Thank you, thank you, thank you to all my lovely reviewers, alerters and favouriters. Thanks so MUCH!
I updated earlier this week too (Tuesday, I think). So if you haven't read last chapter, you probably should before you start this one. Otherwise it won't make as much sense.
The song Betony sings part of in this chapter is 'My Old Man', also known as 'Don't Dilly-dally' and 'My Cock Linnet'. It probably has a gazillion other names but they're the only ones I can think of off the top of my head. I'm pretty sure it's a London song, but it seemed to work for District 12, for some reason.
I'm quick to change the subject, once Jill's green eyes actually do look like they might spill tears all over her tanned face. Honestly, we can't have that!
Figuring it's best to avoid talking about Jon too, and thus home, I ask her about her favourite song.
"My Mummy's favourite is 'My Old Man'" Betony recalls. "Everybody in our whole road knows it. Frances hums it sometimes, when she thinks I can't hear her."
This must be a Seam song, because I've never heard of it. I keep quiet; we don't want to embarrass the little girl.
"How does it go?" Jill asks.
Betony cheeks tinge slightly pink. "Have I got to sing it?"
"Well, how else will I know the tune of it?" A slight smirk plays across Jill's face.
Betony looks at the floor. "Fair enough." Deep breath. She looks over at me. "Do you know it, Maysilee?"
Damn it! I shake my head. "Sorry."
She sighs sadly, and I almost feel bad for having never hear of it, and starts her little song.
"My old man, said "follow the van, and don't dilly-dally on the way." Off went the van with my old man in it. I followed on with my old cock linnet. But I dillied and dallied, dallied and dillied. Lost my way and don't know where to roam. You can't trust the specials like the old time coppers, and I can't find my way home."
She's looking at her knee, apparently amazed by it. I think she's just embarrassed. Bless. It's actually really sweet. Maybe this'll get her sponsors? Act all sweet and shy?
"It's different to what we have in D4." Jill informs her. "Most of our traditional songs are to do with the sea, or to keep sailors in time, or are about sailors." She trails off.
"What?" Betony presses, looking at her intensely. "Jill, did you hear something?"
"I felt…" She looks up. "Rain…" She says it like she doesn't quite believe it, like she's sure she's imagining it. And the way she just looks at her hands after she says it strongly suggests she feels that way.
But I jump up onto my feet anyway, ignoring the pins and needles that are apparently so keen to make my right foot numb. I lift a hand to shield my eyes from the setting sun's violent glare, examining the clouds above. They're grey. And grey clouds are usually full to the brim with-
A drop of water splashes against the back of my hand.
I lower it, stare at it. It's not going purple, or green, or any other colour. In fact, my hand feels completely normal, just a little wet.
The rain quickly gets heavier and Betony lifts her head to the sky, standing and opening her mouth in an attempt to catch the water, like little children do back home in 12 when it's snowing. I reach inside our shelter, grab the small orange backpack, and unzip it. Hastily ripping the bowl out, I hold it above my head. Fill up, you damn thing. Fill up!
Jill cups her hands together, waiting for a small puddle of rain to form in her palms before lifting it to her lips.
I lower the bowl and use it as a cup, drinking and drinking. I didn't realise my throat was so dry, so raspy, until I'd fixed it. I hold the bowl above my head again, planning to catch some water to save; we don't know how long it will be until the Gamemakers decide to give us another rainstorm.
No longer so parched, the three of us snuggle up inside our lean-to. I've got to cuddle the backpack against me tightly, so that it's unlikely it'll be stolen while we sleep. The bowl of water I collected sits just outside, by Jill's head. If someone gets to it, she'll know.
The anthem plays, and I catch who's been killed through the small gaps between the larger sticks above my head; Tanya, from 8. I hear Betony sniffle beside me and feel something nuzzle against my shoulder. Probably her face. I can't turn my head round far enough to see. Then there are both boys from 9. The anthem plays once more and then the sky turns back into stars, any final traces of the rainclouds gone for good.
"She's somewhere better, Tiny," Jill soothes as Betony sobs against my shoulder. "Anywhere's better than here."
"I just…" Betony takes a shuddering breath. "I didn't get to say goodbye."
