^Wolfgang, Nia's mentor from District 11.
~
A/N - Because of Greta's insanity, the timing of the script is probably a bit confusing. The tidal wave hit the Arena on Day 12 of the Games. Greta's chapter begins at the end of Day 12, extends through Night 12, and pretty quickly skips through Day 13. It ends in Night 13.
This chapter begins at the end of Day 14, so we've pretty much skipped a full day between chapters since nothing interesting has happened. Hope that clears any confusion up. Right now, we're nearing the end of Day 14.
Enjoy!
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Chapter 44
POV: Victoria (District 1)
Time: Day 14
Tributes Remaining: 8
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I feel like I'm going insane. The pain of my injury has driven me to the point of considering suicide.
I'm stronger than that, though. I'm worth more than that. How could I not push through the pain? I've already outlived Felix and Amethyst. Not to mention Ada. How could I not push through, knowing Tanner was still out there?
So I haven't given up.
Luckily, my sponsorships have been enough to get me the most expensive healing supplies the Capitol has to offer. My face has made a recovery. There is always light at the end of the tunnel. My mentor, Maroon, has even sent me a sword. It's not of the finest quality, but it will do to defend myself, especially against Tanner.
My eye, of course, has not magically recovered. My skin has healed, but I can still only see out of one eye.
I hear a familiar pinging sound and I leap to my feet, ready for my next sponsor gift. I jump to grab the parachute, cracking the plastic casing.
I'm confused as I pull out some sort of cloth contraption. There is also a note inside, so I unfold the paper.
Victoria -
Glad to hear you survived your injury. Don't let your guard down again.
Please wear this for the rest of the Games. Gotta keep the sponsors happy.
See you soon.
-Maroon.
An eyepatch?! Of all things Maroon could have sent me, he chooses to send me something to cover my face with. For sponsors.
I throw the patch and note on the ground, letting out a scream of rage at the useless gift. Enraged, I let my anger run loose as I drop to the ground, slamming my fists into the soil beneath me.
Someone needs to pay. That girl from 5 was easy pickings; I need a fight.
I need to find Tanner. This ends tonight.
I pause as the Panem anthem plays, but once again, there are no fallen tributes. This makes me even angrier as I set out at a brisk jog. If I was Tanner, where would I be?
It takes me hours to find him. At least five, I'd say. If I was Tanner, I think, I would hide as far from the Cornucopia as possible. That way, I would never find him, and he could stay alive sustaining on our supplies until the rest of us killed each other.
I travel in a direct line through the forest. The temperature rises as I travel, and it's quite hot even though it's still night-time.
The Arena is massive. I've never even tried to travel this far out. It takes over 90 minutes to travel to the outer edges of the Arena. The temperate pine forest turns into a tropical rainforest, which gets hotter and hotter until I finally reach the edges of the trees. I'm sweating quite a bit, thankful that the sun hasn't risen yet. I'm sure Tanner is used to the temperature, as District 10 typically has a very hot climate anyway.
After the trees, I find an expansive desert. I look across the waves of sand, disappointed to see no signs of life. However, I realize that the Arena is a circle, meaning the desert is a ring. I decide to travel around the circumference of the trees to see if anyone is in the desert.
Once again, it takes hours, but I finally find him. It's a small trail of smoke behind a large sand dune that gives him away.
I'll admit - if I wasn't looking for him, I probably wouldn't have found him.
I steadily climb the sand dune, peering over it. I'm correct - it's Tanner. As quickly as I can, I run down the dune behind him.
He hears the sand shifting and turns, spotting me. He puts up his sword as I put up mine, and we clash into one another. Tanner pushes me to to the ground, the sand shifting under my feet, and stabs at me, but I roll out of the way. After jumping to my feet, I quickly slice at Tanner's wrist as he grabs his weapon, which is stuck in the sand. Tanner hisses in pain, releasing the blade, and I grab it from the ground, throwing it to the side before lunging at him. Tanner screams as I stab down at him.
I can't stop as I stab him over and over. This is all I've wanted since he attacked me. I'm finally getting my revenge. It makes it even so much sweeter that he's the only thing stopping me from Victory. I have no doubt in my mind - I will win the Games. I will prevail. Then the Capitol will bow at my feet.
Tanner goes quiet and a cannon booms. I stop, panting.
Exhausted, I rest my head in my hands before slowly standing. The sun is beginning to rise, and for the first time, I can see it coming up over the horizon.
It's beautiful, but my attention is captured by something strange in the sky.
The border of the Arena is shown in one section. It has a grid-like pattern, which is odd-looking. I wonder what's going on.
Then I see it - something green. Some sort of plant is growing out of the Arena wall in the distance.
I squint. It's hard to see with only one eye. Suddenly, I recognize the plant. It's the same type of plant as the one that overtook a quarter of the Arena.
Panicking, I grab Tanner's supplies and flee from the desert. I don't know what's about to happen, but whatever it is, I have to be ready.