Firecracker: The 99th Games Book One

Train Rides, Districts 1-3

District 1

"Cerys."

Cerys covered his face with his arms, hyperventilating. He had hoped having a chance to say goodbye to his parents would help him calm down. Instead, it only made him more terrified. How was a man who had been raised to be a model possibly win a battle royale?

"Cerys. Stop crying, d*mmit."

Cerys laughed hoarsely, throat burning. Why was it so hard to breathe?

"Augh, just--look, just count with me and breathe, okay? I can't spend the entire ride calming you down from a panic attack!"

Somehow, Mercy's enduringly sharp tone genuinely was soothing. Mercy was here. She would find a way to keep him safe. She had to.

"One, two, three, four, five..."

Six, seven, eight, nine, ten...

"Backwards now, right? Ten, nine, eight, seven, six..."

Five, four, three, two, one...

Cerys lost track of how long he and Mercy spent trying to calm him down. He hoped however long it was, it left plenty of room for Mercy to comfort Chou, too.

You're not the only person who needs her. Please try to stay calm...

"...Are you done being a pansy?" Mercy asked, finally.

Cerys chuckled to himself, sniffling. "Y-you really ought to work on building empathy, darling."

"I don't have the time or the energy for something so useless," Mercy muttered. "...You're calmer now."

Cerys shrugged. "...Somehow, your complete lack of gentleness is actually a bit charming."

Mercy scoffed, avoiding his eyes for a moment. "...You're going to be fine, Cerys."

Cerys snorted in bitter amusement.

"I'm serious, a*s," Mercy muttered, angling her sharp gaze back at him. "You have charisma. Everyone likes you. Use that to your advantage and build an advantageous alliance."

Cerys shifted, frowning slightly. "And...you think that will be enough?"

"I mean, that's not all the advice I have for you," Mercy said. "But it's enough of a starting point. I'm not going to let you go in there without preparing you for the worst."

"Are you allowed to have clear favorites? What about Chou?"

Mercy was quiet for a moment. She glanced down at her hands, something flickering in her eyes. "...Only one of you can win anyways. I'm not gonna pretend she has a chance when you're the only one I care about."

Cerys flinched. If his victory meant dooming 23 other people to death...frankly, he wasn't sure he wanted to win.

But it would happen that way no matter who the Victor was. Maybe he just had to suck it up and pray everyone else who died out there had nothing to do with him.

"...I can't take a life," he admitted quietly. "I'm...afraid empathy is useless in that sense."

Mercy sighed. "That's what I was afraid of," she said. "It'll be fine. Just...find people who can do the killing for you. But you don't want anyone too unstable, like the girl from District 2 seems to be. And I can't in good conscience suggest the brothers from District 4. They'll sell you out in a second to save each other. The boy from District 3 has a family to get home to..."