Chapter 16

I do not own the Hunger Games. The characters and Panem belongs to Suzanne Collins. I am just enjoying playing in her sandpit for a while.

Day 2 & 3.

We didn't find any tributes for the rest of the day. After we found the girl from District 8, we hunted for hours. The fatigue that hit the Careers earlier had disappeared, leaving them determined and ready for another kill. I was in pure agony using my injured leg, but I didn't complain. Any sign of weakness and the Careers would think me useless. The cuts on my arms stung when droplets of sweat rolled down from my neck, and I was exhausted, but I kept going. It was overwhelming, my injuries, the careers, Katniss; all of the events over the last 30 or so hours engulfing me in a haze. I stumbled a lot, having to catch myself on the trees that surrounded us. Clove behind me grew impatient long ago, jabbing me in the back whenever I staggered.

By the time the sun was setting again, we were back at the camp. What we returned to surprised me. Tiberius was bustling around a makeshift table, bolts, wires and junk scattered in front of him. Marvel however, was relaxing in the best set up I had ever seen. All of the supplies had been piled in a pyramid in the centre of the field, surrounded by patchy areas of land where the mines were buried. Off to the side, a few metres away from the supplies, was a small cluster of sleeping bags, hanging tarps, poles and crates, creating a small but efficient place to rest. The Careers celebrated, each claiming a space as their own and making them selves comfortable, before ordering Tiberius to bring them some food from the supplies. Before I arrived at the camp, Cato decided to only use small rations of food at a time, resulting in my constant hunger. I sat down a little further away from the Careers, finally resting my leg. As I stretched it out in front of myself, Tiberius appeared at my side, nervously handing me a bottle of water and some rice crackers. I smiled and thanked him, but he scattered off before I could say anything else. The sun set behind the trees, enclosing the Arena in darkness. Glimmer built a fire, which was quickly surrounded by the Careers. They laughed and joked, their crude jests about the other tributes making me cringe.

"When we find her, who gets to kill her?" Clove asked. I had no doubt about who 'Her' was. "Because, I think I should. I can take her out with one of my knifes before she gets too close."

Domita scoffs.

"Oh, right. The same way you did in the beginning? Your knives are useless. I should do it, I can sneak up on her." Domita says proudly.

"No. You guys are forgetting that she's smart. She'll hear you coming, Domita." Glimmer says.

"Exactly," Cato mutters. "No matter who does it, she'll know we're coming. She's smart. What did you think? That she got that eleven from skill? I don't think so."

I was about to interrupt, to tell them that that was exactly what she did, but I was interrupted by the Capitol anthem. The Careers went quiet, watching as the Capitol seal lit up the Arena. The girl from District 8 appeared, which brought cheers from the group around the fire. I stared up at her, the poor girl, who became a piece in the games, just like me. I closed my eyes against the sting of tears. She didn't deserve to die.

Not long after the anthem finished, the Careers grew tired again, but none were willing to fall asleep at the same time.

"We need someone to take watch. I don't trust Lover Boy." Clove said, sneering at me.

"I'll do it," Marvel said. "I'm not that tired."

"Fine. Marvel, wake Clove in 3 hours, she'll take the next watch," Cato said, ending the discussion.

Marvel grabbed his spear before walking away from the group. From there he wandered in loops around the sight, eyes trained on the forestry surrounding the area. Eventually the Career's breathes evened out, as they all fell into an easy slumber. Glimmer was the only one still awake, her eyes following Marvel's movements closely. Cato, flanked both sides by both Domita and Clove, snored softly, clutching his sword to his chest. Both Domita and Clove seemed quite contempt with their positions, the only evidence of the Games being the weapons that was in their grasp.

I didn't sleep much during the second night. I was exhausted, and yet sleep eluded me. Before the Games, the very thought of Katniss was enough to keep me awake long into the night. But now, it's the nightmares. Before the reaping, I lived in one. Sleeping brought solitude, an escape, but now there is no escape. When I close my eyes, I see Katniss dying. When I open my eyes, I see the Games. It's torture. Stuck in the Careers camp, only 48 hours into the Games, and yet It felt like I'd been here for weeks.

When Clove swapped with Marvel, I noticed Tiberius slip away from the group. I sat up to see what he was doing; only to see a silhouette in the darkness. As I was about to settle back and attempt to sleep, I noticed Tiberius's shoulders were shaking. I was up and moving before I could even think about what I was doing.

