Firecracker: The 99th Games Book One

Arena, Day 9

If only the rain hadn't washed away any trace of who killed Evan. Adel was livid when the Careers failed to find him before the rain, and when they sought shelter and checked the sky, their fearless leader cried upon seeing Evan's face listed among the dead.

She isolated herself from the others for the night, dutifully sharpening her sword on a stray stone. Her thoughts were an internal tirade against whoever had dared kill her new surrogate brother; if Adel Beck had been on a warpath before, now her thirst for revenge was almost all-consuming.

Laurel had known all along that Adel was a monster just like her and Levi, but up to this point, she had been a quiet sort of monster, usually not outright going for the kill despite her bloodthirsty performance in the Bloodbath. Now, the switch had been flipped.

"...I know how you feel," Laurel ventured, scooting a bit closer to Adel. "Someone...hurt my brother once. And even though he's already dead, I still think I'd rip his corpse to pieces if I saw him."

Adel paused in her sharpening, glancing at Laurel out of the corner of her eyes. Emboldened, Laurel decided she could risk sharing a bit more; Adel's new rage made her feel more relatable. More accessible, in a way.

"Levi kinda reminds me of my brother," Laurel admitted. "I've been trying to protect him. If something happened to him now...I don't know what I'd do."

She hesitated. "...I'm sorry about Evan. Are you mad at me...?"

"...If ye'd jus' let 'im get a kill, maybe he wouldn'ta left," Adel whispered back, voice slightly choked.

"...Yeah, maybe," Laurel agreed, hugging her knees. "...I'm sorry. I'll help you kill whoever did it once we find them."

"I'll find 'em," Adel hissed. "I'll find 'em if it's de last t'ing I do."

"...I can help you figure out who did it," Laurel decided. "I have...really, really good intuition. I can tell if people are lying."

Adel met her eyes, intrigued. ...Does she feel bad? ...It'll be nice to have 'er help.

"...T'anks," Adel said sincerely. "Let's start lookin' once my sword's sharp. Dis arena's huge, but if we keep movin' we'll find someone."

"...Do you think Clare did it?" Laurel asked curiously. "The mean girl?"

That would be fantastic. And actually, as much as Laurel did genuinely want to help Adel with her path to revenge, she was also heavily considering lying to their leader and saying her "intuition" pinned Clare as the culprit. Adel was the only member of their squad who had made a dent on Clare during their fight; if anyone had a chance of getting Laurel's revenge, it was Adel.

Time would tell. Maybe Laurel could find another way to weaponize Adel's grief.

"I dunno," Adel muttered. "...But I'm willin' ta find out."

Laurel couldn't help but smile. She had no clue where Clare had gone, but at least now she knew Adel was willing to find her.

The Careers were ready to hunt.

~*~

The familiar beep of a sponsor package woke Fuyuko like an alarm clock. She eyed it curiously, watching Marco crawl out from their makeshift shelter to retrieve it.

Curious to see if her voice was back, she tried asking, "Whose is it?"

There was extra rasp in her voice, but at least it worked. Even a sleep plagued with nightmares did wonders when you slept on a human teddy bear, apparently. Who knew?

Marco examined the package and brought it to Fuyuko, offering it to her. "Someone's popular."

"I don't know if that's good in this scenario," Fuyuko muttered, accepting the package. She started to sit up more fully to open it, then decided she didn't want to and flopped back down, placing the package on her stomach.

It occurred to her Piero hadn't greeted her yet. Curious, she checked on him and found he was still fast asleep.

"...Are you alright now?" Marco asked gently.

"H-huh?" Fuyuko blinked, offering him a smile. "Y-yeah--w-well, no, not really, b-but I'm...better. I trust your brother again."

Marco nodded slowly as Fuyuko opened her package, plopping the lid to her side. "...He's been exhausted all week. He was still up even after he woke me up to watch, so...I don't know if he got much sleep. I'm just going to leave him alone for now."

"Good call," Fuyuko murmured. Of course Piero was exhausted; he'd been through a lot since arriving in the Games, but Fuyuko guessed the past few days had been especially taxing.

She pulled something out of the package, taking a moment to determine exactly what they were. As it registered, her eyes lit up.

Cables! This bundle of wires was exactly what she needed to work her hacking magic. This was perfect; work would distract her from her lingering trauma and give her and her boys a way out of the arena. She had to get Piero out of this place quickly before he had to suffer another moral quandry.

Beaming, Fuyuko hugged the cables to her chest, then felt around in the package for the note she had come to expect from Asahi. Finding one, she removed it and read the contents.

Fuyu,

I think whoever's watching the cameras for this thing is on our side. I watched the Games all day yesterday, and the second you were in danger and the big guy saved you, you two were pretty much all we watched. Sponsors went NUTS for you two. We got them back.

F- on the kiss. But maybe that was my fault. Keep doing what you're doing, it's totally working. Is that doable?

By the way--sorry I never got to introduce you to Lucas before the Games. But he confirmed his girl's the one you're looking for.

Clancy delivered this package too.

Thanks for your hard work, kiddo. Hope this helps. Told sponsors it was for the mines you've been lugging around.

Asahi

Heart fluttering, Fuyuko flailed an arm in the direction of their backpacks. "Marco, my tools."

Marco perked up, digging through their supplies until he found Fuyuko's toolbox. He handed it over to her and Fuyuko threw it open, pulling out her prying tool. Carefully, she checked the side panels of the package. If Asahi felt it relevant to say Clancy had sent this package, that had to mean she'd snuck something in, right?

Sure enough, there was a tiny gap in one panel. Fuyuko pried it off, removing a laminated piece of paper.

She unfolded it, scanning the page. It appeared to be another map; Fuyuko quickly realized this was the promised map through the maintenance tunnel.

They were so close. All she had to do now was find the gynoid (now confirmed to be District 5 tribute Clare Looker) and convince her to help.

Fuyuko hugged the map to her chest. "We're close, Marco. We're...we're so close."

Marco grinned. He laughed lightly, running a hand through his curly hair. "R-really? Is--i-is it possible?"

"Certainly more possible now," Fuyuko assured, passing her toolbox and the map back to Marco. He shoved both into a backpack, rocking in anticipation.

Fuyuko dug into her boot to pull out her phone. Seeking further distractions, she busied herself with connecting wires to her phone and typing in her notes app while Piero slept beside her.

Just a little longer. She would find a way out soon.