aphrodite₂ [treech]

x

I hate this. I wish I could get out of the Capitol and go home. But instead, I'm stuck prowling the tunnels beneath the arena with Coral, Mizzen, and Tanner. It was dark earlier, but now it's impossibly so. We have the occasional ray of moonlight to light our path, but it doesn't have much effect on the penetrating black of our surroundings.

Coral's idea to hunt at night might just be the dumbest one I've ever heard. Since none of us can see, we can't tell if we've passed any tributes. Tanner's tripped once already, sending both of us to the ground, and Mizzen has walked into Coral more times than I can count on one hand. I'm also exhausted, even though I've done practically nothing all day. At least we haven't run into any adversaries. I'm not ready to take the life of another.

"What's that noise?" whispers Coral.

She must have stopped ahead of us, because Mizzen lets out a grunt when he runs into her again.

"What noise?" whispers Tanner.

"I don't hear anything," I say.

"Quiet," snaps Coral. "If you two would shut up, maybe you'd hear it."

We oblige. I hold my breath, straining to hear the noise Coral's talking about. She's right. Someone is speaking quietly somewhere to our right. If I have my bearings correct, that should be the center of the arena. What an idiot.

"Let's split up," says Coral. "We can catch them by surprise. Mizz, you and I will go this way. Lumberjack and Slaughterhouse, surround them on the other side. We'll try to cut them off from the exits."

This plan worries me. We have no idea who will be waiting for us on the other side. Then again, the more formidable threats, like Jessup and Reaper, seem smart enough to know not to be out in the open at night.

Tanner leaves me alone at a tunnel entrance, disappearing to find one a little further away. From my vantage point, I can see the center of the arena, dimly lit by the light of the moon. I can see Lamina, sleeping peacefully atop the crossbeam. Below her, three people stand above Marcus's body.

I decide to slowly leave the entrance, using some of the holes in the wall around the arena's field as handholds to pull myself into the stands. If I can get to higher ground, maybe I'll be able to see the tributes better. My limbs shake, but not from exertion as I crouch behind a row of seats.

I look over the backs of the chairs long enough to see Mizzen, Coral, and Tanner following my actions. Now I take the opportunity to study my opponents. They still stand over Marcus's corpse. One of the figures crouches, the other two standing above him.

Of the two people standing, one is quite tall, the other is short and seems more feminine. I rack my brain, trying to think of which tributes the trio could be, but I come up with nothing.

The smallest of the three shifts and a shaft of moonlight shines on long red hair. I let out a cough of surprise and shock.

No. It can't be.

Venus Abernathy turns in my direction, looking for the source of the noise. I quickly duck behind the row of seats.

Venus can't be in the arena. How could she be? This must be some sort of fucked up dream. Maybe the rust in my shoulder wound is making me hallucinate. Maybe I'm dead.

I slowly look over the seat in front of me. Venus's companions have picked up Marcus's body and are trying to haul it towards the barricade that leads to the arena's entrance. As they step into the light, they are revealed to be Venus's classmates: the nice boy who brought food to the zoo for all of us, and Corduroy. My lip curls in disgust when I recognize the latter.