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Time ticked by at the speed of molasses. (Not that they could actually keep track of it- the only way they could tell time was by Jude extending her hand towards the sun and counting how many fingers were between it and the horizon. They were rough estimations at best.) The girls had formulated a plan for how they were going to get the antidote, and was as follows:
Rey and Kendy were going to the Feast. Shira and Jude were going in as backup in case the two were attacked.
Kendy would have her blaster and Rey would have her knife for point-blank combat. Jude was to take the bow, and Shira, the lightsaber. They were to hide in the bushes and only to reveal themselves if things went to hell. (And while Rey felt as though it’d be more fitting for her to have the lightsaber, she was well suited with a knife and figured it’d be easier to use if she was attacked. It also didn’t hurt that Snoke would be able to see that she wasn’t the only one who was capable of using a lightsaber- considering how gifted Shira was with a staff, both girls assumed correctly it would be fairly easy for her to use instead. Shira had spent the free time practicing wielding it and had very little trouble.)
Zah, Faesh, and Berisse, on the other hand, were to stay back with Naysori. They’d prevent her from doing anything drastic, should she wake up. They were also to protect her if any wandering Career, non-Career or ex-Career came upon their cave.
Now all they needed was for the sun to set.
"What do you think the other groups need at the feast?" Shira asked, making small talk to pass the time. "Were any of the other Tributes burned in the fire storm, Rey?"
Rey shook her head, watching as Shira slowly swung the lightsaber back and forth. "All the fire did was herd us into the group of them by the lake. It receded back into the forest before we even heard their voices. I doubt they saw it."
“They’re probably starving.” Jude remarked. “The Careers aren’t used to actually being hungry because they always get the supplies at the Center- if it all got disintegrated in that fight, they likely don’t have the common sense to go hunting.”
"Good point." Shira mused. “They’ll probably have a literal feast for them in their pack at the table.”
“What about the non-Careers?” Berisse asked. “Surely they have to be smarter than that.”
“Their only strength right now is number.” Kendy recalled. “When Shira and I saw them by the cave when we were hunting, we counted them. There are seven of them, including the two exiles from the Careers. But the issue is, only one or two of them had weapons. The Careers certainly had nothing except for the skin on their backs when they joined the pack, and only this one Rodian seemed to have a weapon. It looked like a throwing spear, I wasn’t sure.”
“It’s possible that more than just her had weapons too.” Shira added. “We were hidden pretty far away from them.”
“I can’t think of anything else they’d need, though. Unless they’re equally as stupid as the Careers and haven’t fed themselves.” Kendy finished.
“I doubt that.” Faesh said. “Especially if that one Sullustan managed to kill off three of them with a flamethrower.”
“But that’s the problem. She was probably their only weapon.” Rey joined in. “Once she died, they were left with no offense or defense.”
“So they’ll have weapons, food, and medicine.” Kendy said. “Do we take all three bags or just our own?”
“Just our own.” Rey said. “If we take the others, they’ll all kill us. We won’t make it out of there with the antidote.”
“Or, we could take them all out there.” Kendy countered. “That’s what they’re probably going to be trying to do.”
“We don’t want to risk it, Kendy.” Jude said. “It’s too dangerous. We’re trying to avoid dying, remember?”
“What better way to avoid it than to eliminate all risk?”
“We’re not doing that, Kendy.” Shira rolled her eyes. “Quit being ridiculous and just follow the plan.”
“The sun’s going down.” Berisse pointed out, silencing Kendy before she could retort. “You guys should probably start heading over.”
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Quietly, Rey and Kendy led the pack through the forests and past the swamp. Every girl had her weapon out and was prepared to strike, should they encounter any Tributes in the woods.
But that didn’t seem to be a concern. In fact, the entire Arena seemed to be unnaturally quiet. As if the entirety of Coruscant was holding its breath, anticipating the upcoming showdown.
Rey felt extraordinarily nervous. It wasn’t the first time that she’d almost died, but it wasn’t as if it got any easier. Besides, she actually knew what was going to happen this time. She was consciously aware that she was walking into a trap, and not simply being nudged into other Tributes by Gamemakers. All that filled her stomach during the walk to their proposed hiding space was dread.
She was sure Jude felt the same. Her deep exhales through her mouth clearly elucidated the impression that she was trying to calm herself down. Rey realized that this was a lot different for her; this was going to be her first genuine life-threatening situation in the Arena.
But Rey couldn’t help wondering if she’d experienced similar situations before, just outside of the Games. She knew next to nothing about Jude’s affiliation with the Resistance, aside from the obvious fact that she was a part of it. Surely she’d risked her life numerous times before on their missions, right?
