Chapter Twelve
There aren't many places to hide in this arena. There are large crevices that you could slip between, hide behind boulders, or find one of the few caves to hide in. Although all of these hiding places have flaws especially if there are earthquakes.
"Annie found a cave." Zayden says nonchalantly. They are more focused on the career pack because mutts are coming right for them.
"Yeah and it is hot as hell in there." Finnick says looking at the temperature on her monitor. The cave is at 91 degrees while the arena is at a cool 60 degrees right now.
"She'll be fine for now, dehydration might set in faster than expected. Even with the water she collected her sweating is getting rid of fluids." Zayden says and Finnick nods. "Dammit stop standing there idiots." Zayden shouts at the screen because the career pack hasn't moved an inch since the earthquake. However, the mutts have been getting closer and closer to them.
"They don't know the mutts are after them Zayden." Finnick reminds him.
"I know but the howling should've tipped them off. They should be heading back to the cornucopia." He says annoyed.
"The cornucopia isn't a safe haven Zayden. They have weapons and supplies." Finnick points out.
The howling gets louder and louder until one of the beasts comes out from the shadows and tackles the boy from 2.
"Get it off me!" He screams in horror.
"It's gonna tear him apart." Zayden says.
Aden doesn't move as the kid's arm is being chewed off.
The girl from 2 and boy from 1 use their weapons to wound it. They do enough damage so it runs off.
"Okay, let's go." Aden says
"We are not leaving him here!" The girl from 2 shouts.
"He's as good as dead." Aden says.
"We have stuff back at camp that can help him." The girl from 1 says calmly. "We'll fix him up and Miracle will carry him back." She says and motions to her District partner.
"Didn't Annie take all the medical supplies?" Zayden asks.
"No, but she didn't leave enough to treat that." Finnick says.
"2 can send something even though they already have." Zayden says.
"Would you have left him behind?" Finnick asks.
"I'd wait till the others were asleep so they can't attack me right away. They're just throwing the supplies they have left to a dead body."
"Annie! Get bandages we were attacked!" The girl from 2 shouts as she nears the cornucopia .
"Didn't notice she's gone." Finnick says.
"Annie? Where the hell is she?!" The girl from 2 shouts furiously.
"She ran off. Our mentors suggested she should but none of them thought she would actually do it." Aden says.
"You didn't think of this before we let her guard? She took a lot of supplies and almost everything medical wise." The girl from one shouts.
"Relax, I'm sure the mentors will send us something." Aden says.
"Not us, 2 isn't our tribute." Zayden says.
"Aren't we working together?" Finnick says.
"This isn't our problem and if the boy from 2 dies we benefit." Zayden says.
Finnick nods.
ANNIE POV
Annie wipes her forehead with the back of her hand. She wasn't in the cave long before she started sweating. She thought of leaving, but wasn't sure if she would be able to find any other shelter. Since she heard the mutts she didn't want to risk it.
"Let's see what I got." Annie whispers to herself.
Annie takes out the supplies from her pockets and the bag that was sent to her.
She has two plastic water bottles, dried meat, dried fruit, a handful of grain, and a sleeve of crackers. She took some bandages and iodine tablets for water. She also has her rope and various items that were made out of her alarm system.
Annie uses the leftover rope she took and starts making a net, she hangs it over the entrance of the cave. Now if anyone tries to come into the cave they will become trapped. She has noticed that this rope is not an ordinary rope and must be used for something specific, but will work all the same for her.
She makes a game plan to rest here for a few hours and then move onto where the dam is. She wants to use it for a water source if possible and the sound of the water flowing would block out her movements as well.
"Go to the dam. Find water. Find shelter." Annie whispers and repeats this a few times before closing her eyes. .
FINNICK POV.
"That rope Annie is using looks hella expensive." Lena says coming back from her break. Next is Zayden then Finnick's turn. He has started to make coffee with extra sugar to try and keep himself sharp.
"It's meant for rock climbing." Finnick says pulling the item up on the screen. "There were clips back at the cornucopia but she didn't take them."
"Why would they have rock climbing equipment."
