**Fair warning, there is death and a little gore in this chapter, not to mention this is probably the longest chapter I've ever written for this site! Enjoy much and please review! Here is Day 3!**
The Capitol Anthem does not sound off tonight. No one died today. One more day that Tyler is alive.
I wake when it's dark, but I know the sun is on the rise. I think overall, I've gotten more sleep here than I did this whole last week. Then I frown, realizing what put me in that sleep.
"Xavier?" I call out. But he doesn't answer. "Hello?" I know this is dangerous, but I'm feeling a little rebellious at the moment.
The sleeping bag is on me. A small fire has been lit and is slowly dying out. As soon as I leave the sleeping bag, I realize how much colder it is outside. That's weird. It wasn't this cold last night. Unless it's just going to keep getting colder and colder until we all freeze to death. Fantastic. The ground is covered in a fresh layer of frost, and the trees carry bigger icicles.
"Xavier?" I call again. Careful not to leave our little campsite, I walk through some of the trees towards the clearing until I hear talking.
"Remember, get her to the base of the mountain today, we'll take care of the rest." Athena's snake-like voice says quietly.
"I still don't like this plan." Xavier's voice is wavering. "Do any of the others know about it?"
"No. This is between you and me. She's useless to you anyway. What you really want is me as an ally." Athena's arms slide around his waist and pull him to her.
So it's true. They got to Xavier just like Jem got to me. We're both in an alliance that's a lie. My heart beat speeds up quickly. I shouldn't stay with him. I really shouldn't. He's planning with the Careers, or at least Athena, to murder me.
Xavier wiggles out of Athena's embrace then. "I don't want to do this. I won't. Annie is a good person." Well now I feel like shit. "Kill her if you want on your own time. But she is my ally, and I'll defend her if it kills me." My stomach has dropped to my butt. I can't go through with this. I can't be loyal to Jem and Xavier.
"If you change your mind about whose side you're on, you know where to find me." Athena turns and leaves, just like Jem did to me. The only difference is Xavier's not a traitor.
He doesn't move after she leaves. I take this chance to go back to our campsite.
Near where I was sleeping, the opened parachute sits at the base of the tree. In it, is an empty syringe; probably what Xavier used on me. A small card lies next to it.
Use it on Annie NOW
-Finnick
Thanks for that. I let out a sigh, then something catches my eye. The back of the card is shiny. I touch the paper, and it feels just like the paper back home…
Then it hits me. I pounce on our backpack and pull out the water bottle and pour some onto the card. Instantly the shiny side, produces an extra message. This was the best way to pass notes in class back home. Teachers were so frustrated because they would catch the notes but wouldn't be able to read them. When all they had to do is pour some water on the paper. When it dries, the message goes away. The message it carries, makes my whole being shiver.
Don't trust Xavier
-Finnick
"Annie? You awake yet?" He's getting closer.
I sit cross-legged in front of the dwindling fire and pretend to look sleepy, but at the same time angry.
"You gave me sleep syrup." I grumble.
Xavier sighs, a slightly pained look rests on his face. "I had to. You were rambling on about things you shouldn't be talking about. They could really hurt us in here."
"Us? They'd only hurt me. Don't be ridiculous."
"I'm your ally! They'd hurt me too!"
No need to raise your voice. "Then why don't you just leave me? Go find yourself a new ally?"
"Because I don't want another ally! Jeez Annie…" His voice trails off. He looks pained, but I know he's really not. Finnick says not to trust Xavier, I feel compelled to trust Finnick over him. "What's gotten into you recently? I go to sleep and the next thing I see is you're on some kind of angry-at-the-world rant! What do you want?"
I pause for a moment, before finally saying "I want to go to the Cornucopia today."
This takes him completely by surprise. "Now you're just talking crazy."
"I'm serious. The Careers must have found a hot spot by now and the Cornucopia is too cold. They won't be guarding it without sacrificing a few fingers or toes. They couldn't have moved everything to wherever they're hiding out."
He looks me over. "This is a bad idea."
"You don't have to come if you don't want to." I say like it really doesn't matter.
A huff escapes him. "I can't leave you all alone in a state like this."
I glare at him. "Are you suggesting I'm mentally incapable?"
"You're mental about something." We stare at each other. My face unmoving. His wavering. He doesn't like this. I can tell. Too freaking bad. Jem can have him. He's been working behind my back the whole time, then screw him.
…When did I get so harsh? It's the games change people, it's the most common thing Mags told me when Finnick returned. He was colder, darker, shy, and definitely older. He got better of course, improved so much he became the Capitol's most prized possession. But there are some Victors, who don't ever get better. When I was young, the winner of the 58th games ended his own life because he couldn't live with himself. He was sixteen, from District 6 I think it was. Most Victors in District 6 turn to alcohol or drugs, and he overdosed. Left a note and everything, but that's not what they told the districts or the Capitol citizens. President Snow said that he was murdered and that whoever did this should be put to justice… Speak of the devil. Mags and Finnick told me otherwise that when Victors are "murdered" it's because they killed themselves and they don't want anyone finding out.
