Chapter Twenty-Five.
Don't Be Sure, Be Certain.
Alone, maybe that is how I should be, so I cannot hurt anybody but the game isn't over yet, sprinting through the thick undergrowth as the dead begins to close in slowly. This was the Gamemakers way to scare us all into an ultimate alliance to fight the decomposing bodies of the already dead tributes who have been created into mutts – Capitol creations with false memories and intentions that aren't truly their own – or this will lead us into a second bloodbath, the end of the Games for certain. I watched Alden be minced from head-to-toe before Cassandra went insane like Annie had, that's when she fell from the edge of the chasm in front of the dam to the small lake below, but not deep enough to save her, I ran down to try and salvage her life but she couldn't be saved. As her cannon sounds, that is when they all start to appear, Cassandra removed herself from the shallow water, blood pooling from her mouth, nose and eyes with greyish, green skin and sunken eyes. She began to shuffle towards me, her left foot is crunched on its side with the bone from her ankle poking out to the side of her skin.
Running wasn't something I had to think about, I was sprinting away from the chasm before anyone in the Capitol could blink their painted eyelids but as I foolishly look backwards to check on Cassandra's whereabouts, my body slams into another and as I prepare myself for a fist fight, my heart escapes viva my mouth as the rotting smell of flesh wafts up my nostrils making me sick as coagulated blood coats my face and palms. Scrambling backwards I watch the dead tribute before me rise in a wobbly fit. Its a female but I cannot recognise her face but I do not need to see its face to know who this tribute was, the wound on her wrist allowing chipped bone to be touched by the air. She is from District 8.
The young girl studies me like a meal before snarling. Footsteps behind me alart me and I bury through the dirt leaves to get to my feet but as I sprint to the only spare place, another body reveals itself. A male, like the others, blood is pooling from its various wounds and it isn't long until I am surrounded by the dead tributes, including Waylon who I actually plead for help but the tinted blue skin of his face and purple bruise line around his neck reminds me, why he will not help me.
Kicking and screaming, the dead surround me. All snarling and scratching. The horrid smell attacks my nose and throat as my vision begins to go black at the edge but against the dark surroundings I cannot tell if that is actually what's happening. A sharp pain waves through my neck as blood begins to pour down my chest, the bites continue to come. My legs, arms, throat and sides everywhere begins to get attacked with bites. I continue to kick ad scream until I am woken, not by the dead, but by my worried and still living ally, Cassandra.
They must think I am completely crazy. Insane possibly, huh, maybe I am but that doesn't matter to me anymore. The level of insanity a person has is different depending on the person and their abilities to cope with disturbing situations. For example, nothing overly abusive or visually scaring could truly damage a criminal or nowadays, a Career Tributes because the lifestyle they have been consumed by creates them like that, unfeeling and unaware of real human emotions such as guilt and sadness. Killing is good to them, honouring their district and truthfully I don't expect anything less from these children. Maybe I have just hit the line between sane and insane, but what can push me over the edge? Watching another tribute die or being responsible for their death?
My thoughts flicker to Annie, no doubt she is sat at home trying to avoid everything to do with these Games and with Finnick gone, I suppose she will be flickering between Mags and my home to feed my cat, Apple and water my brothers plants. I hope she may be watching over me, there is a flicker of family relation between myself and Annie, not that we are actually related. I am very familiar with her screams and now, I guess if I do get out of here, she will be my salvation – someone who knows what I feel like and what is going on inside my mind.
The happy little red-headed girl that she used to be before the Games has vanished into the horrid memories of her short time inside the arena. Annie Cresta has gone, but I have yet to vanish into the hollow nightmares of the games, certainly not just yet.
Like the morning before and the one before that, cold air clings to us as it circles the arena with a dash of snow, removing myself from the cave is a challenge to face the brisk coldness but with the zip of my jacket done up to my throat and my hood laced as tightly as possibly around my head. Cassandra is beside me in the cave when I awoke, because she is the one who pulled me from my nightmare, she exits the cave after me. I feel sorry for Alden who sits wide-eyed awake in the mouth of the rock formation, but his features are shallow and his eyes are sunken in half a inch into his skull surrounded by dark circles. It is now I realise how selfish I have been. They hadn't woken me and their was no cannons during the night so I spent, not exactly soundly but it was actually one of the best sleeps I have had since the reaping, the nightmares were simply a reminder of where I am and what I am suppose to be doing here.
