Chapter 40

NARRATOR | Minna Feinberg, District 3

TIME | Day 7

TRIBUTES REMAINING | 13

In a matter of minutes, my surroundings have turned from serene to miserable. Rain pours from the sky, drenching Kylie and me almost immediately.

I've never been soaked by rain like this in my life - back in Three, nearly everything is indoors, and we're hardly let out of the factories long enough to be caught in the rain like this. Not to mention that it hardly rains back home anyway with all the atmospheric testing in the nearby area. I've heard that some of the engineers from Three have been testing new climate-altering inventions, but that's just a rumor.

Fortunately, Kylie managed to secure a waterproof jacket from the Cornucopia, so we both do our best to huddle beneath the garment to keep dry.

"It was a matter of time, I guess," Kylie grumbles from next to me. "I'm surprised they didn't do this sooner, actually. They want to see us suffer."

That's true - we've been pretty lucky so far. I remember a few years ago when the tributes were forced to survive in an ice-cold Arena filled with snow; in comparison, our Arena is a paradise. Kylie and I have mostly spent our days picking flowers and looking for food, and we haven't come across a single one of the Gamemakers' muttations. We are secluded at the very edge of the Arena, though, so who knows what the other tributes have seen at this point.

"Thorntree is new this year," I remind my ally. "He's inexperienced. Maybe he's realizing that he needs to start killing us or the Capitol will be mad. There are still thirteen of us left."

"Well, if he does, we won't have to worry," Kylie says, squeezing water out of her hair and moving closer to me. "We're the least of their concerns all the way out here."

I'm not so sure about that; actually, I've been growing more and more nervous as the days have gone by. Part of me knows that it would be too easy for the two of us to hide here while the other tributes kill each other. The Gamemakers want every piece in their Games to be in play, and I feel like the clock is ticking down until they do something to push us back to the center of the Arena.

I haven't voiced any of this to Kylie, though. This was her idea, to come out here, and it's lasted us an entire week without a hitch. I've learned a lot from my ally, and I've learned that her judgment can be trusted. Until she believes we need to leave this secluded paradise, we will stay.

I'm pulled from my thoughts as a strange howling sound whips past us; my heart drops at the foreign sound.

"What was that?" I whisper, frozen in place as my eyes scan my surroundings. Suddenly, I realize how vulnerable we are, sitting exposed at the center of an open field of flowers.

"Sounded like a coyote," Kylie sighs. "We have a few back in Ten, but they rarely try to hurt anyone."

I can tell that Kylie's not bothered by whatever's out there, but I can feel my anxiety rising by the second. The moment has finally arrived, I can just tell; the Gamemakers have finally caught onto our strategy, and this is their chance to chase us back into the Arena. If their muttations kill us in the chase, it'll make for even more entertainment, so it's a win-win for Thorntre and a lose-lose for us.

"Kylie, I think we need to go," I whisper. "Whatever's out there... we're not gonna be safe here. If something tries to chase us, we're cornered by the cliffs."

"It's fine, Minna," Kylie shakes her head. "I've dealt with coyotes before. If they're chasing after tributes tonight, I doubt they'll come all the way out here. We haven't heard any cannon shots, right?"

Kylie's right - I haven't heard any cannons, either, and if there are muttations out there, they surely wouldn't reach us first. I settle down, nestling closer to Kylie as the rain continues to pour.

Boom. A cannon shot fires in the distance, too unmistakably distinct to be thunder; in an instant, I'm on my feet. "Kylie, come on," I urge my ally, reaching out my hand. "We can't stay here, it's too dangerous..."

Another howl blows past us, closer this time, and I can see Kylie's expression shift. "Let's pack up our stuff," she nods, clearly uneasy. "It'll be safer in the trees anyway."

As Kylie sorts through her bag, I duck my head out from under our makeshift canopy, and my heart nearly stops. Standing at the tree line is a group - no, an army - of coyotes. No, that can't be it, I read in training that coyotes hunt alone...

The word clicks in my mind - wolves - and I grab Kylie's wrist. These wolves seem to be covered in some sort of blue armor, and I'd rather not have to examine it up close.

"Grab what you can," I whisper, my heart racing as I throw my own bag over my shoulder. "Time's up!"

I stumble away from camp with Kylie's arm in my grasp, raindrops splashing across my face. Behind us, the wolf pack approaches, their cover blown. They're close enough for me to hear them snarl, and I glance back to see that they're approaching rapidly.

