"Let's begin with that section over there." Cashmere pointed to the direct opposite side of the Arena to the section which was before us, where the rain had been. "It should give us a few hours to find food and water before whatever happens there, and we might find some tributes who've been pushed there by the other events."
"Fine," I admitted grumpily, not wanting to admit out loud that Cashmere was being intelligent. "Pick a weapon and let's move out before anything else can happen."
I slid my knives into slits in my suit as I spoke, and slung a long hunting knife on a belt over one shoulder. Brutus slid his sword onto his back and Gloss followed suit. I saw him eye up Brutus' sword and rolled my eyes, knowing he was comparing their size. Honestly, men.
There was no point leaving someone on guard duty at the Cornucopia. We'd be stronger all together and most of the tributes left alive in the Arena had already gained weapons at the Bloodbath. And it wasn't like we had food or supplies to guard.
Without another word we began to lope off down one of the long, thin spits of sand towards the distant jungle. I scanned the dark line of trees where it met golden sand as we approached but everything was still and silent. Not one human movement could be seen in this section or those either side of it.
"Wish we knew what was happening in that section," Brutus muttered to me as I passed him. He nodded his head towards the currently active bit of jungle where nothing but the innocent rustling of tree tops could be seen. I agreed with him, though I was beginning to have a suspicion about that. When I said that nothing happened there, I realized it wasn't the same nothing that I had heard during the night. This nothing was the absence of anything sinister, not the absence of anything full stop. I had a feeling that if there had been an evil at work in the jungle there, the silence would have been more complete, more eerie.
We moved into the trees, the ground underfoot changing from sandy dirt to spongy turf, speckled with vines and clumps of moss. It was nature but not as I was used to it. The humidity of the air was suffocating, making the skin tight suit feel claustrophobic. I was used to scorching dry heat, not this intense stickiness that weighed us down. I saw the others struggling too as we made our way cautiously uphill through the jungle. We were all in peak fitness but there was sweat glistening on Gloss's forehead and Brutus was increasingly red in the face. Cashmere paused and swatted her ponytail away from her neck in frustration, panting.
"We should stop," I said, breathing hard myself. "We can't keep going like this until we sort out water. It's too exhausting and we won't last long. Has anyone seen any signs of fresh water?"
Everyone shook their heads. Brutus glanced at the sky meaningfully. "We could really use some water purification tablets right now," he said in a fierce tone. "Turn some of that useless seawater into something drinkable."
I scowled at him, knowing he was trying to threaten our mentors. I was ashamed that he thought we'd need sponsors help so soon. "We don't need that," I snapped quickly, throwing the sky my own quick glance. "We can find water on our own."
He glared at me. "Don't let your little fight with Domitius get in the way of us living, Reyes," he threatened, taking a step towards me. "Don't you remember that pride is a dangerous this in here for Reyes girls?"
I snapped, lunging at him with one of my knives already unleashing itself from its sheath. Gloss moved like lightning and stood between us, suddenly blocking my sight of Brutus. Cashmere came from behind me and yanked my ponytail, tugging me backwards. I stumbled a few steps but managed to keep my feet and instead turned on her, knife held out.
"Want to try that again, One?" I spat at her, furious at the way they had ganged up on me, humiliated me like that. The rage at Brutus' comment about Clove was still coursing my veins, desperate for an excuse to unleash itself in violence. I wanted Cashmere to give me the excuse to lung at her and sink my knife into her chest, even if it would meant the end of the alliance already.
She didn't though, too wise to antagonize me further. She shifted restlessly, keeping out of my reach, and narrowed her eyes. "Quit your brawling, Two," she snapped. "We don't' have time for your temper."
I clenched my teeth in anger at her, feeling the wary eyes of Gloss and Brutus on my back. I was saved from having to either admit she was right and back down, or make a mistake and try and attack her, but the sudden appearance of the evil in the next segment.
We all jumped when a high pitched scream erupted from the calm jungle a few hundred feet away and then the sound of an unworldly growling and shredding sound met my ears. It made my stomach flip. It was clearly an animal of some description and by the sound of it absolutely enormous.