"Let's go catch some breakfast," Alden says, struggling to stand on his own feet, his gaze is hazy and not useful, "Who is going to join me this morning?" he asks with a surprising upbeat nature to his drowning, tried voice.
I scoff before stepping forward to touch his shoulder with the best intent to be friendly whilst shaking my head, "No, you're going to stay here and try catch up on as much sleep as you can." I tell him but of course, being both male and a stubborn tribute, Alden shakes his head determined to be the centre and mastermind behind our morning hunt but thankfully Cassandra has already sided with me in this debate.
"Anastasia is right." Cassandra says sternly, "We'll be fine."
He licks the inner rim of his bottom lip, Alden's features soften even more which worries me because I fear they may fall off being so limp, but luckily and strangely, Cassandra's simple words are what convinces Alden that we will be okay and that him staying in the safety of the cave is the best thing to do because with him this tired, he isn't much help at all.
"We'll be back in a few hours." I tell him before leaving the hide out keeping a sharp eye out for the other tributes. Faintly in the gravel rocks I can see a small path being dug from our continuous walks to-and-from our cave to the woods, in my mind I suggest we begin to walk a different route back to the cave on our walk back but Cassandra and I can talk about it on our way back.
In silence, I guide Cassandra along the trail to check the three simple snare traps I had set up and left out yesterday morning. I begin to regret leaving the traps for so long without checking because with the first two traps already empty, the possibility of the last traps will have something caught in it but, sods law, it doesn't. The traps stare back at us with a vacant gaze making me react by kicking up the dirt whilst hissing and swearing like a fiend.
Cassandra stares at me – her face shows no disappointment however her eyes burn holes into my forehead, I'm not sure if it is out of anger or some other petty emotion, "It's okay," she says, despite me not apologising for anything, "We can pick some berries for breakfast." she smiles patting her hand on my shoulders to guide me in the direction of several tall shrubs. Cassandra had the foresight to direct us to the shrubs covered in a variety of different coloured and sized berries, before I am aloud to start picking berries, Cassandra stresses the importance of making sure I check with her to make sure they are edible and with the empty container plastic, zip up bag from her survival pack, we fit the center up until we struggle to zip up the top.
Like Alden and I did the morning beforehand, Cassandra and myself eat as we collect, savouring the bitter-sweet juice inside. I collect a handful of these plump dark purple berries that I personally do not recognise, and when I squeeze one of the berries between my thumb and my first finger so they burst releasing a lighter purple juice. Assuming they are save mixed with no wanting to ask Cassandra for the hundredth times if these berries are edible, I raise my hand to my mouth which is open ready to consume the berries, suddenly Cassandra's hand slaps mine viciously from my mouth causing the berries to fly across the woodland ground.
"Not these, Anastasia! They're nightlock. You'll be dead before they reach your stomach." Cassandra hissed at me. I couldn't determine what emotion now struck her, it was protective and worried. It was nice.
I look away, ashamed. "I'm sorry, they looks a lot like the ones you were gathering. I thought they were safe."
"Don't be sure, be certain." she tells me, a faint smile trails her lips. "Throw them away and wipe your hands."
Giving Cassandra a nod, I wipe my hands firmly on my trousers to remove the juices, I wonder why she didn't just let me eat them, one less tribute and I'm certain she could just play it off to Alden as an accident, that I ate them without checking but I push that away from me and allow my mind trails to the Career Pack, throughout the three days of training back in the Capitol, I don't think I saw one at the survival stations, aside from Garrett who just stayed for half of the knot tying station. That major flaw brings to surface the question of whether or not they would be able to tell the difference between these being safe or not. I unzip the pouch on my belt and shoved in several spoonfuls of nightlock.
Cassandra eyes me for a moment before opening her mouth to speak, "What are you doing?" she asks.
I raise my eyebrows and grin at her cunningly, "Maybe our blessed Career Tributes like berries." I wonder aloud to her.
My female ally grins at me with actual happiness, it is slightly insulting knowing that she doubts my motives and plan making skills but I feel proud that I can surprise her, but Cassandra's smile fades after a moment and is replaced by a wondering expression.
"How are we going to trick them into eating the berries?" Cassandra asks after a moment of silence, "We could try get their attention before 'accidentally' dropping the pouch, they will no doubt assume they are safe and eat them..." she trails off.
