Thanks everyone who read and reviewed. Here is the next part of the 106 Hunger Games.
Disclaimer: Still don't own it. Just Septa.
Enjoy!
Septa:
I watch Cain as he meanders around the jungle looking for who knows what. As far as I can tell, he is alone on the island. It is a small one, with a small stream running through it. I wonder if he is looking for animals to guide him. That would explain his meandering. Through, from the aerial view we were provided, I doubt there are any streams that he could drink from. But the jungle is lush, so there has to be some sort of water for them. Their clothes aren't meant to catch water like mine had been.
I switch screens and watch Cynthia. She is examining an animal she has just killed. Its muzzle is wet. She looks at the trees. She must have killed it there. She starts to examine one and then drives a knife into it, making a large hole. Water starts gushing from it. She puts her mouth under it and drinks. Good girl. Now if only Cain would be smart enough to figure it out.
I look up at the larger, main screen. It shows what the rest of Panem is seeing at this moment. Right now, it is focused on the pack of Career Tributes. They are on one of the other islands, well away from my tributes for the moment, hunting the three that had gone that way. I have no idea where Eleven is and I have no idea who the other two that got away are or where they are. I know they want to focus on Cain, but he is only wandering around, looking for water. I wonder if he and Cynthia made a pact without me knowing. If that was the case, Cynthia would now be looking for Cain. I look back at my screens. She's not. This means that she is still in the dark about Cain's crazy plan. I look at my list which has just been updated. On it are now two spiles. One is from Cain's sponsor and the other is from Aben delivered just an hour ago. He wants the tributes to prove themselves before they are given gifts.
I take a breath and decide to send Aben's gift to her. I press the button to bring up the screen that has the purchased gifts under Cynthia's name and place the spile there and then authorize it to be dropped. Minutes later, she is receiving it. Hopefully she knows what it is for. I watch her as she looks at the spile and then at the tree. Good, she's connecting the dots. She knows what I have just given her. I return to Cain and find him asleep beneath a tree. I look at the temperature. Jeez, Enobria. If the boy doesn't find water soon, he's dead and Cynthia is on her own.
Cynthia:
She drank the water gratefully and then looked around for something to carry it in. If she tapped a tree every time she was thirsty, she would leave a trail for the other tributes to follow. She looked at the slim blade she had grabbed. She knew it had been stupid to go and grab it, but she needed some sort of weapon to defend herself with. It had been a good thing since a District Three tribute had followed her. She put it back on her belt and looked for something to hold her water in. She searched the pack she had gotten off the dead tribute. She found dried meats and fruit earlier. "Ha, here's what I need." She said as she pulled out an empty water bottle. She returned to the tree and filled, tucking the spile in her pack before moving on. She needed to find Cain. He had said that they should work together to keep each other alive. She was agreed on the matter and they had decided to meet up in the arena. She hadn't expected them to be so far apart. She hadn't even seen where he had gone and guessed he was on the opposite side of the Cornucopia. She guessed that he had gone to the island closest to him. She had to get to him. The only good thing was she knew he was alive. Eight were dead. Sixteen were still alive. A canon sounded. "Correction. Nine dead and fifteen alive."
Cain:
He jumped at the sound of the canon as it sounded. Marking another death. "That makes nine. Was it Cynthia? I've got find water or I am going to be the next one dead." He pulled himself to his feet and began walking. He had seen no large animals all day and began looking for smaller ones. He knew that there had to be water somewhere in the arena, besides the dangerous seawater. "Come, on, think. What would Septa do in this situation? How would she find water?"
"Look at the animals," is what she had told them. He had yet to see any that could actually guide him.
"Should have looked at the guide I saw Cynthia at. That would have at least told me which animals wouldn't kill me." He sighed and kept walking. He would have to find Cynthia and hope that she had found water. He punched a tree in frustration, knocking out a weird looking animal with a wet muzzle. He looked at it, puzzled.