He jumped when I sat down beside him, quickly moving to wipe his tears away.

"It's okay," I whispered, "I'm scared too."

His shoulders sagged as he let out a whimper, before his tears began to flow freely. I sat with him, facing the forest. I didn't try to comfort him. I knew he didn't want that. But knowing that someone was there, someone who wasn't trying to kill him, helped. A cool breeze blew across the area, which made goose bumps rise on my arms. The fire had long ago burnt down to embers, no longer providing warmth.

My mind drifted to Katniss. Is she cold? She must be. She wouldn't light a fire, it's not safe. Did she get any protection in the pack she grabbed? Is she hurt? Tiberius sniffling next to me brought me back, and the cool breeze made me aware of the dampness of my cheeks. Tiberius stood, about to move back to his sleeping bag, but paused first.

"Thank you," he whispered hoarsely. I nodded, and he moved away. I stayed there, waiting for the sun to rise, staring at the night sky, which is where I am now. When I hear the Careers start to stir, I stand, moving to start the fire again. One by one, the Careers awake, grumbling about the time and 'not enough sleep'. Clove, Domita and Glimmer wander to the lake, taking with them some towels from the supplies, and a bar of soap. It amazes me, that in a place like this, the Capitol still includes luxuries like soap and towels. Unfortunately for Tiberius and I, Cato made it pretty clear that we weren't to use the soap. When they come back, Cato and Marvel take their turn, leaving Tiberius and I to take care of the food. Tiberius collects the food from the pile, and I set about cooking it.

It's strange, after such an explosive kick off to the Games; on day 3 it is deathly quiet. After we finish eating, Tiberius and Marvel demonstrate the path to take when getting supplies from the mound, which is difficult, with my leg being hard to manoeuvre, but not impossible. We spend the entire day in the forest again, looking for Tributes. This time we left Domita and Tiberius at the camp, which Domita wasn't exactly happy about. We search for hours, but we find no one. Cato becomes more and more frustrated, relentlessly asking me about Katniss.

"She's not good at hunting," I say, trying not to give myself away. "She won't know to cover her tracks. If we find any sign of a track or some sort of walked path, we've got her."

"Yeah, but she's smart. I saw her in the training centre, Lover Boy. I saw her setting traps, and snares," Cato all but growls.

"Yeah. For animals." I defend. I feel bad about saying these things, knowing they are all lies. I wonder what the Capitol must think. They are probably eating up the story, 'Boy loves girl, but joins the Careers to hunt her down and kill her.' I should probably be more upset about the fact that people of the Capitol must think I'm a traitor, but I'm not. Only a select few people knew about my plan, and that was the only way it would work. Everyone in District 12 knows I'm lying. Everybody knows how good Katniss is with a bow, and they know how good of a hunter she is. I take comfort in the fact that the people of District 12 know what I'm doing. They must do. According to my brother, everyone knew about my feelings for Katniss except Katniss herself. So they must know that I'm lying to protect her, to give the Careers false hope.

"Are you sure you know that much about her?" Glimmer asks me, looking at me questioningly. I raise an eyebrow at her, before staring at her determinedly.

"Positive," I say.

"And yet, here you are, helping us find her. I guess the fear of death trumps love, isn't that right Lover boy?" Clove sneers.

"I guess so." I murmur.

Glimmer and Clove laugh, the later mumbling "Pathetic," under her breathe.

"She's good with a bow, but she doesn't know her way around in a forest. She would mostly likely stick to the edge of the forest," I say. I struggle to not laugh out loud at my blatant lies, but I have to remain composed to be convincing.

"Good with a bow? Good thing I've got the only one then," Glimmer says proudly. "I bet you I'm better, anyway."

"How the bloody hell did this girl get an eleven?" Cato growls.

I laugh, picturing the look on the Gamekeepers faces after she shot at the apple.

"I don't know," I say. "She didn't tell me."

Hours later, Cato's anger has reached its maximum. He storms from the forest, cutting down branches as he goes. We follow the rather large path he leaves in his wake, back to the camp. The sun is setting again, and my lack of sleep has begun to catch up with me. Nothing at all happened today, and one look at the Careers and you can tell. They are restless. They have been trained to do this, and their urge to kill something has not been fulfilled in the last 24 hours.

