I hesitate for half a second, debating whether I should disregard Haymitch's order to flee and find water, but by the time I decide to go for the bow with my name on it, it's too late. My hesitation has blown my chance, so I settle for a scrap of plastic and a loaf of bread right in from of me. On my way towards the woods, I spot a bright orange backpack that remains untouched. I sprint a good length for it and grab the handle at the same time another tribute does. District Nine, I think. Just as he's about to tackle me to the ground for it, he coughs up blood on my face and collapses. Startled by the sticky spray, I don't see the girl from District Two until I notice the knife in the boys back. Fear completely overtaking me now, I scramble to my feet and sprint away from her, using the pack to protect my head just in time for a knife to lodge itself into the plastic.
"Clove!" I hear Cato scream, distracting the knife throwing girl enough for me to flee into the woods. She's not going to be happy about that, not one bit.
I don't know how long I spend running but my adrenaline eventually dies down and I slow to a quick walk. I try to keep my feet quiet, which helps me spot other fleeing tributes before they see me. Once I know I've put a good two miles between myself and the Cornucopia, I sit to rest and observe my pickings. The loaf of bread would last me a few days at most, and the piece of plastic would be good for collection rainwater but the sensible side of me knows that the Gamemakers aren't going to make it rain in these games. Too easy.
I pull the backpack into my lap, slowly undoing the zipper. I first pull out a sleeping bag, then a pack of crackers and dried beef strips. There's also a bottle of iodine, wooden matches, a small coil of wire, and a plastic bottle that looks like it could hold a half a gallon of liquid. Relief fills me. Although the bottle is empty, the rest of my supplies reassure me that I can survive, even for a little bit. My next goal is to find water. I remember seeing a lake when waiting for the gong to sound, but there's no way I can go back there. It's probably the only source of water and guarded by the Careers. I'd like to survive the first day, thanks.
I walk a little ways to look for shelter, the woods reminding me too much of home and the many, many years I'd spent in it and the things I'd found.
"Daddy, look!" I held up the small black device to my father knowing that he'd have an answer to what the buttons and switches meant.
"Look at that," he replied softly, taking the contraption out of my hand. He examines it for a moment, his eyebrows furrowing. That's how I knew he was thinking really hard. I would do it all the time just because I wanted to be as smart as my Daddy.
"It looks like you've found yourself some type of radio," he said after a moment with a smile. My eyes lit up. I'd never had a radio before. In fact, I didn't even know what it was, but it sounded exciting. "Where did you find this, dear?"
"Back near the bank of the stream, the one that trickles into the lake!" I said with enthusiasm. I didn't tell him about the little blond girl I saw or how she looked lost. I didn't tell him that she was crying.
"Well, you better take special care of it, little Katniss."
And I did.
I focus my mind back on walking and trying to find a nice tree to spend the night. After a while, I find one with branches a little higher than the others but still accessible. There are a cluster of trees closely surrounding it, so I'm nicely hidden. Settling into my sleeping bag, the backpack tucked inside, I wrap my belt around the branch and myself. Falling out of this tree wouldn't do me much good. After making sure everything is secure, I try to get some sleep.
But I'm awoken by the anthem a few hours later. When the faces begin to appear in the night sky, I count eleven. All the Careers have survived the first day, no surprise there. I truthfully wasn't too worried about Cato at this stage in the Games. He's the leader and the most deathly tribute in this arena. Both Rue and her partner are clear from the sky, which relieves me. Peeta is alive too. I guess Haymitch's advice did have some sense to it. Once the sky goes dark again, I slip back into sleep, only to be woken up again by the snapping of wood.
My eyes frantically search my surroundings but from the sound, the snapping is far enough away from me to feel even slightly safe in my tree. A few seconds of silence follow the shuffling of feet and then a fire sparks in the distance. I almost suffer second hand stupidity. That's one way to get yourself killed.
I patiently wait for other tributes to come running, for another canon to fire. Soon enough, the night is full of laughter and an agonizing shriek follows. I involuntarily shudder. From the sound of it, the poor girl couldn't be more than my own age. Anyone older is a Career, and they're not being killed anytime soon. I freeze up again when I hear their voices, but to my dismay, they're closer.
"Only eleven more to go!" I hear Cato hoot and automatically disgust fills me, but it soon leaves when I remember that this is what he was programmed to do, whether I like it or not. Their footsteps become even closer and the air I'm holding in my throat is getting harder to contain.
"Why hasn't there been a cannon?"
"I don't know, maybe they're just slow from all their Capitol food."
"Maybe she isn't dead." I almost laugh at that comment. Cato won't like that.
"Of course she is. Did you not see my sword in her stomach or are you blind, blondie?"
"Well, someone should go back and see." Glimmer retorts.
"I said she's dead!" He hisses.
"This is ridiculous! I'll go back and kill her if she isn't already," a voice speaks, one that I had not yet heard. I feel my heart shatter. That's Peeta's voice.
How could he? First he announces to the whole nation that he likes me, and now he's betrayed me by joining the most deadly pack in the Games. Does he not know that he'll be the first one killed once they start turning on each other? Tears of anger and hurt threaten to fall, but I refuse to let them. Instead, I focus back on their conversation after Peeta walks off.
"Why can't we just kill him now?" Glimmer whines, leaning into Cato a little too much for my taste.
"Because he's our only way of finding her," he replies coldly, stepping away from the pouting girl. Oh wonderful. Her means me.
"I just want to know how she got that eleven." A small smile appears on Cato's lips and he begins to walk again.
