25. Bonding

       Something was trying to nudge me awake. I groaned gutturally, not wanting to get up. Why would I want to get up when I had just fallen asleep?

            “Don’t get fussy with me,” Sutton snapped at me. She was the one waking me up. I should have known that. “You said you wanted to be up at dawn to get a move on, so let’s go. Don’t be a hypocrite!”

            “Fine,” I mumbled tiredly. “Give me…five more minutes.”

            “I won’t give you thirty seconds.”

            “Fine.”

            I cracked my eyes open to find myself in an unusual position. I knew for a fact that Daniel and I hadn’t snuggled together last night. Somehow we were magically together under the blanket. Unless Dan woke up while I was sleeping and took me in because I cold, I couldn’t explain how we were together.

            “Come on, sleepy head, you too,” Sutton sang, slapping Dan’s cheek gently. He moaned and shifted. “Ugh, you two are a match made in heaven. Bridget, help me wake him up.”

            Since I was under the blanket with Dan, I knew the perfect way to get him up: tickle him. I got him right in the ribs. He fidgeted, moving away from me. I could see him biting his lip, trying to hold in his laughter. I smiled. I knew I had gotten success.

            “O-okay,” he finally choked. “S-stop, please!”

            “You said the magic word,” I teased. Dan popped open his eyes to find us in the same situation. He went red for some reason and wriggled out of the blanket.

            “Now come on. Up,” Sutton persisted. Dan was the first to stand up; he pulled me up with him. We both stretched quickly. Dan grabbed the blanket, tucked it in the pack, and I realized the hatchet wasn’t with me or on the ground.

            “Where is it?” I panicked.

            “The hatchet?” Sutton asked me. I nodded frantically. She laughed. “Chill, girl, I took it from you. I didn’t want you sleep-killing. It’s in Daniel’s pack.”

            “That’s not even a word, ‘sleep-killing.’”

            “It is to me, because for all we know, some tributes here could probably do it.” She didn’t joke about that. If any tribute still here was capable of doing ‘sleep-killing,’ it was probably whoever was still left in the Career pack.

            “This is going to be a long day,” I whimpered.

            “It’ll seem like it, won’t it?” Dan mused. “Well, we better start climbing.”

            Daniel gave Sutton and me a leg up so that we got a little bit of a head start. Sutton took the lead, and she didn’t seem to mind climbing the terrain. Dan kept close behind me in case I fell. The rock tore into my palms with each new grasp I took.

            I kept focusing on following Sutton rather than becoming paranoid with having other tributes spying on us, or the part of the mountain we were climbing on suddenly giving way, or just looking down in general. I didn’t want to scare myself silly to the point where I’d want to jump off the wall and reach a safe point, because I knew if I did that, I’d be anything but safe. Most likely, I’d end up dead. Besides, I had survived this long in the Games, something I never thought I’d do. But it wasn’t like I expected myself to die on day one…more like a little later after day one, really.

 So far, I surprised even myself, not just the people of Panem watching.

            “See anything that we can actually stand on without us worrying about it falling under our feet?” I called up to Sutton. I was rooted to where I was so Dan could catch up, Sutton was still climbing. I was waiting for Dan to tap my leg, that way I knew he was okay. He was struggling, I could tell by his labored breathing. Maybe hiking wasn’t such a good idea. He should have been treated with the medicine first. Why did I think his injuries wouldn’t affect him in any way?

            “I think so,” Sutton yelled back. “It’s narrow, but it’s something. Get Daniel ahead of you, and help me get him up.”

            I didn’t need to ask Dan if he had heard Sutton, the whole mountain could hear her probably. Noise traveled a long way here. This was something we were going to have to adjust to quickly. There were possibly other tributes here along with us.

            I heard Dan grunt as he ambled up the mountain. I looked from the corner of my eye to see him alongside me. I gave him a bob of my head so that he knew I wanted him to go further. Slowly, Dan pulled himself ahead of me. I craned my neck up to watch him intently, while at the same time I watched where and what I grabbed.

            Sutton had thrown herself over the path, now looking down for Dan. I tried to make myself go a little bit faster. Dan grabbed Sutton’s hand, and she was trying to pull him up. I could see a vein pulse in her forehead; she looked to be straining herself too hard.

            “You have to help me out here, Daniel,” Sutton huffed as she groaned in irritation.

            “I’m trying,” he barked back at her.

            “Bridget—”

            “I’m coming as quickly as I can, Sutton. Not all of us are good climbers like you,” I snapped at her.

