The Last Hunger Games

Chapter 15 - Basement

Flinging the heavy pack onto her shoulder, she puts her hands on her hips.

"What you doing up there?" she asks, and I see her scanning the tree for an easier way up.  

"Just hanging around," I say, and she laughs. We are bound to be on screen right now; in fact, the whole 'Nightshire vs Snow' event was probably on screen for the entirety of it.

"Can you come down? The sun's pretty much up now, and I want to get a move on," says Avita. 

"I'll try," I say. If I can get back to just hanging by my hands, then I could fall from there and try not to injure myself too much. I start to inch ever so slowly backwards. My arms are hooked over the branch whilst the rest of me dangles far above the ground. 

"Hurry up, would you?"

"Be patient, I think I've messed up both shoulders pretty darn good," I answer. She rolls her eyes and sits at the foot of the tree, holding a mace in each hand. She must be stronger than I'd thought as I'm sure those maces must weigh a lot. I move my hands backward a little more, but they slip on some moss and I lose all grip I had on the tree. For another brief moment there is the sensation of falling, and then I hit the ground, hard, with a thud.

"Celestia! Are you ok?" Avita rushes over to me.

"I'm good," I say, and then the world starts spinning and I black out

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I don't know what's happening.

"Celestia..." It's my mother's voice, and she's running her fingers through my hair. 

"Mum?" I say, opening my eyes. The room I'm in is dark and a few streaks of light illuminate her face. 

"Celestia, you're awake! Here, have something to drink," she says, and suddenly it's not my mother, it's Avita, and she's handing me a bottle of water. 

"Oh, sorry, I, uh, though you were my mother," I say.

"It's ok," Avita says, and I can hear her voice wobbling slightly. "Here, have something to drink, you're seriously dehydrated." She peers out of a small hole. I can see a glimpse of what's outside: broken wall, smashed glass, and rain is lashing down. Thunder rumbles in the clouds and a loud flash of lightning strikes an old metal pole not far from here. But where is here? 

"Where are we? And why haven't you killed me yet?" I say.

"We're underneath the city, in an old basement I found. It's secure and you can't see it from the outside, so we're practically invisible. And don't worry, I've scanned for pods."

"Oh good. I take it you didn't find any?"

"Nope. We should be safe down here."

"Ok. But you haven't answered my other question," I say.

"I know," Avita says with a sigh. "If I'm being perfectly honest, the thought of killing you did cross my mind after you'd blacked out. It probably would've been easier that way. I mean, it would have been almost painless for you and it might get me a few more sponsors, but there was just no way I could do it. Us Snows have to stick together, right?" 

"Right," I say back. "If you don't mind, I'm feeling pretty battered. Could you keep watch for a bit? Wake me if anything happens." 

"Yeah, of course," Avita says. 

I have a thought. "Or actually, don't wake me if anything happens. If I'm going to die I want to die here, in this basement, because somehow this is the safest I've felt in months." Avita goes to say something but I shut my eyes and lie down in my sleeping 'tube' to try and get some sleep.

"Huh, maybe you're not such a weakling after all," she says. 

Avita has been so kind to me, even spared my life at her own expense, and there is no way I'll ever be able to repay that. Just one month ago I never would have predicted that me and my 'moody' cousin would be here: in the 77th Hunger Games arena, knowing at least one of us is going to die, huddled together for warmth. Oh, I do hope the Gamemakers spare us tonight. A single click of a button and poisonous, suffocating gas could fill the room, or a swarm of tracker jackers could descend on us. An unknown bomb could detonate, or the whole ceiling could cave in and bury us both alive. In fact, I have the actual list somewhere in my bedroom back at the mansion. It was a gift from Seneca Crane, when Grandfather took me to visit the Gamemakers control room at the 71st Hunger Games. I doubt it was a genuine gift, Seneca was probably just trying to get Grandfather to like him, as that was his first year as Heads Gamemaker. Anyway, the list contains every single way the Gamemakers can kill off a tribute, from bombs to mutts, floods to volcano eruptions. Literally anything could happen. 

After a few minutes, I drift off into a deep sleep, only to be awoken a few hours later by Avita shaking my arm and saying, "The anthems started, wake up!" I see her rush over to the gap in the wall. Still half asleep, I go over too, and peer out. We can only see a bit of the sky from here. as most of it is covered by the broken roof of the 'house' we are staying under. The anthem is still incredibly loud, even if it is slightly muffled. 

First to appear in the sky is Flavius Ashgrove, who was killed in the early hours of the morning by that horrific poisonous fog.

"Flavius? How come he's dead already?" Avita exclaims.

"I'll tell you after," I say reply. She nods and we continue to watch. A face I don't recognise appears, and then come the Nightshires. Cedric, then Caspian. Seeing their faces again is like a hit in the stomach. Before I know it the anthem has finished, and me and Avita are leaning against the wall, eating some bread from one of the rucksacks.