Second chapter is up!
I hope you like it!
~Meghan
Chapter 2
Allies
The Arena - Day 1
The Panem anthem plays, so loud it wakes me up.
A corner of my mind sings the words that no one in District 7 ever believed:
The brave shall answer the call
And we shall never falter.
One Horn of Plenty for us all!
The sky above me is dotted with stars in an array of colors, shimmering like gems against darkness. The Panem seal floats above me in its usual light-blue color. It fades and a photo in a similar color appears.
I grimace. Of course. The dead tributes...
The District 3 boy who tried to kill me appears first. I remember with a jolt when I grabbed him and threw him in front of me to try to avoid Vine's knives. Did he die because of me?
Surely... surely not...
He was already stabbed in the throat and bleeding by the time I'd moved him. He took out the knife, which must have just helped the bleeding. It wasn't my fault. He was already dead, really. There was no hope for him.
Still. I grabbed him so fast, without a second thought. It didn't matter in that moment that he was another human being, all that mattered was getting away from the person trying to kill me. I can still feel the way his windbreaker felt under my hands, and his nails clawing at my fingers.
I crush my hands around the silver blanket covering me, forcing the memories away as the picture finally changes.
The District 6 boy is next, the one who was blown apart before the bloodbath.
And then my District partner appears.
Part of me feels numb, seeing Timber's face up in the sky, brown hair matted down against his forehead. He said he didn't stand a chance. I guess he was right. Although, he was 16 and he'd worked in the lumber mill all his life, so he wasn't weak - he should've been somewhat of a threat.
But he and I hardly spoke more than necessary. He was a grade above me, and before the Reaping, I didn't even know his name. We weren't close, and he didn't bother trying to get to know me.
It makes me feel bad for his death not making me feel worse.
The boy from 8, then both from 9 and the boy from 10. After them, both from 11 appear. Seeing Vine's face, topped with her tight coils of black hair, makes me blink just to make sure I'm not mistaken. But it really is Vine. She had seemed so skilled just earlier this morning, standing amidst the bloodbath and taking out the boy from 3, and then trying to kill me without remorse.
She'd scored an 8 in training, which qualifies as a Career score.
What happened to her?
Both from 12 appear next, though that's not much of a surprise. They were both so skinny and malnourished, even after spending over a week in the Capitol. The boy had been able to use a pick ax fairly well, but it's another thing to actually use it as a weapon.
I sigh, reaching a hand up to rub at my temple as an ache starts to form.
My fingers brush something gauzy.
I frown, tracing a wrapped bandage running around my head. Why don't I remember doing that? I don't even remember falling asleep. I sit up a bit, propping myself on my elbow. The blanket covering me sounds like the tribute parachutes do, rustling like a cross between foil and fabric. But it's warm, despite the cool air around me.
When did I do this? The blanket must have been in my pack.
I look over at the dark lump of a backpack sitting next to me. I frown deeper. What time did I go to sleep? There was the bloodbath and the axes and-
"What?" I whisper, sitting up. Black dots speckle my vision, my head squeezing like when I stand up too fast. I move my backpack, waiting as my head returns to normal, searching for my axes.
Where are they? Where did I put them?
My heart begins to beat faster as my hands shake, unzipping one of the pockets of the backpack.
I left the Cornucopia with the backpack and the axes, and then I came here to the boulder field and then I... I...
I passed out... I never took out my blanket or put on a bandage. And I was holding my axes.
"Hello?"
"Lexi."
I whip around, scrambling backwards. The foil blanket crinkles underneath my hands as my heart lurches, catching in my throat.
The little blonde girl stares at me, blue eyes wide. Behind her stands the broad-shouldered, dark-skinned boy that saved her during the bloodbath.
The image of him snapping the neck of the boy from District 9 makes me move away faster. My back presses against a rough boulder. I scan the ground for a moment for a rock or for anything I could possibly use to defend myself.
"We won't hurt you," the girl says lightly, giving me a quick smile.
I doubt you could, I think. But then I look at the boy.
The twisted neck of District 9 runs through my mind again.
They most certainly took my axes. How long have they been there, standing behind me as I sleep?
But then that means-
"You did this," I croak, reaching one hand up to my bandaged head. "You did this, right?"
The dim moonlight above us slants across the twelve-year-old's face. She nods. "You were bleeding."
"No I wasn't," I blurt without thinking.
"Yes you were," the blonde girl says, laughing a little. "You were just passed out, lying there on the ground on your face, bleeding to death. We saved you."
My eyes flick up to the boy. He's stoic, staring at me without a word. But I can already sense that he doesn't seem to share any of the friendliness his ally does. I try to remember them from the training sessions and interviews. Everything seems fuzzy when I try to think too hard, but a few facts come back.
"You're District Five, aren't you?" I ask, my throat dry and raw.
The girl bobs her head, smiling again. "I'm Lexi, and this is Hendrix. You're Fern, if I'm remembering right. You're the only one here with red hair, so I'm pretty sure you're Fern."
