Christopher Chambers POV
"What?" Camille asked, sounding stupified.
"I'm not fucking around, it's a hand and it's moving!" Rudy roared. "Guys, we need to pull them out."
"Why?" Doug asked, panic in his voice, "How do we know this isn't a trick?"
"I doubt someone would bury themselves for a trick!" I snapped, running forward. "Help, guys. We need to get them out."
"Shouldn't we just leave them? It'll eliminate competition," Doug suggested weakly, hesitantly.
"Well I don't know about you, but I'd never be able to forgive myself if someone died and I knew I could prevent it." Camille answered in a panic. Rudy crawled forward towards the flailing hand, then grabbed onto its forearm. The hand immediately latched onto Rudy's arm, and a brief expression of terror crossed his vision. He was frozen for a moment, his wide eyes staring at the arm protruding from the ground.
"Rudy," Camille whispered, resting a hand on his shoulders, "Snap out of it."
Rudy shook his head vigorously, pulled from his terror by Camille, and he latched onto the arm once more, beginning to pull upwards. Part of the arm came up through the sand, but Rudy looked like he was struggling to pull the person up.
"Guys, help," he managed to cough out. Camille immediately dashed forward and grabbed onto the arm, her hands resting on top of Rudy's, and the pair continued to pull the person from the ground. After a few moments, a sandy, blonde head began to peep out from the sand. I instantly dashed forward as more of the person emerged from the sand and reached down into the sand, finding the persons torso and beginning to pull them from the sand.
"It's alright," I murmured, my head resting against the back of the girls head as I pulled her from the sand, "You're fine, you're fine." The girl sobbed quietly.
Finally, enough of the girls body was out of the sand that she was able to pull the rest of herself up. Rudy and Camille let go of her arm and she laid on the ground, sobbing. I released her torso from my grip, and quickly realized it was one of the twins - Misty or Renee. Where the other was, I wasn't certain.
All of a sudden, the girl lurched backwards and towards the sand pit, and began to dig at the sand furiously. Then, she began to scream something. Her voice was croaky and gritty, but I was still able to tell what she was saying.
"Don't worry!" she shrieked, digging frantically at the sand, "I'm coming, just hold on!"
Camille let out a deep sigh, a saddened look on her face as she stared at the girl. Whether this was Misty or Renee, she obviously didn't know that her twin was dead.
"Stop!" Doug yelled, running forward and towards the girl. She screamed and writhed, attempting to free herself from Doug's grip.
"LET ME GO!" she screamed, "I HAVE TO GET TO RENEE!"
So this was Misty.
"Misty..." Rudy began slowly, almost hesitantly, "Renee's dead."
"NO!" Misty screamed, "NO, SHE'S NOT!"
"Her face was in the sky," Camille said softly. Misty stopped struggling against Doug, and her whole body seemed to sag as the weight of Camille's words struck her. Then, she began to sob once more.
"Misty, who buried you here?" I asked carefully. Misty trembled and shook her head vigorously, coughing up the sand in her lungs violently.
"I-I don't know," she stammered, "We were arguing and then someone knocked me out... then I woke up and I was buried. I landed weirdly so a lot of my face was covered by my shirt, so I could sort of breathe, but there was a lot of sand and-" she stopped speaking abruptly, interrupted by another coughing fit.
"I'm willing to bet it was Valentina's gang," Camille said absentmindedly.
"Misty, do you want to ally with us?" Rudy asked carefully, "We can't just leave you abandoned here. You're easy prey for the others."
"So you're calling me weak?" Misty muttered, "I can take care of myself,"
"Not in this state." I said grimly. Misty paused for a moment, an expression I couldn't describe painted across her face.
"Fine," she mumbled. She staggered to her feet, wiping the excess sand off her face. "Any of you have a weapon? I had a hatchet but it's probably in the sand now."
"Will knives do?" Camille asked. Misty nodded, and Camille handed over three knives of varying sizes. Misty nodded at her in thanks, then slipped the knives into her belt.
"You wanna leave now?" I asked carefully, "The hovercraft needs to pick up... um... the body."
Misty nodded sadly, her gaze switching back to the sandy grave her sister was rotting away in. Her eyes teared up and she mumbled something under her breath, then turned away and pushed past Rudy and Doug, walking along the sand. The rest of us hurried to catch up, and Doug fell in step with me.
