"Lui, please don't get lost. If you can't find your way back to me, then how will I be able to find someone else who waits on me hand and foot?" The sun had set from the sky and Lui threw a stick at David's head. This only made David laugh harder at the smaller man's feigned anger.
"Shut up you asshole, I'll be back as soon as I can be, I just need to find us some water," Lui tried to be angry at David, but they were only joking around with each other. With those words, Lui hugged David and set off from their cave to find a water source.
Lui thought back to what occurred only minutes before, David's teasing nature and Lui throwing a stick. He smiled fondly, he'd barely been away from him for ten minutes before he found himself missing his companion. In any other circumstances, Lui felt their camaraderie would have strengthened throughout their lives, and potentially could have flowered into something more.
Lui forced his mind away from that topic, he couldn't dwell on his emerging feelings when it was bound to end badly. Exhibit A: Brian and Brock from District 10. Textbook definition of star crossed lovers, and Lui didn't want his and David's names to be associated with that term.
Lui was stuck in his thoughts for what felt like half an hour until he reached a slow flowing stream. It was so slow that the water was almost stagnant, a faint odour rose up off the green water. If there was anything Lui remembered when it came to survival, the number one rule was to follow water upstream to where it will be fresher. He started to climb up the hill, it was more of a slope than anything.
After hiking for several minutes he reached the top and his stomach dropped. There was a camp here with a campfire still burning. Various weapons and tools lay around the fire, including knives, ropes, and flasks. Lui zoned in on the flasks, they could be filled with fresh water, he could take two. He swivelled his head quickly, looking for other signs of life and movement. When everything looked clear, Lui bolted to grab two of the plastic flasks. He unscrewed the cap off the first one when he felt that it was empty and plunged it into the flowing water. As he was halfway through filling the second one he heard a deep voice shout, and Lui's stomach dropped for a second time.
"Hey, you! What do you think you're doing?" It was the bigger man from District 3, Tyler, and he was stalking towards Lui at a terrifying pace. Three other men stood back and watched the ordeal unfold. Lui dropped the half filled container but kept the full one with him, got up, and started sprinting away. One vial of water was better than none, right?
Lui barely got halfway down the hill before Tyler tackled him and pinned him to the ground. Lui threw the flask at his head, trying to knock him out, but it backfired when Tyler swatted it aside and started pummelling Lui with his fists. Lui howled as searing pain and heat was showered down upon his small frame. He started to wriggle underneath Tyler, trying to free himself, and eventually his right arm slipped free. He swung a fist at Tyler's jaw and it landed harshly. It was Tyler's turn to wince back in pain, and Lui seized the chance to run for freedom.
He didn't make it very far, black spots were clouding his vision and his entire body ached, but he just kept limping on.
"Hey! Get back here!" Tyler shouted from behind him somewhere, he couldn't tell anymore. Then, there was a blinding pain right in his temple, probably Tyler's fist again. Lui was too disorientated to stand up anymore, so he collapsed to the side. An even worse pain collided with his other temple, he landed on something sharp. Was it a rock? Lui tried to not let the black spots cloud his vision, but soon he succumbed to their darkness.
***
David's eyes snapped open when something landed on his forehead. It crawled down the side of his face and he frantically swatted at it, trying to get the creeping sensation away. He watched as the critter, a moth, flew away from him and outside of the cave into the dark sky.
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.