26. Claimed Territory

       Cold water splashed me, making me screech in shock. I sprung awake, leaping out of Dan’s arms, shaking the water off me. Dan spat and shook the water off him, too. Sutton was on the ground, laughing her head off, holding her ribs. How could she do something like that? If it was an attempt for us all to lighten up, it didn’t work out very well.

            “The water fight could have been held off until we were all at least awake,” I hissed at her. I wrung out my ponytail. I realized my hair was still nasty.

Gosh…I couldn’t remember the last time I cleaned my hair, or my body. I wasn’t exactly sure how many days it had been. I’d given up on counting.

            “Sorry, but I wanted to have a little fun,” Sutton whimpered innocently, her laughter dying out of her. “Is that so wrong?”

            “It’s the Hunger Games, not a place for fun,” Dan snapped. He ran a hand through his soggy hair.

            “I don’t know about you guys, but I can’t remember the last time I bathed,” I piped, wrinkling my nose.

            “Well…it’s been a few days since we were at that pond place that you stole from Noah,” Sutton recalled. “So we’re all overdue for a bath.”

            “I’m at least washing my hair, then.” My stomach rumbled irritably. “And I have to eat, like usual.”

            “What have we got left?” Dan asked.

Sutton walked over to the pack. She frowned. Not a good sign.

            “Two pieces of jerky left and a few pieces of dried fruit, about a quarter of the medicine, and the water canteen that needs to be refilled,” she reported. Oops, forgot to refill that.

            “It doesn’t feel like we went through the jerky that fast, though.”

            “We apparently did.”

            “Well, looks like we’ll have to hunt soon once all the food is gone,” I huffed. “Toss me the canteen, Sutton. I’ll refill it since I’m going to get my hair straightened out.”

            I almost dropped the canteen when Sutton threw me it. While I pulled my hair out of the ponytail, releasing the dirty, wild mess that it held, Daniel was wringing out the blanket. It had gotten a little wet when Sutton drenched us unexpectedly.

            I dunked my head into the river, throwing it back, letting water spray everywhere. My hair was extremely knotty, which was something I despised. Because my hair was so thick, knots really hurt for me and seemed to always have a bad case of stubbornness. My fingers raked through my nasty, knotty hair. There was no shampoo or conditioner, so I was on my own. Water would just have to suffice. It’d at least get the dirt and whatnot out of my hair.

            I closed my eyes as I roughly massaged my wet head. I swore I felt a nail or two of mine break because of my unruly hair. I sighed. Sometimes I wished for thin hair, that way it seemed to be easier to manage and not fight with a lot.

            I squeezed the water out of my hair and ruffled it with my hands. I shook my head, letting my semi-clean hair settle around my face. A few wet strands plastered to my face. Soon enough, they would curl and poof out. My hair would look like a bush, and that was why I had a ponytail holder.

            I yipped when somebody tackled me and pushed me into the river. The river was so shallow I was able to sit in it. My hair blinded me, and I shook it out of the way. I was ready to rip Sutton’s head off for taking me out like that, but it hadn’t been her. It was Daniel. He was on all fours, his hair dripping. He looked wet himself.

            “That’s not funny!” I whined, splashing him. He tried to shield his face from my fury.

He laughed. “Come on, Bri, lighten up a little,” he teased.

I shoved water in his face again and tackled him. I playfully dunked him in the river. He retaliated quickly, thrusting water in my face. I gave a squeak and barreled away from him. He grabbed me around the waist, trapping me.

            “How come you think it’s fun when he does something, but when I try, you bite my head off?” Sutton whined. Dan and I looked at her. She obviously wasn’t very upset, but she looked a little bit hurt.

            “If you didn’t wake me up, I would have been fine,” I said simply. I tried to pry myself out of Dan’s soaked grasp, but he held me firmly. “Dan, I need to reach the water canteen.”

            “Right. Sorry.” I nearly belly flopped into the water when he suddenly let go of me.

I grabbed the canteen, emptied it, and replenished it with the river water to the very top. I screwed the lid on tight and climbed out with it. I heard Daniel slosh out of the river behind me.

            “I think I might need to strip and squeeze the water out of my clothes,” I whimpered, lifting my dripping sleeves and pant legs.

            “Eh, they’ll dry. Hey, I know what can get you dry quick!” Sutton piped. She grabbed the hatchet and started bashing away at the stalagmites, jostling decent sized pieces off to the ground. She dropped the hatchet and grabbed the rocks.

            “Hold on, Sutton,” Dan halted her. “You need something for the spark to burn on.”

            “What are you suggesting we burn?” she asked hesitantly. Daniel eyed the pack. Sutton’s eyes widened. “We can’t! That’s how we keep all our stuff in tact!”

