[20] - Rochelle
A/N - Due to a glitch, I haven't been getting any views on any stories in the last week, which is why this chapter is a bit delayed. Hopefully, it's been fixed by now, but we'll see, I guess. Enjoy!
As the sun rises over the barren desert, the temperature soars once again and we're forced to stow away our clothes. Along with the rising temperatures come more complaints from Princess, which makes the heat that much more unbearable.
Princess and Zinnia stick close together as they pull food from their bags and begin to eat, so I stay close to Mandy.
"What've you got?" I ask the small girl next to me as she sifts through the contents of her small bag.
"Not much," Mandy says quietly. "Some crackers, nuts, jerky... that's about it, though. Hopefully, the others are willing to share."
"Don't get your hopes up," I grumble, looking through my own bag. As our group has trekked through the desert, it has become increasingly apparent that there is no food to be found anywhere in the Arena. It seems like there isn't really any way to survive in here without food from the Bloodbath; luckily, my companions had their choice of items from the Cornucopia, but who knows how much they'll be willing to share.
"There has to be food around somewhere," Mandy says, opening a package of crackers. "They would be stupid not to include some."
"Wherever there's water, there's life," I remind her. August taught me that. "We just have to find water. That'll be the key."
"Well, we'll need to find the boys first," Mandy sighs. "Boys first, water second."
"Of course," I say. I pause for a moment - is now the right time to make my proposal?
I glance back at Princess and Zinnia. They're deep in conversation about Zinnia's time in the Peacekeeper academy. I turn back to Mandy, who's watching me intently.
"Listen, Mandy," I say to the girl across from me. "We need to make a deal together or there's no way either of us will have a chance."
"What kind of deal?" Mandy asks, furrowing her brow. "We agree not to turn on each other?"
"Not exactly. We need to agree to protect one another because we're expendable to those girls. I trust you, Mandy, and I need you to trust me. I'll look out for you if you do the same for me. If Princess or Zinnia decide to turn on us, we need to have each other's backs. Otherwise, there's no way we're going to survive."
"Okay," Mandy says with a nod. "I can do that. But seriously, I don't think the girls have anything against us, Rochelle. I mean, Zinnia wouldn't want to kill her District partner, would she? And the same with Princess and you."
Wow, Mandy is more gullible than I thought. I'm already having second thoughts about this.
"You haven't spent any time with these people," I remind Mandy. "Zinnia and Pollux aren't close, and she probably knows that he's her biggest competition in here. You're right about Princess - she wouldn't do anything to hurt August - but Zinnia can do whatever she wants. Neither of us are safe."
"Okay," Mandy says, and I can see fear in her eyes for the first time. She might finally be realizing that it wasn't a good idea to team up with the Careers; it only took her a whole day to figure it out.
"Let's go, ladies," Princess calls, her cheery voice as fake as ever. I keep my face neutral as Princess throws her bag back into my arms to carry.
You'd think that Princess was carrying the entire metal Cornucopia on her back considering how much she was complaining throughout the day. Either District One has cold weather or Princess is a wimp - either option is equally plausible. I don't know if Princess realizes that it feels just as hot for the rest of us, but I'm sure she doesn't. She only thinks about herself.
As we walk, Zinnia devises a strategy that saves us somewhat from the heat - as the sun moves, it casts shadows over one side of the taller sand dunes, so we walk alongside the shaded side to catch a break from the sun. Even with the shade, though, our water supplies start draining fast. It becomes clear throughout the day that we'll need to worry about finding water before we worry about finding the boys.
Finally, as the sun begins to set, the Careers decide that we've walked enough for the day.
"Rochelle and Mandy, you're taking watch for the night," Princess calls. "Unless you have a problem with that."
Mandy just sighs as we set our bags on the ground; knowing her, I'm sure she thought that we'd be off the hook because we took watch last night. She clearly doesn't know these girls like I do.
"How are you doing with the heat and everything?" I ask Mandy as she slips on her warmer clothing. "Somehow, the sun didn't feel as hot today."
"I'm doing great," Mandy assures me. "In District Nine, we definitely don't have any sand, but it does get hot in the wheat fields, so I'm used to it. Probably more used to it than the rest of you."
"That's good," I say with a smile. "It gets hot in Eight, but only in the summer. Not this hot, though."
"You'll get used to it," Mandy says, and I hope she's right. "You said it already - today the sun felt not as hot, and hopefully it'll continue that way."
"I hope you're right," I sigh, throwing my jacket back on.
We're interrupted by the Panem anthem, but I don't even bother looking up. We didn't hear any cannons today - nobody's died since the Bloodbath.
"Your District partner was up there yesterday, wasn't he?" Mandy asks as the music died away. "What was his story?"
"I knew of him back home, but not too well," I sigh, turning away from Mandy. I can't bear to think about Diego and how he should still be in here with me. How we would be in here together without this stupid twist. I don't want to talk about him, especially not with Mandy. And I don't want her to know that we were both orphans back in Eight - I don't need her pity.
As I glance behind me, I see that Princess and Zinnia are already dozing off.
"You go to sleep," I tell Mandy, trying to change the subject. "I'll take the first watch and then I'll wake you up."
Mandy nods, slowly laying back. Last night, we decided that it would make sense to take turns watching out for the other tributes rather than doing it together. It's better to learn how to adapt to the challenges that Princess and Zinnia throw at us than to fight back - the time for fighting is not now, and Mandy and I both know that.
"I'm sorry about bringing up your District partner," Mandy whispers, her eyes closed. "It was a dumb thing to do."
"It's okay, Mandy," I whisper back. "Go to sleep."
Mandy doesn't know any better - she's only fourteen, after all. I've practically raised kids her age and I know she was just trying to make conversation. But still, it hurts to think about him. For the last six months, Diego was my support system. In Eight he was the only one who understood what I was going through. He became like an older brother to me, and we fought together to give ourselves the best chance we could in here. And in the end, we were both dealt the worst possible hands.
I have to fight to make sure that all of our hard work together wasn't for nothing. Diego wouldn't have wanted me to stop fighting until the bitter, bitter end, and that's exactly what I plan to do. No matter who I have to step on to get there.