𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧 | 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟏𝟏𝟕𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬

[36] - Taking a Risk

"My leg hurts," Russell moans. "This is taking forever."

I nod - it feels like today has been the longest day in here yet. I want to help Russell so badly, but I simply can't. If Russell's screams are overheard by the Careers, we'll both be dead.

It's pretty likely that the Careers will hear Russell considering they're only a few feet away from us. About an hour ago, they finally set up camp, and Russell and I climbed a nearby tree to watch from a safe distance. 

"Only a little longer," I encourage my ally. "I can start chewing on the leaves if you want."

Russell thinks for a moment before nodding. "Here," he says, passing me a small leaf from his bag.

I slowly chew on the bitter leaf, examining the branch beneath me. It's been a little rickety since I first sat on it; I hope it'll be able to hold my weight at least until tonight, when I can silently find a new one. Everything about this plan is so precarious that I just have to sit here and hope that nothing fails.

Russell grabs my arm, digging his nails in, and I hold back a yelp. I lock eyes with Russell - he looks terrified.

"I smell smoke," my ally hisses next to me, his eyes wide. I inhale, and he's right. Memories of this morning spring back as I frantically look around.

I brace myself to make a quick escape as I observe our surroundings, but I quickly spot the source of the smoke. Below us, the Careers have started a fire; I watch as Midas skewers something on a stick and holds it over the flames.

"It's just the Careers," I exhale. "We'll be okay."

Russell sighs next to me. "What a joke," he says, turning his face up to the sky. "They don't even care anymore."

I glance down at the Careers. Amanda is braiding Calista's hair as they laugh about something; across the fire, Midas is picking his fingernails with his knife. They don't look concerned at all - none of them are even looking around for other tributes. It's obvious that the Careers don't care that Russell and I are still alive. If they did, they wouldn't have lit the fire in the first place.

"They don't even care if we find them," I mutter. "Maybe they want us to, just to finish us off."

"Yeah, well, we're not stupid," Russell huffs.

The night falls, obscuring the Careers from view. From our treetop, I can barely make out the outlines of the tributes below me, illuminated by the nearby fire. Finally, the moon flashes red above us, and silence rushes in like a breath of fresh air.

The moment silence obscures us from the others, I spit Russell's medicine into my hand and rub it onto his leg. He grabs my hand I can feel him scream; luckily, in the silence of the night, he can scream all he wants. Russell's body shakes in my arms, and I try my best to hold him steady. Finally, after a few minutes, he manages to settle down.

Deep breaths, I mouth to him. It's okay.

Russell nods, squeezing his eyes shut and leaning back against me. That hurt less than last time, he says.

Above us, the sky lights up with the fallen tributes. Colby's face appears, and then he's gone. Good riddance.

Russell squeezes my leg, bringing my attention back from the sky. You didn't think you'd outlast him, did you? he says with a grin. In the darkness, I have to stare at his lips to understand what he's saying.

I smile, giving the boy a small nod. You get some sleep, I tell him. This time, he doesn't argue.

Russell's right - I never thought I'd outlast Colby, especially when he literally had his knife on my neck at the Feast. How different would things have been for him if he hadn't dropped his knife...

I think the reason I didn't expect to outlast Colby is because, whether I like it or not, he's the last frontier for me. I've already been the only one to survive between Damien and me. After that, I was the last to survive out of my allies. Now that Colby's gone, pretty much everyone I interacted with before the Games are gone. Damien, Sienna, Clay, Colby, Casper... even Lindsay. 

Below me, the Careers curl up around the fire. Amanda stays upright as the others go to sleep; I guess now that the silence of night has fallen, they're more cautious of an attack from Russell or me.

Midas lies next to the flames, his face pointing in my direction. His profile flashes in the light, and I shudder at the sight of his face. Somehow, every time I get close to him, bad things happen to the people I care about.

I can feel an ice-cold rush slowly creep up my body. Something bad is going to happen to Russell or me; we need to get out of here now.

Calm down, Luna. They're not going to hurt us. The Careers are the only tributes in here, and two of them are asleep. Amanda won't even think to look up here.

Still, I have to fight the fear that grips me as I watch trained killers sleep below me. I would've never expected to do something as risky as this, staying so close to the Career tributes as they wander the Arena. All of this seems very Damien-esque. He'd be the one to try this, and I'd be the one begging him not to, telling him that he'd be killed for it. 

How the tables have turned. Now I'm the one taking all the risks, and Damien is dead. Even though Damien's own actions caught up to him, I still think his fearlessness was his most important asset. Maybe that's why I'm doing all this, because I know that he would do it. How do we get anywhere without taking risks? Should I just turn myself into the Careers and ask them to kill me?

Finally, I think I can see everything from my brother's point of view. He was always the go-getter, and now I see why because despite my proximity to three trained murderers, I feel oddly exhilarated. I feel braver than I've ever felt, and I feel like I can do this. If anybody expects me to act the way I did in Training and simply give up, they're mistaken. I understand now what Damien was trying to tell me all along, and now that I have that knowledge, I'll never let it go.

~ ~ ~

Not my best I fear but hope you enjoy nevertheless :) Do y'all think Luna's new strategy will turn out the way she hopes?

I'm gonna start posting more chapters soon, I might be off the grid for a little while so I'm going to post a few stockpiled chapters to make up for that!

~S