But what if they stopped one stage before killing themselves. Just put themselves in a kind of trance where they can block things out. Everything. Just exist, but not live. That wouldn't be much of a life, especially if you were alone.
I don't want anyone to die. But I want to see Finnick again. Wait, no stop thinking like that! Tyler has to make it out. Maybe I can find him after today is over.
"Fine. We'll go." I hear him say.
"You should rest first. Never know what might happen." I say standing.
The ground rumbles beneath us.
"What was that?" My voice comes out as a whisper.
The ground actually moves this time, shifting hard to the left, throwing us both to the ground. "Maybe we should go now." He suggests getting back to his feet.
"Agreed."
We take off running with our stuff just as the ground splits open. "What the heck is that?!" Xavier yells at me.
"I don't know but I don't like it!"
The ground cracks and rumbles wherever we run, I think towards the lake. I take a look behind us and see that water has started to flood the area. Like a flash flood. My thoughts drift to Rae, in the underground tunnels… would those be effected by this? She could drown.
We reach the lake faster than we did running away from the Cornucopia. Our boats are still here. We jump in and race to the middle of the lake. I turn back and watch the water from the forest come flooding into the lake. It brings mud and twigs along with it, turning the water a dark color. The lake water is still warm and the steam rising from it is relaxing. But we can't stay here. We're sitting ducks out here. Xavier has the same idea, because he's yelling at me to keep paddling.
We reach the snowy fields of the Cornucopia, and just like I thought, or just like I said, the Careers aren't there. Technically it's like Jem said, but that's a minor detail at the moment.
Our shoes are fit to handle the snow, but I don't know for how long. It could begin to soak through, and that would just suck. The sky is whiter this early morning. I can feel the sun on my back, but not it's warmth, not yet.
A lot of the items from the Cornucopia have been moved, but many still remain. The closer we get, the more pink color appears in the snow. I pass over one area in particular, that is not pink, but deep red. A scream floats through my ears, and I see the girl from 10 getting her arm taken off. I wince at the sound the sword makes as it cuts through bone. Blood everywhere. I can even see the outline of her body.
"Annie." I whip around. Xavier is giving me a concerned look. "Hold it together. Okay?" Then he takes a few more steps forward. "You were right. It's too cold here for the Careers to stay and guard it. A chill nicks the back of my neck. The wind has picked up around here.
It all happened like Jem said:
Xavier and I neared the Cornucopia. We got close enough that I grabbed my own backpack, I kept my knife close.
Athena walked out from behind the pile of stuff, smiling as she played with her knife.
Xavier shouted "RUN!"
I made a dash for the abandoned city. Xavier hot on my tail. Athena following us at a pace slower than I thought.
Being an expert net maker, I knew a hidden trap when I saw one. Right before I would have run into it, I jump into one of the buildings to the side.
Xavier wasn't so lucky. He ran right into it, and was caught in a rope trap six feet into the air. "ANNIE?!" He's calling for me. I shouldn't move. "ANNIE!?" I really shouldn't move. I know Jem and the others are on their way. "ANNIE?!" I'm an idiot.
If he's being held up by these two buildings then the rope line should be upstairs. I climb a small ladder in the corner of the room and find a small loft. Sure enough, there is the rope being held down. I take out my knife and start cutting. It's a small knife.
I'm almost done when I hear Jem laugh.
"Look what we caught."
I feel myself freeze.
"I believe this is your kill. It was your idea after all." Jem says to one of the others. So it wasn't Jem's idea? I push myself away from the window the rope is connecting Xavier to. I don't want to see them.
"Thank you." I hear Dominique's voice say.
"How do you want to kill him?" Jem asks.
I really need to be able to not go into a state of mind when I hear his voice.
"We could let him sit for a day or so. Make him beg for it." Dominique says.
"Fuck you." Xavier's voice fights back, though something about the way he speaks sounds like defeat.
"You're call Dom." Athena says.
That's when I hear the snapping. The rope is about to finish itself.
I hear Dominique say something else and she walks closer to Xavier, probably marveling at her prize.
Then the rope snaps. A girl screams. The sound of bone snapping rings in my ears. Xavier hits the ground with a thud. The sound of Jem's voice cursing makes me shiver. I race down the ladder and run out to meet him, but he's having a show down with the Careers. They don't see me yet. Maybe it's better they never do.
I make a run for it in the opposite direction. Towards the edge of the forest where everyone else must have entered. There's no water flooding here.
There's a scream. And a canon. I don't stop to look and see who the hovercraft picked up. I keep running. As soon as the woods get dense, I look around for another door knob at the base of a tree. Just like the one I found the first time, it opens to a tunnel. Now for something to light my path. I'm sure there's no lighting fixtures down there.
