-Part Eight – Survival-
With the last of the morning lighting the sky, the last of the tributes headed out to their assigned work. Lovino and Ludwig were left at the camp with no work.
"We have to wait until someone comes back with food." Ludwig said, silencing Lovino's complaints.
"We should at least begin to boil some water. There isn't anything fresh around here."
"In what?" Ludwig asked with a sigh. "There's nothing here to put water in."
Lovino remained quiet and began idly walking around the clearing. Ludwig sat against a tree, drawing shapes into the ground with a stick.
"What weapons are we making?" Arthur asked Kiku as they scavenged through the forest for materials. "We don't have many choices."
"I was thinking of a spear. A simple hunting tool should be enough." Kiku replied, breaking a branch off a tree. He examined it and then removed the twigs. "This will be good. We can either sharpen it to a point of sharpen a rock and attach that."
"Making the branch sharp seems easier. Some rocks should be good enough to sharpen it with, right?"
"Perhaps…it will take a while though."
"Well, we have all day." Arthur replied. "Let's find a few more sticks and get back to camp."
Francis picked a few red berries off a bush and examined them in his hand. "Matthew, do you think it would be worth grabbing these berries?"
Matthew looked over at Francis. "What kind are they?"
"I forgot their name…but they're the berries with the small thorns on them. They hurt your mouth unless you pick off all of the thorns off."
"No, not yet. If we can't find anything else, we can grab them."
Gilbert rested in the branches of a tree he had been climbing. Below him, Antonio wandered around the field of flowers and wheat. "Do you know what time it is? If it's noon we should get back to work." Antonio asked, looking up at the tree.
"Don't ask me, I can't see the sun." Gilbert replied, looking overhead at the branches full of leaves. Pink sprouts of blossoms dotted the green.
"Fine…" Antonio sighed and he stepped away from Gilbert's view. The sun was, roughly, towards the center of the sky. A few stray clouds drifted through the sky. "I think it's noon. Get down from the tree."
"Yeah." Gilbert swung his legs to the side of the branch. He reached for another branch above him and jumped off. The branch he had grabbed for support snapped. Gilbert frantically reached out towards the other branches but hit the ground before he could stop his fall.
"Are you okay?" Antonio asked, running over to where Gilbert had fallen on his back.
"Of course I am…my ankle just hurts a bit." Gilbert muttered, sitting up.
"Did you break anything? You have to remember we're in the arena." Antonio said while helping Gilbert up.
Gilbert winced slightly as he pressed his injured foot on the ground. "It might be…sprained. But it's not that bad. I'll be fine."
"Do you think an animal would know the difference between a poisonous berry and a normal one?" Alfred asked, grabbing a glistening berry off a bush.
"Yes. They live here." Ivan replied with a sigh. He turned back to his trap he was crafting. He was almost finished, he just needed some string. "Denmark would let us have some fishing line, yes?"
"Maybe...I'm busy so stop talking." Alfred replied, looking around him for something.
"Okay. I'll be back in…an hour?" Ivan set down his almost complete trap and began walking away.
"Wait, wait!" Alfred yelled after him. "Matt said there were…animals here. Like wolves or bears. And we're supposed to stay together." He paused. "And I need some wire."
Ivan laughed quietly. "Come."
Denmark tossed the line into the water, this time with an odd insect attached. Yao, who was behind him, was waiting patiently for a catch. Neither of them had caught anything besides the string of grass that had caught Denmark's line.
"Have you noticed those fish?" Yao asked, still staring at the lake. "The big ones out in the distance."
Denmark looked to right, studying the glimmering waters. Then, for a few moments, a long shadow passed through the water. "That?" He asked, pointing at the movement. "There were a few of those in my district. They were rare. It could be a different fish though." He watched it for a few more seconds before turning back to his work.
"Could we use some fishing wire?" Ivan asked, stepping up onto the dock.
"Yes, are you making traps?" Yao asked, tossing Ivan a small ball of wire.
Alfred jumped onto the dock. "Yeah, I couldn't find anything else to use."
"Thank you for letting us use this." Ivan said, smiling and clutching the wire in his gloved hand.
"Yes. Good luck trapping." Yao replied, focusing on the water.
A few minutes later, Denmark felt a pull on his line. He looked down at the water and saw nothing. It was pulled again. Denmark, thinking it was another string of grass, pulled back on it lightly. The line was pulled out of the water, a small fish attached. "Well…I caught something." Demark announced as he examined the trivial fish.
Yao looked behind him and saw the small catch. "I don't think it'll feed anyone. You could try attaching it to the hook again."
"Yeah, that's what I was thinking." Denmark replied, standing up to adjust the fishing pole. Yao looked back at the water. The only fish he had seen were the large, distant ones.
With a sudden shift of the ground, Denmark lost his balance and fell into the lake. "What the hell?" Yao yelled, grabbing onto the edge of the dock and looking behind him for the missing tribute. 'Since when did the gamemakers include earthquakes?' He thought, trying to move towards the end of the dock towards land. Earthquakes could easily displace the lake's water.
About a minute later, Yao looked over at the water where Denmark had fallen in. He hadn't emerged yet even as the quake subsided. Yao stood up and walked over there carefully, watching the active waves cautiously. Yao jumped back when he saw Denmark breach the surface. Blood was streaming down his arm from a bite wound.
Yao ran towards him and tried to grab his hand, but Denmark was pulled back under. Yao continued to stare at the water in shock. 'What the hell is in there? A shark?' The dark water made it impossible for Yao to see Denmark. He crouched down and reached into the water quickly, hoping he was still able to rescue Denmark.
He felt his hand brush against Denmark's clothing. He then felt a fish swim beneath his hand, the fin slashing his palm. He swiftly pulled his hand out of the water and pressed it against his jacket.
Yao stood up and examined his injury. The fish's fin hadn't cut too deep, but his hand was already covered in blood. The water in the lake couldn't have been clean and the cut had a good chance of getting infected. He looked back at the water, which now had a faint red tint.
The infamous cannon fired and he heard the sound of an approaching hovercraft. Yao stepped back a few meters and watched as Denmark's body was lifted from the waters. Yao noticed several cuts similar to his and multiple bites.
"Who's dead?" A voice shouted. Yao turned and saw Alfred and Ivan standing near the edge of the forest. Yao walked over to them, keeping his injured hand pressed against his side.
"It was Denmark." Yao announced to the two. "The earthquake knocked him into the water and then…something attacked him. I think it was a fish for something. It was too small to be a shark."
"Wait…he was attacked by a fish?" Ivan asked, looking at Yao curiously. "He was from the fishing district, I'm sure it wasn't just a fish."
"I didn't see it! It could have been a shark, but a fish…cut my hand." Yao explained, hoping that they weren't accusing him of anything.
"…a fish cut you? Do they carry knives now?" Alfred asked skeptically.
"Its fin did." Yao carefully removed his hand and showed it to them. "I tried to pull him out, but a fish swam by my hand. I couldn't see anything, the water was too dark."
"That does look bad…" Alfred remarked, looking at the injury.
"I suppose we should be getting back to camp now." Ivan suggested and then looked over at the dock. "I'll go see if you're being honest later."