The days that followed Onyx meeting up with Adam were excruciating, not due to physical pain or to hunger or the scorching heat, but more due to the emotional trauma that Onyx had to deal with. As much as he wanted it to end, he was forced to put up with it, and though Adam continued to remind him that it wouldn't be much longer, minutes felt like hours and hours felt like days. He was grateful for the distractions that Adam provided, though Onyx did not at first contribute much to the conversations, probably leading Adam to think that he didn't want to hear what he had to say, and much to Onyx's dismay he began to talk less and less. Onyx could not bring himself to ask Adam to speak, just to give him something to listen to instead of the demons taunting him inside his own mind, and so he suffered through the silence, unable to think of anything to speak about himself, and not having the motivation to do so. Instead, Onyx preoccupied himself with tending to Adam in the ways he needed help, replenishing him with food and water and disappearing to refill their water supply a few times a day, as though they had more than one canteen and plenty of other things to hold the water in, it went down fast between two people preparing for battle. Onyx had lost a little bit of weight in the arena, though not nearly as much as Adam had seemed to, and so he tried to help him gain some of that back now, sharing with him the majority of the food. He did not let Adam in on this, however having a feeling he might insist Onyx take more, and so he often ate at different times than Adam so that he was none the wiser of how much he had. Their food supply, too, began to go down quickly, even with the secret stash Onyx had created for emergencies, and it was obvious that the end would be coming any moment. With every noise in the bushes, Onyx jumps to his feet, prepared to defend them, though he quickly reminds himself that neither of them wanted to come out of the battle and sinks back to the ground when it just turns out to be the breeze or a bird, and not another tribute.
Nights were the hardest, as Onyx was still afraid to sleep even though he had not much to lose, his life being invaluable to him now and having already lost Sapphira. Adam did not seem to care much for his own life, either, so he doubted he cared much if he was killed in his sleep, and yet Onyx was afraid that the moment his eyes closed, horrors would ensue. The visions that danced behind his eyelids were bad enough as it was, but the lingering feeling of fear, of the helplessness that came with being unconscious terrified him beyond belief, and most of the night was spent just staring into the black, waiting for death to come. On the last night, he was aware that Adam had moved very close to him and on several occasions when he was between sleep and consciousness went to roll over and reach out only to realize that it wasn't Sapphira at all and quickly roll back over, cringing against the sting of fresh salt in his wounds. It was only a reminder of the fact that Sapphira was no longer there for him to protect, or to pretend that he could protect her, to wrap his arms around as if they would be a barrier from the dangers of the world. Of course, in the end, his arms had not been enough, so perhaps it was better if he didn't touch anyone anyways, to give them a false sense of security when he would only let them down. If Sapphira had not depended on Onyx, if she had only depended on herself, then she might not be dead right now. Confused and angry tears leak down Onyx's face and he wipes them away, frowning, telling himself that he had no right to cry, to feel sorry for himself. When he wakes up from a momentary sleep, against his will, however, there are dried tear stains on his cheek and pooled up in the creases of his eyes, having taken advantage of his inability to resist them while asleep to escape from his body, leaving him feeling somewhat more relieved, which only made him angrier, because he didn't deserve relief.
Sitting up, Onyx begins his morning with the pre-determined decision that today would be the day that they found the other tributes and they would not be returning to the Cornucopia again. He divides up the remainder of the food and shares it with Adam to build up any remaining strength and arms himself with the mace he had been using from the first day, as well as a knife for good measure. Though he wasn't really planning on killing anybody, it was more for show and for the same reason, when Adam is done stocking up from the Cornucopia, Onyx lights a match and throws it into the Cornucopia, hoping that it might ruin anything flammable and if not, then at least catch fire to the grass around it to keep other tributes from raiding it. Slinging a canteen around his neck and chucking his shirt into the fire as fuel, as it wasn't needed in the least, Onyx follows Adam into the forest, granting him a weak smile at his attempted humour. "Too late for that," he says, gesturing to his shoulders and back with a nod, where he had paid the price for scarcely wearing a shirt. It had obviously paid off in the form of sponsors, the lavish dinner he had received when Sapphira died and promptly thrown across the clearing being proof, but sponsors turned out not to be helpful in the least, or at least not when your goal was saving someone else's life. He almost wanted to cover up just to spite them, but it was impossible in the heat, and so he figured let them enjoy it while it lasted, because soon enough his body was going to be under the ground only for the worms to see.
