The water churned around Marina as she worked the net with expert hands, her braid lashed out like a whip as she fought to keep Aaron subdued. Her physique was lithe, shaped by countless hours in the oceans of district four. The muscles in her arms were sharply defined as she pulled both herself and Aaron into deeper waters. She seemed to be an extension of the sea itself. Aaron's body jerked violently under the tension of the net. Each time Marina yanked the mesh, Aaron vanished beneath the surface, only to appear moments later gasping for breath, his legs thrashing in a futile attempt to free himself.
"Aaron!" Ruby squealed. Beside her, Ethan flung the items in his lap aside, his fingers fumbling to set an arrow in the rest of his bow.
Up further on shore, Kai had run away and ducked behind a palm tree, his wide eyes peeking out. Ethan's voice cracked as he shouted for Ruby to run. Ruby stood rooted to the spot, her stare frozen and unblinking, she was rigid as if the horror before her had turned her to stone.
Silus sprinted toward the sounds of struggle, his boots flinging tufts of sand behind him. Hazel followed close on his heels, her feet sliding on the loose sand. Each step seemed to stretch out painfully long as they watched Aaron gasp for air. Marina pulled a flailing Aaron deeper into the surf, submerging him once again.
"Take a shot, Ethan!" Hazel yelled as she ran. Ethan, with bow in hand, had the bowstring pulled back.
His scrutiny darted from Aaron to Marina, his arms adjusted, the bow creaked slightly under the strain, his muscles visibly tensed as he aimed. Frustration creased his brow until finally, with a grimace, he lowered the bow, "Damn it, I can’t.” He tossed the bow into the sand as he closed the distance between himself and the ocean. As he hit the surf, his pace faltered under the resistance of the waves. Water splashed around him, droplets arcing like shattered glass in the sunlight as he bellowed, “Hang on, Aaron!"
At the sound of Ethan's voice, Marina's head snapped up, her stare held the chill of the deep-sea currents. She tightened her grip on the net, pulling Aaron closer before diving beneath the surf once more. From the shore, Hazel's heart raced as she watched Aaron's movements grow sluggish, his attempts to resist becoming weaker.
Ethan finally reached them and lunged at Marina, attempting to pry her away from Aaron. However, Marina dove beneath the waves again, slipping out of Ethan's reach. She resurfaced moments later, a gleam of steel was visible in her hand. Ethan recoiled as she brandished the knife, slashing at him. Water erupted around them as they grappled in the churning sea.
As Hazel and Silus neared the scene, another figure rose from the water ahead. Flynn, tall and athletic, emerged from the surf, clear droplets streaming down his sculpted frame. His damp sandy hair hung over his face, revealing sharp, sea-green irises. In his palms, he held a sleek harpoon, its dark, razor-sharp head shone in the ocean’s reflection, a sophisticated blend of metal and engineered materials. Flynn's muscles tensed and his expression darkened, like a squall brewing on the horizon, the harpoon poised above his head, blocking the path to their group. Hazel skidded to a stop, her heart pounding. It appeared that the district four tributes had been lying in wait, choosing this moment to strike when Hazel and her group were most distracted.
Silus adjusted his footing, adopting a broader stance. His gaze darted briefly to his red-bladed axe resting on the beach.
Hazel's pulse spiked as she pulled her own hatchet from her belt. "Back up, four," she called out firmly.
With a dismissive snort, Flynn lowered his spear and sprung forward, his boots splashing through the shallow surf.
In district seven, targets didn’t move. They didn’t dodge or weave or rush toward you. Her muscles remembered the motions, but her mind raced to adapt to this new environment. She swung her arm forward in a practiced motion, the hatchet spinning end over end out of her grip. The axe arced through the air, its rotation smooth but too slow. Hazel watched, her heart sinking, as the realization dawned on her that her aim was off.
The blade grazed Flynn’s hair before it vanished into the waves behind him. The sound of the sea swallowing her weapon resonated painfully in her ears.
Flynn momentarily flinched at the close call, slowing his advance. After a brief scan of Hazel's empty hands, he renewed his charge. Hazel's fingers trembled as she fumbled for her last axe.
"Give it to me," Silus said, urgency clear in his voice as he extended his hand.
Hazel passed the hatchet to him just as Flynn’s weapon sliced the air between them. Both Silus and Hazel jolted back in unison, exchanging a quick glance. Silus shifted his boots as he squared his shoulders, moving in front of Hazel, his stare fixed on the lethal instrument in Flynn’s hand, “Go get my axe, Haze.”
