Chapter 14
The Beginning
The murky water is hard to see in. I swim to the surface and pull myself onto the muddy bank. The tracker jackers are gone. Filbert is in the middle of the pond swimming over. Amitai is still under. I search frantically for him and then realize he's trying to pull himself onto the bank. I try to help him but he just screams when he sees me. Eventually he climbs onto the bank. Filbert climbs onto the bank too.
"Filbert did you get stung," I ask.
"Just once on the arm," he replies.
"Show me where it is I can help," I say.
He rolls up his sleeve and shows me a bump on his arm with a small barbed dartlike stick in the middle. I open my backpack and retreive the plant that cures trackerjacker stings.
"This might hurt a bit but it will help," I reassure him.
I pull the stinger out and some green stuff oozes out Filbert winces slightly. I put a leaf in my mouth and chew it. I put it on Filberts sting and he sighs with releif. I do my calf and get Filbert to do my neck because I couldn't see. Amitai is screaming and thrashing. I pull off his shirt and see he has been stung five times on his back and chest. I pull the stingers out and put the chewed up plant on them. He stops screaming and thrashing.
"We should stay here until he wakes up," I say.
"But if he's seen? He will be killed," Filbert explains.
"Leave it to me," I say.
I put Amitai's shirt back on him. I grab some mud and cover him in it. He's camoflaged. Filbert was looking through the backpacks we got from the three Careers we killed. He finds some water and some arrows. He comes to give me the arrows.
"Where did Amitai go?" Filbert gives me a susicious look.
"Right there I just camoflaged him. And I can prove it. If I killed him you would have heard a cannon," I reply.
"Yeah i suppose," he says.
I'm hungry now I haven't eaten for 2 days. I eat 2 dried fruit bags, three beef sticks and three crackers. Filbert just eats a dried fruit bag and plays with a beef stick. He must be upset about Athena. Losing the one person you love must be terrible. I don't know how it feels. Yet.
"Are you okay Filbert?"
"I don't know. It feels like a part of me has died," he murmurs.
"It will be okay. You can talk to me you know."
I take a drink of water and clean my knives and sword in the pond. Just then I remember the snares I set. There's no point trying to go and check them it's too risky. Amitai starts to stir. He sits up.
"What happened? Why am I covered in mud?" Amitai interigates.
"You where stung by five trackerjackers and blacked out as soon as I stopped the venom," I explain, "And I covered you in mud to stop any one seeing you and taking a shot."
"We should move after I wash this mud off," Amitai announces.
He runs along the forest floor while Filbert and I swing in the trees. I hear someone coming toward us.
"Stop someones coming,"I shout.
Filbert and I jump down beside Amitai and draw our swords. The district 7 girl and both from 5 are standing there.
"Why are you here Career?" District 7 sneers.
The girl from 5 is shaking. I wonder how she escaped.
"He's not a Career he's in our alliance to take down the Careers," I retort.
"Yeah right. He could kill us all in one strike," the district 5 girl says.
"I saw him try once he can't even hit me with a knife," I explain.
"Show us then," the District 5 boy says.
"No I don't want to lose my knife," I shout.
"You're just scared he'll kill you," District 7 taunts.
I would have attacked her then but she has an axe, the boy from 5 has a spear and so does the girl.
"You're just scared I'll kill you first otherwise," I taunt.
"I'd like to see you try," she says.
"I bet thats what your district partner would have said."
"What? He was probably killed by Careers," she says.
"No he wasn't. He ran into the end of my sword. Poor soul thought I was stupid."
She's at boiling point now. She throws the axe at me. I duck and the axe hits a tree and the wooden handle shatters. Her chance of survival has just evapourated completely.
"Shame, he won't be avenged today," I say. I grab a knife and get ready to throw it.
"Wait, why don't we join forces to take down the Careers," Amitai suggests. Everyone just stares at him.
"We will go with you," the boy from district 5 says.
"I will never join you," District 7 spits.
"Suit yourself," I say throwing the knife directly onto her heart. The cannon fires before she hits the ground. I retreive my knife and put it in my backpack. I replace the place where it was with one of the curved knives.
"We should go now," Filber mumbles
Filbert and I take to the trees again. District 5 walk hesitantly behind Amitai. I see the district 5 boy raise his spear so I get my bow and string it. He's about to strike when I shoot his leg. He screams in pain. Filbert and I jump down from the tree. The arrow has went straight through his calf. I reload my bow.
"What the hell? Who shot me?" he demands.
"You looked like you where going to kill Amitai," I shot at him.
"Damn it," he murmurs.
"Why did you try and kill him," Filbert asks.
"He abandoned the Careers when they where fighting over who will kill Cecilia. It was him who caught her so it's his fault she almost died," he explains irrationally.
"But she didn't. District 7 had more of a reason to try and kill Amanda and she failed. Look at what happened her," Amitai interjects.
"Look. I won't shoot you if you promise not to try to kill Amitai again," I tell him.
"No deal," he sneers. I aim and release the string. The arrow goes straight into his eye the cannonfires and he dies. I pull free my two arrows and put them back in the sheath.
"Ceclia are you gonna kill us," Filbert asks.
"No, Orestes was very vengeful. I'm just glad to be alive," Cecelia stammers.
"Then we have no reason to hurt you," Amitai adds.
We continue on. I keep my bow strung just in case someone jumps us again. No-one does. We settle in some trees again tonight in our sleeping bags. Cecelia gets Athena's sleeping bag. The anthem plays and the Capitol seat is shown in the sky again the fallen tributes are shown. I've now killed six tributes. Ten tributes left. I eat the rest of my beef sticks and a packet of dried fruit. I'm getting sick of processed cold food. I wish Mercy would send me some hot food or something. I hear Filbert sobbing as I slip into the void of my dreams
The alliance has gained a new member. What will happen next?