𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧 | 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟏𝟏𝟕𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬

[33] - Against the Odds

^I showed Russell's picture a while ago, but here it is again!

~ ~ ~

As the day begins to expire, I feel my determination return piece by broken piece. It's mostly fueled by my hatred for Midas - somehow, I need him to pay for what he's done to me. Even though it seems impossible, if I can help Russell win these Games, it'll be all the payback I need.

"You should open your bag," Russell says, pulling my torn bag out of his larger one. "I had to take it off when you were unconscious, but I kept it closed. You should be the one to open it."

I take my bag from Russell with a grateful smile. In the chaos of today, I'd nearly forgotten about my gift from the Gamemakers. My bag has a hole straight through it, and blood stains the backside. I flip the bag over to its clean side, unzipping it to reveal its contents.

"Shoes," I say with a sigh of relief. After a week of walking across the Arena barefoot, I feel like I've just won all the money in the world. It's the little things.

"Yeah, care to explain why you've been running around barefoot?" Russell asks, raising an eyebrow at me as I carefully slip my new shoes on. "Or why you have no supplies at all?"

"Long story," I sigh.

"I don't have anything else to do," Russell says with a laugh.

I shake my head; I've only just gotten over Damien's death, and I don't even want to think about my former best friend right now. "Tomorrow," I concede. Russell gives me a nod.

"We can probably get rid of this now," Russell says, shaking my ruined, blood-stained bag around. It looks even more depressing without anything in it. 

"It's a shame they only put one thing in there," I say. "The Feast was pretty lame, to be honest. I would've loved a new knife or some food. We only got one thing."

"Well, the Careers didn't," Russell sighs.

"No, not just them," I counter. "All the pairs left got that bonus gift, remember?"

"So... the Careers," Russell says, staring down at me. He's not smiling now. "The last pair was Tina and Mickey, and he died a few days before the Feast."

I think for a moment, and I realize that he's right. The only sibling pairs left in here are the Careers: Midas and Trent, Amanda and Calista. Trent's dead now, but Midas still got that bonus gift.

"Seems a little coincidental, doesn't it?" Russell says nonchalantly as he unpacks a few berries from his bag.

I see what's Russell's getting at - it's not coincidental at all. I remember what Simon told me before the Games began: four of the nine Victors overseen by Helvius were Careers, and two others were strong enough to be considered in the same category. Is it a coincidence that Helvius gave yet another advantage to the strongest tributes in here?

The thought makes me sick. Sometimes I get lost in the chaos of the Arena, and it takes a small thing like this to remind me that I'm completely at Helvius' mercy. He holds the power in here, and he lets me know it at every turn.

"There's no way we're going to win this, Russell," I whisper. "The odds are never in our favor."

"Come on," Russell says with a sigh, passing me a fistful of berries to cheer me up. "There are only six of us left in here, Luna. Think of all the people who didn't make it this far."

I think about it for a moment. I didn't realize it, but Russell's right - only six of us remain. "Six left..." I mutter. "And three of them are Careers."

"Three of them are Careers who are itching to win," Russell says. "And if you're already counting us as dead, you can imagine that they're doing the same. I wonder what it would take for them to just... snap."

Now Russell's making me think. I know Midas, Amanda, and Calista don't think that Russell and I could stand a chance against them, and Colby is strong but not nearly as prepared as they are.

"So if we wait long enough..." I muse, "They might turn on each other."

"Wouldn't you?" Russell asks. "If Midas kills Amanda and Calista, he's practically won, hasn't he?"

"But we have a much better chance against one of them instead of three," I finish. 

I can see a glimmer in Russell's eye now. "Exactly," he says with a smile.

"You're a lot wiser than you should be," I say, raising an eyebrow at the small boy. "I like how you think."

"Well, I've had a lot of time to think about it," Russell says with a sigh. "I knew I wouldn't be able to stay with Tina and Mickey forever."

The moon flashes red above us; Russell barely gives it a glance, as if it's any other normal occurrence. I guess he's just as accustomed to it now as I am.

Silence fills the Arena, and the Fallen Tributes appear. Next to me, Russell watches the procession attentively; I'm not sure I'll be able to handle seeing my last remaining ally in the sky, but I have to try.

Trent appears first, staring down at us with a forlorn expression on his face. Somewhere out there, I know that Midas is mourning his brother's death, and that thought brings me joy. Now he knows how I feel; now he knows how he made me feel when he killed Damien. Hopefully, Midas will be the next to go.

Trent fades away, and there she is. Seeing Sienna's face again breaks through my thin, cracked barrier, and I feel like I've been hit by a train of emotion. I can't watch this - seeing her face brings back memories of everything she said to me today. That girl was the only thing I had left to live for, and she left me to die.

When the Fallen Tributes fade from the sky, Russell looks upset, too. It must be disturbing for him to see Tina in the sky. Now it all feels real: with three fewer competitors, there are really only six of us in here.

Get some sleep, Russell mouths to me. You have to heal.

I shake my head. You sleep first, I insist. After dragging me out here and saving my life, he deserves to rest. I'll wake you later.

Russell smiles, mouthing a quick thank you before closing his eyes. Even though I'm the one watching over both of us, I still feel safer being around someone like Russell. After days of hiding alone in trees, I finally have someone to navigate this Arena with.

I watch the small boy sleep next to me, and through all of the emotional turmoil I'm experiencing, I feel oddly at peace. A few hours ago, I thought my life was over, and I wanted my life to end. I need to do everything I can to help Russell make it out of here alive; it's the least I can do. How else do you repay the boy who convinced you that your life was worth living?