Hello Readers! Sorry for another late chapter, my internet has been down for two weeks. Anyway, enjoy!

~Ohsnapitspercy~

Chapter 8

I woke up early in the morning to the sound of Cato's voice. "Does it feel any better?"

"A little bit. I'll be fine, it's just bruised." Peeta's voice answered.

I walked over to where they were sitting and knelt at Peeta's side. He smiled when he saw me and whispered a greeting.

I nodded to show I had heard him. "So, what do we have planned for today?" I asked.

"One of us needs to go find some fresh meat." Cato said while wiping dirt off of one of Peeta's knives. "Can you hunt?"

"I've killed two rabbits since the Games started. I think I might be able to get something for all of us." I replied. "Do you still have Clove's knives?"

He shook his head. "The hovercraft took them. I got Glimmer's bow though if you want to use that?"

I remembered the day in training when I had used a bow. I was a natural at it. "Yeah, that'll work."

Cato gave me the weapon. "Don't go too far."

"I won't." I slung the arrows over my shoulder and gripped the bow. I headed out into the woods. I tried to memorize the path I was taking so I could find my way back to the lake. It wasn't long until I saw a squirrel scamper across a tree limb. I shot an arrow at its head and it fell off of the branch. I went to collect the meat when I realized I hadn't brought a backpack. I'm an idiot. I ran the direction I came, stuffing the dead squirrel in my quiver so I wouldn't drop it. I made it back to the lake just in time to see the lightning strike. It hit a tree and the trunk snapped. The tree fell and landed on our supplies, causing the reburied mines to explode, along with all of our stuff.

I ran into the clearing. I didn't see Cato or Peeta anywhere. I darted around frantically, calling their names.

"Lexi, over here!" Peeta was kneeling next to Cato who was lying in the burnt grass. I dashed over to them and realized Cato was unconscious. He had blood running down the side of his face.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Lightning struck that tree over there and it fell into the mines." Peeta said. He knew from the expression on my face that that wasn't what I wanted to know. "One of the crates hit him."

I ripped off a piece of my shirt and pressed it on Cato's face. "Did all the mines explode?"

"I think so; I was going to give it a few more minutes until I checked them though." Peeta responded.

"Good idea." I said, averting my attention back to Cato. I needed a bandage to stop the bleeding.

I asked Peeta to help me try to find one in the supplies that weren't ruined. There were only a few things left and fortunately, one of those things was a first aid kit. I grabbed the bandage and wrapped it around Cato's forehead.

"How are we supposed to wake him up?" I asked Peeta.

He shrugged. "We could pour some water on his head. I don't know if it'll work but my mom used to wake me up like that sometimes."

"I guess we can try." I said; a little shocked about how Peeta's mother treated him. There wasn't a bucket anywhere around, so I emptied the first aid kit and used the box. I filled it with water from the lake and slowly poured it over Cato's face.

His eyes immediately flew open and his head shot up. I backed up, not knowing what he would do.

When he seemed to gain control, he asked, "What happened?"

In reply, I pointed at the destroyed supplies. "A tree fell on the mines and it all blew up."

His eyes widened. "Are you kidding me?" He yelled. "Now what are we supposed to do? Sit here and starve to death?"

"Cato, calm down. I can probably hunt for all of us. We can get water from the Lake. We have one first aid kit left and all the stuff that was in me and Peeta's packs. We also have the sword, bow, and knifes." I said. "We can go down to the Cornucopia later to see if there's anything still there."

Cato nodded, clearly still angry. I searched through the ashes and debris to see if there was anything that could still be put to use. All I found was a metal pan that was too hot to pick up, a black crate that contained a water canteen and an empty green backpack, and a pair of night vision goggles. I put everything in the black crate except for the pan; I needed to let that cool down first.

I put my sword in its sheath that hung around my waist. I also slung my arrows over my shoulder and grabbed my bow. I was about to tell the others to get their stuff when Peeta spoke. "Someone should stay here to guard what we still have."

I dropped my weapons. "I'll stay here. Cato you can take my sword and Peeta take the knives. If you guys aren't back in—"

Peeta interrupted me. "No, Lexi, you have the least amount of injuries. You need to go."

"I guess I'll stay here." Cato sighed.

Peeta nodded. He grabbed his knives and started toward the Cornucopia. I started to follow, but Cato caught my arm.

"Stay safe." He whispered before leaving to go stand by the crate.

I smiled to myself and ran after Peeta.

~O~

"Have you found anything?" I called to Peeta, who was in the back of the Cornucopia.

"Not yet." He replied with a huff.

There were tons of the black crates, but most of them had nothing in them. I had looked through at least seven and all I got was a small bag with blueberries. I cracked open the last crate in the mouth, and to my surprise it was full. A slingshot, a long piece of rope, a metal baton, a package of dried pears, and a small clear tube with a greenish substance inside. I had no idea what it was but I figured I should take it anyway. It wouldn't be in the arena if it wasn't useful.

