We're running, running for our lives. A voice sounds out from the trees. "Wolfgang!" It's Coal. "Wolfgang, what happened?" Coal steps into view, and Seamus and I stop running. "Barley and I heard the canon. Why are you guys so freaked out?"
Seamus gasps for breath and sputters, "Millie… she's… And that thing! What the…" He gestures wildly with his hands. "What the heck was that?"
"The Loch Ness monster," I supply, stunned.
"The what?" Seamus looks at me like I'm crazy.
In response, I pull out the "Myths, Legends and Tales" book and open it to the first page.
Seamus points to the black and white illustration. "That! That was the thing that ate Millie!"
"Yeah…" I trail off.
"Let me see that," says Coal. He grabs the book from my hand and stares at the picture. Then his eyes scan the bottom of the page, and I can guess that he's reading the poem. He looks over the pages at me. "And this thing… ate Millie?"
"Oh, cockleburs!" Barley comes through the tress. "Millie's dead? That was her canon?"
I nod. Coal shows Barley the book. "This thing ate her," he explains. Barley's jaw unhinges and his eyes widen. The poor kid is terrified.
"So…" Seamus begins, "I think it's safe to say that we're not going back to the lake?"
I snort. "No kidding."
Coal nods and speaks as he hands the book back to me, "After all that has happened within the past few days, I suggest that we move on to another section of the arena. I wasn't the only one that surveyed our surroundings on the first day, right? There are three other areas we could go to."
I take the book and agree. "Yes. There's the jungle, the cliffs with that strange building, and the field of tall grass. We can do this. Where should we go?" I slide the book back into the pack.
"Building?" Seamus looks up. "I say we go to a nice, safe place with four solid walls. Anyone else like that idea?"
"Of course I do, Seamus," Coal remarks. "But sadly, that's not an option. This is the arena. There is no such thing as a safe place in here."
"I say we should go to the jungle," Barley drawls. "Trees are good cover. Jungles have lots of trees."
"I agree with Barley," I say.
"Sounds good to me," Coal shrugs.
"So… how do we get there?" Seamus asks.
That's actually a good question. We can get to the jungle by entering it from the area where it meets the forest, but that requires going back the way we came, and heading towards the Careers. We could cut across the meadow where the Cornucopia is, but that would force us to be out in the open without any cover. And then there's cutting through the grass field, which may or may not contain poisonous snakes and/or bugs. But at least snakes and bugs aren't deliberately trying to kill us, so I guess that decides our route. "We'll go through the grass field. It's the safest path," I reply.
Coal and Barley nod, and Seamus looks disappointed. The blond from District Eight sighs, "I guess if we really can't go to the building, then I don't really care where else we go."
And so, we begin to walk in the direction of the field. As we travel, Coal asks, "So what's the deal with this book?"
"It was in the bag that I got from the Cornucopia," I explain.
"So, it has a purpose?" Coal sounds surprised.
"I guess so," I reply.
"Why didn't you tell us about this before, Wolfgang?" Seamus asks.
"Well," I admit, "at first I thought that it was only here to freak us out and make us too paranoid to trust the natural resources. But now, it's obvious that the book is a warning for something real."
BOOM! A canon echoes throughout the arena.
"Who do you suppose that was?" Barley asks.
"Who knows…" Coal trails off.
I shake my head. "It doesn't matter. Let's go."
As we travel, Barley picks some random edible plants. I catch a rabbit and split the raw meat with Coal. Seamus eats one of our two protein bars, and we all sip from the canteens.
By nightfall, we have arrived at the border to what is, according to Barley, a wheat field. There are two decently tall trees right before the forest ends into a sea of tall grain. "It's getting dark," Seamus says nervously. "We should make camp."
"Yeah, I'm exhausted," Barley adds.
Coal turns to me. "Shouldn't we keep going? We've only just arrived."
"That's exactly why we should stop. We'll be entering an unfamiliar area, and it will be dark. We shouldn't take the risk of running into whatever traps may be in there when we can't see. It's not logical." Of course, Coal and I can see perfectly. But I'm not entirely sure if humans can see well in the dark or not.
"Good idea, Wolfgang," Seamus smiles happily and plops his backpack and then his butt onto the ground.
"I'll keep watch tonight," I volunteer before anyone else can. I feel uneasy about this book being a reality. I want to read more of it, just in case there are other things about the arena disclosed within its pages. And I want to read it without an audience.
Seamus pulls out the sleeping bag and the tarp. Then, before Seamus can do anything else, Barley rushes forward and grabs the sleeping bag, scurrying up one of the trees. "G'night, y'all," he smiles as he situates the sleeping bag into the branches and climbs inside.
