Chapter 13- The Second Verse Of The Song
DUN, DUN, DUN! And we're back! So, I've been updating like a mad person (mad hatter!) so here's another chapter for you! Blah, blah, blah... speel.
YOU KNOW WHY/WHY NOT TO READ YOUNG KUMQUATS!
One final warning to you all; I broke my own heart writing this chapter.
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Living in District 4 all my life I have the major advantage of swimming ablities. Where are the boys now? Burning to death? Living, but in pain? Perfectly fine? I swim down farther and then glance up to the surface of the river. Ever since I was little I've loved seeing under water. The surface was like a mirror made of liquid and it offered a seperation from my house full of growing girls, for whom I had to give up eating for. Now when I look up I see fireballs and flames shooting across the surface lighting the underwater world. A forest fire. I've seen one other in my lifetime of Hunger Games watching that I can remember but I have memories of my parents talking of tributes dying in them. True that a few flames in the trees aren't comepletely original, but the Capitol won't care. As long as there's charred flesh and wounds that last for days. Knowing that I can hold my breath for a good amount of time I begin swimming away from the fire. After I few minuets I have to come to the surface and gasp, then dive back under. Unfortunately I'm taking twice as many breaths as I would back home, but with the adrenaline, the heaviness of my backpack, and all this up-chuck lately it's probably harder on my body than usual. When I get as far from the inferno as possible I pull myself out of the water and use my elbows to drag my body under a big pine tree that has branches touching the ground. It offers protection and camoflauge. I pull up my hood so my hair won't attract attention and slip off my backpack to take the excess weight off my shoulders before fainting into sleep.
How long have I been out? I think. My lips are blue and chapped, my hair has dried onto my jacket, and there are goosebumbs all over my skin. I'm starving, like the kind from back home which indicates that I've been asleep for at least a day. But somehow I spit up two tablespoons of retchings. I hope this is it for my vomiting. A parachute sails in and is caught in a tree branch. Pulling out two knives with the thickest and strongest blades, I dig them into the tree climbing up higher and higher until I reach my gift. I climb onto the branch it landed in and open it up finding a loaf of bread. It's the hearty kind that I've only had once, maybe twice, in my life; whole wheat with rasins and walnuts. I slice it up and eat the whole thing. It was still warm. Then I eat some of the ginger root raw. It's not like I have too many options. No note from Finnick I guess. It's not like he could put what he really wanted to down on a piece of paper with Panem breathing down my neck as I read it. Oh well. Now I need to find the rest of my pack. I pull out my chapstick, rub some onto my lips then try to sort things out. I swam up-stream, so I should go down-stream. I don't want to, but swimming is my best bet. I'll be able to hide under the water and travel faster than I would if I were to walk. One down side to this though is that people will know that it's either Collin or me. Only someone from District 4 would have confidence in swimming. But I need to find them. My best guess is that the fire was meant to draw us together, so the Cornucopia might not have our camp anymore. I could swim to the spot where the fire was and then try to pick up a trail from there. I tighten the laces on my boots, redo my hair into a single fishtail down my back, then pull up my hood and tighten the drawstrings. I climb up higher in the tree until I reach the top. I peek out and I can see where the fire was from the fallen ashy trees and melted snow. I secure the two knives into my belt and slide down the trunk of the tree. Then I lift up a few branches and step out into the snow. I stop at the edge of the river, pull out my necklace and give the copper anchor a gentle kiss, just for show. Then I take a deep breath and pierce the surface of the water. I swim and it's not as hard as yesterday now that my stomach is full. I come up for breaths and a quick glance around, finally I come to the spot where I saw them last. I pull myself out of the water and look around. It's strange to see burnt grass covered in frost. Charred tree branches with icicles hanging off them. It's just a reminder to myself that this is a fake world created by the fakes in the Capitol. I look over to the other side of the river where I stood last before jumping in. I pull out three knives and keep my hand ready to throw if needed. I find foot prints in seconds. After awhile the three sets of prints turn into two sets with drag marks. Then, one set with drag marks. These prints tell me a story; First they all ran from the fire, then someone became too injured to walk to the other two dragged him. Then a number of things could have happened. One of the two guys dragging the injured guy could've dropped dead or ran in another direction or left the Career pack. The guy being dragged could've died and one of the guys dragging him could've become weak and needed to be dragged. Or the guy being dragged fainted so one of the other guys threw him over his shoulder and the other guy became too weak to walk. It's a lot of possiblities and they're all very confusing. All I know is that all three of them could possibily be dead. I'll find out soon. I keep following the trail until I come to a small camp set up around a measly fire with a few pine trees fro protection.
"Angel?" Marshal says roughly. His leg is propped up on a tree branch facing the fire. He has no pants on, just his boxers and there's snow on his leg from his thigh to his upper calf. Ringlet jumps up and runs over to me. Then, shockingly, gives me a tight hug. I hug him back, two of them are alive and Marshal is injured.
