Firecracker: The 99th Games Book One

Arena, Day 2 Part 1

Haruka stared up at the sky, listless and empty. Faqir had needed to practically carry him away from the Cornucopia, in addition to hauling all the supplies they'd amassed. If Haruka had any energy left, he would have thanked his last ally.

The sun looked so real. It was so humid in this jungle. Was it sweat dripping down Haruka's face, or tears?

He saw something briefly pop into his field of vision. It was hard to make out past the blur. Was someone trying to talk to him...?

The sky was so blue. If he watched it long enough, would he see Tori's angelic form descending from the clouds? Would he see one of the planes she'd flown drifting across the sky?

It wasn't until he was lifted off the ground and brought into a tight hug that he finally came back to reality.

"Please." Faqir's voice sounded so desperate. "I...I-I'm not good at being alone. I'm terrified. I need you to come back to me. Just...eat something, s-say something...please. ...What am I gonna do...?"

...I'm giving up on you, aren't I?

I don't know what to do either. I haven't been this depressed in a long time.

Haruka sniffled, slowly moving his arms back around Faqir. Faqir stiffened, then squeezed him closer, pulling Haruka's head into his chest. Haruka broke into quiet crying, shaking.

"...There you are," Faqir whispered. "There you are...i-it's okay now. Just...stay with me. Please, stay with me. I'm still here, right...? You're not alone. ...Are you hungry? You must be hungry. W-we have dried beef and dried fruit. I'm pretty sure I'm not usually supposed to eat random meat, but f*ck it, my parents aren't here to make me adhere to religious practices and I like jerky."

Haruka snorted softly, leaning into Faqir. ...He's warm.

I...I let Tori die...

"...It's not your fault," Faqir insisted. "You've got to understand that. You did everything you could."

Haruka sniffled again, licking his lips. He suddenly realized how thirsty he was.

"...Hey," Faqir murmured, gently. "We're gonna be okay. I promise. But...I need you to try to work with me, okay...?"

Still too drained to speak, Haruka merely nodded.

"'Atta boy." Sighing, Faqir finally leaned back from Haruka, taking him by the shoulders. He smiled crookedly, then reached down to one of their backpacks and pulled out a pack of dried meat. "Here. Try...try to eat something. You need your strength. We've got one water bottle, so we're gonna have to share for now. I think something in this pack is supposed to be for helping us get clean water, but I don't totally remember everything we learned and I...I-I really need your help. Are...are you with me? Are you back?"

Haruka stared at the backpack for a moment, eyesight blurry. He wiped at his eyes, finally fully looking at Faqir's face. His ally looked exhausted, as if he had aged years in the time since Haruka lost his sense of reality. How long had he been zoned out...? Was that what was called "dissociating?"

Touched by his hard work caring for a catatonic ally, despite the flimsiness of their initial decision to work together, Haruka reached out to touch Faqir's cheek. Faqir's expression faded to something more solemn, and he held Haruka's hand against his face, eyes falling onto the ground.

"...I'm sorry about Tori and Kyoko," he said quietly. "I...I shouldn't have run off right away. I should have worked harder to protect them. B-but actually being there...I got...I got scared. ...I-I was so d*mn scared that I ran away and left them to die. I let you down."