"You think it was a good idea for her to join?" he asked softly. I shrugged.
"As long as she doesn't backstab, I'm cool with it. I'm just... worried." I replied. Doug nodded.
"I know what you mean," he agreed carefully. "C'mon, trees are just ahead."
Daphne Floyd POV
The first thing I heard was sobbing.
I frowned and peered through the leaves, squinting in an attempt to see in front of me. The sobbing continued, and I quickly stepped through the thin belt of trees and into a clearing. In front of me was a large puddle of blood, and several metres away was Shay Weber, curled up on the grass and lying in a puddle of her own blood. I hesitated for a moment, my hands flying to my belt with the poisons and toxins. As I took a step back, my foot stepped upon a dried leaf, and it crunched beneath my feet.
I froze, and Shay's crying instantly seized. I stood still as she staggered to her feet, and my eyes fell upon the gaping wound slicing open her arm and the numerous cuts along her legs and stomach. My jaw dropped. How had she survived that amount of blood loss?
"Get away!" Shay suddenly screamed. She ran forward, her steps faltering, and I easily stepped out of the way. Shay ran past were I previously was and then tripped over her own feet, plummeting once more to the ground. A scream tore its way out of her chest. I turned around, preparing to run before Shay tried to attack again, but a sudden sob stopped me.
I twisted around on my feet, my eyes landing upon Shay once again. She was crying, looking up at me with imploring eyes.
"Please..." Shay whispered, "Please just... kill me."
I stared at her, my breathing quickening. I couldn't just kill her. No, I couldn't. I refused to be a killer, I refused to be the monster the Capitol wanted me to be.
"Please, Daphne," Shay sobbed loudly, "I'm already dying. I just want it to be over."
"Who did this to you?" I whispered, taking a tentative step forward. I sunk to my knees beside the dying girl, hesitantly resting a hand upon her back. Shay sobbed louder.
"R-Rosalie... please, I just want to go home to mum..."
Sadness hit me like a ton of bricks. Shay had been in my year back in District 10. She was always so quiet, but no one ever approached her. Not after her mother's death. Shay would burst into tears randomly throughout class, and was often ridiculed and mocked. There was only one other person who was teased relentlessly like Shay, but that stopped when he...
I shuddered internally. I didn't want to remember last year. Guilt would come back.
"Daphne, just kill me," Shay mumbled, "I'm dying anyway."
I stared down at the dirt, feeling tears begin to collect in my eyes. My fingers curled up and my hand fastened upon one of the syringes in my belt. I pulled it out and then grabbed one of the medicines I had.
"This one'll put you to sleep," I mumbled shakily, "Then I'll inject one that'll... um... stop your heart."
"Will it hurt?" Shay whispered. I felt my bottom lip begin to shake.
"N-no, it won't," I replied softly, "You won't feel a thing."
Shay nodded slightly and shut her eyes. I filled the syringe and shuffled closer to Shay. My hands shook but I steadied it, and I pushed the needle into Shay's arm. I pressed down on the plunger, putting the contents of the syringe into Shay's bloodstream. Shay's eyes fluttered for a moment, and then her eyes shut completely. I pulled out the syringe and then pulled out one of the toxins I had stored, filling up the syringe with that. I put the needle into Shay's skin once again and, shutting my eyes and turning away, I pressed down on the plunger.
I pulled the needle from Shay's body and put it back, turning around with my back to Shay's body. I couldn't watch her die. I just couldn't.
BOOM!
Shay was dead.
"Daphne?" I heard a voice cry out, "Daphne, where are you?"
"I'm here," I said lamely. I heard feet crunching on leaves and then Tatiana appeared from around the tree, her eyes wide as her gaze fell upon Shay's corpse.
"Oh," she whispered, "Daphne..."
I bit back a sob and shook my head, staggering to my feet.
"She asked me to do it," I mumbled. Tat nodded, a saddened look on her face.
"Let's go find Amaya and Phillip, yea?"
"Okay," I murmured. Tatiana wrapped an arm around my shoulders and we walked back into the forest, not speaking. For a few minutes, we walked in silence. Then, we heard rustling.
Tatiana immediately stopped in her tracks, her grip on my shoulder tightening as her eyes scanned the area around us.
"Who's there?" she called, suspicion in her voice. Rusting came from ahead, and a figure walked from the trees, looking far too comfortable and far too confident. My stomach twisted.