Sure enough, there is Ignis Root, or Fire Root nearby. I fumble around in the backpack and pull out a match, lighting it quickly, and touching it to the root, which instantly catches fire. Then go down to the tunnel and close the door behind me.
As soon as I'm cut off, I let out a kind of breathy laugh, cry. My hands are shaking. I drop my torch, which stays lit and my legs give way.
I don't hear myself breathe, but I can feel how roughly its coming out. My face is wet, from silent tears. I just betrayed by ally. I did cut him loose. But now he's probably dead. I tried… And you weren't good enough. I pull my knees to my chest and burry my face. I can't be strong right now. This is so much harder than I thought it would be. Everyone has breakdowns eventually right? Nothing to worry about. I just need a few minutes to let myself cry and be alone.
I must have cried myself into a zone because the next thing I know, I'm being shaken awake.
"4. Wake up." My torch has just about died out, but I can see his brown hair through the light. It's not brown really, now that I look at it again. It's more of a caramel color. "Are you def?" I shake my head. "Then get up."
My legs move slowly, whining against my body weight. They want to rest more.
The boy suddenly flinches when he sees what I'm holding. I look down to where his gaze is seated and stare at my small knife that is gripped tightly in my hand. I thought I put it away after trying to cut the rope.
"Give me your knife." He says sternly.
I look up at him like he's crazy.
"Give it to me." His voice a little frantic, and he begins shifting his weight back and forth.
"No. Why should I?" Finding my voice, I say down to him. "This is the only weapon I have. What reason could you give me that would make me possibly want to give it to you?"
The boy shuts down momentarily. His dark brown eyes bounce everywhere on the walls of the tunnel, everywhere except me. He has a small cut on his forehead, but it's healing, at least a day old.
"I need it." He says quietly.
"So do I."
"Please don't make me take it from you." I give him another once over. He's a scrawny thing. He's probably never had a full meal in his life.
"What's your name?" I ask him, sitting back down, knife still in hand.
"What?" He looks sweaty.
"What's your name?" I use a calm voice, hopefully to try and get him to open up to me.
He fidgets some more. He has a small side pouch slung across his shoulder. There's blood on it. He has blood on him. I'm tempted to ask if he's killed anyone, but this kid is in a very unstable mind state. There's no apparent weapon on him, and he's so boney, he probably only weighs 90 pounds; which is rather unhealthy, but unfortunately very common.
He looks around the ground a bit more, then decides to sit across from me in the tunnel. I move the dying torch fire between us. It's not a lot of light, but it's enough to see each other.
"Dynzel." He says finally. "District 5."
"How old are you?"
"15."
I smile kindly at him. "My name is Annie. District 4." I pause looking at him. He has now looked away and is blushing furiously. "But you already knew that didn't you." It's a statement, not a question.
He fidgets again. Looking anywhere but me. "It's important to know the names of all the tributes." He says quietly.
"What good does that do?" I ask curiously.
"I… uh… I don't…"
"You don't know everyone's name do you?"
He looks up at me suddenly, and then in rapid fire, lists them all. "Jem and Dominique. Maverick and Athena. Carser and Ellie. Tyler and Annie. Dynzel and Oria. Ren and Mellery. Maxum and Janelle. Xavier and Kendra. Gally and Leanne. Nathaniel and Trista. Salem and Shauna. William and Rae."
My face must look shocked, because a cocky grin spreads across his too. "I can do ages, birthdays, hair color, eye color, training score, and height too." He says.
"How? Why did you even take the time to memorize all that?"
He looks down then. "I have a photographic memory. Just like my mom. Only, she remembers written words better and I remember people better." He looks ashamed.
"What's wrong with having a photographic memory?"
"Nothing, unless you witness something terrible." He pauses. "Like watching someone die. It stays with you. The look on their face. The blood. The blank stare in their eyes. Everything. It's impossible to leave your head once it's there."
Oh. "I'm sorry. I didn't think about it that way."
He doesn't say anything then. Just looks down at his fingers and fidgets. Part of me wonders how he's so calm about having people dying carved into his memory. His perfect memory. I think I would go crazy if I saw people dying all around me over and over and over.
Dynzel reaches into his backpack then, or sidepack, and pulls out a necklace. A silver necklace with some kind of circular shaped ruby red pendant in the middle. He hands it to me. I look at the pendant closer, and in the middle is a name sketched out: Oria.
"I watched Oria die. She wasn't my friend. But she was from home." Watched her die? I watched her die too… was he in the woods? I didn't even see him. "I would have killed Salem, but the guy from 8 got to him first. I didn't want to go up against 8 without a weapon."
"Salem?"
He rolls his eyes. "The boy from 11, I just told you his name not two minutes ago."
Right. I hand the necklace back to him. "This is very pretty."
