The mindscape games (on hiatus/possibly discontinued)

The countdown

Virgil's POV:

    We had a free day after the ratings, but tomorrow would be the day the games began. Me and Reina didn't talk about it, and I planned on calling Janus and Remy one last time tonight to say goodbye since it would probably be my last chance ever to do so. Hearing a knock on our Suite door, Ginny, Reina, Luna, and myself all looked at each other confused. Seeing as there would be no reason for someone to be at our door especially now that evening had rolled around for about an hour or so already. I got the door myself and opened it to reveal Roman, Logan, and Patton outside.
    "Hey... what are you guys doing here?" I asked stepping back to let them in.
    "Well we wanted to talk to you and Reina about tomorrow" Roman explained, making sure to steer away from mentioning the actual games that were to take place.
    "So we came to invite you to hang out with us in the lobby, it's completely empty at the moment, and we may or may not have pulled a few strings to keep it that way" Logan added with a calm smile.
    "Well I wouldn't mind, what about you Reina?" I asked and she shrugged and nodded her head.
    "I'm all in" she agreed.
    "Well, let's get going I guess. We wouldn't want to take too long so we can all get enough rest for tomorrow" Roman announced, I quickly shared a look with Luna, as she mentally communicated to me "be careful, and keep your guard up" I gave her short nod and she did the same to me. We followed them all down to the lobby and sat down in a circle in the comfy arm-chairs. "So, we should probably discuss what we should do tomorrow when the games start" Roman began and Reina looked at him confused as well as myself.
    "Wait, what do you mean we?" She asked him and Patton tilted his head curiously.
    "Aren't we in an alliance?" He asked and I looked at them shocked while Reina's eyes bugged out of her head.
    "I told you guys not to assume..." Logan murmured and took off his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose. He put his glasses back on and looked to both of us. "Roman, Patton, and myself already agreed the moment we all got here that we would be a team. However when we met you Virgil and got to know both you and Reina. We all discussed among ourselves and agreed we wanted to team up with you two as well. Not for your skills but so we could help protect our friends together" he explained "I believe both Roman and Patton forgot that we haven't even proposed the idea to you yet. But what do you say? Are you in?" He asked and I struggled to keep a monotone expression wanting to scream out yes as much as possible.
    "How do you know we can trust you?" I asked skeptically, "you could be bluffing us both for all I know and kill us the second you get the chance" I added and Patton's eyes widened fearfully at just the mention of the idea.
    "Well how do you know you can trust Reina? And how can Reina know she can trust you? We know your score has put an even bigger target on your back then before. And as incredible as you are in a fight, you both can't take them on alone. We want to help, and as much as we are concerned we care for you both a lot, even though we barely just met each other a little over a month ago." Logan continued, damn him for looking so hot while talking all smart like that. "If we can help it, we want to help you get a better chance to win the games and to see your brother again Virgil" Logan added sending a pang through my heart. Of course he knew using my brother was a weakness against me. And the offer seemed genuine. I don't even think Patton had the courage to lie to be honest. "So what do you both say?" He asked and I looked over to Reina.
    "They're being honest, they're not lying" I told her "whatever you choose to do is what I choose as well so it's your call" I told her and she thought about it.
    "What about the tributes in your district?" She asked them after awhile.
    "They wouldn't want to join us, it's clear from their actions they want to go solo" Logan explained.
    "I don't see any reason to say no, so yeah, me and Virgil are in" Audrey answered and I sighed in relief.
    "Now that that's settled, back to the original question, what do we do when the horn goes off?" Roman asked again "Do we go for the cornucopia? Or do we make a break for it and run to each other as far as we can go?" He added and I thought deeply for a second, going to the cornucopia would give us a better chance to get weapons and myself a bow and quiver full of arrows. But it had to high of a risk of us all getting slaughtered. And from what I remember from watching the past games on TV, there is a backpack behind each tributes podiums at the start.