"Jay?" I mumbled shakily. Jay raised his eyebrows, a smirk on his face. Then, he leapt towards us, and both Tatiana and I screamed and stumbled back.
Jay lunged forward and locked a hand around my forearm. A yelp tore its way out of my chest and panic erupted in my body, but Jay wasn't holding on for more than 5 seconds before Tatiana burst forward, her fist colliding with Jay's jaw. My jaw dropped.
"You get away from her!" Tatiana hissed angrily. She wrapped an arm around me and shoved me behind her, shielding me with her body. Jay held onto his jaw, groaning.
"Shit!" Jay cursed loudly, dropping his hand from his face and swiping towards Tatiana, "You stupid bitch!"
"Don't touch Daphne," Tatiana snapped, "If you wanna kill her, you're gonna have to get through me."
"Tat, no," I rebutted her, but Tatiana didn't listen.
"That's not a problem for me," Jay snarled, his eyes locked on Tatiana's. Tatiana's face was stoic, but I could see a hint of panic in her eyes.
"Leave us alone," Tatiana said, "Leave us alone and we won't attack you."
Jay laughed loudly, shaking his head and snorting as if Tatiana had said the dumbest thing in the world. I peered out from behind Tatiana, my fingers curling into the fabric of her shirt.
"You?" Jay scoffed, a smirk on his face, "You attack me? You and what army? I'd beat you with my hands tied behind my back, Whiteman."
"Just..." I heard Tatiana's voice falter, "Leave us alone. Please."
"Where's the fun in that?" Jay drawled, taking a step forward, "You really think that I'm just gonna give up on this fight?"
Tatiana didn't answer.
Jay smirked, cracking his head to the side. "Time to die," he smiled menacingly. He took several steps towards us, and Tatiana stumbled back and away from him.
"No!" Tatiana yelped, staggering backwards, "Get back!"
"Easy, girls," Jay drawled, taking another step forward.
"Get away!" Tatiana yelled. She kept herself in between me and Jay, shielding me from him, "Don't touch her."
"If I want to harm your ally, I will. And there's not a damn thing you can do to change tha-" Jay never finished his sentence. Because before he could, Tatiana lurched forward and sent her fist smashing into his temple. Jay reeled back from the assault, wavering on his feet as if he were drunk. Then, he collapsed. Tatiana leapt back slightly with a small cry of alarm, her hands flying to her mouth.
"Oh my god," she mumbled, her words muffled by her hands, "I-I knocked him out."
"Daphne? Tat?" I heard voices coming from a way away. I turned. Phillip and Amaya.
"Here!" I called. I heard rustling and then Phillip and Amaya burst into the clearing, looking equally shocked and worried. Phillip's eyes fell upon Jay's unconscious figure, and his eyes widened.
"What the fuck happened?"
"He attacked us," Tatiana let out a deep breath, sounding like she had just run a marathon, "I punched him."
"You punched him?" Phillip asked incredulously. Tatiana nodded, and a grin broke out on Phillip's face.
"Jeez, Tat," he grinned, "I'm probably way more proud of you then I should be right now, but who cares? You punched Jay!"
Tatiana laughed gently. I looked back at the ground, running a hand down my face.
"Speaking of Jay, we should probably kill him now while-" Amaya stopped midsentence, her jaw hanging agape in shock. Her eyes fell upon the patch of dirt where Jay was just moments ago.
"H-He's gone."
Valentina Curtis POV
"Hey, Val!"
I glanced over my shoulder as Jay stumbled into the Cornucopia, wincing in pain and clutching his head. He staggered his way in and then leaned against the wall, shutting his eyes.
"What happened?" I asked, "I thought you were going after Phillip's alliance?"
Jay opened an eye and stared at me. I felt a presence behind me and looked over to see Rosalie, who had crossed her arms and was glaring at Jay.
"Well?" I snapped. Jay sighed deeply.
"I didn't kill any of them."
"Obviously," Rosalie scoffed, "I heard no cannon."
"Rose, shut up," I said dismissively. I heard Rosalie huff in annoyance, but she went silent. I turned back to Jay.
"I asked you a question, Jay. What. Happened?"
"I got knocked out," Jay snapped. I raised my eyebrows.
"And who - or what - did that?" I asked sternly. Jay mumbled something.
