Yay! New update! Flashbacks are in italics...
Later that night I was once again hidden and I surveyed the sky, waiting and watching for the nightly update on deaths. Other nights I hadn't paid attention to these, watching only to see if he was still alive, but tonight's broadcast had a special meaning for me. Why? Because a few hours ago my only friend, my only ally in this arena died. Helena. I smiled sadly, knowing both that she was in a much better place than this horrible arena, and I that I would not see her again until I went to join her there.
I remembered the moment we had first become friends, which felt so far away now, though it was only, no, it couldn't be, a week ago.
"Are you scared at all?" Helena didn't look haughty and regal as she looked at me since the moment we had been chosen as tributes, but instead she looked just as scared as I felt inside.
I looked back at her and, just for a moment, I let all my emotions show on my face before pushing them back down. "Of course I am." I wanted it to come out strong, but instead I sounded weak and frightened.
For the first time in a very long time Helena Mitchell smiled at me. "You seemed so indifferent, like you didn't care that we're going to die. I know that I'm really scared."
"So am I." I smiled back at her.
That day, not so long ago, it had seemed like we were in a different world, not quite prepared for the horrors of the arena. I let myself get lost in memories once again, passing time until I could get the closure I needed.
We had spent many hours being poked and prodded into what the Capitol considered to be perfect shape. Our skin had been peeled away, leaving new skin underneath. My blonde hair had been teased and curled and was now draping down over my shoulders, and Helena`s long straight black hair had been teased into a wild style. Dark coal-like makeup ringed our eyes, and dark red lipstick had been slathered on our lips. We looked like fearsome morphling addicts. There really was no other way to describe us.
The costumes that had been created for us during the day were the most hideous costumse I had ever seen. The outfit that had been provided to Jade and Emma by Seneca Crane for the Quarter Quell were old orange miners jumpsuits, which our stylists had taken the liberty of modifying "slightly". First they had shortened the sleeves. Next they had cut open the legs and sewn them together, creating a tight skirt. They had the skirt shortened so it would barely cover our butts. Finally, they paired it with a hardhat, a pair of tall clunky lace-up boots, a pair of ripped black tights, and long ripped fingerless gloves.
I turned to Helena, who was wearing a look of shock on her face that was identical to mine. She turned to me and whispered the exact thought that was on my mind: "We are going to look like hookers."
I suppressed the need to giggle and instead settled back into the tree.
"Hey." Her smile didn't quite reach her eyes when she looked up at me, and it quickly slid out of place. When her face started to crumple I instinctively reached out and wrapped my arms around her.
"May, I'm scared." She barely whispered it into my ear. Her back started shaking softly, and I could feel my own eyes filling up with tears. They spilled over, and I held on even more tightly to Helena. Her arms reached up and closed over my back, and in that moment I was sure of something that I hadn't been sure of at all before.
"Allies?" I whispered. Shocked, Helena pulled away.
"Like, seriously?" I nodded and her face lit up.
I was shocked out of my thoughts by the sound of the Capitol's anthem, and looked up into the sky where, sure enough, the Capitol's flag illuminated the arena.
Faces started rolling, and I was surprised to see not one, not two, but 7 Career tributes' faces among the day's death toll. One more face came up, the girl from 11, before I saw the face I had needed to see. Deep down, I was happy my friend had died the way she did: quietly and without pain.
Helena's face was the last one shown, leaving me with a mixed sense of relief and dread. I was alive. Haymitch was alive. Only one of us would make it out of the arena. I counted down on my fingers. Eight people were still alive. The dread started to take over. There were only six people in the way of Haymitch and me being the last two in the arena, a situation I would never, in a million years, want to face. I could imagine it now. We would evade each other for as long as possible, and then, when the end was inevitable, we would be thrown together. It would be hard, and we would both be fighting to kill, no holds barred. And even now, I knew who would win.
I shivered, and with those pleasant thoughts, settled down to sleep fitfully through my first ally-less night.
...
Some time later I was woken by a loud trumpet blast, which seemed to tear through the arena. Then, as I was trying to clear my foggy brain a voice sounded through the arena.
"Today has been a day of great loss for everyone in this arena. Whether it was the loss of allies, the loss of a friend, the loss of your best weapon, or the loss of your last supply of food and water, it has hit every surviving tribute hard."
I sat up quickly, intrigued by the words that seemed to swell throughout the arena.
