The 150th Annual Hunger Games
Chapter 10
Harper's POV
As soon as we get out of the cornfield and at least a few miles away from the Cornucopia, I throw myself at Linnet, laughing as he whirls me around. I hug him as tight as I can, my chest bursting with joy and exhilaration.
"We did it, we actually did it!"
"I can just imagine the looks on their faces when they realise," Linnet snorts, his breath tickling my ear. He sets me down and I'm thrilled to feel the weight of the light bow on my back, the sheath of arrows full to the brim. Linnet has the sword clipped to his belt, and I have the belt of throwing knives thrown around my hips. Not to mention the District 4 bag we managed to get.
"Throwing the tarpaulin down was genius- I think Star fell for it."
"Literally," I giggle, thinking of Star face planting the ground.
Now that we have weapons, we can be unstoppable. It dawns on me that one of us could actually win this thing.
I will make it my purpose to get Linnet out of here alive.
"Hey, how's this?"
I look over to the small fire Linnet has built, flames burning brightly in the cool night.
"Great," I reply, "for our first fire in this hellhole."
Earlier on I shot down a squirrel, which is now roasting over the fire. I realise it's the first substantial thing we'll have eaten since we came here, and my belly snarls with hunger. Linnet picks up the bag we got from the Feast, glancing over to me. His tapered fingers dance along the strings, longing to open the bag. I bite my lip. For some reason, I am nervous. The Careers could have easily messed with them before we got there.
"Might as well," I say, just as we hear two cannons go off in the distance.
We both jump, Linnet dropping the bag. I notch an arrow, looking around for any attackers. Just because the cannons were far off, doesn't mean that the tributes that did it would be in the same place. They could be anywhere, and with our camp on the ground now, we are vulnerable.
Listening hard, I stare out into the darkness, eyes narrowed. There is nothing but pitch black and the chirping of the crickets in the undergrowth. Just to be sure, I scan the perimeter of our little dell, bow ready and poised. Linnet does the same, brandishing his sword.
I wonder who the tributes were- no doubt that they were murdered by the Careers. Probably got to the Feast late, and then slaughtered.
Sighing, I sink onto a log. There is no one there, no one hunting us. Just my stupid paranoia and me. Linnet finishes his perimeter check and drops down next to me, laying his sword down next to the fire. I lean against his shoulder, my eyes closing automatically as he drapes a lazy arm around me, pulling me close.
"Life's a bitch," I mutter into his collarbone.
"Sleep, Harper," he murmurs.
And because I'm tired out of my mind, and because Linnet is holding me, I do.