Thank you everyone who took the time to review my story:)
I already corrected all the typos HermioneJMalfoy listed out.
Anyways, enjoy and review!
Lily's POV
We decide to go back to the lake to hunt, because we need to fill our water bottles and cleanse ourselves anyways. As Ferrous, Darin and I walk, I keep my hands on my bow and arrows, ready to shoot. And I'm not talking about animals.
I know it's stupid of me to be suspicious of Darin, who saved my life, but this is the arena, after all. Darin doesn't seem to notice. Ferrous is telling him about poisonous plants, and he's pretending to be interested. When we reach the lake, Darin and I scout for meat as Fern the plant lover gathers veggies.
There aren't a lot of birds flying around. In fact, there doesn't seem to be any animals scurrying around today. We wait for a while; poised to shoot, but there's nothing to shoot at.
My mind drifts off to thoughts about other people in the arena. I think all of us are under twenty, with the exception of Finn Odair. I guess he's around thirty or so, but he still looks a lot like a teenager, and he still looks really handsome.
"Lily. Lily? Hello? You there?"
"What?" I say dreamily, though a little louder than intended.
"My arms are getting tired. The birds are too high up in the trees. Why don't we set up some snares?" Darin suggests.
"Oh. Right. Okay." I blush and lower my bow.
"So what were you thinking about?" Darin asks as he makes a snare. He's surprisingly good at it.
"The other people in the arena," I say, cheeks coloring a little.
Darin frowns. "Lily, your face is red. Are you alright?"
"Yeah. It's just allergies. To, uhm, grass."
Darin looks at me funnily.
"Carry on," I say.
Luckily Darin buys my story. Or at least plays along so I don't look too stupid. He shrugs and says, "Haven't seen the others in a while. I can't even recognize half of them."
"You recognized me," I say helpfully.
"Yeah," he clears his throat, "Well, lucky for you." I watch as he tests his trap. It works perfectly.
"I guess I still haven't officially thanked you. So…thanks for saving my life." It's so weird thanking somebody you just now thought of killing. Of course, I don't want to kill anyone, but if someone hurts Ferrous, they're going to pay.
"Anytime," Darin says, and helps me out with my snare.
"Lily!" Ferrous calls from behind. He holds up half a plastic bag of greens. "Is this enough?'
"Guess so. Hope our snares work so we have a little meat to go with it," I reply.
The three of us go to the lake and wash our faces and drink from it. None of us feel comfortable stripping and taking a bath, though we're all sticky and covered with dirt. Besides, I'd rather kill myself first than die of embarrassment having to take a bath in front of Darin.
Just then, a screaming voice comes toward us. We don't even have time to react. Something jumps into the lake and splashes us wet. Turns out we did get to take a bath.
"We need to run," Darin says, hastily packing his bags.
"What? No!" Ferrous shouts, outraged. "Someone was attacked. We need to help them."
Ferrous walks toward the something that jumped in. We have no choice but to follow.
"Are you alright?" Ferrous asks. That something is a girl with brown hair and soiled make-up.
"What do you think? I just got rained on by acid!" Acid. No wonder the water was bubbling slightly.
But there's something else. I recognize that voice. I look over to Darin, and I know he recognizes it too.
"Eden?" I call out. Eden is the daughter of district 7's mayor. She has a reputation of being really wild. I didn't talk to her much, though. My mother told me to steer clear of her.
Eden frowns. "I haven't heard anyone call me that in a long time. I changed my name to Joannie."
'Why?' Darin immediately asks, but his question is immediately answered by "None of your business".
We help Eden/Joannie out of the water. Her jacket has holes that look like it's been burned, and her hair is singed.
After Joannie recovers, she tells us about how acid suddenly started pouring down on her. I feel sorry for her, because her clothes are all wet, and tonight feels especially cold, as if the gamemakers decided that being poured on by acid isn't enough. We don't dare start a fire because it might attract attention. Joannie stays close to me to get warmer, because I'm the only other girl, but that doesn't mean it makes me any more comfortable.
