Trials and Tribulations

Chapter Fifteen

Juniper has found herself once again by the river.

She and Phoebe sit with their backs against the bank, both panting still, adrenaline higher than ever before.

"I-I spotted you guys right when you got done with Ginger," Phoebe starts, stuttering as she finishes catching her breath. "I waited for my chance to swoop in."

"Where did you even get the axe?" Juniper asks, quirking a brow. "I didn't see you in the cornucopia."

Phoebe's eyes move away from Juniper. She's staring into the distance, vision unsteady as if she's unsure what to focus on, fiddling with the axe still stained with Dane's blood. "It was Luther's."

"Right, your burly district mate. Whatever happened to him anyway?"

"I killed him," Phoebe states matter-of-factly.

Juniper comes up short with what to say next, attempting to process this information. Tiny Phoebe Wixx bested Luther, one of the ones to watch. "Um... wow. H-How did you even manage that?"

"The cannons went off for the blood bath. He was trying to count them so he was distracted; I took my shot."

Juniper wants to ask for more details out of pure curiosity but decides against it. Luckily, Phoebe continues explaining.

"He said he'd ally with me from the beginning. I took him up on the opportunity knowing I'd kill him at the first chance I got." Phoebe sighs before going on, now more quietly. "There's this girl in my class called Johanna. She's pretty quiet but takes no nonsense, so she's fierce if you mess with her. I guess creeps like Luther like that kinda thing. I'd see him cornering her after class, this seventeen-year-old slinking around twelve-year-old history lessons. She never looked him in the eyes, just tried to get away from him as soon as she could. Everybody could tell what he was trying to do, but nobody said anything. Eventually, my brother got the guts to confront Luther after school; Luther beat him up so bad that my mom couldn't even recognize his face when he dragged himself home. So when I realized that Luther was my district-mate, I swore that no matter what, he would die before I would. And I would get to be the one to do it." Phoebe shrugs. "We've both been sent to our deaths anyway. I'm not letting some asshole get the title of victor and prance around like king of the world."

Juniper shakes her head. "That's-That's crazy, Phoebe. I don't want to say good on you but... good on you. He seems like a total pig." Juniper could use stronger words to describe Luther, but she tries to keep in mind the fact that Phoebe is thirteen years old.

"Pig is barely half of it. But yeah, I slipped his axe from his hands and killed him. And then I took everything he was hoarding and left his body. I just wandered around for a little while after. Before I found you, I found Valencia's body totally blue. I think she froze to death."

Juniper inhales sharply. "That's definitely not exactly the least painful way to go."

"Not even a little bit. She did still have all her limbs, which is more than I can say for Dane right now."

"Yeah, good job on that one too."

"Hey you were technically my distraction, so I guess I have you to thank for that." Phoebe shrugs.

"Technically Barrett exploding was your distraction."

"Right yeah, that's true."

It's almost laughable to discuss it this way, as casually as any other occasion. Barrett combusted in front of Juniper's very eyes. Because of her.

Juniper purses her lips, sighing. "Anyways, it's getting dark now. Do you have anything against spending your night in a tree?"

Phoebe shakes her head. "None at all. Sounds cushy."