IF THE CAPITOL WANTED A SHOW, THEY HAD GOTTEN IT. Tributes were hunting each other more viciously than ever, which viewers found extremely entertaining. People were also dying from the muttations being dropped into the arena. In previous Games, there was little to no intervention from forces within the Capitol, tributes would just battle it out until there was only one survivor, but this time it was far different. Crates were constantly being dropped into the arena, with strange creatures exuding from them, intent on killing. It was like the snakes from last time, but far more of them.
Aria was beginning to think that the toad she touched when The Games first began wasn't as harmless as Coriolanus said it was. She found it increasingly more difficult with each passing second to stay on her feet.
"You good, girl?" Missy asked, noticing how Aria was wobbling.
"Can we sit down for like, five minutes?" Aria said.
"Oh, man up!" Arlo exclaimed. "We can't stop for a break every damn second!"
"Watch how you talk to me," Aria retorted, trying to stand her ground, but she was too dizzy to do anything else.
"There's something wrong with her," Raphael said. "I'll sit with her for a while, you go and hunt."
Arlo scoffed, muttering something under his breath as he walked off with Missy. Aria couldn't help but think how Coriolanus wouldn't have allowed someone to speak to her like that. Arlo would've been shoved up against the wall by now.
"I think a toad poisoned me," Aria said.
"A toad?" Raphael shuddered. Clearly, he didn't like toads any more than Aria did.
"Yeah, it was all gross and slimy, and I think it tried to kill me," Aria sighed.
"What, so you won The Hunger Games, but now the cause of your death is gonna be from a toad?" Raphael scoffed.
"Guess so," Aria laughed.
"Nah, just wait it out. I'm sure the effects will wear off soon," Raphael told her.
This wasn't the case. Aria had just gotten worse and worse, even beginning to hallucinate. Her vision was blurry, and she could barely speak anymore. Raphael ran off to get Arlo and Missy, but when he left, she saw Coriolanus emerge out from the corner of her eye. She believed this to be a hallucination, but she didn't care. She was just happy to see him. She hadn't forgiven him for abandoning her in the arena, but nevertheless, she was happy to see him.
"Coryo," she smiled drowsily as he knelt down beside her.
"Aria, drink this," Coryo held out a makeshift flask, containing water. Aria happily obliged, gulping down the liquid.
"Go to sleep, now. Don't worry, I'll be right here watching you," Coriolanus told her.
"I love you," Aria said, tears threatening to fall down her face.
The hallucination of Coriolanus had a pained look on his face, before he spoke. "I love you too, Aria." He cupped her cheek with his hand, grazing his thumb along her skin. "I'm sorry."
"If you love me, why did you leave?" Aria asked, letting her tears flow.
"I left because I love you. It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do," Coriolanus answered honestly.
"Come back to me then, Coriolanus. It doesn't have to be like this," Aria's voice broke.
"Please don't cry. Please, I'm sorry," Coriolanus pulled Aria into his chest, letting her cry into his ripped shirt. Her tears were from a mixture of betrayal, drowsiness and anxiety. She still didn't understand why Coriolanus had to leave her. Surely, if he loved her like he said he did, he'd want to stay by her side at all times.
"I should hate you, Coriolanus Snow. I should, and yet I can't bring myself to," Aria looked up at him.
"This would all be a lot easier if you did hate me, Aria," Coriolanus replied.
"I wish I hated you," Aria muttered.
"You should," Coriolanus said, the tone of his voice changing.
Aria must have drifted off to sleep, as when she woke up, there were no signs of Coriolanus. She chalked it all up to it being a hallucination, partly due to the poison, and partly due to how much she missed Coriolanus. She had accepted that he didn't care about her, and none of that was real, but when she turned over onto her side, she saw the makeshift flask Coriolanus had given her.
"Aria!" Raphael exclaimed, coming back with Arlo and Missy.
"I'm okay now," Aria sighed. Arlo rolled his eyes.
"You bring me all the way back here and she's fine?" he said to Raphael.
"We shouldn't have left in the first place, Arlo. There was clearly something wrong," Missy tried to reason with him.
"No, I'm sick of hearing this girl bitching all the time! Oh, my feet hurt! I feel dizzy!" he mocked. "Get over it!"