“Silus-”
“Go, now.”
Flynn heaved his harpoon upward, muscles tensing as he thrust it forward in a wide arc. Silus anticipated the move, dodging it before he countered with a forceful kick aimed directly at Flynn's abdomen. The impact compelled a grunt from Flynn as air whooshed from his lungs.
Silus grasped his smaller axe with both hands, raising it high before slashing downward. Flynn, regaining his composure, parried with the long shaft of his harpoon, the metal clashing noisily against the axe. Flynn twisted his body; the harpoon's length allowed him to keep Silus at a distance.
Silus, undeterred, shifted his weight and adjusted his grip on the axe handle, using his superior strength to bear down. Each swing he made was robust. The sand gave way under their shuffling feet. Flynn's quick footwork danced him out of reach each time Silus struck out at him. But what Silus lacked in speed he made up for in strength, his hefty blows, jarred Flynn’s whole body each time Silus’s axe met his harpoon.
Her focus locked on the scarlet blade sparkling in the delicate morning light, she could almost hear it calling to her. “I’ll be right back,” she shouted over the crashing sounds of bodies and waves, pulling away from the fight. She dashed towards the black blanket strewn across the shore with their supplies and weapons.
Further up on the beach, Ruby held Ethan’s royal blue bow in her petite hands. Her movements were clumsy as she attempted to notch an arrow.
Moving past her, Hazel reached the scattered belongings on the beach, her fingers closing around the handle of her goal. With a grunt, she hefted the heavy weapon over her shoulder.
Hazel’s steps faltered as her eyes locked onto Aaron’s still form, drifting with the waves, his head barely above the water. Marina had let him go but was still hacking desperately at Ethan. Hazel blinked rapidly, trying to clear the image that seemed like a bad illusion, her chest tightening with a sharp, fearful pang. Ethan can't hold her off much longer. And Aaron... he might not survive if I don't do something now.
It was a cruel choice: her brother or her friends. She could almost hear her own heartbreak in the soft lapping of the tide against the sand, each one threatening to pull Aaron further away from safety.
Ian's voice called out to her as if he sensed her turmoil, “Hazel, release me and I’ll help.”
Hazel turned sharply, frowning as she adjusted the weapon in her slick palms. “We on the same side now?”
“Dead bait doesn’t help me, and you need all the help you can get,” Ian replied, his voice strained as he rattled his chains. “Undo these, and I’ll show you whose side I’m on.”
Hazel head turned as Ethan let out a guttural cry, Marina’s steel was now streaked with blood as it had connected with his shoulder.
With a sharp exhale, Ruby released the arrow she had prepared. It whistled through the air but veered off target, missing Marina by several feet. Almost instantly, Ruby let out a sharp cry as the bowstring snapped viciously against the tender area of her arm.
Ruby’s arm trembled violently, and she appeared to struggle to maintain her grasp on the bow. The pink dressing rapidly became marred with dark, garish streaks of crimson. Ruby clutched her injured arm against her body, which erupted into a series of shudders.
“Ruby, I told you to run!” Ethan called her. Marina paused briefly in her assault to take in the girl on the beach. They needed help and were running out of options.
As Hazel clutched the heavy weapon, her attention was riveted on Silus's diminishing stance against Flynn. The dance of their combat drew them closer to the surf, Flynn’s calculated steps forcing Silus backwards, the sand beneath their feet giving way to the lapping waves. Flynn's longer harpoon carved through the air just inches from Silus's chest. Each move Silus made caused him to sink deeper into the water, where his movements became sluggish, the ocean threatening to claim his balance. Soon he was ankle-deep, and his strikes grew less forceful, his exhaustion visible in the slump of his shoulders.
Hazel adjusted the axe handle, urgency surging through her veins. Silus was holding his own, but barely.
I can’t let Silus get pulled any deeper and Ethan’s barely maintaining. Then there’s Aaron.... The image of Aaron, limp and vulnerable in the waves, haunted her periphery.
Ian’s outline flickered at the edge of her vision. With a heavy breath, she set her jaw, her resolve solidifying. We need to turn the tide.
Hazel muttered a curse as she dug through her backpack, her fingers finally closing around the cold metal keys. With long strides, she closed the distance to where Ian was restrained. Before she unlocked his limbs, she grabbed a handful of his grimy shirt, yanking him close to her as she positioned the red-bladed axe dangerously close to his neck. The deadly edge kissed his dirt-streaked skin. “You said you think we are the same?” She leaned in, her voice thick with warning, “If you try anything, I will show you just how similar we can be.”
