The Hunger Games - Rebirth - book 2

Chapter 7

I closed my eyes at the last minute waiting for the inevitable agonizing pain to come but it didn't. I should have been burning to death by now, or was I dead? Carefully I opened my eyes and sighed. The flames weren't moving towards us any more, they seemed to be stopped by a invisible wall between us. I looked to Katniss and then slowly reached my hand out only to yank it back from the heat radiating towards us.

I got to my feet and then helped Katniss to hers. The moment we took a step Katniss winced as her ankle gave out. Katniss had sprained her ankle when she fell and now her body weight and the additional weight of her back pack was too much for it.

I knelt down beside her and removed her boot and sock and saw nothing but purple green blue and red. Her ankle was swollen and it started to look like more than a sprain. She knew something was wrong and she felt it. I could see the silent screams of pain screwed up in her face. She looked up at me and her eyes were wide.

I need to think and think fast who knew how far the others were behind us and we were in the open. I took a seat beside her and began rummaging through our packs to find something that could possibly help her or atleast splint it so it wouldn't move. As I was rummaging through my bag I pulled out the awkward bundled parcel.

I set it on the ground and looked at it before I began unrolling it. Before me lay several long poles a few stakes and a awkward looking blanket like material. I rubbed the material between my fingers trying to figure out what it was. Stakes, pooles material.

"It's a tent!" I exclaimed as I jumped to my feet in excitement.

Katniss watched me as I began trying to solve the puzzle that was to be our shelter. After half an hour of fitting poles together and undoing them I finally had the skeleton of our tent together. I then fitted the cover over it and used the stakes to hold it to the ground. Finally I was done.

Katniss gasped and I turned to her. She was pointing at the tent. "It camoflauges itself!" she said.

I turned my attention back to the tent and was shocked to find that she was right. The tent's material adjusted itself to blend in with the scenery. I walked a circle around the tent and sure enough it was like a cameleon, if I hadn't known it was there I wouldn't have noticed it.

I helped Katniss into the tent and moved our things in with us. It was near night fall now and we needed rest. I told Katniss to sleep and get some rest and I would keep gaurd. In the morning I would sleep for a few hours while Katniss watched and then I would go and try and find some water.

During the night I sat and wove 3 baskets from grass as it began to rain so we could have a little more water. One of my baskets fell apart and we lost the water from it. The other two I poured into our canteens and then sat them out to gather more. Five minutes after I sat the baskets out I had to retrieve them prematurely because it seemed that the rain had turned to drops of fire. They landed on the ground and I was grateful that nothing caught fire.

Soon the rain and fire stopped all together and the sun began to peak. I woke up Katniss so she could take point and I passed out almost immeadiately. I was awaken sometime around noon, by the suns place in the sky. Katniss pressed her finger to her lips and nodded her head towards the entrance of the tent.

I carefully and silently moved forward and listened, I heard footsteps nearby and two people talking. I took a chance and peered out of the tent when I saw them. They were from District 4, I could tell from their weapons of choice, a trident for the male a spear for the female and around both of their waists were a net woven from vines.

I moved to grab my bow and a few arrows and carefully adjusted my aim before I watched my arrow soar through the air and stab the male tribute from 4 through the heart. He fell to the ground and clutched at the arrow before his hands dropped and a cannon blast filled the air. Before I could set my next arrow the girl tribute fled.

"Let her go" Katniss said to me as I rose to my feet.

I obeyed but went out to get the trident before it was taken out of the arena with his body. The moment I returned to the tent the craft could be heard nearing and the claw dropped down to retrieve his body.

"How many left?" Katniss asked me as she examined the trident in her hands.

"I think that was the first kill." I rose to my feet again and knew it was time. We needed water and because Katniss was immobile it was up to me. Either I searched for the water or we stayed here and hoped that it would rain every night so we can gather it. "I'll be back, I'm going to search for some water." I told her.

She didn't object so after I grabbed a small pack of crackers and some dried fruit and jerky I slung my bow and sheeth over my shoulder and grabbed my canteen. I listened for any movement nearby before I slipped from the tent. With the rain water added to my canteen last night it was now full to the brim. I needed to make good use of my time, my distance and my water if I wanted to ensure a return to the tent tonight. Not making it back wasn't in my agenda.

It was near early evening, about 3 oclock at my best guess. The sun was growing increasingly hotter and just like yesterday I could smell the smoke that was the fire. It was a thought in my mind that the fires was one of the tricks the Game Makers had for the arena.

Not paying attention my foot caught and I stumbled to the ground. Right before my face was a puddle about 4 feet in diameter. The water was unnaturally clear for it being a still puddle. I stared at it for a few moments and watched as the puddle seemed to froth and water began flooding outwards a bit.

As the water neared my hand I wanted to pull it back unsure as to whether or not it was 'just' water but decided against it. The best way to find out was to just let it touch my skin. A little under a second passed and the water pooled around my hand and nothing happened. I lifted my hand to my nose and sniffed, no smell meaning it was indeed water. With my tongue I tasted it and it seemed harmless enough.

Now the question was where did it come from. Without bothering to push my sleeves up I stuck my hand into the puddle waiting for resistence but none came. Within a few seconds I had my arm all the way up to my shoulder in the puddle. Smiling to myself I stuck my face into the puddle and began drinking the water.

A crashing sound behind me was the only thing that broke my attention and I turned around to see flames eating the trees and coming at me. Where was I to go? I looked around and saw the path infront of me was clear but how long would I be able to run and how far would I have to go to be free from the fire. Suddenly my mind snapped back to Katniss and the tent. I hadn't heard a cannon blast so she wasn't dead. I then looked back down to the puddle and realized where I needed to go but it was really a shot in the dark suicide run. There might not be anywhere to grab a breath and if I went under I'd have to stay under until the flames dissapated which could be minutes to even and hour or longer.

I turned back and saw the flames less than 8 feet from me and threw my things over my shoulder before I situated my legs so that they were in the puddle. The flames were now 4 feet from me. I took a deep breath and let myself sink under. I tilted my head up and watched as I could see the flames at the surface. Suddenly the reality of my breathing predicament came to the front of my mind as my chest began throbbing for no air. I needed to find a source for air and fast or I would drown.

I twisted around and glanced at my surroundings. I seemed to be in an underwater cavern of some sorts. Certainly their had to be some air even if it was just a 2 inch space near the top. I swam forward and kept close to the top with my face pointed as far up as I could go. Propelling myself slowly on my back I searched quickly for a air pocket. I felt the exhaustion to my lungs as the 40 second mark passed by and felt my head begin to slow its processing. I was going to die if I didn't find air fast.

Just as I felt like death was surely going to come for me my mouth found a pocket. I held myself steady and took in a large gasp for air and then continued breathing to regulate my lungs. My heart and lungs screamed at me through their ferocious pounds against my chest. I'm sorry but its better lack of air then being fried to death. Found the water, check. Now I just need to find my way back to the hole I came through and hope the flames were gone or I'd have to double back here and hope I can find my air pocket again.

After 30 seconds I decided to just stay for a while longer. I tried to think back to how long the last fire lasted and if I remembered it right it was a little over 2 hours at the most, though I could be wrong. I let myself sink a few inches to sip some water and then came back up so I could swallow it and then did it all over again 7 more times. I decided to make myself comfortable since I would be here for the next hour or so until the flames died down.

Somewhere outside I heard a cannon blast and knew someone had died, who was it?