"So do you know why we're here?"Joannie asks as she rubs her arms. We shake our heads.
"Actually, I've been thinking of an escape plan," Darin says. Everyone focuses on him. "Lily and I can act as star-crossed lovers—just like Lily's parents, and people will feel sorry for us. They let us live. Simple as that."
I nearly choke on nothing. After half a minute of choking and coughing, I sputter out two words: "No way." I clear my throat. "Besides, what about Ferrous and Joannie?"
"I've got it." Darin holds up his hands dramatically. "Joannie and I will play the star-crossed lovers. Lily and Ferrous can do that adorable brother and sister thing."
This time, both Joannie and I nearly choke on nothing. I don't know why I choked, but this idea just makes me feel more uncomfortable.
"It won't work," Ferrous comes to our aid. "We don't even know if this show is televised. In the 74th Hunger Games, they allowed both my parents to win because the gamemakers needed to please the audience. We don't know for sure there's an audience."
"Even if it were, I'd rather take my chances with the acid than pretend to be in love with you," Joannie says, after we finish choking and clapping each other on the back.
"Admit it, Darin. You're just desperate," I tease.
"Not desperate enough to date you two. It was just a suggestion."
"A horrible one," Joannie says and smiles at me. I decide that Joannie isn't that bad. I thought she would jump at the chance to kiss a guy, but turns out she's pretty cool.
"We need a real plan," I say. "We need to destroy the force field surrounding us."
"How are you so sure there's a force field?" Darin asks sulkily, as if still thinking his idea is better.
"We can check." I tell the others to help me in finding a tree with lower branches so I can climb on top of it and shoot an arrow to the sky. It was hard and scary climbing the tree, considering the branches are so tall and so weak, but I reach the top and release my arrow. Of course, I'm right. There is a force field surrounding us. Slowly, I climb back down.
"It's confirmed—there's a force field," I announce.
"So how are you going to destroy it?" Darin asks.
"I-I don't know. But I'll figure something out. My mother used lightning—"
"There isn't any lightning. And if there were, where would you aim it at?"
"There's a weak spot in every force field—"
"And where's that?"
"Gosh, Darin. Stop asking me so many questions!" I throw my hands up in frustration. "You're just jealous because you can't think of a better idea! Forget it. I'll figure it out myself."
I take my backpack and head back towards the cave and lay out my sleeping bag and lean my head against the wall. It's getting late anyways.
The others come in too, but I take no notice of them. I said I would figure it out myself. And I will. Ferrous comes by and gives me an encouraging hug, but that doesn't lighten up my mood.
Darin offers to take first watch, and I remain in my sitting position, unwilling to speak.
"I'm sorry." Darin scoots over and sits next to me. I ignore him and look away.
"I didn't mean any of it. Honest. I was just trying to be helpful."
He sounds sincere, but I'm still really mad at him. But I'm also angry at myself for not being able to think of a plan. I'm angry that I'm not as smart as I thought I was. Or maybe it's just teenage mood swings.
"Please don't be mad at me."
"Why do you care if I'm mad at you or not?" I say in a harsh voice.
This question takes him by surprise. "Because you're my friend, Lily."
I don't say anything.
"Is the idea of dating me that bad?" he asks.
"No—I mean, I guess not. Joannie and I were just kidding around."
"You nearly choked."
I hope he doesn't see me blushing. My anger turns to confusion. "It's not the type of news you respond to enthusiastically. I've only known you for a day, Darin."
"I know. I was just kidding. You should get some sleep," he tells me. I guess he wants to end the conversation quickly. I don't blame him.
This conversation has officially weirded out our friendship, I think, but I don't say anything.
I crawl into my sleeping bag and pretend to sleep, but I keep thinking about ways to destroy the force field and Darin and our last conversation.
I don't know when, but eventually my eyelids grow tired and I fall asleep.
