Title: Jessica vs Elizabeth

Summary:

“Oh, Lizzie, isn’t it romantic?” Jessica squealed.

Elizabeth gaped at her twin. “They’re expecting us to kill each other.”

“Yes, but we get new clothes and we’re paired with a boy!”

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.

Notes: I am going to post this, unbeta’d as it gets written for NaNoWriMo2017. I will post a clean, edited (hopefully coherent) version when it is finished, but if you want to see the raw, error-laden process of my word-vomit, here it is.

Chapters: 1 & 2, 3 & 4, 5 , 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 & 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18.

Eighteen

It was getting dark. Jessica didn’t like it. She didn’t want to be alone in the dark. Last night she’d been with Bruce Patman – she still didn’t regret killing him though.

She was somewhere in a wooded area, she thought she was probably back where she’d ended up when the games started, around the same place she’d idiotically saved Bruce. She still had her throwing star. When she got out of the arena, she was going to keep it with her always.

She was cold, tired and hungry. And still damp from the tidal wave.

Suddenly she caught of whiff of something amazing – melted cheese, tomato sauce… pizza! Someone had pizza! She followed the scent, moving as quick as she could in the falling darkness.

She found Lila Fowler tucked beside a fallen tree, with a pizza box from Guido’s in front of her. Lila was clutching the Unicorn horn that Janet had received from a sponsor.

“Jessica, I killed my cousin, I will kill you if you come at me,” Lila said, in a cold hard voice that was nothing like her usual snooty drawl.

Jessica felt a stab of fear – Lila was a mean girl, and she could be cruel, but if she killed Janet, then she had upgraded herself. “I just want some pizza,” she said meekly.

There was a period of silence as Lila thought it over. “You can have a slice, but you have to stay away from me.”

Jessica thought about it for a moment – she was so hungry. She could kill Lila and take the whole pizza. She was standing up, and Lila was sitting down. She could lunge and stab her in the throat – she had done that with Bruce against rushing water. It would be easy.

“Let me clarify, Jessica,” Lila said. “I killed Janet with a toothbrush. Either take a slice of pizza and say thank you, or die in a very humiliating way.”

Jessica sat down a respectable distance away and helped herself to the largest slice in the box. “No pepperoni?”

“Toothbrush, Jess.”

“Thank you,” Jessica said sulkily. Maybe Lila didn’t really kill anyone, she consoled herself.

A few minutes later, three pictures appeared in the sky: Brooke Dennis, Bruce Patman and Janet Howell.

“So… a toothbrush?” Jessica asked sweetly.

Lila didn’t answer. A parachute appeared above them and drifted downwards.

“Alright! My first sponsorship gift!” Jessica exclaimed.

The package floated towards Lila and Jessica growled in frustration. “Come on! I’m a Wakefield! I’m the prettiest girl in the arena! Where’s my sponsorship?”

She shuffled an inch closer to see what Lila had received. It looked like some kind of fruit – a small box of dark berries. “Oooh, dessert?”

Lila ignored her and read the note attached. “You’ve got to be kidding me!” she snapped before stowing the box in her bag.

Typical selfish Lila, refusing to share her gifts.

“Go away, Jessica,” Lila said.

Well that was just rude – and Jessica wanted another slice of pizza.

“We’ve been friends a long time, so I’ll give you a pass right now. Just go. I don’t have any more space for friends in the arena.”

Jessica’s eyes flashed angrily. “Lila Fowler, you’re mean! I’m gonna kill you.”

Lila tiredly raised her Unicorn horn. She gave Jessica a dead-eyed stare that motivated her a lot more than the weapon.

She scrambled to her feet. “I’ll get you tomorrow, Lila Fowler!” she vowed.

“No. You won’t.”

Jessica walked away quickly, an angry blush heating her face. She was embarrassed that she had been afraid of Lila – and shown it – on TV. She was going to kill that snobby jerk!

Tomorrow.

When it wasn’t dark.

Lois tripped and went sprawling on her face. Before she could even pick herself up, she realised that this moment would follow her through the rest of her life. Fat girl with wobbly bottom falls on face in the mud! The gamemakers were probably cleaning up the clip somehow, so her fall could be seen clearly. They would replay it over and over – not a clip of her doing anything cool, but this moment.

She fixed a wry smile on her face before she wiped the mud off her face. She rubbed herself down as best she could, but Lila had the bag – and even if she was still with Lila, she assumed that the tissues were a messy clot in the bottom of the bag after being drenched in the tsunami.

She was kicking herself for not realising a tsunami was coming – she had been present for the earthquake and she knew the arena had a beach. If only she’d realised sooner, she and Lila could have prepared.

She found that she was missing Lila. That was odd. When it had been the three of them, she had worried that Lila would be a burden to them. Instead, Lila seemed to have the same worry, and even if she couldn’t help, she at least pushed herself forward and went along with Winston and Lois’ suggestions.

When the names and pictures had flashed in the sky, Lois had stood watching with her fingers crossed, and finally exhaled when Lila’s picture had not appeared.

Lois rubbed her shins. She had no idea what she tripped over, but whatever it was, it had heft. She cast about in the dark, trying to find it, and after a few cautious minutes, she found a box. She dipped her hands into it, and found there was some kind of a weapon. She pulled it out and ran her fingers over it lightly, trying to work out what she had found.

It was gun shaped, but not as solid. There was a leather strap and a tank of some kind attached. Given that she was in a Hunger Games arena with a bunch of very vapid people, there was a solid chance it was a water spray or something equally useless. But given that Ro$ey the sponsor existed, there was an equal chance it was a flame thrower.

“Come on, Ro$sey,” Lois muttered. “Cross your fingers for me.”

After several checks to make sure she was holding it right, she flicked the switch. There was a sudden burning jet of flame that lit up the area around her. Lois quickly took her finger off the switch. Stupid! She had known it would be bright, but she hadn’t realised it would light up the whole arena like that.

Still, this was excellent. This was a weapon. Her hockey stick was great, but this was exactly the kind of thing she could use to annihilate Elizabeth Wakefield.

She was going to toast that murderous twig like a marshmallow.