Seamus groans in frustration before unfolding the tarp and laying it out on the ground. He stretches himself across the blue covering and pulls half of it over top of himself like a blanket. Coal sits on the ground and leans up against the tree in which Barley is perched.
Then the Capitol anthem plays and two pictures are shown in the sky. I can tell that everyone is still awake by the silence of a collective holding of breath. The first picture stuns me, as it belongs to Octane. She must have been the one to whom that cannon belonged earlier today – the one about which I said, "It doesn't matter." I hang my head in shame as I wonder what everyone back in my district will think when they hear the words that I said about Octane's death. When I raise my head again, the picture is of Millie. All in all, today has been horrible. But what did I expect? After all, this is the Hunger Games. It's more than that, even. This is the Quarter Quell.
Soon after that, my allies fall asleep. I stare at them all and wonder about their stories. I know about Coal, with the romance that seems so forbidden. But what about Seamus? He is the only tribute in this Quell that was drawn from a bowl at random. I know that he has siblings and a single mother, and he works as a carpet porter. But what else do I know? Nothing. And how about Barley? What did this twelve-year-old kid do to merit someone sending him to the Hunger Games? He couldn't have done something that terrible.
Unable to think about this any longer, I open my bag and pull out the purple book. I let my fingers flip through the pages until I stop at the title page of a random story. I cock my head to the side as I read the title. "The Greek Myth of Pandora's Box" it says. There is a picture of a woman crying over an empty box. The picture intrigues me, so I read on.
Once up a time, a long time ago, Zeus ordered Hephaestus (Aphrodite's husband) to make him a daughter. It was the first woman made out of clay. Hephaestus made a beautiful woman and named her Pandora.
Zeus sent his new daughter, Pandora, down to earth so that she could marry Epimetheus, who was a gentle but lonely man.
Zeus was not being kind. He was getting even. Epimetheus and Prometheus were brothers. Zeus was mad at one of the brothers, Prometheus, for giving people fire without asking Zeus first.
Zeus gave Pandora a little box with a big heavy lock on it. He made her promise never to open the box. He gave the key to Pandora's husband and told him to never open the box. Zeus was sure that Epimetheus' curiosity would get the better of him, and that either Epimetheus or his brother would open the box.
Pandora was very curious. She wanted to see what was inside the box, but Epimetheus said no. Better not. "You know your father," Epimetheus sighed, referring to Zeus. "He's a tricky one."
One day, when Epimetheus lay sleeping, Pandora stole the key and opened the box.
Out flew every kind of disease and sickness, hate and envy, and all the bad things that people had never experienced before. Pandora slammed the lid closed, but it was too late. All the bad things were already out of the box. They flew away, out into the world.
Epimetheus woke up at the sound of her sobbing. "I opened the box and all these ugly things flew out," she cried. "I tried to catch them, but they all got out." Pandora opened the box to show him how empty it was. But the box was not quite empty. One tiny bug flew quickly out before Pandora could slam the lid shut again.
"Hello, Pandora," said the bug, hovering just out of reach. "My name is Hope." With a nod of thanks for being set free, Hope flew out into the world, a world that now held Envy, Crime, Hate, and Disease – and Hope.
I don't understand this weird story. I'm pondering what it could possibly mean when I hear a noise coming from the wheat field. It's a laugh, but it's far from a happy one. It is a mad, maniacal laugh. I tuck the book back into the pack and leap to my feet. When I do, the girl from District Ten – Lila Shepherd – wanders out of the tall plants, the wheat rustling behind her. Her white-blonde curls are dirty and filled with wheat heads. Her eyes sparkle like a madwoman's. And she is wearing a pot on her head. "A pot? Where did she get the pot? She didn't have it when she left the Cornucopia."
Lila stumbles over to me. "You're the wolf-mutt," she slurs. "T-the nice one th-that didn't j-j-join the Careers… You… I want to join you… and your friends!" she gestures to the sleeping Seamus and Coal.
I smell it all over her: the scent of death. "First, answer two questions for me."
"Okay," she rolls her head around in what I guess is supposed to be a nod.
"Where did you get the pot?" I ask first.
"Oh, this?" she smiles stupidly. "I got this from the bag. They're all over the place. They have things in them, in there…" she sloppily gestures to the field behind her. "Things… almost got me," she mumbles nearly incoherently. "Look." She pulls up the sleeve to her jacket, and I feel the blood drain from my face at the sight of what she is showing me. There, right on her wrist, are two puncture wounds that look very much like a snake bite. The skin around the wounds has swollen and is a rather angry shade of red.
Lila takes the pot off of her head and flings it onto the ground at my feet. "You can have it," she slurs. "What's mine is yours and… now that we're allies… I- I- I!" Then, quite suddenly, she drops to the ground. A canon sounds. Lila Shepherd is dead.