I am so sorry for the long wait! The plan was to post up two chapters on the weekends, but I had a hard time with chapter 22. Speaking of that chapter, THANK YOU GUYS FOR THE KIND REVIEWS! You guys are just plain awesome. I really appreciate how you guys were so understanding and still liked it, despite it being short. Special shout-out to Dancingchocolatesmudge for beta reading this chapter! If you notice my grammar improvement, it is because of her. Thank you smudge! I really appreciate your help (:
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Guest: You're welcome (:
My eyes open and I run a hand through my hair. I feel incredibly invigorated, which is peculiar considering I had stayed awake for a while thinking about the horrific practices of the Gamemakers. I find the heat hasn't affected me, and decide that I only seemed to feel the heat while in the tent. It's probably designed to trap body heat, where the metal of the Cornucopia reflects it.
I'm the third one awake, the first two being Vinera and Sebastian. Vinera is preparing breakfast, and Sebastian is eating some dried fruit. Vinera offers me a smile, not a smirk or a grin, a genuine smile. Ever since she told me about the relationship she and Caiden had going on back home, she stopped being hostile towards me. Maybe she trusts me now, or she doesn't want to say something mean because she'll have to watch camp all night but I don't care, I'm tired of the bickering.
"Good morning," Sebastian nods politely.
"Good morning" I reply.
"Whatcha cooking?" I ask Vinera.
"It's called 'Saibooke' it has bananas and strawberry mixed with coconut milk." she tells me as she reads the description from the can.
"I've never had that in the Capitol." I say.
"Really? It was one of my favorite dishes." Sebastian says.
I open my mouth to say something, but Caiden's snoring stops me. "And I thought he was annoying when he was awake," I say. This makes Vinera and Sebastian laugh.
"After breakfast, we need to take the bowls and spoons to the stream and rinse them" I say. They nod their agreement. We have two sets of dining equipment for everyone, so after two meals they need to be washed.
Caiden moves around in his sleeping bag and I hear Marina murmur something in her sleep, something that I am not able to pick up.
"Breakfast is ready," Vinera announces.
I grab a clean bowl and fill it with Saibooke, which tastes pretty good. The cream gives the dish nice texture and the fruit is just delicious and not too sweet. Judging by the look on her face, Vinera likes it as well.
"Do you like it?" Sebastian asks. I nod, still chewing on the fruit.
"What are you guys eating?" we all turn to Evan, who just woke up.
"It's called Saibooke, try it." I urge.
He pours some in a bowl and puts a spoonful of it into his mouth. Vinera, Sebastian, and I look at him in anticipation. He chews slowly, then a grin slowly spreads across his face.
"Bananas?" he asks.
"Yep," Sebastian answers.
"And cranberries?" he asks.
"Strawberries," Vinera corrects him.
"Yummy." he says like a little kid.
I continue eating my food and when I'm done, I plop myself down on the grass. "Who wants to follow me to the stream?" I ask.
"Caiden, Evan and I will follow since Marina, Sebastian, and Gary went yesterday." says Vinera.
I nod. "That will make a good system." I say. "You know, one day I take Gary, Marina, and Sebastian then on the next day I'll take you, Caiden, and Evan."
Vinera nods. "Good idea."
"We should leave when Evan is done eating." I say.
"What about Caiden?" she asks.
"Oh yeah, we'll wait for him too."
"Then we'll wake the others up and let them know we're leaving." Vinera says and I nod in response.
"This is just excellent." Evan says about the dish.
"We know, just eat so we can go to the stream." I try to not sound harsh.
Sebastian scrapes his bowl clean. He collects all the used bowls and spoons and drops them in the bag. I notice Vinera watching him intently.
"Wake Marina, Caiden, and Gary up." Vinera says plainly.
"Why?"
"They need to eat." Before I can ask what she means, she explains.
"If they don't eat, then there will be clean bowls and spoons so if we go the stream we're only washing half of the utensils. They need to eat and use the bowls so we only need to go the stream once."
"That is very true," I say.
I walk over to Marina's sleeping bag. "Marina, wake up."
I shake her shoulder gently, because I'm scared to break her fragile body due to how small she is. She turns to her side. "Marina," Her eyes flutter open.
"Have some breakfast so we can wash all the bowls." She stretches and gets out of her sleeping bag.
I trudge over to Gary's sleeping bag and nudge it with my boot. "Gary, time to get up."
I nudge it again, but with more force. "Gary, get up."
He opens his eyes for a second, but quickly closes them again. I kick, but not too hard. "I'm up!" he says in annoyance.
I walk over to the next person. Last and least to wake up, Caiden. I carelessly shake his shoulders, doing the complete opposite of what I did to Marina.
"Are you trying to kill me?" he asks, finally waking up. I stop shaking him.
"Why, do you want me to?" I ask.
"Nice try, golden goddess." He says with a flirty smile. I roll my eyes.
"Just get up and eat, so we can wash the bowls and spoons."
"Is it my turn to tag along?" he asks.
"Yes."
He rolls his eyes. "How about I go tomorrow?" he asks.
"Why, what's the problem? Feeling lazy, much?"
"I don't like walking back and forth. It's just a waste of time." he says nonchalantly.
"Oh yeah? Is dying from dehydration a 'waste of time'?" I ask.
"Can someone take my place?" he asks.
"You know what? Why don't you ju-"
"Hey Sebastian, my foot isn't feeling well. Do you mind filling in for me?" he interrupts and asks Sebastian.
Sebastian shrugs. "Yeah, I can do that."
"Thanks," Caiden says.
He winks at me. I roll my eyes as he gets up and walks to where the pot containing breakfast is.
