Bows and Snares

By: Legkicker

Chapter 28: The Beginning of the End

Warmth circulates throughout my body. My arms, legs, fingers and toes, chest, neck, face – are all so warm…

Peace. Peaceful, it's the only word that can describe such a feeling in our sanctuary of a tent. The darkness that engulfs my vision flickers slightly with orange flame from the outside fire. I'm so drowsy and so sleepy, I hardly notice it. From my twilight-zone like perspective, I'm only certain of a few things.

I'm in the Hunger Games, lying inside a warm tent and cuddling up against Umbra while we sleep beneath the wonderful sleeping bag wrapping us tighter together. Nothing else really matters to me, and I just find myself in a half-dream, half-reality type of realm.

In my dream, or imagination rather, I see myself back at home. Prim is there, my mother, Gale, Lucerna, Umbra, and even Raechill. There's not a problem in the world, just happiness. Gale keeps trying to tell me something but I can't quite make it out. Eventually the dream fades and I slip into a deep sleep.


Umbra stirs me awake at some point in the night. It's still dark out and the fire is still going when I open my eyes.

"Something wrong?" I ask tiredly.

He shakes his head, and lies back, "I just think we should talk."

I get myself a bit more comfortable, using my arm as a pillow and staring at him, waiting for him to go on.

"Let me check how you're healing," he says. He brushes some of my hair away from my face and checks the conditions of my wounds. "Looking a lot better, you still have a black eye though. How's your back?"

I shrug, "I'm fine. It doesn't hurt that bad, really."

He nods, and we sit in silence for a moment. Finally he says, "Are you scared?"

I'm about to respond with a 'what do you mean' look, but as I've discovered before, Umbra always asks questions that go deeper than most people interpret. So I spend a few seconds thinking about it while he watches me.

"No, I know you'll find a solution. You always do," I answer.

He smiles, "Good, I just want you to know…I do have a plan, I can't share it. All I can say is that things are not always what they seem, keep that in mind."

Things are not always what they seem…I've heard the saying before. But what could it possibly relate to right now?

He nudges my side with his elbow, "I just wanted you to know that, you can go back to sleep now."

Oh yeah, because I'll get a lot of sleeping done with that on my mind. It does make me happy to know he has a plan, and I'd press him to tell me if I didn't know better. It would only make him regret telling me if I did though.

So I roll over and try my hardest to not allow the questions to linger.


Sleep comes back easily, as it has the past few times I've spent the night in Umbra's company. I awake to the early morning sunrise. Silently, we both watch it until it crests over the mountain ridge and the birds begin chirping. The snow has stopped for the time being, and we decide to take advantage of the clear weather.

"Going on your breakfast run?" Umbra asks me as he slips on his backpack.

I yawn and stretch, "Yeah, I'll go see what I can gather up."

He nods, "I guess I'll collect some firewood, although I don't plan on staying many more nights in this arena."

Any moment could be the 'final moment' here. We're both waiting for it to come, but I doubt we'll be prepared when it happens. I can see that Umbra is pondering the same thought, staring me down.

We set off in our different directions.


Eventually, I find myself on the opposite side of the meadow. Carelessly enough, the campsite is out of range and no longer in my sight. I curse myself for letting that happen, I know better than to let it get out of view. My mind wasn't on security at the moment I lost track, I was still trying to figure out Umbra's plan.

I'm about to head back, but the river intrigues me once I catch a glimpse. I hadn't seen it since we left the cave for the oak tree meadow.

Umbra was right, they did freeze it over. I've never seen anything like it, the way the ice covers it over like a sheet of glass. I bite my lip, looking back at the meadow. Umbra can handle himself for a few minutes while I check this out.

I quickly drop off the bank to the edge of the frozen water and kneel down to touch it. The top is smooth, with ripples and humps from the waters formation. Is it really possible to freeze a river like this?

The snow amounts in a nice blanket over top of it, so perfect and untouched. I use my index finger, pressing it into the white canvas and writing my name in. Standing back, I survey my work with a smile. Katniss Everdeen, I've never seen it written so delicately before. Prim would probably like me to write her name right now too, to see how it would look.

