9

Cat and I remain in the water; every move we make disrupts the muck and grime from the bottom of the lake. The weather has grown cooler as the morning has drawn out, and the water was making me shiver. But whenever I step out and let the air hit my burn, it itches and throbs, making it hard for me to breathe properly.

I step out of the water, and deal with the pain. I roll up my shirt and pull my trousers down slightly, trying not to knock the wound. My hip is slightly swollen, and the blister looks fit to pop. The skin around it is cut, and weeping with puss. "Hey, Cat" I call to her. She moves from the water, her hair is starting to curl slightly, I can't see why her stylist had straightened it so much it looks good it suits her.

"What?" she asks sitting beside me

"Does this burn look infected to you?" I show her my hip, she looks away gasping, covering her mouth with her hand

"Oh my god" she says, not looking at me.

"That is infected" I say smiling. I prod at the blister and cut.

"Jade I really don't think that's a good idea" she turns her head to face me now.

"Yeah thanks, I appreciate your input on that" I say sarcastically still looking down at my wound.

"Jade, I'm being serious!" her eyebrows are furrowed. Her forehead is covered in deep creases. She sighs and shakes her head slightly "We should get going any way" she says standing; she swings her bag and sheath of arrows over her shoulder. She holds the bow in her right hand. Her fist curled around it loosely. I quickly pack away my things, and rearrange my clothing, so that the wound is out of sight. I sit for a while.

She offers out her spare hand to help me up. I grab it and she sucks in some air, trying to breathe through the pain, her friendly gesture, soon turns into a hand hold, our fingers entwined in each other's I try not to hold onto her hand too tight; I don't want to knock her burns. Her skin still has the smooth cold feel to it. She looks up at me and smiles; I gently rub her thumb with mine.

She is still smiling when she speaks "I might need my hand, in case we see any of the others"

"Oh" I say casually. I let go of her hand, letting mine flop to my side. "Will you even be able to use that?" I ask; I hate thinking that she won't be able to and that the pair of us will be left helpless if confronted by another tribute. After all Cat's bow and arrows is our only hope. I remain weapon less.

"I don't know" she says absentmindedly, "I guess we'll find out sooner or later".

She walks through the bushes gingerly. She gives a nod in the direction she is going, letting me know that the path is clear. Once we are away from the lake, the arena is more open than before, very few trees conceal us. Cat goes around picking fruit from trees, and pulling plants from the ground. She hands me some fruit, as I take hold of it, I recognise the feel of the skin. I take a huge bite of the peach; the sweet juice fills my mouth, the peach is fast becoming my favourite fruit.

We walk for miles, and there is no sign of anyone else. No cannons have fired, so far everyone who was alive last night, still held that status. The sky around us has grown dark, we had been eating plants and fruit all day, the weather was icy. A small drop of rain fell from the sky, and hit my cheek, the cold water stung my skin. It wasn't long after the first drop fell, that the rain started to pour.

Although our jackets worked well in the cold air, rain soaked right through, making the material cling to your arms. Our jackets are sodden before we know it. We both set off at a run, trying to find the best form of shelter. We come across, a tall oak tree. And take residence under it for a while. Although it doesn't stop all the rain, it's better than being out in the open.

My stomach lets out a low rumble "I'm so hungry" I say as I wrap my arm around my stomach. Cat sighs.

"We don't have much left. We'll definitely have to do some more hunting tomorrow." She hands out the last of the meat, along with some of the plants she picked early. I dish out my remaining crackers, and the two of us sit watching the teaming rain bounce as it hits the floor.

Her lips have started to turn a slight shade of blue, and her skin is pale white. All of her usual colour has drained from her due to the weather. I move closer to her, she rests her head on my shoulder. I place a hand on her knee. Usually I hate being this close to people. Usually I hate people. But Cat's different.

The rain slows down; all I can hear are tiny patters where the rain drops are hitting leaves and stones. It's peaceful to watch. The smell of damp soil fills the air. It reminds me of the day of the reaping, the day when my life changed completely.

I can feel her eyes on my face, although her head never moves, I know she's looking at me. I look down at her "What?" I ask.

"Nothing" she says, moving her head from my shoulder, she runs a hand through her hair, before placing it on her thigh with her palm facing upwards. Without even thinking about it, I slip my fingers through hers, once again our fingers are entwined. She squeezes my hand slightly; her hand feels like a block of ice.

"Cat, what's wrong?" I ask.

"Nothing" she says "I'm just thinking" she admits.