"Zayden and I discussed that, you can only get to the dam water by climbing up this rock wall." Finnick says point to a steep rocky wall. If you touched the wrong place a rock could easily become dislodged which will cause you to fall to the ground. "You could try but would probably die in the process."
"Then what's the point of having a dam in the arena, for the pretty backdrop." Lena says.
Finnick shrugs.
"I'm sure some district knew what the were clips were."
"Well, since no one figured it out what is the point." Lena says annoyed.
"Zayden and I couldn't come up with anything."
"Anything interesting happen when I was gone besides Annie running away?" Lena asks.
"Mutts showed up in the arena and are attracted to blood."
"Most animals are."
"Not like this. If you spill one drop on the ground they will come after you no matter how far away you are." Finnick says.
"Someone die from an attack then?" Lena asks.
"The boy from two was hurt badly. Zyaden and I think he might die from infection because Annie took almost all the medical supplies." Finnick says.
"So what down to thirteen then?" Lena says.
"Yes, only one tribute died after the bloodbath."
"Crushed by rocks, right?" Lena asks.
A canon goes off, the girl from 7 finally killed the boy she was tracking.
"So what was in the pack she wanted so damn much?" Lena asks.
"I don't think it was the pack." Finnick says. He didn't notice what weapon the boy was carrying. It's a classic District 7 axe.
"She was after the axe the whole time." Lena says.
"Obviously." Finnick says.
"So the dangerous girl just got more dangerous." Lena says unamused.
"Who has the highest kill count?" Finnick asks.
Lena pulls up the records.
"Uhh boy from 2 kind of ironic if he dies from infection." Lena says.
Finnick rolls his eyes.
Most of the tributes are asleep, but that doesn't stop the gamemakers from making it rain like crazy. It's so thick that it is hard to see the arena on the screens.
"Geeze you think they would let up, the viewers want to see what is happening." Lena says.
"Maybe it's to wash away the blood." Finnick says doubtful.
"Maybe the hard rain is meant to create cover for the kids." Lena says.
"But, it also makes it hard for them to see." Finnick says.
Lena shrugs.
"At least our tributes have cover." Lena says.
"Yeah, but Annie will probably be dehydrated from the temperature of her cave." Finnick says.
"It's not like she can go into that rain storm. Besides, she does have water." Lena says looking at the map of the arena.
"Uh Finnick someone is getting close to our girl." Lena says and points at the map.
A small blinking light is approaching the cave where Annie currently is.
"Hopefully her trap works." Finnick says right before a canon goes off.
"Is her dot still orange or is it red?" Finnick asks. If your dot is blinking orange then your tribute is alive if it is red than your tribute is dead.
"They're too close to each other I can't tell." Lena says.
After a few moments the camera shows Annie removing her knife from the kid's forehead.
"Annie is still alive." Finnick says.
They do a replay on the live feed, a boy fell into her net and Annie stabbed him in the forehead without hesitation.
"No hesitation, I'm impressed." Lena says.
"She was scared." Finnick says.
"Yeah she was doing what she had to." Lena says and rolls her eyes.
"It's not like she is going to hunt down tributes." Finnick says.
"In this weather no one is going to be hunting down tributes." Lena says.
"It will probably stop by morning." Finnick says.
"Which means you will be sleeping." Lena says.
"I can't stay awake forever and neither can you." Finnick says.
"I know, but you seem to take it so personally when they die and you're asleep." Lena says.
"How am I supposed to take it?" Finnick says.
"Whatever, by the way was it your idea to give her a darker bag?" Lena asks.
"Yes and I don't care what you think." Finnick says.
"If you thought it was the right thing to do than I trust it. I mean you did say Annie wanted us to spend all of her money." Lena says as Zayden comes back. "Looks like you're off duty now." Lena says.
"Fine see you in five hours." Finnick says almost annoyed.
He goes to the elevators and hits the four button.
"Just a few hours of sleep." He says to himself as the doors open.
ANNIE POV
Annie stays in the cave until the rain stops. Since it was raining she drank a decent amount of water. She had enough time to get a full refill.
She takes her supplies and continues onto the dam, she will arrive in a few hours.
Two people. I killed them, but didn't even know their names. Two people… but they were in my way. Annie thinks to herself as she walks to the dam.