You'd have to have a heart of stone not to be touched by this. Maybe some kind soul will sponsor us, so Wilhelm can send us something exciting in a parachute.
That's far too optimistic. No-one's going to sponsor us when the Career pack are as strong as they are, when Veronica's so pretty and Maisy's so intriguing.
We're not going to get sponsors. Ever.
When I awake, Betony's face is pressed somewhat uncomfortably in the crook between my neck and shoulder, and what I think must be Jill's foot is lodged against my stomach.
In short, it's not comfy.
I roll my shoulder round in an attempt to rouse Betony gently. This completely fails, because she bolts upright, dislodging the sticks above us with the top of her head. This cause them all to collapse on top of us, which awakens Jill, obviously.
We all struggle to clamber out from beneath the piles of sticks and leaves that was our house. After taking a moment to remember and pay homage to our fallen shelter, I grab the backpack from the rubble. Jill takes the bowl, making sure not to spill a single drop, and we set off. I'm not sure where we're setting off to, but we do it anyway.
"I want," Jill pauses to catch her breath as we continue trekking through the woods. "To find that bastard who killed my brother. I want to kill them myself. I feel horrible for thinking it, but I do. I want to make him pay."
"But there are so many Careers this year." Betony points out. "How can you know which one it was?"
My stomach lurches at the memory of Jon's body, his intestines falling from his side. "I know who did it."
"How?" Jill asks suspiciously.
"It wasn't me!" I promise. "I was hiding in the trees; Veronica was looking for me, I think. The others wanted-" I swallow. "The others wanted to get 'the traitor'."
"Me." Jill whispers.
"And Jon tried to stop them." I continue.
"Which one of them was it?" Jill asks fiercely. "Or did they all chip in on the action?"
I hurriedly shake my head; no. "The girl from 1, with the braid."
Jill carries on walking. Betony and I glance at each-other before hurrying after her.
"The name's Pixie." Jill explains. "She's a traitorous, back-stabbing little bitch."
"It's funny, because she actually did stab his back." I remark. "Or, rather, his side."
Jill grimaces. "Oh, she's going to pay for this."
I grab her arm. "Not now." I say. "Not yet. Leave it a few days, until the Career pack isn't so big. Right now, hunting her down would be suicide."
She glares at me, but I think it's because she knows I'm right. With a roll of her eyes, she wrenches her arm from my fingers and continues walking.
"Where are we going?" I ask, scurrying up to her side. Betony slips her hand into mine, her footsteps falling into sync with Jill's and my own.
"Rain water runs down, right?" Jill looks at us. We both give her blank expressions; I never exactly made it a habit to learn about rainwater back home in 12, and apparently, neither did Betony.
Jill looks like she wants to hit her head against a tree in frustration, but her voice remains calm.
"It rained last night, remember?" We both nod slowly and she continues. "Well, rainwater that fell at the top of the mountain will have rolled down it. With me so far?"
Betony and I both nod slowly, unsurely.
"That means that if there's any drinkable water," Jill announces proudly. "It's at the base of the mountain."
"Won't someone else have had that notion too?" I point out.
"The Careers will be hanging out near the Cornucopia." Jill dismisses. "That's what they do every year."
"And the other tributes?" I press. "What about the two left from 6? I know they're in an alliance too; I saw them."
"Well, then, let's hope we find a decent weapon on the way there."
"What?" I manage to keep from yelling. Just. "It's not like they just magically appear on the ground or anything, is it?"
Jill whirls round and looks me dead in the eye, her expression fierce and determined. "We show the rest of the world what we can do." She takes a shaky breath. "And we pray for Sponsors." She turns away and continues walking, each step filled with anger.
Betony squeezes my hand and the two of us dash after the District 4 girl.
We crossed the field filled with the tall, vibrant grass. Deciding it was safer if we stayed away from the Cornucopia, we walked around the edge. It meant the crossing took an awful lot longer, but we were all in one piece at the end of it.
After searching the base of the mountain for a while, we found a rocky cave. Having checked it for wild animals, we deemed it safe and dumped our stuff inside. I helped Jill move a large rock from a little higher up the mountain to serve as a door. Then we all settled round a small fire inside the cave.