Clenching my jaw, I dug deep, climbing up higher despite protests from my aching, exhausted limbs. Carefully, I put myself under Dan and gave him a little push. He tried to work with me, but he was just too heavy for Sutton and me. It’s hard to get a man over on the path of a mountain when it’s only two girls trying to help him up.

            Finally, Dan’s efforts were pulling through. He no longer needed me for help; he helped Sutton get him over. Sutton leaned over the edge again, this time waiting for me. Dan was next to her, waiting patiently. They both had their hands out, ready to grab me. I bit my tongue as I was a foot away from them.

            I yipped when my left foot slipped. It only took one limb to lose balance before it all came crashing down on the rest of me. I panicked, trying to regain some foothold, but I felt myself falling backwards. Sutton screamed, and she and Daniel snatched my arms at the same time.

            I felt this enormous, painful tug on my arms as they were leaning dangerously over the edge, holding onto me. Their grips were steel and not pleasant on my wrists. My feet dangled heavily below me. Don’t look down, don’t look down, I told myself. I squinted my eyes shut.

            “Bridget, get a foothold, quickly!” Dan said. Aside from the obvious…

            I swung myself to the wall but kept bashing my body instead of holding myself securely with my feet. Reattaching myself to the rock wall was easier said than done. I focused, trying to get at least one foot to stabilize myself for them both.

            “Come on, we can’t hold you forever,” Sutton panted. She let out a strangled noise as she and Daniel tried to pull me up. I felt myself go up an inch but fall back down to where I was.

            “Wait…Bri, get to the wall and start walking on it!” Dan said.

            “What are you talking about?” Sutton asked him. Sutton may not have understood him, but I did. I needed to place my feet on the rock wall as if it was the floor. I would scale the rock wall to them, if I could get a good grip, that is.

            With this new goal set in mind, I swung and tried to lock my body. Swinging was dangerous for all of us, and tiring as well. I could tell I was slowly slipping from them. If I’m not giving up, you guys aren’t either. With a cry of agitation, I launched myself again.

This time, I stuck to the wall!

            “Yes!” I crowed. I looked up at them both, they looked slightly relieved. Slowly, I scaled the rock wall. It made all of our jobs that much easier. The struggling was minimal once we got the hang of it. Daniel mainly heaved me up while Sutton took a rest, her arms limp at her sides.

            I dared myself to look down. It was quite a drop.

            “That was something,” I said nervously.

            “No kidding. I think we all gained some muscle during all that,” Sutton giggled tiredly. “My arms ache.”

            “Sorry.”

            “What matters is that we’re all safe,” Dan chimed. I nodded.

            I looked over my shoulder to see a dead end. Our only option was straight. I stood on shaky legs, hugging the rock wall closely as I slowly navigated the narrow path that was made on the mountain. I heard someone trail behind me, probably Daniel. I peeked around a corner slowly. Nothing was present.

            I slunk against the wall, still very cautious. I left a hand behind my back, making sure somebody grabbed it. I didn’t flinch when it was grabbed. I was glad somebody was following me.

            Sutton yipped, making me jump. I looked over my shoulder to see she was linked to Daniel, looking anxiously down below. I tried not to mirror her; I didn’t want to look down again. We followed the trail for a good few minutes before we reached a slight impasse: a small gap. We’d have to jump if we wanted to continue on the path. I stopped at the edge, Dan right behind me.

            “What is it?” Sutton whined, trying to see past Dan.

            “A small jump,” I croaked. “I would say we risk it, but I’m not sure how stable the other side is.”

            “So does this mean we start climbing again?” Dan asked me.

            “I’m not sure.” I looked up to the mountain. It looked to reach the skies. We couldn’t climb that high; the altitudes would mess with us. “I really wished that we didn’t have to consider it. We climbed a ways already.”

            “I don’t think we’ll have to climb, you guys,” Sutton said.

            “Why?” I turned around in a tight circle to look at her through Dan’s arm.

            “I think I found a cave.” Sutton had her back to us. She was crouched low, bow and arrow at the ready at the cave’s entrance.

            “Anybody occupy it?”

            “Don’t know. That’s what I’m going to check out right now.”

            “We’ll go with you,” Dan offered.

            “No, you two stay out here. I don’t want us all being stuck in there. Accidents could happen.”

            “If you say so, but be careful,” I whispered worriedly.

            “That’s why I’ve got an arrow loaded.” I heard the smile in her voice.

