"Dahlia Blossom. Don't let the name fool you. She's better known as the Black Dahlia. And she didn't earn that nickname by smiling and looking pretty."
"She sure knows how to perform for the camera."
"Because she knows how to play the game. She alwa...
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The Careers rushed back to the Cornucopia after their unsuccessful hunt, hearing the boom of the cannon echo through the tunnels. They couldn't understand why the only thing they had found in the tunnel was an abandoned flashlight. Until they arrived back at the Cornucopia to discover they had been tricked.
Pip was released from his place tied up against the stalagmite and had been replaced by someone much more familiar to the group. Crystal was now strung up in his place, a smile dripping with blood carved into the corners of her mouth. Their supplies had also been raided with handfuls of food and water canisters now missing.
Ryker growls out in fury, "No!" He throws a nearby crate into the metal wall of the Cornucopia, watching it clatter loudly against the side. The Black Dahlia had struck them again.
•——————•°•✿•°•——————•
Dahlia's limbs screamed out in agony as she scaled the rocky wall to reach the surface once more. Though she had managed to wash most of Crystal's blood off in the small puddle of water surrounding the Cornucopia, it felt like the thick liquid still covered her hands. Swapping Pip's body for Crystal's brought her a sense of justice and satisfaction, but it didn't make her feel any less guilty for what she'd done.
Relief flooded through her as she finally neared the top until there was another boom of the cannon. Dahlia feared the worst as she heard the thud of a body landing on the hatch... Cove. Scrambling faster than she had ever done before, Dahlia tried her best to ignore the blood seeping through the cracks of the opening. Now her eyes were stinging more than her arms as they filled with unshed tears. She couldn't lose Cove. Please don't let it be her.
Pausing at the hatch, Dahlia was conflicted over what to do. If Cove was dead, then another tribute would be waiting for her up there. She couldn't call out for her ally, couldn't risk peeking out to check what had happened but she also couldn't stay where she was for much longer. Dahlia was frozen in place, stuck between a rock and a hard place.
In the end, her dilemma was solved for her as the tribute still standing seemed to drag the dead body away from the hatch. Dahlia remained still as a statue as a shadow appeared above the opening. She held her breath, not moving a muscle in an attempt to avoid detection.
"Dahlia?" A voice whispers quietly which nearly makes Dahlia's legs give out in relief. Wasting no time, she pushes the hatch open and slides through quickly. She launches herself into the older girl's arms and hugs her tightly.
"Cove." She gasps out, finding solace in the arms of her friend. Cove tenses up for a moment but relaxes as she recognises the familiar black hair. "I panicked when I heard the cannon. I thought you were dead."
"I'm here." Cove shushes the girl, rocking her back and forth soothingly. "It's alright, Lia. I'm alive." Dahlia pulls away from the hug, glancing over her shoulder to see who the cannon was for. "The District Three girl was poking around the hatch. She must've figured out the arena's layout as well." Elektra's back had been impaled by Cove's spear from behind. The poor girl wouldn't have even seen her attacker coming. "It was her life or yours."
