Rain. That's all it has happen for two days. Now I know why they are called rainforest, it rains all the bloody time. Sometimes it's just a gentle kind of rain, it's even nice and relaxing, if you can relax in the games, that is, but there are other times that it rains like there is no tomorrow, heavily and with thunder and lighting. I even have gotten a leak inside my cave.
Here in the cave, it has gotten pretty humid and cold. There has been no break with the rain. Besides, the grey clouds don't let the sunrays go through to warm us up, it has never been that light but we knew the sun was there because of the hot and the dull light we got.
Now it's even darker and the atmosphere is even depressing. But on the bright side even though I'm freezing, I'm dry. This cave has been a good shelter from the never-ending rain. When there are strong winds I get mild breezes that get me and my clothes a bit wet when I'm close to the entrance, but that's it. Nothing too big, I can't really complain.
I also have food so I don't need to go out looking for food and obviously I have more than enough water now. I wish I could have a blanket or a sleeping bag because of the cold, and the ground is hard and uncomfortable but I'm not complaining. I've already gotten enough.
With all the noise from the thunder and rain is almost impossible to hear the canons, so I have to drag myself to the edge of the cave every time the anthem plays so I can watch who has died, but these two nights I have been here in the cave, no one has died. I doubt anyone is hunting down the others, they are either looking for shelter, or if they have already found one, they are staying there, only going out if they actually need it.
When the rain is very light, I go out of my cave to pee. Now that I have water to drink, I have liquids inside of me that I need to get rid of. I can't allow my – home? Can I call it home? – To smell like pee from days before. It would be absolutely disgusting.
The fifth day brings a bit of sunshine and no more rain. It is pretty dark because the trees don't let the sunrays pass through them, but you can tell the difference. It has starting to get a bit warmer again too.
I go out of the cave with a sickle in hand, a knife and rope hanging by my belt. I need to pee and I have the chance to make some snares, so I take it. When I'm on the ground I notice the ground is flooded, the murky water reaches my calf, I'm glad now the boots are skin tight because my feet stay dried.
I do my business and walk away from my hiding place. There may be no animals now because of the water, but maybe a tribute will step into the snare and get trapped. The snares will be hidden under the water so they won't see them.
It takes me about two hours setting ten snares, they are about sixty-feet apart from the others. The snares may not be that good but they can work, and the murky water helps to hide them. I just have to remember where they are so I don't get trapped by my own snares and I can check them later to see if I caught something.
I'm just starting to set my eleventh snare when I hear voices. I abruptly stop what I'm doing, grab the rest of the rope and get ready with the sickle. I hide behind a tree and wait as the voices get louder. Two voices.
Two too familiar female voices. Tabitha and Divya, there is no doubt about it. I see the brunette girl and her blonde companion approaching. Tabitha looks pale and sick, while Divya looks irritated and angry, no surprise there. I didn't really expect that two Careers would be so sloppy by talking so loud, anyone close enough could hear them and attack them.
And where is Kellen and Ryle? I know the two of them are alive because no canon has fired since the second day. Maybe they got into a fight and the group got divided? That would be great for the other tributes, they could finish them off more easily, killing two is easier than four.
Speaking of which, I could kill them. I think. I could throw my knife at one of them, preferably Divya, and use the sickle to kill Tabitha. But I'm still on my right mind, I haven't turned into a killing machine without feelings yet. And I'm also scared of them, Divya is thirsty for blood and Tabitha scored a ten and I know she is good with knives, she may hit me with one before I try to do something to her.
If one of them would be alone, just Tabitha or just Divya, I would probably dare to make a move but two against one doesn't sound so good so I better stay hidden.
Besides talking loudly, they also make a lot of noise as they take every step, I know that if I move I would make as much as noise as them, the water doesn't help at all. I can't follow them if they walk away. I was lucky it didn't rain when I was following them on the first days, they would have heard me.
"I'm so glad the rain has finally stopped." Divya comments. "But all this water is so annoying."
"Yeah, I hope it doesn't keep raining. The arena may get flooded like it did one time, about five or six years ago. The girl from District 4 won, unfair advantage to her, if you ask me."
"In that case I hope it keeps raining." Divya says. "I would win."
Tabitha says nothing to Divya, she only looks like she regrets what she has said. They keep walking, they have already passed me by now. I need to do something or they will be out of my sight. I don't even know why I want to follow them, I just feel like a hunch, I have to do it.
If I move, I would make enough noise to be heard by the two girls, and if that happens I will have no chance but to fight. If I run I will probably be chased by them and Divya is used to the water, she may be faster than me and Tabitha, she would get me and kill me without doubts.
I look up then but I can only see trees everywhere, but that's not that bad. There are so many that I could easily get from tree to tree and be able to follow them, and being up there is better than being down here. So that's what I do.
I hold on to one twig that is close enough for me to reach, it's a bit slippery because of all the rain but I manage to climb it. I go about ten feet up, I must be really careful to not slip and to not make a sound.
