Hey guys! I hope everyone is staying happy and healthy as we enter the colder months! Yay for Joe Biden! He may not be the perfect candidate but Donald needed to get out of that office. Enough about politics, are y'all excited for CHRISTMAS?! I'm so excited, my last Christmas as not an adult, technically aww. Alright, let's get into some reviews.
Bea chapter 14- YOU ARE SUCH A GOOD WRITER! Peeta and Katniss are so freakin adorable. I want to see Jennifer Lawrence jumping into Josh Hutcherson's arms like that. But seriously, this should be a movie! I'm also a writer and am working on my first FanFic right now. It should be up in a few weeks, so if you could check it out that would mean so much to me! You don't have to, of course. Do you have any writing tips, especially for someone else's series?
Thank you, babe! And as for advice, I personally am not the most planned out writer but if you don't deal with pressure well I'd definitely plan out each chapter, especially if you want the story to be short and sweet. Do some extra research to make sure any canon information you use is correct as to not confuse readers. I hope this helped a little!
30777- Ooh! So excited to see Lily's reaction to Katniss dropping the nest on Peeta and the careers! I'm so excited for the next update and the fact that it is on my first travel ball tournament will hopefully bring good luck. Keep writing as well as you do and you could have a whole career in front of you!
Oh, yea that should definitely be interesting haha. And thank you so much, that actually means a lot! Good Luck with your game!
Zzzarsa- Maybe lily can watch some of the propos during history and the Capitol cctv cameras
Ooo perhaps perhaps. As the story continues maybe we'll get to that point.
Now, let's get into the chapter!
~Jillian
Xoxo
(Lily's POV)
Of course we can't go without some excitement for at least a few minutes. After the joy that Katniss wasn't going to die of dehydration, we watched as she and the rest of the tributes prepared for nightfall. The anthem plays but this time there are no tribute deaths to play on the screen. I wonder what Katniss sees in the arena when we watch the gruesome death recaps?
Even the small group of career tributes, including Peeta, seem to be settling down for a bit, planning who will take which shifts throughout the night. The tape itself skips through a few hours in a couple of minutes, only pausing for a second to show the pack of tributes head out from their camp under the cover of the woods. The camera then comes back to Katniss, who had presumably been sleeping for a few hours by now.
I think I notice it first, the animals running by. First, it was a bunny or two, followed by some squirrels, and soon enough deer are running in the same direction. The sound of dozens of animals running past her wakes Katniss up, and the audience watches from her point of view, sharing in her confusion. That confusion does not last long, as the camera pans and Katniss and the audience see what exactly the animals were running from.
"Holy-!" Adrian shouts, and I can't help but agree. A startled gasp escapes Celia and me as we take it in.
Not fifty feet from where katniss was sleeping is an enormous wall of fire. Flames as tall as the trees in the woods, consuming everything unlucky enough to come in contact with it.
Holy Shit.
I choke on my fear, unable to even let out a gasp as Katniss struggles out of her sleeping bag, rashing to the dirt floor. I watch as her instincts kick in and she sprints in the same direction as the animals, trusting their sense of direction. She's running like a deer, hopping the treacherous tree roots and rocks that try to trip her up. She even jumps a flaming log, but not high enough.
I can't help but crawl closer to the screen, watching with panic as Katniss tears her jacket off and stomps on the now burning tail end. This only takes a second, and in an instant she's back on her trail, stuffing the jacket into her back.
I cringe as she begins to cough, feeling her pain as if it were my own. They don't stop, getting worse with each breath she takes. I know what's going to happen before it does. I turn around briefly to avoid the sight of Katniss throwing up, and catch Celia looking a bit green herself. I know then I'm truly upset by that's happening because I can't even find the energy to make fun of her.
The camera cuts away and I see that other tributes, including the group of careers and Peeta, are facing the same problem. They sprint as fast as their legs can take them, stumbling every often over a tree root. The district one girl, Glimmer I think her name was, overshoots a jump and lands directly on a tree root, causing her to fall to the ground with a shout of pain.
I expect the pack to ignore her and leave her behind, I mean they seem pretty heartless, save for Peeta of course. So you can imagine my shock when Marvel, her district partner, double back to help her up. Huh...I guess Peeta and Katniss aren't the only district partners who've bonded.