About 20 minutes later…
Marina and Gary finished their food in a short period of time, but the same didn't go with Caiden. He liked the Saibooke so much, that he had about three servings of it. Vinera and I had to threaten him so he can hurry. I grab the bag full of kitchen utensils and open it. "Put your bowls in." I say. Marina, Gary, and Caiden walk over and drop their bowls and spoons inside.
I look around, searching for anything else that needs to be washed. I grab the empty, used pots and put them in the bag. I guess I'll carry the bag on the way there. I set the bag on the ground and fetch my pack with my spears attached. I put my hands through the strap and tighten the string, so it firmly sticks to my back. I pick the bag up and turn to the others. "Off to the stream," I say.
We walk in the path of the barns. The bag is heavy, so I drag it along the grass. To my surprise, the bag starts to feel lighter with each step. What, did my muscles grow bigger? Then I see Sebastian's strong, tan hand picking it up. He pulls it off the ground and throws it over his shoulder as if it were filled with paper.
I smile. "Thank you,"
We walk into the forest, which is active with animal sounds. I walk cautiously, trying to keep the sound of my footsteps low. The others are doing well at being stealthy. When we reach the stream, Sebastian unloads the bowls, spoons, and pots and starts rinsing them with the help of Evan. Vinera and I refill everyone's flasks and canteens. I use my last purification tablet on Evan's bottle. I remind myself to ask the others for their tablets tomorrow when we come back.
When everything is washed and filled, we sit on the bank of the stream. A refreshing breeze rushes by, and hits my face. A minute later, it stops and the hot temperature takes over. We all just sit there on the grass, relaxing. I roll my pants up to my knees and stick them in the water. We don't have to hurry and get back to camp quickly, so we just stay. Ten minutes later, I take my feet out of the cool water.
I'm pulling the left side of my pants down when I hear something moving in the distance. A deer jumps out from behind a tree. I reach for my sheath of spears, which I had taken off and placed on the ground, but it's too late because Vinera's axe is embedded in its abdomen.
"Gotta be quick," she smirks.
"The sheath was far from my reach," I say.
"Sure it was," she says sarcastically. Her expression tells me that she's not being mean, just teasing.
She and I both walk up to the fallen deer. Vinera pulls her axe out of its body.
"The meat will last for about a week." I examine the skin.
"Evan, you can handle a 50 pound deer, right?" I ask.
"What, you think I'm weak?" he jokes.
"Maybe, but you can prove me wrong." I say back.
Sebastian walks off, probably to do his business. He returns with a handful of violet berries in his hand.
"That can be poisonous," I warn.
"I know, but they're not. I sniffed them and checked the color of their insides." "I even ate one," he adds.
"Want one?" he offers. Although I trust him, I pass up the offer but Vinera and Evan take one.
"It's so sweet," Vinera comments.
"I like it," Sebastian says dismissively.
"Can I have another one?" asks Evan.
When they finish the berries, we decide to get back to camp. Evan carries the deer, with the gap between the front and hind legs around his neck. I carry his pack, because I'm not sure he can handle the weight on his shoulders and back. We're close to stepping out of the forest and into the field of the barn, when I feel a stinging pain from my knee down, but my toes are okay, thanks to the boots. Dammit, I should've rolled the right side of my pants down.
I fall on the ground, screaming. It feels as if I dipped my leg in a bucket full of harmful chemicals and acid. It burns. It stings. Do you know how it feels to apply rubbing alcohol to a cut or scratch? It stings, right? Well that 's exactly how I feel, but a million times worse. I don't think I'll ever be able to walk again. My allies are going crazy trying to figure out what caused this injury. I look down at my leg, it's much worse than I expected. It's swollen, and looks a little charred. How did this even happen? I ask myself.
We were just walking out of the forest then I dropped to the ground, yelling at the top of my lungs. I see a flock of birds fly out of a tree nearby. They were probably startled by my screams. I don't blame them, because I did scream loud. What could this be? Poison? If so, then it'll start from my legs, and spread throughout my body. If it reaches my heart, I'm dead.
The world starts to blur.
"Amethine, keep your eyes open!" Vinera yells frantically.
"It's okay, we're going to heal your leg. Just hang in there." Sebastian says. He scoops me up in his arms. In response, I scream in pain.
"Get the utensils, Vinera!" Evan says. He's still holding the deer. Vinera gets the bag along with Evan's pack. Everyone starts running. I bounce up and down in Sebastian's arms; my spears are almost falling out of the sheath. I wonder how he can run fast and carry a 120 pound girl at the same time.
"Should we go into the barns, or camp?" Sebastian asks.
"Camp." Vinera says.
"Why? The barns are just right over there." Sebastian motions with his head.
"I know, but there might be mutts in there and we can't risk it." Vinera says, catching up with him. Evan is somewhere behind us. It's not easy running while carrying a deer.
I stop screaming, maybe the pain went aw- no, it didn't. I let out a scream because the excruciating pain returns.
"You're going to be fine, Amethine!" Evan yells over my screams.
I think we've reached camp, because I hear the gasps of those who stayed back. Sebastian gently sets me on a sleeping bag. Everyone is looking through their packs for something that can help. I feel someone clutch my hand supportively.
"Everything will be fine," Marina says. This is the last thing I hear before closing my eyes. Hopefully, this won't be my last day in the games.
I will start working on the next chapter this week, but I'm not promising that it will be up shortly. What do you think happened? Wasn't that crazy? They were walking along, them BAM! Amethine falls. Tell me in a review what do you think caused it. Again, thank you to those who reviewed and thank you Dancingchocolatesmudge for beta reading and helping me improve my writing. By the way, you guys should check out her page! She has written awesome stories! (:
Thanks for reading and may your day be filled with peaceful mockingjay melodies.