Author's Note: Hey, guys! Here's another chapter—the second to last one, if you don't count the epilogue. I hope you are all enjoying the story; please don't forget to review as we near the end!
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When I am a hundred yards into the woods, I look back and don't see any sign of pursuit. I keep running for five minutes and then take to the branches above. This, of course, slows my going, but if Cato is running after me, he'll never see me in the trees. The lightning presents a danger, but I don't feel that the odds of my specific tree being struck are that great, so I disregard the possibility of being fried.
Reality seems unreal now; the world, with its sounds, sensations, and sights, is distant to my eyes. I am running because I know I am supposed to, but I am hardly afraid. In fact, I don't feel anything. If I make it somewhere safe alive, I may very well weep for Thresh. But now my body has shut my thoughts and emotions off, and I suppose that is for the best. It may help me survive.
When at least an hour has passed since I ran from the field, I climb up higher into the trees and stop, giving my worn out legs a rest. Now that my mind has more opportunity, I know I need to consider what to do next. My strategy failed to keep Thresh alive, and for a moment I wonder if it's failed altogether. But then I remember that the tributes from 12 are still alive, and while I may not be very welcome with them, I know I have to try to continue with my strategy.
After I've rested a bit, I continue through the tree tops. I think the rain is dissipating now, and the lighting and thunder have ceased. I try to calculate what time it is, but I can't put all the events of today together without some sort of landmark—like the sun's location in the sky—to guide me. I decide to keep going until it's too dark to see.
The day seems much longer than normal as I continue through the forest, and I wonder if things happened more quickly in the field than I thought. But even though I am very near my physical limit, I keep on walking and climbing as long as there's light to do it. At last, I am sure that it is darker than before. The rain is only a drizzle now, and I hope it stops altogether soon. The anthem plays and I finally stop my trek. Thresh's face appears overhead, but I try not to think about him as I find a cozy tree and tie myself to a branch. I fall asleep almost instantly.
I don't wake up until dawn the next morning. The skies are clear, but I am still wet and cold from the night before. Cato is nowhere to be seen, and I believe he has probably gone after 12 at this point. I groan as I realize that this means I have to get to Katniss and Peeta first, and after sleeping for so long and using the treetops to travel, I am probably far behind Cato. And I don't even know where the tributes of 12 are.
Before I can leave, the grief of Thresh's death hits me like a battering ram. I bend over and cry and cry and cry, heedless of nothing else except the fact that he's gone. By the time I have more control of myself, my eyes are red and puffy and my nose is running. I drink some water and fill up my bottle from a puddle, and then I truly do start out.
My biggest problem is that I don't know where I am. Thresh and I took so many turns in the field, and even when I was by myself in the woods, I purposefully did not keep a straight path. So when I come across a very tall tree, I climb up as I high as I can and try to get a look around.
I only see a mass of trees in every direction, but to my left, I see one area where the trees seem to end for a while and then pick up again, though I can't be sure since the ground is obscured be the branches of other trees. That could be the Cornucopia, and since it can't be more than a couple miles from here, I strike out in that direction.
Since I continue to travel in the treetops, it's slow going to the treeless place. It takes well over an hour to arrive, but when I do, I am rewarded with the sight of the Cornucopia, sitting all alone and glistening in the sun. Most of the grass around it is dry, and I wonder how much it rained here. I take a chance and cut straight across the field, but since Cato is going after 12, I'm not too worried. Even if he does chase me, at least I can lead him away from my potential allies.
I am just thinking about the other tribute, the girl from 5, when a cannon booms. I stop in my tracks and look up, glad for once that without the trees above, I have a full view of the sky. A hovercraft comes into the Arena and lifts a body out, carrying it off. I take note of where it landed, but I am not sure if I should strike out for that location.
If it was the girl from 5, it is likely that Cato found her and killed her. If it was a tribute from 12, then I should hear another cannon soon, for if they are a team, I don't think one will get killed without the other either dying or killing the attacker. I seriously doubt Cato has been killed, though I suppose it's possible. No matter the case, it seems like Cato will be there.
I shrug my shoulders and decide to risk it. If Cato is there, I will just have to make sure he doesn't see me. Maybe it would be a good thing if I find him; then at least I'd know where he is and therefore erase the worry of the unknown.
Before going, I check around the Cornucopia to see if there are any supplies I can snag. The explosion seems to have demolished everything, and if there had been some items left over, they have been scavenged. But I take the opportunity to eat in a place with 360 degrees of view of my surroundings, and I feel better when I start going again.
The hovercraft must have been further off than I thought. I have not seen Cato or the tributes from 12, and at dusk I am still a good hour's journey from the spot where the body was found. I would rather not travel at night; the past forty-eight hours of travel are taking their toll on me. I find a tree and secure myself to it just in time to hear the anthem play. The face of girl from 5 appears, and I can't help but be glad that this means both Katniss and Peeta are alive. But I am still sorry for the red head, and as I fall asleep, I imagine a world without the Games and the premature death they bring.
The following morning, I finish my last handful of nuts and water supply. I can't go without water for long, so as I begin progressing through the forest, I keep my eyes open for steams or pools. Finally I locate a stream, but it is bone dry. At first that strikes me as odd, but then I know the reason: the Gamemakers are drawing us all back to the lake.
I can't help but stomp my foot. Now the best way to find Katniss and Peeta is to go all the way back to the Cornucopia. I could of course continue to look for them in the woods, but if I miss them and we end up going in opposite directions, I'll find myself in the middle of nowhere without allies or water.
Since I know Cato will be heading back to the Cornucopia too, I should be extra cautious. But I'm tired of traveling in the branches when it's so much more efficient to go on foot. I pick up a couple of rocks, just in case I need ammunition, and stay on the ground. Throwing is something I am decent at only when the distance between me and a target is short, but hopefully it'll be enough if the time comes.
It is barely noon when I get back to the Cornucopia, but already the sky is growing dark. This is concerning, and I wonder how far behind the other tributes are. With the time I have, I go to the lake and drink my fill, glad to have water that is more or less clean. I have been fortunate not to get sick, even with my strong immune system.
Then I hear something rushing through the forest, and I snap my head up. Surely whatever it is must be big, at least a tribute if not more than one. But why the running? I figure Cato has found Katniss and Peeta, so I grab my rocks and begin to cautiously sneak towards the disturbed tree line. But before I reach it, Cato bursts into the open and sprints straight towards the Cornucopia. Behind—not in front—of him are the "star-crossed lovers" from 12.
My mind only reels for a second, because everything becomes clear when the first mutt emerges from the trees.
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Remember to give me some feedback! I'd really appreciate it in this trying time. *glares at mid-terms and the final week of regular season baseball*