Trust Me

Images of everyone I’d met through the Games swirled through my head in a dense fog. Finnick was the face that came to mind the most, but the image of Terra’s face, drained of life, was a common one as well. Adri’s face sneering at me in that expression I’d come to associate with him trying to screw with my head would haunt me, along with Ingrid’s angry expression. I wondered if this was what death would be like; just revisiting the faces of everyone I’d ever met.

I felt the fog of faces start to dissipate, and I was aware of a pounding pain in my head. I peeked open one eye and saw that I was surrounded by trees. I blinked a few times, trying to make the image steady. I was seeing double, and everything looked fuzzy. I remembered what had happened by the Cornucopia, and I wondered if I was really alive. How could I possibly have survived? How had I gotten out of the clearing, let alone Adri’s death grip? Something wasn’t right.

I leapt to my feet and started to run, only to be pulled backwards. I slammed onto the ground on my back, the air knocking out of my lungs. I looked down to see a thick rope tied around my waist and tethered to a tree, as if I were on a leash. My arms were also bound twice – at my elbows and my wrists.

“Easy there, sweetheart.” Adri’s voice said, and I whirled around frantically, trying to figure out where his voice had come from. I found him sitting about 10 feet away wiping blood off one of his machetes with a shred of fabric. It looked like the inside of one of the jackets, and I figured he must have ripped the fabric from one of the dead tributes’ jackets.

I glared at him and crawled backwards until my back was firmly pressed against the tree. I wriggled my arms in a desperate attempt to try and free myself, but it was no use. The ropes were tight and well knotted, and all I was doing was cutting myself against the harsh fibers of the ropes.

“Don’t hurt yourself.” Adri said with a scoff. I glared at him, but I could feel the confusion was evident on my expression. “I suppose I should explain what happened, right?”

I was determined not to speak to him or even nod, so I just continued to stare at him.

Adri sighed. “I knew what my strategy was ever since my name was pulled at the Reaping. I would find bait. Someone who was a big target and would lure in the other tributes. While the bait was distracting them, I would kill the attacking tributes from someplace safe, somewhere hidden. You were my first choice for bait all along. From day one, you were the biggest target. You’re incredibly small and don’t look at all intimidating, for starters. Then you tripped in front of all of Panem. You kept getting intimidated by people like Ingrid and myself. You looked weak. I thought that would at least help me lure in the other Careers. I figured I could offer you an alliance. You’d lure in other tributes, and I’d protect you.

“But then you showed everyone your skills with various weapons, making you an even bigger target than before, because now you were just too dangerous to be left alive. I knew you wouldn’t accept my offer of an alliance, so I figured I had to take you hostage.” Adri explained with a shrug, as if this was almost obvious.

I blinked a few times and stared at him blankly. It was a good plan, of course, but I wasn’t pleased to be the bait. My head gave a throb, and I winced and tried to raise my hands to my temples, though the action was made more difficult with the ropes.

“Your head will hurt for a while, so get used to that pain. I had to make it look like I was trying to suffocate you. There’s a small pressure point on the back of your neck that will knock you unconscious if you push it hard enough. I put on a show, then dragged you here while everyone else was trying to get away from the Cornucopia without getting killed.” Adri said.

I clenched my jaw and continued to glare at him in silence.

“Are you going to speak?” Adri asked.

I shrugged. I didn’t plan on speaking to hum until he expressed some kind of regret about using me like a puppet and tying me up.

It was as if he read my mind. “Fine. I’m sorry about everything I did. Are you satisfied now?”

“Hardly.” I said, but he seemed somewhat mollified by the fact that I’d spoken. “What makes you think I’ll agree to be bait for you? That just puts me in even more danger.”

Adri chuckled. “You wouldn’t be in danger. I never miss when I attack with intent to kill. Besides, I don’t plan on taking your knives away from you. If you ever felt endangered, you could just defend yourself.”