The camera cuts back in time to see Katniss rinsing her mouth with water and giving her body a second to rest. A second turns into a minute and my body tenses with anticipation.
"What are you doing? Get up and run!" I shout, startling my friends. I'm growing frustrated with Katniss, she's just sitting there and thinking, never mind the wall of fire gaining on her. After an eternity she seems to make up her mind about whatever she was thinking of, but I don't get the chance to sigh in relief, as a rock not two feet from Katniss is hit with what looks like a ball of fire.
"Now there are fireballs? Gosh, these Gamemakers don't let up, do they?" Celia cries out, the rest of us nodding our heads in agreement.
As Katniss jumps back on her feet and continues running, desperately dodging the attacks from the fireballs, I can't help but think about why this is happening. Sure, this is the Hunger Games, people are supposed to die, but I thought the whole point was that the tributes kill each other? If the audience wanted to see a bunch of kids killed in brutal ways by the Gamemakers, wouldn't they just do that?
The panicked screech brings me out of my thoughts. Actually, make that two screeches, one from Katniss, who is now struggling to put out the fire that has engulfed her pant leg, and one from Celia, who is yelling at the screen as if Katniss can hear her.
"Come on Katniss! Stop, drop, and roll! Stop, drop, and roll!" Celia yells.
I can only stare in horror as I watch fear completely take over Katniss. She thrashes violently, desperately trying to get away from the fire eating away at her calf. It dawns on me once again how young she really is. All of this time I've been looking at her as this badass adult woman. And while she is a badass, let's be honest, this is a teenage girl. In two years, I will be her age. I couldn't do this! And I doubt two years would change my feelings on that. This is...terrifying.
I watch as Katniss impulsively rips the remaining smoldering fabric off her pant leg with her bare hands, my face twisting as I notice the welts on her fingers.
She limps away from the no longer moving wall of flames, somewhat confirming my half-theory that this wall wasn't aiming to kill, but to move tributes. Katniss can't hide the pain she's in, her whole face scrunched up as she whips her head around her environment. I desperately wish she could climb up a tree and escape her vulnerable position, but even I can see the smoke is way too thick up there.
Katniss meanders into a shallow pool of water, dunking her red hot hands into the soothing liquid. She lies there for a minute, and the camera cuts away to the other tributes. Oh yea, I'd forgotten about them.
Both Glimmer and Marvel are throwing up, their lagging behind causing them to inhale more smoke from the flames, and Cato seems unable to shake his coughing fit. Clove, Peeta, and the girl from four seem relatively okay, but talk in raspy voices and can't calm their breathing just yet. It also looks like a good couple inches of the girl from district four's ponytail was burned off, her light brown hair looking heavily frayed at the bottom.
"We have to start moving again soon." Cato demands in between coughs. This makes both of the non-retching girls whine in annoyance.
"God Cato, can you give us a moment to rest? We just escaped being burned to a crisp and you already wanna go back to hunting?" Clove groans, moving to stand next to her district partner.
"We don't have time to rest!" Cato yells, whirling around to face her. Clove rolls her eyes, letting out an irritated huff, but doesn't back down in fear of Cato's rage. I'm guessing she must be used to it by now.
"As much as I want to agree with Clove, Cato kind of has a point," the girl from four speaks up. Wow, I really need to learn her name.
"Hey Celia," I whisper, "what was that girl's name again? It's bugging me that I can't remember." Celia has a great memory, she has the best grades out of the three of us. If anyone remembers it's her.
"Marina," Celia replies quickly, and I nod in appreciation.
"This wall of fire was made by the Gamemakers," Marina continues, "they obviously wanted to move us closer together. That means 12 has to be around here somewhere."
I see Peeta's head shoot up from where he had been studying the ground, the only sign of his worry showing in his reddened eyes.
"You think she's close by?" Marvel asks, making his way towards the little group, having recovered from his sick fit.
"Definitely. And judging by our current state, I doubt she got away from the fire unscathed." Marina concludes snidely, not even bothering to hide her joy at the thought.