I raise an eyebrow, it is a smart idea, but too see-though I feel but I hadn't thought my own plan through a whole lot but I had through it a little bit about it, "Well, I saved my parachute, so we could fill the container attached to it with berries and try send it near them." I suggest.
Like I, Cassandra takes a moment to inhale the idea before nodding. "What if they don't go for the parachute?" she then asks me after a moment of silence.
I shrug, "I saw how you and Alden lunged for my parachute without any regard to who it belongs too, and if it wasn't addressed to me, I suspect that we would had eaten the content of it without much thought to the tribute it was really for."
Cassandra's face clouds with embarrassment and her cheeks flush red but she pushes that aside and we continue to talk about how difficult task of tracking the Career Pack and drawing them away from the Cornucopia which was probably where they are, protecting the mountain of unclaimed survival goodies. Unfortunately, as Cassandra and I stand talking, we both have ignored our natural survival instructs and suddenly we are alerted by the firmness of unfamiliar voices that echo from behind us, but they are not talking instead they are singing and the song is worse than their singing voices. I slap my hand, possibly a little too forcefully around Cassandra's mouth and drag her into the thick scrub to mask our bodies.
"F is for friends who kill stuff together..." the first sharp voice rattles through the air like a witch.
Laughs echo, "U is for U R dead..." a masculine voice takes the lead.
"N is for no one getting out alive..." a different voice of a tribute squeals.
Their footsteps echo closer, Cassandra's breath is hard and hot against the skin of my hand, "Out here in the Hunger Games..."the last person finishes with a flourish, allowing the off note to trail through the air.
We are frozen for a good purpose, as the breaths, heavy footsteps and voices all belong to this years Career Pack. Their steps edge closer and closer to the bushes where we are hidden, a large portion of me is thankfully they haven't noticed us but as one of them flicks their blade or machete, through the bushing where we hide, slicking the top of my ear making me release a muffled quiver of pain, I am less thankful.
"Are you sure they're around here?" the sharp voice of a high pitched female shatters through the air near us. The Career Pack stop and through the bushes myself and Cassandra can see them, they have passed us luckily so we can breath a little easier but they are still in hearing and seeing range. Sadly, they all seem in good health, non of them look effected by the Games, neither mentally or physically. Cato has scabbed over knuckles, no doubt from fighting. The girl from District 2 has a thin cut gliding across her face from the tip of her nose to the edge of her temple. Iris Castillo, annoyingly looks untouched, no physically injuries. Alden's sister Jacqueline holds a heavy looking axe that is far to big for her own body, her face is layered with dirt and has a swollen lip indicating a fight that has been recent, possibly with another one of her fellow Careers. Setting aside District 1 male, who also is untouched, I am pleased to see when my eyes fall upon Garrett Larkin, he is also not harmed in anyway, well aside from a cut that trails from the middle of his eyebrows to his hairline, that has scabbed over with dry blood but it doesn't look infected and I don't see any reason why it should be, with all those medical supplies.
Garrett is armed with a beautiful black handle and bladed machete, the edge of the blade is flat and silver plated, the tip glistens with blood. My blood. This tells me that is was Garrett who unintentionally cut me through the bushes, as I watch and listen I learn the Careers have left the District 9 male, Cedric in charge of looking after the supplies whilst they go on the look for the four tributes left alone. Two of which, are hiding a minuscule distance of four meters away.
"Who is left?" the girl from District 1 asks.
Cato takes a deep intake of air, "The girl from District 3 –"
"– My brother." Jacqueline interrupts earning her a death glance but Cato quickly recover from being stripped of the attention, "The girl from Ten and –"
"Anastasia," Iris hisses with full rage, the District 1 pair smile at this fifteen year old's blood-lust "And if we see her, she is mine!" the little girl vows, making sure the others knew I was to be her kill. I am not surprised to see any of the others speak up against her, however I am shocked when both Cato's and Garrett's faces tense, very slightly at her words.
I want to leap through the bushes and wrap my hands around her throat or throw one of my blades from my holster, she would be dead and made a fool of in front of the Capitol, who the hell does Iris think she is? Claiming my life before she has come face-to-face with me. Well guess what Miss Castillo, you are mine. They continue to talk, frozen in the spot they remained on before, talking tactics of where to look and teams to look in. Cato then turns the conversation into search parties, today they plan to comb through the lasting trees and woodland area, throughout the night they decide to rest because the rocky side slopes will be to dangerous to comb through so it suggestion comes from Jacqueline that during the first few hours of the early morning, they will begin to scale the rock faces. My eyes flicker from Cato to Garrett who raises the blade of the machete to his fingertips and begins to run his hand from the bottom to the top, clearly bored by the conversation taking place before him.