When we get back to the clearing, Domita is pacing, waiting for us. She sprints up to us when she sees us, looking at Cato expectantly.

"I didn't hear a canon. What happened?" she asks. Cato storms past her, sitting down in front of the fire in a huff. I roll my eyes. Domita looks taken aback, before she hides it, hurrying away to the lake. The rest of us grab some food that Tiberius had carefully rationed and ready for us, before going to our own areas. As I stretch out my leg in my space, I bump a small mound under my sleeping bag. I shift it away, only to quickly cover it up again. Hidden under my sleeping bag is a small pile of goods from the supplies hoard; biscuits, dried fruit, an extra bottle of water and a bar of soap. My stomach grumbles at the sight of the food, and I search for Tiberius, finding him standing behind his table again. When he feels my eyes on him, he looks up quickly, smiles, and then goes back to his equipment. I smile softly to myself. It seems I've made a friend. Quickly and quietly, I put the biscuits, water and soap in my jacket pockets and tuck the dried fruit into my sleeping bag before standing.

"I'm going to the lake," I say, pausing only to grab one of the towels. Cato grunts his okay, and I move before he can change his mind. On the way there, I pass Domita coming back. She glares at me as I pass, and I roll my eyes again. When I get to the lake, I do a quick check behind me before quickly eating the biscuits. I shut my eyes, savouring the food, mentally thanking Tiberius over and over. After I finish the biscuits, I gulp a few mouthfuls of water, before stripping down. I tuck the water bottle into my jacket, grab the soap and dive in.

The water is cold, but refreshing, and I have never been so happy to have a bath. I scrub myself with the soap, being careful with my injured leg and cuts, before throwing the soap towards my clothes. As I do so, I see a shadow move across the clearing, so quickly I think I'm imagining it. A dash of orange hair, illuminated by the campfire, quickly manoeuvres the path towards the supplies, grabs a small amount before dashing off again. I laugh quietly to myself. Seems like the other Tributes aren't as dumb as the Careers expected them to be. I'm about to dip under the water when I realise how exposed I am. I have come to the lake without a weapon, and none of the Careers are particularly close. With that in mind, I scramble out of the water, dry off, change and hide the soap and water in my jacket in record time.

I was exposed, and I can't let it happen again. When I get back to the camp, I hurry to my sleeping bag, tucking the soap, water and dried fruit to the very bottom. I slip inside, trying to warm myself from the cold lake. I hear Domita offering to take first watch, and the others making themselves comfortable. I listen to Cato and Clove whispering quietly to each other, but I can't make out what they are saying. Eventually, when their breaths even out, I lose my fight to keep my eyelids open, and I drift off to sleep.

There's fire; everywhere. Again. It's like a wall of flame that I can't escape, no matter how hard and fast I run. I panic. Not again! It closes in on me, the heat scorching my flesh, and I scream. I scream her name. Katniss. This time it's not an apology, but a warning. I don't want her to burn. She can't, she has to live. Suddenly she is standing before me, just out of reach of the tongues of fire. I scream at her to get away. I'm in agony, and she has to stay away. I scream at her again, but she starts to laugh. But it's not her laugh; it's cruel and heartless. It terrifies me. The flames engulf me completely, burning me. I want it to stop. It has to be over soon. I scream and cry out, but there is nothing. Even the flames don't make a sound anymore. It's just the cruel laughter.

When I wake, the laughter doesn't stop, and the strong smell of burning wood fills my senses. I look around in alarm, noticing that Domita is laughing, watching something with glee. Her face is lit by an eerie orange glow, and when I follow her gaze, my stomach drops.

The forest is burning.

I know this is short! This is like a filler chapter! Not much happens, and I want to get this out of the way before the next chapter, which will be a big one!
So much has happened in the year that I haven't written. I got a new computer, lost the files, accidently deleted the story, miraculously found it again, family issues, got another job, lost the story again, re wrote it, finished this chapter, deleted half of it and things just got so hectic. And I'm sorry!

I want to thank everyone who is still reading and reviewing (243!) this story, and to the followers, if there are any left who haven't given up on me, I'm so sorry, and I hope you forgive me, and will be patient with me. I love you all!

Let me know if you are still reading this in a review :)
Thank you for the support!

Lots of love,

TMG