I'm in the process of drawing out the 'P' when a sound so familiar, yet so ancient, booms in the distance. A cannon.

My heart stops, and my entire body freezes. I listen to the sound echo off into the distance, still in disbelief that I had just heard it. Umbra…

In the very next second, I'm on my feet with an arrow notched in my bow, sprinting like my ankle isn't sprained and my back isn't damaged. Umbra, Cato, or the District 9 boy…two good choices and one horrible one. I pray and pray that Umbra isn't the one.

As I break out of the forest and onto the meadow, I strain to see the campsite. Umbra isn't there, and my heart begins pounding like never before. The adrenaline keeps my muscles from shutting down while they endure the excruciating task of running through the layers of snow and distance I've covered.

When I finally reach the campsite, I'm spinning in circles. Blood pulsates through my ears and my heart sinks like a rock in water.

I resort to calling out his name, "Umbra!" My voice trails off and I wait a minute or so, expecting a response that never comes.

All he did was go out to collect firewood, how far could he have wandered off? Did he leave me? Did he go to the cornucopia without me? Is that what his plan was, to get himself killed? I have to get to the cornucopia-

A faint voice calls out from the nearby forest, "Katniss!"

I turn in its direction, my heart leaping at the sight of Umbra sprinting my way. Without even noticing I'm moving again, I run and meet him halfway; both of us locking arms around each other on impact. My heart is flipping and flopping back and forth, the relief like a sweet dream.

"I thought you were dead!" I shout furiously. Tears from both the anger and thought of him dead begin welling in my eyes.

He tucks my head against his chest and rubs my back, "It's okay, I'm alright, oh God," he holds me back to look at me, "I thought it was you."

I just shake my head, fearing that I may breakdown if I speak. He hugs me again and we sit there holding each other for a minute or so. After a while, we loosen up, still holding each other's hands as if one of us may bolt away without warning.

Umbra raises a brow, "Alright, if we're both safe…then who-"

Out of nowhere, a high-pitched shriek sounds off in the neighboring woods. Umbra keeps my hands clenched in his as we both turn our heads in its direction. The sound echoes off and dies out, and I find my ears straining to pick up the slightest of sounds.

"That sounded all too familiar," Umbra mutters more to himself than me. I'm about to ask him what he's implying, but another shout is all I need for his explanation.

"Katniss!" a voice calls. There's no mistaking it, I could pick his voice out of thousands. And he's calling for me, who else aside from Umbra would do that? They never left the arena, they're both still here…

My blood starts pumping again and I try to wriggle myself free from Umbra's grasp, but he holds on tighter.

"No, it could be trap!" he tries to stop me.

I give him a hard shove, "And it could be them!"

His hands fail to keep their hold as I slip out of his gloves and take off running in the direction of the shouts. He could be right, it may very well be a trap, but I'd rather find out firsthand than have Gale's blood spilled because of my hesitation.

All of the snow piling up delays our travel and requires extra efforts to keep our legs moving at a speed appropriate enough to call a sprint. Everything looks identical, this neck of the woods never crossed by my feet before. I'm lost, chasing echoes.

Eventually, I'm far enough into the thicket that I'm spinning around and trying to get a bearing on my location. Trees, branches, twigs, scraggly bushes, and sticks cloud my vision, and the snow covering the ground matches the color of the sky. I'm breathing heavily and doubled over, sucking in air when Umbra catches up.

It appears as if he hasn't even broken a sweat, and I'm a bit surprised he was lagging behind me for the entire run out to here. My ankle throbs with pain as I try to stand up and look him in the eyes.

"We're being hunted," he says. His hand grasps the curved blade on his side and he unsheathes it, twirling it once. "Ready your bow-"

Suddenly, the high-pitched scream calls out again, this time much closer. I turn, sure that it's behind a large oak tree only a few yards away. I find myself moving its way unconsciously, breathlessly, and freely.

My legs carry me out into a clearing, where the trees open up enough for a small circle of ground to remain untouched; a small arena enclosed in about a twenty foot radius. The snow lies in a perfect blanket in the middle, beckoning to be trampled across. Something about it lures me in, like there's a magnet physically attracting my body inwards.