I don't respond, still looking at the boy. Something is glinting on the side of his backpack, just barely visible in the dark.
"You took my axes," I mumble, not even sure they hear me.
"I don't think you need them right now," the boy says quietly, his voice slightly condescending.
"Why did you help me?" I ask, trying to calmly think through my situation. If they wanted to kill me, they would've done it by now.
"I told you," Lexi says simply. "You were bleeding."
This is the Hunger Games, a voice in the back of my head says. Who saves a stranger in the Hunger Games?
"You were nice to me," the girl from District 5 continues. She blinks her luminous eyes. "In the Training Center. You smiled and told me I did a good job when I climbed the rock wall."
I remember it, of course, now that she's brought it up. But it had just been one compliment. She was clearly scared when she was climbing up the rock wall, everyone around the large gymnasium learning how to wield the weapons and skills we're now using. She's just 12 and it seemed like the right thing to do at the time. I didn't realize at the time that she'd factor it into possibly saving my life.
Because that's what these two did apparently. Who knows, maybe it could have been some other tribute that found me before them. I was just passed out in the dirt, losing blood...
The axes glint again in Hendrix's backpack, reflecting silver moonlight. I swallow, my tongue feeling like bark it's so dry.
"Do you want to be allies with us?" Lexi asks me.
For a moment, I can't even think I'm so startled by the question. Did I even hear her right?
"Allies? Fern?" she says.
I glance at Hendrix. He's silent, watching me, daring me to make a threatening move.
"Why do you want to be allies with me?" I ask Lexi, trying to keep my voice gentle. I have no reason to not trust them so far. And they bandaged my head... maybe I would have bled out. Maybe someone else could've come across me, passed out on the ground, not too far from the Cornucopia.
But I do have reason to think Hendrix might no want me around.
Lexi seems to read my mind. "He's a little grumpy, but he's actually a sweetheart," she says, turning back to smile up at Hendrix. "And don't worry, he wants you as an ally too."
I raise an eyebrow questioningly. It makes my forehead crumple uncomfortably against my head bandage.
"Well, he wants what I want anyways." Lexi shrugs. "And I want you to be my ally. You know edible plants right? You're from District 7. You make wood."
I can't keep my lips from twitching into a half-smile. It's such a childlike thing to say, it's so out of place here in the arena. "Lumber. Right. And I know some, but-"
"And you got a good score in training," Lexi continues before I can.
I don't reply. I glance down at the ground, their feet in my peripheral vision. If they wanted me dead, they would've done it by now. Right? That could've gotten them some sponsors, being the first ones to score a kill after the bloodbath.
I lift my hand slowly, non-threateningly, and feel the back of my head. Clumps of hair stick together with what can only be dried blood. I sigh. My mind makes itself up, and before I know it I'm certain.
Finally I look back up at Lexi, and then Hendrix. "If you want me as an ally, then I accept."
Lexi beams. Her smile glows in the darkness.
"But I want my axes back," I say, looking up at Hendrix again. He makes no move to return them. I hold out my hand. For the first time, I notice the blood splatters on my skin and beneath my nails. "You can trust me."
"Trust is earned," Hendrix replies calmly.
I bite back a spark of frustration. For a moment, I want to scream at him. He might be a hulking five-eleven male, but my axes are all I've got. I need them.
Lexi peers up at her District partner. "Give them back. We can trust her."
Hendrix doesn't move a for a second, but then looks down at her. "Lexi-"
"Please?" she watches him, her eyes wide.
"If it helps," I pipe up, Hendrix glancing at me, "I think you know you could kill me before I kill either of you. Regardless of the axes." I try not to think too much about just how true it is. Having my axes makes me fell much less vulnerable. But still. In the face of tributes like Hendrix, they might not be enough.
Hendrix doesn't nod or shake his head. Instead he just says, "at least you aren't stupid, Seven." Then he takes one of the axes out of his backpack and steps around Lexi, walking towards me. He stares me down as he holds out the ax, edge-first. I reach out and take it, the cool metal making me relax. My fingers wrap around the black, rubber handle, dotted grips running across my palms.
"You'll the other back when I can trust you," Hendrix says.
A part of me wants to argue, but the other part of me is content with what I have.
"You need water," Lexi says suddenly. She takes off her small drawstring backpack, rummaging inside. "If you want, we can all pool our supplies. That way we can divvy things up."
I glance at my backpack. It doesn't seem like they've taken anything of mine. Yet another reason to trust the pair from 5.
I set my ax down in my lap, reassured by the weight. I reach over to my backpack. If sharing my supplies will make Hendrix trust me, then it's worth it.
I dump out the contents onto the hard-packed dirt in front of us, moonlight making it possible to see. There's a spool of silver twine, a pack of dried fruit, a waterproof canister of matches, a three-use packet of aloe, a pack of dried beef, cut disinfectant, and two bottles of water.
