Chapter 12.
There are four faces shown in the sky that night. The first face we see is that of the boy from District 3. I believe his name was Leic. Next is Irvin. Nerida has been quiet ever since we broke the news to her. Then there's Stitch. The last one we see is the tawny complexion of the girl from 11, which takes us all by surprise. I haven't heard her cannon go off. We must've missed it because of the howling winds or the icicles crashing down.
By the time we get back, the sky is already turning dark, so we decide to spend one more night in our makeshift hut. However, we came back from the lake empty-handed, so we need to move on the next day. Our stomachs are empty and rumbling in protest. I haven't been hungry at all until we left the cave, but now the hunger is a demon, gnawing at me from the inside.
Because we're not sure whether the other tributes are still around, we decide not to go back to the lake the next morning. We break up our camp and start making our way towards the river in the ravine, where Magnus and I first encountered the tributes from 4.
"This is quite brilliant" Elza says as she discovers the river, hidden in the ravine.
I can tell by the expression on Nerida's face that it's strange for her to be here again. This is, after all, the place she used to hide out with Irvin before Magnus and I came along. Nonetheless, she follows us to the river and teaches us how to braid fishnets and how to catch fish. Elza and I pick up the skill fairly easily, whereas Zircon and Magnus struggle a bit more. The two of them give up eventually and leave us to it to scan the area.
"My mother has been friends with Irvin's mother for years" Nerida eventually starts, when the two of us are sitting by the river. The other three are a bit further up ahead, exploring the area. "I never knew him that well. But when we were both reaped, we decided to team up and since then he became a bit like a little brother to me. It was silly, I know. I knew beforehand that one of us was going to die here anyway. Both of us, probably."
"I don't think it's silly." I say in an attempt to be empathetic, but empathy has never been my strong suit. I'm not even sure if I mean it.
"It's just as Zircon said. I'm too sentimental."
"You did the best you could."
Nonetheless, my attempt is enough to bring a small but sure smile to Nerida's face.
"I suppose so," she replies, "thank you."
We managed to catch a small pile of fish, which is enough to feed all five of us and even have some left. For the first time in days, I'm not hungry anymore.
Nerida isn't the only quiet person today. Zircon has been keeping to himself as well. He curses under his breath as a cannon goes off in the distance, and stays behind the group when we start fishing again.
"Be careful not to fall in the water," Elza warns us, "It's slippery here, and the water is just as cold as it looks."
She is also the first to spot them. The black and white creatures in and around the lake. The flightless big birds that waddle around cheerfully. They look harmless at first sight, but I know better than just to assume that.
"Penguins." Elza whispers. "Usually quite harmless, but you can never be sure, here in the arena."
We sit there for a while, quietly observing the birds. Then I'm about to find out that Elza and I were right about the penguins. We see a figure coming from the other side, in clear view. One of the birds shrieks, which appears to bring the whole flock to life. It produces a high-pitched sound that sends chills down my spine. The figure, who I don't recognize, but appears to be quite small, breaks out in a run in an attempt to escape the birds that follow her. Her attempt is futile, though. Within seconds, one of the birds has come close enough to attack her. His friends soon follow, and then we only see one big pile of birds. I jump to my feet immediately and run in the other direction, away from the birds. I hear the hushed whispers of the others behind me as we climb up the slippery rocks. I glance down once, and I see to my horror that the flock of birds is moving in our direction. Once we reach the top, the whispers turn into shouts and the four of us break into a run across the snowy plains.
A cannon goes off in the distance. When we're sure that the penguins aren't following us anymore, we slow down into a walking pace and discuss where to go next. We can't go back to the mountains, because that's where the icebears are. We can't go back to the river. There is no shelter, and now there's the penguins. Our safest bet would be go to back into the forest, even though the threat of the other tributes still looms over us.
"Aran appears to have formed an alliance of his own." Magnus says. "How else would such a big group of tributes be in one place at the same time?"
"You're right." I say. "I saw them, they worked together."
"So who were there?"
"I saw both tributes from 3 and 6. Stitch from 8, and then there was Aran himself. However, Stitch and the boy from 3 died after the fight. Which means that there are now only four of them left." Elza says.
"That means we now outnumber them by one." Zircon says.
"We shouldn't underestimate them though," I warn him, "Aran is really strong, and so are the tributes from 6. Sophie, the girl from 3, is not that strong, but she appears to be quite smart."
"Good observation." Elza says.
