Chapter Thirty-Eight.

Inside the Capitol gifts.

A dark, stingy cave is where I set up camp several hours after the feast is over. The walls are made from jagged rock with slimy moss and dampened cracks due to the sudden change in weather which forces the rain to pour downwards onto the roof of the unpredictable cave, the water slips in dripping from the damaged ceiling onto unsuspecting patches of gravel dirt. I ensure to not place anything important in those patches, not wanting to risk getting anything wet that needs to be dried.

The dropping temperature causes my limbs to lose majority feeling and so, I snuggle into my sleeping back which is specially designed like my jacket to keep my body heat in. I set up my little bedroom to the back of the reasonably large cave, opposite the entrance which I have decorated with rocks and tree branches. Pulling the two small packs onto my lap, I decided to open the one assigned to me first. Whilst rooting through the pack marked for my district; three metal pots stacked one on top of the other was inside the backpack. I open them carefully as I am unaware if the pot contain liquid and if this stuff is going to save my life, I don't want to risk spilling it.

The top pot is actually containing still steaming hot lamb and beef soup which I just want to dunk my face in a gobble up but I contain myself, a spoon is attacked to the underside of the lid thankfully. The middle pot contains a lime green ointment with tiny blue beads mixed in, that I assume is for my still healing cuts which have all gone purple around the edges as they attempt to heal in the brutal environment but with my lack of nutrient and mineral intake my body has been struggling. The third and final pot of the District 4 pack is funny shaped, like a solid figure of eight, I open the lid that is clipped on one side and held in place on the other. On opening the pot, I am completely unaware of what I could possibly need that would be inside this pot. Not food, not water or another form of medicine but goggles, thick plastic with a tight elastic band that secures the lenses to my face. The lenses are dark green and freckled. Night vision goggles. I suppose some use can come of them later when it's dark – so I can what the entrance at night.

Once I have set aside my gifts from the Capitol, I stare at the pack meant for one of the District 2 members but considering there is only one left and seeing no harm in giving myself a little extra help. I pull the pack onto my lap like I had the previous backpack and opened the zip to pull the flap back, inside the pack was, again, three small pots and similar to mine, food has been given but this time it has been filled into both pots. One with rice and peas and the other with a small chunk of bread but the content of the last pot still remained a mystery. And so I twist the lid of the pot off to reveal not food or medicine, but a locket.

Stacking the pots away, food and medicine separate and discarding of the metal pots. I hold the locket in my hand to study it closer. It's beautifully crafted with two wings formed out of silver to act as a protective layer. Pushing the two wings apart they reveal a tiny picture that has faded over years. There is a man whose hands are clenched around a middle aged woman who has her arms draped over two young girls who sit on either side of her.

A family.

I recognise Iris as the youngest female in the photo, her soft features and soft blue dress allow me to average her age to be around nine or ten. The second youngest female in the photo is her elder sister, I know that because I recognise her from the television, in this photo she almost looks beautiful and kind, with a warming smile and nice clothing, she is nothing like the girl I witnessed during the Games. By process of elimination, the woman must be the Castillo children's mother and the man must be their father. I turn the locket over to read the inscription, for all of time.

One happy family.

Sickness rises in my stomach, this was meant for Iris. The fifteen-year-old girl who I murdered in cold blood in front of her family, in front of the entire nation. The little girl whose pack I had stolen and whose family I have ruined. According to this picture, they don't have any other children. These parent's are now childless thanks to the Games. Unclasping the silver chain, I put the locket around my neck, vowing to return it to Iris parents because I owe her parents this, I don't owe Iris anything, she was just a child despite being ruthless and dangerous, little girl playing along with the Games.

I eat the lamb and beef soup that night whilst dunking chunks of the bread into the broth. It was scrumptious and I go to sleep with a satisfied stomach for the first time in weeks but really how can I be truly fine? There are three of us left. I am the weakest of the trio but with my night vision goggles, kindly given too me by some sort of sponsor or the Gamemakers, I feel safer and now all there too do is hide and wait.

Wait for Garrett and Cato to butcher each other until then, I shall hide. Safe and sound in my cave of crappy wonders.

xxx

Day Fourteen.

The night was peaceful. Not even a rumble erupted from outside the cave. Upon waking, I finished what was left of my bread loaf before heading out, equipped with my new knife vest that also had armour like qualities to it, I go to set up some scares nearby. The rain had continues although the night so the woodland floor is wetter than a swimming pool and so when I return to the cave, my feet are soaked through the leather shoes. Inside the stone cave, I create the base for a fire and spark it to life with several waterproof matches.

Heat, glorious heat erupts from the fire like a life preserver. I remove my leather boots and set them beside the growing fire so they dry out. Using sticks and leftover string, I make a small rack that I can hang my socks over the fire without them catching a blaze. My toes are blue tipped and to help them warm whilst the protective layers dry, I snuggle in my sleeping bag like a cocoon turning into a butterfly. Minus the butterfly part.

