PREDATOR | THE HUNGER GAMES

CONSTANT LOOP

"I guess we're all really great at hiding since no one is hunting each other."

It was the thirteenth day in the arena. Only two more cannons had gone off since their thieving mission when she'd killed the boy from District 5-Lara suspected that one of the two upper district packs had started seeking out the others. The nightly announcements that aired showed that the fallen was the boy from District 6 and the girl from District 10.

Neither girl dared to venture outside the cave for more than half a day. Lara was the only one who went out to resupply their water, which they could now store thanks to the canteens that were inside the packs they'd stolen. She also took a little while longer to scrub at the ash and dirt that stuck to her arms since that night-a simple reminder of what she'd done to that boy.

There were still no animals. The birds were impossible to reach, and even their nests were too high in the trees to acquire any of their eggs. The girls had been rationing any berries and edible plants they could find. To their dismay, they also fed off the plentiful supply of worms buried beneath the damp soil in their sanctuary.

"We can't all die from starvation," Della stated, "That's too boring to televise."

Lara nodded in agreement and shuffled around in an attempt to organize their packs. She was restless and wanted to move around, but it was too dangerous of course. She couldn't expose herself just because she was antsy.

Della sharped their weapons with a rock as Lara continued to sort their remaining materials. Her ally had used almost all of the medicine; and even though she was much better than before, it still wasn't enough to make her independent from Lara's aid.

Della's stone hit metal, reverberating throughout the small space and knocking Lara back into awareness. They were both grateful it filled in for the silence they'd been in for hours.

Over their time together, the girls had practically talked about everything-from life at home to childhood fears to arena worries. Lara had never spoken to someone about herself as she had to Della. Under normal circumstances, she would've remained closed off. But not knowing who the last person you'd talk to was, or when it would be, had a certain effect on her ability to censor herself.

Della's sharpening paused for just a moment during the brief break in which she wiped her forehead of sweat. But the silence gave Lara the chance to hear a distant and growing buzz.

She crinkled her forehead and swiveled her head to find where it was coming from. Della raised her hand to strike again but Lara put her own on her wrist to stop her.

"Do you hear that?"

They both went silent and listened intently. The buzz seemed to get louder and closer. It was nearly mechanical with how in tune the overlapping noises were. But something about it was familiar in nature and surely warned of danger.

A small creature fluttered towards them. Lara was too late in recognizing it before it landed on Della's leg. Their eyes met at the same time in mutual panic before it stung and she screamed.

Tracker jackers.

"Shit! Go, go, go!" Lara yelled. The buzz now came closer as the rest of hive began to make its appearance.

She grabbed their packs and weapons before pulling Della to her feet. She urgently pushed them out of the cave just as a swarm of the trackers came hurdling through. The insects were vying for a chance to poke their bodies and cause intense hallucinations as they tore at their skin.

They ran farther and farther from the cave. The buzz followed them. Della struggled to run with her damaged leg, which now had a swollen welt on top. Lara could see that delirium was hitting her rapidly; the girl simply could not hold herself upright and her head knocked side to side in a daze.