            “You forget, we’ve got two packs with us,” he said smartly. “We’ll use the empty one and burn it. It’s not like we have much use for it anymore with what we’ve still got left.”

            “Hmm, it’s worth a shot,” I considered. Dan grinned.

Sutton sighed. “Fine,” she muttered. “Bring it here.”

            Daniel gave Sutton the empty pack. She sat down, cross-legged, a few inches from the pack, rocks over it. She clashed them together, eyebrows crinkled in concentration. I saw her bite her tongue as she focused. Dan and I both watched her.

            “Come on,” she growled lowly. “Come on.”

            On about the twentieth strike, Sutton found victory. Sparks caught the pack, lighting it afire. I bounced joyfully, Sutton beamed at the fire she just made. She just proved that you didn’t need a gift from a sponsor to start a fire. With the right resources, and a huge amount of luck, one could start a fire in a different way.

            Sutton blew on it, keeping it controlled. It was good enough for Dan and me to sit by it while the clothes on our backs dried. Sutton went to go clean her hair while Daniel and I baked in front of the fire.

            My hair was drying; I could see my light brown hair with blonde highlights start to show. The long ringlets hung like curtains around my face, giving me something that resembled blinders.

            “It’s been a while since your hair’s been down,” Dan murmured. He messed with a random, still-drying lock. “It makes you look different.”

            “I’m still the same person,” I reminded him. “I’ve always been me.”

            “That’s not true. You’ve grown stronger. These Games have toughened you up, Bridget. You may not know it, but I can see it every day. I saw it when you insisted on trying to find me when you had no idea where you were going. You fought off the poison long enough for you to be cured.”

            “But I didn’t fight Noah when he attacked me,” I recalled.

            “You did the first time he attacked us. If you were still the same person before the Games, you would have probably never done what you did. Besides, when Noah attacked you the next time, you didn’t get him only because you were caught off guard. If you had known he was going to attack you, you probably would have fought him off long enough to make an escape, or you would have killed him if you knew you had no choice but to fight. I don’t see the shy wallflower of District Seven that most people have seen. I see a stronger District Seven tribute that’s still alive and determined to win the Games and save others’ lives.”

            “So I’ll never see that wallflower ever again?” I gazed at him.

            “You probably won’t now, but she’ll always be here.” He cautiously put a hand over my heart.

            “You know, you make some meaningful mini speeches,” I snickered, punching his arm lightly. “Did you ever consider going into teaching, or even becoming a motivational speaker? Hell, you could even run for president with your words!”

            “Ha, I don’t think so. I wouldn’t want the pressure of controlling a nation by myself.”

            “Guys!” Sutton whispered, her voice panicked. She silently sprinted to us. “Put out the fire! I think somebody’s coming!”

            Daniel and I looked at each other, frightened. I knew this was going to happen, but not so soon. If a tribute had good hearing, it was Sutton. Thank God for her sharp ears.

Hastily, Dan and I stomped out the fire while Sutton grabbed her bow, already loading an arrow into it. Dan grabbed the remaining pack, slinging it over him. I grabbed the hatchet. Sutton motioned us to join her against the wall, away from the sunlight. We were in cover of the dark for now.

            Sutton put a finger to her lips, looking at us both intently. Dan and I both nodded. I could hear the voices from the tunnels. They didn’t sound close yet, but they carried enough to echo.

            “I don’t see how we could have missed this place,” muttered a girl. We all set our eyes on the tunnel exit. I vaguely remembered that voice.

            “Oh no,” Sutton mouthed. “It’s Kristi.”

            My eyes squinted in puzzlement. Another Career broke away from the pack? Wait, she said ‘we,’ I realized. More than one Career must’ve broken away.

            “It’s small enough to almost be unnoticeable,” said a deep, accented male voice. It had to be Muhammad, because I remembered Eric’s and Meeka’s voices better than his.

This was not good at all. Two Careers were infiltrating our cave. Naturally when we find the perfect shelter Careers just have to find it not too long after us.

            “I hope this isn’t all it is,” Kristi muttered. Her voice sounded louder. I wheezed quietly. They were getting closer. My eyes were locked onto the tunnel exit into the cave. “It’s a horrible place to camp in.”

            “I doubt it.” Muhammad grunted. He probably smacked his head on the low tunnel ceiling too, like Dan had when we had crawled through.

            Kristi was the first to make it through the entrance. I covered my mouth so that my breathing was muted. My body trembled in fear. Sutton remained calm, looking at her former pack mate with pure hate. Dan watched the District 4 Career cautiously. Through what light that was salvaged past Muhammad, Kristi’s hair was chin length and a dark color, but I couldn’t make out what. Her eyes contrasted her hair; they were a startling ice-blue. They looked almost too icy to be real.