Or, maybe she’d just joined, and the only reason that she was in the Games to protect Rey right now was because no senior member wanted to do it. Perhaps being Rey's bodyguard was the recruiting mission that Jude had to take on so she wouldn’t be considered a Rookie anymore.
And speaking of the Resistance, did Rey even want to be part of it? She certainly didn’t like that they were the reason she was in the Games. Not that she wasn’t queasy about someone else being in her place and having to be reaped into this deathmatch, but still.
Besides, there were an unfathomable amount of other women who could’ve been chosen other than her to be their "symbol". Faesh, for example. She was the insightful one who’d shared so much disdain for the First Order the other night. Or Kendy, who was fiery enough to set every heart in Coruscant aflame if she had the desire to burn down the authoritarian government. Or even Jude, who could’ve easily persuaded everyone into idolizing her for a proletariat revolution.
But Rey? She was nothing. Her parents were nothing, her simple and uneventful life as a scavenger was nothing, her origin from the remote planet of Jakku was nothing. What place did she have in the story?
Her only connection was that she could (sort of) wield an ancient Jedi weapon and was able to telepathically communicate with the enemy. (And even that didn’t seem to be working now.)
When she got out (or frankly, if she got out), would she even see Ben? Had he forgotten about her? Was he alright?
“There it is.” Kendy whispered, interrupting Rey’s trailing thoughts. She shook her head clear and squinted into the rapidly retreating daylight. She could make out the barely visible Cornucopia- which had been entirely gutted on the inside.
“There’s nothing there.” Rey whispered back, surprised. “It’s completely empty.”
“Yes, and we'll see soon enough when the- Wait. Look over there.” Jude discreetly pointed to a barely visible figure in the shrinking light on the opposite side of them.
Rey sucked in a breath. She saw the head tails of the Togruta peeking up from behind the bush, next to two human heads.
Lucky, though, because it only appeared to be those three.
Unless they had more in hiding in other places, just like Shira and Jude were for them.
Rey sat down behind the bush, soon followed by the rest of their group. She pushed away a small section of the bush so as to watch for any activity in the center.
Kendy silently pulled out a covered bowl from her bag and offered it to the group- they were black raspberries. She must’ve found them yesterday when her and Shira were out hunting.
Rey graciously accepted the bowl and took a small handful. They were delicious and perfectly sweet- likely the best thing she’d eaten during her time in the Games. She resisted the urge to shove the entire bowl down her mouth.
It was only a matter of time until there would be some action. After the bowl had been emptied and Kendy had returned it to her bag, the girls found themselves simply waiting behind the bush. They wouldn’t dare attempt to talk at such a tense time.
Rey’s heart beat fast in her chest as the time went by, gradually becoming more and more nervous to the point where she thought she may as well explode. And the one thought that made it even worse was-
Was there even any chance that all eight of them would make it out alive?
How was it even possible that they hadn’t even lost one of them? Could all eight of them seriously make it out and go home? Or was this it? Would Rey be the one to die so that the rest of them could survive?
No matter. Rey’s thoughts were stunned silent as blinding fluorescent lights suddenly flashed on the inside of the Cornucopia. It was time for the Feast to begin.
The floor underneath the large golden entrance retracted and revealed a hole, in which a table slowly rose on a platform like the elevators that brought the Tributes into the Games in the beginning. On top were three bags with small numbers on them- 2, 3, and 11. Rey could only assume these were the numbers of their Districts- theirs was the 11 because Naysori was the one who needed it. Interesting. Those bags told them a bit about who needed help the most.
The floor closed back around the table, and the Arena was silent once more.
Rey looked over to Kendy. The two made eye contact, and their agreement was clear: Go time. The faster they got there and got out, the better their luck would be.
Together, the two sprinted out to the middle.
Rey could feel the emergence of danger before she saw it, though. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and without a second thought, she ducked and pulled Kendy along with her. The knife that Sty had thrown whizzed past and clanked off the metal of the Cornucopia behind the two.
Kendy whirled around to where the Careers were positioned underneath a large tree and immediately sent a bullet charging through the air, straight towards her head. But Sty threw up a hand and it penetrated her forearm instead. She let out a cry of pain and rage and stormed towards the girls in the middle.
Rey snatched up the bag with the 11 and turned to Kendy so that the two could run, but a second knife flew past her head and knicked her forehead, right above her eyebrow.