"This was her token." He says, putting it back in his sack. "I took it off her body before the hovercraft could pick her up. I want to bring it back to her family in District 5 when I win." I watched the hovercraft take her body. I didn't see him. Was he really that quick? Was I just not paying attention? Did he see me?
"That's very thoughtful of you. I'm sure they'll appreciate it." I say as kindly as I can. He gives me an odd look then, like I have a bird on my head as a fashion statement. "What?" I ask.
"I just made the comment when I win… and you didn't seem threatened by it. Not bothered at all." Well at least he didn't see me in the trees, or at least he's not saying he saw me.
"That's because I'm not. To be honest, I'd much rather you win than any of the Careers."
"Aren't you considered a Career?"
"Only because of my mentor, Finnick. District 4 wasn't a Career district until he had such a triumphant win five years ago. We go back and forth. We're very wishy-washy like that." I smirk at him. Then my face becomes a bit more serious. "Of course, if I'm being totally honest, I would want my counterpart, Tyler to win."
Dynzel tries not to look offended. "Why?"
"He's so young. He hasn't had a chance to live yet. Hasn't completed school, fallen in and out of love, and he'll never get to have kids if he doesn't win. Plus knowing him the best out of everyone here, I guess I'm a little biased."
"I get that." Then he pauses. "Does that mean you've gotten a chance to live?"
My voice falters slightly. "Well, I have three years on him. I've had more time. And based on odds and the past, someone older is more likely to win. And I don't really want to steal that time from him; it's time that he deserves more than me."
"You're probably the most selfless person in the history of the games. You know that right?"
"There's a first for everything." I smile at him.
He smiles back. For a moment, he looks more like a man than a boy. The games affect everyone. I wonder if I look like an old lady to everyone else. An old lady, painfully gripping a knife, making casual conversation with a boy who wants me dead.
"Do you have a weapon of your own?" I ask.
He frowns a bit. "No."
"What do you prefer?"
He picks his head up slightly. "I have good aim with long distance. Short distance I'm terrible."
"Sounds like archery. Sniper?" I had heard of snipers in the war. They were archers or gunmen who participated in long range shooting. Usually perched on building tops or hillsides, or even trees; then when the enemy would come close enough, they would be able to take them out without totally giving away their position. They would be so well hidden that the victims wouldn't have time to look everywhere before knowing what hit them.
Dynzel nods. "I was really good with one in training. They said I was the best with it." I'm not sure if he's being smart telling me this.
"So you need my knife to get yourself a bow and arrows?"
He nods again. "And I know where they are, I just need to kill him to get them."
"Him?" Fear rises in me slightly. What if he's talking about Tyler? Tyler is smart though, he would have only grabbed a backpack and ran if anything. I hope.
"Nathaniel. The guy from 10. He grabbed them before I could get to them."
"You went into the bloodbath?" My eyes wide and my voice shocked.
"I had to!" He scowls at me. "Look at me! I'm 90 pounds of bait. I have no skills to protect myself, no weapons, no allies, and I'm not memorable! I have no hope of getting sponsors unless I make it to the Final Eight! I NEEDED TO GO!" He's trembling, his face white.
I calmly move over to him, and force him to sit back down. "When was the last time you ate?"
"I don't know." His voice is shaky at best.
I reach into my pant pocket, not yet knowing what's in my new backpack and pull out the assorted nuts. "Here." I toss them to him. "Eat them. I've got extra." I have no idea if I have extra. Food yes. Nuts, no.
His face is full of shock, staring at me. His mouth is literally hanging open, and his cheeks have regained a bit of color. Is he embarrassed? "No one has ever given me food before…" He says quietly. "I always had to work for it, even from my parents. It was never free for me." Then he walks over to me, kneels down in front of me and hugs me. "Thank you 4."
"Annie." I say quietly, returning the hug. "Call me Annie."
He pulls back smiling, then begins to eat the nuts thoughtfully and with care.
I watch him finish the bag in ten minutes. It would have taken me two. "Where do you think this tunnel goes?" I ask him once he's finished.
"That one," he points to the left. "Goes towards the mountain. That's where I just came from. You don't want to go there, it's ice cold, and the tunnel fills with snow every night." Then he points to the right. "That one I have no idea. I was heading down there, when I found you."
"Okay. So do you know, or at least have an idea of where 10 is?"
"I haven't seen him since the bloodbath on the first day. Can you believe it's already the third day?" No, I really can't. "He was running towards the mountain, that's why I went there. But he found the tunnel system first and escaped. I think he's somewhere in the woods above us. If not here, then maybe closer to the lake."
"We can't go to those woods."
He cocks an eyebrow. "Why not?"
"My ally and I went there, and we stayed hidden for the first two days, but then it began to make noise. The ground shook, and cracked beneath us. Water came spewing up from underground and flooded the place. If anyone is there, it's in the trees. Unless you don't mind walking through cold water, it could even be ice by now."