Most tributes are staying put for the moment. The careers don't want to venture out just yet, especially since one of their own is hurt and the others are trying to recover from the rain storm. The good thing about the storm is that everyone who tried to gather water did.
She arrives at the dam and is amazed by the structure of it. She has never seen anything like it, but there is one thing that bothers her. The water is unreachable the only way to reach it would be to climb one of the rocky walls.
"Maybe if I had some device I could-"
Thwack
The sound of metal hitting rock is undeniable.
"Damnit." The other tribute mutters.
If Annie had been one inch to the left the hammer would've bludgeoned her to death.
The tribute runs and tackles Annie to the ground.
"Get off." Annie says and knees her in the stomach.
The girl lets go for a second but it was long enough for Annie to get away. Annie kicks the girl in the face before running away and only stops running when an earthquake starts.
She trips and scrapes her knees and left arm. She tries to get into wide open space so no rocks fall on her. The earthquake lasts for exactly ten minutes and when it is over it is like the arena has been remade.
The earthquake made many rocks fall to the ground, but this also created more places to hide.
When Annie gets up she feels the stinging in her knees and forearm.
"Ouch." Annie whispers and walks off to hide behind one of the boulders. She pulls out cream and bandages she stole from the cornucopia. She winces when the cream touches her skin, but her face soon relaxes.
Annie slips off her jacket and puts it behind her head as a pillow.
She takes a few sips of water.
The arena is at a steady 85 degrees. District 4 has those temperatures frequently, but it is the kind of day were everyone goes to the beach to cool off. In this place there is no cold ocean to cool off in. Even the small canyons aren't cool.
Annie rubs her knees.
"Stay put, then find shade." She whispers to herself.
She wants the scrapes to get a little bit of healing before she starts running again. She also needs to stay out of the sun.
FINNICK POV
The next two days no tributes died. There were multiple earthquakes and a bad rain/wind storm. If you didn't have your things secured they likely got flown away. The careers things went swirling through the arena. They didn't tie anything down so they are scarce on items, there has been talks between District One and Aden about killing or leaving the tributes from 2 behind. They're afraid that if they kill the boy the girl will come after them. Three against one sounds like good oods, but who knows what can happen in the arena.
"She's getting badly burned." Finnick notices. Annie has dry lips and blisters have started to form on her skin.
The caves that were once there have been sealed off by the gamemakers. If you didn't know any better you would think the gamemakers are trying to burn these kids to death. Even if you stay in the shade all day the heat alone is unbearable. They always knock the temperature down in the 50s at night and is almost always some type of rain storm. Annie and a few of the other tributes have started using their rain jackets as a tarp at night.
"It's been 95 and sunny for the past few days of course she is getting sunburned."
"We should send her some suntan lotion."
Lena sighs
"What's wrong with that?" Finnick asks.
"Nothing, it just seems like you only care about sending Annie packages."
"That's because you send packages to Aden when I'm not here." Finnick notes. They sent him some medical supplies.
"Okay you be got me there." Lena says and looks at the map.
"Looks like those mutts are coming to the cornucopia." Finnick says.
"Why though." Lena says.
"Maybe they want to take care of the boy from 2, he is going to die soon." Finnick says.
"I'm surprised those words are coming from your mouth." Lena says because he never assumes a tribute will die.
"Look at his wounds, they're infected and not to mention he is dehydrated. He might've had a chance if they cut his arm off at the beginning, but he probably wouldn't have survived that." Finnick says.
"Look at you using logic and reason." Lena teases. "I've pulled up the sunscreen if you want to send it to her. It's a little pricey so I would say now is the smart time to send it." Lena says.
"Order it." Finnick says.
A parachute falls next to Annie who has been running and hiding the whole time. She doesn't stay in one place long, but she hasn't seen much of the arena. She's stayed close to the dam and most tributes have not bothered to come that far out.
She opens the package quickly and puts the lotion on just as quick.
"Thank you." She says and takes a gulp of water.
The rainstorms have been the only reason why Annie hasn't run out of water yet.
"Here come the mutts." Lena says looking back at the careers.
"Yup." Finnick says.