It quickly becomes clear that we're not going to be able to outrun these muttations, so we'll have to do the next best thing; my gaze turns to the trees ahead of us.

"Let's get up into the trees," I pant to Kylie as we run. "If we get high enough, they can't reach us."

Kylie nods, glancing back at the approaching pack. I feel a burst of energy, and I push myself to run even faster... almost there...

"Step into my hands," Kylie says as we reach the trees, her voice more frantic. We've practiced this maneuver before, but with the wolves right on our tails, we'll have to execute it perfectly. My foot nearly slips through Kylie's interlocked fingers, but I manage to grab the branch above me before her hands give way.

Water splashes down from the tree as I cling for dear life, but I don't have time to worry about that. I hold onto my branch as tightly as I can as Kylie's hands help push me up. I use my last bit of strength to swing myself up onto the branch, and I reach down for Kylie, just like we practiced.

"Take this," Kylie says, throwing her bag up to me. I swing the straps over my shoulders before extending my arms.

Kylie looks to the side before leaping into the air, screaming as she grabs onto my hands. Below her, an animal skids past us, its jaws snapping at the spot where Kylie stood just a second earlier.

"Pull me up, quick!" Kylie yelps, but it quickly becomes apparent that our plan has a fatal flaw. Kylie's hands are completely soaked, and I can feel her slipping from my grasp.

Come on, Minna... Pull...

"Grab onto the branch," I call down, and I pull Kylie up enough for her to lock her fingers around my narrow perch. With my hands free, I rip Kylie's bag open; I know she has a dry cloth in here, and if I can get her arms dry, I'll be able to pull her up.

"Minna, come on!" Kylie says, her voice hoarse. "I can't hold on!"

Kylie must've kept the cloth at the bottom of her bag, because I can't find it. I'll just have to use all of my strength to pull her up... at this point, we have no other choice.

"Okay, hold on," I say, trying to get a good hold of Kylie's forearms. Below me, my ally yelps as a wolf jumps from the ground, nipping at her foot.

"I'm letting go," Kylie warns me, and I watch as her fingers uncurl from the branch.

I knew in that instant that I wouldn't be able to save her... Kylie's arms were too slippery, and I wasn't strong enough to pull her up. I should have grabbed her by her shirt, I know; I should have told her to wait just a second longer for me to find that cloth. But I didn't. I thought impulsively, and in the heat of the moment, I let my friend let go of that branch even though I knew I couldn't save her.

Kylie's hands slip from mine in a matter of seconds. They barely clung to me the first time, so it was stupid to think that I'd be able to pull her up the second time. So stupid.

I'm screaming just as loud as Kylie falls from my grasp. For a moment, I believe that she has a chance - she lands on some of the wolves, crumpling them beneath her weight, and she scrambles to her feet, looking for the nearest accessible branch. The Capitol's muttations are trained to kill, though. Three wolves break Kylie's fall, and three more rise in their place as they tackle my friend to the ground.

All I can do is sob as I hear Kylie's screams. There's nothing I can do to save her now... once the muttations attack, they don't stop until you're a pile of scraps.

More than anything, the only thing I feel is guilt. That should be me down there, not her. After everything Kylie's done to protect me, to keep me alive, I failed her. Without her, I would've been dead a week ago, gone and long forgotten. Kylie taught me everything I know, and she protected me when she easily could have left me behind. After all that, there was nothing I could do to repay her. Kylie's gone, and I feel like a piece of me has been ripped out of me.

Another cannon shot fires, and the sound reawakens my tears. I have nobody left - everybody I've loved in this Arena is dead - and with Kylie gone, I truly have nothing left to live for.

Satisfied with their kill, the wolves beneath me release one more howl. I want so badly to fall from this tree, to give up on this life and to let the muttations take me as quickly as possible.

But I can't do it. Kylie gave her life to make sure that I made it this far, and I can't give up now. If she can't win these Games, I have to try for her. Eleven tributes are left, and I know that the odds aren't in my favor. With everything Kylie's taught me, though, I have a chance. This city girl has survived longer than anyone thought she would, and I have more fight left in me. Who knows how I'll do it, but I have to try.

For Kylie.

A/N - Finally an update after so long :) this chapter was really holding me up and life was too crazy for me to sit down and write it so sorry it took so long!

We're now about halfway through the Games, both in terms of tributes and in terms of chapters! Hope you've been enjoying it, I know this story has been slower-paced than my other ones but I'm hoping it'll make the end that much more satisfying :)

~S