Day 22- The Games (Day 15)
It has clearly been raining all night as I wake to find Fern already up, sitting a few feet away from me with her knife in one hand and her sling loaded in the other.
"They finally decided to unleash the weather on us?" I ask, blearily rubbing sleep from my eyes.
She nods in reply. "This rain is only getting heavier, and there's been thunder and lightning too."
"It feels colder too," I say, noticing it suddenly.
"Yeah," Fern agrees simply.
We eat a small breakfast of berries in silence, before getting ourselves ready to head off for the day- not a lengthy process.
"I think we should head round the base of the mountain the long way, away from the Cornucopia," I say, before explaining. "There's not likely to be anything of use still there and it's to open to stay well hidden and a perfect place for someone to spring a trap."
Fern nods. "Let's get going then."
"You lead the way," I say, "set a pace that's easy on your knee."
She does so, and we head off steadily but not slowly. I ache badly, from two weeks worth of walking through this place and sleeping rough in trees and on the floor, but also from the amount of sprinting we did yesterday. The burns are also a constant pain, if distracting rather than debilitating. I certainly don't feel in much condition to fight, I can only hope that if we do run into someone they'll be equally worn or injured from their time in the arena.
"So," Fern says suddenly, removing me from my thoughts, "we should probably talk strategy. What do we do if we see anyone else."
"I know we have to see all the others die to win," I say, ignoring the familiar jolt as I remember for me that includes Fern, and vice versa, "but as long as Jade's still out there I wouldn't say no to an alliance with anyone. I doubt Jeremiah or Grove would agree, especially as Jeremiah already refused me back on the third day. If they say no then I still don't want to attack anyone unless they attack us first. The more people alive the more chance someone else will kill Jade."
"I don't think I could kill the little girl from 3," Fern says sadly.
"Me either," I agree, "unless she attacks first. My conscience isn't that powerful that I won't fight back to save you or myself."
"So we ask for an alliance and only attack if we're attacked?"
"I don't want to turn into a killer," I say. "I don't want to, say, stab someone in their sleep, or kill someone unsuspecting with a slingshot."
"Unless it's Jade," offers Fern.
I nod. "She's too dangerous, and she's a horrible person. Just watch out for her shuriken if we meet her, those throwing spikes she has."
Fern nods. "I just hope she hasn't got a helmet or anything from a sponsor. Our best chance is probably if I can nail her in the head with one of these," she says, grinning ruefully and humourlessly and tossing a large stone in her hand before loading it into her sling.
As we continue to walk on, we are so on edge that the slightest noise startles us several times, not improving our moods. Fern has her sling loaded and ready and I'm holding my staff in both hands, ready to fight, as much as I can be.
Suddenly I hear something, it sounds like someone or something moving around, a combination of rustling plants and footfalls. It could easily be a harmless animal, or nothing, it wouldn't be the first time today, but it could be a tribute or a mutt, so I stop trying to listen again. I don't dare call to Fern, instead hoping she will realise I have stopped behind her.
She continues for a few more paces, before realising and turning to fix me with a questioning look. I put my finger to my lips and then cup my ear, indicating she should do as I am, and listen.
I continue to look at Fern as I listen, and notice her eyes dart right as if she has caught something out of the corner of her eye.
It's the last thing I ever see her do. Jade bursts out from behind a tree and is on Fern before she has a chance to react, grabbing her head and cutting her throat.
"NO!" I shout, collapsing to my knees as the cannon booms out. I can feel a tiny part of me telling to attack Jade, but it is shouted down by the despair that hits me like a flood as I catch sight of Fern's body crumpled at Jade's feet and the crimson staining over her and the ground.
As I feel the bile rising in my throat, I see Jade simply smirking at me and suddenly anger becomes the predominant emotion. "KILL ME TOO!" I scream at her with everything I can muster. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!"
She pulls a vicious-looking long knife from her belt and I look down, preparing for the end. "With pleasure," I hear her say, sounding horribly smug, before she makes a strange sort of grunt. I jerk my head up just in time to see her collapse face down into the ground to the sound of cannon fire, revealing the axe buried in her skull and the giant figure of Grove stood behind her.
We just look at each other for a few seconds, before he glances down at Fern's body sadly.
"You didn't mean that did you?" he says in his deep, quiet voice. "You don't really want to die?" He seems to take my silence as a no by his next and final words. "I'll let you grieve. Next time you see me you better be ready to run or fight."
And with that he's gone, pulling his axe from Jade's skull with a horrific noise and striding off into the trees. I can't bring myself to stand, but I do chance a hate-filled glance at Jade's body. She's wearing plenty of armour but without a helmet it didn't help her in the slightest.
Moments later I hear the hovercraft approaching. As the sound grows louder it stirs me into action. I crawl over to where Fern lies, trying not to see the death wound in her neck as I look at her for the final time. I reach out to close her lifeless eyes and feel like I should say something too, but I can't think of anything appropriate, and besides, she won't hear it…
Instead I simply take her hand in mine, only relinquishing my grip when the hovercraft lifts her body into the air.
I don't know how long I stay there for, but it has to be many hours. I can't even cry, I hurt too much to express any emotion. Eventually I get up and start walking, but it's aimless, paying no thought to which way I'm going or where I'm aiming for.
I chance a glance at the sky when the anthem plays, but being able to see Fern's face one final time is small consolation for the redoubling in my pain that it brings. Finally the tears break free, silent but relentless as I continue to walk, barely noticing the intensifying pain from my burns. It's been dark for hours when I finally stop walking, my body simply giving up. I fall to the ground and am asleep almost instantly.