Cato smirks at Marina, pleased. "Exactly, so I won't waste time waiting for Glimmer," he shoots the girl a glare, to which she flips him off, "to finish throwing up, while 12 gets away."
"I don't know. I mean Katniss knows the woods, district 12 is surrounded by them. She's probably hiding up in a tree somewhere or followed animals to a cave. Maybe we should look for some of the weaker tributes first? There are bound to be some around here too." Peeta speaks up for the first time, standing to join the rest of the huddle, leaving Glimmer to be the last one out.
Cato clenches his jaw and an argument breaks out amongst the group. Glimmer and clove side with Peeta, I think more out of needing a bit of rest and being mad at Cato than with actually agreeing with him, while Marel and Marina side with Cato. I have a feeling this argument won't be resolved anytime soon, and that idea is confirmed when the tape jumps a few hours ahead.
The sun is just above the horizon and the camera cuts back to Katniss, still resting by the pool of water. Actually, it looks like she drifted off out of exhaustion. The distant sound of running feet wakes her up, her hunter's ear has been well trained. In a flash she's running through the pond, her injured leg only slowing her down slightly. I watch as she scans the surrounding trees, finding the tallest one and making a beeline for it.
I've seen my mom climb trees before, she has to for hunting sometimes, but I've never seen it done so quickly. I guess when your life is endangered the adrenaline kinda spurs you on a bit.
Katniss makes it about 20 feet up the tree before the pack of tributes comes barreling towards her. I expect the fighting to start there and then, but they take a moment to survey each other, the camera taking the time to film each of their faces individually, gauging their reactions. Peeta is the only one on the ground neither glaring nor smirking up at Katniss, letting his concern flash across his face. He is at the back of the group so for a second he is safe from the career's eyes.
Katniss is the first to break the silence, "How's everything with you?" she asks cheerfully. While this makes the three of us smile, Adrian even lets out a chuckle, it clearly has an effect on the career pack. I have no doubt they expected her to become another sniveling tribute, to beg for her life maybe?
Cato recovers quickly, "Well enough," he answers, though this isn't really the truth, "And yourself?" I can't help but snicker at the absurdity of it all, two enemy tributes making polite conversation during the Hunger Games.
"It's been a bit warm for my taste," Katniss replies cheekily, playing for the audience. I'm sure when this was live the Capitol just ate this act up. Well, I definitely know where I get my sarcasm from. "The air's better up here. Why don't you come on up?" Katniss challenges.
Cato is eager to comply, "Think I will." Glimmer catches up to him quickly, offering her bow to him, and I take note of Katniss' reaction. Her eyes zero in on her weapon of choice, and I know exactly what she's thinking. How is she gonna get that from Glimmer?
Cato rejects Glimmer's offer, "No, I'll do better with my sword." Cato hoists himself up on the first branch and Katniss wastes no time in climbing further up the tree. The further Cato climbs the louder the branches crack, so it's no surprise that he doesn't get far before he's falling back to the ground. The three of us allow ourselves to laugh at his expense, enjoying his infuriated cursing. Glimmer gives it a try, but only makes it a bit higher than Cato before the branches begin to crack and she has the good sense to come back down. By this point, Katniss must be 80 feet up in the tree.
It really is a sight to see, watching Katniss climb. Her practiced hands seem to know exactly what branch to grab and where to rest her weight. Glimmer attempts to shoot an arrow at Katniss, but even I can tell she barely knows how to use the weapon. One of her arrows manages to lodge itself in a tree near Katniss, and she waves it at them mockingly, once again making me grin.
Yet another argument breaks out amongst the group before Peeta shuts it down, "Oh let her stay up there. It's not like she's going anywhere. We'll deal with her in the morning." This calms the groups down, and they begin to set up a bit of a camp, but not before Cato shoots one last sneer at Katniss up in the tree.
Night settles over the woods, the only source of light coming from the Career's torches. The pack chooses Glimmer to stay and keep watch while the rest of them sleep.. The tape skips forward a few hours, and it seems like Katniss can't seem to fall asleep, I'd bet the pain from her burns was keeping her up. I watch as her eyes find and focus on something in the distance. Her face goes from confusion to realization, and the camera shifts to see what caught her eye.