As Adam speaks to him, Onyx begins to stop listening around the point when Adam mentions that he is friends with Melody, slipping into a small depression, biting his tongue bitterly. Of course it was Onyx's own fault that he didn't have any friends, nobody to give a shit if he died or not or that Sapphira had died or that wouldn't attack him as soon as they saw him, Adam being the closest thing to one. He had made sure that he hadn't had any friends because it had been necessary to intimidate the others if he wanted to win, but he couldn't help unwillingly hating Adam a little, hating all of the other tributes as well, for the bonds they had made, and the bravery against the Capitol they had displayed in doing so. Onyx, however, had played right into their hands, done exactly as they wanted him to, and yet he was the one who got fucked over first. Well, they were going to get split up from their friends soon enough too, he thinks to himself, and there wasn't a thing they could do about it. One of them would have to suffer the way Onyx had suffered for the rest of their life, and he smugly tries to take comfort in this, though it doesn't bring him anything close to, as in reality he wouldn't wish this pain upon anyone. He is only aware that Adam has stopped talking when a hand suddenly hits him in the chest and he glances up to see Adam has stopped altogether, head tilted slightly as he listens hard to something, and Onyx follows his lead, doing the same and picking up the faint hum of a motor.
Shaking his head at Adam's inquiry, Onyx follows his gaze towards the sky and also notices the hovercraft, not unlike the ones that picked up the fallen. But it didn't make sense for it to be there; the hovercrafts weren't even supposed to be seen, only picking up bodies when the area was clear of tributes. So why was it hovering above them in plain sight, almost as if it were stalking them? Onyx had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach and as Adam steps forward, he almost tells him not to, feeling uneasy about the way the hovercraft was just sitting there, practically inviting someone to step closer. "Adam," Onyx begins, anxiously, "maybe we should just g-" Before Onyx can even make the suggestion, a blast so intense that it knocks him off his feet shakes the ground, sending rocks and twigs and dirt flying at him so fast that they feel like bullets. He is thrown onto the ground across the clearing on his stomach, which screams in protest, the heat from the explosion searing across his bare back as he uses his arms to shield his skull from the things that are hurled at him. Finally, the things stop flying, though the ringing in his ears does not, and he brings his head up to try to orient himself again. He has to blink a few times before the bright white backdrop fades from his vision and he is able to see clearly, to discover that he was not the only thing that had been demolished in the explosion, that there were stumps where trees used to be and burning debris everywhere. But Adam was nowhere to be seen. Pushing himself shakily from the ground onto his knees, Onyx calls out his name, surprised by how quiet his voice was in his ears, unsure if it was his throat or his hearing that was the problem. Again he calls, rising slowly to his feet and searching the ground around himself only to find he had lost his weapon at some point. Oh well. This way, he had an excuse for the feeble fight he would put up.
Onyx's own name catches his ear and he navigates towards the sound, stumbling a few times and regretting the feast that he had enjoyed this morning as it is thrown up the walls of his stomach in the tumble. His voice sounds a million miles away but Onyx finds Adam within seconds, using the remaining trees as support despite how hot they were under his palm, some even burning the skin, and he trips forward, grabbing hold of Adam's shoulders. "Are you okay?" he gasps, and as soon as Adam confirms it, grants himself the chance to empty his stomach, falling forward on to the ground and giving up any hydration that he had provided himself with earlier, leaving his throat burning as if he had just swallowed hot coals. Falling back onto his knees, glad for the fact that Adam had insisted he bring a canteen, he empties the rest of it into his mouth and tries to soothe his throat and wash away the taste of vomit, not bothering to check himself over for injuries. Everything hurt, but he was still able to move and so he again rises to his feet, prepared to do so, to do what he came here to do, only more motivated to die now that he was suffering. Before he can take a step, though, a voice booms through the arena, notifying the remaining tributes of illegal activity in district 13 and warning them to get to the hovercrafts at the Cornucopia, among other things that make little sense to Onyx. With a glance to Adam, he can see that he isn't keen on being taken to the Capitol either, and within moments he is being dragged by his wrist through the forest. It was still hard to walk on his ankle after his roll down the hill days before but he does his best to keep up, following Adam to an empty clearing where he pauses to catch his breath.
