Firecracker: The 99th Games Book One

Arena, Night 6 Part 1

Fuyuko was close. She could feel it.

But not close enough.

After managing to reactivate one mine near a deserted, relatively empty part of the jungle, Fuyuko and her bodyguards trekked to a far off location to let her try and track the signal. She waited until darkness had fallen over the arena to turn her phone back on and begin searching for any sort of indication as to where the mine was receiving transmissions from, pausing in the midst of her search to help reapply their medicinal ointment to Piero's wound. Already, it was starting to look better.

She was sure the app she was using should have been able to find the IP address of any computers nearby, which was supposedly the entire arena, but there was something blocking her that the commands she typed weren't breaking through. If it were a simple firewall, she would have figured out a way to bypass security by now. But this was something bigger, as if there was a device actively jamming signals.

It made sense, of course. Why take the risk of allowing someone to mess with their precious killing machine?

But somethin' has to be gettin' through. If it wasn't, they couldn't change the arena at will.

Which meant this device blocked every signal except the one being sent from the Gamemakers' controls. With a bit more processing power, could she somehow find a way to masquerade as the systems from the Capitol?

...I need that gynoid's help.

If Fuyuko could somehow figure out how she was able to receive signals and function within the arena, maybe she could get a step closer. And if her actions were preprogrammed, that meant she was a living supercomputer. Anything that unexpected would have to find a way to slip by the Capitol's failsafes, right?

It was their only chance. Fuyuko sighed miserably, turning her phone back off and beckoning the Ionica brothers closer. Marco scooted close enough that their hips were touching, while Piero lingered a few inches away out of awkwardness. Fuyuko fought the urge to blush.

Being surrounded by hunks was not helping her social anxiety.

"I--I-I can't get to anythin' with just my phone," she whispered. "But supposedly, one o' the female tributes here is an android. Er--gynoid, to be technical. Point is she's a robot."

"Wait, what? How does that work?" Marco asked.

"H*ll if I know, but I gotta find out," Fuyuko said seriously. "We need to find this chick and get her help with the signal. If I can take advantage of her processor, I think I can find a way into the system."

"So we're looking for a robot," Piero muttered. "Any clues as to where we can find her?"

"...Only that one o' the District 5 Mentors knows about 'er," Fuyuko muttered. "It could be the District 5 girl. But I got no idea where the f*ck she is."

"Maybe someone else has an idea," Marco suggested. "If we can find other tributes, we can ask if anyone's seen her."

"We need to stay on the move, then," Piero decided. "Be active in seeking her out. The longer we wait, the more attention we risk drawing. I'm surprised we're not already in hot water..."

"Literally," Fuyuko added. "I agree. Startin' tomorrow, we gotta look for others. For now, let's eat some more and get to sleep."

"Oh, I don't need any more," Piero assured. "I ate plenty earlier."

"Two beef sticks was plenty?" Marco frowned, leaning forwards to gauge Piero's expression. "I call bullsh*t. At least have some more fruit."

"I'm fine," Piero insisted. "I'm not hungry. You two eat as much as you want, okay?"

"You barely ate anythin' yesterday either," Fuyuko pointed out, admittedly worried.

"I'm just trying to help us ration," Piero said, shrugging. "I have more fat to burn than you two."

"That's not really how that works," Marco said. "We can always scout for plants tomorrow. I doubt we'll starve. You can afford to eat some more."

"I don't want any more," Piero said deliberately. "I'm good. Thanks for offering."

Marco narrowed his eyes, meeting Piero's gaze. Again, they held a stare. Fuyuko tried to interpret what they were thinking based on the miniscule, almost unnoticeable changes in their facial expressions.

Finally, huffing, Marco reached into the backpack with their dried fruit and pulled out the last of it, yanking out three pieces of apple and tossing them at Piero. "Eat."

Piero handed the apple slices to Fuyuko instead. "I don't need it."

"Now is not the time to try and lose weight!" Marco snapped. "We are in a survival situation! You are injured! Me and you are the only people capable of protecting Fuyuko! If you want to have body issues, have them when we get home!"

Fuyuko blinked, alert. She shoved the apples back at Piero. "Hold up, are you starvin' yourself on purpose? Don't--don't do that! Even I know not to do that! And I do that!"

Piero winced, glaring at Marco. "Marco!"

Marco threw up his hands. "What do you want from me?! Are you expecting me to just let you get fatigued and die in a fight?! Am I supposed to ignore your injury because you're being awkward?! Should I roll over and let myself lose you because you're getting self-conscious?! I'm sorry, Piero, but I won't f*cking do that!"

Fuyuko jumped, surprised by how loud he had gotten. Beside her, Piero flinched, quiet.

Marco glared at him a bit longer before his expression softened. Sighing, he crawled over to Piero and pulled him into a hug. Hesitantly, Piero hugged him back as much as he was physically able to.

"...Don't make me lose you," Marco begged. "Please. ...Please don't make me lose you."

"...I'm sorry," Piero whispered. "I...I-I'm sorry. I'll eat, promise."

Fuyuko shifted, glancing down at the mud. She couldn't deny that she felt a pang of jealousy at how close the two brothers were; the only person in her life who had ever begged her to live was her mama.

...Mama.

I...I haven't thought about Mama much lately. I feel like I'm lettin' her down. Is she watchin'? Is she rootin' for me? Is she...

...Is she still alive?

She couldn't help but empathize with Marco during moments like this. Moments when you were confronted with a loved one who seemed almost determined to die. What could they do but beg? What could they say but "please?"

Feeling lonely, she pulled out their night vision goggles and slipped them on. "...You two should get some sleep. I'll grab some dried bananas and eat more in the mornin'."

Marco nodded, taking a visibly deep breath before finally sitting back. He sniffled, wiping his eyes on his sleeve before returning to his spot on Fuyuko's other side. Silent, he pulled a few banana chips out of their bag of fruit and handed them to Fuyuko, taking the last of the fruit for himself. Fuyuko ate beside him, meeting his eyes with a reassuring smile to show him she, at least, was trying to take care of herself. Marco flashed her a slight, grateful smile.

As they finally settled down to sleep, Fuyuko noticed two of the slices of apple Piero had been given were stuffed into one of his pockets.