I Won't Go Down Easily

"I just killed two people.." Aria whispered as she stared down at the bodies lying on the cold stone.

"Aria, you can't think like that right now. We need to move now."

"I just took two lives! They had families, siblings..friends. And now they're gone because of me. How can I not think about it?"

"Would you rather it was you that was lying down there dead, as your family watched on TV? Now let's move. The cannons went off, so other tributes know someone is over here," Ryan urged with a strong edge to his voice that had her complying.

Aria didn't say anything. What could she say? That yes, part of her does wish that she was lying down there, dead? Of course she couldn't. At least, that if she was dead, she wouldn't have to keep living through this nightmare that became a reality. At least the pain would be over and her family could begin the healing and grieving process.

Her family. How could she leave them behind? All she wanted right now was to hug her mother and feel comforted again, or to go fishing with her brother and father. She just wanted to do those things at least one more time. So no she couldn't die. Her family deserved more than for her to give up without a fight -- even if that meant she would never be the same person ever again.

Ryan moved stealthily along the wall, with Aria close behind. They just needed to make it to the lake before other tributes found out about it. With the pace they were going, it didn't take very long to get there. There was no one there or in any corridor near the lake -- for now anyway. Aria and Ryan made their way down the vines very quickly, this time landing on soft grass rather than hard stone. Yeah, this section of the maze was much more preferable. Ryan filled the canteen once again and put drops of Iodine in while Aria began cutting off a few vines off the wall.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to get us some real food to go along with the bread and cheese we have. If we want to remain strong, we'll need some actual nutrients."

"And how are you going to do that?" Ryan questioned, eyeing the vines in her hand suspiciously.

"Ryan, you seem to forget I come from the fishing district. I know how to catch fish. And assuming this is an actual lake, there's going to be some fish in there."

He couldn't help but smile at her. "Man am I glad I chose to have you as my ally."

"Damn straight you are," She joked right back as she leaned against the wall and began twisting and tying the strong vines together. Ryan just rolled his eyes and sat down next to her, observing her work.

"How long will it take you to finish this? I'm worried about another chance encounter."

"It won't take very long. Do you want to go on look out while I finish this? Just to be safe.."

"Yeah, of course. Once you finish you should join me up on the wall though, I want to look at the cut on your neck again," He replied as he got up and began climbing . Aria nodded, she almost forgot about it. Now that it was mentioned, however, all she was focused on was the pain surrounding it. She tried to distract herself with her work, instead. It didn't work very well. Completing the net didn't take very long -- Aria had been creating ones like this since she was six. She positioned it in the lake to her liking and climbed up the wall, with barely any difficulty.

When Aria joined him on the wall, he flashed her that crooked smile of his and gently began taking the bandages of her neck. "While I do this, I need you to keep lookout," He instructed. She just nodded in response.

Taking the bandages off hurt like hell. Part of it had dried to her wound with the blood, and taking it off resulted in more blood to come flowing out. "Yeah, you're going to need stitches when you get out of here." He mumbled and poured some water onto it. When. Not if you get out of here...but when. Did he honestly think Aria was going to make it out alive, just like that? He's the one that scored a nine in his private session, so if anything he'd be the one making it out. But Aria chose not to voice her thoughts out loud.

Once Ryan had her all bandaged up, she climbed back down to check on her net, and to her delight there was a fish caught in it. "I hope you like fish!" Aria yelled gleefully up to him.

- - -

The two of them quickly ate, barely tasting the raw fish (which may have been for the better) in fear of running into other tributes and then were on their way, trying to find a safe spot for the night. The sun was still in the sky, not setting quite yet, but it was getting there; so they moved quickly. They ran their hands along the walls once again, hoping to find another nook like last time. It was much more dangerous, walking on the ground rather than along the top of the wall but it was a risk they were willing to take.

By this point, they were deep into the maze when they finally found a spot similar to where they slept last night. The sun was just setting and it was towards the end of the section, where the new one was just beginning. The only thing they could tell about it was that there was dirt replacing the grass. Aria and Ryan arranged the vines to sufficiently hide their spot from any potential tributes and then crawled in.

The two of them crawled to the end of the small space, only to find out it also turned to the right. Looks like that proved them with extra protection. They followed the tunnel until it ended, which was about another six feet. Ryan laid the backpack sideways against the stone wall, providing some cushion and sat down. Aria joined him, as she took a drink from the canteen. "Well we survived another day," He murmured , looking at her with his cute almost smile.

"The day isn't over yet," She mumbled, picking at the skin by her thumb.

"Very true. But I think we're safe here. This is a good spot to stay for the night; no one will find us here," He assured. Aria couldn't help but try and smile at him. He was trying so hard to make her feel safe, and he was doing a pretty good job of it considering there was approximately eleven tributes out there trying to kill them.

"Tell me about your family."

"What?" Ryan questioned, slightly frowning at her.

"Let's talk about something other than the Games -- take our minds off of all the hell that's surrounding us."

Ryan smiled at that, it was a good idea -- not to mention the fact it might even score them a sponsor or two. "Okay, well let's see. I have one brother and one sister -- I'm the middle child. My brother is a few years younger than me, and we're really close; I miss him a lot." He paused at that, and his eyes glazed over momentarily, surely thinking about him. "My family and I are very close. I can't even begin to describe how difficult it is knowing I may never see them again."

"I can understand that," Aria whispered. "What about your parents? What are they like?"

"They both work in the orchard with me everyday. My father, he always sings these songs while everyone is working. He made it up one day, and now it's become a part of a tradition. He has an amazing voice. Even when I was little, he'd sing the three of us to sleep at night; I actually kind of miss that. And my mom-- she is an amazing cook. We'll save up our money so when it's one of our birthdays, we'll spend it on fresh apples and she'll make apple pie for the family. It's the most amazing thing you'll ever taste." Aria smiled at him, and rested her hand on top of his, in an attempt to comfort him: she could see his eyes glisten as he talked about them.

"Will you sing for me?"

"You want me to sing?" He asked incredulously.

"Yes," She replied matter-of-fact. "Sing me the song your father would sing in the orchard. Ryan smiled -- a full smile this time, before beginning quietly. His voice was barely above a whisper, but his voice was smooth, like velvet and not to mention soothing; he clearly had inherited his father's talents.

In no time, Aria was drifting into a peaceful sleep, forgetting about the horrors of the past two days.