Septa:
"Think, Boy! The animal has a wet mouth. What is that a sign of?" I scream silently at Cain. He should know better than this. He should know that there is water in the trees by now. But then again, Katniss didn't know right away either. I hurriedly bring up the list of Cain's gifts and send the spile. Minutes later, it's dropping down to him. "Come on, Cain. I'm doing this because you asked me to."
Cain:
He looked at the metal tube in his hand. He had the feeling he had seen one before. Ed used it sometimes when they were in the forest. He looked at the note. "Tree" it said in Septa's neat handwriting. He looks at the animal again and then the tree and sees teeth marks in the bark.
"The water is in the trees!" He remembered what the tool was. Ed had told him that it was called a spile used for tapping trees to get the maple out. He made a small hole and then drove the spile in. He was rewarded with a small trickle of water which he drank gratefully. "Now I need some way to hold it so I don't leave a trail behind me." He looked at the mud, an idea forming in his head.
Septa:
I sigh in relief. The boy had enough sense to read the note. I turn back to Cynthia, confident that Cain won't be dying right away. I frown. She is being chased by another tribute. I have a feeling that it's one of the ones that I didn't notice had gotten away. I hope she is not the second one to die today. I watch her. It shows a front shot of her. There is no fear in her eyes. No fear. Why wouldn't she be scared? And why is she running? She could easily beat the girl who is chasing her. I look closely at the main screen as they have decided to cover her at the moment. Then I see him. She has the girl from Three and the boy from One chasing her. But she has a Career chasing her. So why isn't she afraid?
The screen switches to an aerial view of the chase. I look ahead of her and see it. Smart girl. She has two traps laid, waiting for them. She slides under a log, tugging on a rope as she rolled to her feet. The girl from Three copies Cynthia and is crushed. "Fire," I hear Enobria tell one of the attendants. "Ready a second one." Cynthia jumps a log and grabs a vine, swinging around the tree. The boy stops. Cynthia waits for him to take a step forward. One step, and the sharpened stick goes through his neck, which is unprotected. He doesn't move. He suspects a trap. Cynthia sees and makes a decision. It is the same decision I have come to. Kill him from behind. She takes and slim blade from her belt and positions it. She sneaks around the tree. He hears her and turns. Too late. Her blade goes through his eye. She yanks it out and drives it through his heart, for good measure. Enobria orders the canon fired. Good girl, Cynthia. She takes down the trap and takes the sharpened stick with her, to use later. Three kills in one day, and two of them go to District Twelve. I look at the side board. Eleven dead, thirteen left to play.
Katniss and Haymitch:
She watched silently as the girl from Twelve killed the Career. The boy had yet to kill. But he was alone on his island. The more she watched, the more she became convinced that she needed to end this. The lives that were lost thirty years ago were given because they wanted this to stop. "It must stop!" She grabbed her jacket and ran out the door, a piece of paper in her hand. She had written it the day before when she had decided to help but then backed down. She was resolved now. "This has to end. I will help how I can." She reached the city circle as the clock was striking noon. She saw Haymitch emerge from the sponsors patio to go and get the food that had just been served. He immediately went for the wine. "Nothing changes with that man." She walked up to him and slipped the note into his pocket. She knew he noticed. He was in the Second Quarter Quell, it is rare that he doesn't notice anything. He takes the note from his pocket and looks at it before looking in her direction. He set his drink down on the table and pulled a napkin from the holder and a pen from his suit. He hung it over the table.
"SEE YOU TONIGHT" was written on it. He looked at her. She nodded and disappeared into the shadows. He stuffed the napkin in his pocket before refilling his glass. He looked at the main screen. It was following the girl from Twelve. She was looking for her fellow tribute. Something Katniss had not done until they could possibly win together. He knew that Enobria was the Head Gamemaker. There would be no spark of a tender heart from her. They would have a one victor. He sighed and took a drink. "Here we go again."
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