Chapter 19 - Let The Games Begin.
I expect some kind of a countdown or something, but nothing happens. These games are going to be different, I can tell. But the real question is, how different? Why am I here and who else is actually here? This has to be some sort of a trick or something. I cant be in the Hunger Games because we had no reaping or anything at all.
I stand up, looking at the weird synthetic suit thing that I'm wearing. I dont know where I got it from. Everything is just a blank from when I was in the woods. Did they erase my memory or something. Someone must have got me into this suit and someone must have dropped me in here. Why would someone do such a thing. Wait... 2 Victors, 2 citizens. That was this years surprise. Peeta, Delly. They must be in here somewhere. Who else would they have taken though? Who else did something wrong? Someone close to Peeta probably... Who could it be?
Rye. It has to be. Who's closer to Peeta then his older brother. Rye is the only one within the age gap. He was lying right next to me in the woods. They would have had good access to him. The question is, where the hell are any of them right now? What about Uncle Haymitch. They wouldnt have dropped 3 Victors in when the surprise was only 2. He must be in the Capitol. Or... what if they killed him? Or what if he is in here and Peeta is in the Capitol? All I know is that I have to find them. If they are still alive that is. I cant think about them being dead because its just not something that I can process in my mind.
I urge my feet to go forward through the thick bushes and twisting trees. Its so hot that I'm thankful for these stupid suits. They seem to be keeping my body temperature at the right level regardless of the temeperature around me because without even trying I can tell that its atleast double my body temperature. Even the leaves are feeling it. I touch just one leaf of this big bush, that doesnt look familiar in any way and its boiling, I cant even keep my hand on it for very long.
I'm now walking through the arena with nothing but my hands to protect me. And most of the time they reside on my belly. With everything I have in me, I will protect this baby. She cant die. Not if I'm never going to see Peeta again. I need to have something of him. Plus, he would want me to put her first so thats what I'm going to do. A thought runs through my head. If this is the Hunger Games then they have to have their winner. I cant let Peeta, Delly or Rye die, but who would survive if it came down to it? No doubt they would try and save me but I cant let that happen.
I'm startled by a sound to my right, I jump back, pulling myself behind a tree and watch as someone walks out into the clearing that I just walked through. I dont recognise him at all but by my guess he is about 18/19. He's very muscly and his brown hair and hazel eyes scream district 7. He looks confused as he stumbles around and for some reason I feel like I can trust him. It doesnt make any difference though, I still stand behind the tree in terror though as he stumbles closer to me. "I know you're there." He says and his voice sounds quite deep for a teenager. He definitely isnt a Victor which means he's never been in an arena before. "I wont hurt you, I promise." His voice is full of compassion as I lean my head around the tree.
"How can I trust you?" I ask him and he chuckles slightly.
"Optimistic. I like that. I guess whether you trust me or not is up to you but can you please tell me where I am?" He asks. I guess they dropped us all in here.
"The Hunger Games." I say quietly.
"No, I cant be. I was at home, going to bed and then I wake up in the woods about 20 minutes ago. You're the first person that I've seen." He carries on looking at me and I pull myself out from the tree. He isnt holding a weapon so he isnt too much of a threat and when he see's me stomach, his eyes grow wide. "Are you-" I nod, cutting him off. "Oh. You can trust me. You're Katniss... Everdeen... Right?"
I feel myself standing tall at the mention of my name."Katniss Mellark but who's asking and how do you know me?" I ask him.
"Oh right yeh, you got married to Peeta Mellark. Sorry... I didnt mean to annoy you, I'm Rowan, Rowan Mason." The stranger says to me and I nod.
"Mason? As in Johanna?" I ask him and he nods in reply. "Is she your sister?" He nods again and I smile. "So, how do you know me?"
"Me and Jo where watching tv when your broadcast went up. You're the one that started the rebellions." He says. "Trust I'm not going to hurt you. I'm on your side." He smiles and I smile in return. I'm not sure if I trust him fully but it would help to have an ally.
"Okay fine. But just to let you know. If you do kill me then Peeta would come after you." I say to him.
"I'm willing to take that chance." He says with a laugh and I laugh back stepping forward. "Whats the plan then?" He asks.
"I dont know I havent thought that far ahead, I'm still having a hard time believing that I'm here." I say to him and he nods in understanding.
"So how did you end up here?" He asks.
