I crouch down low, keeping hidden behind the large berry bush that conceals me but still provides a few places here and there where I can see through. Several times I have pricked my fingers, but even though it stings, I don't even bother to think about it. When you could be killed at any time by anyone, small injuries are the least of your worries.
I try to ignore the feeling of starvation in my stomach: Gale will be back soon, hopefully with at least a decent rabbit or two that will last us a few days. He's been so quiet ever since the Games begun, only murmuring a few things to me, and strangely, he offered to do all the hunting and refused to let me do any. I think it must be because he still disagrees with the new rules this year. One rule is pretty good, but the other not so much. Both contestants that are from the same district can win, provided they both survive throughout the Games – but the age has been raised from 18 to 20, therefore meaning everyone aged 12 to 20 must have their names put in the ball. Gale wouldn't have had his name pulled out if it wasn't for the latter – he's 19, two years older than me. Personally, I didn't even know what to think of the new rules until my name was pulled, something that I didn't expect – no-one expected – to happen. Being the mayor's daughter, I didn't need to put my name in more times in exchange for tesserae, and compared to the forty or so times Gale entered his name, my six was barely anything.
Even though it may sound awful, I'm kind of glad for both of these new rules. If they hadn't been put in place, I wouldn't have ended up with Gale as the boy tribute from District 12, and he is a superb hunter. His abilities will definitely help us survive.
Then again, I do feel kind of bad. Despite the 11 out of 12 I scored when I had my private session with the Gamemakers, I don't know how I will be of any help to Gale. I don't even know why I scored such a high score. All I showed them was that I know twenty different ways to kill someone with my bare hands and that I'm pretty quick on my feet. That's nothing compared to what Katniss – last year's winner – could do, and she scored an 11, too. She's from the same district I am, District 12, and much poorer than I – my father and I buy the berries she and Gale used to collect. Now everyone expects me to be as good as her, which I know as a fact I can't.
The crunch of snow underfoot off to the left makes my head swivel round automatically, and I raise the small dagger Gale left me uselessly. We managed to snag a few supplies at the very beginning of the Games (rope, blanket, two daggers, drink bottle, backpack and a loaf of bread), and they have been quite helpful over the past two days. That's how long the Games have been going for, and so far, only one tribute has been killed.
"Madge?" I hear Gale's hushed voice call out to me.
"Over here," I call back softly, and shuffle over a bit to make room for him. We – well, Gale – managed to find a good hideout right by a stream that has pure, drinkable water, and so far it has helped to keep us protected from the rain a little bit. It seems to rain almost every night, which must be a little addition the Gamemakers decided to add in, as well as at least a dozen unknown species of wildlife that roam mostly at night. That was how the tribute from District 5 got killed. Her name was April, I think. I saw her wandering, alone, on the first night, and I could sense something … dangerous close. Sure enough, within a few minutes a great big thing had her pinned to the floor and, well, began to feast on her. I turned away until they took her body, afraid to see the remnants of it. It reminded me just how close we could be to death if we risked anything even as small as running across a three metre clearing; it definitely shocked me back in to reality.
"What did you catch?" I ask Gale as he squeezes in next to me.
"Three rabbits and a possum," he replies quietly, holding them up in his right hand. I look away in disgust, but am thankful he had found us food nonetheless.
"Anything happen while I was gone?"
"Nope," I say, and suddenly the realisation of how lucky I am sinks in. Any of the tributes could have seen and killed me within a few seconds, if they wanted to. And nothing would stop them, especially not the Careers.
"That's good. I saw that boy from District 7 – Liam? He didn't see me, though. It was at least an hour away from here, too, so don't worry," Gale informed me, and then set to work cleaning the dried blood off his dagger.
"Thank you, by the way. I know you pretty much hate me, and you didn't even need to team up with me, so – thanks," I murmur, just loud enough for him to hear. He simply nods, and continues with the task at hand.
"Um – I was thinking that maybe tomorrow I could go get us some food. I don't mean meat or anything, since I haven't a clue how to hunt, but I've seen a few berry bushes around. I know which ones are edible, too," I say it slowly, and then pause, letting my words sink in.
"Okay," Gale nods again. "Sure."
We sit in silence for a while, and I watch curiously as he guts the rabbits and prepares them to eat. We can't start a fire now, when it's almost the middle of the night, but tomorrow we will be able to sometime during the day. Gale hands me a piece of raw meat, and I chew on it hungrily. Even though I know there will be cameras around, and that there's a good chance my parents will be able to see me, I don't bother eating nicely. I'm so starving all I can focus on is the meat.
"I'm going to get some sleep now, if you don't mind. Could you take the first watch?" Gale asks sleepily.
"Mmmhmm. I'll wake you in a few hours," I reply, but he's already fast asleep. I sit up from my spot on the ground and rummage around in our backpack, and produce a large woollen blanket that I drape over him. It should keep him warm. Then I wrap my jacket around me tighter and lean gently against a skinny tree, scanning the area around us through the gaps in the bushes.
Just when I have almost dozed off, I hear two people whispering loudly to each other not too far away. Straight away I feel guilty – I shouldn't have let myself almost fall asleep like that. I shake the guilt away, because now I have a bigger problem: we could be killed, right here, right now.
"Gale! Gale, quick wake up," I shake him slowly at first, but when the voices get louder, I start desperately rocking him to and fro until, finally, he opens his eyes.
"Wh – what?" he stammers, clearly confused.
"We've got company," I only just manage to say before an arrow comes flying our way, only just skimming my cheek but landing directly in Gale's right upperarm.
