📘 CHAPTER 13 — Fire at Their Backs
The forest behind them burned like a creature with a mind of its own, swallowing trees whole and snapping branches with loud, cracking pops that echoed like bones breaking. Smoke curled around Hayley’s ankles as she sprinted downhill, each breath clawing at her throat. Jordan ran a step behind her, close enough that she could hear his uneven breathing and the soft jingle of his canteen slapping against his pack.
They didn’t need to speak.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJYiwtiuAjh
The fire was speaking for them.
The Gamemakers had started this blaze deliberately. Hayley knew it. Jordan knew it. Every tribute left alive in the arena knew it. The Capitol’s fire not only burned — it hunted.
They burst through a cluster of fallen trees and stumbled into a rocky ravine. The air here was cooler, the sky less suffocating. Hayley braced her palms on her knees and sucked in a shaking breath.
Jordan leaned against a boulder, lifting his injured shoulder with a wince. The raw burn had blistered badly since the acid rain, and the heat from the fire hadn’t helped.
“Sit,” Hayley said, kneeling beside him.
“I’m fine,” he muttered, but his eyes were glazed, tired.
She raised an eyebrow. “You said that yesterday too.”
He didn’t argue this time — a small sign of how exhausted he truly was. Hayley dampened a cloth from their meager water supply and pressed it gently to his shoulder. Jordan hissed quietly through his teeth, but he didn’t pull away.
The ground beneath them rumbled. A warning.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL9HyVJXvX7
The fire was spreading faster.
Hayley stood, scanning the canyon. The ravine curved to the left, hidden beneath long shadows and jagged stone. If they followed it, maybe it would lead them away from the Capitol’s fire trap.
Or maybe straight into something worse.
“Jordan,” she said, helping him up. “We have to keep going.”
He met her eyes — really met them — and Hayley felt a flicker of something warm and steady there. Not romance, not yet. Just trust.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM9UXwKOsOw
And that was more dangerous than anything the Capitol could throw at her.
“Lead the way,” Jordan said softly.
So she did.
📘 CHAPTER 14 — The Shockwave
The ravine carried them forward for what felt like hours. The smoke thinned. The fire’s roar faded to a distant moan. Hayley let her guard loosen just enough to breathe without flinching.
That’s when the first tremor hit.
A low, rolling shake underfoot. Not natural. Nothing in this arena was.
Jordan froze mid-step. “Hayley… do you hear that?”
Before she could answer, a booming Capitol voice rang over the arena’s speakers, bright and cheerful like a parade announcement.
“Tributes! The time for wandering is over. The finale approaches. Please proceed to the central valley immediately.”
Hayley’s stomach dropped.
Jordan whispered, “Finale?”
Light exploded in the sky, forming a massive holographic clock counting down from 60.
Sixty seconds.
A deep, horrible instinct twisted in Hayley’s chest.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxTwT2glc0e
“Jordan — run!”
They bolted through the ravine, leaping over stones, slipping on loose gravel. The countdown boomed overhead.
40.
The tremors intensified. Rocks shook loose from the ravine walls.
20.
Jordan grabbed her hand, pulling her faster. “Move!”
10.
They hit open ground — a flat clearing, exposed and vulnerable.
Hayley screamed as the world flashed white.
The shockwave slammed into them like a wall of air thick as concrete. Hayley flew backward, tumbling across stone. Her ears rang. Her vision broke into shards of color.
She opened her eyes to a sky split by silver cracks.
Jordan crawled toward her, half-blind, his face pale.
“Hayley—talk to me,” he rasped, gripping her shoulders.
“I’m okay,” she managed.
But the arena wasn’t.
The landscape had reshaped itself — trees flattened, hills collapsed, barriers moved, funnels made.
The Gamemakers had funneled them into the center.
There was no more hiding.
Only fighting.
📘 CHAPTER 15 — Valley of Pillars
The central valley was colossal — a wide, barren stretch of stone with ancient-looking pillars jutting from the earth like broken teeth. Shadows clung to the bases of the pillars, dark enough to hide anything.
Hayley and Jordan crept along the edge of the valley, staying low. Wind cut through the open space, cold and sharp.
Jordan scanned the pillars. “We’re exposed out here.”
“I know,” Hayley said softly. “That’s the point.”
This is where they wanted tributes to kill each other.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHmYOHBFBry
This is where the Capitol would get its blood.
They moved from pillar to pillar, slipping behind each one for cover. Hayley kept her knife in hand; Jordan gripped his spear tighter than usual.
At one pillar, Jordan paused, his breath visible in the cold air.
“You scared?” Hayley asked.
