Hey everyone!

I'm baaaaaack, here with a new chapter for all of you lovely readers

Sorry it took so long, been busy and stuff what with the Holidays and everything

But! I have free time to write and decided I'd best get a new chapter of Battle Worn up and running!

I've been thinking a lot about the story lately, and am considering splitting the rest of Battle worn into another part entirely, it would be shorter than Underestimated and Battle Worn, but I feel like if I might need to split it anyway because otherwise Battle Worn is going to be reeeeaaaally long :P

So anyway, let me know what you think! And please don't forget to leave a review!

Chapter Thirty-One: The Jungle Floor

Lisa and Ryder wander the forest floor for a while, keeping a sharp eye out for any potential campsites, hazards, or things that could be useful.

After an hour or two, Lisa pauses and leans against a tree. Ryder stops and looks back at her. "You okay?"

She nods her face pale and covered in a thin sheen of sweat. "Yeah…just catching my breath."

Ryder sets the packs down and wipes his face off with his shirt. "Good idea. Man it's hot."

Lisa sits down and rests her back against the tree. "Yeah it is. Do you think it stays this hot all the time?"

Ryder shrugs. "I'm not sure. It might cool off some at night."

"Is there any water left?"

Ryder hesitates, but after looking at her pale face, he pulls out a canteen and tosses it to her.

She takes a long drink and then lets out a refreshed sigh. "Ah, much better." She offers the canteen to Ryder. "Here, you should drink some too."

He shakes his head. "No thanks, I'm good."

Lisa smiles and shakes the canteen lightly. "Oh come on, there's hardly any left anyway, you might as well finish it."

He glances at her, his face grim.

Suddenly, realization dawns on her face, and her eyes widen. "Is…is this all the water we have left?"

"I used most of what we had to clean your wound."

She stands up. "Ryder!"

He turns defensive at her scolding tone. "I couldn't let it get infected!"

She sighs in frustration and screws the cap back on the canteen. "You idiot." She mutters under her breath.

He sulks and crosses his arms. "I wasn't going to let your wound get infected. And besides, we wouldn't be worthy of being from District Four if we can't sniff out some water."

Lisa stuffs the canteen back in the pack and then sighs. "I suppose your right."

A rare smile flickers across his face. "Course I'm right."

She can't help but smile too, and smacks his arm playfully. "Oh shut up. Come on, we'd better get going, it'll be night soon."

After another hour of walking, they pause again, glancing nervously up at the steadily dimming light streaming down from the canopy.

"It's going to be dark any minute." Lisa says worriedly.

Ryder suddenly turns his head from side to side slowly, tilting it this way and that.

"What are you doing?"

"Shhh…do you hear that?"

Lisa pauses, and mimics Ryder's actions. Suddenly she smiles. "Water!"

He nods. "Sounds like a large creek or a river, it's hard to pinpoint where it's coming from with all this noise."

Lisa frowns. "You mean the insects? I'd almost forgotten about them."

Ryder shrugs. "After a little while our brains learn to just tune them out as background noise, like the cars and stuff in the Capitol. Or the sound of the ocean back home."

Lisa wrinkles her nose slightly. "Now that I'm thinking about it, they're really loud aren't they?"

"Yep, pretty obnoxious."

Lisa shudders. "Just think of how many there must be to make so much noise."

"And how many different species, just listen to all the different sounds."

Lisa makes a disgusted sound and shakes her head. "I'd rather not think about it."

Ryder smiles and then readjusts the packs on his shoulders. "Come on, let's go find that water."

After traveling in several different directions and then backtracking to where they'd stopped before starting out somewhere else, they finally pushed through some particularly thick foliage and emerged out on the bank of a broad river.

It wasn't flowing particularly fast, but they could both tell it was powerful.

Lisa eyed the murky water skeptically. "Do you think the water's okay to drink?"

Ryder shrugged. "Not sure, we've got some iodine though, so we should be able to purify it."

Lisa suddenly seems to remember something and brightens up. "Hey, do we have that plastic cylinder that the bandages were in?"

Ryder nods. "Yeah, why?"

