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I gulp down some water and lay my flask on the ground beside me. Night is falling and the moon looks so beautiful and bright in the sky. The cold wind blows causing the leaves on the trees in the distance to sway from side to side. I pull the zipper on my jacket up until it's under my chin.
I feel sorry for the ones keeping watch tonight. Or no, I don't. I remember something and a devilish grin tugs at my lips.
"Caiden and Gary, you two are keeping watch tonight." I enlighten the boys.
Before they can groan and complain, I elucidate. "Remember the deal we made the other day? The one where if anyone makes a mean or rude comment, they'll have to guard the camp all night? In this case, since two people instigated something they will both keep watch."
"Aren't we going to the stream tomorrow?" Caiden inquires.
"That's why I decided that you'll only have to be on guard duty for two hours. Complain and I'll add more. Wake anyone up when you're tired." I articulate.
"We don't have a clock. How are we going to know when two hours have passed?" asks Gary.
"Do the math. Sixty seconds equals one minute. Sixty minutes equals one hour. Sixty times two is one hundred twenty. So a hundred twenty minutes is equivalent to two hours." I state. Believe it or not I got good grades for math in school.
Gary looks dumbfounded and Caiden looks like his trying to calculate something in his mind. "What is your point?" Gary asks.
"7,200 seconds equals two hours. You can count all night for all I care." I reply. "Just don't count too loud." I add.
"Are we allowed to wake you up?" Caiden asks.
"Sure, but if someone tries to attack I won't be able to stand." I admit.
Marina covers the empty pot that contained our dinner moments ago and plops herself down on the grass near us. "Whatcha guys talking about?" she asks as she fixes her legs in a criss-cross position.
"Guarding the camp," Gary informs her.
"Who's taking the first shift?" she asks.
"Me and him," Caiden gestures to Gary.
"All night, right?" Marina remembers the deal.
"No. Since the three of you are going to the stream tomorrow, they will only keep watch for two hours."
"Then who will guard next?" Marina questions.
"I will, but I'll need someone else to guard the camp with me."
"I can do it," she volunteers.
I'm not sure if having Marina guard camp with me is a good idea. If the other tributes see a small girl and injured person on guard, they'll definitely try to enter the camp. But then again, they probably won't want to risk getting killed and my spears are made to attack from afar.
"Great."
"Where are the others?" I wonder out loud.
"They're at the back skinning the deer you guys killed." Caiden tells me.
"They're done skinning it. They're cutting it up and putting the meat in a big container. That's lunch for tomorrow." Marina updates.
"I can't wait." Gary says in an excited tone. I bet he'll be dreaming about food tonight.
"So the guard shifts are all figured out. Caiden and Gary are first, then me and Marina. Then we'll wake someone else up when we get tired." I conclude.
The three nod their head. The wind blows again and sends a shiver down my back. "I'm going to sleep." I let the others know. I creep inside my sleeping bag and hug my body to keep myself warm and close my eyes.
I quickly grab the hands of the person shaking me awake. "It's me. We need you to get up and eat breakfast. Marina, Gary, and Caiden are leaving for the stream soon." Evan notifies me.
I let go of his hands. "Sorry," I say in a low voice.
"It's okay."
You can't blame for doing that. We're in the arena, so I need watch my back. Every step, throw, and cut must be careful. Speaking of the arena, I wonder where my other fellow tributes are concealed. There have been no deaths lately, but due to my foot incident the audience might still feel entertained. They must've been on the edge of their seats or betting on whether or not I would die from the wound.
Sebastian gives me a bowl of oatmeal. I thank him and push a spoonful of it in my mouth. I look around. It's probably 9 in the morning, judging by how high the sun is in the sky. It's not too hot and gratefully, the wind would blow occasionally.
I pull my flask out of my pack and take a sip. A couple of minutes later I finish my oatmeal and water.
"Hey Gary." I call.
The minute he turns to me I throw my flask. His eyes widen at the flying object and he ducks. "You were supposed to catch it," I giggle at his failure.
"Oh."
"You thought I threw it just to hurt you?" I ask.
