4.6: Kat in a storm.
Another cannon report in the early hours of the morning confirms what I already know. Marvel has died from his wounds despite Clove and my best efforts. He might have survived had we been able to get him to a hospital. He had simply lost too much blood.
The events of yesterday mean an end to the Careers alliance. Only six of us remain; Cato, Clove, Peeta, Rue, Finch and myself. Cato tells me he is releasing me from my parole and I may depart at any time. Clove even gives me one of her throwing knives. An honourable thing to do, although not very wise in the circumstances.
"If it's alright with you I will stay a while longer," I say. "I think I'm on the verge of discovering something important, and I need your help."
"Do you know what the numbers mean?" asks Clove. Cato looks at me as though I have been keeping secrets from him. I have. But if Cato had been more observant and noticed the numbers on my arm he might have discovered what I've been up to sooner.
"Yes. They lead to a door. But I don't know where the door will take us."
"Like those panels we saw several days ago?" asks Cato, remembering our discussion at the Cornucopia.
"Yes. The panels must unlock a nearby door," I reply.
"But if we find a door and escape from the arena, the Gamemakers will know at once and quickly recapture us," says Clove.
"I've a feeling this door is special. That's why we were both given the same numbers."
"So where is this door?" asks Clove.
"Over there," I say pointing to a rocky outcrop near the shore of the lake.
Clove's comment about the Gamemakers being able to track us is a valid concern. As usual they have injected a tiny tracking device into each tribute's arm. After a few weeks the tracker simply stops working and dissolves into the bloodstream, but I've no idea how to disable it sooner. And even if we could disable it, the Gamemakers would become suspicious and investigate. We shall just have to hope we can come up with a way to deal with it.
We hadn't planned on the Gamemakers making a radical change to the weather inside the arena. Within the space of a few minutes storm clouds replace the clear skies we have experienced since we entered the arena. Less than an hour later, torrential rain has all but washed away our camp. We are forced to pack whatever we can carry into our backpacks and find shelter in the surrounding trees. The thunder and lightning makes conversation difficult. Our clothes are sodden and nowhere is really dry.
"We need to leave now while the weather is obscuring the Gamemakers' visibility," I say. "They may even have difficulty tracking us in this electrical storm. It's our best chance of escape."
As if to reinforce my comment a tree a hundred metres away is struck by lightning and disintegrates. Neither Cato nor Clove raise any objection to my plan. I lead them to the edge of the lake not far from where I believe the panel is located. The coordinates of the panel are on the lake shore, with the door sixteen metres inland from the panel. The whole area is a low rocky outcrop with a marshy area in the middle covered in thick reeds. The marsh leads from the outcrop to the lake as though an underground stream emerges from a cave in the rocks and slowly flows into the lake.
Getting to the panel is going to be difficult. The shore on either side is covered in reeds and the best approach seems to be along the narrow marshy strip from the outcrop. Only one of us needs to activate the panel to unlock the door. That's assuming what Finch told me is correct.
"I'm the strongest," says Cato. "I'll wade out to the panel and unlock the door. I just hope you aren't wrong about the location. It seems an odd place to put a panel and door."
I too have been concerned my calculations are wrong, but I've double and triple checked them against the numbers on the other panels I've found. Despite the strange result, the numbers point to this location.
Cato hands me his pack of supplies and enters the marsh. He sinks to his waist but manages to cut a path through the reeds with his sword. The torrential rain makes it hard for Clove and I to see him in the gloom. It is difficult to point out the precise location of the panel and it takes Cato a couple of minutes to find it among the reeds.
"Found it!" cries Cato. "And there's a key in the side of the panel. Someone has been careless."
Careless? I don't think so. Sarah somehow knew this door could be opened. I think we have friends in the Capitol who are risking their lives to help us.
We hear rather than see the door opening. It sounds like a metal grill is swinging open inside the small cave from which the stream emerges. Cato wades back to us and the three of us work our way along the stream towards the cave. It's not a very large opening and we have to pass through the mouth of the cave one at a time. Inside the cave opens out so we can all stand side by side. We have fortunately packed some torches when we abandoned our camp. The small cavern is divided in two by a metal grill, the door to which now stands open. On the other side of the grill is a huge pipe, out of which a small but steady flow of water is pouring into a trough. The trough is open at one end and discharges its load into the stream we have just followed. The pipe disappears through the rock at the back of the cavern.
"Now what?" asks Clove. "I can't see any exit apart from the way we entered."
"What about the inside of the pipe?" I suggest. The pipe is big enough to stand up in and is clearly able to handle a much larger flow of water than is currently flowing though it.
"I don't know," says Cato. "It could go for a long way and be blocked by a grill at the other end. And what if the water flow suddenly increases and sweeps us away? It's raining hard outside and this could be a drain."
"It's our only escape route," I reply. "Sarah gave Clove and I the means of finding this pipe. I think we have to trust Sarah knows what she is doing. The alternative is to go back and stay inside the arena."
"I agree with Katniss," says Clove. "Let's go. I'll lead."
We take a few moments to check we have spare batteries for our torches and everything in our packs is secure. Cato is right in thinking this pipe could extend a long way. He's also right to be concerned the flow of water may increase suddenly if the rainwater outside drains into this pipe. Sarah may not have anticipated a sudden change in the weather."
"We should lash ourselves together in case the water flow increases," says Cato. "It might help prevent us being swept away."
Clove and I see the wisdom of Cato's suggestion and we take a few minutes to unpack the rope and link ourselves together around the waist. We are finally ready to enter the pipe. The flow of water hasn't changed in the time we have been here. We take this to be a good sign. Any run-off from the rain outside would surely have reached the pipe by now.
Just as we are about to enter the pipe we hear voices behind us. We reach for our weapons. The Gamemakers must have realised where we are and sent a security team into the arena to stop us.