"Well during training I figured it'd be a good idea to learn as much as I could about finding food and water in the arena, so I took this class about water where they tell you the different places you can find water in different environments, and how to purify it in different ways, depending on where you found it."

Ryder raises his eyebrows. "They had a class like that?"

Lisa nodded. "I don't think many tributes bothered with it, they probably didn't stop to think that any water they find in the arena may not be safe to drink."

Ryder smiles slightly. "Glad I have you on my side. So how do we purify this river water? Can't we just boil it? I've heard that purifies water."

Lisa shook her head. "It does, but it won't filter it, I know how to make a filter we can use before boiling it."

Ryder nods. "We should probably find somewhere to set up camp before starting all that. What do you think about crossing the river?"

Lisa glances across to the opposite bank, then looks at the water. "Well, the other tributes probably aren't too eager to swim across a big river like this, so it might be a good idea to cross."

"But, some tributes may already be on the other side by crossing over in the treetops."

Lisa shrugged. "I'm fine either way, whatever you think we should do."

Ryder thinks for a minute then shrugs. "Ah what the hell, we may as well cross. Besides, it'll cool us off some."

Lisa smiles. "True, do you want to-"

Ryder suddenly puts a hand over her mouth and pulls her back into the underbrush.

Lisa gets over her shock, and looks at him questioningly, then she hears the twigs snapping.

Ryder removes his hand from her mouth, but keeps one arm protectively in front of her, his other hand resting on his sword hilt.

Lisa taps his arm, and points to their packs still exposed out in the open.

Ryder grits his teeth together, glances around them quickly, and then darts out to grab the packs.

"Found you!"

Ryder shouts in surprise and spins around just in time to knock aside a spear thrust at his chest, instead of impaling him, the razor sharp stone tip simply leaves a long cut in his chest.

Dash and I jump up at the same time, our eyes glued to the screens.

"Who?"

Dash identifies the attacker as she materializes out of the underbrush. "Willow, seventeen from District Eleven."

"Heather's tribute…"

Dash looks grim as he glances over at me. "We can't think like that Mags, right now we have to think about our own tributes."

I swallow hard and nod, turning my attention back to the screens.

Willow looks terrible, she's covered in dirt, and her mousy brown hair is greasy and full of twigs and leaves. As she faces Ryder, her lean frame trembles from what I assume is fatigue.

I relax slightly as I size her up, she's short and skinny, Ryder's almost a full head taller than her, and much more muscular, not to mention far healthier. Besides, she's armed only with a homemade spear, granted it's well-crafted and she obviously knows how to use it, but Ryder's metal sword is more than capable of dealing with it.

I look over at Dash to see what he thinks of the situation, and suddenly feel anxious as I see his brow is lined in worry.

"What?"

He gestures to the screen. "You see how she's shaking like that?"

I glance at the screen then nod. "Yeah, I did, so? It doesn't look like she has any supplies so it's more than likely that she's dehydrated and fatigued."

He frowns. "Maybe…look." He taps the image of her on the screen, pointing to her leg.

I frown and peer at her leg, trying to figure out why it looks warped. The screen maybe? "What on earth…"

"It looks like she got hit with the acid rain. See how her pants are melted like that? It looks like the melted material fused with the seared flesh on her leg."

I try not to gag. "Oh my…I'm going to be sick."

Dash winces. "Mags, you know more about this than I do, being a doctor's kid and all, do you think the wound's infected?"

I take a deep breath and force myself to think medically. Turning back to the screens, I survey her leg and then look her over. Suddenly the shaking makes more sense, she definitely looks feverish, and her eyes are all bloodshot. "Yeah, I'd say a pretty bad infection too. She should've tried to peel the ruined pant leg away right after it happened, then sterilized the wound and wrapped it up."

Dash sighs. "Unfortunately, it looks like she didn't have the supplies."

I shake my head. "Unless she gets medical attention soon, she's going to die."

Ryder has scrambled to his feet, but neither him or Willow has made another move, they just stand on the river bank and stare at each other, tense and ready.