"Great those monsters are coming back because we didn't take care of him like we should've days ago." Aden says.
"You don't know that, that is why they are here." The girl from 2 says.
"He's like a big tasty meal. Your partner doesn't even know where he is so let's kill him and throw him to the mutt. We will be able to get away and no one else will get hurt this way." Aden says.
"Not a bad plan, the guys flesh and blood would distract the mutts long enough for them to run away." Lena says.
"Yeah, but the district partner would kill Aden if he tried it. She has some sort of bond with the guy." Finnick says.
"Maybe they knew each other before the games." Lena states.
Finnick nods.
The boy from 1 pushes the girl from 2 out of the way.
"Do it Aden!" He shouts.
"No don't!" The girl from 2 shouts. The boy from 1 has her pinned to the ground, she won't be able to get up unless he wants her to.
Aden slashes the guys throat and a cannon goes off.
The mutt comes into view and Aden throws the boy right towards the big monster. He stops for the feast.
The boy from 1 lets go of the girl from 2.
She shoves Aden.
"We don't have time for this we-"
A big earthquake starts and the cornucopia falls and cuts Aden off from the others and the supplies. Aden gets separated from the others and he doesn't bother chasing them because he doesn't want to risk the mutts getting at him.
Aden only has his sword now. He knows where the canyon is, but does't have anything to store water with.
"So are we gonna send him some water or just let him die?" Lena asks.
Finnick rolls his eyes.
"Just send him a small bottle, the big ones are too expensive."
"We could send him a pack too." Lena says.
"They're too expensive." Finnick says.
"It doesn't have to be a big one, just one with a bottle and crackers." Lena says.
"Fine." Finnick says.
"What do you think bright orange or bright yellow?" She asks about the bag's color.
Finnick sighs.
"In this arena I would go with orange." Finnick says.
"My thoughts exactly." Lena says and clicks the order button.
"He's down to thirty grand." Finnick says.
"Annie's down to fifteen grand. We don't send anything else to them unless it is life or death." Lena says.
"Alright." Finnick says.
The parachute lands in front of him. He smiles at first, but is disappointed when he sees the contents of the bag.
"Seriously?" He says with disgust.
He sighs deeply.
"Guess I'll find Annie now." Aden says and slings his bag over his shoulder.
"Is he really going hunting just to kill Annie?" Lena says with humor.
"I don't think so." Finnick says noticing Aden's tone wasn't threatening it was very calculated.
"Why wouldn't he go looking for the other careers?" Lena asks.
"There is a big obstacle in the way and he would probably get killed by the girl from 2 at first sight." Finnick says.
"Then why Annie, he doesn't like her." Lena says.
"No, but Aden is the type of person who needs other people to survive. I'd bet he doesn't know anything about survival skills or edible plants. Careers rely too much on the cornucopia that they rarely even bother with those stations."
"So what, he is going to search the arena for Annie so she will help him… fat chance of that happening." Lena says.
"Annie wouldn't be able to kill him though, she isn't skilled or big enough to take him." Finnick says.
"He could pick any tribute to work with in the arena and would probably come across someone faster than finding Annie. Why her?" Lena asks.
"Maybe it is because he knows her. He knows what she can and can't do and he also knows she won't be able to kill him." Finnick says.
"The arena is small, but the chances of him finding her are slim." Lena says.
"I agree, but since he announced this plan the gamemakers are probably going to make it easier for him." Finnick says.
"They think he is out for vengeance or that he has a crush on her?" Lena says with a laugh.
"No, but the viewers probably want to know why he is going after her and they want to keep the viewers happy." Finnick says.
"So if they're the last two standing you're saying Annie has no chance?" Lena asks.
"I didn't say that, but it would be highly unlikely that she could beat him in a physical fight." Finnick says.
"I also think it is highly unlikely she would stay with him that long." Lena says.
"I hope she wouldn't I don't even think this idea would be in her best interest." Finnick says.
"Well, we won't know for a few hours, hell maybe a few days." Lena says.
Finnick nods.
"Until then." I guess.
"Yup, I just hope I am awake when it happens." Lena says with a smile.
"I'm sure you do, I will admit I am curious as well." Finnick says.