How is this possible?!
WHO SENT HER?!
HOW DOES SHE KNOW...?!
Laurel chewed aggressively on her thumb nail as Levi dutifully wrapped bandages around her shoulder. Her new spear was a minor victory, and her injury was obnoxious to say the least, but she was far more occupied with a more distressing fact: she couldn't read the District 5 girl's mind.
This wasn't like Amelia F. Weatherlane, where Laurel suspected she was masking her thoughts on purpose. This was unlike anything she had ever experienced; there was simply nothing coming from the strange girl's head. It was utterly silent, as if she somehow knew how to prevent Laurel from hearing her.
Is she going to come for me again?! Why is she here?! Did Nate send her to get rid of me...?! How much of this did he RIG?!
"Laurel," Levi whispered harshly, "stop tensing. It's bad for your shoulder."
"You don't understand," Laurel hissed. How could she explain her worries about this new obstacle without telling Levi the truth...? "That--that girl is dangerous."
"Clearly," Levi muttered, glancing over his shoulder at Adel and Evan. Adel, who had broken her streak of her only emotions being vague confusion and subtle interest, was visibly worried over her new swordplay friend, carefully cleaning and dressing the new stab wound on his hip to the best of her ability. Laurel had heard from her thoughts that she genuinely cared about Evan; apparently, he reminded her of her deceased older brother, who was also a bit of a dork with some surprising talent in swordfighting.
"I don't--I mean I can't run into her again," Laurel insisted. "I-I have to get rid of her. I have to get her out of here as soon as possible."
"Sh-she fought all four of us and only Adel made a dent," Levi pointed out. "We...i-if we hunt her down on purpose, we're gonna lose. We're better off waiting on an arena event to get rid of her."
Laurel tensed, glaring at Levi. "I'm telling you I can't do that. Okay?! She needs to go, now!"
"Relax," Levi ordered firmly, returning Laurel's glare. "I...I don't want this to get worse and end up killing you from an infection. We just tried to kill her. And we failed. Hence me doing this."
In most circumstances, Levi snarking at her out loud would have made Laurel oddly happy. But in her current, frazzled state, his implied casualness about the danger she was in honestly scared her.
I'm in trouble! Don't you understand?! Don't you...
Don't you care...?
Even as the thought crossed her mind, Laurel knew it was unfair. How could Levi know the depths of the problems this girl's existence caused? He wasn't a mind reader.
...I have to tell him something.
"I--I-I think she's working with my father," she settled on, speaking softly enough only Levi could hear her. "She was sent in here by him to kill me, I know she was. She--she knows things about me nobody should ever know. I-if I don't get rid of her...she'll..."
Lip quivering, Laurel sucked in a breath as Levi tightened the bandages around her shoulder a final time. He sat back as he finished, frowning worriedly at Laurel. Her eyes drifted to his, where they lingered for a moment.
She's really scared, Levi thought. That...sounds terrifying. No wonder she was freaking out...
"It'll be alright," he soothed. "We'll protect you, okay? Adel is really skilled. We wouldn't let you get killed like that."
"That's the least of my worries," Laurel admitted. "What if she tells people? W-what if she finds a camera and tells everyone? What does she want from me...?! I have to know...!"
"Try to stay calm," Levi urged gently, taking Laurel's hand to prevent her from chewing her nail any lower. "She has blackmail material right now, right? Why would she waste it without getting what she wants first? She's not going to say anything before she even tells you what she's using it for." I know manipulators. If she's smart, Laurel's gonna be fine until she at least tries to get what she wants. I don't want her to rush into danger and get herself killed over this...
This actually did give Laurel pause. She had plenty of experience with manipulators herself; Miriam was well-versed in the art. Levi's theory tracked.
"...You're right," she muttered, sighing as she tried to get her emotions back in check. "You're...you're right. S-so what, we just wait until she comes back?"
"Let's think about it overnight and talk it over in the morning," Levi suggested. "We can figure out a solution if we're calm about it. Maybe if just the two of us track her down, we can figure out what she wants from you without causing another fight."
Laurel hesitated, then nodded. "Okay. ...Okay. You...you would go with me?"
Levi nodded back, smiling faintly. She said I remind her of her brother. ...I guess she's sorta like a cool big sister. Or at least what I assume a big sister would be. I guess I have no frame of reference.
Laurel couldn't help a fond smile. ...I'm gonna be okay. We'll figure this out together.
Right...everything will be okay.
Whatever it was Nathaniel was after by sending this girl into the Games, Laurel and her favorite survivor could handle it, right? She wouldn't die so easily. And neither would Levi, as much as their mutual enemy may believe otherwise.
They just had to play their cards right. Laurel wasn't ready to give up yet.
I'm coming for you.
The Hunger Games: Day Five
Fallen Tributes:
None
Remaining Tributes: 18/24
Alliances:
Piero/Marco/Fuyuko
Hinata/Kikue/Touma
Aoi/Cerys/Naoki/Madoka/Oni
Adel/Evan/Laurel/Levi (Careers)
Faqir/Haruka
Uriel (solo)
Alliances By Location:
Jungle: Piero/Marco/Fuyuko
Tunnels: Hinata/Kikue/Touma, Aoi/Cerys/Naoki/Madoka/Oni
Caves: Adel/Evan/Laurel/Levi, Uriel
Ruins: Faqir/Haruka
Cornucopia: None
I'm watching you, firecracker.
YOU ARE READING
Firecracker: The 99th Games Book One
FanficA Hunger Games fanfiction of sorts featuring the original characters I'm obsessed with right now. Oops? [TW: This book contains discussions of suicide, violence, limited sexual assault and discussions of sexual trauma, and Lots Of Mean Words. Procee...