He laughs lightly. "I keep forgetting how cold it is up there, when I've been staying down here where it's warmer." Then he pauses. "I don't think we should stay here too long."
"Why not?"
"I think a lot of tributes have realized these tunnels exist. They're all going to be down here at one point or another."
I don't want to move. I'm comfortable here. Then again, it could be dangerous to be too comfortable in the games. Especially if things begin to slow down, the gamemakers will surely spice things up. I finally agree with him and stand up. He's taller than me, but not by much. I didn't know he was this tall when he first found me.
As soon as he turns to walk down the tunnel to the right, I gasp. He has a cut, on the back of his neck. It's small, but it doesn't look like it's been treated properly; puss is leaking out of the edges of the scab.
"You're hurt."
He doesn't stop walking. "I know." And he doesn't say another word. Even when I try to get him to stop so that I can look at it, or at least dress it properly, but he refuses.
We walk for about an hour in the tunnels. Until finally, water has begun to drip from the ceiling. I get a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. But not only that; the walls look charred, like they were burned. Then I see why, just under a thin layer of dirt, it the fire root. It's all around us. Above us, below us, to our left and to our right. It becomes more and more apparent the closer we get to the end of this particular tunnel.
"Dynzel, I think we need to turn around."
"What? Why?" He looks back at me over his shoulder.
"The walls are made of a flammable substance. And it looks like they were recently burned. I think they're going to burn again."
"Annie, what are you-" The ground begins to shake. "What the?" We are thrown against the walls, and the tunnel, begins to turn. The tunnel we just came from is suddenly replaced by black, and the tunnel in front of us, is now a bright orange glow. The glow is creeping closer, and the walls grow warmer. I begin to sweat and my pulse quickens. They're going to light this tunnel on fire.
"RUN!" I scream.
Dynzel doesn't question me this time. We make a sprint for the tunnel that looks black. I can feel the heat building behind us. My lungs begin to burn with smoke, and my legs protest, but I don't stop. I begin to pull away from Dynzel. I didn't think I was that fast.
The black is growing closer, and my stomach drops. There's no adjoining tunnel. It's just empty space. I skid to a halt, and Dynzel almost runs into me.
"What do we do?!" He yells looking back at the growing fire, it has slowed its destructive pace, because the fire root is thinner over here, but it has in no way stopped.
I look around the blackness frantically, but find nothing to go to. I close my eyes and try to think, calm down a bit, and think. What would Finnick do? What would Finnick do? A voice comes to my head, but it's not Finnick's.
"Jump." It says into my ear. Xavier's voice. Always expect the unexpected.
"We have to jump." I say to Dynzel.
"What?! Annie are you crazy?! We'll die!"
"Would you rather be burned alive?" I yell back. He begins to think about it. "There's no time to think! Just trust me!"
He gives me an unnerving look. The fire is right behind us. I'm not waiting anymore. I step off the ledge, and jump. Air flies around me, my stomach in my throat at the sinking feeling my body is giving. Pulling me down, down, down into nothing. I hear Dynzel scream. Then it's cut off. I can hear the air in my ears as I fall farther and farther. I close my eyes and try to relax my body. It will hurt less if I land relaxed.
Then everything stops. No sinking feeling, no air rushing around me. Am I dead? I must be dead. I don't feel anything. No heat, no cold, no pain. Maybe I'm paralyzed. But there's no sound hear either. No smell. Nothing.
I open my eyes, and see white. Then everything slowly comes into focus. Warmth surrounds me. There's a slight thrumming in my ears. I smell water. Water? I look up quickly, only to sink under water. Quickly bringing myself back up, I look around, I'm in the middle of the lake. How did that happen?
The closest shore is a hundred yards or so to my right; the woods. I begin to swim over.
"Annie!" I look around in a panic. Only to see Rae on the shore waving to me. I move quickly over to her and begin coughing up water once I get to shore.
The sand welcomes me to lie down, and I happily accept. I stare at the white sky. It looks like it might snow. I shiver thinking about it. Rae has set up some kind of fire hut and ushers me in. I thank her silently by meeting her blue eyes, which have surprisingly softened since I saw her last. Then I notice the scaring. Burn marks travel up her arms and the back of her neck. Part of her dark ponytail has been singed.
"You were in the tunnel?" I gasp out. Smoke still present in my lungs.
She nods. "I was out looking for any sign of anyone, when the tunnel began to turn. I was confused and began to run. But I ran in the wrong direction. The fire caught up with me as I reached the edge. Then I jumped. I'm guessing you did too?"
I nod. "There was nowhere else to go." My voice becomes thicker. "Has a canon gone off recently?"
She shakes her head. "Why?"
"I was down there with the boy from 5. He didn't jump with me."
She looks bewildered. "He must have, the fire would have surely killed him otherwise."
That's when we hear the gasping. Rae and I bolt out of the hut to see Dynzel grasping at the water, he's already much closer to shore than I am, but I don't know if he can swim.