"Thinking about what?" I couldn't believe I was actually asking her. I never usually cared enough about people to ask them, I didn't even care enough about Robbie or my mum. The only person I ever really truly cared enough to ask about was Taylor.

"Home" she admits.

"What about home?" I can feel her hand tightening around mine once more. She turns her head to look at me; her eyes seem full of thought. I have never seen them like this before.

"My family" she sighs "I just wonder if they're thinking about me, or what they are thinking about me"

"Of course they'll be thinking about you. And they'll be thinking amazing things" I put emphasis on the word amazing.

"You don't know that" she says "They could be thinking horrible things" I can see her stifling tears.

"No they won't be. They'll be proud of you, and they'll be so happy knowing that you're okay." I try to reassure her, although things like this aren't my forte. Usually I would make a sarcastic or mean comment and walk away, but I can't. "Trust me Cat"

She turns her head away from me for no more than a second. And then her eyes are locked on mine again. "That's all I want, to make them proud" she admits, with a small shrug.

"You will be, and not just you're parents you'll be making the whole of District 1 proud" I couldn't understand why I was being so nice to her. Even people that I have known for years didn't get this treatment. A small smile spreads along her face.

"I hope that's true" she slips her bottom lip under her teeth, scrapping them along it until it is released. She lets out a sigh. I nudge her lightly with my elbow.

"It is" I say. And I am sure that it is true, there is no way that you can't be proud of her after the way she has acted, the score she received, if anyone out there isn't proud of her, then they must be seriously screwed up.

She gives me a small hug, resting her chin on my shoulder as she does. "Thanks" she whispers, before placing her lips against my cheek for a light kiss. It isn't long before her lips are meeting mine, just as they had in the lake earlier on today. I can taste the peaches on her mouth, the sweet taste breaking past anything else we had eaten all day. Her hand lets go of mine and her arms find their way around my neck.

The kiss is broken apart by the sound of feet running towards us; I can feel my heart thrumming in my chest. Cat's expression is full of panic. She stands quickly and pulls me up with her, her hand clamps around my wrist. "Climb the tree!" she demands.

I don't hesitate; I grab my pack and climb the tree as swiftly as I can. I help Cat up when she is within a reachable distance. We both sit perched in the oak tree, looking down on the tributes that were headed straight towards us.

It isn't long before the five of them stand below us, the four careers are all closely bunched together, and Robbie stands alone, a few inches away from them. Ryder looks up and sees the pair of us sat in the tree looking down at them. As Ryder lays eyes on Cat I can't not smile, he elbows Beck and points upwards. A look of relief and betrayal fills Beck's face. It's obvious he is happy that Cat is safe, but it hurts him to know that Cat is with me.

"How are you?" I ask looking down at them, one of my eyebrows is arched, and I am giving them a crooked smile. It was slightly cocky, but I knew that the audience would love this.

Ryder looks shocked, but still manages to regain his arrogance long enough to reply to my question "Okay, I guess. And you two?" his eyes flick to Cat, and they remain on her face, there is an edge of anger in his eyes when he looks at her.

"I'm fine" says Cat with an absentminded shrug. She places her hand lightly on my wrist. I flick my eyes to her hand before answering Ryder's question.

"I've been better. It's been a bit too warm for my liking" I shrug. I knew this would go down well with the capitol. "But, it's much nicer up here" Cat's hand tightens around my wrist and it's obvious, that he intimidates her.

"I'd like to test that theory" he says cockily.

"Here take these" say's Tara, handing him some knives my knives. I could easily kill every one of them if I had those weapons in my hand.

"No!" he snarls "I'll do better with my sword" he slips his sword into a scabbard and begins climbing the tree. I nudge Cat lightly, silently telling her to move further up the tree. I don't have to do it more than once. She is all but flying up the tree.

The two of us are about six meters higher than we were before by the time Ryder has reached the spot we just sat in. He loses his footing and slips. He falls to the floor with a thud. I laugh lightly at him. All of his arrogance is obviously for nothing. Tara glares at me, and she herself begins to climb the tree. Cat and I begin to move up again, she weighs considerably less than Ryder; this alone will make it easier for her to climb.

It isn't long before the branches begin to snap under her feet, unlike Ryder, she climbs back down to the floor. "Use your knives" Ryder demands Tara.

She hurtles one towards the two of us. It sticks into the bark, near me. I pull it from the tree, and place my finger on the point, pressing down lightly before I begin to twirl it in my fingers. I smile falsely at her. The careers all look up at us. I can see them snarling. Ryder growls profanities and spits at the floor.