    "No one goes near the cornucopia, from my knowledge of watching the past games, there is a backpack behind each tributes podiums. In the backpack is a variety of randomly chosen supplies, including possibly a dagger or a survival knife we can use as a weapon. Even though a bow and arrow is my area of expertise, I can wield a dagger or switch-blade really well too." I explained, and Reina nodded her head to confirm.
    "It's true, Luna gave him a knife on the train here to see his aim on the dart board and he got a direct bullseye." Reina vouched for me and the three of them nodded.
    "So once we get the backpacks, then what?" Patton asked,
    "If any of you are in sight, follow me wherever I run off too, but try to make it look like you're not following me, I'll stop a little while away to meet up with you guys or what may remain of you guys, and then we'll continue to run to put as much distance between us and the others" I planned out and they nodded to show they understood. "So it's clear what we're going to do?" I asked to clarify.
    "Yeah, great plan by the way Virgil" Logan confirmed, and complimented and I smiled.
    "Well then, see you guys tomorrow I guess" I told them and stood up holding out my hand to shake, while Reina slowly stood up herself. The trio stood up at the same time looking to each other with a smile. And silently communicated to each other. The next thing I know I was pulled into a group hug with all three of them, and once my mind caught up and processed what just happened I just snickered and hugged them back.
    "You too Reina! Get in here!" Patton exclaimed, and I felt Reina move in and join the hug as well. We let go after awhile and I sighed.
    "Goodnight you guys, get some rest" I told them with a small smile and they smiled back while nodding.
    "Patton said there was employees giving out hot chocolate near here so we were going to grab a mug before heading up. Goodnight you guys" Roman explained and we waved as we left to the elevator. When the doors closed Reina started to talk.
    "It's weird isn't it? Knowing we could die tomorrow, it just doesn't feel real" she told me and I looked to her and examined her features. She looked... tired, and defeated. Like she knew exactly when, where, and how she was going to die. I placed my hand on her shoulder and she looked up to me.
    "Listen to me carefully Reina, I am going to do everything in my power to make sure that you, Logan, Roman, and Patton won't come anywhere close to death tomorrow, for as long as I can I will make sure to protect you and keep us all alive. Now I don't say this often, but you've been like family to me since we've been here. It takes me awhile to trust anyone, but you somehow clawed your way into my heart enough for me to care about you. And that's saying something since I don't usually like people" I told her and she smirked at the end. "And you're not alone when you think that, this whole concept is still so surreal to me. But it's ok to be scared" I reassured her and she let out a soft sigh.
    "Ok, thanks Virge. If you'd want to know I see you as family too" she admitted and the elevator came to a stop at our Suite and we entered.
    "What did they want?" Luna asked me immediately and seriously as soon as we stepped inside.
    "Well we've got an alliance in place and a plan for tomorrow" I told her and she looked at me like I had lost it.
    "They could be tricking you for all you know and set a trap for both of you!" She hissed and we both shook our head quickly.
    "No, the offer was genuine, none of them were lying and genuinely wanted to help us" I told her seriously "when it comes to people lying I have a sixth sense that can sense when they lie or tell the truth. I've had to use it a lot on my brother as he has a habit to lie and he sometimes can't help it." I explained and Luna sighed deeply.
    "You two better know what you're doing," she mumbled, she then smiled softly and ruffled our hair like usual "now get your asses to bed squirts, tomorrow is the big day" she told us and we smiled back.
    "Goodnight Luna, if Ginny is around or up, tell her we say goodnight too" Reina told her, I thought for a moment before deciding to do something and grabbed Reina's wrist pulling her in for us to both hug her.
    "Thank you Luna, you've done a lot for us, and the same goes for Ginny so hug her and tell her what we said if we don't see her tomorrow" I thanked her and after a moment or so we felt her arms lightly hug us back.
    "Damn you squirts for being so helplessly adorable" She grumbled and we all laughed with each other. We said goodbye one last time and I headed off to my room, slipping into the silk pajamas I would be wearing for the last night, I slipped under the fluffy comforter of my bed I'd never get to sleep in again and drifted off to sleep to the sound of the artificial forest for the very last time.