Despite Vibia's overuse of gel, my hair as curled at the back and sides. Pushing it away from my eyes I apply ointment to my face and any cuts that are particularly painful. The stab wound on my shoulder that Iris had inflicted on me during the feast is dreadfully painful and I pray the ointment is designed to help with pain and protection against various infection, but really, how can I know. The ointment may actually be poison and I just assumed it was to help me rather than the opposite, but on smelling it, the lemony smell indicates disinfectant.

I apply a far amount to my wounds before checking my socks, as I squeeze the fabric, faint trickles of water splash onto the hot flames making the fire hiss. Curling my toes and re-straightening them inside my sleeping bag, in the hope to get the circulation going again. As I lay back against the awkwardly shaped cave wall, my mind begins to dawdle.

Fourteen days.

Two weeks.

Twenty-one dead.

Could I win? Go home to see my brother? To see Annie and Mags? Leila? A faint spark lights in my chest about seeing my selfish mother but even then I cannot bring myself to actually miss her, to rub my victory in her face as she watches me roll in all the money she wishes she had but her popularity status amongst the people of District 4 would rise anyway if I came home. Two victors, brother and sister, both her own children, not that she did much but still, her own flesh and blood.

Victors. Adored by the Capitol. Hated by every district apart from your own. Some would think it's worth having and I certainly am not saying it's not worth it but having to life and deal with the lives you have taken. I'd rather be dead than to be haunted by their faces; Cassandra, Waylon, Alden and Iris's. Next to the fire, inside a damp cave, I unintentionally fall asleep, vulnerably and helpless inside the Arena but I am exhausted.

xxx

Awaking with a jump, I choke and hiss violently as the cave is filled with smoke. The fire must have died whilst I was sleeping causing the cave to fill up as the smoke couldn't escape. My socks are dry so I slip them on before following with my boots making sure the laces are tied as tightly as possible so my feet cannot go anywhere. Quickly rolling my sleeping bag into my survival pack, followed by my water bottle and metal pots of food and ointment I had not eaten or used.

Checking the snares, I had captured nothing but that didn't matter, I had enough food to last me a few days if I ration carefully. The surroundings are already thick with fog and with the day slowly turning into night, I remove the night-vision goggles from my pocket and strap them to my head turning the arena to a shade of green and the trees and shrubs have turned to a black or grey as the goggles adapt to the darkening scenery. Knives at the ready, two held in my right and one of my medium blades drawn, held strong by the handle. Careers hunt at night, Cato no doubt has night-vision goggles still from the Cornucopia, therefore I am as vulnerable as he is right now, only difference is that he doesn't know it.

Prowling through the night-time arena, rustling begins to echo through the trees from around me. Twisting and turning with my night-vision goggles searching for someone, mainly Cato or the thing that was creating the rustles but nothing shows up. The moon shines high in the sky as the night wanders on. I wasn't completely blind but being uncertain of what I am suppose to be looking for makes me an easy target.

Out of sheer panic, I whistle to the mockingjay's begging for them to sing back and tell me everything is going to be okay and they do, the first mockingjay trills the tune back to me, then another. Listening to the sweet melody, my heartbeat softens to a more natural pace. Then, suddenly, a cannon sounds in the silence around making me almost leap from my skin. Then, the mockingjay's voices rise up into a several high-pitched shriek's of alarm.

Not knowing where to go or what to do, I sprint forwards. A figure stops me, hunched over a body. Removing my goggles to get the real picture, a direct line of white light from the moon shines down from the sky to light the situation for the Capitol. The face of the tribute was angled towards me and has been brutally cut from ear to ear, one eye remained open looking at me. A deep sea green eyes. Then I notice a glistening expensive gold chain wrapped around his throat with the pendant escaping the collar of his shirt. A token from his escort.

Garrett Larkin is dead.

My eyes flicker to the creature standing over my deceased district partner – it's not human – with horns growing from just above its temples that curl like a bull off to the side dramatically. The creature stands up straight, it towers well over seven-foot, reattaching my goggles back over my head, I can clearly see in through the gadget that it's body was made from the upper half of a dark furred bull, it's arms are made from large muscle with three-fingered hands, long claws were grown from the ends of the fingers. Trailing down to study the lower half of this bull, the legs are also made from the hind legs of a animal with well manicured hooves instead of feet.

As I'm turning away, the creature turns to face me and I manage to catch a glimpse of the face which the Minotaur has stolen. It's familiar dark hair and green eyes with thin lips and defined eyebrows. It's my sister, Maria.

Her eyes glow lime green in the dark, piercing through the darkness like a knife would butter and as Maria snarls, her teeth aren't normal, like regular people but carved into triangles and covered in black slim that leaks from her mouth. Then I am stumbling blind through the thick undergrowth with no thought other than to save myself.

A/N: What do you think of the mutations? Freaky, right. Two left to play and what are the jobs of mutts? To draw tributes together. Please review and express your thoughts!