Chapter 36- Dove Rosestar

I crash into the trees at last and fall to my knees. I've been running and walking all day, getting away from the place where I killed her. I killed her. Little bits of her interview come back to me, how she was going to win for her aunt, how pretty she looked. She's dead now, because of me.

I can't handle this, but I have to. I finally got out of the desert and now I'm in the forest a distance away from the pyramids. No spiders, thank goodness, but also no Cabel. Where is he? He's not dead, I know he's not dead. Is he hiding in the trees somewhere?

I hear something, a crunching of leaves a little ways off. I grab the first tree and climb; I'm good at that, I remember from Training. I get myself up and concealed just in time, for the tributes from District 5 stop right below my tree, too busy arguing to notice me.

"So where are they? We haven't seen anyone since that District 11 girl. And I know the Careers are dying for us to go meet them," the girl says. She's holding a mace, which I haven't seen anywhere else before now, and the boy is holding a sword. I hardly dare to breathe.

"I told you, Alyss. I saw the boy from 6 go in here. And we both know that Dussel is down in the ditch."

"Let's get him then," Alyss says, shaking her hair out of her face. They haven't spotted me yet, and I hope they never do.

"Not yet. Let's take out a few more before him."

"Yeah, if we can find them, Kouza. They haven't driven us together yet, which is pretty odd if you ask me. Something's going to happen soon."

"Two cannons today. We can wait," Kouza says. Alyss is obviously not happy about it, but she only slams her mace into her palm a few times instead of answering.

"Let's go. Make camp for the night," Kouza continues.

"You're not the boss of me," Alyss says, walking off ahead of her ally.

"Shut up!" Kouza bellows this last part, and then both go silent. They've obviously taken up this forest as their territory. I should escape, and fast. They'll be watching, though. Better I stay here for the night. I'm up high and as safe as I can get for now.

Plus, they saw Cabel go in here. This might be my only chance of finding him. I wonder where he is. Does he know that I'm here? Pretty unlikely.

Now that Kouza and Alyss are out of earshot, I start examining my surroundings. Why did they put a forest in a desert? It doesn't make sense to me. This isn't a typical forest either; it's more of a jungle. The trees are tall and rubbery, with vines crawling over them. I can see light through the trees to my left, where I came in from the desert, but light barely comes through the leaves above me. If the desert was a world of light and dark, this forest is a world of twilight. Strange animals make hooting and shouting sounds; bugs buzz around my face as I slap them away.

It's a completely different world.

Night is falling quickly now, quicker than it usually does I think. And with the dark comes the cold and the thirst and the hunger of nighttime. I'll need to find water tomorrow, that's my first priority. Then, food. I'm armed now, which helps, but not much. I turn the axe over and over in my hand, trying to forget who I took it from.

The anthem plays, and the Capitol seal shines down even through the foliage. Quickly and carefully, I climb higher in my tree, to see who is in the sky tonight.

Once the anthem ends, everything is dark for a second. Then the faces appear, simple headshots like the ones we had when they showed our scores. The first is the boy from 2, which surprises me. He seemed pretty capable back in Training, so I wonder how he got taken out.

The second is Cedar from 7, looking solemn, curly hair around her face. I only see her for a few moments before the Capitol seal is back with a flourish, then the sky goes dark.

So, alone for the second night in a row, but this time I don't have a warm stew to comfort me. I hope that Fabian is helping Cabel through like Lexa helped me last night. Oh, where is my brother? Mum must be beside herself at home. I wonder what she thinks of me killing Cedar.

I can't think about that girl! It's tearing me apart inside! This is why we've been dropped in here, why I'm in this arena; it's to kill each other, but it's killing me too. This is why my father was a rebel, why Cabel was a rebel too. It's because the Capitol is cruel enough to do this.

Cabel's words come back to me and run like mice around my head. Father was a rebel and so am I, father was a rebel and so am I, father was a rebel and soami, fatherwasarebelandsoami- stop!

I curl up on my branch the best I can. I untie the parachute from my hair and comb the knots out with my fingers. I plait it back again, tying the end with an edge of the parachute that I rip off with my axe. It calms me and helps me try to forget.

It's cold here, and the forest is eerily quiet. I almost miss the desert, where I could see the stars above me. I don't feel safe in the trees, but really, do I feel safe anywhere in this arena?

I want Cabel. I need to find him tomorrow. This was never the plan; we were never supposed to be on our own! My joy at being alone for once has completely faded; I need an ally. I need my brother.

I doubt I'll sleep tonight, what with being twenty feet off the ground. But I hold on tight to the trunk and try to forget today.