I follow the pair, I go from branch to branch, from tree to tree, this is quite easy to say the truth. The trees and branches are so close to each other that passing to another tree is as easy as taking a step of a stairway, I also have a hold of an upper twig or something so if I slip I won't fall.
"We should kill Ryle." Divya suddenly says. I lose my balance as I hear that and almost fall, but I manage to hold on to a branch quite firmly and get steadied again.
"What?" Tabitha asks surprised.
"This is the third day without a single death, if someone doesn't die soon the gamemakers will take it into their hands and believe me when I tell you that mutts will be your worst nightmares."
'Told you, Divya is thirsty for blood. I knew alliance don't work, they are all backstabbers.'
"But we are allies."
"So? There can only be one victor. Eventually our little alliance will have to be broken, we will go our own ways or something, and you know that."
"I do, but…"
"Look, Ryle is severely hurt. That cut is infected and it will only be a matter of time before he dies one way or another, we will be helping him, get him out of his misery if we kill him."
There she is, Divya, brainwashing the apparently too innocent girl from District 1. Playing games with her head. I didn't know she was good at it.
"Besides," Divya says. "He's only slowing us down."
Hmm, so Ryle never got better. It must be a really deep and nasty cut. He took so long to get what he needed for it, if he had opened his mouth and told them he was injured they may have helped him and he would be alright know.
But perhaps he didn't say anything because he knew this would happen, they would think he is not good anymore now that he is injured, so he would get killed. It makes sense, for what other reason wouldn't he talk about something as important as that? It must be that.
"We should discuss it with Kellen, though." Tabitha tells her.
"Don't worry I will." Divya says with a sick smile on her now brittle lips. "If you want, I will be the one to kill him, you don't have to do anything."
Again, Tabitha stays completely quiet. She knows Divya is right, maybe she knows Kellen will agree to it too, but it's obvious she doesn't like the idea. Of course, I don't like it either, Ryle is my tribute partner and I have gotten fond of him these days. Careers, though, usually kill each other but just once there are a few tributes left. Most of them get to the final eight.
Maybe if I keep following them I will see Ryle and may be able to warm him. It may be too late but maybe not. If Brutus sends him some medicine from the Capitol he could have a chance, those things work wonders and in no time. Maybe there is still hope for Ryle.
I keep following Divya and Tabitha for about an hour, it's much easier being up on the trees than walking on the flooded ground, like they are. They are making lots of noise, it could attract anyone.
Finally they get to a bit higher place, where the ground is really muddy but not flooded, I think it's harder to walk in that kind of ground because their shoes get stuck in the mud.
"Did you find something?" I hear Kellen's voice ask.
"Nothing at all." Tabitha answers him.
"Then go and don't come back until you find something." Kellen says angrily.
"Why? We still have enough food!" Divya exclaims. "Besides, why don't you go for it yourself if you want it so bad?"
"We will run out of food soon, and I need some meat! I can't live on only fruit and crackers!"
"Why don't we go later?" Tabitha asks.
"Because it will get dark later." Kellen says exasperated. "Let's go hunting the three of us, I'll go that way." Kellen says, pointing in front of him. "And you go that way." He says pointing a bit more to the right.
"What about our stuff? We can't hunt carrying everything." Divya whines.
"Ryle won't go, he will look after the stuff."
"What if someone sees him all alone and injured? If two or more come he will not stand a chance." Tabitha says.
"This place is pretty well hidden by all these trees and plants, we will make sure no one sees him while we are gone." Kellen says. "Now grab whatever you need and do it quick so we can be back before 5:00."
"Ugh, fine!" Divya whines again.
Kellen, Divya, and Tabitha do as they planned. They hide Ryle pretty well with all the plants, leaves and twigs around, if I hadn't heard them I wouldn't have seen him. Then they grab a few of their weapons, tell Ryle to look for their stuff and to be alert if he hears someone and just like that they leave, Kellen on his own and the two girls go together another way.
I wait for about five to ten minutes before I make sure it's safe to get off the tree, I make no sound at all as I touch the ground again, which is really muddy. I hide behind that same tree in case Ryle tries to kill me or something.
"Ryle!" I exclaim just loud enough for him to hear me. My voice is raspy and husky from not using it in five days, the last time I used it, was when I said good-bye to Carlyne, right before I went into the arena.
"Who's there?" He shouts, I can tell apart the fear in his voice.
"It's me, Danieka."
"Danie?" He says, a bit less afraid. "Where are you?"
"Just over here, I just don't want you to kill me or anything."
"I won't kill you, we are from the same District." Ryle says. "You can trust me."
I don't say anything, I walk closer to him but with extreme wariness, making sure no one is behind me. I take a look at Ryle and see he is holding no weapons, he has a knife next to him but if he tries anything, I can get out of the way quickly enough.
I finally reveal myself to him, Ryle looks up at me and as he finally sees me, his lips turn into a weak smile. Now that I'm seeing him face to face, I can look at the damage on his leg. I almost puke when I see the dried dark blood on his right leg, there are some yellowish parts too, puss. It's getting infected.
