"Wake up!" October called into the mouth of the Cornucopia, banging the handle of a knife against a metal pot she'd found at the bottom of one of the supply stacks. She smiled as Cedar and Levi sat up, both of them looking around wildly. She waved at them and received scowls.
"What was that for?" Cedar questioned crossly.
"You two sleep too much," she replied with a falsely bright tone. She was attempting to appear likeable for the audience. It was going poorly. "It's time to get up and face the day."
Levi laid back down, pulling his sleeping bag over his head. "Why?" he asked, his voice muffled by the insulated material.
"It won't be long before the Gamemakers get bored," October explained, setting down her knife and pot. "We haven't done anything. They're going to drive us out of here eventually, and it's better if we do it on our own accord. It's time to hunt tributes!"
"Someone has to stay behind and guard," Cedar began. "I—"
"I volunteer!" Levi interrupted. "Called it." He stuck his tongue out at a pouting Cedar before laying back down. "You kids have fun."
October sighed inwardly. She wasn't thrilled about being left alone with Cedar. And, as much as she didn't want to admit it, she liked Levi. Just a little bit. The way he looked at her…it distracted her. She craved it. I'm pathetic, she told herself, shaking her head slightly. "Alright," she said aloud, "then it's settled. Cedar and I will head out and kill some tributes while Levi holds the fort. Eat a quick breakfast and then it's go time," she added, looking at Cedar and pointing to the food she had rationed out earlier in the morning.
She turned on her heel and headed outside into the falling snow. They had secured a tarp on top of the Cornucopia using some heavy stones and then stretched it out over their supplies. The snow had to be cleared from the plastic roof every few hours to keep it from sagging too badly, but otherwise it worked well. October ducked her head inside the structure and grabbed her axe from a little ways in, protected from any snow the wind might blow in. She straightened up and did a few practice swings, enjoying the familiar motion. Cedar stumbled outside blearily, beef jerky in one hand and his mace in the other.
"Let's get this over with," he muttered. "Where to?"
"Okay," October said, twirling the handle of her axe. "The way I see it, our biggest threats are Newt, Wren, and Zephyr. The other remaining tributes don't seem to be top contenders, and frankly I don't think they'll last long in these conditions. My prediction is that the weather will kill them and we shouldn't even bother.
"Which begs the question, where are our greatest enemies? To tell you the truth, I have absolutely no idea where Zephyr is. I do, however, know that Newt and Wren are allies, and I saw them go northwest after the bloodbath. Thus, we go northwest."
"What are the chances we'll even run into them?" Cedar pointed out angrily, finishing his breakfast. "It's been days. They could be anywhere!"
"Cedar, Cedar, Cedar," October chided, "you need to open your buggy little eyes. Wren and Newt are smart girls. That means they're going to stay near water. Okay, so the arena has water all over the place. However, they are also smart enough to know that you tend to slack off, and that you fell asleep during your watch last night." Cedar opened his mouth to protest, but October held up a hand. "When I was laying out breakfast this morning, I noticed that two packets of jerky were missing. At first I assumed you had eaten them, but then I noticed two trails of footprints heading to and from the Cornucopia, coming from the northwest. Yes, those two are smart, but they didn't factor in the variability of the weather into their calculations, so snow didn't fill up their footprints enough for me to not notice the ones in the deeper snow outside our clearing. Thus, we can conclude that Newt and Wren are both northwest of here and not far off, probably near the water."
The boy looked at her, a faint expression of awe on his face. October smiled. "This is why I'm the leader," she said, patting him once on the cheek before turning away. "Off we go!"
October led the way, following the footprints that Newt and Wren had so carelessly left behind. It was only an assumption that it was those two, but they were the only ones October had seen go that way after the bloodbath. She had taken into account that people probably had moved around, but she couldn't imagine any of the other tributes being stealthy or courageous enough to steal food from right under their noses. Besides, it didn't quite matter exactly who they found. They'd come across two tributes no matter what, and when they did they would kill them. Simple.
