Chapter 28- Astrid Clearwater
"Astrid? Your turn to keep watch." Elowyn wakes me up out of a sound sleep with her whispering. The ground I'm lying on is hard and soft at the same time; I'm cold and damp, and my back hurts. All around me is bird song and strange howling noises that come from far off. Where am I right now?
Oh, right. The arena.
"My watch?" I ask, yawning and wincing as I work the stiffness out of my body. "How long have I been asleep?"
"Couple hours by my count. I'm about to nod off, so you take over now."
"Okay." Elowyn lies back down on the damp mossy ground and is asleep almost instantly; I can tell by her breathing. The sun is starting to rise somewhere above us; light is coming down in tiny rays through the thick foliage. Nobody disturbed us last night, which was good. No cannons, which means the audience will be getting restless this morning.
I hope Mama and Axel got some sleep last night. District 3 seems a lifetime away right now. Do I miss it? Not sure really. Do I want to get out of here? Yes.
Elowyn curls up tighter in her sleep; her hair is coming out of her once neatly done braids. To win I'm going to have to kill her. I could do it now, if I had the nerve and a weapon. I don't have either.
I wish we had gotten some supplies yesterday; a weapon or a backpack or something. Anything to make our lives easier while we're in here. I also wish Beetee would send me something, but I guess it's too early for gifts yet. Or he's chosen Circuit, who's still alive somewhere in here. Beetee better have chosen me to be his victor.
The light comes down through the treetops onto the ground stronger and stronger, until the whole forest around me is bathed in a queer twilight. It's pretty, but it also makes me nervous. Day 2 has really begun now, and I'm not sure what to expect. Anything could be out there, just waiting to kill us. I don't want to die, period, but especially not on Day 2.
I let Elowyn sleep awhile longer, since she let me sleep for hours, but my tongue is getting drier by the minute in this quickly heating up rainforest. We need water, and food too. My stomach rumbles; it's not used to being hungry anymore, after the Capitol fare I've been eating for the past week. No food or very little food is normal for District 3, but I've become soft.
"Elowyn," I say quietly, then louder. "Elowyn, wake up. We've got to go."
Elowyn sits up instantly, looking as confused as I felt when I first woke this morning. "Danger?" she whispers, looking around frantically.
"No, there's no danger, calm down."
"Then why do we need to go?" she says, leaning against a close by tree.
"Water. We need water and food."
She runs her hands over her head, trying to smooth down the worst of her messy hair. It doesn't really work, but I don't tell her that. My hair must be just as bad. "Corinna and Elm promised they'd send some things," she says.
"They're working with Beetee, so maybe they can pool their cash later. Did they say you had sponsors?" Of course she has sponsors; the Capitol people were probably falling over themselves to sponsor her. Meanwhile, Beetee only told me I have a sponsor. Who knows how many I have, or how much money they're willing to spend on a redheaded District 3 girl?
"Elm was bragging all last week about the number of sponsors that we had. We should get something later, don't you think?" Elowyn brushes moss and dirt off her pants and stands up. Even though she looks a mess from sleeping on a cold jungle floor all night, she still looks beautiful. And that's a talent in here, I tell you.
"We should. But for right now, we need water," I say, standing up next to her. "Keep on going the same way we were?"
"Sounds good." Just before we start to move out, I stop Elowyn, grabbing her arm and pulling her back.
"What?" she says, dropping her voice to a barely audible whisper.
"Thought I heard something." A rustling noise is coming from about ten feet away or so. Elowyn and I duck back down and retreat into the bushes behind us, to wait whatever it is out. I'm scared now; it could be an armed tribute, a mutt, or just nothing at all. Anything's possible in the arena. Neither of us moves, but we're both tensed to run if need be. But after a few minutes of waiting, nothing appears.
"Maybe I just imagined it," I whisper to Elowyn.
"Or it was a bird," she murmurs back. I nod and we stand back up, ready to begin our journey again. I can't shake the feeling that somebody's watching us, though. I keep hearing something move behind us, and it's making the hairs on the back of my neck rise up. I really hope it's just a bird.
Neither of us says much as we walk along; the terrain keeps us going higher and higher, which is both good and bad. Good because we'll be able to see any tribute from up here, and bad because water flows downhill. What goes up has to go down eventually, though, and we're bound to reach the peak anytime now. Then we can go down the other side and find water.
"Look!" Elowyn says as we come to what I think is the top of the hill, grabbing my arm and pointing. I immediately think she's pointing at a tribute or something like that, and I tense to run again, but she's actually pointing at a small pond. "Water!"
