savages.

twelve.

Zac
  
Zac couldn't believe the plan had worked. Even a full day afterwards, he couldn't help but stare at his partner in a state of both shock and relief. The sun was beginning to rise as the small fire dwindled and for the first time since the games began, Tom looked peaceful. Despite the dreary cold of the concrete room, Zac couldn't help but feel a comforting warmth within him.

As sunlight began to stream into the room, Tom finally began to stir. Groggily, he reached up to rub his eyes and as his vision cleared and landed on Zac, it was as if he was realising the success of their plan all over again. "Good morning," he mumbled with a small smile.

"Morning," responded Zac, sharing the soft expression. "Nothing to worry about last night; no sign of anyone."

Nodding, Tom pushed himself upright, fixing his hair as he slipped off the sleeping bag. "Suppose that's good and bad news," he said flippantly, glancing back over at Zac. "We do still have to..."

"I know." Zac cut off Tom as quickly as he could, half to reassure him his head was still in the game, and half because the reminder somewhat stung. It wasn't over; they still had so much fighting to do. Then... even if they fought to the end and it was just the two of them... what then? No matter what he had been trained to do, Zac couldn't kill Tom.

In attempts to clear his thoughts, Zac began to gather his belongings, avoiding Tom's gaze. "What's wrong?" Tom questioned almost immediately, picking up on Zac's silence and haste.

Sighing, Zac shook his head, slipping his knife back into his belt. "It's just... we planned this great escape as if that was the end, but it isn't. This... this can never end with us. Not together." Zac felt his voice growing weak and forced himself to stop. He wasn't weak; he couldn't be.

For a moment, the room was engulfed in a silence that weighed down on the two of them unbearably. "I know," Tom muttered eventually. "But... isn't it enough for now? This is everything we wanted; just us against the world. So what if it can't last forever? Nothing can."

Finally, Zac met Tom's eyes again. "...you're right," he practically whispered with a subtle smile.

And he was; this was what they wanted, and god knows they would fight with everything they had to keep it for as long as they could.

x

Strolling through the city was always unsettling. As he gazed up at the crumbling buildings. Zac couldn't help but wonder if this was what the Capitol would look like in hundreds of years. Dust had settled in the spots life should have been blooming and it left a certain feeling of grief for what once was. Rationally, he knew this city was never real and had been manufactured, dust and all, by the Gamemakers, but nonetheless it left a weight on his shoulders. Perhaps it was an anticipatory grief for the inevitable demise of his companionship. Perhaps he was just growing soft. Hell, maybe it was just the heat getting to him; someone behind the scenes must have become trigger-happy with the temperature control because the layer of sweat forming across his entire body was not aided by the cruel stillness of the city air.

Zac's wordless rambles were abruptly cut short by Tom's arm swinging out in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. Instantly, he entered a sort of defence mode, instinctively reaching for the handle of his knife as he waited in silence for the signal Tom had picked up.

Sure enough, he spotted a minuscule movement from behind a wall on his left. His eyes met those of Tom, who nodded, slowly lowering his arm and silently unsheathing his sword. They approached the building slowly, each halting on either side of the doorway. Just before they burst in, they heard a voice. "Alice, you've gotta get up, it's hot and you've hardly kept anything down this whole time. You're dehydrated. Please, before it's too late." Desperation heightened between every word.

At least it'd be easy.

Zac didn't waste another moment, he practically leapt into the building. Before him were two frail-looking girls impacted by the heat multitudes more than Zac and Tom combined. One was on the floor, drenched in sweat that left her blonde hair dripping and looking like she hadn't seen food in years, and the other was pale and trembling either with fear or sickness.

The familiarity of their faces didn't register with Zac, but it did with Tom. "Nice to see you again," he remarked. "I never quite liked loose ends."

Neither girl had the energy to fight or plead; the dark-haired one just stared at the much better-prepared boys with defeat in her eyes. "I'm sorry we hurt you," was all she said.

"They killed our friends," the blonde- Alice?- muttered, slowly turning to face Zac and Tom. "I guess surviving was all for nothing. All those sleepless nights just to..." she couldn't finish her sentence, instead lowering her head once again.

Sighing, Zac took a step forward. "Why are we still listening to this?" he asked with a hint of frustration. "It's kill or be killed. You know this."

The dark haired girl showed no response to Zac's words, instead kneeling and pulling her accomplice into her lap. "We haven't eaten or drank in days; we're going to die anyway," she stated.

Rolling his eyes, Tom gripped his knife and stormed over, dragging Alice from Eleanor's arms. It was then that he realised she wasn't conscious, and with a huff he threw her back to the ground.

Bang.

The cannon. Was it...?

Eleanor's eyes widened as she hurried over to Alice's utterly still body, shaking her desperately. There was no response; no movement whatsoever. Tom hardly touched her; her body must've just given in. "Looks like it's just you," Tom remarked, kneeling beside her.

She turned to look at Tom, her damp eyes filled with hatred and grief. "You're a monster," she whispered, and Tom smiled before thrusting his sword into her middle.

Resentment turned to shock, then acceptance, and then... nothing. The cannon boomed as Tom cleaned off his sword, turning back to Zac who nodded at him. "C'mon, they're gonna want to collect the bodies," he said, clapping Zac on the back as he walked out.

In a moments' hesitation, Zac glanced over at the two dead bodies before him. Two more down; it wouldn't be long until he and Tom were the only ones left. Sooner or later, he had to accept that one would have to watch the other die, or even worse, kill the other.