"Cleo, wake up!" I opened my eyes, bolting up, and my heart pounding. What's happened? Rain beams down at me, a silver parachute gripped in his hand.
"Look what we got, well, you got actually. I think this is yours." Rain handed me the parachute, attached was a beautifully crafted knife, just like the ones I'd practiced with. I smiled, turning it over in my hand, grateful Rain hadn't woken me up because we were being attacked.
"I didn't think I had any sponsors..."
"Your mentor handles all the sponsors' money; he must have decided you needed this." I smile, pulling the silver material away from my knife. Ha, Dandy's sponsorship money has been wasted on buying me a knife; I smile, looking up at the sky.
"Thank-you James; thank-you sponsors who may or may not actually want me to have this," Rain laughs besides me and climbs down the tree. I place the knife in my belt loop and put the scrap of silver material in my jacket, just in case an incident arises when having some material might be useful, I can't think when it might be but I'd be annoyed that I left it behind if I do end up needing it. I follow him Rain down the tree, leaping to the floor and standing beside him. The forest air is colder than normal; I can see my breath in front of me, clouding around my face like frosty smoke. I look out into the distance and spot a thick layer of snow over the mountain tops.
"It's weird; nothing ever comes in the woods, not even the weather." I say, Rain nods in agreement, un-wrapping our food from last night.
"I think there's a barrier keeping things out of the woods. That has to be the explanation, why nothing ever comes into the trees."
"Why would the Game makers bother putting one of them up isn't that just a total waste of time?"
"So we have to leave the woods for food and water, and there's an increased chance of bumping into the Careers who will try and murder us." As he says this, Rain's eyebrow crumples together, like he's trying to find the answer to a really difficult question and the answer is right under is nose. He hands me a rabbit leg and I eat it quickly, even though it's cold and tastes slightly watery.
"Are we going hunting today?" I ask, between mouthfuls.
"We don't need to, we have enough food to last us two more days I think. But we will need some more water soon, were running low."
"Well that won't be all that hard to get, there's heaps of snow around the mountains." We eat our breakfast and pack up, heading out of the trees. It feels weird being out in the open, un-safe. A big flurry of soft, wet snow drops down from the few trees it settled on, running all the way down my back. I shiver, shaking away the water and rushing to keep pace with Rain.
"Well this is the end of the barrier; it stretches father out of the woods than I thought." Rain jogs forward, unscrewing his cup; he packs it with snow and shakes. He hands me another water bottle from his brown backpack, which he managed to claim from the pile, and I fill it up. Rain gazes at the mountains, one hand on his sword. I smile,
"Are you scared?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. Rain nods,
"The Careers are out there, you'd be a fool not to be scared." It's weird, even though I know the Careers are vicious, I didn't actually expect Rain to admit he was frightened of them, at least not so openly. We stand up, brushing snow from our coats and walk back towards the woods and through the invisible barrier Rain is convinced is keeping prey away from us, I somehow doubt that, the Game makers wouldn't bother doing that just to make us go to the mountains would they? Surely two tributes wouldn't make them go to so much trouble? As we stomp through the trees, the hairs at the back of my neck suddenly stand up, like somebody was watching me. I glance over my shoulder and stare at the bushes, nobody. I shake the feeling away, dismissing it as my own paranoia. Rain glances back at me, stops walking and pulls his sword from his belt.
"Did you hear that?" He whispers, I shake my head but take out my knife, just like Pine taught me too whenever I felt nervous. I strain my ears, trying to hear tiny sound in the trees. Could Titus be sneaking up on us? I somehow doubt it, Titus is sly and sneaky, he wouldn't attack two people who are armed and could easily hurt him, and it wouldn't be worth his energy. We stand listening intently for one long minute before I break the silence.
"You're on edge from being out of the woods, just keep walking." Rain frowns but follows me anyway, like I said, I was in charge and he did as I said. Although recently, I had begun giving more power to Rain, he was the one who got to hunt while I watched out for danger; he decided which tree we would camp in. Maybe I should take back my power; I don't want him thinking he's in charge of me, because he most definitely isn't. That's when I hear it. A branch snaps somewhere close and I know for a fact it has to be human. I spin around, looking into the bushes.
"I heard it that time." Rain stands in front of me in a defensive position his sword raised. I frown and step to his side, he isn't protecting me; I can look after myself thank you very much. Something fly's past my ear and hits a tree, a spear. I scream, turning around. A small blonde haired girl runs out of the trees towards me, a knife clasped in her hands.
"Run!" Rain yells I don't need to be told twice. I sprint further into the woods, the girl right behind me. If I can reach a tree I know I'll be ok, I can climb really fast and I doubt this girl will follow.
"Come back, weakling!" The girl sneers, I can hear she's gaining on me. I run faster. Suddenly something heavy lands on my back, pushing me to the floor. I shriek, kicking and thrashing. The blond haired girl tries to keep hold of me, pinning me to the floor, if I can just get my knife, I can stab her. She smiles, her green eyes twinkling.