            “I think we hit the jackpot,” Kristi whispered, taking a scan of the cave. Her eyes came dangerously close to seeking us three out, but thankfully she turned her gaze away from us. I couldn’t let out a safe breath yet, though, because Muhammad was a minute behind Kristi.

            He looked to be about six feet; he had a darker complexion than a lot of the tributes did. He had very short, black, curly hair. I couldn’t tell his eye color, but I assumed it was a dark color, like maybe a dark green, brown, or black if it was even possible. The most startling things about him were his muscles that were prominent, and the sword that he carried in his right hand.

            “What a find!” he agreed.

Dan nudged me, bobbing his head towards Sutton. I looked towards her. She was slowly inching along the cave wall, close towards the tunnel. That seemed to be the best idea right now: crawl out of here and hope that we didn’t get caught. True we had an advantage with three on two and with Sutton armed with a distance weapon, but Kristi looked like she didn’t need a weapon to be lethal, and she and Muhammad both looked as if they could kill a person at close range easily.

“Good thing we found this place,” Muhammad muttered. He started wandering around the river. I grimaced. I couldn’t believe we were just running away, giving up our cave to these Careers. Sometimes, though, running was better than fighting. This was one of those times.

Kristi’s icy eyes managed to find the stomped-out fire. She knelt down, tentatively touching it. Dan pulled me close to him, away from Kristi’s view.

“Muhammad,” Kristi called. His attention was to her. “I think we aren’t the only inhabitants.”

“Do you think they’re still here?” He marched to her, examining the pack for himself.

“They have to be. It’s still hot.” Kristi looked at Muhammad. His brows wrinkled in anger. “They’re hiding in here. They probably heard us coming.”

“I doubt they’d get away, we just came in here. We’ll get them.” Muhammad swished the sword around in his hand, like he was just dying to sink it into flesh.

Both of them rose, brushing themselves off. We were just a few inches from the tunnel now. Kristi and Muhammad started searching the back of the cave, away from us. Good, just stay around there and don’t turn around, I prayed.

Sutton motioned Daniel and me forward. Dan pulled me along. He gestured for me to go first. I poked my head up to be nearly blinded by sunlight. I put a hand visor above my eyes so I could see. Dan gave me a leg up, and I slunk in. I raised my head up to toss my hair out of my face.

I forgot about the low ceiling.

I gave a yelp of pain as my head collided with the rock. I let out a gasp and tried to look past myself. Kristi and Muhammad heard me, and now they saw me. They saw all three of us. We three froze like deer in headlights. There was no long staring contest between the five of us.

Immediately, Kristi and Muhammad charged.

“Go! I’ll hold them off!” Sutton barked. Daniel gave me a shove, and I started speed-crawling out of the tunnel. “Don’t stop!”

“Come back here, you backstabbing bitch!” Kristi roared. “I want to finish you off like I should have days ago!”

I heard a roar of frustration and pain from Muhammad. Sutton probably got him with an arrow. I heard Kristi screech in anger, too. I didn’t know what Sutton had done, but hopefully it was enough to slow them down. How many arrows Sutton used up clearly weren’t wasted.

I surfaced from the tunnel first; Daniel pulled himself out a few seconds later. We both poked our heads in to look for Sutton. She fast-crawled out of the tunnel. Kristi and Muhammad were right behind us, we could hear their huffing and puffing.

We started running, me taking the lead. I skidded to a quick halt when I realized there was the small gap that we had to jump. How could I have forgotten about it so quickly? Fear seized me, making me freeze up. There’s no time to stop. It’s either you stay here and die, or you jump, take a chance, and possibly live!

“Hurry!” Sutton shouted at me.

With a push from Daniel, I crossed the small gap, almost toppling to the ground. I waved Dan next, with a nervous Sutton behind him. Dan cleared. We were just waiting on Sutton now. She threw her bow and arrow at her side and jumped, just in time. Kristi had reached for her but just missed. I could now see her hair color: a deep auburn.

Dan grabbed Sutton’s arm, yanking her to him. Kristi’s face was in a snarl of outrage. Muhammad was right behind her, sword gleaming in his hand. I bet he was just dying to sink it through one of our hearts very soon.

I wheeled around and started to run but a loud boom! stopped me. Heads looked up, and a rock shower came upon us. My heart dropped into my stomach.

 It was a rock slide.

“Keep moving!” Dan hissed in my ear.