Ian's slight nod, coupled with a bleak understanding in his eyes, was the final nudge she needed. She released his shirt with an unsteady exhale.
Hazel kneeled to unlock the shackles around Ian's feet. The metal clanked loudly as it hit the sand, and she quickly stood to address his wrists.
As the final lock clicked open, Ian's hand briefly covered hers, his touch firm, "Help Silus. I’ll get ten and twelve.”
With a skeptical arch of her eyebrow, Hazel released Ian's wrists. He surged to his feet and raced toward the waterlogged conflict. Pausing briefly at the black blanket strewn across the sand, he snatched up Mia’s knife. Tucking the blade into his belt, he sprinted toward Ethan, Aaron and Marina. Over his shoulder, he called out to Ruby, his voice echoing across the shore, "Don't shoot me, little one!"
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As Hazel watched him disappear into the melee, she clutched the large axe, her pulse racing. A murmur escaped her lips, almost lost to the wind, “Don’t make me regret this.”
She turned back to the ocean, scanning the turbulent water. A long, gray spine twisted up out of the sea. Hazel swallowed hard as her mind flashed back to the pool in Gaul’s laboratory. She could almost smell the mineral-tinged rotting seaweed odor of the tank full of undulating snake-like creatures, crawling over each other. Snow’s voice haunted her, they eat raw meat. Then she remembered how the water churned when Silus threw the bloody bandages into the ocean. Maybe they prefer meat but what about blood?
Hazel approached Ruby, struggling with the bow. Gently, Hazel placed her hand on Ruby's shoulders and guided the bow downward until the loose arrow within it pointed at the sand, "I need your help.”
Ruby regarded Hazel, rosy swelling lined the girls’ eyelids. "What can I do? I’m not strong enough to do anything and I can’t even aim this freaking thing."
Hazel placed a palm on Ruby’s cheek, running a finger under the girl’s damp eyes “You are the strongest girl I know. But right now, I need your bandage," Hazel stated, nodding toward the compress on Ruby's arm. The bowstring had clearly reinjured her arm—it had to be bowstring slap. Hazel had seen similar injuries in the hospital, where beginner archers got caught by the string. In severe cases, it could even break an arm if the bow was powerful enough.
"What?" Ruby looked at Hazel as if she were insane. Hell, I probably am.
"I’ll explain later. Just stay out of the water" Hazel insisted, searching the seeping wound.
Ruby dropped the bow to the sand and extended her arm, unwinding the blood-soaked bandage. Hazel assisted, carefully removing the wrapping as quickly as possible. Once it was off, she pulled Ruby in a brief side hug and then pushed her toward the cover of the palms. "Get out of here and hide," Hazel urged.
Ruby started to shake her head in disagreement, but Hazel was already moving, sprinting toward Silus. She clutched the large axe in one hand and the warm, blood-soaked bandages in the other. Flynn advanced, each push more forceful than the last, driving Silus back, his heels dragging lines in the wet sand toward the encroaching waves.
Hazel furrowed her brow in confusion. Flynn and Silus had both lost their weapons. Their confrontation had morphed into a desperate hand-to-hand fight. Both teenagers were grappling fiercely in the surf, with no weapons between them.
As Hazel approached, she could see Silus's form briefly disappear beneath the agitated foam of the sea, swallowed whole by the frothy waves.
Hazel's pulse quickened as she charged into the churning sea, the heavy axe clutched tightly in one hand, the blood-soaked pink wrap unraveling in her other. She dragged the bandage behind her, crimson tendrils releasing from the material like pillars of incense. As she pushed forward, her movements were muted as if she was running through a field of sap, her legs were driving hard but moving slowly.
A shiver ran down her spine as a slick, unsettling sensation slid past her foot. Then, a slight nip at her toe spiked her heart rate, not painful but undeniably unnerving. Looking down, she caught sight of one of Gaul’s creatures—a dark gray eel with elongated, snake-like features—twisted through the water with eerie grace. Following its trail, she saw another, then another.
The hybrid creatures, part eel, part snake, flashed scaled physiques gleaming under the surface, their mouths full of jagged, overlapping teeth. Each beast moved with a predatory focus, their numbers multiplying as more blood dispersed in the swirling waters. Soon there were too many to count.
Flynn leaned heavily on Silus, submerging him with force as he pressed down on the boy's shoulders and head. Silus's muscular arms flailed, desperately trying to push Flynn off, but Flynn’s body weight pinned his head beneath the waves.
