I look at the tracks in front of us. To the left, they seem to expand out forever. To the right the train station lies a hundred yards away. Workers bustle about moving the day's produce onto the platform.
"It should be here within five minutes," I say to Talon. "But it will take some time for them to load everything."
He nods. We should wait in the trees so they don't see us.
I nod and find a spot to sit in the trees where I can still see the station. Talon sits across from me. "So, the night before my games... I was crying and then I fell asleep?"
He bites his lip. That's what I remember, but... there's something else. He looks at the ground, his eyes distant. A tissue box, but you didn't need a tissue box. He scratches his head. If you were crying you would need a tissue box. Why doesn't this make sense? He squeezes his eyes shut as if he's in pain.
"It's okay," I say quickly. "You don't have to think about it."
It doesn't make sense anymore. They dragged me away, but you weren't crying, but you were crying before, but I left when you fell asleep. He meets my eyes. What happened?
"I think the Capitol altered your memory after I went home." I don't know where to look, my eyes flicker between him and everywhere else. The train arrives and the workers begin to load it.
Aldera, what did they make me forget?
I shake my head. "I don't want to tell you. I want you to remember." I stand and move to the edge of the trees. "The train is almost loaded."
Talon comes to stand next to me but he doesn't say anything. He stares straight ahead for a moment and then focuses on the train. The workers put the last box on and wave to the conductor.
The train starts to move slowly and smoothly. Once the front passes us Talon and I dart out of the woods to run alongside it. Talon grabs ahold first hoisting himself up onto the steps. He gets a good hold of the handle then holds his other hand out to me. I take it and he pulls me up next to him. We face each other, only inches apart, breathing heavy.
We stay like that for a moment, looking into each other's eyes. For just a moment he seems to lean towards me, but then he backs away, going up the rest of the steps and into a train compartment.
I look out at the landscape that passes us by with increasing speed. I take a deep breath. Am I saying goodbye to my home forever? I push the thought away and glance in the direction Talon went. What just happened between us? Did he remember? If he did why didn't he say so? Maybe he's ashamed of it.
I sigh and follow him. Inside the compartment, Talon shuffles the boxes of produce around, making a hidden area in the corner for us to sit in. Once he finishes, he puts his bag down slides onto the floor and grabs an apple from a nearby box.
"Somebody worked hard to pick that, you know?" I sit too.
I know. That's why the Capitol doesn't deserve it.
I nod and grab an apple too. The crunch when I bite into it is music to my ears and the juice fills my mouth. "We can't eat too much from one crate. They take stock before it leaves 11 and I'm sure they count again when it reaches the Capitol."
He nods and shakes his head as he looks around. It's sick that all of this is going to the Capitol when there's starving people in the districts. You know they don't use a lot of this stuff? Either that or they just throw it up.
"Throw it up? Why would they do that?"
He looks at me with a cold look on his face. So they can eat more.
I stop chewing and look down at the apple in my hand. Suddenly, I don't have an appetite. I set the apple down and instead pull the map and compass out of my pack. "This train is going north right now, probably to make a stop in another district. Most likely 8. It'll probably turn west after that so we'll need to get off before then. It should only take an hour or two to get there." I look up and hand him the map.
He looks over it for a minute and then nods, handing it back. Okay, so now we wait.
"Yes, now we wait."
"Hello, hello, citizens of Panem! And welcome to this broadcast of the Second Annual Hunger Games! I am your host, Tiberius Flickerman! Now if you remember, we have seven tributes left and they are Corbinus and Swann from District 1, Yohan and Orchid from District 4, Brannock from District 9, Fergus from District 11, and Rendwick from District 12."
"Now let's take a look at some of the action!"
Fergus wades through the swamp with Brannock walking beside him. "Tell me, again, why we're going to look for other tributes," Fergus says looking at Brannock.
"Because," Brannock says, "then we don't have to sit around and wait for them to sneak up on us. I want these games to be over, so anything I can do to hurry them along I will."
"Does that include killing me right after we take care of someone else, or are you going to betray me before that?"
Brannock glances at Fergus and then continues to look forward. "I told you, man. We're allies."
"And if we're the last two?"
"We can't think like that."
"We have to think like that!" Fergus raises his voice. "They only call it a game, these are our lives we're talking about."
Brannock pats Fergus's shoulder. "I know. I just... don't like to think about it. It makes it harder. Now, let's keep the volume down. They could be close."
Ahead of them Rendwick looks down from high up in a tree. He pulls out a knife and lets them pass beneath him before making his way down. He lands in the swamp water softly and moves from tree to tree, slowly getting closer. When he within range he throws his knife. It hits Fergus in the leg, he cries out in pain.
Brannock turns around, wielding his own knife. He sees Rendwick and charges forward, but Rendwick dodges him. Brannock pursues Rendwick while Fergus inches onto dry ground, holding his leg.
Rendwick manages to slice Brannock, but Brannock slams into him pushing him to the ground. Brannock lands on top of Rendwick and knocks his weapon out of his hand.
"Go ahead," Rendwick says. "Kill me. I don't deserve to live."
Brannock blinks making eye contact with Rendwick. "Yes, you do," he whispers. He glances back at Fergus, who sits watching. "We all do." He gets off of Rendwick, who lays there bewildered. "I'm sorry," Brannock says to Fergus. "We can't be allies anymore."
Fergus's eyes fill with fear, but Brannock runs off into the swamp, away from him. Fergus looks back to Rendwick, who's now standing. He stares after Brannock for a moment before turning to Fergus.
"I'm sorry, I can't afford to let you live."
Fergus tries to stand, but collapses back onto the ground. He raises his sword as Rendwick approaches. Rendwick easily bats the sword away.
Fergus nods. "I've imagined death so many times." He looks up and the sun hits his face. He closes his eyes. "I didn't think it would be this sunny."
"Your games aren't going to work with me," Rendwick says pointing his knife at Fergus's chest.
"I know," Fergus says, opening his eyes. "I just want to be at peace with myself as I die." Rendwick nods in understanding. Fergus closes his eyes again. "I'm ready."
Rendwick swallows and buries his knife in Fergus's chest. Fergus shakes and opens his eyes again. They stay fixed on a spot in the sky until his body becomes still. After a moment, Rendwick pulls the knife out and laces Fergus's hand over the wound. Then he stands and walks away not flinching as a cannon fires.
Hey guys! Sorry to end on a bit of a morbid note there! What did you think of this chapter? Will Talon ever regain his memories? Do you think they'll be caught on the train? Who do you think will win the games? Let me know any predictions you have in the comments and if you liked this chapter please give it a vote! Thanks for reading!