            Sutton crawled into the mouth of the cave, disappearing from sight. Dan led me to the entrance, our hands still locked together. I poked my head under his arm to look. The cave entrance was smaller than I thought. No wonder Sutton had to crawl to get in. That was the only way a person could get through.

            Dan and I kept quiet, holding our breath as the moments went by. We were just waiting for some outburst of a battle to erupt from inside the cave. That was the worst case scenario: that another tribute—or tributes—had inherited the cave themselves and that we were trying to claim it for ourselves, completely unaware we were treading on taken territory.

            The minutes that slowly ticked past made me anxious. Sutton hadn’t come back out yet. What if there were tunnels and she was way deep in the cave? What if she was so deep that we couldn’t hear her screaming for help as she was attacked by other tributes or the animals that could possibly be inside?

            “That’s it; give me the hatchet from the pack, Bri. I’m going in after her,” Dan said strongly.

“You don’t have to,” Sutton’s voice echoed from the cave mouth. I let out a sigh of relief.

Sutton poked her head out from the entrance before pulling herself out entirely. She brushed herself off. Her bow and quiver of arrows were slung on her back.

            “It’s a tight squeeze in there,” she said.

            “So…?” Dan asked.

            “It’s unoccupied. Lucky for us there isn’t a maze of tunnels; it’s a straight shot once you get in.”

            “Is the cave itself bigger?” I asked, hopeful.

            “Oh yeah, much bigger. It’s not a bad-looking cave either.” She crouched down on her knees again and disappeared. Dan and I exchanged a look.

            I squished myself between Daniel and the wall and then got down on my hands and knees. The way inside the cave looked a bit cramped, damp, and dark. I swallowed. Slowly, I walked on all fours into the cave. I kept my head low in case of a low ceiling. I heard Dan curse under his breath. He probably hit his head already.

            Sutton had gotten quite a head start, because I could hear her already making her descent to the actual cave ground. I hoped it didn’t echo too loudly in here either. Around the mountain itself was bad.

            The rock beneath my fingers was damp and made my pants become wet. I didn’t care about wet clothes; I just wanted to get out of harm’s way. I really hoped no tributes had seen us find the cave, otherwise we’d be expecting some unwanted company very soon.

            When finally reaching the end of the tunnel, my mouth dropped to the floor. The place was beautiful. I jumped the small drop from the tunnel and my feet echoed. The space was huge, bigger than the cave Daniel had once found. There were stalagmites and stalactites littering the floor and ceiling. A few of the stalactites dripped water, the drops plinking onto the cold, dark rock.

            Sutton was exploring the cave, feeling its walls. I heard Daniel jump down behind me.

            “Wow…,” he murmured in awe. I grinned.

            A small noise made me alert. It didn’t sound threatening, but I wasn’t going to take any chances. Dan was beside me. He scanned the interior of the cave.

            “There’s a small river!” Sutton squeaked, trotting over towards the right of the cave. Dan and I exchanged hopeful looks and then met up with Sutton. It wasn’t exactly a huge river like I had hoped for, but it was a river nonetheless.

            It was a narrow river, but the water looked fresh and clean. Perfect drinking water. I was so glad we had that canteen still. I looked around consciously for any hidden cameras. There were bound to be some. I’d be shocked if there weren’t any.

            I knelt down, inserting my fingers into the water. I made a hum of content as the cool liquid tickled my fingers.

            “I guess our luck is getting good again,” Dan whispered in my ear. I giggled.

            “You really know how to find a good place, Sutton,” I admitted. “Good job.”

            “Thanks,” she said giddily. “I think I could learn to get used to this.”

            That’s what we did for most of the day: get settled in. I washed my hands in the river, cleansing myself of pebbles and dirt on my hands from all that climbing we did today. Our jerky supply was running low, so we split the jerky and dried fruit. The jerky tasted better.

            As I refilled the water canteen, the light that shone through the cave tunnel was dimming. Night was approaching. There was no way we were going to be in the dark. Somehow we’d have to make a fire. I had no doubt it’d get cold in the cave with the dampness.

            Sutton offered to go sneak a peek to see if there were any deaths today while I rummaged for the medicine. I wanted to put it on Daniel now since it should have been given to him yesterday. Sutton had taken her bow and arrow just as a precaution, so I was left with my trusty hatchet that was still in the pack.

            Dan rested against some stalagmites. I walked to him, kneeling beside him. He looked at me curiously.

            “Let me see how bad your legs are,” I said gently. He immediately rolled up his slightly-torn pants. The scratches were healing, but they looked dirty. “I think we better get them cleaned up before putting on the medicine.”