I packed all the stuff pack into the crate and called to Peeta.

"What is this stuff?" Peeta asked after examining the contents of the crate. He was holding the green gel in his hand.

"I'm not sure. It might be medicine." I pointed out.

"Or poison." He muttered under his breath. Both of us were silent as we started our trek back to camp. I hunted along the way using my arrows. I saw a large bird-like animal pecking the ground nearby. I didn't know if it would be edible or not, but I aimed an arrow at it anyway. I released the string and sent the arrow flying into the bird's heart.

I went to collect the kill. I still didn't know what the animal was, but I took it back anyway just in case Cato knew. Even though the bird was big enough to feed all three of us, I continued hunting. I brought down two squirrels and one rabbit.

I stopped walking to pack the meat in our crate. I had to move some stuff around to fit the smaller kills, and the bird wouldn't fit at all.

"I'll carry it if you want to keep shooting." Peeta said from behind me.

I nodded gratefully. He threw the crate over his shoulder and grabbed the bird's neck in his hand.

I notched another arrow and scanned the area for another target. The leaves in a tree a few feet away rustled and I heard a low growl. Peeta was still walking, showing he hadn't heard anything. I tapped his arm, pointing in the direction of the noise. He gave me a questioning look. I was about to explain it to him when the leaved parted and a giant bear emerged.

It towered over me, it being at least seven feet tall and me only being 5'2. Its dark brown fur glistened and its eyes reflected the sun. It was a beautiful creature, but right now, it was trying to kill us.

After exchanging a quick glance, Peeta and I started running. I took the back, shooting arrows at the bear as it followed us.

I had shot all of my ten arrows and the bear hadn't even slowed. I was breathing heavily and I knew we couldn't run for much longer.

"Peeta, I'm all out!" I screamed over the bear's constant roar.

He turned to look at me. His frightened expression showed he saw my predicament. "Get in front of me. I'll use my knives." Peeta pushed me forward.

Now that I was in the lead, I realized we weren't anywhere near the Lake. For this reason, I had gained even more respect for Peeta. He had taken us away from our supplies, and Cato.

"Lexi!" Peeta yelled.

I whirled around to see Peeta had fallen due to the bear grabbing his leg with its teeth. The animal was gnawing on Peeta's neck, blood flowing from its mouth.

I looked down at my bow. I couldn't do much without any arrows. Peeta had his knives and Cato had my sword.

Peeta was screaming in pain. I had to do something, fast. Without think, I rushed towards the bear, whacking it on the head with my bow when I was close enough.

All this did was made it angry. It stood up on its hind legs, and dropped Peeta. He hit the ground with a thud.

I didn't have time to make sure he was alright. The beast was barreling towards me at an even faster speed than before. I jumped to the side when he was a few inches away from me. I took his moment of confusion as a chance to get the knives.

I crawled over to where Peeta lay groaning on the grass. I ripped his belt off, strapping it around my own waist.

When the bear turned around again, I was prepared. I threw the first knife and it lodged itself in its chest.

He didn't even notice. No blood leaked from the wound. It didn't even look like he felt pain.

I decided this wasn't a regular bear.

I drew another knife. I walked in circles, trying to find a place to throw that would kill it. When I had gotten to the back, I realized the bear didn't have a tail. Instead, there were three red wires.

It's mechanical!

I lunged for the wires. I knew that if I cut one of them, it would shut the creature down. As soon as I grabbed the first wire, the bear turned around and growled at me. He grabbed my braid in his mouth and tried to pull me off.

With one hand, I slapped its muzzle. Hard.

Fortunately, he dropped my braid. I hurriedly cut the wires. When I had gotten halfway through the third one, it sent a shock through my body. I didn't let go, but I screamed loud enough for any the tribute to hear.

In one swift motion, I sliced through the third wire. The bear fell on its side, dead at last.

I tried to walk over to Peeta, but my whole body was shaking from the shock. I lay on my stomach and crawled over to him. His wound was much worse than I thought. A lot of his skin had been ripped off and his face and neck were covered with blood.

"We need to get you back to the Lake. We might have something—" I said, only to be interrupted by Peeta's horse voice.

"No, Lexi I won't be able to make it back there."

"Yes you will! You aren't dying here! I won't let you!" I screamed, tears streaming down my face.

He reached for my hand, holding it tightly in his own. "Thank you for keeping me alive for as long as you did. We both knew I wasn't going to make it out of here." He paused and took a deep breath. "You can though. Win this for me."

"Peeta," I whispered, but he had already taken his last breath. The cannon sounded and Peeta was gone.

I'm sorry for the sad ending :( I promise Chapter Nine will be up soon with the aftermath.

~Ohsnapitspercy~