Rae doesn't waste time. She jumps in one of the boats, I didn't even know she had, and paddles out to him. She pulls him in with her and starts back to shore. I help her pull him out of the boat. Skin falls from him when I grip him. Burnt, dead skin. I feel myself gag momentarily, Rae seems just fine. She rolls him on his stomach onto a giant leaf and we see the damage. He must have waited a good while before jumping. His entire back is scorched. Blackened skin towards the middle, turns towards a raging red on the outsides of the wound.
"What do we do?!" My voice comes out panicky.
Rae simply looks down at him. He's currently passed out, probably from the pain. His hair is singed just like Rae's is, only her burns aren't nearly as severe. His shirt, well, it may or may not have melted into his back. I don't see his side pouch, it must have burnt as well. Which suddenly reminds me. I race back into the hut, and find my backpack, good thing I jumped with it, isn't too burnt. A little blackened, but not too bad.
Dynzel moans. "Is there anything we can do?" I ask her again.
She shrugs. "Not unless you want to put him out of his misery."
"Kill him?" I can feel my fingers shaking.
"That's the only thing we can do Annie. I don't have any experience with medicine. I don't think you do either."
"But what if he gets better?"
She gives me an odd look. "Why are you so against people dying? Everyone is going to die eventually. All but one. If he's gone, that's one less."
I don't like death. "Just, give him until tomorrow, please?"
Rae huffs at me. "Fine. Grab his feet." She grabs his hands and together we haul him into her little hut. He groans, and it freaks me out.
We leave him there for a while. Each of us sittin outside the hut. I turn to Rae. "So the jump from the tunnel, it takes you to the lake?"
She nods. "It's a specific tunnel, that when entered, causes a chain reaction. The ground shakes, the tunnel moves. Down there, if you don't jump, you burn to death, and up here, you could get caught in a flash flood."
"I still don't get how we land in the lake."
"This is my theory: when the tunnel moves, you get so disoriented that you don't register it flipping gravity. So that when you jump, you're not jumping further into the ground, but you're actually jumping towards the surface of the lake. Then you go through that numb phase and wake up on the surface or just under it. That lake is very relaxing for some reason."
"I've noticed."
"I thought I saw you come up, but I wasn't sure it was you. You were just floating on your back for a few minutes. Like you had no care in the world. I tried calling your name, but it wasn't until later you finally realized where you were. Like you were in some kind of a trance."
I look out at the lake and sigh. "I've been getting that a lot lately."
That's when we hear the beeping. Our heads look into the sky so quickly we probably gave ourselves whiplash. A parachute is falling in our direction, and lands not five feet from where we sat.
Rae gets up in an instant. Opens the card and reads it out loud.
Stay alive.
-Haymitch
"My mentor sent us burn cream." Rae says as she pulls out a small circular silver container.
"Let me." I say to her. She flinches as I get closer to her, but eventually lets me put the salve on the back of her neck and the back of her legs that got licked by flames. When I finish with her, I get up and move over to the hut, where Dynzel is still unconscious.
"What are you doing?" Rae asks suddenly.
"I'm going to give Dynzel some. I don't need it and there's more than enough."
"Annie." Rae groans at me. "You're helping someone we both want dead."
"Well he's not dead yet, and now there's something I can do to help him. Shouldn't he have a fighting chance?"
Rae almost growls at me. But I ignore her. She doesn't come after me once I continue to head towards Dynzel. He's slightly shaking in his sleep. It must hurt. I kneel beside him and take a good scoop of the salve and lay it on his back. He tenses instantly, his mouth opening to scream, yet none comes out. It takes me almost an hour to evenly coat his entire back. He's not nearly as tense when I'm done, and his sleep, or unconscious state looks much more peaceful.
I walk back outside and don't see Rae anywhere. I'm not too worried though. She's a tough kid. Maybe now would be a good time to go through the new backpack I picked up.
Dried fruit
Assorted nuts (yes!)
Water bottle with solution
Rope
Two boxes of matches
And a spare knife, pocket sized compared to mine.
No sleeping bag though, I frown at this. I don't really want to make a fire, because it's getting dark and they'd be able to see us from across the lake, but I don't want to freeze to death. The sun has just set, but the sky doesn't show it. Normally you'd associate colors of orange, pink and red with a sun set. The sky is just gray. It was white all day.
My stomach growls then. I walk down to the lake, fill my bottle with water, drop in some solution and then walk back up to the hut. I take out the dried fruit from my pant pocket and begin my feast.
"You're eating without me?" Rae's voice startles me. She walks towards me from the woods, two dead birds in her hands.
"Just some fruit. Want some?"
She turns her nose up a bit, but then her stomach agrees. "I caught some food. We have to cook them though. I think we'll be safe if we light a fire in the woods. That's what I've been doing anyway, and I haven't been caught. Yet."
"A hot meal sounds fabulous."