Forgetting to be quiet, we plunge across the now level ground and arrive at a surprisingly clear pond at the other edge of the hill. "Welcome to the mountain peak," I say, kneeling down to take a drink.
"Do you think it's safe?" Elowyn asks doubtfully. "My mother always says to purify water you find in the woods."
"We don't have much choice, do we? There's nothing to purify it with," I say, dipping my hands into the water. It's still cool from the night air. Little bugs swim away from my hands, but I don't care. I just drink one cupped hand full, then another and another. After a second or so of hesitation, Elowyn joins in. What choice do we have?
"If it's poison, it's slow acting poison," I joke, drinking another handful. The water's cool, with an earthy taste that's not completely horrible. Just slightly.
"You found water." I tip forward and just barely stop myself from falling into the pond when the girl speaks behind us. I turn to see who it is; standing on the other edge of the hill, holding onto a tree with one hand, is Tilling, the weak and unwanted tribute from 9. Who tried to ally with everyone, but was turned down by the same number. What's she doing here?
"We did," Elowyn says, standing up to face Tilling. I shake my hands free of water, then stand next to my ally. I pull up to my full height and try to look intimidating; I'm not really sure if it's working. Tilling would look scared no matter what I did.
"Were you following us?" I ask. Now the rustling bushes are starting to make sense. How long was she watching us for? A little shiver goes up and down my spine at the thought of being watched.
"Maybe a little," Tilling says, looking slightly ashamed. "I didn't know what else to do."
"Get lost?" Elowyn suggests.
"Can't I join you?" Tilling steps closer, a desperate tone to her voice. "Please? I don't want to be on my own out here. I can be a good ally."
"Nobody wanted you as an ally in Training," I point out.
"Please? I'll be helpful and good, and I'll do everything you say." Tilling steps a little closer. Elowyn reaches down and picks up a nearby fallen branch.
"We already have an alliance; we don't need anyone else," Elowyn says, holding the branch up so it's clearly a weapon. Tilling starts to cry; two perfect tears running down her face.
"I didn't think you'd want me; nobody else did either. I'll go, but can I please get some water before I leave?" she asks. I look at Elowyn and nod. What's the harm in that?
"Fine. Then you go away," Elowyn says. Tilling almost trips over a root as she runs to the edge of the pond, dropping down and scooping handfuls of water up to her mouth. Elowyn and I walk backwards to the edge of the hill and sit down on a log, keeping an eye on the girl.
"What do you think about her?" she whispers to me.
"Harmless. We could have her if you wanted." Tilling wouldn't be my first choice for an ally anywhere, but I have a feeling that she's going to follow us around no matter what, unless we kill her. And I'm not ready for that yet.
"I don't really," Elowyn says. Tilling's kneeling at the edge of the pond, still drinking water and oblivious to our conversation.
"She's going to follow us, even if we make her leave, you know," I say. Elowyn sighs.
"What do we do with her then?" She runs her hand down the length of the stick, and I know what she's thinking. I'm not ready to kill Tilling, though.
"If we ally with her, then we'll get more sponsorship money. Then we can get rid of her later. She's not going to be a threat to us, I can tell you that." Perhaps it's callous to use Tilling like that, but this is the Hunger Games. It's either use or get used; I intend to go home, so I'm going to have to think my way out of this arena. Thus, more money they can spend on me, the better.
As Tilling stands up, wiping her mouth, Elowyn whispers in my ear, "Fine. We'll keep her. For now."
"Tilling?" I say; her head perks up and I see the glint of hope in her eyes, though she's clearly still wary of Elowyn's branch.
"Yes?"
"You can stay with us for now," I say, and she lights up like nobody I've ever seen before. She looks like I just crowned her victor right here and now.
"Really?"
"Allies," Elowyn says, reaching out her hand. Tilling breaks out into an even bigger smile, if that's possible, and runs to grab Elowyn's hand.
"Thank you! Thank you!"
"We need food, so let's keep it down," I say. Almost on cue, a parachute descends from the treetops; we watch it drift down and settle quietly between us on the ground. "Well that's convenient."
"Let's open it!" Tilling says, bending down to stroke the silvery parachute. Elowyn pulls the parachute away to reveal a woven basket full of bread and fruit and still warm cubes of roasted meat. Beautiful, beautiful Capitol food.
"Welcome to the alliance," I say, taking a piece of meat out of the basket. It's perfectly cooked; it might be the best thing I've ever eaten. Elowyn takes a piece too, then Tilling.
"Welcome to the alliance indeed," Elowyn says, smiling at me.
I wonder how long this new alliance will last.