"My district was bombed. I went to save Peeta and they where taking him, Delly and Uncle Haymitch into a hovercraft. We fleed and they found us. I was asleep when they took me." I tell him. I'm unsure why I'm telling him all this but I feel like I can.
Confusion spreads across his face as he looks at me. "So why are they doing this?" He finally asks.
"Its what they wanted. 2 Victors, 2 Citizens. The 75th Hunger Games." I say and terror reaches his face this time.
"Wait, One Male and Female Victor and One Male and One Female citizen. My sister is the only Female victor from 7. She must be here somewhere. But it was the night before the reaping. Why didnt they just wait?" He looks at me again. I'm not quite sure why actually.
"I dont know. It might have something to do with volunteers. They cant control volunteers. If they want someone specific to go in, I suppose you got to do it this way." I say and take a few more steps out into the clearing.
"Well, if there is 24 Victors and 24 citizens in this arena, then I want to be armed. I think we should find the Cornucorpia and get some weapons." He says and I nod. He motions towards the trees that we where both walking the direction of and tells me to go first but I dont trust him enough to walk infront of him yet so he goes first and I bring up the rear.
We carry on through the trees, not seeing a single person. Each tree just starts to look the same as we carry on past midday and into the afternoon. By 10pm we are still walking and I'm absolutely knackered. Thats when Rowan suggests that we settle down for the night. He gathers some of the large leaves and begins creating a little bed under the shade of some trees. He says that if we split the night to both keep watch then we should be okay. He will go first which I would protest about but I'm too tired and he refuses to let me, saying that I need my sleep. I dont argue and I'm asleep rather quickly. Well atleast I think I sleep. I'm awoken by Rowan what feels like 2 seconds later.
"Katniss, you need to get up!" He shouts and I shoot up into a sitting position. I can hear the sound of running water. "We need to go come on!" I turn to the sound and thats when I see a massive wave heading our way from up the hill. I jump up to my feet with a little help from Rowan but when we set off running, I just know that we arent going to make it in time. Its going to catch us and there is nothing we can do about it.
Its only a matter of time before my legs are engulfed by water and I'm swept off my feet, landing in water. Rowans hand is still in mine and I cling on to it as I feel my legs hit a tree. I try to yelp out in pain but my lungs just fill with water so I close my mouth and grab Rowan's hand with my other one. Just as my hand touches his, he is jolted away from me and he's gone. Inside I'm screaming but outside I cant really scream. I cant see and my legs feel broken.
I find the top of the water and poke my head out, screaming at the top of my lungs. "Rowan!" No answer. The water sweeps me under again and mid scream, my lungs fill up with water again, my head starts to fell light and I grab hold of my belly as the water carries on pushing me towards something. I let my eyes close and the darkness takes me.
"Katniss?" I hear behind me and I turn around to see Peeta standing in the tree line. He has his arms open wide and I run into them. Running through the sand proves quite hard but eventually I get there and I fall into him. "I missed you." He says and I smile into his chest.
"I missed you too. Where have you been?" I ask him, pulling away.
"We dont have time for that. Just wake up." He says to me and I start to shake my head.
"But I'm not asleep. I cant be. I just found you." I say in disbelief. I've been looking for him, I know that. I have no idea where I was or who I was with but I do know that I was looking for him and now I've found him and he's trying to tell me that I'm asleep when I cant be.
"Wake up Katniss." He begins to shake me quite violently and I try to push him off me but he just keeps shaking me.
"I'm- NOT ASLEEP-" I shout but he's not having any of it.
"I promise, I'll see you soon, just wake -"
"- Up Katniss!" Someone shouts, pulling me out of my slumber. Its Peeta, its got to be. That was his voice after all. "Katniss?" The shaking stops as my eyes open into slits. I cough, water spraying all over my face and I try to focus on who is leaning over me. "Its okay, its gone." He says and I sigh in relief, still coughing. I try to move my legs so that I can turn to the side but he has to do it for me. My legs seem useless as I cant move them at all. Thats when I realise that it isnt actually Peeta, it is infact Rowan. Peeta isnt here.
"W-What happened?" I choke out. Rowan pulls me up into a sitting position and I notice that he has the top half of his suit off and tied round his waist. in the left side of his torso is what is effectively a big purply green dint. He must have been hit pretty hard.
