[26] - Rochelle

I let Mandy sleep through the night, and she looks much better when the sun rises in the morning. We waste no time leaving - I have a strong suspicion that Princess and Zinnia will be out looking for us since we took most of their supplies.

Mandy must have been lying to me when she said that I would get used to the desert heat, because it only seems to be getting worse. Maybe it's the lack of sleep that I've been getting, but the heat seems to be affecting me more and more, and it's getting harder to keep up with Mandy.

"Mandy," I gasp to the girl ahead of me. "I need to stop."

My shirt is drenched in sweat, and I can't stop gasping for air. Ahead of me, Mandy looks completely fine; for the first time since I entered the Arena, I feel like a liability. We'd be able to move much faster if I didn't struggle so much with the heat.

"Here," Mandy says, pulling a spare sock from her bag. She pours a small amount of water from her canteen and passes it to me. "Stretch this out and wrap it across your forehead."

I don't question Mandy - she clearly knows more about this stuff than I do. I was right to trust her - the makeshift headband cools my head down and helps with my headache almost immediately.

"Okay, let's go," I call, shouldering my bag. I glance behind me as we continue into the desert.

It takes almost all day, but we finally make our way to the base of the largest dune. It looks like a mountain ahead of us, and it's a steep climb all the way up to the top.

"We have to get up as quickly as we can," I tell Mandy as we start our ascent. "Everyone for miles around will be able to see us, and they might try to follow us up."

By 'everyone,' I mean Princess and Zinnia. I know that the moment we become visible, they'll be chasing us, so we need to get a good headstart.

Fortunately, the damp cloth feels cool against my forehead as Mandy and I climb the dune, and it's easier to push the heat to the back of my mind. Regardless, the climb is no easy journey. The incline is so steep that we have to slow to a crawl, and each step is more difficult than the last. My legs burn with exertion; after a while, I start walking backwards up the hill to use different muscles, but those muscles quickly get tired as well.

Finally, I see Mandy begin to struggle as much as I am. Neither of us are built for a climb like this, and it's even harder with the sun beating down on us.

We're about two-thirds of the way up the massive dune when Mandy finally stops. "We need a break," she decides, laying against the side of the dune. I lay down beside her; the sand is hot beneath my skin, but I don't care anymore.

"Nice job," I tell Mandy as I try to catch my breath. "I'm impressed that we got this far."

"It was definitely harder than I thought it would be," Mandy sighs, looking up at the clouds. "We'd better be able to see the boys when we get to the top."

As we lapse back into silence, I finally take the opportunity to take a look at the Arena. Even though we're not at the peak yet, the view from this high up is incredible; we can see the entire desert from here, spanning as far as the eye can see. I cheer as I see a few small dots in the distance.

"That looks like people, Mandy!" I say excitedly, pointing the people out to the girl next to me. It looks like two of them; they're too far away to distinguish who it is. "Hopefully, we'll be able to see everyone on the other side, too."

Mandy nods, looking out at the Arena ahead of us. Suddenly, she gasps, her gaze now focused below us. I look down as well to see two more dots at the base of the sand dune. Unlike the other two, these two are close enough to distinguish: Zinnia and Princess. They look mad, and they're following us.

"They're running," Mandy groans. "We need to go!"

Mandy's right - the girls are moving up the incline much faster than we were, and if we don't hurry and get to the top of this dune, they'll definitely catch up to us.

"Alright, let's push our way up," I say, mostly to myself. "Almost there."

In reality, we're not really 'almost there' - it took us about half an hour to get up this high, and it'll probably take another fifteen minutes to reach the top. I can't think about that now, though. We just have to keep pushing.

My legs burn as I follow Mandy up the dune. The higher we get, the harder the climb becomes; the incline seems to be getting steeper and steeper, and the sand keeps sliding out from under my feet as I walk.

"Come on, Rochelle!" Mandy groans. "Five more minutes!"

She's right - I can see the top of the dune above me, but it's almost a vertical climb up. I wobble a bit as sand slips away from under me, but I quickly steady myself. If I tumble down now, I could lose minutes of progress, or even worse, my life.

I glance down at the girls below us. They've definitely gained ground on us; I can hear Princess grunt with exertion as she chases after us. Mandy and I are close to the top now, but I'm starting to doubt that we'll be able to make it up without running into the Careers first.

"Rochelle, come on!" Mandy calls; I can hear the desperation in her voice. We're not going to make it at this rate - I have to act fast.

Making a quick decision, I dig my foot into the side of the sand dune and kick outward, sending a spray of sand at the girls below me. A few seconds later, I hear screams; dramatic as ever, Princess doesn't stop spitting out sand for at least ten seconds.

Satisfied with my distraction, I push the other girls to the back of my mind as I turn and follow Mandy. We've spent all day climbing this dune, and we spent five days getting here in the first place. We can't mess this up now; if we get to the top of this dune and can't find the boys, it'll be the end for both of us.

My ears pop as I climb the mound of sand; the climb eventually becomes steep enough that I have to use my hands to climb as well. Finally, at long last, Mandy reaches the top, and she helps haul me to the top.

I could cry. I lay across the top of the dune, resting my aching back. "That was the hardest thing I've ever done," I tell Mandy earnestly as I struggle to catch my breath. "The hardest physical thing, at least."

"Well, half of climbing like that is mental," Mandy says. "Look at this view, Rochelle."

I reluctantly sit up to look over the Arena. For the first time, I can see the other side of the giant mound. The desert seems to go forever; in the distance, I see a metal Cornucopia surrounded by an oasis of water. That's odd - the girls didn't have any water around our Cornucopia, so the boys were given an advantage in that respect.

Mandy gasps, pointing below us. "Look, Rochelle!" she cries. "It's Pollux!"

My heart leaps as I follow Mandy's pointing finger. Below is us a person, but they're just a tiny dot from up here.

"Are you sure that's Pollux?" I ask, squinting my eyes. "That could be anyone."

"That's him," Mandy says confidently. "I have great eyesight."

That makes me nervous - if Pollux is down there, then where is August? In my heart, I'm hoping that Mandy's wrong and it's August who's down there waiting for us to descend. Either way, we need to get down there and get some answers.

I hear a quiet grunt from behind me, and I snap my head back; I forgot that the Careers were still close on our tail. They're only about 100 meters away from us now; Princess glares at me, baring her teeth, as she expertly scales the wall of sand below us.

"That's Pollux for sure," Mandy repeats excitedly, oblivious to the approaching girls. She's still squinting down at the boy below us.

"Perfect," I murmur, rising to my feet. "Close your eyes."

Without a moment of hesitation, I extend my leg, kicking Mandy down the slope ahead of us.