            I used some of the water from the canteen to clean off Dan’s legs. I would refill it once I was done with him. Dan watched me the whole time as I doctored him up. He shivered when I put the blue medication on him.

            “Cold?” I snickered.

            “Yeah,” he sighed.

            “It made me feel that way too. There.” I put his pant legs back down before screwing the medicine bottle back up nice and tight.

            “Thanks,” he breathed. I eyed the stalagmites he was resting against. They reminded me of wanting to make a fire. “What?”

            “If you rub rocks together, they create a spark, right?” I asked him.

            “I think so, but we’ve got no wood to burn.”

            “I hate to say it, but we might have to burn some food,” I said solemnly. “Unless you prefer to burn one of the packs, or the blanket, or our clothes.”

            “Let’s talk to Sutton about it when she comes back,” he suggested. I brushed his growing bangs away from his sea blue-gray eyes. “Now what?”

            “Nothing.” I scooted closer to him. “I’m just glad you’re with me.”

            “I think you’ve told me this before, Bri.”

            “I know. I can’t repeat myself?” I joked. “Just think: we’re close to winning these Games.”

            “You don’t know that. We could be weeks away from getting out of here with Sutton.”

            “She’s a good ally,” I sighed. Dan slithered an arm around my waist, his fingers stroking my side. I yawned. Suddenly, I didn’t feel like making a fire. I really wanted to sleep now.

            Dan chuckled. I buried myself into him, shutting my eyes briefly. He pressed his cheek to my forehead, staying there. His body heat made me feel so relaxed and so comfortable, I almost considered falling asleep against him again. It was so weird; he and I had never been this close with each other. I hadn’t been like this with Ewan either. I guess the Hunger Games could bring two best friends even closer together.

            “Well…” Sutton’s voice rang in the cave as she came crawling back through the tunnel. I opened my eyes, becoming somewhat awake once again. “Nobody died today…again. I don’t know about you guys, but I just wish somebody would die already. I know it sounds wrong to say it, but it’s true.” She leapt to the cave ground. She looked immediately embarrassed when looking at us. “Umm…was I interrupting something?”

            “No,” I said awkwardly. “Why?”

            “It’s just…the way you two are…”

            “She’s just tired,” Dan said.

            “I am too.” Sutton stretched, scratching her head.

            “How cold is it out there?” I asked tiredly.

            “Not bad, but it’ll be a little cool in here because of how damp it is.”

            “Is it worth it to try and attempt to build a fire?”

            “Not if we have a blanket with us.”

            “You can have it, if you want. I don’t think I’ll need it.”

            “Oh, I see. You have your own source of heat.” She wiggled her eyebrows at me and Daniel. Sutton, like many others, was assuming the wrong thing. Dan gave her an odd stare. “Well, if you really think you won’t need it, I’ll take it.”

            Sutton retrieved the blanket from the pack and wrapped herself in it. She was closer to Dan and me this time, her bow and arrows at her side in case of possible danger. I assumed I was taking the first shift.

Sutton’s eyes closed within a half hour. It was just Dan and me once again.

            “Does she think we’re dating?” he whispered to me.

            “I think so,” I guessed. “A lot of people assume that. Hey, Dan?”

            “Yeah?”

            “Would you like to explain to me how I ended up under the blanket with you last night?”

            “You were shivering, and I didn’t want you to get sick, so I pulled you in with me.” He shrugged.

            “Oh.” What else could I really say? “Are you up for taking shifts with us tonight?”

            “Yeah. Why?”

            “I think you’re going to have to take the first one.” I yawned hugely.

            “I don’t mind. I’ll wake you when it’s your shift, okay?”

            “Okay.” I kissed his cold cheek.

Dan looked down into my eyes. “What was that for?” he asked hesitantly.

            “It’s a token of gratitude,” I said happily.

            “For what?”

            “For everything. I think if I had a different district partner they wouldn’t do the things you’ve done.”

            “Bridget, I think you’re being a broken record, because I swear you’ve said something close to that before.”

            “Sorry. I want you to know that I appreciate everything you do for me.”

            “You do realize I do it because we’re best friends, and that I’m willing to anything for you, right?”

            “I think so.”

            “How about you go to sleep? I shouldn’t be keeping you awake this long.”

            “Okay.” I grinned.

            Dan shifted so that he held me against his chest. Gosh, he was so warm. I wondered if all guys’ body heat was like this.

I burrowed into him as good as I could, his warmth helping me lull into sleep.