“You’d let me keep my knives? You don’t think I’d try to kill you?” I said, then realized I probably shouldn’t have pointed that out. I shouldn’t be giving him reasons to take away my only way of defending myself.

“Oh no. I’d only give you your knives when I feel like there’s another tribute nearby, or if I felt I could actually trust you.” Adri said with a laugh, as though I were stupid for even considering the possibility of keeping my knives.

I thought about it for a moment before nodding reluctantly. “Fine. I’ll do it.”

Adri’s brow shot up. “Hm. I thought it was going to take a little more persuasion.” He admitted. “Might I ask what made you agree so quickly?”

“The way I see it, it’s the best option. If I say no, you’ll kill me, right?” I asked.

“Yes.” Adri confirmed with a nod, and though it was a bit harsh, I appreciated his honesty. “But how do you know I won’t just kill you when you have your back turned at any given moment?:”

“I don’t, but you raise an interesting point.” I muttered, making him laugh again. I was surprised at how lighthearted he seemed. I’d expected him to be more vicious. “So, we’ll review my options. I say no, you kill me. I say yes, and you stab me in the back – literally or figuratively, your choice – shortly after. Both those options end with me dying. Or, I say yes and hope that you’re being true to your word, and I survive. This seems like the best way to give myself a shot, or at least buy myself more time.”

“I’m not totally cruel. When there’s only a few tributes left, I’ll let you go and fend for yourself. Hopefully it won’t come down to you and I, but if it does, I’d give you fair warning before I tried to kill you so you could have a chance to fight back. If I win, I want to win with dignity.” Adri promised.

“I sincerely hope you’re not lying to me. But I guess it doesn’t really change anything, even if you are. Now, can you untie me?” I asked, holding my arms out in his direction.

Adri laughed. “No, I don’t think so. See, you know I’m not going to try to kill you for the next few days because I need you to lure in other tributes. I have no guarantee that you’re not going to try to kill me. You’ve still got a few surviving members from your alliance that you can run back to, therefore you don’t need me. I’m not letting you out of my sight until we decide to go our separate ways.”

I frowned. “Wimp,” I muttered. “You’re afraid of a 5’2 little girl?”

“Yes, I am, because she can throw a knife at me with her eyes closed and still hit me square in the heart with it.” Adri said.

“It’s not just knives. I can use other weapons too.” I defended.

“Yes, spears. But nothing else.” Adri scoffed.

“I can use machetes and swords and a bow and arrow!” I protested.

“You can use them, but you can’t use them well.” Adri said. “You got lucky in that arena. If you had to try and shoot an arrow quickly or at a moving target, you would miss by a mile. The same goes for almost all of the other weapons you used in the training arena.”

I grimaced at him, but I wasn’t going to deny it. He was right, my “skills” with everything apart from the knives and spears had been a combination of luck and targets that stayed perfectly still and didn’t duck or fire back.

“How many died?” I asked quietly.

Adri sighed. “I counted 8 cannons. Today’s bloodbath wasn’t as bad as most are.”

“Do you know who was killed?”

“You mean the people in your alliance? Terra was the only one to die. The boy from your district and the boy from 2 are both still alive. The girl from 7 survived her encounter with Ingrid, but only just. She stole all of Ingrid’s arrows so she couldn’t shoot anyone and then gave her a hard blow to the head. I think 7 actually knocked Ingrid out.” Adri said.

I felt a wave of relief wash over me. “I’m sorry about Terra.” I said quietly. I didn’t know how close they were, but I imagined that her death would have hurt him, even if only slightly. “She seemed really nice.”

Adri laughed, and I shot him a dirty look. How could he laugh at the death of the girl from his own District? “The irony is wonderful.”

“What irony?” I hissed, all sympathy for him gone.

“You don’t know what she said about you. She and Parq planned on keeping you around until Ingrid, Tam and I were gone, then they’d kill you. They fought over who’d get to do it. They talked about how to do it, too. The methods Terra suggested were truly horrifying. She made Ingrid look like a saint.” Adri said with a bitter laugh.