The pain left her hazy and disoriented, but her determination pushed it away. Her hand was clenched around the pack and the knife was situated in the other. Her eyes were unfocused, and she tried to realign them. She had to alert Kendy, they needed to get out of here.
But before she could yell out her name, she was tackled to the ground by none other than Sty.
The two rolled over each other, grunting and breathing heavily from the effort. Rey's hand dropped both the knife- the one she'd stolen from Sty in the beginning of the Games, how ironic- and the pack in the effort to try and force the girl off of her. But a few scuffs later, Sty had pinned Rey down with a knife in her right hand.
Rey’s eyes searched frantically around for Kendy, but she was nowhere in sight. Had she been attacked too?
Where were Jude and Shira?!
Rey tried harder to get the girl off of her, but it was no use. Sty outweighed her by 50 pounds of pure muscle at least- there was no budging her.
“So tell me, you slimy bitch.” Sty huffed out, her knee holding the girl to the ground, the knife in her hand held directly to her throat. “How on earth did you get an 11 when you can barely even run?”
Rey’s mind was racing, but Sty was speaking calmly. As if she was stalling. As if she was dragging this death out for the audience in Coruscant, as if she had time.
Time was good for now, Rey realized. As long as Sty was talking, she was still living.
“How on earth are you still alive when you can’t even climb a tree?” Rey snarled back. “You tell me, Sty, how I'm still alive.” She seethed. “Half of these Games, we were hiding directly above your camp in that big tree. We were always two steps ahead of you, and you didn’t even know it.”
Sty let out a scream of rage and pushed the knife harder, cutting a thin, bloody line into Rey’s neck. “Everybody said I was crazy. I knew it all along that you guys were together. That's why you're here, isn't it, twelve? That pack's for some baby back in the tree. Can't even get her own supplies."
She laughed as Rey struggled to speak with the knife against her throat.
"But does it matter now? Where’s the rest of your crew, huh? They’re not dead, I know it. Did you and that green-haired whore come alone? Are you dense? Jun’s got her now, and she’ll be dead in moments. And you’re going to die tonight too, twelve. There’s nobody left who can save you now.”
But just as she brought the knife up to stab her, a piercing scream came out from behind them. It was enough to catch Sty off-guard. When she looked up to where it had come from, Rey saw the opportunity and took it. She thrust her head up directly into Sty’s jaw. Sty cried out and immediately reached for her chin, releasing Rey’s arm in the process. With as much force as she could muster, Rey shoved Sty from off of her and kneed her in the stomach before scrambling to get off the ground and find Kendy before it was too late.
But it wasn’t Kendy who was on the ground. The scream had come from a human girl from 1, now lying on the ground, with a gaping hole in her chest. Shira was standing over her, lightsaber in hand, consoling Kendy.
Three canonshots fired as Rey made her way over to the two. Jude made her way out of the forest to join them, bow in hand.
Rey quickly looked over to the ground where, in the heat of the moment, she’d momentarily forgotten about Sty.
But the girl was gone. She’d taken off running in the opposite direction, too far now to chase. Her pack was gone from the table, and so was the non-Careers- they’d likely seized their opportunity when Sty and the other Career had attacked Rey and Kendy. All that was left now were the dead body of the Career and the pack that Rey had grabbed, hanging from a loose grip in her hand. Unfortunately, Sty had taken back the knife Rey had dropped in their fight.
“I heard three canonshots.” Kendy wheezed, still out of breath from almost dying at the hands of the other Career. “I only see one dead. Where are the others?”
“It was Shira.” Jude said, amazed. “When we were hiding in the bushes, she saw one of those Rodians gearing up to send a throwing spear through your head, Rey. I went to shoot her, but Shira barrelled through and struck her down with the lightsaber before I could. And then she killed the other one with her. I shot the one who was holding Kendy and was prepared to shoot Sty, but then Shira finished off the other one and you managed to free yourself when she looked up.”
Shira shrugged and marveled at the lightsaber blade. “It was incredible. The thing is basically a magical staff.”
Even though it should’ve been the farthest thing from her mind, Rey couldn’t help feeling relieved that Shira was good at wielding a lightsaber. If someone obviously not Force-Sensitive could do it just as well, Snoke wouldn’t be nearly as suspicious that Rey could do it too.
“We should probably head back.” Jude remarked after a moment of silence. “Naysori will be waking up any moment now.”
The lights flickered out inside the Cornucopia as the squad of victorious girls made their way back to the expectant Naysori, concealed in the darkness of the night.
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⊱ Only a few more chapters, gang. Make sure to like and comment if you enjoyed, and I mean, tell me if you didn't lmao <3