We walk through the woods together for a few minutes, until I come to a patch of ground that looks slightly charred. Her cooking spot. Not knowing at all how to light a fire, I let Rae take over. She seems very familiar with fire in all forms. Soon it's blazing, and so warm. Being away from the lake makes it colder out here. Icicles are forming on the trees again. And the low lands of the forest are coated in freezing water or ice left over from the tunnel turning.
Rae pulls the birds' feathers and guts, which I don't care to witness. Soon they are over the fire, and the smell hits my nose making my mouth water. I pass some dried fruit to Rae to munch on before we have our bird dinner. I feel kinda bad not saving any for Dynzel but he is unconscious, and we don't want the bird to go bad.
I feel terrible not saving any for him once I actually begin to eat it. It's delicious! Rae said they're called turkeys. Though she thinks they're babies since they were fairly small. I don't remember the last time we had bird to eat back home. We'd occasionally get chickens but that was it. Finnick didn't bring any Capitol food home with him whenever he returned from visits. To think he kept turkey from me this long… the nerve of that guy.
After Rae and I finish, the sun is nowhere to be seen. The sky is a dark gray blue, and a light fog seems to be descending onto us.
Back at the hut I apply another layer of the burn cream on Rae who relaxes under my touch. Her wounds are looking much better than they were.
We don't light a fire near the hut because we're back out in the open. And with only Rae's sleeping bag, it could be a cold night. Luckily we have the warmth of the lake nearby, but it still won't be enough to keep us totally warm.
I volunteer to take the first shift, seeing as Rae doesn't look like she's gotten any sleep these past couple days. She huddles up in her heat reflecting jacket, telling me not to worry, that she's used to this kind of cold with nothing to keep her warm. I suggest that she cuddle up next to Dynzel, body heat can help. She growls at me.
About an hour into my shift, I hear a groan from inside the hut. A male groan. I rush back inside. Rae is already awake.
Dynzel is shifting in his sleep state. I put another layer of cream on him as well when I was done with Rae. The burns don't look as severe, but he's still badly injured. I wonder how much pain he's in.
He begins to move like he's awake. I wish he wouldn't. It's making the giant scab on his back crack and leak some kind of fluid. I feel the turkey in my stomach moving. He groans louder this time, seeing as he can't move around as he would like to.
Rae tries to still him. "Help me." She says. "Grab his other arm."
"I'd rather not." I say, gagging slightly.
She rolls her eyes. "You said you wanted to help him. This is helping him."
I groan and look away as I grab his arm to hold him down. He begins to shake quite violently, almost screaming. I feel something drip onto my hand. I don't dare look at it.
Rae begins to struggle keeping her side down. "We have to make him quiet."
"How?" I ask her frantically.
She gives me a pointed look. Oh.
"You do it." She says to me.
"I don't want to do it!"
"You're the one with the knife." She replies quite annoyed.
I pull my knife out of my belt. I have no idea what I'm doing. I look at his back, and hear his screams, and I freeze. He wanted to be the one to go home. He wanted to take his counterpart's token home to her parents. But with his side-pack missing, the necklace is surely lost.
"Do it!" Rae yells. "Before someone hears him!"
"They're gonna hear you two if you keep yelling." I position my knife over the back of his neck, ready to shove it into his skin, when puss starts to leak out of his back. I'm going to be sick. I drop the knife and run. I make it barely to the tree-line when the turkey comes back up. And it tasted so good. Now I'm hungry again.
I feel tears on my cheeks. Am I really that emotional over turkey?
A snap in the woods catches my attention. There's a shadow moving. Moving towards the hut. Towards the screams that Rae hasn't silenced yet. I stay low in the trees and watch as the figure emerges. A tall skinny boy, with light brown hair has stepped onto the beach. He's wearing two coats it looks like, and he carries a bow and arrows. This must be the boy from 10. What did Dynzel say his name was? Nate? Nathan? Nathaniel! Only right now, he doesn't have the bow drawn, but a large knife instead. I can't warn Rae without giving myself away.
Adrenaline begins pumping through me. If I do this, I'm going to have to do this now. Right now. NOW!
I bolt from my hiding place, silent on the sand and tackle Nathaniel to the ground. We land with a large "Umff!" I hold onto his back as he squirms, trying to keep him pinned down. But he's bigger than me. He throws me off easily, and I hit the back of my head on a rock. I'm dazed. My vision is blurred. All I see is dark gray. The sky.
There's some rustling going on next to me. Some groaning and moaning. I hope Rae is okay. My hand touches the back of my head; there's a definite bump. I bring my hand back around, and there's no blood. That's a good thing.
Rae screams. More adrenaline. My vision returns and I see Nathaniel has Rae in a chokehold up against a tree. Her feet are off the ground. I pick up the rock I hit my head on, and stalk over to them. My brain not really keeping up with my body, because next thing I know, I'm right behind him, and bang the rock against his head. He falls in a slump.