With the fear of being crushed by rocks, I led Sutton and Daniel around the mountain, as far as the path would lead us. I heard Kristi give a battle cry. I heard rocks collide, and Muhammad’s frightened cry silenced in a matter of a few seconds. I assumed Kristi was still in pursuit since I didn’t hear her cry in fright.

My heart pounded with each step that pounded the mountain path we were on. Sutton was panting behind us, Dan grunted behind me. We were running for our lives from a Career who was after our blood.

But we were so focused on escaping Kristi that nothing could have prepared us for what happened.

We should have heard a beeping noise. If there had been one, the pounding of our hearts and feet drowned it out. One minute we were being tailed by Kristi, and the next, the rock wall exploded, taking us all out. We all flew in midair, all four of us screaming. Our screams came together in a horrible harmony as more explosions occurred behind us.

The mountain had been booby trapped with hidden mines.

I saw Daniel fly further than me, but that was all I saw. My curly, whipping hair blinded me. I screamed, drowning out the others’ screams. I yipped as I collided with rock wall. I began tumbling down the mountain, all parts of my body repeatedly getting bashed: my legs, my knees, my elbows, my head, my neck, my shoulders. It was a cruel cycle.

I hit a few rough patches on the mountain, causing extra doses of pain. I rolled continuously. I thought I’d never stop. I’d continue to be beaten up by rocks until I was beaten to death. What a horrible way to die, flying in the sky and tumbling down a mountain.

Any way to die was horrible in these Games.

I felt my torture ending as my tumbling got less painful and slower. I rolled onto something that smelled burnt. Grass? My eyes opened to see that I had fallen all the way down the mountain and back into what was left of the woods. What trees still stood where charred, naked, and black.

I put myself on all fours, trying to stop the ferocious pounding that was occurring all over my body. My head felt like I had a throbbing headache, the back of my hands were cut and bleeding, and I felt blood trickling from the corner of my mouth. I didn’t feel that anything was broken though, so that was a plus. How am I still alive? That fall had been worse than when I had fallen out of that tree when encountering Kaya.

I couldn’t believe I was saying this, but I should have been dead from all of that.

I slowly sat up, looking around frantically. A cannon sounded, startling me. Muhammad was dead. It had to be for him. He hadn’t sounded very good when the rock slide had first happened. The rock slide…

Mines had been planted in that mountain. How, I wasn’t sure, but I doubted it was the Gamemakers’ work. They could throw man-eating squirrels and monkeys at us, but not put mines in the mountain. That had to be a work of a tribute. My guess was District 3’s girl. I realized what her talent was now: mine setting.

She’d taken the mountain for her own before any of us had. That was only true if it was in fact District 3 behind the explosions.

I staggered to my feet, looking around the burned wasteland. Where was Daniel? Where was Sutton? Where was Kristi? Were they on the verge of dying? Were they engaging in a battle that I was far away from?

The only way I’d get any of these answers was if I started walking around and looking. As I walked, I tried to look out for the hatchet. I had lost it completely when being airborne then taking a nasty ride down the mountain. I hoped I found it; it was the only weapon I could wield.

I didn’t dare call out Sutton’s name or Daniel’s. For all I knew, Kristi could still be alive and near, just dying to kill me. I limped along the burnt woods silently, scanning the perimeter around me. Sutton and Dan just had to be alive! I couldn’t bear to even think of what would happen to me if they both were dead…

But only one cannon sounded, so they’re all still alive. There’s still hope. I had to keep faith that Kristi was far away from Sutton, Daniel, and I, and that I would find Dan and Sutton soon.

Walking in the remaining woods was an eerie, unnerving experience. It was nothing like it had been in the beginning of the Games. What was once a flourishing area that reminded me of District 7 was now burnt to almost a crisp. Ash was strewn along the grass, powdering it.

I hoped Sutton had found Daniel and that they were okay and stuck together, searching for me like I was for them right now. I coughed on the foul smell that lay in the burnt woods. The grass didn’t crunch under me, it sounded like I was stepping in snow due to the ash on the ground.

I heard a small, feeble cough. I froze, trying to find the direction in which it came from. My heart thudded anxiously, but I tried to calm it down. I was afraid I might miss the next cough.

There it was again. It sounded even feebler than the last one. It was coming from my left. I started shifting left, stopping every few moments to listen for another cough, or another sign that led me to—hopefully—either Sutton or Daniel.        

After a few minutes of searching, I had found one of the two people I had been hoping to find. However, instead of being happy, I was deflated and in horror. My heart didn’t soar, it dropped into my feet. I had hoped to find them in a better state.

What I was seeing right now…it concerned me and put me into panic mode.

I found Daniel, and he was in the worst state a tribute could be in after being chased across a mountain and tossed into the air like a paper airplane.