I think that just about brings us up to the present.
Betony has the now-opened bag of peanuts nestled in her lap. She takes one or two at a time. I've noticed she sucks the salt off before swallowing. Like Anise always used to do.
I quickly look over at Jill before memories of home start to surface. She's prodding the fire with a stick, trying to coax it into growing bigger.
A hear a thud and watch her head dart up, her eyes meeting mine.
Betony, blissfully unaware, continues to eat peanuts. Jill nods toward the entrance to the cave, and I feel my shoulders tense. As the rock that's serving as our door starts to slide, the sound of rock grating against rock quiet, but unmistakably there, Jill holds the stick in the flames. When she pulls it out, the end furthest from her is flaming.
"Keep Tiny safe." She instructs in a whisper, setting off for the cave entrance.
I feel desperate to say something- anything- in case this is the last chance I'll ever have. "Stay alive!" I find myself whispering back. I can't see Jill's face as she stands with her back to me, watching the stone move, but I'm sure she's smiling.
I stand up and slip my hands underneath Betony's arms, lifting her up. She opens her mouth to say something, but I 'shhh!' her before she has chance. She just nods and picks up the backpack from beside her feet, stuffing the peanuts inside and zipping it, slinging the strap over her shoulder.
I usher her to the back corner of the cave and we sit down. I pull my knees up beneath my chin, wrap my arms round the younger girl, and close my eyes.
"Why hello, Traitor," Sneers a voice.
"Pixie," Jill's voice answer's coolly. "I hear you're the bitch that killed my brother?"
"You heard right." Pixie confirms. "Though I wouldn't use the word 'bitch'. That's incredibly rude, you know."
"You killed Jon."
A hear a snort of laughter. "I know."
And then there's a scream, and I can't tell who's it is. I just squeeze my eyes shut even tighter, pull Betony against me so close I'm surprised she hasn't cried out in pain. Instead, one of her small, calloused hands finds my shoulder and squeezes it just as tightly as I'm squishing her. And we both fight our hardest to stay silent as we hear our friend fighting the girl who killed her brother.
They're both so deadly, both so good at fighting. But, in the end, it's Pixie who's the best at these things. And we all know it. Even Jill, I'm sure. But her need for revenge blots out her common sense right now.
I just hope it's powerful enough to fuel her movements and save her.
After a while, the grunts from the other end of the cave fall silent, are replaced by nothing but heavy breathing. I imagine Jill, lying on the floor, slowly bleeding out, Pixie's triumphant smile. Hurriedly, I push the thought away.
"Leave her alone." My heart stops and I subconsciously try to make myself smaller. It's Baxter. Great. Please don't see me, please don't see me. If anybody knows where I'm hiding, it'll be Baxter; he knows me so well. Great. Great, great, great.
"You're not in charge." I hear Pixie huff. "And Ore isn't here."
"Just like you're not supposed to be." I can hear the smug tone in his voice. "There'll be plenty of time to kill… The traitor…" It sounds almost like it pains him to say it. "But, for now, we need to set up camp. Your allegiances lie with-"
"With the Alliance, I know." Pixie interrupts. "Not to myself. Blah blah blah. I've heard it all already."
"Stick to it then." He scolds. I try not to remember all of the times when that voice was used on me, on Macy, when we were naughty in our younger years. "Get back to base."
"This isn't over, Angler." Pixie threatens Jill. I hear her footsteps storming off angrily.
"I'll look forward to it, Glam." Jill shouts back, followed by a heart-wrenchingly pained cough.
"Don't strain yourself." I catch Baxter whisper. "And… Keep my girls safe, okay?"
"I have been, haven't I?" I can hear the smile in her voice, no matter how weak it sounds.
I wait for Baxter's footsteps to run, following Pixie's into the night, before I dare to raise my head, open my eyes.
The grip on my shoulder tightens before I've looked anywhere past my own knees, and I prepare myself for the worst.
"Hey," Jill says, blood seeping through her fingers as they clutch a cut on her right arm. One leg supports her, props her up against the wall, whilst the other- clearly painfully- rests beside her. "It could be worse."