Oh for Christ's sake you good for nothing bitch. I should throw you out right now and let you live on the street. Then you'll see. You'll see that you're worthless. That you can't live without me. You and that brat need me.

Chapter 12

I see Boy Nine coming towards me. He is searching the bushes to the right and left of him as he goes along. About 20 yards behind him are the Fours. I'm well hidden but only for people passing by, not someone searching the bushes. He pauses and stands straight up and looks around. I silently mouth, stop looking, nothing here, let's go that way. I guess my powers of telepathy are weak because he's heading straight towards me. I check to make sure my hatchet is in my belt. I can grab it quickly if I have to. My first line of defense is staying hidden.

I try to shrink smaller and not breath too loud. But because my breathing is labored I'm not being as quiet as i need to be. He is only a few feet from me now. One more step and he'll see me.

The bushes are pulled aside "Hey, look who I found." He yells to the Fours. While he's turned away I ram my staff right into his abdomen with as much force as I can muster. "Oh crap!" He yells. I grab my hatchet preparing to kill him when he stumbles backwards towards the Fours. They are now too close to finish Nine so I retreat. I run as fast as I can uphill. They are not gaining on me. They must be as tired and worn as I am.

As I'm running away from the trio I see Addi charging right at me. She has a crazed look in her eyes. Her cloths are dirty and bloody as is her face and hair. She is carrying the hunting knife she has used to slaughter her other victims. What do I choose, Addi or the alliance?

When I get about ten yards from Addi I make a right turn going parallel to the ridge. Instead of coming after me she goes after the Fours. Boy Nine is still on the ground when his compatriots pass him running from Addi. She spots Boy Nine and she lunges at him with her knife over her head. She brings the knife down into the boys chest. His agonizing screams echo in the valley. A few seconds later the canon goes off. Addi gets up and stares at the boy for a few seconds. She runs away from him and chases the Fours.

I stand next to a tree to rest. Now there are only four of us. I walk away and finish my fish, eating some berries and drinking water.

After about an hour of walking I get to the upper part of the stream. I lean over and wash my hands and face. The water is cooling. It is a welcome relief from the oppressive heat and humidity.

I fill my water bottles and forage as I walk. I continue walking upstream which is leading me uphill. I want to gain the high ground. I can see it in the distance. It is very rocky and steep. There is very little cover and food and water won't be available by the look of it.

I reach the edge of the tree line. The time to decide is now. If I stay within the trees my defenses would be limited but I'll have access to food and water. If I go up on the cliff I can only stay there a few days. And after a while the Gamemakers will find a way to force me down. I choose the cliff.

I decide to climb a tree until nightfall so I won't be seen going going up into the rocks. The rest will be welcome. I find a climbable tree and take a series of deep breaths. I start to climb but I have some serious pain in my chest. It's getting difficult to raise my arms over my head. I make slow but sure progress. I get to a point that is not as high as I would like but it'll have to do. I tie myself to the branch and I scan the area. Trees are behind me and a cliff face is in front of me.

I sigh at my situation. I'm injured. I have two opponents that want to kill me. And then there's Addi. She has not come after me. Not yet at least. She has been going after the tributes that killed Kizzy. What is she going to do when and if she kills both Fours. Will she come after me then? How do I defend against her? She is fearless. I don't think she cares if she lives or dies. Suddenly I shake. The noise startles me. The canon goes off. And now there are three of us.

I stare out and wonder who died, Addi or a Four. My money is on Addi still being alive. I lean back and rest and think of home. My mom. How is she handling this. Not only worrying about me in the arena but is my father being abusive. He probably isn't hitting her. I'm sure there are reporters all around wanting to interview the mother of a top tribute. But my father can be very verbally abusive. Words hurt. You tell someone she's good for nothing often enough they'll start to believe it.

Then there is El. She must be frantic. Luckily she has her parents and our friends to depend on. She right now is probably trying to figure out a plan for me. She loves puzzles. Most puzzles just give you the satisfaction of completing them. This one is life and death.

