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chapter eight !
└─── °∘❉∘° ───┘
Juniper remained in the small room with Jessup for hours. He was capable of going to sleep peacefully, but June was unable to do so.
It was impossible for her to fall asleep, despite how hard she tried. She was tired and wanted to sleep, but she battled the urge.
She didn't want anyone to come in and murder them. Juniper yawns and squints. She just wanted to get away from here and go home.
June noticed Jessup rummaging around in his sleep after hearing noises. She rested her left hand on his forearm, but her touch jolted him awake.
When he realised it was her, he scooted away from her, peering at her as if she had done something wrong.
That's when she noticed some strange foam coming from his mouth. Without a second thought, Jessup was quick to charge at her.
Juniper was eager to get far away from him; she slipped through the small opening at the bottom of the door, and June ran down the hallway without looking back.
"Wh-What did you do to me?" Jessup whined as he stumbles when chasing her. Juniper had managed to escape from the hidden way and back into the arena.
Juniper looked around to where she could hide or at least get away from him. She spotted a large pile of rocks and ran up them.
Jessup still chased after her, "What did you do to me!" He yelled again while trying to climb up the rocks. He latched onto June's ankle, pulling her down.
She held onto the edge of the rock and kicked him. She pulled herself up and pushed him away. "What did you do to me, Juniper?" He screeched.
"I-i didn't do anything, Jessup." June sighed softly, extremely scared. She didn't know what happened or why all of a sudden he was acting like this.
Jessup began to climb closer and closer towards June, tears starting to fall. "Please." She cried trying to back away from him.
But, there wasn't much room on the rock anymore — she was now at the end.
Out of nowhere, a drone with water came flying in. It crashed into Jessup's head, which caused him to fall off the rocks.
He smacked his head into the ground as he fell back. June slowly looked down, once she gasped as she saw his lifeless body.
"Oh my god.." She covered her mouth and moved away quickly. She got off the rocks and onto the ground.
She crouched down onto the floor right next to Jessup, "Jessup?" Juniper muttered, trying to 'wake him up.' Jessup was deafeningly silent.
June was aware he was likely dying at that point. It didn't surprise her since no one was capable of surviving such a drop.
Juniper sat beside him, wiping her tears away. She couldn't believe how everything happened so quickly.
A loud noise caught June's attention and she jerked her head in motion. She rose and attempted to flee, but she became encircled by multiple tributes.
"Hello, Juniper." Treech smirked wickedly while taking a step forward.
"We've been looking forward to seeing you. Hey, Coral. Is it okay if I take her?" A grin widened on his face as he spoke.
Coral laughed. "No chance." He threw his chain at her, striking her at the ankle and knocking her to her knees.
Another tribute took a step further, but June reached for a stone and flung it at him, causing him to step back and laugh.
"Where's lover boy at?" Coral enquired. Her expression fluttered into a fake frown
"Well, well, well. He's not here. He's not here to rescue you." She smirks looking around
Suddenly, nearly a dozen drones were flying in their direction. June dodged immediately as the other tributes were hit, sending them to the ground.
June stood up while they were not looking, took a jar of water, and ran in the direction of a hiding place.
"You idiots!" Coral chastised the other tributes. "How could you let her escape!" She pushed one of the tributes aside angrily.
"Gather this water into a pile, Lumberjack!" Coral ordered. "When you're finished, you two can hang out there and keep an eye that beam while we take your little buddy back home."
Coriolanus had given June something the previous evening, and she had remembered it. The rat poison was visible when she opened the compact she had taken out of her boot.
She took off the water's lid and added a small amount while holding her breath to avoid breathing it in. She replaced the lid and tucked the compact back into her boot.
She ran to the watery pile as soon as she realised the other tributes were occupied with attempting to kill once again, another tribute.
That small group was playing a very dirty game and didn't plan on giving up anytime soon. Luckily, June also had no intention of giving up.
June started spilling them all, taking a few glances to make sure the other tributes were still occupied.
When Coral shifted about after killing Lamina, she saw Juniper. "Hey there! Grab her." She pointed to her and chased her down. The other tributes following after Coral and Juniper.
— alisha has something to say !
sorry for such a slow update on this book, i've been crazy busy. i plan on writing a lot on thursday so please don't be annoyed when no updates come out for a little while !!
