Hey! Here's the next chapter to A Story Untold. I hope you like it so far, and a special thanks to all those who review! It really helps, and motivates me to continue writing. Enjoy!
Chapter Six
We abandon the mountain in case of another avalanche but decide we should stay close to the pond. After some debating and searching, we come to the decision that, for tonight, we'll stay by the water's edge, but tomorrow we'll find somewhere else to reside. Maybe even form a plan of some sort that will help us win, eliminate some of our opponents.
Ross and I sit on the shore of the pond, letting the cool water lap at our feet and nibble on some of the squirrel we just cooked. It's abnormally peaceful for the Hunger Games. But I like it, so I let it happen. I discover that squirrel isn't as bad as I thought and not that different tasting from rabbit. I just pretend it's nothing more than food, that it was never a living, breathing animal, and manage to down half of one plus half a rabbit. Ross eats the other halves of the squirrel and rabbit. Then we break out the berries that Ross found earlier. They're very sweet but have a strong, tangy aftertaste that tickles your mouth and makes you want more. I would have no trouble finishing them off and neither would Ross, but we manage to save half of the pile for tomorrow. Who knows if they'll still be where we found them when we wake up in the morning? Then we just sit there, watching the water, letting the breeze blow across our faces. Ross sighs.
"What?" I ask curiously. When I look over at him he's smiling, leaning back on his hands. He doesn't say anything for a few seconds, just looks around at the bare terrain and the mountain with squinted eyes.
"You know, this isn't half bad," he says. That catches me off guard. He never seemed to enjoy this place and the beauty of the scenery – not that many people do – before now. But I feel the same way. Looking around at the clear, calm water, the grey yet bright sky, I feel safe. The mountain that was once a looming threat is no longer dark and ominous. The animals scattered throughout the arena seem like companions, there to keep you company, and I'm no longer frightened by them. I don't feel trapped or afraid anymore. I don't feel like I'm on my way to death.
Even though I am.
"I think, right now, we should enjoy this. Everything looks especially beautiful tonight, and we should try to savor it. Tomorrow it's back to business, but for now…let's just forget where we really are and enjoy ourselves," Ross says, no humor in his voice.
And because the moment seems so perfect I reply, "Alright." Then I smile at him. "As our first act of enjoying ourselves, I say we go swimming!"
We strip off our over clothes and pull off our shoes as quickly as we can. Then I grab Ross' hand and pull him toward the water, both of us grinning wide as ever. We splash into the pond laughing, the refreshing water flying every which way, cooling us down. Ross takes me by the waist and lifts me into the air, spinning me around, and I start laughing even harder. So hard that I can't see straight, can barely stand up when he releases me. We get deeper and the water is up to my thighs so I just push off and dive in head first. Ross is close behind me, and I can feel him jump in after me as he displaces a great amount of water. We surface and smile at each other again, having real fun for the first time in too long. Ross' eyes glint with pure happiness, bright as the water, soft and smiling. I can't help but wonder how they can be so perfect, strong, just the right shade of purple, like bright irises, always shining with joy.
We bob in the water, just splashing each other and giggling, before I stop it. "I'll race you to the other side," I say. "You know, no one has ever beaten me in a swimming competition before."
"A challenge, eh?" he says. And I remember when he said exactly that only days before, when he first found me in that bush. I wasn't sure if I could trust him back then, but now I know.
"Go!" I say. I whirl around and take off across the pond, and I can hear Ross yell something to me because I got a few seconds head start. I glide through the water, my arms and legs pushing me along, and I immediately know that Ross won't catch up to me. I'm a natural swimmer; I swam often back in District 8 before Mory died. When I turned four, Mory introduced me to the wonders of the water by bringing me to the local swimming pool. It was rarely used; not many people knew how to swim and few cared to learn, so we almost always had the place to ourselves. After Mory's death, I stopped going altogether because I thought it would be too painful, but eventually I couldn't resist anymore. A little piece of my world reopened then, and I realized that staying away had only strengthened my love for the water. Swimming helped me, gave me something to look forward to every day, made coping just a little bit easier. Ever since then, I haven't been able to refuse a visit at least every other day, and my life has grown considerably brighter.
With my eyes open under the fresh water, I effortlessly make my way to victory, to the end of the pond, and walk up to sit along the shoreline. I prop my elbows up on my knees and rest my head in my hands to wait for Ross. He's messily splashing his was across; slowly but surely. I think I've finally found something that Ross doesn't excel in. When he reaches the shallows I allow myself a little chuckle and say, "Should I not say I told you so?"
He surfaces and crawls up to take his spot next to me, managing a superbly wide grin through his panting. "Well that would be gloating now, wouldn't it?"
"In a way, I suppose. But don't I deserve to? After all, I beat you;a big, strong guy. That just goes to show that girls can be better than guys, too."
"Point taken," says Ross. "So, I guess you can add me to the longlist of people who have lost to you. And that makes your grand total what exactly?" He looks at me expectantly with that smirk of his.
"Well…you see, I've never actually had a swimming race with anyone before. No one but me ever uses the public pool in District 8, so I haven't had the chance," I confess. "One then. My grand total is one."
His grin widens, revealing two rows of perfect white teeth. "You had me fooled. So, that makes this your first win. Congratulations."
"Why, thank you," I say. There's a slight pause. "Is it insane that I think your eyes match the color of the water when they're violet and the water is blue?" We're both silently frozen for a moment. I mentally slap myself in the face. I am an idiot. I can't just blurt out my random thoughts as I think them. Self-control is what keeps people civilized and out of trouble. And I just set myself up for embarrassment. I put my face in my hands and groan, but to my surprise, Ross starts laughing. I can feel the color of humiliation has stained my cheeks, but his reaction forces me to look up at him. The odd thing is I don't think he's laughing at me, at least not in the way I expected him to. He seems genuinely amused by my outburst and continues laughing as I stare at him, astonished. But I still cannot find the words to stop him.