Willow's chest rises and falls quickly, and it sounds like it's hard for her to breath. She's favoring her non injured leg, and her whole body trembles as if it's an effort to stand.

Ryder, being who he is, is reluctant to attack her in this condition, but he's not letting his guard down either, waiting to see what she'll do.

"I-I've been…tracking you." She gasps out, her voice raspy.

Ryder glances at her leg, winces, and then turns his attention back to her eyes. "How'd that happen?"

She shifts her leg slightly, hisses in pain and grinds her teeth together. "Damned acid rain, managed to crawl far enough out of range to give me time to swing down to a vine hanging below the branches, then after that I just had to slide down the vine to the forest floor." She laughed. "Almost didn't make it, came so close to blacking out several times from the pain." Her eyes narrowed and she lifted her spear slightly. "But I survived."

Ryder shifted carefully, moving into a more ready stance. "Listen, I don't want any trouble, if you back off now, I promise I won't follow you."

She laughed again and then shook her head. "I don't think so, see I figure you and your little District partner have at least some medical supplies between the two of you. Where is she, anyway?"

Ryder played innocent. "District partner…you mean, Lisa? I don't know where she is."

"Oh please, I know you two have an alliance, I saw you at the cornucopia."

"Look, I'll give you some medical supplies, then you leave, deal?"

She growled and stepped forward, limping severely. "I don't think so. See, what would the point of surviving be if I just had to track you down and kill you later?"

Ryder backed up a step, now right on the edge of the river. "You'd have a better chance at beating me."

She laughed and stepped forward again, but this time Ryder was forced to stay where he was, cornered on the river's edge. "You think that sword can protect you against a spear? I've got range on my side, I can just pick you off from here without getting a scratch on me." She jabbed her spear forward to prove her point.

Ryder managed to dodge it, but she hadn't really meant to hit him, not yet anyway.

"Damn, she's toying with him."

I glance at Dash, a rock in my stomach as I turn back to the screens.

"I don't want to kill you, I really don't, it's a shame to waste such a good looking face in this God forsaken arena, but I've got to get home to my little sister, and the money I'll get for winning this thing will pay all my mom's medical bills."

Ryder suddenly looks conflicted.

"No, no, no, come on Ryder, don't let her get to you." Dash mutters.

I feel sick. What's going to happen to Willow's family if she dies?

"Maybe…maybe my dad will come back…maybe he'll be proud of me for taking care of the family." She has tears running down her grimy cheeks now, and I can see all the fight leave Ryder's eyes.

"Willow, listen, why don't you team up with me? I can help patch up your wounds and we'd have a greater chance at taking down the careers?"

She looks as if she's considering this for a moment, before lifting her spear again and shaking her head. "No, I can't trust anyone. I'm sorry." She lunges forward.

I inhale sharply, sure the spear will go right through Ryder, but at the last moment he leaps sideways, and narrowly misses getting impaled.

Willow teeters unsteadily on her good leg for a moment, trying to regain her balance before turning and lunging at Ryder again, but before she can recover, Lisa dashes out of the bushes and slams both hands into her back, shoving her off the bank.

Willow yells in shock as she falls, then she hits the water with a splash and her yell is cut off.

Ryder turns to Lisa and they both ask at the same time. "Are you okay?"

Before either of them can answer, Willow surfaces with a splutter and flails for the river bank.

Ryder and Lisa look uncertain of what to do for a few moments then Ryder grabs their packs. "Let's go, if we get a head start we can cover our tracks before she has a chance to climb out and track us."

Just as Lisa is about to answer, an earsplitting scream cuts through the air, causing me to jump.

Willow's eyes are wide with fear and pain as she struggles to pull herself out of the water, screaming in agony as the water begins to roil around her, clouds of red stain the river before drifting downstream.

Ryder and Lisa stare in open mouthed horror as something continues to attack Willow underneath the surface.

Her screams are the worst thing I've ever heard in my life, and for some reason I can't look away from the screens as she sinks lower into the water.

One hand claws frantically at the bank, searching for something to grab, while the other reaches for Ryder and Lisa, pleading, begging them to do something.

