The Hunger Games - Rebirth - book 2

Chapter 12

I stood staring at the sky as I watched the hovercraft pass over us. I heard it as it landed so that ment that whoever died had been fairly close. I watched as the crane decended and then receeded, soon after it flew away.

Tierney joined me at my side and took my hand. "You don't think it was Katniss do you?" She asked me.

I was unsure as how to respond so all I could do was give her a gentle shrug. "No, I don't think it was her. Katniss is too smart to get killed. I bet you she is hiding somewhere.

Suddenly a thought crossed my mind. If she was hiding then I was positive that Tierney who kept hidden for several months could find where she was. I smiled and turned to her before I dropped to my knees and looked her in the eyes.

"I need your help finding Katniss. She would be somewhere easily to reach, hard for someone to find but near food and water." I told Tierney.

She looked at me and nodded her head before she scrunched up her face in concentration. "I hid near water. There are rocks to conceal you, water, trees and plants. Does that help?" She asked me.

I smiled and nodded her head. "We are going to pack up and set out."

We returned to our tent and began packing everything up. We stored the tent back in the bag at the bottom and put the food on top after we carefully wrapped up the meat in our old uniforms that we cleaned and then soaked with water. After everything was set we removed the traces of our inhabiting and then left.

"How do you find water?" I asked Tierney.

"Smell. When there is water nearby it gives this smell off and it also makes the plants a rick green color." She told me.

"I know about the lucious plants, but the smell thats new to me." I replied.

She nodded her head. "It's like the unique smell that comes before the first rain."

I closed my eyes and imagined it. The smell was one of my favorites.

"I'm following you." I told her.

She led the way and we walked through large plants that were taller then ourselves by several feet. At times we had to cut our way through the foliage because it was so thick. We stopped and ate and drank and then continued on after a few minutes of resting. After a few hours we stopped ate and drank a little bit more.

It was around 5 in the evening I guessed by the position of the sun in the sky and the colors ahead when we finally made it to a slow flowing river.

"She should be here, I swear I thought she would be here." Tierney looked at me. "Please don't be mad." She whispered.

I shook my head as I brought her into my arms and rubbed her back soothingly. "I'm not mad, its okay."

"What if it was her that died?" Tierney asked me.

I looked at her. "Whoever died will be showed tonight in the sky." I said plainly. "Lets make camp." I told her.

We picked a spot up on a flat high rise and set up our tent before we started a fire to cook some of the meat. After we filled up our water and purified it we ate and drank and then turned in for the evening. I was the first to go on watch while Tierney got some sleep. Around midnight she woke up and we switched out. She told me before I went to sleep that it was the Tribute from 10 that had been killed and I was relieved to know Katniss was still alive. The question was where?

Sometime during the night I was awaken by hasty movements. Grabbing my bow I set it with an arrow and sat near the mouth of the tent. Tierney pointed to a tall female attempting to run from another girl who was smaller then her by atleast three inches. The tall girl tried scaling a tree but wasn't fast enough. The second girl that was pursuing her grabbed her by her leg and caused her to fall. I turned Tierney away as the slaughtering of the unknown girl began. Within seconds the cannon blast sounded and the girl ran off into the night.

"Do you think that was Katniss?" Tierney asked me.

I shook my head. "No, Katniss wasn't that tall and that girls skin was too pale."

"Do you think she could have been the other girl then?" She asked me.

I looked at her then out by the tree where the murder had happened. The girl had the right proportions but the hair wasn't right. Her hair was too short to be Katniss' even though the skin tone matched.

"No definitely not, that girls hair was too short." I told her.

I yawned before I heard Tierney's stomach growl. "Eat some food" I told her as I handed her a roll and some left over meat from dinner.

She willingly took the roll and inserted the meat between the bread before she began eating. I rubbed her hair and smiled as I pulled her into my arms.

"I wish I could keep you as my own." I told her as I attempted to braid her short hair. "I would spoil you as best I could. Buy you pretty dresses, teach you how to shoot and hunt."

Tierney smiled. "I wish you were my mom." She whispered to me.

At first I wondered why she was whispering until I remembered where we were and that we were being filmed. It'd be aweful if her mother heard her saw these words, it would be a straight stab in the heart.

I smiled and kissed her forehead. "Are you still hungry?" I asked her. She shook her head. "When it gets light enough out I am going to go and try to find Katniss okay. I want you to stay here though." I told her.

"Yes mo- I mean Aloe." She said to me blushing a bit. A few moments of silence passed before Tierney spoke. "How long do you think we will be stuck in here?" she asked.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I was stuck for I think a little over a month. I hope that we wont be stuck for that long though."

She nuzzled against my chest and then fell asleep. I smiled and watched her, her face was so peaceful. I ran my finger along her jawline tracing her tiny beautiful features before I gently touched her nose.

"Sleep well." I whispered to her as I layed her down careful not to disturb her and then covered her with the sleeping bag. "Sleep well for in your dreams nothing can ever hurt you." Slowly I pressed my lips to her forehead.