In the evening, we see two faces in the sky. The first is the face of the little girl from 7, who was attacked by the penguins at the lake. Next is the boy from 12, who stumbled away from the fight yesterday, leaving a trail of blood in his wake. He must have died from his injuries. It satisfies me to see he hasn't made it.
That night, Zircon stands guard by himself. Elza, Magnus, Nerida and I are huddled together in our hut. Even though there is no snowstorm going on now, it feels as if the temperature has dropped anyway.
Zircon's voice wakes us in the middle of the night. "Look!"
Magnus is the first to jump to his feet. I push him aside and I'm the first to see what Zircon wanted us to see. A silver parachute, tied to a silver box, is making its way down through the trees. By some miracle it doesn't get stuck in one of the many branches. It lands in the snow soundlessly. A sponsor gift!
Zircon is the first one to reach the parachute and opens the silver box. Inside it is a large pan of steamy, hot soup. Soup! Minutes later, the five of us are huddled around the pan. I burn my tongue while slurping up the hot liquid, but it's the best thing I've tasted in days.
The soup has given us all a bit of extra warmth, and therefore I sleep solidly for a couple of hours before Zircon wakes me. I take his place outside the hut as he goes inside to sleep.
Hours later, the morning light seeps through the trees. Not too long after, I hear the voices of the others as they wake up.
"How much soup is left?" I ask Zircon, who's the first to come outside.
"None," he says. "We ate all of it yesterday."
"Then I guess we do need to head out to the lake today." I sigh reluctantly. Zircon nods in agreement. He and I still aren't friends, but he seems to tolerate me now.
About an hour later, the five of us have gathered outside, making a plan for the day.
"We need to head to the lake again, but we need to be careful. Two of us should stay here. No one goes off by himself." Elza starts.
"Nerida is the only one of us who knows how to fish," I say, "So she is definitely coming along."
"Yes." Magnus adds. "I think the three ladies should go to the lake, and then Zircon and I'll stay here."
"You can tag along if you want." Zircon says. "I can stay here."
"Perhaps we should all go then." Elza says eventually. "We are out of food, and this hut isn't going to protect us forever." Zircon opens his mouth in protest, but Elza doesn't give him the chance to speak. "For all we know, the other alliance is still out there. Do you really think it's smart to wander off on your own?" Zircon sighs but doesn't complain.
Our way to the lake is surprisingly quiet and peaceful, though I hadn't expected anyone to be stupid enough to attack the five of us. Even the lake seems awfully deserted. I can feel it as we enter the clearing: something has changed here. I don't know what.
"Something is wrong." I whisper to Elza, who has her polearm lifted already.
"I think so too." Elza says. I take a dagger in my hand and slowly walk further. In the meanwhile, my eyes scan the area, but I see nothing or no one. The previous time we were here, I saw footprints, blood, marks in the snow, all things that indicated someone had been here not too long ago. Now I see nothing, not even blood. The crystal white snow seems almost eerie. Why isn't anyone here?
After a thorough scan of the area, we can't find any clues as to why the lake area seems to be abandoned. We decided to start fishing. Nerida continues to teach Elza and me how to fish. She shows us how to span the nets, and how to impale a fish in the water with a spear.
Nerida is just hauling the third full net from the water when it happens. A large gray creature, about as big as a human, emerges from the water with such speed that I can barely see what it is. I have no time to respond and I only barely register Nerida being dragged into the water, leaving a trail of blood as the creature dives into the water with her. Elza responds faster than I do, reaching for Nerida's ankles. Her attempt is in vain, however, when both the creature and Nerida vanish into the water. Elza is caught off guard by the movement and I slowly see it happening: She loses her grip on the icy lake shore and slowly slides into the water. I run to the shore. Elza's body disappears under water completely, and for a second I'm afraid she is also taken by the gray creature, but then she emerges. I grab hold of her arm, that I can barely reach, and pull her to the shore. Magnus and Zircon help me pull her out of the water, which is ice cold.
"Are you alright?" I ask, though I can tell by her face that she isn't: her skin looks pale and her lips are purple, slowly turning blue. She shivers uncontrollably.
"We need to get her out of here." Magnus says. I hear the desperation in his voice.
"Nerida…" I start.
"We can't help her. Have you seen that thing?" Zircon says. "There might be more of them."
I hate to admit that he's right, but I know he is. Magnus is awfully quiet as he and I support Elza together and the four of us leave the clearing. Zircon takes the two nets with the fish and collects Nerida's remaining gear, then follows us. A few seconds later, we hear the cannon go off.