Chapter 11 – Day 4 – 12 Tributes
I wake up on my left side and the sunrise is hitting through the thin trees, blinding me. I can still see the birds, though. They call to each other too, creating an awful but lasting harmony in my head. The light seems to shine directly in my eyes and my head begins to pound, feeling as if it is about to break my skull open. I lay there for a while and think about not even thoughts but just pictures. I get a glimpse of my mother and Annie and Miranda and Billee. They all sit there smiling and the light in my eyes continuously gets brighter. I'm either going to heaven or the sun is still rising.
It is a struggle to stand up, but once I do, I fall over. I crawl a little bit and then try to stand up again with the help of a tree. I fall again. Then, I crawl. Then, I stand. Then, I fall. It is no use; I cannot stand.
My heart rate is slow, slower than I'd ever felt. This is it; I'm going to die in a few minutes.
I can't though, not from this. This isn't right. If I'm going to die here, I'd rather be slaughtered by a Career. It probably sounds crazy, but dying of dehydration just isn't good enough for me. I've barely even the chance to fight for my survival, I've just been laying here in the dirt.
I decide to crawl again. At this point, I'm dragging my legs behind me. They're no longer able to move, I have not the strength to do so. Finally, I'm out of breath from pulling my body with my arms, and I lay prone in the mud, my cheek soaking in the dampness of the ground.
I dig my nails into the wet dirt below me. It is cold and soggy. I make a noise in discomfort. I still don't want to die like this. Wait—mud! Mud means water supply! It all clicks in my head and I frantically move around on my stomach to locate the source of water. It's hard to tell from so far away, but there is a round collection of flat rocks that hold a pond of clean water in the center of them. Using my hands, I pull myself to the rocks, slowly but surely. I have this sort of adrenaline rush. I will not stop. Once I get to the edge of the water, my whole body slides into the pond. The water is cold and crisp, definitely clean. Well, until I submerge my dirty body in it.
Despite the fact that I have just contaminated it, I drink water right from the pond. My body immediately feels relieved. It's like I can feel the cold water circulating in my blood and finding my arms and hands and fingers. Within a few hours, my skin has returned to its normal color and I am able to stand and move around. I tell myself to take it easy for the rest of the day since I was on the verge of death not too long ago. I cautiously collect nuts from shorter trees nearby and sit on the rocks around the pond to eat them. The pond is almost a perfect circle, about thirty feet across. The flat rocks around it continue past the pond and create a straight clearing in the trees. Anyone can find me here, but the water is still pretty clean, so I decide to stay next to it to keep myself hydrated. I lay down on one of the rocks and stay there eating until midnight. The Capitol seal is in the sky and the anthem plays, still with no faces to show. I accidentally fall asleep on the rocks, but I am safe for the night.