ACT I, CHAPTER FIFTEEN ❛madaket alone ❜ content:blood/injury, death, violence, dissociation, vomiting/emetophobia, general angst.
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Fumbling through the darkness, her hands the only thing standing between her and a fall to her death, turns out to be one of the most horrifying things that Madaket has had to endure in her fifteen years of living. Without any light, she's entirely blind to predators lurking inside of the cave. The only sign that she isn't alone is the occasional scuttling of animal legs against the damp floors, or the flap of wings from somewhere in the caverns above. She can only imagine where she's going, and consequentially, she moves slow.
She inches her feet out in front of her cautiously, each step making her breath hitch in her throat. The wounds on her palms are aching worse by the minute as she shakily feels along the rock with her hands. Sharp edges have cut through any scabs that had formed, and the fresh blood is hot and slick between her fingers. But putting her hands down would mean staggering blindly through the pitch dark.
With a soft gasp, she remembers the wooden spear she tucked into her belt. Fumbling behind her, she pulls it out and taps one end along the dusty rock floor as a white cane. This way, she knows where the walls and floor are without leaving a trail of blood on the wall behind her. Skies forbid the pair from 10 find it and follow it.
Every second she's inside of the tunnels, the more she feels her chest seize in panic. It's unclear whether she's heading further into the catacombs, or making her way out. For all she knows, she could be entirely lost and will spend the rest of her remaining days roaming aimlessly without ever seeing sunlight again.
The fact that there are animals with her is also concerning. She can assume that there are rats, bats, and other vermin, but her real anxiety stems from larger muttations. The hogs and snakes come to mind. There was one cave arena years ago that had vicious saber-toothed tiger muttations with deadly canines to rip out the throats of their prey. Maybe the Gamemakers will recycle a creature like that, maybe one is already lurking in the shadows above her. A chill runs down her spine at the thought. The inky black around her seems endless. And she can't help but feel like something is breathing down her neck, waiting for the right moment to take a bite out of her.
At some point, she hears the trumpets of the Capitol anthem blaring. Faint white light trickles through a hole in the ceiling, fifteen feet high up and rimmed with jagged stalactites. She's in a round cavern, hands black with blood in the glow from the Capitol seal. Through the hole, she can make out half of the Fallen's faces and their district numbers. She swallows hard.
The boy from District 5 and both from District 11. The boy from 5 comes as a shock to Madaket, and it takes her a second to let it fully sink in as she continues moving through the tunnels. He was one of the few tributes that Madaket saw some competition in. She wonders what got him in the end. Maybe the Careers got the better of him, or maybe he just fell into a pit of snakes.