Maybe I should think like El. What would El do? No, that's not good. We are two different people. We have different strengths and weaknesses. She could fight if she needed to but I'm a trained fighter. Even in this weakened state I'm good. The question should be, what would El have me do? First she'd have me look at my strengths. I'm smart, I have a perfect memory. I'm also athletic and strong. Like I said before, I can fight.

My weaknesses, I'm injured, I'm smaller than Boy Four. But bigger than Addi or Girl Four. I could zone out if I don't keep my mind occupied.

The key is my fighting ability. I need to get Girl Four in a fight. Hand to hand. I can win that. Just as long as Addi doesn't show up I'll be fine. After I deal with the girl I'll deal with Addi.

I'll lure her to me. I have no interest in hunting her down. I'll also have to pick a place where I can see if Addi is coming. Oh damn what am I thinking, what happens if Addi shows up first? Ummm... she'll lie in wait for Girl Four. The girl is her target, not me.

On top of the cliff. That's the spot. It's open and you can see a person arriving from all directions.

How to attract her. She could see me just walking around. Well, not if she's on the other side of the arena. A fire? That's the way. A problem, the top of the cliff is barren, I would have to haul up wood. I wouldn't need that much. I could tie up a pile and haul it up with my rope.

Nightfall comes and I climb down from my perch. I collect wood. I won't need that much. And besides that, there is just so much I can lift up. I put my pile at the base of the cliff and tie up the bundle. I try to lift it. It's heavy but doable.

I'm going to hold the rope in my hand. If I tied it to myself someone might come along and pull on it and pull me down. If that's the case I wouldn't need the wood for the fire. They'd be here already. Okay, the thinking part is over, let's climb.

The cliff face is steep. Not quite vertical but very challenging. Living in District Two which is in the mountains has given me the opportunity to climb but nothing this steep. I start to climb. Quite cautiously at first. Once I get my sea legs, or in this case my cliff legs I am a little more confident and move along. There is enough moonlight so I can see but I don't think there is enough to light me up.

It's only a fifty foot climb. That will take a while when movement is measured in inches. I see a ledge about halfway up. I'l rest there.

It's taken some time to reach the ledge. I sit back and catch my breath. I drink some water and eat. It's a good thing it's dark. I feel vulnerable here. I freeze. I hear someone walking. I look around, I don't see anything. The walking is getting closer. I can sense what direction it's coming from and I stare that way trying to make out any images, any movement. There they are. They're moving slowly, methodically. My only defense is to stay hidden. This was the biggest flaw in the plan. Getting caught on the cliff face. I hope I survive to chastise El about this.

They are about to exit the trees and bushes. Oh God I hope i's Addi. She hasn't tried to kill me and she might leave me alone and go hunt down the other Four. But if it's one of the Fours then I'm in for it.

The bushes come apart and they are about to come into view. I let out a big sigh. It's a beautiful deer. A buck. An eight pointer at least. He's a magnificent beast. That's funny, he is the first large animal I've seen. I hope that this isn't a signal that the gamemakers are going to do something, like put bears in the arena. As if I don't have enough to deal with.

I continue my climb without any more problems. The slope actually becomes less steep after the ledge and I make it to the top. I rest for a while before I start to haul up the wood. I look around and I see another cliff. This one is not climbable and from the look of it I think it is man-made. This might be the arena boundary.

As I haul up the wood I tie it off to a large rock just in case I let it go so it won't fall all the way down. When I get it to the top I'm officially exhausted. The climbing and the hauling has taken its tole. I can't move anymore. I have to sleep. Against the arena boundary are very large boulders. I hide behind one to wait for the nighttime showing of who died.

I awaken and it is daytime. Oh shoot I missed the announcement. From the sun's position I'd say it is nine or ten in the morning. I hope no one has climbed and is also hidden. Well, except for taking me by surprise that wouldn't be so bad. I want them up here to fight. For a showdown.

I light my fire. I hope it's smoky enough. It will have to do. It gets going and I move back to the boulders. I sit and watch. Who will appear first. A Four or Addi. I keep on thinking Addi alive. What happens if both Fours show up? Another flaw in this plan. And what happens if the just stay down below and wait me out? That won't be allowed by the Gamemakers for more than a day or two. They'll figure out a way to bring us together.

So I sit and wait. Oh Eleanor, I hope your plan works.