I don't even think about the consequences as I take the first step into the opening…

"No!" Umbra's warning reaches me a second too late. I feel the ground beneath me turn metallic, unlike the frozen dirt and snow I ran across to get here. This was alla trap, and instead of saving Gale and Lucerna, I'm walking into a field of mines.

My fate is sealed, and I can do nothing but accept the consequences of my mistake. But somehow, some way, Umbra manages to reach me in time and throw me out of the danger zone…but in doing so he places himself in the path of destruction.

There's a faint click sound…just before the deafening boom of a dozen or so mines exploding. Even with the distance Umbra created between me and the clearing, the explosion tosses me like a ragdoll through the air.

I flip upside down, slamming into a large tree trunk about ten yards away and collapsing onto the ground…

I'm disorientated, my mind completely blank and my senses all shut down. One second I was walking into a beautiful patch of white snow, and the next second the ground was exploding. It was so quick, the flash, the boom, the snow, the ground, the debris, and me all flying into the air. The shockwave was so intense it tossed me as if I weighed nothing.

I don't feel a thing until I hit the tree, returning the pains into my back. My muscles are rubber, my ears don't even ring - they're completely silent, my vision is foggy and slipping in and out of blackness.

My body is so numb I can't tell where I am or what position I'm in. Images flash in my mind; Gale, Prim, home, Umbra…

Where is he? He received the blow worse than I did, stepping into the path I was taking. I try to shake my head to clear my vision, but I realize I'm sitting upside down, my body and legs inverted against the tree trunk. I manage to plop over and try to collect myself.

I can't move, I can only open my eyes to see a very wavy image of what is happening before me. The snowy clearing is gone, replaced now with a crater of dirt. There's fire around the edges, the trees managing to catch on from the explosion. A black figure who I'm sure to be Umbra rests on the far side, squirming in pain.

But a newcomer is even more intriguing, he literally appears from the middle. I'm not sure if what I see actually happens or if it's my foggy comprehension of the situation, but a figure dissolves from thin air. It's like watching a photograph fade in from blackness, slowly taking on color and form.

I hear muffled sounds now, but not clear enough for me to make out. I just watch blankly, lying immobile with my cheek pressed into the snow as the newcomer glides over to Umbra.

I shake my head and blink as hard as I can, opening my eyes to see a bit of improvement. The newcomer takes on a bit more characteristics with my newfound vision. It's a man, with blonde hair, broad shoulders, and tall stance. He wears a ragged and camouflaged suit, matching the snowy scenery around us. He reaches down and grabs Umbra by the chest.

My hearing returns somewhat, and I make out a conversation forming.

"Too easy…" a familiar voice growls. Only, it's not Gale, or Lucerna…it's Cato.


A/N:

Hello again, big chapter here (as the chapter title states), looks like the moment we've all been waiting for is finally coming in the next update! Questions will be answered: What will Umbra do? Who will live?
But some questions will remain until further updates, or some not answered until the sequel. And, perhaps some new ones will be raised...

Thanks for reading thus far, I appreciate anybody and everybody who read up until this point! It's been fun to write and I love having your input and feedback, sticking through the rough chapters and enjoying the good ones! Thanks everyone, you're all great and I hope you stick around!

This week's poll is pretty interesting, and it's up and ready to be voted on so go for it! Great turnout last week, thank you to my voters! And thanks to anybody who votes this week!


A/N: Most of this was written listening to (Hunger Games Soundtrack OST): YouTube - watch?v=RFAUzAtSz0w&list=PL7E32C4A2DFE84544&index=5&feature=plpp_video

Thanks for reading!

To all the people who are reading, reviewing, subscribing, etc. I sincerely thank you! All of it is much appreciated, and I hope you all continue to enjoy this story as much as I enjoy writing it!


Chapter 29 coming soon! Est: (On or Before) 12/2/12


Please take the time to Review/Comment/Subscribe/PM or Email me with questions or ideas!

- Legkicker