Before they have time to react, she's dragged under and the water belches more bubbles and blood as it froths.

I see a flash of scales, and teeth, and then the water stills, in the sudden calm a cannon sounds.

Dash's gasp of horror is almost drowned out by my gagging as Willow's hand drifts to the surface, stripped clean to the bone.

Lisa falls to her hands and knees and proceeds to throw up all the food she'd eaten that day.

Ryder's face has drained of all color, and he looks like he might be sick as well, but he holds it together and holds Lisa's hair back as she retches.

"Don't look back." He says quietly, patting her back gently.

Lisa finishes being sick, and then begins to cry, her shoulders shaking in shock.

Ryder hugs her comfortingly, and says quietly. "Shhh, try not to think about it too much, focus on surviving. We need to find a campsite."

After a few minutes, she nods and wipes her face off. "I'm…I'll be okay."

He helps her stand and then shoulders their packs. "Let's travel upriver some, okay?"

She just nods and follows him as they head up the river.

Just as night settles in, they find a little clearing created by a large fallen tree, and a group of thick bushes. They make a quick camp, gathering some dry wood for a small smokeless fire, and pulling out their sleeping bags from their packs.

As Ryder tends to the fire, Lisa takes out the plastic cylinder that contained the bandages, removed the bandages and cut a hole in the bottom. Then she pulls some charcoal from the edge of the fire, drops it into the container, gathers some of the sandy soil, fills part of the container with that, and finally drops in some rocks, the final thing she does is take a small piece of bandage and cover the bottom hole with it, securing it in place with some vines.

"That's going to filter our water?" Ryder asks skeptically as she presents it to him. "A bunch of dirt, rocks, and charcoal?"

She nods. "It filters all the bad stuff out, then we boil the water, or add iodine to purify it and there we go, clean, safe drinking water."

Ryder shrugs. "Okay then, if you say so. We'll gather some water from the river in the morning."

Lisa shudders. "How do we get some without…well, you know."

Ryder grimaces at the memory. "We'll just scoop some out really quickly, try not to put our hands in the water."

Lisa sighs and settles down near the fire. "I guess we won't be crossing the river anytime soon."

Ryder shook his head. "Nope." He motioned her over and said. "Let me take a look at your bandages, they probably need to be changed."

Lisa moved over and sat in front of him, adding some more sticks to the fire as he unwrapped her bandages and checked her wound. "It doesn't look so bad now, still nice and clean and not as swollen."

"What about your wound?" She asked, glancing over her shoulder.

He chuckled quietly. "You call that a wound? That spear barely grazed me, I'll be fine."

She shifted and turned back to the fire. "Still, you need to keep it clean and covered."

"Yes ma'am."

Lisa suddenly remembered something. "Oh! I found a tiny bottle of medicine in this little pocket of my bag, I had forgot about it."

Ryder retrieved the bottle and examined it in the firelight. "I think it's just some basic medicine, you know, the stuff from the capitol that's the cheap cure all? Headaches, stomach pain, antibiotics, cures pretty much anything non serious." He uncapped the tiny bottle and poured the contents over Lisa's wound.

She winced.

"Does it sting?"

She shook her head. "No, just tingles and feels a little cold."

"Okay, well I'm all done, just got to finish wrapping it up…there, all better."

She moved her arm experimentally and smiled. "It doesn't feel so sore anymore, thanks."

He nodded. "Sure, no problem."

She turned and looked at the cut on his chest. "You're right, it's not that deep, but you should still put some of that medicine on it, just to be safe."

He shrugged. "I used it all on your wound."

"What? Ryder!"

"Oh come on, I've had way worse than this back home, I don't need any medicine as long as I keep it clean."

Lisa still looked mad. "You shouldn't have used all the medicine on me."

"There was barely any, and you saw what happened to Willow when her wound got infected. And before you say anything, my cut is not going to get infected, it'll be scabbed over by tomorrow and I'll be good as new, promise."

Lisa sighed. "Fine, but you'd better keep it clean."

He raised his hand. "I swear I will."

She smiled. "Good. Now who should take first watch?"