As his fingertips drag through the warm blood at the end of his blade, his green eyes dark up and begin to scan the surroundings, however he doesn't alert the other Career Tributes but once thinking about what he last dragged his weapon through, his familiar friendly eyes land on the shrub hiding myself and Cassandra – who breathing becomes almost hysteric – but I try to remain calm for both of us. Some of Garrett's last words bounce against the walls of my skull, I am more likely to help you than I am to kill you. How much has he changed from speaking those words, how much have these other children managed to twist into his head that I am the enemy. I guess I will find out and soon enough after twenty torturous seconds, Garrett and I lock eyes.
It is almost like I can see everything back home. As if I can see the television screens televising us. The other Career Tributes are bickering, but Garrett is staring off into the distance, the space between us is vacant and then there is me, hidden in the bushes with dry blood from a previous kill still plastering my face, the cut on my cheek has bruised a purple-blue colour along with my nose but my eyes are still recognisable, green with a touch of blue like the ocean in District 4. Home. Garrett's eyes widen when he realises it is me, and all I want to do is hug him because he is alive and well. Disbelief grips my body when Garrett looks back at his fellow allies and says something muffled, did he just tell them I am here? No, they are moving away, to the left. Cato takes the lead and the girl from District 1 is very eager to follow. Jacqueline and the boy from Two follow without need of coaching, but Iris seems to be less wanting to move along, does she know I am here? She isn't that smart, nor did she accidentally butcher my ear with a machete. Iris moves along before hissing at Garrett to do the same but she ultimately moves on without him giving Garrett the chance to look back at the bush and winks with a grin before trailing along after his group, but not before I can give me a truly thankful look and smile.
Once they all have gone, their footsteps and voices are faint enough for us to feel we are at a safe distance, Cassandra and I move silently from the bush like a pair of foxes on all fours before getting up to sprint back to the rock face. We need to move from our cave because they know where the other tributes are hiding, but that means we threaten ourselves by moving into another tribute territory, but there is only one other tribute out there alone, the girl from District 3 because the boy from Nine, Cedric has joined the Career Pack as a guard for the mountain of supplies.
Berries in hand and nightlock secured inside my zip up pocket, we break for the rocky slopes around the arena, being too far from our original pathway we are forced to walk through the V shaped creeks in order to reach the level our cave is set upon. Cassandra is the first to enter the cave, we both forget to warn Alden with the mockingjay whistle so he is paused ready for attack. With twigs still in her hair, Cassandra quickly removes the sponsors parachute from the back of the cave and hands it to me, both of us are far to consumed by the recent unravelling of events that we do not answer his questions until almost all of the nightlock berries are placed rectangle cut out in the foam of the container. I keep a few in case of an emergency.
"Tonight we need to find a new place to hide." Cassandra tells him firmly.
Alden looks gravely confused as he extends his neck to lean forward with his eyebrows furrowed and lips pursed, "Whys that?"
Distantly, a whoop followed by a cannon firing below in the woodland answers his question, they found her, the girl from District 3 is now dead, but to make sure he full understands, "The Careers have figured out we and not anymore, but other tributes were hiding up this end of the arena and on the rocky slopes." I say strongly.
Cassandra takes over explaining, "For the rest of today, they will continue scanning the woodland area, but tomorrow morning they will begin with the rocky slopes."
I finish closing the container, my fingers are shaking with adrenaline, Garrett kept his word but what if this idea, my idea kills him? "I suggest we move during the night." I say.
Cassandra nods before fumbling for the berries, "Breakfast." she announces. Alden drives in, clearly hungry. I suspect he is a little disappointed by the no meat in his morning meal but he doesn't openly complain. He eyes me up with curiosity.
"What are you going to do with that?" he asks me, spitting out several discarding pieces of berries in the process but I try to ignore them as they land on my face, he points at the silver parachute that sits protectively in front of me.
I grin cunningly, "Because around twilight tonight, we are going to poison some Careers."
A/N: Don't forget to review, follow and favourite if you are enjoying!