It was a cannon shot. Then another. And another.
"Who do you think they were?" Hermione asked.
"Dunno. Guess we'll find out tonight."
"How many people died the first day, again?"
"Ten...no, eleven."
Hermione exhaled, looking as if she was in pain, holding her hand to her heart.
"The majority of them were probably children..." she whispered.
Ron put his arm around her and rubbed her shoulder. She leaned onto his shoulder, sighing. They sat there for awhile in peace, until there was a rustling behind them.
A boy stood there, a bow loaded in his hands, ready to shoot. He was pointed right at Hermione. He let the arrow go and Ron ran in front of it. The arrow went into his shoulder, and he fell to the ground.
"Ron!" she screamed.
The boy drew another arrow, but Hermione was faster. She picked up Ron's knife and threw it at the boy. It pierced him right in the heart.
Boom.
Hermione fell to her knees next to Ron. She reached her arm towards the arrow.
"Don't...pull it out..." Ron murmured.
She bit her lip, starting to get nervous.
"We have to, Ron..."
"Unscrew the tip from the pole, then pull the pole out." Ron said.
Hermione cautiously grabbed the bottom part of the arrowhead, slowly starting to twist it.
"You okay so far?" she asked.
"Yeah."
The arrowhead fell to the ground. Hermione gently laid a hand on Ron's chest and grabbed the pole with her other hand, and slowly started to pull it out. Ron scrunched his face in pain.
She dropped the pole on the ground next to him. He relaxed, lifting his head slightly to see the wound. Blood was flowing out of it.
"Hold on," she said, ripping the sleeve off of her shirt and started to undo his. She wrapped the sleeve around the wound tightly, then tied it. "Better?"
"A bit."
"Do you think you can sit up?"
"I can try."
Hermione put a hand on his back and helped him sit up. She slowly removed her hand, making sure he wouldn't fall over again. When she knew he wouldn't fall, she started to put his shirt back on.
"Thank you." he said after a short pause.
"You're welcome." she said.
There was more silence.
"We should find shelter again."
"Good idea."
Hermione helped Ron up, then they started walking again. They had been walking for awhile when the weather started to change. It became a bit colder, and the leaves on trees were starting to fall off.
"Wait..." Hermione said, thinking. "First it was cold...then warm...now it's chilly... The arena must consist of the four seasons!"
"That's why you're the smart one." Ron said, smiling.
Hermione smiled too. "Look, there's a little hut or something right there."
"It might be from one of the other tributes, though." Ron pointed out.
"I'll go see."
"No! What if you get hurt?"
"I'll be fine."
Ron grabbed her hand. "Please don't, Hermione."
She sighed. "Fine, we'll find somewhere else."
They continued to walk, and the weather slowly got colder.
"Hey, there's a ditch right there. Maybe we could stay in there."
"Good idea, Ron! Looks like I'm not the only smart one here." she said, then smiled brightly.
He blushed and started to work his way into the ditch. Hermione followed him.
They took out their sleeping bags again and settled in as much as they could. The ditch was damp, cold, and uncomfortable.
Hermione snuggled up to Ron, and he put his arm around her. Hermione looked up at the sky and saw a flashing red light growing brighter and brighter. After a few minutes, a package landed on Hermione's lap. She picked up the note that read-
'You guys are doing great! Everyone loves you two!' -K and P
She opened the package and read the label on the container.
"Ron! It's medicine!"
He sat up and looked at it, then smiled widely. He worked off his shirt, and Hermione opened the medicine. She carefully removed the sleeve from his wound and just as carefully applied the medecine. Ron sighed in relief.
When Hermione was done, she carefully placed the medicine in her bag and settled back in.
Everything was quiet, then suddenly, the Capitol's anthem started playing and the faces of the deceased brightened the sky.
"Girl from 4...Boy from 6...Boy from 7...Girl from 10...Boy and girl from 11." Hermione said, keeping track as it went. So that means...about ten died in the beginning...so six more...minus twenty-four..." she said, thinking. "So... there's only eight left?"
"That was quick..."
Ron took Hermione's hand. "Let's just go to bed."
"Alright. Goodnight, Ron."
"Goodnight, Hermione."
