Not Just A Game

Chapter 42

My heart seems to drop out of my chest, my nerves tingling throughout my body as I stare at the three tributes in front of me.

Everything in my body tells me to run, but instead I stand still, waiting for them to make the first move.

I don't know much about the three remaining tributes from District 11, but I know that Elphias is unpredictable. He's clever and doesn't seem to be the most trustworthy of the bunch. Yet he seems to be the leader of the group.

Decklin and Wolf, his district partners (the ones still alive, at least), stand a few feet behind, looking to him in their peripherals.

But Elphias seems completely unarmed, as do his partners.

He notices Dustin's makeshift knife as he spares a glance down at the waistband of his pants. His facial expression remains neutral.

He runs his hands through his hair before holding them up in surrender.

"We don't want a fight." he takes a step back, "but we can help you."

"We didn't ask for your help. Just turn around and leave." I speak slowly, weary of his next move.

Elphias clears his throat, "Don't think of it as help. I'm not trying to make friends." he speaks with a sort of resentment in his voice. "Think of it as a deal. Everyone wins."

"Until one of us dies", I think to myself.

"And what kind of deal is this?" Harley speaks up from behind me.

"We both have something the other needs. We're clearly out of food and have been for two days. Based on your overstuffed backpacks, you have just that."

I cast my eyes down at the ground, shifting the weight on my shoulders.

"And how are you going to help us?" Dustin asks with a bit of doubt in his voice.

"Two days ago, when the gong went off, the careers grabbed their weapons and ran to the volcano. They took the north side of the arena. Nobody's gone near it." He begins to explain.

"How do you know that?" Harley asks, suddenly standing right next to me.

"We've been staked out on the edge of the forest for a while. Everything leading to the volcano is miles of open fields. We've been watching." Wolf tells us, taking a step forward beside Elphias.

I nod silently.

"Anyways, I've done some thinking, and I've come up with a reason nobody's tried to attack the careers." Elphias begins his theory.

"Besides being strong and supplied with lethal weapons, nobody's attacked because the careers are on higher ground. They're watching from the volcano. The open fields would make a surprise attack, well, not so surprising."

Harley pipes in, "How does this explain how you'll help us?"

He rolls his eyes, "Be patient, I'm getting there." He runs another hand through his floppy brown hair.

"As I was saying, after the bloodbath, our district went straight to the ocean. There's an island out there. About two miles off the coast."

I vaguely remember seeing a chunk of land off the beach when I ran to the cornucopia.

"We risked a lot swimming out there. But for what we found it was worth every stroke." He adds, attracting my interest.

"There's a tunnel that goes under the island. We tried scoping it out, but it goes on for miles. That's when we turned back. We didn't know here it led, and we were unarmed. That's how we ended up here. We needed you."

I take a step back, alarmed as I ask,"How did you know where we were?"

"It wasn't too hard," he explains,"The careers took charge of the volcano. Nobody stuck around the fields. We made sure of that. We were alone on the beach, and anyone in the forest was probably dead if they were still in there by now. The four stragglers were in the hills. That left this."

The plan he was nudging at suddenly came clear in my mind.

"So here's the deal," Wolf starts, "you help us get food, and we'll go kill off the careers."

"Just a minute." Dustin says he motions us about fifteen feet away and says in a hushed tone, "we have to go with them. They may not be the most trustworthy, but they're weaponless and they'll die anyways if they try to pull something. We have the upper hand."

I turn around to face District 11 and speak clearly, "Okay."

•••••

a/n

I'll just say it now, I haven't updated in almost 2 months and I feel absolutely awful about it, but I've been working on a new story I'm writing, I'm gone 8 hours for school, I have homework, cheer practice, sleep, and personal business, so please forgive me.

Please vote and comment, it seriously means the world to me when you guys say you enjoy my story.

And pssssssst..... don't tell anyone but we're less than 100 reads away from 2000 reads. I feel insane.

So keep reading.

Xoxo, Double Rose