"It's all that fire," he mutters. When Peeta returns and the cannon sounds, they all continue on their search for other tributes. The others don't notice him hang back, or how he looks up into the trees, catching my eye. No, I am the only one who sees his gaze right into my own, and just like Cinna, one of the only people I can trust, he blows me a kiss.
The next morning I am on the move and somehow stumble upon mud. Mud, which means water! I use my experience in the woods to trail the damp earth and soon I am upon a small river. I have never been more exuberant in my life. I automatically submerge my face in the refreshing substance, gulping down as much as I can. Once I think I can't consume anymore, I fill my bottle and even nibble on a piece of dried beef. Finding water is an occasion I should somehow celebrate. I am feeling thousands of times better once night falls and to top it off, no tributes have been killed. All of those that I have been worried about are still alive. I find another substantial tree to retire in, but for another night, I am awoken by an intense heat and the stamping of feet. Everywhere behind me is fire, threatening to lick at the branches of my own tree. I somehow managed to undo the belt around my waist and throw myself to the ground. I frantically stuff the sleeping bag into my pack, knowing that the water is already in there and the knife is attached to my clothing. Any other supplies I previously had don't matter.
I break off into a run, following the few deer I see fleeing just as I am. They must know where they're going, but I am much slower than they are. The smoke is already invading my senses. It sends a searing pain into my eyes and causes my lungs to burn. I try to hold my shirt up to my face to provide some sort of filter, but it helps very little. Thin branches scratch at my face and continuously my feet catch on logs, sending me to the ground. There is no way this was a tribute's fault. The Gamemakers must have caused this forest fire because of, well, boredom. There were no kills yesterday, so they must make it interesting. They must kill.
And my suspicions are confirmed when I see a huge ball of fire coming right for my head.
I leap to my right, wincing as my spent body hits the ground with such little grace. I scramble to my feet yet again and sprint away from the projectiles, but I know I can't out run the Gamemakers. Another ball of fire brings down a tree a little too close to me. I duck out of the way again, my feet moving on their own. I hear the hiss of another but this time, I am too slow. It misses my head and hits the tree next to me, but not before it skims my leg. I shriek at the overwhelming amount of pain, rolling myself down the hill, trying to stifle the brunt of it. Once I finally stop tumbling, I notice that the fire is no longer moving. If fact, it seems to have begun to vanish into thin air, but I can't say the same for the smoke. Every minute I wait for it to clear is agonizing, but when it does I notice how close I am to the river. Words could not describe my happiness. Carefully as possible, I hobble over and dunk my leg in the water, spending a few minutes just basking in the cool feeling against the nasty burn. I also clear the soot and blood from my face, taking the time to bathe my scathed hands too. But my time is cut short when I hear them. It's a good thing my senses are still sharp because I'm going to need this head start against the Careers.
I gather the remaining supplies I have and make off as fast as I can for the woods. I know they hear me, but I still push on, searching for some way to escape. There's no way I can outrun them, even if I was completely healthy. Falling on my only idea, I pick a tree and begin to climb. Once they reach the base, I'm already a good twenty feet up and I know I'm safe for now. There's no way these branches would support the weight of a Career or Peeta. We lock gazes for a few moments. I wonder if they're as spent as I am.
"You know, the air's much better up here." I call, slightly grinning at their surprised faces. "Maybe you should come up." I notice that Cato is trying so hard not to smile, and that just makes me grin more. Who knew my only occasion of any type of flirting would be in a game to the death.
"Maybe we will," he calls back, grasping his sword. He begins to scale the tree and I am so full of worry. Would he actually kill me? Or will he come up with some way to get around it? As it turns out, he doesn't have to. Before he's even halfway to me, a branch snaps under his weight and he hits the ground with a satisfying thump. I'm only enjoying my relief for a few moments before an arrow whizzes past my head. My gaze snaps back down and anger fills me. That damn girl from One has my precious bow and arrows. If that weapon was in my possession, they'd all be dead, picked off like the targets in the training room or the birds that are always flying back home. But instead I'm stuck in this tree, the five of them peering up at me, unsure of what to do.
"Let's just wait her out," Peeta says, breaking everyone's thoughts. I almost send every single expletive I know at the boy. I'll kill him before the Careers do, I swear. "She can't stay up there forever without starving to death." They all grunt in agreement, spreading out to collect materials for a fire and organizing their weapons. There are so many, and I can only imagine how many of them will be used on me.
Once night falls, the water's power over my pain has completely subsided. I don't dare get into my sleeping bag. The heat would be too much. Instead, I take minimal amounts of water from what's left in my bottle and gently pour it over the burn. I have to bite down on several folds of my jacket to keep from crying out. I give up once I'm running once my supply of water runs low and just sit back, focusing on keeping my breathing in check. I don't know how much time has passed when I hear a beeping in the distance.
I tentatively turn my head up towards the sky and see the small silver parachute floating down towards me. Even though it lodges itself a few branches above me, I am so anxious to see what I've been given that I pull myself up through the pain, carefully making my way through the branches so I don't wake the Careers. Once I reach it, I slowly pull open the small container, revealing another inside of it. I can only hope its medicine.
On my way down, I'm too focused to notice one of the bodies missing from the camp below. I'm too focused to notice the figure that has somehow managed itself onto one of the branches, my branch to be specific. It isn't until I've finally reached my own camp that I find the bright blue eyes in front of me, the owner's hand grabbing me and clamping the other over my mouth before I can scream and fall out of the tree.
A/N: I'm so sorry for the wait. My first week back was rough, but finally writing this has made me feel much better. Hopefully this clears up a little about how she got the radio, even though it's not much. But it'll all be explained later, I promise! But for now, enjoy my terrible cliffhanger ;)