"You got good stuff," Lexi says, looking at my backpack supplies. She pulls an empty water bottle from her backpack. "Me, not so much. I used half of my gauze on you. But I also have a thing of bread. Oh! And a file. I dunno what that could be good for. Hendrix has better things."
I wait for the boy from 5 to empty out his own large backpack, but he doesn't. Instead he just leans against a boulder across from us. It's meant to seem casual, I can tell. But I can also see him his too-tense posture.
"Here," I say, holding out a bottle of water to them both. I smile a bit at Hendrix. "I haven't had a chance to poison it yet."
Lexi grins, but Hendrix doesn't find it very funny.
"I have my own water," he finally says. "Lexi had some of it too."
"Well, you can always do with more," I say simply, setting the bottle in front of Lexi. Who knows how much water is in this desert arena. One year, when I was little, there was just a taiga arena with just one lake for all the tributes to get water from. It never rained during those games and no one had any spiles, and all the moss was deadly. Some tried digging into the ground, but they didn't get very far. It devolved into a lot of tributes being picked off by Careers are they desperately tried to drink from the lake.
A seed of fear sits in my stomach. I hope these Games will be nothing like those.
I open the second water bottle, taking a large gulp. It's a delicious sensation, feeling the water cool the dryness in my throat. I try to limit myself, petering down to sips, leaving half of the bottle.
"We'll need a fire, won't we?" Lexi asks, looking over at Hendrix, her blonde ponytail swinging.
He shakes his head. "No. The Careers aren't out hunting yet, but they'll come. I don't want any smoke signals to lead them to us. Leave that to the idiots."
"Oh," Lexi says.
I look down at my foil blanket. I hadn't been paying much attention to the cold with how much adrenaline was in my system at the surprise visitors. But now that I can feel my muscles beginning to relax, I become more aware of the chill pinching the tip of my nose and fingertips. The lower half of my body stays warm. The blanket must be heat-reflecting. Something tells me Lexi and Hendrix knew that when they covered me with it.
"Thank you," I finally say.
Lexi peers at me.
"Thank you for the bandage. And the blanket," I say. I feel like they pick up on the unsaid words: Thank you for saving my life. I owe you.
Lexi nods. "Of course." She frowns, pursing her lips. "What happened to your head? Who did that?"
"The boy from Three," I say quietly. I blink as the boy's hazel eyes, wide and alight with visceral fear, flash before my own eyes.
"Oh..." Lexi moves her drawstring back a bit. "I saw him tonight... in the sky..." She pauses, then looks at me. I can't read her expression as she asks "did you kill him?"
I shake my head. "No. The girl from District Eleven did. Then she tried to kill me."
Lexi tilts her head a bit. "Well, don't worry. She's dead too, I saw it."
I nod. It's strange thinking of Vine. For some reason, I'm not as happy she's dead as I figured i would be. She tried to kill me. But at the same time, all I can picture is the unsmiling girl who never spoke a word until the interviews. She was serious and monotone, like she felt no emotion and didn't even bother to hide it. Instead of being glad she's dead, I'm almost curious about how it happened. Probably the Careers.
"Hendrix saved me from the boy from Nine," Lexi says, making me look over at her. "He tried to kill me, but Hendrix didn't let him."
My lips part as I think of a response. Finally, I nod my head just slightly. "It's good Hendrix was there then."
Lexi doesn't smile, but bobs her head and then starts sorting out her small amount of supplies.
I don't look at Hendrix, instead peering at the dark reflections in my foil blanket. I can't help but wonder why they're allies. Why would someone like Hendrix - someone who, as I remember, Johanna said was bound to have heaps of sponsors if he lived through the first few days - be with Lexi? Part of me feels horrible for wondering it, but it's true. No one 12 year-old has ever won the Hunger Games. Hendrix seems like he could handle himself and have a shot at winning. He's even more muscular than the boy from District 4.
But having a little kid next to him would just slow him down. She's a liability. Maybe, though, she's a ruse for sponsors. District 5 would probably be able to rally behind a hero protecting a child in the Hunger Games.
My gaze flickers towards Hendrix, and immediately my theory is gone. He still leans against the boulder, half in shadow. He was too protective and caring towards Lexi. He's too brotherly to be using her for sponsors.
"We'll go look for water tomorrow," Lexi says. "I think we should."
I nod. "Yeah, and we might want to get away from these boulders. They block out the wind, but I want to be further from the Cornucopia."
"You both need to sleep," Hendrix finally says. His low voice is calm.
I look over at his District partner, and just barely see her shiver.
"We can share my blanket," I say without thinking. I look over at Hendrix, wondering if he trusts that I won't try to harm either of them yet. No way he'll let my take watch. Besides... just thinking about staying up all night makes me head hurt.
Lexi doesn't wait for Hendrix to say anything, grinning at me as she walks over and lays down. She places her backpack under her head like a lumpy pillow. She takes a section of the blanket, pulling it over herself as it crinkles. "Thank you, Fern."
I smile back, and the the first night in the arena begins.