"What?" Rosalie asked in exasperation. I rolled my eyes and turned to her.
"Didn't I tell you to shut up?" I snapped. I turned back to Jay. "Was it Phillip?"
Jay shook his head and once again mumbled something.
"I can't hear you, dude-"
"Tatiana!" Jay barked angrily, "Tatiana punched me and knocked me out."
I heard Rosalie burst into a fit of laughter behind me, and I rolled my eyes.
"Did you threaten someone else in the alliance when she was there?" I asked, "Tatiana's quite protective."
"Daphne," Jay said, "I threatened Daphne, and she knocked me out."
"Mmh," I mumbled. "Okay then. Well, next time, don't stand there making threats against them and just ATTACK them, mkay?"
Jay rolled his eyes.
"Whatever you say, maam," he drawled.
Misty Wolfe POV
I trudged alongside Camille, staring at my shoes and switching my dagger between my hands as we reached the treeline. I looked up, squinting at the bright light that stabbed downwards at me. The sun had actually come out, and it was beginning to get too hot. I wiped a hand across my brow, sweat mingling with the sand that was caked across my skin. My lungs felt scratchy and every breath hurt, the sand I had breathed in was still collected in it.
"You alright?" Doug asked from beside me. I curled my lip, annoyance on my face.
"Swell," I drawled. Doug sighed.
"How are you, really?"
Sad.
Angry.
Confused.
Worried.
Paranoid.
Terrified.
"Fine," I answered emotionlessly, "I'm fine."
Doug looked at me for a few moments, his face in a grimace. He knew I was lying, but he didn't push it and just continued to walk.
Camille skittered up to a tree and darted behind it. A minute later she popped her head out from behind it, poking out her tongue cheekily at Rudy. He laughed and shoved her gently.
"Are they dating?" I asked Doug quietly. He snorted.
"Nah, nah they're not," Doug answered. He mumbled something else, but I didn't quite catch it.
Suddenly, a scream tore through the air, in the forest. I immediately sprinted forward, chasing after where Camille and Rudy had disappeared.
"Don't kill me, please!" A voice cried, "Oh god, please, don't kill me."
All I knew was that it wasn't Camille or Rudy. They'd found another tribute. I burst into the clearing, coming to a standstill beside Camille. In front of us was a girl. I recognized her.
Santana Higgins from District 12 stood, staring at us with her hands shaking and her eyes wide. In her grip was a very thin, very sharp, very nasty looking knife, and a pitiful small backpack was hanging off one of her shoulders. Her hair was up in a bun, but pieces were coming out and framed her face. Her grey eyes darted around nervously, resting upon us before looking back around at her surroundings.
I frowned. For lack of better words, something about her was... off.
"Please, please don't kill me!" Santana sobbed, "I don't have any allies, please!"
I narrowed my eyes at Santana, my brows furrowed. Rudy stepped forward.
"How do we know we can trust you?" he asked carefully. Santana looked up at him, a desperate look on her face.
"You can't," she said, "You can't really. You just have to trust me. Please."
Camille's eyes flickered over to Rudy, confusion on her face. Chris and Doug exchanged a look. I glanced up at Rudy.
"Look, we'll let you stay for a bit," Rudy said finally, "But do one thing wrong and you're out. Are we clear?"
"Crystal." Santana replied softly. She picked herself up from the ground, her knife still in her grip. I kept my eyes trained on her, my brows furrowed. I didn't trust her.
Santana noticed my staring and narrowed her eyes at me, an accusing look in her eyes.
"Something wrong?" she snapped. I glanced over at the others, who had walked into the trees. I watched as Chris, the one bringing up the rear, disappeared behind a tree, and swiveled back to Santana.
"I don't like you."
Santana jutted out a hip, clicking her tongue. "Fun. I don't like you either."
I stared the girl down, my eyes narrowed into mere slits. Santana glared right back.
"Look, Misty, Renee, whatever your name is, I haven't done anything wrong. I'm just trying to get by, alright?"
"I don't care," I hissed, "Something about you isn't right. I don't trust you."
"I don't see why," Santana snapped, annoyance in her voice, "I haven't given you any reason not to trust me." And with that, she turned on her heel and walked after the others, limping slightly from a wound in her leg. I crossed my arms and began to walk after her, glaring at her.
I didn't trust her. I didn't trust her one bit.