There was no shortage of mutts in this Arena that was for sure.
"Let's keep moving," Brutus said quietly, snapping us all from our horrified reverie of the monstrous sound. There was no argument this time and we all turned our backs on the noise as a canon shot fired.
"So how are we going to find water?" Gloss asked, slashing out at a nearby tree in irritation. "It has to be here somewhere. There would have to be a way of finding water without reliance from sponsors."
I looked around, nodding distracted agreement. He was right, there would have to be a way.
Gloss slashed at a few more branches and then swung his sword hard at a nearby trunk. I was about to tell him to stop wasting his energy when Cashmere bet me to it, scolding him as though he were the younger.
"No. Wait," Brutus said, holding up his hand to silence the bickering pair of siblings. "Look at the tree."
We all looked at where Gloss' sword blade was still embedded in the drunk. A slow trickle of clear liquid ran from the slice he had made down the rough bark. I dipped my finger into it and held it to my nose, sniffing it suspiciously. It was odorless. Slightly fearful, I dipped my tongue into it, worried I was about to consume some horrible poison. The refreshing coolness of water hit my tastebuds.
"Water!" I exclaimed, looking up at the tense and waiting gaze's of the others. "It's water, stored in the trees!"
Gloss gave his sister a smug, triumphant look. She scrunched up her nose at him. "Well don't just stand there," she retorted haughtily. "Keep going."
Gloss and Brutus exchanged an exasperated look while Cashmere flicked her ponytail over one shoulder. Brutus picked up his sword and moved to a different tree and Gloss wrapped his fingers around the hilt and wrenched it free of the trunk with an almighty heave that nearly sent both him and sword toppling over. Cashmere sniffed contemptuously, overseeing their work with a self-important demeanor. Before she could boss me around too I moved away through the trees, back towards the noise of the beast.
I was curious. I wanted to know more about this Arena. We were slowly figuring it out but it felt too slow. We were meant to be Careers, this was meant to be our Arena. In the density of the jungle it was hard to tell where we were in relation to the other segments. I couldn't see the water or the beach any more. I stopped walking, wary of walking straight into the howling monster's path.
There was no doubt it was a mutt, which meant it was probably programmed to respond to human movement. It might even just appear whenever it sensed a person in its territory. I pulled one of my blades to the front and scanned the trees around me.
Nothing moved in the lifeless humidity. We had reached what I guessed was the middle of the day and even the trees seemed to hot and exhausted to rustle. I took a cautionary step forward. A stick snapped under my foot but nothing else moved. I took another step.
A monstrous shape exploded out of the trees not two feet from me. All I saw was gnashing teeth and wild, dripping wet fur. It was instinct that brought my blade up and sent my stumbling backwards as the beast lunged forward. I dropped to the ground, ready to duck away from the fangs that were inches from closing around my head.
The deep angry growl silenced. I look up but there was nothing there. I climbed back to my feet, glancing around me anxiously. Nothing. The jungle was back to not stirring. I looked down at my blade, still held reflexively before me. The tip glistened with crimson blood where I had slashed at the beast. It had been real, not a figment of my imagination or a hallucination of the Game Makers.
Breathing hard I looked to where my feet had been. I could see where I had stood when the best attacked because when I had thrown myself backwards I'd left marks in the soft jungle floor, turning the earth over to a dark, rich brown. I took a deep breath and pushed my toe into the soil in the scuffed footprint.
The terrible howling filled my ears almost instantly and my vision was filled with matted grey fur. I was prepared this time though and instantly retracted my foot. It vanished. The jungle where it had been sat still and silent.
"What in Panem's name is that?!" exclaimed a voice behind me and I turned to see Gloss stopped several feet away, sword held ready but frozen, his eyes wide and staring at the empty jungle. He'd gone a slightly paler shade. A moment later Cashmere and Brutus crashed up beside him. They looked in confusion from my expression to Gloss' horrified one.
"What is it?" Cashmere demanded.