Wading through the snow was a slow process, as it reached over the knees of both tributes. They followed the footprints into the stretch of land between the northern and western lakes. The footprints became more frequent, and walking was easier since there were more paths to follow. October slowed down, keeping her axe poised. With every step her eyes scanned the vegetation around her, trying to catch a glimpse of their prey.
A laugh broke the silence.
October froze for only a second before reacting. She scampered over to the nearest tree and crouched down behind the bushes that ringed its trunk. Cedar stared dazedly at her for a few moments before following suit, settling down in the snow beside her. In her low crouch October was almost completely submerged in snow. She shivered as the freezing flakes settled around her. She kept her gaze focused on where the laugh had sounded from, taking deep breaths to suppress the adrenaline that was making her hands shake with anticipation.
"…so glad we have food. I can't believe they let that oaf take a watch. They're making it too easy."
Cedar tensed and began to rise, but October slapped a hand on his shoulder and forced him back down again just as the two girls came into view. They were ambling along slowly, each eating the stolen food. The two looked like twins from a distance. They were both slim and short, with medium-length hair the color of chestnuts. Wren had slightly sharper features, making it her appear angry all the time. Maybe she was. The only other noticeable difference was their eyes: Wren's were a guarded grey color while Newt's were an alarming green.
Wren sat down on a rock that had been recently liberated from its snowy blanket. Newt dusted off a log and perched herself on the end. She smiled at her ally. "No one can be Careers like the District 1 and District 2 kids. The poor mock-Careers just can't measure up. All the tributes this time around are so weak and idiotic. Winning will be a piece of cake."
Before she could stop it, a snort escaped October. She clamped a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide. She watched as Wren rose slowly to her feet, drawing an arrow from her quiver and positioning it on her bow. Newt looked at her quizzically before raising her spear and facing October and Cedar's hiding place.
Just before October could spring into action Newt let out a high-pitched scream and collapsed, clutching her neck. A gleaming silver arrow protruded from her skin. October's eyes quickly found the arrow Wren was holding. It wasn't friendly fire. There was someone else out there.
Wren shrieked and began to sprint towards October and Cedar. "Go, go, go!" October shouted, tugging Cedar's arm as she rose. She took off running, not waiting to see if her heavier ally was following after her. Wren could kill him for all she cared. She just wanted to get back to the Cornucopia. She wanted to survive. She wanted to be a Victor.
To her left she spotted a tree with low branches. In one swift motion she swung her leg over the nearest one and began to climb, using her axe as a hook to propel her up to the next branch. Once she had climbed a couple of meters she glanced down to see Cedar leaning on the trunk, breathing heavily. "We're not being followed," he gasped.
"Are you sure?" October asked warily, not moving. "That arrow came out of nowhere…"
"Wren doubled back, probably to go to her camp. I think whoever killed Newt intended it as a hit-and-run and left before they could endanger themselves. Besides, your shouting would have clued them in that we were there. Newt was a lot of talk, but I'm sure she and Wren are both worried about us."
"...Would you look at that, you said something smart!"
"Shut up," Cedar spat. "We shouldn't have run off like that. We could have easily killed Wren and Newt's killer."
"And there it goes," October sighed. "Wren and the only other person with a bow and arrow—that is, Zephyr—both have long-range weapons while ours are both close-range. Staying and fighting would have been way too risky."
"I say we could have done it."
"No one cares what you say."
Silence ensued as October picked her way back down the tree, pausing after every branch to see if she could hear anything suspicious. Only one of their top opponents was down, and the other two were in the vicinity. Her stomach was clenched into a tight knot of worry. She wished she had a radar screen or something. The thought of the other tributes lurking in the arena made her feel sick. She hated surprises.
The blast of a cannon made October jump, and she nearly slipped off her branch. She caught herself in the last moment, breathing a sigh of relief. Either one of the others had taken pity on Newt, or she'd bled to death. But she was dead, and that was what was important.
When she reached the base of the tree Cedar was still heaving with the effort of the run. She patted his back jokingly. "We can stick around here for a bit, if you want," she offered. Say no say no say no say no say no.
"Yeah, okay," Cedar agreed.
Oh, fuck you.