Firecracker: The 99th Games Book One

Arena, Night 7

Thank whoever was up there that Uriel chose to head for the Cornucopia when she did.

It was uncomfortable being lightly shook around inside a huge metal horn when the earthquake struck, but Uriel was perfectly safe from any flying debris that was crashing down all around her. If she got hit by a tree, or smacked in the torso by a falling rock, that...would have been game over.

She was tough, but not invincible. A great enough force could knock some of her circuits out of their sockets, rendering her essentially dead until someone tried to put her back online. Was that even possible? What if the Capitolites didn't realize she was a gynoid by now and just tossed her body into a coffin to be buried like any other human?

Shivering, Uriel pulled her blanket further around her shoulders. Alarm bells were going wild in her head, lines of code flashing red and yellow in attempts to corral her into something like "fear." She didn't want to be left to rust six feet under after making a careless mistake. What kind of life would this be if that was how it ultimately ended?

It didn't matter. She was safe now, at least.

Faint voices sounded in the distance. Not at all excited to find out who they were, Uriel buried herself among a pile of weapons, empty boxes, and discarded backpacks as they grew closer.

"You sure you're okay?"

"I-I mean, as okay as I can be..."

...The boys? That sounded like Faqir and Haruka again. When had they gotten back here? Did they see Uriel on the plateau after all and decide to follow her down?

She stayed hidden as their voices grew closer. No way was she about to save these two again.

"Wait," Haruka's voice insisted. "What if Clare's still here?"

"She must have left when everything was shaken up earlier, right?" Faqir asked. "I'm sure it's fine! Don't worry about it too much!"

Uriel cursed under her breath. What were the odds these two would just leave her alone if she revealed herself?

High enough to risk. She popped out from behind her blanket fort, glaring across at the two as they started entering the Cornucopia. "Yo. I'm still here and I still don't like you. How did you two dorks even survive?"

Haruka jumped at least a foot in the air, hugging Faqir from behind. Faqir seemed startled, but relaxed far more quickly, already stepping back out of the Cornucopia.

"Oh, hey, you're okay!" he exclaimed. "That's good to know. We mostly just ran for our lives and jumped over fallen tree trunks until we made it here. Mind if we just hang out outside the Cornucopia for a bit?"

"Fine, whatever, just don't tell anyone I'm here," Uriel mumbled. "And don't talk to me."

Faqir nodded, ushering Haruka back into the open. "Got it, no problem. ...Thanks."

As obnoxious as it was, there was a piece of Uriel that didn't mind being thanked. Even if it was just for not killing these two when she had ample chances.

She tucked back into her blanket fort as they left, sighing miserably to herself. At least those two idiots weren't part of the rebellion.

~*~

Two cannons. That was a lot considering how few people had died up to this point. Apparently, these earthquakes took out more people than the mutt attack did, which Laurel admitted surprised her.

She watched the night sky with the rest of the Careers as the two names appeared, secretly praying one of them was Clare Looker. Unfortunately, all she saw were one of the District 9 kids and the smart girl from District 7. Her enemy was still out there somewhere.

"...I t'ink we should finish off dose kids and de others tomorrow," Adel mused. "We know dey're 'ere, now. An' dey can't have left yet 'cause o' all de eart'quakes."

"I haven't gotten a single kill yet," Evan muttered. "You guys keep taking them all."

Adel patted his shoulder. "I'll let ye kill one tomorrow, 'kay?"

Evan was quiet, shifting. ...I don't know if I trust that. Even if she lets me kill someone, who's to say the others won't just steal my kill again? I gotta do something. I gotta make Perry proud, and show Wally and Georgia I'm not a pushover.

Laurel would have tried to find a way to reassure him, but frankly, she couldn't promise she wouldn't steal Evan's kill. If they were targeting the large alliance that was watching the kids, they would be an easy target and she needed to get out some aggression. Evan could deal with it.

You're totally gonna kill the last kid tomorrow, aren't you? Levi thought, casting a deliberate look at Laurel. She shrugged evasively, masking it as a roll of her shoulders. ...I don't know. That part feels kinda wrong to me.

After all this? Laurel raised an eyebrow at him. He shrugged back to her. ...Come to think of it, he did avoid picking fights with any of the really young tributes in the Bloodbath. I think the only people he's ever shot at were older than him.

Oh yeah...you're pretty young too, aren't you...? Sometimes, Laurel forgot her district partner was just sixteen. He was more mature than she gave him credit for, but maybe that was what unspeakable trauma did to people.

The Careers had gotten lucky in avoiding the earthquakes, admittedly. They fled the caves as soon as the first rumble hit, and spent the rest of their time sidestepping fallen rocks and avoiding the edges of the plateau as each successive aftershock struck. Things calmed down enough for Petri to send Laurel and Levi some wound ointment, at least, and Levi and Adel spent the evening carefully spreading it over Laurel's and Evan's wounds. For the time being, they were stuck on the ridge...but so was that alliance who screamed.

I let Clare beat me to the ground like it was nothing. I need to prove I'm not a pushover.

I need Nate to see me as a monster.

Evan was going to have to deal with it. Their next kill had to be Laurel's.

The Hunger Games: Day Seven

Fallen Tributes:

Kikue Noguchi, District 7

Yuno Tachibana/Kurano Oni, District 9

Remaining Tributes: 16/24

Alliances:

Piero/Marco/Fuyuko

Hinata/Touma

Aoi/Cerys/Naoki/Madoka

Adel/Evan/Laurel/Levi (Careers)

Faqir/Haruka

Uriel (solo)

Alliances By Location:

Jungle: Piero/Marco/Fuyuko, Hinata/Touma

Tunnels: None

Caves: None

Ruins: Adel/Evan/Laurel/Levi, Aoi/Cerys/Naoki/Madoka

Cornucopia: Uriel, Faqir/Haruka

I'm sorry.