"It was awful," Ringlet says leading me over to the fire. "I started coughing and then Collin got burned. Marshal and I started carrying him, then a burnt log fell on Marshal's leg and I carried Collin on my shoulder and dragged Marshal. It was a miracle we got out of there alive."
"Where's Collin?" I ask. Ringlet points to sickly figure with curly hair in a sleeping bag. "You guys are idiots! This bag reflects body heat, he's burned do you want him to die?" I shriek. I unzip the sleeping bag and almost vomit again. The boys were smart enough to strip Collin down to his under clothes, now I can see every single one of his burns. Starting at the middle of Collin's chest there are revolting burns with bloodred skin blistering, and his left thigh has burnt blackened flesh. From chest down Collin is burned. I stand up weakly and Ringlet stands by in case I faint. "I need snow, lots and lots of snow." I tell him.
"Okay," Ringlet says. "What else?"
"That's all you can get, I'll find everything else." I answer. My mind is spinning. What did Emily do at a time like this? My mind is reeling for answers. "Aloe vera." I say out loud remembering the green plant that grew in the house. It cost a fortune to buy but came in handy for burns. Aloe vera does not grow in an envoirment like this.
"Angel." Marshal croaks. I turn around and see a parachute at his feet. Oh, right. I'm a beautiful tribute who got a ten, all I have to do say something and Finnick will send it down. I read the card that came with it. Captiol remedies are expensive right now, herbs are cheap as dirt. Need anything else? -Finnick Maybe Finn, maybe.
"Okay, I have snow." Ringlet says bringing an armful of fresh snow over to our camp. I take my knife and slice open the aloe and the stick gel spills out into the snow. I use up half of the leaves saving the others for later. I mix that in with the snow. I chew up some mint leaves and spit that in there too just to help. Ringlet drags Collin in his unzipped sleeping bag over to me. Collin's eyebrows knit together. A moan comes out of his mouth evaporating into the air.
"Shhhh." I say to him. I mix the snow-aloe-mint-spit mixture a little more then place it onto his burns. Collin squeezes his eyes tightly. It sizzles with each handful I place on him. After he's done I work on Marshal's leg. I continue until it's dark. Our fire grows bigger and brighter. Ringlet gets a sponser gift; one very large pot of broth. I coax broth into Marshal, then Collin. Then Ringlet and I feed ourselves. Collin falls asleep, after I hum a lullabye to Marshal, so does he.
"Hopefully we can get a few more days before we have to kill again." Ringlet says.
"Ring, how many days was I out?" I ask.
"Two, the boy from Distict 5 is hanging on by a thread." He says. Neither of us talks about how now it's just us, Chip, and both from 12. Soon we'll be fighting each other. We hear some whining and moaning. I turn to see Collin twitching in some sort of seizure.
"Collin?" I ask. He continues, eyes wide full of pain. "Collin!" My voice is full of terror.
"Please... Angel... It, hurts." He gets out. I check his wounds to see them. Now that the burned flesh is gone I can clearly see that there is blood poisoning. In his legs and chest and everywhere else. If there's this much that means he must've had it in the two days I was passed out. Now it's spread. With blood poisoning you will live fore a few days if untreated. And it's been a few days. I begin making the awful choking-crying-gasping sounds that signal I'm going to cry.
"Collin please! Don't die on me!" I choke. He stops twitching but closes his eyes. "Collin!" I scream. "No, please. Don't leave me!" Collin is still breathing, half asleep. My head falls on his chest as I continue crying. "Deep in the meadow, hidden far away, a cloak of leaves a moonbeam ray." I'm singing, if you could call it that. You can barely hear me. But the song is for Collin and right now that's all that matters. "Forget your woes and let your troubles lay. And when again it's morning they'll wash away. Here's it's safe, here it's warm. Here the daisies gaurd you from every harm. Here your dreams are sweet, and tomorrow brings them true. Here is the place where I love you." I break out crying again, wrapping my arms around Collin's neck. There's no point in trying to save him. He'd just be living in pain anyways. The cannon fires.
"Angel," Ringlet says. "They have to take the body." He begins to pull me away.
"No." I say. Then fiercely again. "No!" Then I kick and scream until Ringlet slaps me so hard and forcefully that the wind is knocked out of me and the hovercraft takes Collin away. I begin screaming insults at both of them then I begin crying. I decide to take a walk and I wander through the trees. Then I find a Witch Hazel tree. I stare at it. With nothing but pine for miles around this seems like some sort of sign. My mind is spinning.
I Wish
I can't believe I didn't think of this earlier.
It Didn't
Are you, are you?
Have To
Going to the tree.
End Like
Wear a necklace of rope, side by side with me...
This
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MUWAHAHAHA! DUN! DUN! DUN! Don't you love me? Angel is going crazy. NO! SHE CAN'T TURN INTO ANNIE! You will have to wait and see is she does...