One Fell Swoop { A Banana Bus / Hunger Games Story }

Chapter Fifteen - The Night Comes Down

David dragged himself up into a sitting position. His neck and back screamed in agony, falling asleep on a cave floor probably wasn't the wisest decision.

"Lui?" He called out. When he didn't get an answer, he made his way to the entrance of the cave and looked out. Lui left to find water when the sun was halfway down the sky. Now, the sun was just about to sink below the horizon. He only left for water, Lui should definitely be back by now.

He couldn't help the pang of fear that ran through him. He didn't even notice that he fell asleep as soon as Lui left, maybe a cannon went off and David didn't know. The sun sank below the skyline and the fanfare for the tribute deaths began.

David thought back to the last words Lui said to him, "I'll be back soon". David broke out a nervous sweat, he felt like he was going to throw up. If he saw Lui's name in the sky tonight, he was done for. He couldn't survive without Lui, if no one else finished him off then he'd die by his own hand.

Alternatively, if he didn't see Lui's name in the sky, he was probably going to break down anyways. He'd be lost, or he could've been captured by other tributes. Who knows what he was going through right now.

David's blood ran cold as another possibility ran through his mind. Lui could've left him alone on purpose. Maybe he didn't want to tell the taller man to his face that he didn't want to be around him anymore, so he decided to come up with an excuse and ran.

The frantic thoughts running through his mind were cut short when the tributes' faces started to flash in the sky.

"Arlan Droid - District 12"

"John Kryoz - District 5"

"Ryan Smitty - District 6"

"Marcel Work - District 11"

David let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He remembered hearing the explosion go off, and the three cannons that followed. He also remembered how the last three boys were really close in training, plus another one that must've survived. Those were the last three cannons he remembered going off as well. He let himself get too happy, Lui was alive!

Then Marcel's face in the sky morphed into one that was all too familiar and David felt his stomach drop.

"Lui Calibre - District 12"

David swayed on his feet. His vision blackened as anxiety clouded his mind. Lui...he couldn't be. He died? And David wasn't there to stop it from happening. He felt the deep grip of self hate coil around him, constricting his breathing.

All he could do was fall to his knees and sob.

***

Scotty knew better than to look in the sky that night. Seeing Smitty, Marcel, and Kryoz's faces one last time would have pushed him over the edge. No, he wouldn't dwell on them anymore. They were good friends while it lasted, but he needed to focus on his own survival now.

As Scotty reached the edge of the forest and approached a paddock with nothing but tall grass as far as the eye could see, he pondered the men again. There was a nugget of bitter resentment towards Kryoz now. It was kind of his fault that the bomb exploded prematurely, taking his alliance with it. Well, Kryoz also had some good qualities. He was funny, and that was all that seemed to come to mind for Scotty.

The backpack was getting heavier with every step, and Scotty knew that he would need to find a place to crash for the night. The tall grass could give him enough coverage, plus he didn't think there would be any other tributes hiding in the grass.

Scotty was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't notice the metre long drop into a cave entrance until he fell into it. He managed to keep his balance and not smack his head on the stone, but the most alarming thing was the orange light from further in the cave.

And the figure hunched over it.

Scotty didn't even know underground caves were part of the arenas, but that wasn't the most important issue at hand. The figure over the fire stood up and ran towards Scotty.

"Hey!" The deep voice shouted. The man had an arm raised like he was going to throw a spear.

"Hey! Woah, woah, woah," Scotty threw up his arms and stepped back into the moonlight, the man following. In the light he was identifiable, Adam from District 6.

"Adam?" Scotty asked, keeping his arms up between the two. He hesitated before lowering his spear at his name.

"You're Scotty, right?" Adam asked, deciding to trust Scotty. He nodded slowly, fast moves could provoke the man.

"Yeah man. I'm sorry I came across your cave, I swear I wasn't looking for you, or anyone else for that matter," Scotty explained. He still felt the grip of tiredness in his bones, and he was very aware that Adam could snap and kill him at any moment.

"Listen man, I have a proposal. It's been a long, rough day. I lost my only friends all at once and right now I want nothing more than to sleep. I'm too tired to kill you, and I'm too tired to die. Can we call it a truce for tonight?" Scotty asked. Adam's wary expression changed to one of pity. Then he passed his spear over to Scotty.

"Take this. I agree to your terms, think of the spear as a token of appreciation. Besides, I have another spear in the cave," Adam smiled gently up at Scotty. Scotty hesitated before he took the spear into his grasp.

Scotty backed away and climbed back out of the cave. Adam raised his palm to Scotty as he backed into the depths of the cave.

And Scotty continued on into the night, tracking through the long grass until he couldn't carry on any longer. He collapsed amidst the grass and hoped it would give him enough coverage until the morning light.