Thank you all for reading this far; this is my favorite story that I've written so far, and I hope you're enjoying it too. I love getting your reviews; they make my day whenever I receive one, so thank you again! I hope you like this chapter just as much as the others.
Chapter 29- Dexsia Greentree
The sun's been up for hours now, and by its position I can tell it's nearly noon. Yet none of my allies are awake. Even the cannon didn't wake them up. I wonder who got killed, and who did it. I've been sitting here in the mouth of the Cornucopia for hours, sipping water and eating some sort of jerky I found in with the supplies. I opted to take the watch after midnight; I don't trust the rest of them. They'll have to go once the District 5 tributes are eliminated.
But I've had enough of them sleeping and me keeping the only watch. They can get up too.
"Hey, sleepyheads! Wakey wakey!" I say loudly, clanging my sword against the side of the Cornucopia. Treasure shrieks a little, startling awake, while the others groan and roll over when they see me sitting here.
"What's your problem?" Cossus says, sitting up grumpily.
"I've been keeping watch for hours, and it's noon. Are you really going to sleep away Day 2? Did you even hear the cannon earlier?"
"What cannon?" Calypso says.
"The cannon that went off early this morning?"
"Why didn't you wake us?" Calypso asks, pushing her tangled hair out of her face. She doesn't look as put together as before, and it makes me secretly happy. Not sure why.
"If a cannon didn't wake you up, I doubt I could have. Come on, get some food in your stomach. Big day today," I say, grinning.
"Since when did you take over?" Velvet says, feeling for his sword.
"Since the rest of you didn't wake up until the day was half over. We have to be ready for anything," I say.
"I really hate to admit it, but she's right," Calypso says, standing up. "Kouza and Alyss will probably be hunting today, and I do not want to meet them unarmed and hungry."
"See?" I say, but shut up when the others glare at me.
The others dig around and pull out some food for themselves, eating with bleary eyes. Calypso goes to the back and rummages around some more.
"Hey, I got sunscreen!" she says, holding up a bottle. "What do you say we do some exploring today?"
"I'm not leaving camp to go hunt down some desert idiots," Velvet says, taking a bite out of some sort of sandwich.
"If we don't hunt them down, then we're just stuck here in the arena for longer," Calypso says.
"But I don't want to get sunburnt and tired!" Treasure says, combing out her hair with a brush she found. I roll my eyes.
"That's what we have the sunscreen for, so you don't get burnt. And we have to eliminate the others somehow."
"Wait for them to come to us," Cossus says. "There's not a lot of water out there; they'll have to come to the oasis."
"And then we hunt them down, Professor?" Calypso says, tilting her head.
"And then we kill them, yes."
"But they won't come if we're here," Treasure points out.
"Then let's hide somewhere. Wait for them to come to us. Then we strike," Cossus says.
I start formulating a plan in my head. "We have five of us, right?"
"Obviously, Dexsia," Velvet says.
"Well, why don't three of us go out into the desert to make them think we're gone, and the other two can hide and wait."
The others weigh the plan's merits. "I don't see why not," Calypso says. "And even if it doesn't work this way, maybe the troop in the desert can take down a tribute or two."
Velvet nods. "Sounds like a plan to me. Who goes with who?"
"I'll stay here!" Treasure says immediately. Of course, she doesn't want to leave the water and shade. Weak.
Calypso considers. "Velvet, why don't you stay here with Treasure? You two must know each other well," she says. "Cossus, Dex, and I can go out and look for some tributes. What do you say?"
"Alright," Cossus says, but he's clearly reluctant to go out. Why? What's with him?
"Put the fire out," Calypso says.
"The fire is out," I say.
"Well then, don't light it. The camp needs to look abandoned. Come on, pick a weapon and let's go."
The three of us who are leaving pull out backpacks full of supplies, including medical, food, and two bottles of water each. I slide a knife into my boot and another into my pack, then pick up my sword.
"I'm ready," I say. Calypso has a trident, which I don't understand because why would they give us tridents in a desert? It's probably the best weapon for her, but why offer it in this environment? Whatever. Cossus is holding a spear. Before we do anything else, we slather sunscreen all over ourselves.
"Excellent. Let's head out," Calypso says, looking at Cossus and me with approval. To Velvet and Treasure, she says, "Good luck you two; see you tonight."
"Good luck," Velvet says.
I can feel the heat of the sand even through my boots, and the sun beats down on the three of us as we walk through the sand drifts. It's an alien world, like how I imagine the moon would be like. It's not quiet though. You can hear wind whistling through the dunes like some sort of humming song, and you can hear our boots on the sand. Dust blows in my face and makes me cough and my eyes sting.
It's a beautiful but hellish place. The audience must love it. For the first time since I got in here, I think about the people at home. It's so easy to forget that there's another world outside this one, that this is only a creation. Remembering home reminds me that this is the Hunger Games and not my eternal reality.
We three pause at the top of one particularly large sand dune and look around. Sand and dust everywhere, except in the distance where you can see some trees by those big triangle buildings.
"I'm not going anywhere near those," I say, pointing. Calypso shakes her head.
"I get a bad feeling about that place," she says.
"So where do we go?" I ask.
"How about towards that person?" Cossus says, speaking for the first time in ages. He points to a distant speck in the distance of the trees.
"I thought we said we didn't want to go near those buildings," I say.
"We don't have to; whoever's out there is miles away from the buildings," Cossus says.
"Alright, let's go," Calypso says, and that settles the argument.
Going down the dune takes a bit more skill than climbing up; eventually I just slide down the best I can. Now I can't see that tribute anymore, but we have their general direction. Only problem is, this is a big arena. I can't even see the Cornucopia from here.
"Hold up," Calypso says, stopping. "I need water."
So do I, so I take one of my bottles out of my pack. The metal holds the coldness in, so it's a refreshing drink. Then I touch up my sunscreen, readjust the knife in my boot, and I'm ready to hit the dust again.
"It's beautiful here, isn't it?" Calypso says, looking around in wonder. "So different than home."
District 4, that would be oceans. Desert is pretty much the exact opposite of that.
After what I'm guessing is another hour in the hot sun, the terrain flattens out to more scrubland. There's some bushes, and we startle some deerlike animals away.
"Watch it!" Calypso says, shoving Cossus.
"What the hell?" he says, but then he sees it, the scorpion that he was about to step on.
"Watch your step, Professor," is all she says.
"Where's that tribute?" I ask, turning in a circle. There's nobody but us out here, and it's starting to scare me a little. The sky is blue without a cloud in it, making the arena seem endless.
"I don't know," Calypso says, but then her head whips around. "Shh!" she says.
Automatically my sword is ready in my hand. Who's here? Who's here?
Then I see him, peering over some rocks. Who is he? Together, the three of us move around to see him better. It's the boy from 9, the one who volunteered. Is he armed? I can't remember seeing him at the bloodbath yesterday. Trickles of sweat drip down from my forehead; my bangs are sweltering here.
Just as we're about to attack, the boy from 9 jumps out, waving a knife. His eyes are dark and dangerous. Three against one? He's betting on some pretty crazy odds here.
"How's the water supply?" Calypso calls out, smirking. He obviously isn't well prepared. I can see his cracked lips from where I'm standing.
"Just fine, thank you," he says, giving a cocky smile back. Obviously thirst hasn't affected his attitude. I wonder if getting speared through the heart will.
His smug look turns to horror very quickly though. Maybe he's realizing he's going to die, I think. But no, he's not looking at us, he's looking above us. Even though this might be a trick, I look up and back, and I scream.
Because there's a giant bird with talons outstretched coming at my head.