"Hey!" Hazel screamed, brandishing the sizeable red axe, as she waded into the waist deep water. Flynn gave Silus one final shove beneath the ocean, and then released him to confront Hazel, his focus clearly fixed on the weapon in her hands. She seriously doubted she could take him in a fight. He was clearly much stronger. I don’t need to kill him. I just need to injure him, enough….
The rose-colored gauze she dragged behind her leaked more of Ruby's blood into the surf. Silus reemerged, dazed, his eyes wide and unseeing as he gasped for air. Beneath the surface, charcoal gray forms slid silently through the turquoise depths. Every nerve felt raw, every small brush against her leg a potential threat. The water around her legs seemed to thicken, teeming with the eels.
“What are you going to do? Strangle me with a pink ribbon?” Flynn taunted, his eyes darting between the red axe in Hazel's grip and the bizarre pink fabric trailing behind her.
“Only if you ask nicely,” Hazel snapped back as she hurled the blood-soaked material at him. It slapped against Flynn's face with a wet thud, causing him to stagger back. His features twisted in revulsion as he peeled off the sticky fabric and flung it into the water in disgust.
Hazel lunged as she heaved the hatchet forward with all her might, but her swing was too slow, and Flynn was too swift. He sidestepped the blade effortlessly and closed the distance between them before she could ready another strike.
Flynn seized her arms, pinning them out to the side so she couldn't swing the weapon. Hazel gripped the handle harshly, refusing to let go even as Flynn forced their locked arms outward.
Flynn glanced briefly at the sinking pink fabric, a smirk crossing his face just before he delivered a swift headbutt. His forehead thudded as it struck the bridge of her nose. The impact sent Hazel staggering backward, a sharp pain erupting across her nose and forehead. She felt a crack and a rush of warmth as blood began to trickle down from her nostrils.
Despite the throbbing in her nose, Hazel clung onto the axe. Flynn pried at her fingers with his free hand. Blood dripped onto her lips, the metallic taste spreading along her tongue. Perfect. She made a derisive sound as she tilted her head back allowing the thick blood to pool into her throat and mouth.
"You are a weird one,” Flynn remarked, twisting her arm painfully while still trying to wrestle the axe from her firm grip as he took in her peculiar response to his headbutt. He briefly glanced over his shoulder. Silus was fighting against the current, steadily making his way toward them.
She drove her knee upward with as much force as the water around her would allow. It wasn't the solid hit she would have managed on land, but it contacted Flynn's groin effectively enough to make him grunt and double over.
Seizing the moment, Hazel leaned forward and spat the blood that had pooled in her mouth directly into Flynn’s face.
The copper liquid splashed across the short distance, splattered over his features with a generous layer of blood and saliva. "I prefer uniquely resourceful,” Hazel coughed out as blood trailed from her lips.
Flynn recoiled in disgust and shock, releasing his hold on her, “Ugh, what the hell.”
The skin along her feet and ankles stung with an increasing number of hesitant nibbles. Her flesh likely was raw from the scales of the eels rubbing against her like a pool of frisky, albeit horrifying cats.
Silus was now an arm’s length away from Flynn, who was vigorously rubbing his face with repulsion.
"Put him under, Silus!"
With a firm grasp, Silus reached Flynn, pulling the boys’ shoulders hard and shoved him down into the ocean, face first. Almost instantly, the eels race past Hazel’s legs. The eels, with their glistening, snake-like bodies, moved with eerie coordination, their presence transforming the water into a swirling vortex of danger. Flynn let out a gurgling, muffled scream.
“Silus!" Hazel called out over the crashing waves, heaving the axe toward him.
Silus caught the handle deftly and advanced toward the flailing form of Flynn, struggling amidst the swarm of eels.
Just as Flynn rose up, Silus lunged forward, wielding the axe with both hands. A look of clear shock crossed Flynn’s face as he tried to recoil, but it was too late. The blade arced through the air, slicing a deep red line across Flynn’s chest. Following through, Silus kicked forward, his foot connecting solidly with Flynn’s stomach. The smack of Silus’ boot on skin reverberated, and Flynn grunted, stumbling backward into the surf, his face and body, thoroughly covered in blood.
Silus took a step forward, but Hazel grasped his bicep, pulling him back, "Wait.” He paused, shoulders heaving as she pulled him back toward the shore. Both were panting heavily.
A bloodied Flynn struggled to his feet, a look of terror swept across his features as he frantically hit out at the water around him. After several failed efforts to extricate himself from the eels, he collapsed back with an unnerving shriek into the churning waves one last time. Where he landed, the once crystal-clear blue water turned into a foaming murky gray stained with swirls of burgundy. Hazel turned away, tilting her head down, her coppery hair falling forward.
