CHAPTER 37 LUCYA
I stare up into the slowly brightening ceiling. Nato and Raven must still be asleep, because neither of them have stirred in the hour I've been awake. I refresh my memory of the past two days. Ten Tributes were killed. Olive and Monnie are still alive. Somehow they've managed to survive the bloodbath and the first two days of the Games. It's a comforting feeling, knowing that there's a possibility I might see the both of them again. Really, the feeling is more toward Olive. I've only known him for a couple of days, but he's become something of a younger brother to me. I turn over to where Raven is sleeping on the floor in the fetal position. Sure, we've become rather good friends, but it's not quite like what I feel for Olive. I realize that my relationship with the boy I had promised myself not to mourn has turned into the kind I have with Dee. Funny. Ever since the Games have begun, I've been developing bonds with much more people than usual. Olive. Raven. Monnie. Nato... I roll over to look at him. I'm surprised to see his green eyes are wide open.
"How long have you been awake?" I ask.
"Around an hour longer than you."
"Oh." I don't know what else to say. I feel like I owe him an apology for what I said yesterday. I prop myself up on one elbow. "Hey, Nato... I'm sorry about yesterday. I just... I hate when people are better than me and—"
He smiles. "Stop telling yourself that."
I frown. "What?"
"That you're inferior to me. Because you're not. It's a ridiculous thing to say."
I smile back at him. He doesn't mention anything about the unjust accusations I've been throwing in his face for the past two days. For some strange reason he's already forgiven and forgotten. Raven and I don't just need him because he'll lead us through the maze. We need him because he keeps us together; keeps us sane.
Raven begins stirring on the ground next to me. We decide to eat a small breakfast and set off back into the maze. It doesn't take long to see that Nato was right yesterday. None of the tunnels we're walking through are even slightly similar to how I remember them. I wonder if he was also right about the fact that there's something beyond the maze. I dismiss the idea. Managing an arena like this is difficult enough, with all the changing passages and wandering Tributes to keep track of.
Nato stops at the intersection of several passages. I count the white hallways branching off from where the three of us are standing. Eight different entrances. I look at Nato, desperately hoping that he knows where to go, but his confused expression tells the story.
"The Cornucopia is that way." He points to our left. "At least, I think it is..."
"Should we just go anywhere?" Raven asks. "I mean, we've got nothing to lose..."
Nato shakes his head. "No, I don't want to fall off of our track. We've been doing so well for the past two days." He and Raven continue to discuss the different possibilities and eliminate some of the eight passages. As they ramble on, I feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Drawing my sword from its sheath, I turn around. All I see is the empty tunnel from which we came. I could've sworn I felt someone watching me. I try to tell myself it was nothing and turn back around to where the guys are standing. Raven is still talking, but Nato doesn't look like he's listening. His eyes keep darting behind my back, like he had felt the presence as well.
"Let's go this way," Nato says uncertainly, gesturing towards the passage directly to our right. He still looks panicked; Raven, however, is blissfully unaware of the tension. The three of us enter the hallway just as I hear some kind of scuffling from behind me.
"GO!" I yell, pushing a confused Raven forward. Nato must've heard the noise, too, because he runs ahead, constantly changing direction in the maze. Raven looks disoriented but he knows better than to fall behind, so he runs after the two of us. Nato weaves between the different doorways and passages at a quick pace until we're all panting. Nato leans up against one of the walls and Raven slumps down onto the floor. I double over.
"I think we lost it," I wheeze.
"Lost what?" Raven says, accepting the bottle of water handed to him by Nato. He takes a small sip and passes it on to me.
"I don't know," I say, and drink a tiny amount of the cool water.
"Either it was another Tribute or some Gamemaker-made thing," Nato shares his thoughts. "Whatever it was, I think it may have been following us for a while. And I got the feeling that it didn't have good intentions."
Raven nods. "So it looks like we got away from it. What do we do now?"
Someone cries out from some place far from where we are. Nato turns around and our eyes lock. I know that there are only two Tributes in the arena who could scream like that, one of which is still lying on the ground next to me. Without any warning, Nato jumps on me and pins me to the ground. His strong hands cover my ears and block out the scream. His lips are moving, but I can't hear a thing. I squirm out of his grip and kick his leg. He falls off of me and his hands uncover my ears just in time for me to hear the sound of a cannon boom out across the arena. Nato and Raven are looking at me with sympathy, but their own eyes are welling up with tears.
I had promised myself, at the Reaping, that I wouldn't even flinch when Olive's cannon rang out during the Games. Breaking that promise to myself, I curl into a ball and start sobbing.