"At least I'm not useless at hunting and I can aim properly," Aria muttered, recalling seeing Arlo in training with a spear, trying to throw it at a target but missing by a mile, and the fact that he hadn't come back with any food.
Arlo and Aria didn't speak to each other for a while after their row. It was awkward for Arlo and Missy, but Coriolanus was smiling behind the trees at his girl, proud of her for standing her ground.
Coriolanus had studied the way Raphael moved, the way he always stayed quiet and undetected. He imitated this, and found it rather easy. This meant that he could watch over Aria, make sure she was okay without being noticed. He was still wary of her new allies, but was beginning to feel more at ease seeing that Raphael sort of had her back. He knew that if it came down to it though, he wouldn't hesitate in killing her, so Coriolanus still watched him closely.
He tried to accept that in a few days time, when The Hunger Games were over, he'd be dead. When he was younger, he had such big dreams. He aspired to become president of Panem, a dream that he held with him until the moment he found out he'd be participating in The Hunger Games. Now, there was no point in dreaming of these things. His future consisted of being six feet into the ground, his flesh eaten by worms. He could handle that for himself, but he couldn't handle picturing it happening to Aria. She deserved to do anything she wanted in life.
Coriolanus thought of Tigris watching, though. She'd be in pieces having to witness Coriolanus being killed. Although the two were cousins, they acted more like siblings. He wanted more than anything to go home to her, Aria by his side, and have a real hug with her for the first time in forever. He knew this was impossible, but it was a nice thought.
He tried to keep his jealousy at bay by thinking of this, but it wasn't really working. Seeing Raphael feeling Aria's forehead with the back of his palm was almost enough to send him over the edge. He wondered if Aria resented him for not being there for her. It should've been him stood next to her, fussing over Aria and not letting her get up until he was sure she was okay, but it wasn't, and that was his own fault. If, by some miracle, the two of them managed to escape The Games alive, he'd officially ask her to be his. He'd hold her tight and never let her go again.
Aria was now back on her feet, although she couldn't help but feel like the Capitol were targeting her. She narrowly avoided numerous attacks from small creatures, like spiders, which she had to jump up onto Raphael's back for protection, or the mass amount of mutated moths that came flying at her. The final straw was when a wild dog came sprinting for her, looking as if it wanted to rip her into shreds, which it probably did. She managed to stab it with an arrow, demobilising it, and finally poking another arrow through its neck, putting it out of its misery.
"That's our meals sorted for the week," Arlo said. "Apart from you, Aria, since you're a bit of a weirdo when it comes to food."
Arlo was really beginning to get on Aria's nerves. All his snarky comments were testing her patience.
"It's lucky I killed that dog since you're so useless at hunting," Aria giggled innocently.
"Yeah, being good at hunting almost makes up for the fact that you can't keep a guy around for longer than ten minutes," Arlo replied.
"Mhm, I'm just happy that I didn't almost get the person I love killed during the first days of The Hunger Games, unlike some people I know," Aria patted Arlo on the shoulder.
While the tributes were fighting for their lives in the arena, the Capitol were loving every second of it.
"Oh, my. What a heartbreaking moment there, between Coriolanus and Aria," Lucky Flickerman said to the crowd. Hundreds of Capitol citizens had been invited to watch The Games in a large stadium, filled with fluorescent lights and extravagant decor. The Capitol had gone all out this year. They wanted to make a spectacle out of the rebels, to make sure everyone was aware of the consequences of going against the Capitol.
"Now, what do we think of all this? Is Coriolanus doing the right thing by abandoning Aria?" he asked. People from the crowd put their hands up, wanting to answer. Lucky approached one, a young woman in a sparkling red dress.
"Yes, what's your name?" Lucky asked her.
"Emmeline," she replied. "I think that Coriolanus is smart in what he's doing. Love will get you killed in there, but oh, do I wish the two of them would have a happy ending!" she exclaimed, which was met by deafening cheers of agreement from the crowds.
The Capitol had not anticipated these reactions. The rebels were meant to be hated. If Coriolanus and Aria were making people pity them, it could be dangerous.
"Mother, they must be executed soon," Aryadne said to Dr. Gaul. They were both in her lab, Gaul was studying the muttations in their cages whilst Aryadne was pleading with her mother to get rid of Coriolanus and Aria.
"Patience, my dear. They will be taken care of soon enough."