He didn’t look at her — just nodded once.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrAc8mU3tGS
“You?”
“Terrified.”
It felt good to admit it.
Before Jordan could reply, a rock skittered across the ground somewhere to their right.
Both of them froze.
Hayley whispered, “We’re not alone.”
📘 CHAPTER 16 — The Career’s Return
A figure stepped out from behind a pillar — tall, poised, confident. The girl from District 2. The Career who had hunted them before, whose teammate Hayley had killed.
The girl’s expression was carved from stone.
“You two again,” she said with a cold smile. “I hoped we’d meet before the end.”
Hayley tightened her grip on her knife. Jordan shifted slightly closer.
The girl tossed a knife into the air, catching it with a spin.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeHxfx5Qdlo
“You killed one of mine. I kill one of yours. Balance.”
“We’re not looking for a fight,” Jordan said.
A soft laugh. “That’s too bad.”
She lunged.
Her first strike almost caught Hayley’s shoulder. Hayley ducked, rolling behind a pillar as the blade clanged against stone. Jordan swung his spear, catching the girl’s wrist, but she was fast — lightning fast.
She kicked Jordan’s leg out from under him.
“Jordan!” Hayley shouted.
He hit the ground with a grunt.
The girl turned her knives toward him.
Hayley ran.
She didn’t think — she just moved, slamming into the girl before the blade could fall. The two of them crashed to the ground, rolling through dust.
The girl snarled, “You again?”
Hayley grabbed her wrist and slammed it against a rock. The knife dropped. The girl flipped Hayley over, pinning her with brutal strength.
“You’re not strong enough,” the girl hissed.
Hayley’s heart pounded.
Maybe she was right.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnmuAqtgrb3
Maybe Hayley wasn’t the strongest tribute.
But she didn’t need to be.
She twisted her body, slipping free, and used the girl’s momentum to shove her against a pillar.
Jordan staggered to his feet, grabbing his spear with his good arm.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlm54zeU0fb
“Hayley — move!”
Hayley dove aside.
Jordan thrust.
The spear didn’t hit the girl’s heart — she was too fast — but it sliced across her ribs. She screamed in fury.
Not pain.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKwgsmMdnry
Fury.
“You’ll pay for that!” she spat, stumbling back, clutching her side.
The sound of approaching footsteps echoed through the valley.
More tributes.
The girl glanced toward the sound, then at Jordan and Hayley.
“This isn’t over.”
She vanished into the maze of pillars.
Hayley collapsed against a stone, shaking.
Jordan knelt beside her, breathless.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgYIy97p3Tj
“You okay?”
She nodded, though her lungs burned. “You?”
He gave a half-smile. “Still here.”
Their shoulders touched — not romantic, just steadying.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2LB8RbjBSS
Just necessary.
📘 CHAPTER 17 — The Night Trap
Night fell fast in the valley, shadows swallowing the pillars. The temperature plummeted so quickly Hayley’s breath fogged in front of her.
They found a narrow gap between two massive stones, sheltered from wind. Hayley pressed bandages to Jordan’s shoulder again, the wound looking angrier under the moonlight.
“We need real medicine,” she whispered.
Jordan leaned his head back. “And where exactly do we get that?”
Hayley opened her mouth to answer — but a metallic click came from above them.
They both looked up.
A net trap, razor-lined and weighted, dropped from the darkness.
Jordan shoved Hayley aside as the net sliced down, missing her by inches.
But Jordan was too slow.
The net crashed onto him, razor threads catching his arm, his shirt, his skin—
“Jordan!” Hayley grabbed the net, pulling it up with all her strength, but it was too heavy.
Jordan winced, trying not to cry out as the razor filaments bit deeper.
“Stop—Hayley—stop—”
“No!” Her voice broke. “I’m not leaving you!”
She pulled harder, her hands bleeding.
Jordan’s whisper trembled. “Please… let go. You’ll get hurt.”
Hayley clenched her teeth. “I’m already hurt.”
She shifted her weight, found a boulder for leverage, and pushed up with everything inside her. The net rose an inch — two — enough for Jordan to slip out his arm and roll to safety.
The net snapped back down, razor threads sparking against stone.
Hayley collapsed, hands stinging, chest heaving. Jordan crawled to her, gripping her shoulders with his uninjured hand.
“You saved my life,” he whispered.
Hayley looked up at him, exhausted and shaking.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPQEnYItnwq
“You’d do the same.”
He didn’t respond.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPvwuwQeiYz
He didn’t need to.
📘 CHAPTER 18 — The Gathering Storm
The arena began to rumble again at sunrise. Clouds formed overhead — unnatural ones, tinted with green and silver.