"But, for every loss there comes a gain, a metaphorical window opened for a door that has closed. At sunrise, there will be a package, chosen for free by your mentors, waiting for each and every one of you at the Cornucopia. For some of you it might be something you can live without, but for others? Well, for others, without this package your time in the arena is extremely limited."
I started taking inventory of my supplies, trying to figure out what package could possibly be waiting for me at the Cornucopia. The voice continued.
"However, with necessity comes a greater need for sacrifice, and your packages will be place accordingly in the meadow. So, tributes, I leave you with a choice. Will your sacrifice of the past 24 hours have a purpose, or will all your losses go unnoticed? I will see those of you brave enough at dawn."
I continued to search feverishly through my supplies to see what could possibly be waiting for me at dawn. Everything I needed was there, except... I pulled out the small bag that contained the poison berries that Helena and I had collected days ago. It was empty.
A nagging thought came to my mind, almost as if the berries had a purpose for being in my bag, but I waved it away as no more that a doubt. Then I settled in, and decided to let my curiosity get the better of me and wait for dawn.
...
The sky of the arena had started to brighten, and I was making my was slowly and carefully toward the meadow, where the package waited for me.
I reached the part pf the forest that bordered the meadow and stopped, waiting. As I looked around for potential attackers my eye caught on a flower on the ground, and memories of yesterday came flowing back to me.
Helena took a breath. "I'm going to die." She looked around, then bent down and ripped a flower out of the ground. "Face it Maysilee, we're BOTH going to die. Deep down, you know that too."
"Hel..." I whispered and hugged her.
"I know." She hugged me back. "I'm glad I met you."
"Me too."
She sighed. "I just wanted to take a minute and smell the frickin' flowers before I die." For emphasis she lifted the flower she was holding up to her nose and inhaled deeply.
Time stopped for a moment, then Helena fell to the ground and lay still.
I stared disbelievingly at her still form.
Then the cannon fired.
I was snapped out of the reverie by the sound of a cannon firing in real life. I dropped to the ground and waited in a crouch to see if anyone was approaching me. Once I was satisfied that there was no one around I straightened up and continued to watch the meadow.
Soon, the sun peeked out over the ruins of the volcano, and I knew it was almost time.
Without warning a hovercraft flew over the meadow and released seven packages attached to parachutes, ranging in size from tiny and square to long and thin, in a perfect line, which fluttered to the ground. The parachutes settled over the packages and on each silver foil dome was a number. The closest one to me was a small box, about ten meters away. As I strained to read the number a tall form broke out of the trees.
Suddenly the numbers became apparent, and I took them all in, looking for the two 12 packages I hoped were out there. I surveyed them and found two 1 packages on the far side of the field, followed by a 2 package, then an 11 package, a 2 package, and finally, closest to where I was, two packages labeled 12.
The form racing across the meadow grabbed the two 1 packages and disappeared into the trees. Once I was sure there was no one around I stole into the meadow, picked up the closest 12 package, and dashed back into the trees to watch.
Next to appear was Haymitch. My stomach clenched as he dashed right past me, grabbed the other 12 package, and disappeared into the trees, not stopping.
After Haymitch had been gone for a moment, the tall form from earlier returned across the meadow and grabbed the two 2 packages as well.
Finally, about an hour later, a red haired girl appeared out of the forest. Her eyes were glazed, there were cuts all over her body, her left leg was dragging and there appeared to be burns across her face. As quickly as she could she made her way to the only remaining package, the one meant for the only remaining tribute from District 11. It was then that I realized that she was the girl from training, the one who had saved me. Sickened, I turned just as she picked up her parcel and began to head back to the forest and began to run to somewhere safe.
Once I reached a sheltered tree slightly inside the forest I climbed up and set to work unwrapping the package. Gingerly I lifted the lid off to reveal...
Berries? Slowly, distantly I remembered the dream I had had just two nights ago, and my mentors reason for sending the berries to me suddenly became very clear. I sifted through them, and found a stick with a round end, which could be used for crushing the berries. I slowly started crushing the berries into a pulp.
Suddenly my head whipped up as I heard someone moving through the forest below. I peered through the branches and saw the girl from the meadow limping through the clearing. Slowly I reached into my bag and pulled out my blowgun before dipping it into the berries, and aim it at her.
Then I see what she doesn't. A fluffy golden squirrell, just one, sits in a tree above her, watching her ravenously. I shift my blowgun towards the muttation. I had seen these mutts around the forest, and realized now what this one was aiming to do. I pounced and I fired, hitting it in the stomach and knocking it out of the air just before it hits the girl. The mutt's body hits her and she screams, dropping to the ground.