"It's that little girl!" I say automatically. There's no one else it could be, with her small frame, it would be easy for her to hide in the trees, especially being this high.
"Yea, Rue, from district eleven," Celia recites.
Katniss and Rue have a silent conversation, and I watch with bated breath as Rue reaches out with one hand and points to something above Katniss' head.
"What is that?" Adrian says in disgust, and I have no answer. It looks like some type of hive, but I've never seen one that looks like that before
"Oh wow," Celia pipes up, "a tracker jacker nest."
I turn to her in confusion, "What?"
"Tracker jackers, they're a kind of wasp like bug created by the Capitol. My dad taught me about them, apparently their stings cause hallucinations and are crazy painful. He said with enough stings, you can even die." Celia explains, her words making my anxiety increase tenfold. That nest is right above Katniss' head, if those bugs find her she's a goner.
I gulp down my fear, watching as Katniss forms a plan. She slowly slips out of her sleeping bag and makes her way up the tree to the nest. She takes a minute once she's reached her desired branch, waiting for something.
The Capitol anthem blares out and Katniss begins sawing away at the branch, I guess that's what she was waiting for. Yes, of course, the anthem playing completely covers up the sound of her cutting the branch. The Anthem is short again as there are no tribute deaths to recap, and it ends after barely a minute. The camera is back on Katniss and I groan when I see how close she was to finishing. "Come on," I whine.
Katniss makes her way back down the tree, and we are surprised to see a small silver pot attached to a parachute float down to meet her. Katniss grabs it from the air with a gasp, and I look to Adrian in confusion, who only answers with a shrug.
Katniss rips the lid off the pot and is greeted by what looks like a thick lotion. Medicine. "Oh Haymitch," Katniss whispers, "thank you." How did Haymitch send her something? I guess he's her mentor, but if he could send her stuff, why hasn't he been doing that all along? I guess this is a question for class.
I watch with a small smile and Katniss rubs the lotion onto her burns, a small sigh escaping her. I can only imagine her relief. After treating her injuries, Katniss is finally able to drift off, secured to her tree with a belt.
Again the tape jumps forward, stopping just as the sun begins to rise. I watch as Katniss wakes suddenly, a bird landing on her branch startling her awake. She once again nurses her burns, already looking much better, and eats a small amount of food, before surveying the Career pack below her.
Glimmer had fallen asleep at some point during the night as she rests against the trunk of the tree completely unconscious. It's now or never.
"Rue!" Katniss calls out in a harsh whisper. Rue is more visible in the morning light, and I see her eyes open in a flash, awake and alert. She points up at the nest again, and Katniss responds by holding up her knife and making a back and forth sawing motion. Getting the idea, Rue makes her escape, and I can't help but be in awe of her skills, watching her jump from tree to tree effortlessly.
Satisfied, Katniss climbs back up to the limb with the nest, placing the knife back on the groove she already cut last night. She takes a deep breath, and I grab Celia's hand for support. As fast as she can manage, Katniss saws away at the branch. I watch a tracker tracker fly out and sting her knee, bringing at the pain I see flash across Katniss' face. She's a centimeter away from the end when another stings her face, and then one gets her neck.
Finally, the branch is cut and the nest is falling through the air. It lands with a crash, bursting open like an egg, and the entire ground erupts in chaos. I'm happy to see that Peeta has the good sense to leave everything behind and run from the wasps, followed by a few others. Marina isn't so lucky, stumbling away from the scene, chased by multiple tracker jackers.
But it's Glimmer who gets the worst of it. From her position against the tree truck, the nest barely landed 3 feet away from her, and most of the wasps went after her and their target. She lets out a crazed shriek, trying to bat away the tracker jackers with her bow but it's useless, there are just too many of them.
"Oh my god…" Celia mumbles, turning to hide her face in my shoulder. All I can do is state in shock as Glimmer jerks violently on the ground before going still. It's all I can do not to gag at the sight of her. The once beautiful Glimmer is completely disfigured with stings, and horrifyingly still.
Katniss scampers out of the tree and without a second thought, heads back towards her little pool of water. The camera stays on Glimmer's body for a second longer, before following Marina as she stumbles through the woods, desperate to escape the tracker jackers that won't let up. I watch silently, mouth agape as the girl loses control of her legs, falling to the ground. I can't help but feel sorry for both her and Glimmer as I watch her twitch in a similar manner, before finally stilling. What a horrible way to go.