"Just leave them" says Robbie harshly "They can't go anywhere" his eyes focus on my face. "We'll get them in the morning"

I screw up my face, he's right. We can't go anywhere not that I would want to; the burn on my hip is hurting immensely. With all the relief from the water gone, and the stinging from the infection finally making its appearance, I'm pretty much trapped.

Cat and I climb down to a fork in the tree and set up camp for the night. Cat clumsily helps me lay out the sleeping bag and harness myself in. The belt feels tight on my burn and the pressure it is putting on my wound is making it hard for me to breath. She harnesses herself to the tree before climbing into the sleeping bag with me.

We lay looking into each other's faces. Her eyes are heavy and she smiles at me sleepily. I smile at her. I find her hand and hold it, though the night air is freezing. I can't be close to her like last night, my hip hurts too much, although, I want nothing more than to be laid closer to her.

The air is still, no winds just cold air. An owl hoots in the distance. Birds finishing singing their songs, the smell of the damp earth still lingers in the air. Cat's eyes flick up above my head, panic fills her face. I follow her gaze.

At first I see nothing, I look back down to her, giving her a questioning look. She sighs and then points upwards. I look up once more and about five meters above us, is a silhouette… I can't make out what it is, an animal maybe. I squint, looking up and then I hear it, a low hum. It's a wasp's nest. But then I realise, this won't be an ordinary wasp's nest; this will belong to Tracker Jackers.

Tracker Jackers are mutations made by the capitol. They are killer wasp's that have been bread in a lab. They are bigger than a normal wasp, and their body is solid gold. If you are stung by one a lump the size of a plum raises on your skin. Most people can stand a few stings, but some people die at once. The people that do live suffer terrible hallucinations. The hallucinations have ben know to drive people mad before.

But it doesn't really matter what type of wasp's nest it is. We are both hurt and trapped. The darkness is my only form of release; I could drop the nest on them. But I would be risking mine and Cat's lives in the process. "What do I do?" I ask in a hushed tone.

"Cut it down" Cat suggests.

"Cat, that's…" I search for the words before she cut's me off

"The best idea we have" she arches an eyebrow at me. I sigh, knowing she's right. During the anthem will be my safest option.

"Well, try to stay out of the way" I say to her, she sits up in the sleep bag. She looks at me questioningly. "I mean it, if you get stung you could die" I explain to her and the expression on her face changes.

The anthem begins to play through the sky, and the branch is dimly light by the projection of the seal, I start to cut away at the branch. I allow myself to look up seeing that there are no deaths today, although the capitol should be thrilled with everything that had happened today.

A fire, injuries, me and Cat being trapped in a tree… And a budding romance? I shake the thought out of my head. And continue to cut through to tree, I am only a quarter of a way through the branch when the anthem finishes and the sky goes black.

I sigh, I could carry on cutting through the branch just by the feeling, but that would be far too risky. No, I will have to come up here at dawn and finish the job then. When I get back down to the sleeping bag, I am greeted with a nice surprise; a tiny silver parachute lies where my head had been.

I sit down and read the tiny piece of paper that is attached to the small parachute, all it reads is

Jade

I have a gift, which means… I have a sponsor! It must have been sent during the anthem. I unscrew the lid, and I know by the smell what it is medicine "Thank you, Erwin" I say looking up into the sky. I place my finger into the bottle and I roll up my shirt and slid down my trousers until my hip is visible. I rub a small amount onto a section on my hip, and the reaction is instantaneous, the burning in my hip disappears, I rub more onto the area around it, until my hip is no longer hurting.

I place the bottle on my knee "Give me your hands" I say to Cat.

"Why?" she asks sceptically.

"Just do it" I instruct, she stretches out her arm, so I can grab her hand. I apply some of the medicine onto Cat's burns. Her eyes widen in shock. They look huge. I place the lid back on the bottle on put it in my bag, keeping it as safe as possible.

I can breathe easy for the first time all day, now the pain has gone, I find it much easier to nestle into bed and close my eyes giving into sleep. I wake early in the morning as I intended, the first thing I am greeted with it a quiet singsong from a bird perched not too far away from me.