"Yeah, I didn't know we were playing catch." he says pathetically.
"We weren't. I threw it at you so you can take it and refill it at the stream."
He doesn't say anything and just walks away and puts my flask in the utensil bag.
"Why didn't you wake me up to keep watch?" I ask him.
He shrugged. "I didn't feel tired. When Caiden went to bed, I was on guard for the whole night."
"Do you feel tired now?" I question.
"Kinda," he admitted.
"You should've woken someone up." I said.
"Doesn't matter." he waves off.
I turn my attention to Caiden. "Caiden, you're in charge on the way to the stream and back." I inform.
"Yes, sir." he says in a voice that reminds me of the peacekeepers back home. I put my hands on my hips and give him a pointed look.
"I mean, ma'am." he clarifies.
"You guys need to be stealthy. If you guys walk there in a conspicuous manner, you'll send the other tributes running and we don't want that." I instruct.
No one says anything so I continue. "If you see a tribute, DO NOT let them get away. All three of you have weapons that are designed to kill from a distance, so there should be no excuses. When you're going to kill a tribute, do not make it a quick death." I grin at the last sentence.
"What happens if they get away?" Gary asks nervously.
"You hunt them down again and make sure they suffer." I reply coldly.
"When you guys get to the forest, be careful. The cause of my wound is in there and I don't want anyone else to end up with an ugly injury. Watch where you step and do not eat anything that seems odd." I tell them.
"Do you guys have all the bowls, spoons, pots and flasks?" I ask.
Gary opens the bag and peers inside. He moves some things over and takes his hand out. "Yep. We have everything."
"Good. Now, you guys can go. Do not forget to keep an eye out for mutts. Remember that serpent that tried to get me, Marina?" I remind.
She nods. "Terrifying," she recalls.
"You guys can go now." I state. They grab their packs and arm themselves. Gary grabs the utensil bag and starts jogging away. Caiden runs after him until he's in the front and Marina skips her way over.
When they're all out of sight I look at my leg. The medicine is working and I think that after two or three days, the wound will disappear. I still can't move it which is quite weird because if it's healing, shouldn't I be able to move it?
"Evan, have you seen the medicine for my leg?" I ask.
He walks over to me and lifts one side of my sleeping bag up. Under it, lays the small gray cylinder. I pick it up and take the lid off. I take a decent amount and rub it all over the wound. When Evan first applied the medicine to my leg, the pain went away. It would hurt at night, but the pain was bearable. I place the lid back on and decide to just put it back under the sleeping bag.
There's nothing to do. I can't walk around and throw my spears at something for target practice. Vinera, Sebastian, and Evan seem bored too. They're either sitting on a crate or just on the grass.
I grab a spear out of the sheath and twirl it around, trying to occupy myself. I didn't know it would be this boring.
When the other return unharmed, I let out a sigh of relief. As the leader you want to make sure that everyone in the group is alright because if one isn't, it'll slow the others down. That is what's happening to us now, but I don't think my leg is slowing the rest of us down. Or yes it is. We can't go hunting. The others can, but I can't let them have all the fun.
"Do you need help?" I ask Marina as she unloads the bowls and stacks them on top of the black crate.
"It's fine. You won't be able to walk over." She says softly.
I sigh. "Do you guys need help?" I ask Vinera, Sebastian, and Evan who are roasting the deer.
"We're good. Just sit down and relax your leg." Sebastian advises.
"I think my leg is fine. Maybe if you guys can just hold me up, then I can hop on my other leg over there and help." I suggest.
"Just stay there," Vinera tells me.
Gary and Caiden pass out everyone's flask. Gary throws mine and I catch it easily.
"Did you purify the water?" I ask.
"Yes we did." he responds.
"Caiden, we need your help." Vinera calls for her district partner.
"I can do it," I offer.
"Amethine, it's alright. Just sit down." Vinera says.
I feel so useless. I hate feeling useless. I always want to try and contribute something, but with this injury that won't happen. Why won't they just let me help them? I can hold onto something for support, or lean on someone. These guys need find me something to do because if I have to sit on this sleeping bag all day, I will go nuts.
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