"I dont know. Some kind of wave. You hit your legs pretty hard on a tree. I had hold of your hand but I slammed into what I think was a tree and damaged my rib cage. I hit my head pretty hard too. But your legs are dislocated. Its okay, I pushed them back in the right places but you wont be able to walk just yet." He explains. "In good news though, we found the cornucorpia." He motions to his right and I can see the silver tail of the cornucorpia through the darkness. Its on its own island over more water. I think I've had enough of water to last me a lifetime at this point. Luckily we dont have to go in the water though as there are some little pathway things through the water. 2 Tribute stands are in between each one.
PEETA POV-
We've been in this arena for almost a week now and nothing has really happened. We lost Mags a couple of days ago to the acid fog. Now its just me, Finnick and Delly. Yesterday was the only day that made us confused. Underneath us the floor started to shake and I just remember it happening for about 5 minutes before finally it stopped and the voice came over the speakers saying 'Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the 75th Hunger Games.' Me and Finnick went to see the Cornucorpia but it was exactly the same as it was when we left it about a week ago so there couldnt have been new tributes. That is until 2 hours later when we found someone that was not a Victor. Kai Odair. He was passed out and when we woke him up he had no recolection of how he got here.
"One minute, I was watching you on tv and the next minute, I'm here. Finn, where am I?" He asks his older brother.
"Kai, you're in the Hunger Games. I'm so sorry. But I promise I will keep you safe." Finn replies, stroking Kai's arm as if trying to keep him calm but it doesnt seem to be working as Kai seems more freaked out than he was before.
"Where did he come from?" Delly asks from behind me and I turn to face her.
"I'm not sure but I think there are more of them coming." I say to her and horror spreads across her face almost instantly.
She looks into my eyes and places one hand on my left arm. "Peeta, 2 Citizens and 2 Victors." Is all she says and my heart drops into my stomach. That means that there are 2 citizens in here from 12. But who? and where? "I'm sorry Peeta but I think it might be Katniss. Snow has more reason than any to send her into here after what she did." I feel the tears in my eyes and all the oxygen seems to have gone from my chest as I fight for breathe, dropping my knife to the ground.
Katniss is in here, she has to be. I have to find her, I know I do but how?
"Peet? You alright?" Delly asks, breaking me out of my thoughts.
"Yeh sorry. Just thinking." I reply. She hands me a fish that Finnick caught from the water around the cornucorpia and I smile at her, taking a bite out of the horrid fish. Its nowhere near nice but I'm hungry so I need to eat. If I want to keep my strength up to find Katniss then I'm going to need to eat. "What time is it?" I ask her.
"Just coming up 1, I think." She replies and I nod. "Dont worry, we will go for her soon."
About 5 minutes later, we are all just sitting there eating out fish when a scream comes from further up into the woods. Its not Katniss, I dont know who it is all I know is that we have to move incase someone comes out of there, trying to kill us. Overhead, a crack of lightening flashes through the sky and the thunder is not far after. Finn looks at me, raising his eyebrow and I shrug my shoulders. I have absolutely no idea what is going on.
Thats when the rain starts. I open my mouth wide, welcoming the taste of water. We havent had anything to drink since yesterday morning and thats only because Finn cant find a decent tree to tap. Haymitch sent us down a spile and after a day of confusion, Delly finally figured out what it was. Its usually for getting sap but these trees have running water through them.
The rain hits my tongue harder than normal and I think nothing of it until the next drop comes and it burns my tongue. I recoil and look towards Delly. She has her hands over her head, wincing at every drop. Thats when I realise that the rain is red. Wait... this isnt rain, its blood. I jump to my feet instantly and grab the first person I can, Kai, I think and we set off running in a direction. If we run for long enough maybe we will find a way out. Im blind and cant see where I'm going. The blood is filling my mouth and the gags start in my throat as I hear Kai coughing behind me.
KATNISS POV
Monkeys. We are surrounded by monkeys. Large monkeys. I've never seen one this big before. "We need to get back to the beach." Rowan whispers to me but I cant seem to move. My bow is ready with an arrow in it but the Monkeys arent moving at all. They are all just staring at us as if ready to attack but they dont. Their look is almost human-like, the way that they stare at us like we are going to attack first. I've seen that look before. Its the look on Gale's face before he makes a kill in the woods. Or atleast it was.
I can feel Rowan tugging on my arm to get away but I know that I cant move. One thing you learn from years of hunting, when they are about to attack, you dont move a muscle. "Wait. Stay still." I whisper his way and the tugging stops. I can hear the frightened breathes coming from him as he steps slowly back into place beside me.