Rae is dropped to the ground, gasping for breath. Nathaniel twitches on the ground. Blood pooling out of the back of his head. I might be sick again, if there was anything left in my stomach. The rock falls out of my hands.
"What took you so long?!" Rae screams at me once she can breathe properly.
"What do you mean? I came over here and got him off you!" I scream back. The last bit of adrenaline still running up and down my body.
"I had to hold him off first! You were just lying there looking at the sky!"
"I couldn't see anything!"
Rae stops. She looks deeper into my eyes. Then she sighs. "I should have taken the first watch. Your eyes are dilated, so now you can't sleep. I think you may have a concussion."
Brain swelling, lovely.
We look at each other for a bit, but something seems off. "Rae, did a canon go off?"
She looks down at Nathaniel who is no longer moving. "No. It didn't."
And just like that, BOOM. One canon. I release a breath I didn't realize I was holding. One more down.
We begin to walk back to the hut to deal with Dynzel who isn't making noise anymore when I feel and hand grasp my leg. I let out a squeak of surprise as I fall to the ground. I look back, and see Nathaniel, alive, and kicking. Blood dripping from his head, and a murderous look in his eyes. His dead black eyes. My body freezes. He growls as he raises his knife above me.
A flash of silver catches my eye, and suddenly, the knife I gave to Rae to kill Dynzel with, is lodged into Nathaniel's neck. He lets out a choking noise. Blood now pouring from his mouth. He drops his knife, falls over on top of me, and his eyes roll over. BOOM.
"Are you okay?" Rae asks as she pulls me out from under his body.
I can only nod. My voice is momentarily gone. Rae goes back for both knives, and the bow and arrows.
"Dynzel died. That was what the first canon was. We were stupid to think that just a rock to the back of the head could kill him." She kicks Nathaniel's leg. "We should pull his body out of the hut so the hovercraft can get him." She kneels down to me. I'm still staring at Nathaniel's face. It was so evil before, now it looks peaceful. "Annie." My eyes jolt to hers. "I need your help."
"Okay." I manage to whisper. She helps me to my feet and walks slowly with me over to the hut. We drag Dynzel's body out. Nathaniel's is already gone.
The hovercraft comes down and pulls him up.
Just a few minutes later, the Capitol anthem begins. The Fallen:
District 1 – Dominique
District 5 – Dynzel
District 10 – Nathaniel
Dominique was the one who died early this morning?! That means Xavier is still alive! Oh he's gonna be pissed at me. I left him all alone… He'll kill me now for sure. I go and sit down by the water's edge, knowing that he's out there, probably hunting me. Betrayed, possibly injured, and bent on revenge, who knows what could happen? My body shivers as I feel tears sting behind my eyes.
"Annie? You okay?" Rae asks as soon as the pictures of The Fallen disappear.
"I originally allied with Xavier, the boy from 8."
She nods. "Yeah I know. What about it?"
"I was also allied with the Careers in secret." Rae's mouth drops open and she stops breathing momentarily. "I was supposed to give my loyalties to them, and lead Xavier to them today. And I did it! But it went wrong. I was happy to do it, because I thought he was going to sabotage me with them tomorrow! I overheard him talking to Athena but then he refused to do it. I was so hurt that he would even consider it that I didn't care for a while if he lived or died. But then, I realized that I was doing the exact thing to him, that I feared he would do to me. When we got there, he fell into their trap, and I jumped into hiding. He was in a net. I tried to cut him loose then, but the Careers came and I froze. They didn't see me, but I was a coward. I stopped cutting and only thought about myself." Tears are streaming down my face now. "Then the rope finished itself and he landed on one of them, now I know it was Dominique. And at the time I thought it was his canon because it would have been three on one, but now I know he's alive. And he knows I abandoned him, and that's not what allies do!"
Rae doesn't say anything as I sob into my coat. She tentatively puts her hand on my back and begins to rub up and down. It actually feels comforting. Though when I steal a look at her face, she doesn't look very comfortable. I laugh quietly through my crying.
"What's so funny?"
"Here I am going out of my mind, and you're trying to help me, which I appreciate, but you look so uncomfortable doing it."
A small smile reaches her lips, but she doesn't look at me. Instead she looks out at the water. It looks so peaceful, calm and comforting. Small bits of steam rise up. Maybe that's why it's so warm, the fire tunnel below. Either way, I'll take warm fire tunnel water any day over dry land. "I haven't done this kind of thing in a long time." She finally says.
"It's okay. I think I'm fine now."
"We'll figure something out. We could make it together Annie." Her voice is soft.
I laugh. "I thought you didn't want any allies."
"I don't want any." My smile falters slightly. Her eyes meet mine. "But I might need one."
**Super long chapter! The longest I think I've ever written! There was Day 3 for you ladies and gents! Please review and stay tuned for Day 4!**