"A boy did this to me on the bloodbath." He tells me when he notices I'm looking at his leg.
"I know." I say. "I followed you for two days and I heard you."
"You followed us?" He asks surprise.
"Yeah, since the bloodbath was over until the day it started raining." I tell him. "I just wanted some of your food because I had nothing."
"So you were the one that stole Divya's backpack." Ryle says with an amused smile. "Kellen was pretty pissed when he found out Divya fell asleep during her watch."
"I didn't know it was hers." I say, shrugging, trying to defend myself.
"You could have killed us."
"I wouldn't kill you, we are from the same District, remember?" I say, smiling at him.
He smiles back at me and as he does I feel a pang on my heart. I shouldn't be talking to him, I should just tell him what I came here to tell him and leave as soon as I can. I take a step closer to him and take a deep breath.
"You have to leave." I tell him, he looks confused at me. "Divya is planning to kill you."
He looks away from me and says nothing, he only takes a really deep breath and nods at me. Isn't he going to do something?
"But don't stay there, stand up and run away!" I exclaim at him.
"I appreciate you came all the way here to warm me, but honestly I can't really run, I can barely walk. If she doesn't kill me, I will die anyway." He tells me. "I rather Divya to do it because she will do it fast, I won't suffer any longer."
"Aren't you even going to try to live?"
"It's already too late, all this time I have thought about it over and over again and I have come to terms that I will die soon." Ryle says to me. "I think dying is better than living with this pain."
"But Ryle…"
"Only one can win. And with this kind of injury I won't be able to fight, I will only last for a few more days and I will suffer, it's better to die now." Ryle says, looking up at me then. "Can I ask you to do something for me?"
"Of course." I tell him, I'm at the verge of tears now.
"Can you come closer?" Ryle asks as he looks for something inside his pockets.
I nod at him, it takes me about four steps to be right in front of him. I kneel in front of him, making my trousers dirty with the mud, and take a closer look at him and his leg, it really looks bad.
"Let's make a deal. You tell me the truth about the jacket you used to wear before the Games because I can't just die without knowing it, I have been so curious about it and I tell you why I was crying the other day." Ryle says.
"Okay." I lean over, so my mouth is right next to his ear, I don't want all of Panem to hear it, I don't want him to get into any trouble for helping me, no one but Ryle has to know. "Finnick Odair gave it to me." I whisper in Ryle's ear. "We trained all week before the Games."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Ryle asks, just looking a bit surprised.
"It was our secret. No one could know." I say, my voice loud enough so the watchers can hear it through their screens, maybe now they will think I had some kind of affair with someone. "So, why were you crying."
"Because of Zalie." He says and this time his own eyes fill with tears too.
"Your girlfriend?"
"My fiancée." He says.
"I – I didn't know you have gotten engaged." I say in surprise.
"I proposed to her on New Year, only close relatives knew about it. I was really excited about it. And there is something else." He says and this time a tear makes its way down his face. I almost break down when I see him like this, I'm trying my hardest to not let a single tear fall from my eyes.
"What?" I ask him.
"Only about a month before the reaping she told me she was pregnant." Ryle says sobbing. "I was going to have a baby, can you believe it? I wanted to win because of them. Tell Zalie I'm really, really sorry I didn't win, tell her that it wasn't my intention to leave her and that I love her, please."
"I'd tell her but what if I don't win?"
"Here." He says, ignoring what I have just said. He takes something from his pocket and gives it to me. "She gave it to me when I was reaped, could you give it back to her when you go back to District 2?"
I look at what he has just given to me. It was a thin golden chain with a heart as a pendant, on the back side it read 'Ryle & Zalie', I grip it tightly and instead of telling him again that I didn't know if I will win, I nod at him, trying really hard to not cry.
"I gave it to her about five years ago, she's the love of my life." He tells me as several tears fall down his pale, sick-looking face. "I wanted someone to volunteer for me, I always wanted to be in the Games but when I proposed to her and when she told me she was pregnant, everything changed. It was my last reaping and… I got picked."
"I know." I tell him. "I wanted someone to volunteer for me as well."
At that, Ryle breaks down, crying no stop. A few tears fall from my own eyes but I make no sound, and I wipe them quickly. This is his time, not mine. I will have enough time to grieve later.
I put a hesitant hand on his shoulder, to give him support. He looks at me and makes a big effort to pull me into a hug. Ryle, the guy that probably didn't even know my name before the reaping, is here, opening up to me, crying and hugging me. I waste no time in hugging him back, now that I'm so close to him it's even harder to not cry, but I must be strong for him.
After some minutes he finally lets go of me and attempts to wipe his tears but more keep coming down, so he just stops.
"Thanks." Ryle says. "Thanks for coming, for trying to warm me, and for accepting giving the necklace to Zalie."
"It's nothing." I say.
"It's mean a lot to me, I appreciate it." Ryle says. "Thank you."
"Yeah, thank you for coming all the way here." A scary voice says behind me. "It will make everything easier to kill you."
What do you think will happen in the next chapter?