"Ha! Think you could run away?" I shake my head, time to play weak again.
"Please don't hurt me, please." I squeeze my eyes, forcing tears that won't come. My hand moves closer to my belt, the girl doesn't notice. She places her knife close to my throat,
"Why are you not killing me yet?" I ask, my voice sounding harsher than I'd meant it to. The girl scowls and slaps me right across the face, that's it. I kick her in the stomach but she has a much too tight grip on me.
"Dandy wants to kill you himself; I'm not allowed to hurt you." I thrash and wriggle, lifting my head to try and butt her but she's got a bit of brain power and keeps her distance. I dig my free hand into her arm; letting my nails sink into her exposed skin while with the other hand I try and loosen my knife.
"You, a career, are not allowed to hurt me? What will happen if you do, will you be sent to bed without any dinner?" The girl's eyes flame with anger and she digs her knife into my throat, I try and lift up my knee to loosen her, but this girl is really heavy and she has me pinned down at the hip.
"Do it, I dare you!" Suddenly a cannon fire's, the girl looks up shocked, big mistake. I lift up my head, and hit her with all my power. She loses her grip and I roll, knocking her arms away from me, she topples over. I rip my knife from my belt loop, jumping at the girl. For a few seconds she stunned but that's all I need, I knock her easily to the floor and slice across her throat. She squirms, but it's too late. Blood pours from her wound and in a matter of seconds she goes limp. A second cannon fires. I put my knife back in my belt loop, surprised at how easy it was to kill someone-and how much I don't care. I look up at the sky, positive the cameras are on me.
"Don't trust District 7 tributes, there's more to us than meets the eye." I know it will confuse the audience but the intentions clear. I am not weak. I can kill quickly and efficiently, and Dandy, well Dandy is just an egotistical maniac who I can't wait to see dead, maybe I'll be the one to kill him? I run through the woods, back towards Rain. No one's there. My heart beats faster in panic, where is he? Oh please don't say he's dead, what will I do if he's dead? No, I don't actually need him. See, this is the exact reason you don't make friends with other tributes, because when they die, you break down. Even as I try to tell myself this, my heart beats loudly in my chest and my palms sweat with panic. He can't be dead; Rain is far too strong and skilled to have died now when there are still 10 of us left. I fight the urge to call his name in case there are still people around to hear me.
"Well, well, well..." A voice taunts from the shadows, I turn around, my knife raised. A tall, muscular, red headed boy steps out of the shadows, a lethal looking sword in one hand, Felix, the District 2 boy.
"I thought you would have died, that must mean my District partner is dead?" I nodded,
"Yeah, I killed her. Her blood is on my knife," I raise it up, hoping he can see the red stains. "Shame, this was new today from sponsors." Felix looks disgusted, the exact effect I wanted.
"Dandy is going to kill you and I can't wait to watch," he takes a step forward, stroking his blade. "But then again, I can kill you right now." Unexpectedly, he runs at me, slicing the sword along my arm. I scream, dropping my knife. The hilt of his sword smashes my head, knocking me to the floor; I pick up my knife and roll out of the way before he can attack me again. I stand up, my head spinning and stars dancing across my vision. The scent of blood fills my nose and I know my head is bleeding; I scowl, trying to adjust my feet so I can still run at him.
"If you think you can kill me that easily you have another thing coming." I spit, tightening the grip on my knife. Felix grins, his face blurring as my eyes come and go out of focus. Felix dances around me, trying to look for an opening to attack. I keep him in my line of sight, wondering how long I can do this for because my head is pounding and blood drops into my eyes. Suddenly Felix lunges at my left hip; he pushes me to the floor and swipes across my cheek with his sword. I boot my foot, catching his thigh, but he doesn't as much as wobble. I slash my knife at his upper arm and thrash about like a fish in a barrel. Felix places his sword next to my throat and lies on top of me so I can't move. I lie down on my back, facing my killer. I'm live on television and my poor brothers are going to have to watch my death. Felix grins, like a wild cat would over a poor mouse, he lifts up his sword, ready for the killing blow. Out of nowhere a heavy branch smacks Felix over the head, a boy stands over him. He has ashen skin, his hair is midnight black and wild like a birds nest, he turns to look at me, brown eyes filled with anger. I try and run but I can't feel my legs, I feel completely broken.
"Magnolia, come quick," He calls, a small girl rushes out of the trees. She sits down next to me, pressing something cold and wet next to my head. She looks exactly the same as the boy, the same skin and eyes; her hair is long and has tiny braids plaited in. She looks like a goddess. I want to run, to scream, to fight, but I can't and the cool thing pressed against my head is soothing. I try to form words, to plead with them not to kill me. But again, I simple can't, my head hurts too much and the pain behind my eyes becomes almost unbearable. As I fall into the swirling darkness, I hear a sound in the distance of a cannon firing, Felix is dead.