I could feel the blood drain from my face. “You’re lying,” I said weakly.

Adri sighed. “You had to expect that. The tributes all turn on each other sooner or later. The Careers are the first ones to go at each others’ throats.”

“Even my allies wanted to kill me as soon as possible. That’s upsetting.” I muttered.

“Have you forgotten the point of the Games? The point is to kill everyone else before they kill you, or the Game makers can pick you off. It’s not about promises and trust and friendship.” Adri scoffed.

“Which just makes our agreement even more shady.” I said.

Adri stood up and untied my ‘leash’ from around the tree. At first I wondered if he was going to let me go, but I those dreams were crushed as he tied the other end of the rope to his waist. Now, instead of being tied to a tree, I was tied to him.

“What are you doing?” I demanded.

“I’m hungry. Unless you want to eat bark and grass, I strongly suggest you cooperate while I hunt.” Adri said.

“I could help if you’d untie me and give me a knife.” I offered, but I knew the answer.

Adri laughed. “I’m offended at how stupid you must think I am.”

“Trust me, I’m thinking far worse things about you right now.” I grumbled as Adri began to walk, pulling me behind him. He grabbed the pack I’d collected and slung it over his shoulder, keeping his weapons at hand.

“Keep an eye out for other tributes, would you?” Adri said as his eyes locked onto something I couldn’t see. He took off at high speed without warning me, and as a result I fell face-first onto the ground. He continued to pull me for another few feet before he realized that I’d fallen. He burst into hysterical laughter, collapsing on the ground and gasping for air between bursts of laughter. “You are hopeless, 4.”

I winced, my face raw from being pulled along the ground. “You could have warned me, you idiot!” I snapped.

“You can’t even run without falling!” Adri continued, ignoring me.

“If it makes you feel masculine to think you’re that much better than me, then I’ll let you think that. I understand that the male ego is a very sensitive thing, and must be nurtured.” I said.

This got his attention. Adri crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. “You think I’m insecure in my masculinity, huh?” He said with a half-smile on his face. He was challenging me, I could see it.

“It’s not hard to see. That’s why you train so hard with weapons and try to build muscle mass, isn’t it? It makes you feel more powerful, more macho.” I let the words roll off with an easy tone to my voice.

Adri walked over to me and stopped a few inches away. He reached over and grabbed my face with one hand, pulling my chin up so I was forced to look at only his face. “I’m trying to be nice to you, sweetheart. Don’t push your luck.” I could hear the snide tone to his voice, but I knew he meant it. Of course he meant it. He would kill me in a heartbeat. So would everyone else in this arena.

He continued to stare me down for a few moments before turning away, and I quickly muttered under my breath, “Someone’s cranky.”

Adri sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Why do you have to be so damned difficult, 4?”

“Would you stop calling me by my District? I have a name.” I hissed.

“Congratulations. I don’t care. To me, your name is either ‘4’ or ‘sweetheart’.” Adri said.

“I’ll take ‘4’,” I muttered.

“No, you don’t get to choose, sweetheart.” He taunted before turning around. “I’m going to take one step forward now. Please try to keep up.”

I wanted to smack him, but the ropes dug into my arms to remind me that hitting him would be difficult. “You’re lucky I’m tied up,” I muttered

Adri laughed. “Oh yeah, if it weren’t for those ropes, nothing could hold back your sheer rage!” He said sarcastically.

“Don’t mock me!” I pulled back, pulling on the rope around my waist. It cut into my skin, but it was enough to yank Adri back. He didn’t fall, but he stumbled around before regaining his balance.

“For the record, you asked for this. It’s your own fault for not cooperating.” Adri said, walking towards me with a scowl on his face. I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the machete to slice of one of my limbs, but instead I felt myself being lifted off the ground.

“Hey! What are you doing?!” I snapped as he tossed me over his shoulder.

“I can still hunt with one free hand. And this way, it’s easier for you to watch my back.” Adri muttered.