Nearby, Ian and Ethan had managed to drive Marina back. Ian parried her knife attacks as he took aggressive, wild swipes at her. A flicker of fear passed over Marina’s features as she shakily ducked. She retreated further into the sea until Ian was submerged up to his shoulders. Marina glanced back to where Flynn had been, searching desperately. With a final glare, she sunk back down beneath the waves and vanished. Ian paused, waiting, but she didn’t resurface.
Ethan, coughing and gasping, had Aaron’s motionless form still entangled in the net, over his shoulders. Ethan lost his balance several times, faltering under Aaron’s limp body. Ruby darted across the beach, splashing clumsily into the tide.
Ian paused, casting one last searching glance over the rapidly calming waters, as if expecting Marina to reappear. Mia’s knife clutched tightly in his hand, he turned and swam towards Ethan, Aaron and Ruby.
Hazel's pulse faltered at the sight of Ian charging with his knife drawn. She instinctively reached for her belt, but her fingers met only fabric; both axes lost to the eel infested ocean.
Alarm spiked through her as Ian drew closer to the others, his knife drawn. But just as quickly as it appeared, her fear melted into relief as Ian sliced through the tangled net with efficient strokes. Hazel exhaled a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.
With a final, concerted tug, the tributes freed Aaron from the net's embrace. Ian and Ruby each grabbed an arm, supporting Ethan as they half-dragged, half-carried Aaron’s still body. They moved him beyond the reach of the waves, laying him gently on the unnaturally quiet beach.
Silus gripped Hazel's hand as they retreated to the shore, the distant cries of Flynn silenced by the relentless thrashing of the water. Hazel's hands trembled; she clutched Silus with one hand, while pinching her nose with the other, attempting to obstruct the stream of blood that trickled down her chin and neck. They reached the beach, Silus cupped her face, concern etching his features as he turned her to face him.
"You okay, sis?" he asked, his gaze moving over her blood covered face and clothing.
She gave a soft nod, blinking against the saltiness. "You?"
His gaze briefly flickered behind them, but he did not answer.
Grateful for the silence that had finally settled over the scene, Hazel closed her eyes. The quiet was broken only by the sound of soft sobbing. Slowly, she re-opened her eyes. Ahead on the beach, Ethan and Ian stood over Aaron’s still form, their chests heaving with exhaustion. Ruby was crouched beside Aaron, her small frame curled over him. Kai was cautiously making his way out of the palms toward them, a sheepish look on his face.
Hazel released Silus’s hand and moved toward Aaron, catching the solemn stare of Ethan and the distant expression of Ian. She dropped down beside Aaron, quickly scanning his unmoving body. He bore no visible blood but was completely soaked from head to toe, and more concerning, unconscious.
Hazel grazed two fingers along his jugular, feeling a faint pulse against her skin. “Can you hear me?” she asked as she searched his face for any sign of responsiveness. His ashy hair was disheveled, soaked and coated in sand. His limbs were limp and cooled from the sea. A terrifying bluish tint had spread over his lips; his mouth twitched, and his chest barely moved under her palms. “Aaron, can you open your eyes for me?” she urged again gently. His eyelids briefly flickered, partially opening revealing only a sliver of the whites of his eyes. But he made no further movements and gave no sign he heard her.
"Come on, ten," Hazel whispered, her palm pressed flat against Aaron's chest, sensing the faint rise and fall of his breathing. Aaron’s face grew still as he emitted a gurgling, shallow breath. The movement of his chest froze. Hazel held her breath, hoping for another sign of life, but none came. Ian stepped back, sinking down onto the sand with his hands in his lap, his body still heaving.
Ruby covered her face with her palms, her small body shuddering. Ethan knelt beside her, drawing her close and resting his chin atop her head. He looked skyward; several silvery tears streamed silently down his face as he closed his eyes.
A familiar ache tightened Hazel's chest as she looked back at Aaron. His complexion grew paler, waxier with each passing moment. A heavy, dripping hand landed on her shoulder squeezing tenderly. Silus's solemn voice reached her ears, but she didn’t hear the words. A faint sob escaped her lips as she ran a hand over Aaron’s still partially opened eyelids, closing them gently. Briny tears mingled with the blood from her nose, creating a blush-colored trail down her face. As the rose-colored droplets fell into Aaron's sea-soaked hair, Hazel bent closer, her breath stirring his hair, “See you around, my friend.'"