Chapter 9

Late afternoon blows in, the sun still pale, the arena now harboring a fierce northeasterly wind. Andrei isn't sleeping anymore, and I now that it's time to go hunting. I explain this to Andrei, and I reluctantly leave the hole, looking back. Something feels wrong, strange, different. Andrei seems to feel it too; the smile that was on his face a minute ago has disappeared, as if blown away by the intense wind. He frowns and looks at me.

"Something's wrong," he says oddly.

I nod. "I feel it too."

Andrei eyes the burrow.

"We don't have much of a choice," I say to him, though I find myself wishing we could retreat back into its comforting recesses. "We need food, so we need to hunt. Hopefully it won't be long."

Andrei nods, a bit tentatively. A burst of wind blows us to the side, and I tighten my grip on my spear, as does Andrei.

"Let's go."

We trudge forward, trying to ignore the barrage of wind that seems to be blowing from every direction. I look at the ground for tracks, leading Andrei to the place where I found the wild turkey—and Kale. I'm hoping that he isn't camped out near there. The last thing I want is another confrontation. Lucy's death suddenly flashes before my eyes. I squint tightly, trying to drive the image out if my mind. It doesn't work.

"Look!" Andrei suddenly calls out. I open my eyes and look at the ground where he's pointing. "Tracks," he says.

Sure enough, barely seeable, are tracks sunk into the ground. I stare closely at them. They look like the tracks of the turkey, except bigger, and the talons seem pointier.

"Wow," I say. "It looks like a big one."

Andrei shudders a bit. "I don't like birds," he mutters softly.

We continue on, following the tracks as they lead us deeper into the woods. The sun just starts to waver in the sky, and will most like set in about an hour. A small brush-over of darkness covers the arena like thin cookie glaze.

Presently, a quiet chirping resounds through the forest. It sounds strange, bird-like, yet somehow not. Andrei looks at me fearfully. With night coming on, his fear of birds is becoming only worse. We need food though, and if we can kill this fowl, we'll have plenty of meat for a day or two.

The wind slowly decreases its force, and soon it's nonexistent. Everything is still and quiet, except for the faint chirping noise.

As we press on, I begin to feel more and more desperate. We've been walking for 30 minutes, and it's almost dark, the one time I don't want to be out. The night is for Kale and the Careers, and I have no intention on impeding their privacy. My stomach is rumbling, so I decide ten more minutes, and if we can't get anything, back to the burrow.

Air unexpectedly whooshes over my head, despite there being no wind. I look up, but see nothing in the air, only darkness. It must have been a bird.

The sound of the chirping suddenly grows louder. There's a rustle in hit leaves of a tree. Andrei and me look up. It must be the bird. Silently, we both creep up on it, though Andrei looks slightly pale.

"Okay," I whisper to Andrei. "You make some loud noises and try to shake the tree. Hopefully you'll scare it out, and I'll kill it."

He nods and runs under the tree, waving his arms and shouting as he kicks the thick trunk. Hiding inside the veil of leaves, the bird starts to move and rustle about, and then makes the chirping noise, louder this time. I wait for it fly out, but it doesn't.

Something whips my foot and I fall to the ground, my spear rattling beside me. I look around, but no one's in sight. I see Andrei look over at me, expecting a tribute to jump from behind the trees. It doesn't happen.

Another loud rustle sounds, and I jerk my head to the tree. The bird that was sitting there is gone, leaving behind a trail of falling sticks and branches.

Andrei looks at me as I get up, clutching my spear tight. My heart is thumping in my chest like a drum.

"Hiriam," Andrei says fearfully.

"Don't worry," I respond shakily, raising my spear. "Keep a hold of your weapon and watch."

The line of barren bushes in front of me rustles and moves. I run forward, expecting either a tribute or a turkey, but I find nothing. I look up in the sky, just in time to see a silhouetted figure alight on top of a tree and disappear.

"Hiriam…"

"Just hold onto your spear, okay! All eyes."

"Right."

Silence.

Another rustle, this time from behind Andrei. I run over with him, peering into the darkness, seeing nothing.

A snap of branches from behind.

"You stay here," I say to Andrei. "I'll look over there. Keep vigilant."

I run over to the source of the noise, feeling scared and shaky. Something isn't right.

By the time I reach the spot, nothing is there. I look around desperately.

"Hiriam…"

I hear Andrei behind me; hear the quivering of his voice.

