TWENTY-FIVE - Freya Willow, 15 years old, District Seven
My lungs are burning. Breathing hurts. Every time I breath in I feel like I'm swallowing water. I think River might be correct about having water in my lungs. But I push it to the side and keep trekking. As we get closer to the forest the Capitol anthem begins to play. We stop and glance up at the sky as the fallen tributes are shown. The girl from district one, both from two, Morgana, and both from twelve. I glanced at River. "That means there is only the boy from one, both from eleven, and the girl from eight left," I murmured. He nodded, and we carried on into the woods.
We stepped into the woods and I breathed in deeply. It smelt exactly like the district seven forest. I felt at home. A rush of pain hit me as I realised how much Ryan would have loved to have seen this. We crept deeper into the woods until I stumbled. "I can't go much further," I managed to breath out. River smiled weakly.
"What hurts?" he asked. I sank against a nearby tree.
"Everything," I said. "My lungs especially. But my arm as well." I moved my arm so I could remove the bandage and look at it. I pulled the bandage off and almost gagged at the sight. It was tinged green and filled with pus. "I need a knife, the needle, some thread and the salve," I said quickly. River had explained about the arrival of the salve from Finnick and Johanna. He also had told me about the fact he'd placed it on a deep open wound. It had been a good effort but it wasn't going to save my life. River handed me the needle and thread. "No I need you to thread it for me and hold it. I need the knife first," I added. He handed me a knife and frowned as he did so.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
I sighed. "I need to get the current infection out before sewing it up and then applying the salve," I explained calmly. "You're going to have to help me. Just do as I ask," I added. He frowned but nodded. I stabbed the pus-filled boils before putting the knife down. I then used my free hand to squeeze around the boils pushing all the fluid out of them. "Get the spare waterproof and use it to scrape the pus off my skin," I explained. He pulled it out of a bag and did exactly as I asked. I squeezed the next one and he repeated. Eventually the only thing I was squeezing out was blood. The infection was gone. "Ok. Now can you pour a small amount of fresh water over it to rinse off the pus and blood." He took one of the smaller cannisters and rinsed my arm off. He put the lid back on. "Alright, give me the needle and thread," I asked. He handed it over. I held it in my left hand and looked at the wound. "Well this is going to be a bit more challenging due to the fact I'm usually right handed but I'll give it a shot," I said quietly. I began to stitch the skin together. I winced every time the needle pierced my skin. I tied the thread off and looked at it. It was ugly looking but I wasn't leaving it open to infection which was the main thing. I then took the salve and applied a liberal helping on it. I then bandaged it back up and sighed as relief flew through my body now the infection was leaving. I hadn't realised how feverish I'd been feeling until it was starting to leave. I slumped more against the wall. "I can't go any further. We are going to have to make base here," I said.
River looked around. "We don't have the tent anymore," he said. I smiled at him.
"You forget this is my home," I said. I pointed upwards. "We climb." I pushed myself up and stared at the tree planning the best route. "Keep up and follow my lead," I added as I scrambled up the bark and onto the first branch.
The climb was slow and painful in more ways than one. I had to stop a lot to help haul River up the tree. We finally found a branch big enough for the two of us to sit on and rest against. I took the broken bow out of his hand and looked at it. "Have we got any string?" I asked. He nodded and handed me the string. I began making a loop to fit over the end and another at the other end. Using my foot, I managed to get the two ends on until it was a tight fit. I handed it back.
"How did you?" he asked. I shrugged.
"I don't even know," I admitted before my eyes started to close with tiredness. I knew I would be safe. River was with me. And as I feel into sleep I realised I was coming to rely on him. A danger in here.
I woke up when a canon went off. I glanced around and saw River had his bow out and it was aimed at the floor. Lying on the ground beneath us was the girl from district eleven. An arrow embedded in her heart. I shuddered. We were becoming heartless and I was worried I was going to have to kill River. I smiled weakly. "Morning," I said. He nodded in agreement.
"Freya I've been thinking. I don't want you to kill me but if we survive this and kill the other three…Well…" he trailed off.
"One of us will have to kill the other. And I know you want me to survive but I couldn't stab you and kill you," I responded honestly. "You want to split," I added. He nodded. "I agree. We need to." I swallowed hard. "Thank you."
"For what?" he asked.
"For being my friend. Not just here but for the entirety of my life," I responded. He kissed my forehead.
"It should be me thanking you. Without your letters I would have died a long time ago," he said, admitting to something he had only vaguely suggested before. Depression and suicidal thoughts. "Good luck," he said before he scrambled back down the tree. I watched him run off into the forest and sighed. I was going to miss him.