If You Want to Get Out Alive || Asher and Az
If I stay, it won't be long til I'm burning on the inside. If I go, I can only hope I make it to the other side. If you want to get out alive, run for your life. -Three Days Grace. (and my weak attempt to tie this to the Zayne and Zalia para.) _____________________________________________
After her mild success in using the keys and monitors to spy on and attack the girl from 12, Zalia had been reluctant to sleep. Asher was annoyed with her but, more than that, he was bored. His patience was at an all time low while his instincts demanded action and the more twisted parts of his mind begged for another kill. When Zalia finally took a break from her spywork to get a few hours of sleep, Asher sighed with both relief and exasperation. Why were they even still in this room? He told himself that he didn't care what Zalia did- it was a lie but it was also beside the point. Asher had scored as well as the most popular Career and better than the rest of them. He was one of the best tributes here and he'd always been one of the animals. It was time to remind himself of that- and prove it to the audience at home. Debating his course of action for a few minutes, Asher looked back and forth between Zalia and her damn monitors. The girl from 12 had managed to escape the ants they sent. Neither of them were happy about it, but Asher had promised to make sure the girl died later... maybe sooner rather than later, but still. It took him a few second's concentration to find the girl again. She'd left the candy store and now sat crouched against a wall in the hallway outside it. This wouldn't be a challenge. It wasn't even worth waiting for Zalia to wake up and come with him. He could have this one kill and then everything would be okay again. That settled, Asher picked up his trusty knife and pocketed a small water bottle. He wouldn't need anything else and he'd come right back anyway. Sneaking down to the first floor wasn't easy. When he heard some shouting close to the second floor Cornucopia, he was tempted to get involved but he quickly decided against it. If the Careers were turning on each other this early in the Game, he could stand to sit this one out and just look forward to facing whichever of them survived that fight. Silently making his way down the broken escalator, Asher compared the layout he could see with what he remembered from the monitors upstairs. Sure enough, there was the candy store and a little farther away, the hallway outside it led to several more stores... but where was the girl? Asher didn't see her at first but he smirked almost-resentfully when he did. Azalea Highnet had moved from her spot against the wall and had conveniently found a large potted plant to hide behind. Tempted as he was to make a sort of game out of this pursuit, Asher was in a hurry. Not bothering to announce himself, he maintained his signature smirk and walked right up to the girl, waiting to see some flash of fear or recognition on her face.