"Keep watch!" I reply, checking to see any sign of the creature.

"Hiriam… Hiriam!"

Before I can move, I hear Andrei scream.

Immediately I turn around, staring in fear. Andrei is slumped on the ground, unconscious. But standing over him…my heart freezes.

It isn't like anything I've ever seen. It's a bird, only a little shorter than Andrei, soft feathers adorning the wings, and long orange legs with talons. But there's no mistaking the reptilian qualities of the beast. The body is a light, sickly green, covered in scales, with a tan-ish belly in the middle. Thin, short arms are attached to its wings, sharp claws at the end, ready to rip flesh from bones. But the most terrifying aspect is the thing's head. It has a long, scaled green neck and a small, blunt snout. Its eyes are cold and black, beady little things like a ravens'. The mouth opens, revealing short, sharp teeth.

All I can do is stare at it in fear. I tremble, raising my spear, but I can't. I'm paralyzed.

Then I feel something sharp at my back. I scream and turn around as another lizard-bird stares into my eyes, its mouth forming a crooked smile.

It pounces, and I fall and hit the ground as it dives its mouth toward my neck, the razor claws digging into my arms. I grab my spear, still clutched tightly in my hand, and shove the point through the beast's mouth. The eyes dilate, and warm red blood gushes over me. Gasping, I push the thing off me and pull my spear away from the dead body, the wound still bleeding.

Then I remember Andrei. Frantically, I turn, but the lizard-bird isn't biting into his flesh. It's looking at me with its cold stare. It raises its head and starts chirping again, the sound reverberating throughout the dark woods. Only a few seconds later, I hear crackling from all around. I spin around and see five other lizard-birds, heads cocked, serpentine tongues flicking out of their jagged mouths. They all stare at me for a moment, beady eyes boring into my skull. I raise my spear, bracing myself for an attack.

With a loud chirrup, three of the six beasts rush toward, two taking to the air with the steady beating of their wings. I see the other three running toward the still unconscious Andrei. I run in a crouch toward him and throw my spear at one of the beast's body, but it only bounces off the hard scaled skin. But it turns and regards me along with the other two, momentarily distracted from Andrei. I slowly back away as they advance, feet crunching on the dry leaves. Wings unfolded, claws outstretched, the lizard-birds walk toward me slowly. I start calling Andrei's name so that he'll awake and run from here, then I can follow. I finally do see his eyelids flicker open, and he stares in horror at the pack of beasts.

"Andrei, run!"

Two lizard-birds drop from the sky on top of me, and I'm surrounded by all six of the things. They open their mouths; one drops it hand toward my chest, ready to disembowel me; the others look hungrily on, their jagged teeth coming closer to my flesh. I wave my hands and try to push them away, but they're too strong and only snap at my hand. One set of teeth pierces my arm quickly, then releases, but the pain is horrible. I grit my teeth and close my eyes, beating and striking the predators to no avail.

There's a sound, the whizzing of something flying threw the air, and I see a spear penetrate one of the lizard-bird's neck. It falls along with a second one, pierced in the same place. The lizard-birds turn, and I quickly scramble up. I expect to see Andrei, and I am about to run toward him and help, but it isn't him. It's the boy from District 8. Strong, lean, with shaggy brown hair, he suddenly spots me. He ducks a swipe from one of the lizard-birds, and rolls, pulling the two spears from the dead carcasses. He throws both into the air, right toward me, and I grab them. Then he pulls out a hatchet, which he promptly embeds in one of the beast's body.

Then I realize what's happening: this boy saved my life, has thrown me my weapons. Now I have no choice but to help. I owe it to him. Behind a tree I see Andrei crouching, covering his ears. These things seem like the perfect nightmare for someone who's afraid of birds.

But I don't have time to think of anything else. I run toward the pack of beasts as they advance the boy. I stab one through the belly, though it's difficult to puncture the skin. It falls, leaving only two lizard-birds left. One of them turns toward me and jumps into the air, flapping into the sky with the other in close pursuit. I throw my spear into the air but miss the beasts by a mile. My spear plants itself into the ground, and I quickly retrieve it.

The boy from 8 and I alone now, except for Andrei, still paralyzed by fear. We're both breathing, short rapid breaths.

"They'll be coming back," he says, panting.

"How do you know?" I say to him.

"I just do."

I hear the chirping call of the lizard-birds, high in the trees.