"I found the beast," I replied with a level of calmness I didn't actually feel. To demonstrate, I stuck my arm out behind me a little way. The howling began again and I snapped my arm back over the invisible line before any damage could be done. I didn't turn to look at the beast this time but instead watched Cashmere and Brutus' faces.
They both went slightly pale. Brutus lowered his sword and swallowed. "Well we're steering clear of that."
"You were top of your class in strategy, weren't you?" I said scathingly and he glowered at me.
Cashmere eventually managed to pull her eyes away from the spot where the beast had vanished and visibly pulled herself together. She gave a little shake and then looked much calmer. She glanced at the sky. "How long have we been here?"
I followed her gaze by the sky was one dull grey cloud. The sun wasn't visible and even if it had been there was no guarantee it followed the normal rules.
"Did you get water?"
Gloss held up his canister, now sloshing full of beautiful water.
"Let's get out of here then," I decided. I threw a quick glance over my shoulder at the empty jungle which held a monster and then began to follow the others as they wove through the trees. I kept my eyes on the ground, cautious of the thick vines and roots that criss-crossed the jungle floor. So I didn't know Cashmere had stopped until I crashed into her back.
"Ow! What-?" I exclaimed angrily but she didn't respond. Brutus and Gloss glanced back at the sound of my voice. Gloss rushed back to his sister.
"Cash? What is it?" He gripped her arms and gave her a little shake.
Rubbing my nose indignantly I moved around in front of her, glaring. She didn't seem to notice though. Her eyes were fixed on a spot of jungle over Gloss' shoulder. I followed her gaze but there was nothing there. I looked back at her- she'd gone a sickly shade of white.
Fear prickled across my skin. No matter how much I hated her, Cashmere wasn't weak. If she looked like that then something was terribly wrong. Her lips moved in silent words. Gloss leaned in closer.
"Cash, what? What did you say?"
"NO!" she screamed suddenly, making me jump. Without another word she spun, wrenching herself from Gloss' grip, and took off through the trees. We all stared for a moment of stunned confusion and then Gloss took off after her. I threw a look at Brutus, sighed and then took off as well, darting and leaping over trees and roots in pursuit of the siblings.
The moment of confusion had allowed them to get out of sight already in the thick jungle. I ran towards a flicker of movement ahead of me, a shape shifting through the trees. I heard Brutus behind me, footfalls louder than mine on the jungle floor.
The flicker of white through the trees moved again, to the right this time. I stopped running. It couldn't be Gloss, he couldn't have doubled back like that without me noticing. I skidded to a halt, Brutus crashing to a sudden stop beside me, and gripped the hilt of one of my knives. Fear prickled on my skin again as I spun, scanning the dense trees.
The flicker of white moved, shifting so it was every direction I looked.
"What are you doing?" Brutus hissed at me, in a fighting stance as well though looking around confused. I didn't reply, my eyes fixated on the movement that was coming closer through the trees. I watched it- a person- materialize. They stepped out from behind a tree, the white- their clothing- shining like a beacon against the rich greens and browns.
My stomach dropped. The white of their clothing was a thick jacket, white fur lined hood thrown over their head, leaving their face in shadow. There was a scarlet spatter of blood across the white of their jacket. They weren't dressed for the jungle in their heavy boots and thick furs…they were dressed for the snow.
"Reyes! Enobaria!" Brutus bellowed beside me angrily, but his voice sounded as though it was a million miles away. I stared at the figure who was still moving closer to me, willing them to throw their hood back. I wanted to see their face but at the same time I dreaded it.
The person came within a foot of me before the stopped. I could have reached out and touched the still glistening blood on their jacket, but I wanted to do nothing less. I wanted to run but it was as if an icy wind had suddenly whipped up from nowhere, freezing down to my bones, freezing me to the ground. I remembered this feeling as if it were yesterday, the debilitating cold, slowing turning my blood to ice slush. The fear that I'd fall asleep and never wake up.
Standing in the middle of the hot and humid jungle I was transported back to my frozen arena eight years ago as the person threw their hood back and cold, black eyes bored into me.
Lupa.