were you thinking?!" My tone shifted as I began to scold himโ€”only as a means to vent my own fear and frustration at the helplessness I exhibited in a situation that I should've been able to handle by this point. "You could have been hurt, or worse, killed!"

The boy's eyes watered and he sniffed as he motioned across the room with his head. "Honey needed help."

"Iโ€”I know..." I allowed my eyes to drift to the ground.

Harlan had just proven himself willing to do the very thing I'd been claiming was my own purpose here in the games: putting another's life before his own. In every moment where it truly mattered, I had frozen and relied on someone else to solve my problems for me. I allowed a soft smile to grace my lips as I finally looked the boy in the eyes.

The boy's earnest eyes desperately sought something unnamed from my own eyes, perhaps some sort of approval. He never failed to look up to me despite the number of times that I'd already let him down.

(1) Rex was the one to find him and Honey. Not me. I probably wouldn't have made it past the first day if Rex hadn't found me wandering in the woods. (2) We would have drowned in the underground cavern had Tucker, Webb, Otto, and Emory not come to the rescue. (3) The various muttations that we'd encountered had been handled by our allies, I had yet to take the life of the beasts that were intended to kill us. I hadn't even taken a life when hunting for meals. I foraged for berries and edible plants while Rex and the others trapped rabbits. (4) After escaping the icicle cavern, I might've held off Rena for a few minutes so that Harlan and Honey could escape, but it was Rex who had come to my rescue yet again. (5) The snake mutt was the latest example. It was Romulus who had risked his life, after claiming just an hour ago that he would kill the boy. Instead, he'd saved his life.

Was I the problem? Was Romulus right saying that I didn't have what it takes to ensure Harlan survived? Could it even be called mercy to keep him alive after the horrors that we'd endured these last nine weeks?

I opened my mouth, trying to find the necessary words to console the trembling boy in my arms. Anything that would explain how terrified I was for his safety while expressing how proud I was of his unflinching courage in a moment of need.

The cannon echoed and chills ran down my spine, interrupting my train of thought. Harlan paled. For a moment, I feared that I'd missed something. I looked Harlan over, but he shook his head and pointed a trembling finger over my shoulder.

Slowly, I turned. Rex's form shuddered with grief as he hunched over Honey, clutching the girl in his arms as tears streamed down the side of his face. The shirt sleeve of his arm that held Honey close was stained with a red hue that almost appeared black.

A glance was enough to see that the girl's shoulder wound from Rena's poisoned dagger had been reopened. Despite Harlan's heroic attempt, it looked as if he was too late to distract the beast from its original prey.

Harlan's face mirrored shock. And it was the boy's turn to stand frozen, unable to process the loss that our group had just suffered. Romulus was the first to move, leaving the room before anything could be said. Harlan was next, breaking down in my arms as undeserved guilt undoubtedly clouded his mind. My own eyes watered as I took a few steps closer, keeping Harlan at my side as we approached our mourning ally.

Rex rocked on his knees, shuddering as he cradled his sister's small form. His words blubbered together, barely comprehensible as he babbled a nonstop apology. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..."

It was a heartbreaking sight to behold. But what I found more unnerving was the look of peace that graced Honey's features. Her eyes were closed, but they were no longer tense with pain. And a soft smile twisted the corners of her lips as if she were simply enjoying a pleasant dream.

"Rex..." Harlan meekly called out to him.

Rex shook his head. "Out."

I tried to reach out. "Rexโ€”"

"Please," he interrupted. His hand cradled his sister's head as he looked over his shoulder, meeting only my eyes. "I need to be alone."

I nodded, respecting his wishes as I guided Harlan out of the room. Tears still streamed down the side of the boy's face, but he no longer shuddered. It was like he'd given up and accepted the exhaustion that we'd all be ignoring for so long.

"I tried so hard to save her," Harlan whispered, thinking I wouldn't hear. "It's my fault..."

I froze in my tracks, shaking my head as I kneeled down to his level while taking him by the arms. "This is not your fault. You did everything you could."

"I shouldn't have left her side," Harlan countered. "I should have been there. I was supposed to protect her."

"Hey, hey, hey," I tried to console him, lifting his eyes from the ground as I nudged his chin. "No one expected you to protect her. We all look out for each other, sure, but sometimes things happen that we can't control. You're twelve years old. No one expects you to carry the responsibilities of the world on your shoulders alone."

He tightly wrapped his arms around me and I didn't hesitate to return the gesture. We remained there in silence for a while, just holding one another as if providing false reassurance that we'd be alright.

"I thought I'd be sent into the games to protect you," I admitted, breaking the silence between us. "It was a promise I made to you before we arrived at the capitol and it was the only thing that made me fight to stay alive."

"Maybe we're here to protect each other," Harlan quietly suggested. "When my name was called, I wasn't sure I'd even make it into the arena. But your kindness gave me hope, and I think it gave alot of the other tributes hope too."

I released a bitter chuckle. "Because that worked so well for them..."