"They're calling for more," I say, winded and out of breath. "I hate mutts."

Rustling, a shriek that chills me to the bone. It's closer now.

I turn to the boy. "Who are you?"

He looks at me for a moment. "James."

Then the lizard-birds erupt from all sides, shrieking and calling, wings flapping in the air.

"I'll take the left!" I scream to James. I turn and face the onslaught of beasts, at least eight rushing toward me. One pounces, and I hold onto one of my spears in front of me. As the beast hits, the spear impales it, but the body lands on top of me. I push it off and hurl my other spear into another lizard-bird and, pulling my spear from the carcass, push the butt of it into the black eyes of another beast. It shrieks in pain, and I quickly jab the metal point of my spear through its head as blood squirts onto me. I am continually getting more and more repulsed and frightened, but I have no other choice then to fend of these creatures.

I crouch and run through the midst of the beasts and retrieve my thrown spear. Three of the lizard-birds attack, but my spear isn't fast enough. One of the beasts claws my arm, leaving a deep gash. It starts to bleed as the others set in. I push away, then face the beasts rushing. They're in a single file line, so I run toward them, spear in front of me, and I shove it through all three of the lizard-birds, and then take down another with a powerful throw of my spear.

Only three remain. One of my spears is stuck in the three bodies of the lizard-birds. Desperately I try to extract my weapon from the grisly mess, as the last three start rushing. As I fish inside the bodies, I feel the gooey remains of organs, then finally the wooden shaft. My stomach is sick, but I pull away. As soon as the spear is halfway out, the three are close, and one bites into my shoulder as I scream in pain. I can't get the spear out, but keep desperately pulling, hoping for a miracle.

A hatchet takes down the biter of my shoulder. The other two lizard-birds back off for a moment, enough time for me to remove the spear. It flies through the air and punctures one through the neck as James retrieves his hatchet and takes the last one down. It tips over and falls, presenting a sense of finality.

Slowly and painfully I stand up and get my other spear. A sea of carcasses surrounds James and me, and the night is thick with the scent of warm blood. I kick one body aside as I prepare to get Andrei.

"Thanks," I say to James.

"Yeah," he responds. "We make a good team."

I realize what he wants. He's inviting me to be allies with him. I'm hesitant; already Andrei has proved trouble. But James just took down a horde of nightmare creatures with only a gash on his left arm, which I just notice. He saved my life, but I helped him too. He's correct: we do make a good team.

"You're right," I finally respond as we walk toward Andrei. "Allies?"

James smiles. "Allies."

We shake hands.

"Oh, and by the way, it's Hiriam. Hiriam Maris."

James looks at me and smiles. "Thanks. But I already knew that. I remember you from the interviews."

My face goes red at the reminder. I just killed about ten lizard-birds, and the topic of my interviews still embarrasses me!

"Yeah, that was not exactly my finest hour."

We walk to Andrei. Cautiously, he looks up.

"Oh no, you were fine. You looked good in your dress."

I laugh slightly, then turn to Andrei.

"James, this is my other ally, Andrei."

"Ah yes," James responds. "The bomb guy."

Andrei smiles the slightest bit.

"Yes, I definitely remember you. In fact," James rustles in the pocket of his jerkin. "I found these."

He hold out his hands and reveals about eight miniature bombs. I stare at him in wonder.

"How did you get those?" I ask.

"Found them, about a fifteen minute's walk from here. Just laying on the ground."

"But I thought Kale had them."

"Maybe he did. He must have dropped them. They were partially covered by some leaves, but I have a good eye."

I suddenly stare at him. "Wait, why didn't you use them when those bird things attacked?"

James looks at me and shrugs. "I dunno. I didn't have anything to light them with."

Andrei climbs up and pulls out his matches, about ten of them. "I have matches," he offers.

But James laughs. "No, no, I'm no good with these things. Maybe you should keep them—I hear you're the expert."

Andrei nods and snatches them from his hand. "Thanks," he says, as a side-note.

Then his eyes grow wide again. "Are the bird things…gone?"

"Yes. I think they are," I say to him in a soothing voice.

"Good," he says, shuddering. I don't like lizards, and I hate birds. Those things are scary!"

"You're right. We should head back to the burrow now."

James raises an eyebrow. "Burrow?" he asks quizzically.

"C'mon, We'll show you."

"First," James says, "I'll grab a lizard-bird carcass."