"I was thinking the same thing of you," he says. Then he takes my face in his hands and kisses me. It's even more unexpected than when he did just this in that bush, and I thought nothing could ever top that. He pulls away to say, "Except that your eyes are blue, so they complement the water even more perfectly." Then I gladly lean in as he pulls my mouth to his again. We're still soaking wet, so our kisses are mixed with dripping water, but it doesn't matter. I slip my arms up around his neck and realize that I have never felt this good. Never. I wonder for a moment if I'm falling in love, and instead of pushing it away I let the question linger, though unanswered. His lips are warm and sweet, gentle but strong, and I don't want to let go. But too early we have to break apart, because the sky is darkening and our perfect afternoon is coming to a close. We untangle ourselves and I smile at him. I planned on saying something witty, but when he smiles back at me my mind goes blank and I can't speak.
Ross helps me up and we start walking along the edge of the water back our little camp. Our joined hands seem to fit together so perfectly I can't imagine them ever being separated, even though that's how they were our entire lives before now. The silence is peaceful as we walk, but I feel like it would be made even better with words. Yet my mind can't find a single one in my vocabulary that could describe what just happened between us. So I simply sigh contentedly. That's how Ross broke our silence before, so maybe it will work now.
But Ross only imitates my sigh and gives a small laugh. "I like this quiet. It's calming, refreshing," he says. So I just smile, rest my head on his shoulder, and let the silence continue.
We finally reach the campsite and start to ready ourselves for sleep. Ross decides to stay awake the first half of the night because I took first watch last night, and I don't stop him. After cleaning up our supplies and putting them into our little backpack, I lay down on my precious grass-bed and close my eyes. I notice that it's not unbearably cold tonight, only slightly chilled, and I'm thankful that I don't have to spend the night shivering. Then light flashes before my closed eyelids and I hear the routine anthem play. I almost forgot. We still have to find out who died today. I sit up and rub my eyes open, then take Ross' hand tightly and watch the sky.
The first face I see is the boy from District 1. That surprises me. He was a Career, and a very muscled guy. But he was extremely cocky and stupid, though, so I shouldn't be too shocked. Next I see the girl from District 4, Coral. Another Career? Something bad must have happened with the pack. Most likely a Gamemaker-made disaster. Then the face of the girl from District 12 flashes above us. The anthem plays and the sky goes dark. I didn't expect so many people to die today. Usually, when the numbers start to dwindle, the tributes become more cautious and few to none die each day. Three may not seem like a lot, but at this point in the Games, it makes a big difference. I guess this Hunger Games is going to be fairly quick. At least compared to the past ones that lasted weeks on end. But, if this is what he meant, Ross was right. It wasn't so hard to watch their faces in the sky tonight. It means I'm just that much closer to coming home alive.
Then I realize something. There were nine of us left yesterday, and three died today, so that means there are only six tributes still standing. What about interviewing the families of the final eight? Does that mean they only visit our six families? Or will they interview the families of us and the last two tributes who died? But that wouldn't make any sense if they're already dead. So what do they do? I don't think this has ever happened before. It's pretty amazing that throughout the entire history of the Hunger Games, there has always been a final eight for long enough to hold the interviews. I would think the chances of that are much lower than the chances of what happened today.
I lie down again and try to get some rest. Ross sits down beside me and starts to gently massage the tense section of my back, between my shoulders. His warm touch helps me to relax and soon enough I'm fast asleep.
My dreams that night are very vague. I'm surrounded by grey, nothing but bleak greyness. I stumble along, unsure of where I am or where I'm going, trying to make sense of my situation. Fatigue and hopelessness eventually overcomes me and I collapse to the ground in a heap of misery. Then, out of the blue, or should I say grey, comes a swarm of black dots. I can't tell if they're insects or clouds or just hallucinations but I know enough to get up and run. I only make it a few steps, though, before the swarm overwhelms me and I'm suffocated by darkness. I wake with a start and find that Ross' forearm is clasped in my fingers and I'm probably cutting off the circulation of blood to his hand.
"It's okay," he says softly. "It's just me. I'm not going to hurt you." I'm gasping for breath even though the dream is gone and am surprised that I didn't wake up screaming. I manage to release Ross' arm and push myself into a sitting position, but I'm shaking all over. There's still a creeping cold slithering through me. "You're fine. It was just a dream. It's over now," Ross continues.
I take a deep breath. "I'm alright. Why don't you get some sleep now?" I ask. I can see in his eyes that he wants to decline, but I give him a look and say, "Please. I can't go back to sleep."
He reluctantly takes his place on the ground and tries to rest. As Ross drifts in an out of slumber I stare at the sky, waiting for the clouds to transform and erupt into a mass of black spots. To find me and swallow me whole again. But they never do. What was my dream supposed to mean anyway? I don't have nightmares that often, and I hadn't had one in the arena until now. I was in a space of pure grey, and had no clue where I was, what I was supposed to do, or what was going to happen next. Is that meant to symbolize oblivion or ignorance? Because I honestly don't know what I'm supposed to do or what's going to happen in the real world either. And the black dots that swallowed me whole, what did they mean? That my fate is to be surprise attacked and killed? I guess that would make sense in the arena, especially since we're nearing the end.
But all these guesses are only guesses. So how would I know what's real and what's simply a guess without a set answer? Is there even a single answer? All this seems to be in vain. There is no way to know what the true answer is. I should stop trying to decipher this; it's only wasting time. It just feels like it's important, that if I figured out the meaning of the dream, it would help me in some way. I just wish that it wasn't so hard. That I knew, for sure, what my dream meant.