harvest moon | fish & fuses (day 1)

harvest moon - I

My heart pounded faster than I'd ever remembered it pounding before. We shouldn't be here, not right now. In the flashing beams of light my eyes darted left and right, debating whether death or escape hides in the darkness between them. Being back where this nightmare had started so fresh from the chaos only an hour or so before felt like an invitation for any tributes who may have chosen to hang around to strike and claim the spoils. None of us had stuck around long enough to grab anything useful at the start. All of our faith would be put into our strength in numbers.

What steered me to take each careful step was the itch in my brain. What happened to all of those tributes? It was a mystery that was begging to be solved, as if I'd taken a sip of some sweet nectar and now my body craved more. When the cannons sounded it was like I'd remembered the decadence of the taste; I didn't have time to count, but I knew there hadn't been enough cannons. Nothing to account for the sheer size of the gap in the tributes that now shift through the sands. They're out here somewhere. I want to know where.

There was only one lead to be followed, and an untellable amount of danger in order to follow it. Though in this barren waste of an arena, perhaps there would never be a better time than right now. There was no telling what other dangers lay in waiting when that sun begins to rise again. The darkness may be hiding enemies, but I couldn't forget that I, too, was a hunter in this arena. The darkness could hide me too.

As I scan in front of me, I can make out the silhouette of the stage, and the shapes within that I can only assume are the members of that animatronic band, blaring out their song like a hymn for the dead. I chance a look behind me, making sure that I can sense the familiar bodies of Tide and Sera behind me. "We made it," I confirm to them, "now give me a moment, I want to check something with these podiums."

Instead of continuing towards the call of the sirens from the main stage, I make a turn to the right and continue towards the closest podium I can make out. I find it's smooth metal next to flat sands, a stark contrast to the crater of the podium beside it. That poor young boy from Five. I crouch down at the intact podium, inspecting whatever I can. Trying desperately to remember if there had been another tribute standing on it or not.

Behind me, the beeping descends. I turn and face the second parachute landing at my feet and smile.

Looks like I'm on to something.