Chapter three: Holosity

I trudged back, alone, and afraid. What would I tell the others? That I wasn't responsible enough to look after Sara? Would they think I killed her? Or would they kill me? Whatever they will do, I am ready for it. I had to kill two Careers on my own. How did I do that? I had waited with her as she died and waited for the hovercraft to come for her. I cried for while. But as I reached our camp, they instantly knew what had happened, due to my blotchy, tear stained face.

'Who did it?' asked Sianer in a tearful voice, hugging me.

'Them from two. They got us from behind. I got her right away, because she did it, and was unarmed after lodging her knife in Sara's back, but it took a while for me to get him.' I croaked.

'What you took him alone? How?' asked an awestruck Alexita. I held up the trident I had taken from the boy from 6, who Sara and I had found. It still had blood on the tips.

'It's getting dark. They'll be up in a minute,' Sianer said sitting down beside Katia and Alexita. And sure enough, there in the sky was the Capitol Symbol with the anthem playing, followed by the boy and girl from one, the boy from Six and Sara, shining in the sky. That left nine. Nine still alive. How long had we been in the arena? A week? Two? It had to me at least 3.

Once the sky was normal, we set a fire and cooked the fish and rabbit, Katia and I caught the day before. Alexita went down by the lake to collect water, with his night glasses on, and returned about 10 minutes later with four full water bottles. I sat for a while with Sara's pack on my knee, staring into the fire. Sianer came and sat by me. She took the pack and emptied it before us. I saw Sara's spearheads, crackers, fruit bits, bottle, sleeping bag and watch laid before us all. We divided the contents up and I put the remaining empty bag into mine. It was Katia's turn for watch, so I dozed away, until sleep took me over completely. Dreams mangled with visions of the boy and girl from One and Sara and Ceaser Flickerman with Claudius Templesmith taunting me with the lives of my loved ones behind glass doors, having no way to save them. I was woken in the morning by Alexita, and new we had to move on by his fearful expression.

'What is it? What's happened?'

'Careers.' He pointed to the boy from three lying on the ground by the fire. A hovercraft appeared and took him away.

'What happened?' I asked jumping up.

'He went for you. We were sorting out the packs and the fire. We had our backs turned, until we herd him there. Sianer got there just in time!' said Katia walking over to give me my pack. It felt slightly heavier than usual.

'What was in his pack?'

Katia replied, 'two daggers, spear heads, a knuckle duster, and throwing stars. I put a dagger and the knuckle duster in your pack.'

I said a word of thanks and we set off, leaving no trace of our whereabouts, for any wary eye to notice. The day was long, and tiresome, and it was a shame to leave our spot, as it was well concealed and had a 10 minute walk to the lake. Now, as we moved further and further away from the lake, we lost a crucial necessity. We settled on a spot with thick oak trees and a few little hollow trunks here and there. I took to a hollow and concealed my pack and trident, as did Katia with her Spear, Sianer with her bow, arrows and Sword, and Alexita with his Bow and Arrow. It was good to be allied with them, as they were pleasant people and hunters. With two bows, a spear and trident at our sides, not to mention the wealthy packs full of smaller weapons, it seemed we were doing well for our selves. For the next week or so, there were no faces to see in the sky. Sianer and I went to hunt and try to find a water source while Alexita and Katia stuck about our new camp. It was a lengthy walk that brought us to a steep hill. We climbed. Every now and then, Sianer picked up a stone or a twig to see how far she could throw. She had a very good aim and threw well. One stone, she threw so far I could no longer see it – until it bounced back and hit me on the shoulder. 'Ow!' I rubbed the sore part and looked at Sianer. She squinted ahead, bow at the ready, waiting for someone to jump out from behind a tree to attack! I tightened my grip on the trident and held it aloft. We slowed our pace and continued with extreme stealth. After a few seconds, Sianer held up her hand to stop, and picked up another stone and threw it. I could see where it bounced back there. A force field. Or a barrier? Or a weapon? I looked around again to see Sianer hold out her hand to touch it. 'No! Don't,' I almost shouted. I took out a bit of badger meat and threw it at the force field. As I expected, it was roasted in an instant, while a little burnt around the edges. I gave it to Sianer, who took a bite out of the corner.

'Cooked! Right through!' she said, astonished.

I looked to my left, where I had heard a momentary rustle of leaves. 'Come on, lets get back,' I turned, but to be stopped, almost instantly, by a familiar face.

'Peeta?' Sianer ran forward to hug him. He hugged back, but he seemed in pain as he winced when she embraced him.

'Are you OK, Peeta?' I asked cautiously, as I saw he had a limp, a face covered in mud and blood and no weapon at hand. He and Sianer pulled away and she stood by me again.

'Well, I was attacked by Careers within the first few weeks and they took my weapons and left me for dead. That's when I pulled myself together, found the lake and started to try to mend myself. I ripped up my jacket and used the pieces to stop blood loss, and that helped a bit. So, here I am! What can you do?' he said in a calm voice. I opened my mouth to say something, but I was stopped by Sianer who pulled me to the side.

She whispered, 'Can he come with us?'

'What? Sianer, we can't trust him!'

'We can! I know him. I know we can trust him. Please Holosity! We can't just leave him!'

'Sianer, if this is about your little love life then fine. Also, I must agree, it would be the best addition for our welfare. But I don't want to end up at the end of the games with all of us not knowing what to do with each other. I don't want a bloody Career battle.'

'Holosity, it won't be like that.'

'How do you know? It happens all the time!' I paused and added, 'Okay, you talk to him alone…I'm going back to camp. Meet you there in a bit ok?'

'What? Will you be ok on your own?'

I smiled, 'Please, I'm a big girl with big bad weapons!'

She laughed and we turned to see Peeta picking at a bit of bark on a nearby tree. 'I'm going back. I'll see you guys in a bit, ok?'

Our last laugh together.