Another day passes. No faces appeared in the sky. The arena seemed quieter than I remember it. I counted through the living tributes in my head. Flitter, Camilla, Malloy, Hollis, Devin, Milo, and Carly. Seven more to go. Quaid and I only have one more day before Camilla and Devin come after us, ready to spill our blood.
We packed up and moved our camp further in the woods. We leave ourselves more vulnerable to the mutts the Capitol, no doubt, set free. But, we are also more secluded from the other seven tributes. I search my mind for any pairs that are still alive. Flitter was paired with Louis, who died already. Camilla is still with Devin. Malloy and Hollis are still fighting as a pair. Milo's partner, Rahi, died. So did Carly's partner, Collin. Quaid and I still have to break apart Camilla and Devin and Malloy and Hollis.
We found a cave in the mountains and set our stuff there. We set our food behind a large boulder and laid out our sleeping bags. We placed all of our weapons in front of the boulder. I peaked out of the mouth of the cave and glanced at the sky. A few more hours and darkness will settle over the arena.
"Flitter is a fighter." Quaid whispers echo off of the rock.
"I know what you mean." I reply, inching closer to my golden haired partner. "I'm surprised that the Capitol didn't send a mutt or something to kill her. It's been two days since someone died. Aren't they bored yet?"
"If they were bored, they'd call a feast." Quaid brings up a point while munching on beef jerky. "Like you said, it has only been two days. From past Hunger Games I remember, they get really bored after three or four days of no bloodshed."
I grabbed a handful of dried fruit and slipped them, piece by piece, in my mouth. "So, nine left." A loud BOOM made me jump. The fruit spilled on the floor as my stomach was filled with a stinging sensation. "Er…eight left."
"Who do you think it was?" he asks.
"I think it was Flitter. Either her or Carly from Eleven." I say, my eyes turning towards the mouth of the cave.
"How do you do that?" I turn back to Quaid with a confused look.
"Do what?" I answer his question with a question.
"Remember every tributes name. I only remember them by their district." I scoot closer to him. "How do you do it?"
"I just have that kind of memory. Also, at home, I am in the 'smart' classes. I remember everything I see and read. Like the Reaping. You were called and no one volunteered. You are seventeen and you are the only child in your family." I recalled everything from the interviews with Dusk before the Games began. "Is that right or wrong?" As the sun disappears, it gets increasingly harder to see his emerald eyes.
"Correct." He answers me. "You are fifteen, have two siblings, and volunteered for your best friend. Your home district is Ten and you own the largest farm in Panem. Speaking of Ten, what is it like there?"
What is it like? Compared to District 1? I sit in silence while I think his question over. While I conjure up District 10, the anthem and seal appear in the sky. Who was the cannon for? Flitter? Carly? Malloy? The face that appears is District 8's Milo. Flitter is still alive? The anthem ends and I turn to Quaid, ready to tell him about home.
"Well, everything is more spacious. I own a cattle farm with twelve cows and bulls. District Ten has to be spacious because of the livestock we raise. Hadley's family only owns a goat, by which they earn money by its milk. Some families don't even own an animal. Those people have jobs on people farms. They breed the cattle, milk them if we can't, and take care of our livestock." I start off. I lay on my stomach and Quaid follows my lead.
"My favorite part about Ten is the Town. Yes, there are smaller towns all around District Ten. But the Town is where the Reapings are held and where we gather every year for the Victory Tour. The Town mainly consists of an inn, a bar, a few houses, dirt roads, and a few stores. Not many people enjoy the Town, because more and more Peacekeepers keep coming in. Oh, the Peacekeepers. I like them, but one of them is a complete jerk. His name is Irving and he lures poor women into his bed in exchange for money and food. If I wasn't a Caldwell, I would be one of those girls." Quaid seems very interested about my home. His eyes were glued on me the whole time.
"What's your farm like?" He asks, poking the fire lighting up our makeshift home.
"I love my farm." I start. "It is very large and can hold up to twenty cattle, ten horses, and forty chickens. The chickens have their own shed but, on sunny days, we let them out in the chicken pen. We have twelve cattle at the moment. My favorite is Philomena. I was nine when she was born. She is our best dairy cow. Every time I milk her, I pet her and talk to her like she is an actual human." My voice trails off. I never thought I'd miss my farm this much.
We sit in silence. I lower my head and choke back my tears. Quaid's hand rubs the back of my neck and calms me down. I lift my head up, swipe away any tears that spilled over, and look at my partner. "What about you? What's District One like?" I know the Capitol is blocking out our conversation. Since the Second Rebellion, they made sure that the districts had no contact with one another.
"What is there to say?" He shrugs. "It is like the Capitol, but toned down. We create jewels and all that glitters. My father is a jeweler. I've known Flitter and past District One tributes since I was young. The Training Academy is my favorite part of my district. It is just like the gymnasium in the Capitol. When I was five, I picked up my first spear. I threw it and it hit the target…in the hand. After I learned how to hold the weapon, I hit it in the heart every single time. Even so, I got the lowest marks and I was told not to volunteer."
"Marks?" I asked, cocking my head. "What does that mean?"
"When the Reapings arrive, the Training Academy tests you three days before the Reaping. The two people with the highest mark of each gender will be given the honor to volunteer. The people this year were Flitter, who received an almost perfect score of 397 points, and Sapphire, who scored a 396. My score was laughable at a 179. I scored the average score of a fourteen year old. I guess that they wanted to see me die and bring disgrace on my district." If I wasn't mistaken, I saw tears brim his eyes.
"My mother didn't stop and say anything to me after the Reaping. The only one who stopped by was my father. His words were, 'Son, try not to die. You are an Ethers child. You are strong. I hope you are paired with a girl from Two or Four. Or any girl who is stronger than you. Don't you disgrace your district.' None of my friends even stopped by to say their goodbyes. If I go home, I have nothing to go home to other than overjoyed parents and a new home in Victor's Village."
He has it worse than me. Even though he is from a wealthier district than me, he still has a life of the poor. His parents didn't believe that he would return, his friends turned their backs on him, and he has nothing to look forward to other than death. Before I came to the Capitol, I thought District 1 children were obnoxiously arrogant and snobbish. But, Quaid Ethers turned me around. He gave me insight on his life and why it wasn't picture perfect like Flitter's life.
"You're not going to bring disgrace on District One or your family. You wanna know why?" I sit up and stare him down.
"Why?"
"We are going to win the seventh Quarter Quell together and go home. And, when you make it home, people will think to themselves, 'Quaid? Quaid, who scored a 179 at the Academy, won the Games?'" I move over to him and curl up next to him. "You will bring pride to One."
He pulls me closer to his body. "Thank you, Cowgirl. We will take down the other six tributes and we will go home." His lips press against my forehead and I close my eyes. His arms encase me as I allow my body to fall asleep.
A/N: Thank you for reading this chapter. Everything mentioned about their home districts is completely made up. Suzanne Collins didn't describe much of District 10, so I made a lot of it up. The only information was that Dalton escaped from District 10 with knowledge on cow embryos. Sort of the same deal with District 1. The information I got was on the victors and what they produce for the Capitol. The Training Academy was mentioned in the books, but the running was not. Thank you for reading. Please review :)