The scene shifts again and I see Katniss stumbling back towards the now empty tracker jacker nest. She walks past it, finding herself standing above Glimmer's body just as the cannon goes off. And that's that, she's dead. What I don't expect to see is Katniss grab a nearby stone, and smash them against Glimmer's fingers with a resounding crack!
"Agh!" We all cry out. She does it again, and again, until she finally frees the bow from Glimmer's grasp. I clap a hand over my mouth, unbelieving. The wind around her picks up and Katniss throws herself over Glimmer's body, shielding it. She looks up, fear and delusion clouding her eyes, and we see what looks like a hovercraft with a claw attached to the bottom, carrying away the stiff body of Marina.
Katniss is turning green now, not immune to the disgusting nature of disturbing a dead body, as she rolls Glimmer onto her stomach to pry the sheath of arrows off her arm. It's a struggle, initially getting caught on her shoulder blade, but in a final desperate tug, Katniss has it.
There's a rustling in the trees in front of her, and for a moment I'm filled with panic. Is Cato back from the lake? Is he here to finish Katniss off? But all of my suspicions are thrown out the window when it's Peeta who breaks through the foliage, holding a spear at the ready.
I'm not surprised to see him immediately lower his weapon upon seeing Katniss in front of him, looking at her with rising panic.
"What are you still doing here?" He hisses, Katniss staring at him uncomprehending. The venom must be taking effect, I wonder what she's seeing? "Are you mad? Get up, Get up!" He's practically pushing Katniss away with the butt of his spear, pleading with her to move. "Run!" He yells, "Run!" Peeta gives her a hard shive, and she finally seems to understand. Just as Cato breaks through the trees, swinging his sword, Katniss makes a run for it.
Cato stands in front of Peeta, face beet red, "You let her get away!" he roars furiously. Peeta doesn't even have the chance to defend himself or draw his weapon before Cato is swinging his sword at his torso. Peeta dodges the blow narrowly, but he isn't quick enough to avoid the second jab.
"AGGH!" I let out a bloodcurdling scream, echoing Peeta's as he is stabbed in the thigh. I barely register the hot tears streaming down my face as Peeta falls to the ground in pain. I feel an arm wrap around my shoulder and I turn my face into their chest. I lie there, sobbing into Adrian's shirt as Celia tries to console me.
"He doesn't die Lily, he'll be okay..." she coos, but it's useless. I can't stop replaying the image in my mind, the shining metal piercing his leg. The cry of pure pain he lets out. It's unbearable.
"Celia, can you pause it." Adrian asks, his chest vibrating as he speaks, and she follows his instructions, silencing Peeta's groans and the sound of Cato running through the trees. "It's okay Lily, it's okay," Adrian whispers, rocking back and forth.
But I just can't stop crying. Because that isn't some random boy who happens to be from district 12. No. That boy is my father. The most kind, loving, wonderful man I know. And Katniss is not just a 16-year-old girl with a face like mine. She's my mother. She cares about people. She helps others even if it hurts her. She loves with her whole heart. And both of them have been through unimaginable torture and pain.
How could I not have seen it? Do I really not know my parents well enough to recognize the signs of trauma? How sometimes when mom is hunting, she'll stare at the corpse for just a bit too long with unseeing eyes. Or when Dad goes upstairs into his painting room and doesn't come down for the whole day, not even for meals. How could I have written off the screams that used to wake me at night? I've long gotten used to them but when I was much younger, the sound of screams would pierce each night, soon followed by my cries of distress. A sometimes hushed yelling between my parents, my mom trying to convince my father of something and him asking her to stay away.
How have I been so blind to my own parents' pain?
Xoxo
Hey guys! I hope you liked the chapter even though it was only with Lily. I just felt like I haven't been spending much time on the tapes lately and I really wanted to devote a chapter to just having the tapes be shown. Let me know what you guys thought in the reviews, and don't forget to follow to keep up with any updates! Have a Happy Thanksgiving, and I will see y'all on November 28th! Bye!