By now, the sky was swarming with hovercrafts, creating a dark canopy over their heads and shaking the ground with explosions as Onyx just fought to stay upright. His body had been perfected for this and yet the physical and emotional fatigue combined was becoming too much, threatening to bring him down at any moment, not having the motivation to push himself like he should. "I'm trying," he snaps back at Adam, and, giving him a rough shove ahead of him, begins to run, as if just to prove himself. Everything is a blur, and Onyx is even unsure if he is running to or from something, if they are the target or if they are merely in the way, exhausted but only encouraged by the occasional things Adam screams at him to hurry him along. The goal of trying to die seems to slip from their minds as they run, instead of throwing themselves in front of bombs, trying to avoid them. Onyx was never supposed to die at the hands of the Capitol or even the Gamemakers, but instead in battle, at the hands of another tribute, if ever. He was still wrapping his head around the fact that the Capitol wanted to kill them, and that he so easily found himself tugging and pushing Adam out of the way of debris and other obstacles, Adam returning this act without hesitation, as if he was once again trying to preserve someone other than himself, as if it was in his instinct. He suddenly decides he doesn't want to watch Adam die, that he wants to be the first to go, and almost as if the world was reading his thoughts, his wish is granted.
It all happens within seconds. Onyx hears Adam yell warning to him but they are both too slow to react, and again are sent flying to opposite sides like feathers in the impact of the bomb's aftermath. There is a sudden sharp and shooting pain in Onyx's chest and as he is slammed to the ground, he crumples, much faster than he usually might, as if something was weighing him down. In a sort of fetal position on his side, Onyx tries to regain breath, finding it much more difficult than usual, and gasps helplessly for a few seconds. Despite how he desperately tries to fill his lungs with air, each breath was agony and though he doesn't want to look, he knows he has to. His hands travel to the source of the pain and meet something protruding from his chest that he is certain shouldn't be there. Glancing down, Onyx can see that a branch flying at top speed has managed to lodge itself in his ribcage, seemingly quite deep, so thick that he could wrap his fingers around it and they still barely touched. This only leads Onyx to panic more and he fights to consume air that seems to escape as soon as he brings it in, fighting back sobs at the unbearable agony that comes as he bleeds out on the ground, very much aware of what was happening. He was dying. He had anticipated it for days but he never could have prepared for it, not that he had ever had to. He had prepared to kill and to betray, but never to love, and certainly never to die. Everyone was so sure he was coming home, to the point where they hadn't even considered the possibility that he would die in the arena, hadn't even said their goodbyes. But it was inevitable since the moment he met Sapphira, that he was either going to die so that she could win, or die missing her if she perished. He had no idea where Adam was but he desperately hoped he wasn't dying somewhere as well, scolding himself for caring, reminding himself that he didn't even want to live.
He cannot stop the strangled gasp of relief that escapes his throat when suddenly Adam's face appears in his vision, and almost instinctively he reaches out to him, as if wanting him to stay, terrified to death of being alone as the life left his body through his veins. It takes the rumbling of the ground beneath him to knock some sense into him, reminding him that it was dangerous here, that he was being selfish, and he opens his mouth instead to tell Adam to get the hell out of here, only to have a cascade of blood pour out where his words should be. Horrified, Onyx brings his hands to his face, trying to cover it, feeling it seep between his fingers, tears of shock and affliction and pure fear escaping the corners of his eyes as he chokes on his own blood, struggling even more to bring air into his body. When the blood seems to finally momentarily cease, Onyx rolls onto his back, chest heaving, unable to fight with Adam either way and instead just letting his vision haze, waiting for the sound of his own cannon to ring in his ears, to notify everyone that he was at long last paying for his stupidity. He is suddenly aware that he is digging his fingers into Adam's arm, as if trying to cling onto him for dear life, as if he could save him from the inevitable death that was coming for him. Releasing him, Onyx uses his remaining energy to roll onto his other side, sparing Adam the gruesome sight and granting him permission to leave, to let him die how he had lived his entire life, the past few weeks being an exception; alone.