I screw up my face at the bird and hiss at it, making it fly away. I shake Cat lightly with my hand "Cat" I say in a hushed tone. Her eyes flutter open. She points once again to the nest. "I know" I look up and then back down to Cat's face "Try not to get in the way. Move" I say before making my way back over to the nest. Cat begins to slowly make her way down the tree. She has slipped her arm through her bow. I look down at the career pack. With her position I can see that Tara was supposed to be on guard, but by the looks of things, she too gave into sleep.

I take a deep breath and begin to cut at the branch again. I look down at Cat who is now nearly on the floor. If I die while doing this, I hope she wins. Even though Robbie winning would mean my family would be more secure. The idea is unbearable.

I place the knife in the groove and begin to saw, and then I see it, the fully golden body of a Tracker Jacker, it crawls slowly around the nest. I cut faster, knowing that if I don't cut this nest down soon, every one of them could fly out and attack me.

I saw away at the branch as fast as I can. I feel a shot of pain in my knee, and I know that one of them has found me. I fight through the pain, and continue cutting. Another shot of pain hits my cheek, and then my neck. I push the branch away from me, and watch it as if spirals to the floor.

I am glad that only three of the Tacker Jackers found me. The nest hits the floor and burst open, sending an all-out attack on the careers. Robbie, Beck and Ryder and Andre, all have the good sense to drop everything and run. I can hear one of them shouting "The lake. Get to the lake"

It must be close if they think they can out run them. It was obvious that they thought water would help if that's the first place they were heading. Tara isn't so lucky. Tara seems to be going mad, trying to stab them with her knives

I watch as Tara falls to the floor. She twitches hysterically, her body going rigid with pain, and then she goes still. The nest is now an empty shell laid on the floor. The wasps have gone and I don't think they'll return. I pull out the stingers. The venom is already making me feel woozy. Cat, startles me as she jumps from behind a tree. She helps me make my way to a small pool, just in case any of the wasps may linger.

A foul smell comes from my knee, I look down to see a lump the size of a plum leaking, a green gunge slowly trickles down my leg I can't not look at it; I find it fascinating. In fact in my eyes the whole morning has been fascinating watching the nest burst on the floor, the feeling of the sting of a Tracker Jacker, watching Tara writhing around on the floor. I'd love to see how her body looks, her swallow disfigured fingers wrapped around her knives. The knives!

I make myself stand much to Cat's dismay. I have to get those knives I tell myself I need them. Somewhere in my messed up befuddled mind I remember my weapon. I run through the trees until I find Tara lying on the floor. Her body is fully swollen, it's better than I could have imagined. The smell coming from her is horrendous. I try to pry her hands from around the handle of the knife in her hand.

Her fingers are as stiff as a board. I pick up a large rock, and smack it against her hand. I hear her bones crunch. And I smile slightly. I pull the knife from her hand, pick up the other knives from the floor, I place them in my belt, all but one; I leave the one I pried from Tara out, I hold it in my hand.

I am just out of the way of her body when the cannon fires, and the hovercrafts appears, dropping down its metal teeth, lifting her away. I stand still watching it happen.

And then I hear footsteps, several pairs of them, they're coming back. They're coming back for me, or the weapons, or both. I set off running again. Knowing I need to find Cat. I try to get a better hold on the blade of the knife, thought the slime makes it hard to hold onto and the smell is dragging my attention away.

It's too late the first hunter breaks through the bushes. It's Robbie. He is soaking wet, but when the sun hits him, he looks like h is sparkling. "Why are you still here" he hisses "Get out… Go!" I see Ryder emerging from the bushes behind him; he too sparkles from the water. I fumble on my feet for a while, before running back in the direction I came from. Cat. I need to find Cat I tell myself.

I run and meet Cat "We have to get away" I pant "We have to go" I start running I can hear Cat's feet hitting the floor behind me. And then I stop dead in my tracks. The grass turns into a river of blood, the leaves begin to leak down the trees they have turned into the same consistency as the grass.

Thousands of spiders crawl down my arms, and come from my hair. Maggots slither out of my wound; I can feel them slithering round my stomach, cold, and damp.

Huge butterflies, swoop past me before bursting into a million pieces. I fall to the floor, hitting a pit of balloons, all brightly coloured. I pull my knees up to my chest and wait for death. The only coherent thought I have is Robert Shapiro just saved me. And then the spiders bore their way into my mouth I can feel them crawling down my throat and along my tongue, some make their way into my eyes. And then I black out.

A/N: It took me a while to write this chapter. So I really hope you like it. Please continue to read and review, I appreciate all comments and opinions (good or bad) and Thank you once again to everyone who has commented so far, it means a lot to me.