"I think so," Harlan contradicted. "You bring people together, Juneaux. And I think that scares the gamemakers. You show kindness and don't play by the unjust rules. You try to find a way where we all win, even though you understand how slim those odds are. Remember when I got sick?"

I slowly nodded my head. "One of the many times you've nearly given me a heart attack."

"That one wasn't my fault," he playfully contradicted. "You nursed me back to health. You didn't have to do that. You could have just let me die and I wouldn't still be holding you back."

I fervently shook my head, denying the insinuation that he implied. "Harlan, you have not been holding me back. I'm stronger with you here by my side."

"I'm a distraction," he countered. "You underestimate yourself and you let others underestimate you too. You're stronger than anyone else here in the arena. And you know why? Everyone assumes your kindness is a weakness, but it's not. You continue to choose mercy even with those who don't deserve it... like Romulus."

"He just saved your life," I laughed, "and you still don't like him?"

Harlan shrugged. "He's alright now, I guess... but he's still a career."

"He's not like the others." I countered. "There's something different about him."

Harlan scoffed. "Like what?"

"I'm not sure exactly," I admitted, "but it doesn't feel like he shares the same goal. He's not here for the fame and glory."

Harlan rolled his eyes. "I've literally heard him say the exact opposite. It was his main complaint when he was bed-ridden for the first week and a half. That he was fighting for fame, glory, and wealth and that it was foolish of us to trust him."

"Yeah, his voice said so, but his eyes said something else entirely." I stood from the ground, dusting myself off before dusting off Harlan's shirt. "Eyes have a language of their own. Once you understand it, you can see past the lies a person tells even themselves to find the truth they keep tucked away."

Harlan's brow furrowed with curiosity. "Really?"

I nodded my head. "'The eyes are the window to the soul.' It was a saying my father used a lot when I was younger. He might not have coined the phrase, but he definitely made it his own."

"You haven't spoken much about your dad," Harlan noted.

I slowly shook my head, recognizing that he was right as if a little light had gone off in my head to remind me of the world outside the arena. "I suppose I haven't."

"You talk about your brother alot," Harlan added, "and you've mentioned your mother, but you don't talks much about your dad."

"I sometimes forget I'm not alone," I admitted. "That my dad is waiting for me back in district nine. But it hasn't felt like my dad has been at my side through everything. I've felt alone since my brother was reaped. And on the day of my reaping... well that was the first time my father had spoken to me in months."

"Does he blame you?" Harlan cautiously asked. "For what happened to your brother?"

I quickly shook my head. "No, nothing like that. He has a very kind soul. It's just that I think I remind him too much of everything he's lost. My mother. My brother. And his own ability as the caretaker of our home. He was injured during the harvest the summer after my brother died. It basically left him crippled and he fell ill after my mother died. I was fourteen when I started taking care of him. But there are plenty of others living in the districts who were forced to grow up before they finished their childhood."

Harlan nodded his head in agreement, glancing toward the ground. "My father blamed me for Linette's death."

"Which is why you blamed yourself with Honey."

He nodded again. "As much as you remind me of my sister, Honey did too. It felt like history was repeating itself when she didn't wake up."

"Did you see her face?" I gently asked. After receiving a curious look from the boy, I explained my question. "She was at peace. The gamemakers can't hurt her anymore. No one can."

"Sometimes I wonder if I'd like to be at peace..." Harlan muttered as his gaze drifted to the wall, staring at nothing while acting as if he were seeing everything. He carefully took a seat, never once looking away as if locked in a trance. "I start to wonder if anyone would even miss me."

"I would," I interjected, but with a tired sigh I resigned myself to the same expression of staring at the wall while I took a seat beside him. "But I wonder the same things some times. It'd certainly be easier to give up."

Harlan nodded his head, then slowly turned to look up at me. "But if we stopped fighting, how would anything ever change?"

My brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"I wonder what the people watching the games think," Harlan explained without providing many specifics. "The gamemakers have cameras everywhere in the arena... they're probably listening to this conversation right now and they don't even realize that they have the power to stop all this. That the games don't have to go on forever because no one has ever questioned the Capitolโ€”not out loud anyway. But what more can they do to us in here? They sent us here to die, Juneaux... but we don't have to disappear quietly."

I was stunned into silence. This once meek boy was now proposing something with a look in his eyes more dangerous than I'd ever seen before. Honey's death was too close for comfort, but in Harlan's eyes it had ignited a fire. I knew he had hopes that we'd all survive; but in that moment, it was almost like he was suggesting we go down as martyrs to a cause we had unintentionally started.

And he was right. For what more could they do to us? Everyone we really cared about was either dead or present in this cage of death beside us. Obviously I still cared for my father, but without anyone physically tending to his needs while I was here, I wasn't optimistic that should I survive anyone would be waiting for me.

The gamemakers may have initiated the end of their game, but they would not control the outcome. I took Harlan's hand and gently squeezed it as if saying that his fight was mine. And if we were to fall, we would burn beside one another.


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