Chapter 30- Dove Rosestar
When I wake up, I'm face down in the sand. Choking on dust and dirt, I roll over, only to see the blue sky above me and nothing else. Where am I? What's happened? I'm so thirsty I think I'm dying. I probably am dying.
With effort, I push myself into a sitting position. Where am I? There's nothing but sand around me, and I'm alone. What on earth is going on? I hear nothing but the occasional whistle of wind as it comes through the sand dunes.
Cabel! Where's Cabel? My foggy brain clears just enough for me to remember my brother. Is he somewhere around here? I'm so weak I can't stand; I need water! How long have I been out here? A day? A few hours? The sun is low in the sky; I can tell it's going to be dark soon. So where am I? I look around, but nothing gives me any clue.
There's some cacti near me, so I drag myself over to them. Desperate times calls for desperate measures. Grabbing a rock nearby, I knock some of the cactus- leaves? Arms? Whatever they are, I break them off and smash them to bits with the rock. Like I saw in the edible plants unit at Training. There's a little bit of juice that runs out, and I pour it into my mouth. It doesn't taste good, but it's better than dehydrating to death. After I get my thirst quenched a little- it's not the best- I sit back and try to remember how I got here.
With my brain working better, I remember this morning- the spiders! I clap my hand over my mouth to keep from screaming. The spiders! The pyramid!
I woke Cabel up when the first leg came around the corner. "Run! Run!" I screamed. He woke up and pushed me out of the pyramid, down ten feet or so to the ground. We were fast getting out of there, but the spiders were faster. Giant, hairy spiders, pouring out of the pyramid, some of them taller than me and as wide as a truck. Absolutely terrifying. They had red eyes and giant pincers that they clacked together. I've never liked spiders, but six foot tall hairy spiders are worse than anything I've ever had a nightmare about.
"Dove, run!" Cabel screamed, grabbing my hand and making me run, because I was paralyzed with fear. But I ran after that. The spiders were faster, though. We were moving over the sand as fast as we could run, and then they caught up with us. There must have been ten or twelve of them behind us. I felt one leg grab my ankle, and then the world went mad.
"Dove! Dove!" Cabel yelled. The leg gripped my ankle tighter, then it unexpectedly let go, sending me flying. When I looked back, the spiders were blown away by a sudden wind, them tumbling back towards the pyramids.
"Dove! Are you okay?" Cabel shouted over the wind.
"I'm okay!" I yelled, tears pouring down my cheeks. It wasn't over, though. The wind became a tornado, whirling around me, and then it picked me up. I heard Cabel yell my name again, and then I must have blacked out, because I remember nothing else.
And now I'm here. In the middle of the desert. Alone. Drinking cactus.
Where's Cabel? Is he okay? Is he dead? Did I miss his cannon? Where're the spiders? Did they go back for Cabel? Did he get kidnapped by a dust tornado? I have so many questions without answers. All I know is that Cabel is definitely missing.
My hair has come loose from the pigtails they were put in yesterday morning. I'm starving, and I don't have any real water. Not to be pessimistic or anything, but I'm a goner. Not going for the supplies was a huge error on my part, and I regret it.
With the sun setting so fast, it's time that I got a move on, time to get some shelter. My face and arms are brutally sunburnt, I can feel them stinging. Every time I move my head I wince. But the air isn't as hot as it was earlier; it's cooling now, and that makes me even more worried. What am I going to do in the dark?
I try to stand, but my legs are shaky under me. There's no way I'll be able to move on tonight. What about tomorrow? Think Dove, think! What did you learn in training? You learned how to throw a knife and climb some ropes, I think. I did visit the shelter unit. What did I learn?
I'm going to have to dig.
With my last remaining strength, I dig down into the sand, building the dirt up on three sides like I was taught. I had learned a shelter for the woods, for snow, and luckily, for the desert. Guess which one I'm using?
Once I get about two feet down, I pull some shrubs over and put it over top of the hole. Voila! A very poorly made desert shelter! It's all I can do to crawl in. It's not deep and not very long, but if I squish, I just fit. Welcome home, Dove.
I watch the sky through the holes in my roof as it turns from blue to purple and pink, and then to a deep navy blue. Then it's black, and I can see the stars above me like I've never been able to see them before. The heat of earlier today has completely vanished, leaving me shivering in my hole. Please don't let anyone find me. Let me die here in peace. I doubt I'll last another day.
Something lands next to me, making me startle. An enemy? A desert creature that wants to kill me? A giant spider? It doesn't sound like any of those. Curiosity gets the better of fear, and I pop my head out. I can't see anything, but I reach my hand out and feel a soft piece of fabric. A parachute! A gift from a sponsor!
The sky lights up then with the Capitol seal, giving me just enough light to look at my prize. It's two things, actually. One is a bottle full of actual water; when I open it, it's still cold! The other is a pot of hot stew, along with a spoon. Thank you, Lexa!
I don't hesitate to dig into the stew and don't even pay attention to the sky until the Capitol seal shows again with a musical flourish, then leaves me in darkness.
That's okay. I have food, I have water. This will get me to tomorrow, when I find water and Cabel.
I eat half the stew, then wrap the pot up in the parachute it came in. After another sip of water, which brings it down to half empty, I curl up around my gifts and actually manage to go to sleep.