A cannon fired, and I realized that her heart, already weakened, must have give out. I hear footsteps then, and spot another person heading towards us. One of the careers burst out of the trees and casually flipped the body over and ripped the back pack off the body of the girl who lay on the ground. He opened it and shifted through it as the hovercraft picked up the body. The shadowy person found what they were looking for and pulled it out. A water bottle. They took a sip, then went still and collapsed as another cannon fired.
I sprung into action, knowing more careers would be about shortly, looking for whoever had killed their ally. I jumped from the tree and hit the ground running, not bothering to look back.
I ran though the forest, heading deeper and deeper and further away from the meadow, not stopping until I was a safe distance away from the bodies. As my breathing and heart rate slow, my ears picked up on the faint sounds of combat, somewhere close. Knowing it was Haymitch and I against the Careers in the arena now, I jumped to the conclusion that Haymitch had to be involved in the fight and took off in the direction of the noises.
Sure enough, as I halted a meter into the trees from where the fight was taking place I could see that it was, indeed, Haymitch, fighting one of the careers with a knife.
They clashed and fought, and Haymitch was starting to get overpowered by the brute he was fighting.
I watched and waited, then, knowing I had to take the opportunity now and strike I picked up my blowgun, dipped a dart in poison and readied myself for the perfect moment.
They continued to fight, and just when I was starting to think my idea was in vain my target became clear.
Without hesitation I fired, and the laced dart sank straight into the Career's jugular vein, causing him to collapse to the ground.
Haymitch stared at the dart for a moment in shock, the dropped into a defensive stance as the Career's cannon fired.
I crossed my arms and stepped into the light. Haymitch looked surprised for a moment, then straightened up, keeping his knife at the ready.
We were silent for a moment. "We'd live longer with the two of us." I dropped my blowgun as a sign of surrender.
Haymitch was silent, thinking, then he dropped his knife too. "I guess you just proved that." He shrugged, and my stomach clenched, waiting to see who would make the first move toward where we had been going before the Games.
"Aliies?" Haymitch asked.
I nodded, unable to say anything.
"Good." He turned away from me, unwilling to show any emotion, then stuck his foot out and rolled the dead career onto his stomach.
I stood guard and he bent over the body, searching through his pack for anything we might need.
Once the boy's pack was empty we stood and stared at each other.
"That way." Haymitch pointed and set off in the direction he was pointing in. I followed, unsure of what to say.
"Did you go to the feast this morning?" He looked at me as I spoke.
"Yeah." He looked away, unwilling to make eye contact.
"What did you get?" I prompted.
He held up the knife he was using.
"Oh." We walked in silence for a minute.
"Did you?" He broke the silence
"Go? I did."
"And you got..."
I hesitated, not quite willing yet to trust Haymitch. "Food. I got food."
We settled into and uncomfortable silence.
"You know, if we're going to be allies we're going to have to get over this awkwardness at some point." I sighed.
Haymitch was silent.
"Haymitch?"
Still nothing.
"Dammit." I stomped on his foot in frustration, and he glared at me.
"Did you hear what I said?"
"Yeah." He muttered.
"And..."
"I'll think about it."
I rolled my eyes, and we continued walking.
A little while later I tried again. "Haymitch?"
"What." He fired back.
"Do you hate me?" I whispered.
He softened a bit. "No." He paused then muttered something under his breath.
"What was that?"
"I said, I don't hate you, but I hate myself for putting us in this position. And you should hate me too. I would make this a hell of a lot easier." He muttered.
I stopped, and grabbed his wrist to stop him too. "Well tough luck, Haymitch, because I don't hate you. Actually, I-" I broke off.
"You know what, nevermind." I continued, then turned so we were facing each other. Tentatively, I stepped toward him and wrapped my arms around his chest. He stiffened, then slowly put a hand on my back.
"Whatever this is, and whatever happens, you were worth it Haymitch." I whispered, then stepped away. "Now come on, let's keep moving, before we both get killed."
I broke into a run, suddenly feeling light as a bird knowing that somewhere behind me, Haymitch was following.
...
So, what do you think... New chapter quick enough? And long enough (this is the longest chapter so far!)? Also, please, please take a minute and review please, since there are only like two chapters left and getting reviews makes me want to write! :) Also, I made a little banner/poster for this story, which I posted on deviantART. The link is on my profile for anyone who wants to see it! So, if you want more, you know what to do... (REVIEW!)