Hayley stared up, throat tight. “Another Gamemaker trick.”
“A big one,” Jordan said, voice low.
Wind whipped through the valley, carrying sharp, icy bursts. The temperature swung wildly — hot, then cold, then blistering cold.
A storm of extremes.
The Capitol was trying to kill them with the weather now.
“We need cover,” Jordan said.
They sprinted through the pillars, the wind lashing them from every direction. Hayley’s hair whipped her face, her ears ringing with the howling air.
A stone cave appeared at the valley’s far edge — shallow but deep enough to block the storm’s fury.
They ran inside as the wind outside turned into a tornado of dust and ice.
Inside the cave, it was dark and quiet except for their breathing. Jordan sank to the floor, shivering slightly. Hayley sat across from him, rubbing warmth into her hands.
Minutes passed.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3A3wRxy7o5
Then an hour.
Hayley tilted her head.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9QCMVNM5k5
“I think the Careers are waiting for this storm to end.”
Jordan nodded. “Then we use it to rest. And plan.”
Hayley hugged her knees. “You ever think about home?”
Jordan paused. “All the time.”
“Your brother?”
A shadow flickered across his expression. “He wouldn’t want me dying out here.”
Hayley swallowed. “My family… I hope they’re not watching.”
“They’re watching,” Jordan said quietly. “But not in the way the Capitol wants.”
Hayley looked up.
Jordan held her gaze for a long moment — not romantic, just honest.
It was the closest they’d ever been.
📘 CHAPTER 19 — The Alliance That Shouldn't Be
When the storm finally died, the valley air was eerily still. The ground glittered with frost. The sky was a deep steel gray.
Hayley and Jordan stepped out cautiously — and froze.
Three tributes stood across the valley.
District 4 boy.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8BHy6Xmjzv
District 7 girl.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgPazufxniO
District 10 boy.
An unlikely trio.
They weren’t fighting.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNdrCWdcJPJ
They were watching.
District 4 stepped forward.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUYTPaYZWky
“We’re not here to kill you.”
Jordan raised his spear. “You expect us to believe that?”
District 7 shook her head. “No. But we need each other. At least until the Careers are dead.”
Hayley’s pulse jumped.
An alliance.
A real one.
Jordan looked at her — waiting for her call.
Hayley breathed out slowly. “Why us?”
District 10 lowered his weapon. “Because the Careers hate you more than they hate the rest of us.”
“And you two keep surviving,” District 7 added. “We want to survive too.”
Hayley exchanged a long look with Jordan.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLKARtZBys8
No romance.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVFRyIApYtN
No signal.
Just understanding.
She turned back to the group.
“Fine,” Hayley said. “But the second any of you turn—”
District 4 finished for her: “You’ll kill us. We know.”
A fragile, dangerous alliance formed in that frozen valley.
Hayley wasn’t sure if it would save them —32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtcZgxeVlBG
or destroy them.
📘 CHAPTER 20 — The Hunt Begins
Their alliance didn’t stay hidden for long.
By midday, the Career girl returned — but not alone.
She had two surviving tributes from District 1 and a boy from District 3 armed with Capitol-made traps.
They spotted Hayley’s group across the valley.
The girl’s voice rang out.
“District Eleven! I told you this wasn’t over!”
The hunt began.
Hayley’s blood turned to fire as she sprinted across the valley, her feet pounding against cracked stone. The allied tributes scattered, taking cover behind pillars.
Jordan kept pace beside her despite his injured shoulder.
“Hayley—move left!”
She dove behind a stone just as a knife whistled past her cheek, slicing the air.
District 4 unleashed a barrage of rocks from above, distracting the Careers; District 7 leaped from behind a pillar with an axe.
Chaos erupted.
Hayley didn’t think — she acted.
She charged forward, slipping past the District 1 boy’s guard and slamming her knife into his arm. He screamed, staggering back.
The Career girl lunged at Jordan.
Hayley’s stomach dropped.
“No!”
She sprinted toward him — but a hand grabbed her wrist.
District 10.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBXoeUk3oPd
“Help District 7! Go!”
Hayley ripped free, trusting him, trusting Jordan to hold his own.
She and District 7 fought side-by-side, pushing back the District 3 boy and forcing him to retreat into the maze of pillars.
The fight spread across the valley like wildfire, each tribute locked in a deadly dance.
Hayley searched the battlefield for Jordan — her heart pounding harder than it ever had.
There.
Pinned against a pillar.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWwiEH7ZamX
The Career girl raising her knife.
Hayley screamed and ran toward him.
And that is where the final showdown began.
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