Immediately I'm repulsed at the thought. "For what?"

"For food of course. We have to eat. And I'm pretty sure these things are edible."

He's right of course, but I'm still disgusted. "Fine," I relent.

James goes over and picks up the grotesque body and throws it over his shoulder, blood dripping from its mouth. I shudder.

"So," James says as we walk. "Where exactly is your hideout located?"

I readjust my spears. "About twenty to twenty-five minutes away. I don't know though…it's a tight fit, even with just me and Andrei."

"What do you mean?"

"We don't call it 'the burrow' because it's a nickname…it's an actual hole. Den. Burrow."

James looks at me strangely. "Hmm, was not expecting that."

"It's the reason we aren't dead yet," I explain to him. "It's actually fair-sized, despite what you might think. We cover up the top whenever we leave it or are inside. It's how we've kept hidden."

We continue walking, James carrying the carcass and Andrei still looking frightened. Finally, I speak the question that's been on my mind since James emerged.

"How did you find us…and why did you help?"

James sniffs and wipes some blood from the lizard-bird off his hand. "Well, first of all, I was camped not far from where you were, in a tree. I was sleeping, but I woke when I heard those things chirping. At first I just thought it was a bird. Then I heard screaming. So I climbed down to see what was the matter. I kept hidden at first, because I thought it was a tribute attacking a fellow Game member. I hid behind some trees, but when I looked I saw you, surrounded by the beasts."

"But why exactly did you help me?"

Sniffing, he shrugs slightly. "I dunno. Like I said before, I recognized you. It just felt unfair that you were attacked and so outnumbered. I got angry. And besides, you seemed nice at the Training Center."

The rest of the time we walk in silence, but I keep a careful watch for any other tribute. Night has completely fallen by now, and you can barely see in front of you. Every once in a while, I imagine I see a shadow dart behind us, expecting a tribute to attack. It never happens though, and I'm thankful that we soon reach the burrow.

Then I remember the meat. We have nowhere to store it, and it's far too late to go to the river and cook it.

I explain this to James and Andrei. James frowns. "Right. I completely forgot about that."

"So, what are we going to do?"

"Nothing to do, except leave it out here. Hang it a tree skinned, and hope a tribute or animal is attracted to it."

Though it's pitch black, I help James cut off the thick scaly hide and gut the insides. I feel ready to vomit, but there isn't much left in my stomach. Finally, we finish and hang it from a branch about two minutes walk from the burrow. Then all three of us—Andrei, James, and me—climb into the now very cramped den. Our shoulders are touching, and there's no arm space whatsoever. It feels awkward to be so close to someone—especially someone who you only met an hour ago.

"Who's on first watch?" James asks.

My brow furrows. "Watch? We don't usually have one. I mean…there's not much to watch, is there? Except if someone falls in, in which case, we'll all probably wake up anyway. So really, no point."

James sighs. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I guess…just keep your weapons close?"

"Right," I respond.

Slowly he closes his eyes. Despite James's apparent friendliness, I'm still a little wary. Sure, he could have killed me multiple times, and left me for the lizard-birds. Still, I'll be cautious.

Soon my eyes start to close. Outside, I hear rainfall, and it starts dripping through the stick and weed covering. It gradually picks up, until it's pounding into the ground with intense force. I cover my head and try to go to sleep, but the lizard-birds resurface, and in a moment of sheer panic, I hear the chirping sound that they emitted. My eyes open wide and I bolt up, convinced that the beasts are right outside the burrow. When I realize nothing is amiss, my rapid heart slows down, and I am overcome by sleep.

My dreams are haunted by the lizard-birds, but I don't wake up again that night; I am roused by the movement and yawn of Andrei, followed by James. I open my eyes into the early morning darkness.

"Morning," someone says. I think it's James. My head is all foggy, and I'm disconcerted. I feel strange.

Somebody looks at me. "Hiriam, are you okay?"

Weakly, I nod.

Then for some reason, my mind goes back to the Training Center, the elevator, finding the room, the enigmatic 'F'. Something's nagging at the back of my mind. There's something I'm missing, something I know that's important.

"Hiriam? Hiriam!"

The last thing I see is an ocean of faces before I black out.

A/N—Sorry about the minor cliffhanger thing. Thanks again for reviewing, and please leave your ideas, suggestions, and chapter reviews in…you guessed it, the Reviews section. Thanks!