Everything seems to be going alright until one of the springs itself in my direction. Its too close to get an arrow, all I can do is fend it off with my bow but it isnt worth putting the baby in danger for so I wrap my arms around myself and spin so that the blow would hit my back but it never comes. I hear the sound of Rowan grunting and then a small whimper from the Monkeys and I turn around to see that the Monkey that pounced now has Rowan's axe in the back of its head. Thats when everything turns to chaos and all the Monkeys fly our way. "Get to the beach!" I shout and Rowan turns on his heal and sets off back the way we came. I'm not sure what is waiting for us on the beach but it cant be any worse than this.
One of the Monkeys descends from the trees above, heading straight for Rowan. I quickly arm my bow and let the arrow go. It flies through the air and hits its target quickly. The dead Monkey falls in front of Rowan who neatly jumps over it and carries on towards the now visible Cornucorpia.
I'm stopped in my track by a horde of the creatures all coming for me. Rowan runs on ahead, oblivious of the events behind him. I arm my bow and take down a few of them but its not enough. I see a little opening where I just shot the last one down and I take my chance. I'm more than tired now but I know that I have to get away from these monkeys. If not for me then for Hope and Peeta. I need to find him and make sure he is okay before I die. I push past 2 monkeys, setting off again in Rowan's footsteps, but not before one of their teeth catch me and my skin splits at the top of my right arm. Thats going to leave a mark.
The beach is getting closer now, I can see it more clearly. Rowan is there catching his breathe. The creatures are behind, catching up really quickly. I can feel them on my legs and my back but luckily I make it there before they can do any damage and as soon as my foot hits the sand, the monkeys fall away and slunk back into the forest as if their is an invisible wall up just here. I stop to catch my breath but my legs give up and I fall to the floor cradling my stomach where Hope has just woken up and started kicking me. My mind takes me back to the last night I had with Peeta and how the baby setlled down for him and I can feel the tears spilling over my eyes before I even know its happening. I wish he was here beside me to tell Hope that everything will be okay but he isnt and I doubt that she will listen to me at all. "I know baby, its okay. We are out now." I say to her and Rowan turns around to face me.
"What?" He asks breathlessly.
"I was talking to my baby. You alright?" I ask him.
"No. I cant breathe. One of them got me." He pulls back a little flap of fabric on his chest to reveal a really deep gash that had to be atleast 6 inches long. "You okay?"
I think about lying and say that I'm fine but thats not going to help anyone and he told me the truth. "I got one on my arm but I'll be fine for now. Lets get you looked at." I motion for him to sit down and I pull myself over to him, removing the top half of his suit, now noticing just how much blood there is. Its already covered his entire chest and most of his torso. "Right, you've lost a lot of blood. I'm gonna have to patch this up somehow." I rack my brains for anything my mother ever made me collect in the woods.
Yarrow. Mum always got me going out in the woods for a plant called Yarrow. Its meant to help stop respiratory problems and stop internal bleeding but it should work in this case. But do they have it in these woods. I'm meant to make it into a tea but the best I could do is use some berries or something to create a kind of medicine. "I'll be back in one second. I have an idea." I stumble away from him and back into the jungle. The Monkeys dont seem to be coming back so whats the harm. Luckily the Yarrow isnt hard to locate as it seems to be everywhere. I pick up most of one of the plants, so I can store some of it if we need it and go on a search for some berries. It seems harder to find them so I have to settle with some oranges that I find in a nearby tree.
I join Rowan back on the beach and begin to crush the Yarrow in a large leaf that I found. Once its completely crushed into tiny little pieces, I use Rowan's axe to cut an orange in two before squeezing the contents of the orange into the leaf. "Right now drink up, it'll help." He follows my orders and its gone pretty quickly.
"You really know what you're doing with this stuff." He replies with a laugh.
"Yeh, My Mother's a healer, you kind of pick it up. Now I'll just go and get some leaves to cover up your wound. You lie down and get some sleep, I'll keep watch." He nods and lies back on the sand, closing his eyes. I grab some leaves and apply them to his chest.
I find more Yarrow whilst I'm there and deside to crush it for myself. It might help with my little cut on my arm. No harm done if it doesn't help. Once its all done, I grab my bow and take a seat next to a sleeping Rowan. I think maybe it would be better to stay on the beach from now on as everytime we have been in the woods, something bad has happened.