28. A Long Day

       “No, please, stay with me, Dan!” I pleaded him. I could see the light fading in those sea blue-gray eyes of his. Tears welled in mine. Daniel couldn’t die, he wasn’t supposed to. He was supposed to make it to the end with me and Sutton; we were supposed to be the first ever three victors of the Hunger Games, and the final ones to make it even more special.

Now…that wasn’t possible. The ultimate goal of ours was now shattered.

            I held his face with one hand of mine, my frantic eyes searched his. I saw his eyes have a blank stare to them, as if staring into space. A cannon sounded. My body trembled. Daniel was dead.

            I held him tightly against me, sobbing to the skies. How could this happen? Dan didn’t deserve this. He and I never intended on killing anyone in these Games. We were trying to have as clean of a record as we could manage. Dan got his hands dirty only once. I guess he was paying for it with his own life. An eye for an eye. But nobody that liked Noah could have avenged him, and Noah certainly didn’t haunt us as a ghost.

            A high, tinkling laughter made me look through my tearstained eyes. Emerging from the fog was the reason Daniel was gone. My body went rigid at the sight of her. She stood with a satisfied smirk on her lips, her stance triumphant as her arms folded over her chest. Her moss green eyes were full of victory and taunting; her caramel hair looked wild around her.

Jillian.

            “Such a pity,” she crooned. For a twelve-year-old, this girl was devious and deadly. She sounded like a killer too. “He was such a nice boy.”

            “You,” I snarled. I lowered Dan’s body to the ground and rose to my feet. I gained a few inches on Jillian. “You did this.”

            “I didn’t do it purposely,” she snapped. “He triggered one of the mines I set on that mountain. You led him down that path, and it exploded. So really…who’s to blame for his death?”

            “You,” I said immediately. She was not about to try and trick me into thinking I was the reason Dan was dead. She couldn’t pull that crap on me. “You planted the mines on the mountain. He would still be alive if you hadn’t. I wish you had died.”

            “I ran away as soon as I planted the mines,” she said snottily. “Why would I stick around only to get myself blown up by my own traps? I’m not stupid.”

I really wish she had been.

            “So you came here to what? Gloat?” I looked down to see my trusty hatchet on the ground. I yanked it from the ground, plucking it free of grass blades. “If you did come here for that, I must say you’re stupid after all.”

            “Try me.” She crouched, at the ready. “I’ve taken down tributes older and stronger than you. You’ll be too easy.”

            “We’ll see. Unless you’ve got mines planted in the ground around us, I see no reason to be really afraid of you.”

            “That’s what they all say,” Jillian snickered.

            We both inched closer to each other, circling. It was like two lionesses fighting for an animal carcass. I was fighting for proper justice for Daniel, Jillian was just fighting so she could kill me and have me join him. She’d be joining the dead and going to hell, not me. She didn’t deserve to go to heaven, where Dan now was.

            She feigned a leap towards me, which made me jump back. I had to be crafty about this if I was going to kill her. For all I knew, she had grenades stuffed in her jacket, ready to whip out and blow me to pieces.

            We both sprung at the same time. Our battle cries echoed in the burnt woods as we collided. I sunk the hatchet into her shoulder. She gave a screech of outrage and kicked me in the gut. I ripped my hatchet from her shoulder, stumbling onto my butt. She whipped out a tiny, deadly dagger. I eyed it warily while trying to keep an eye on Jillian herself. I sprang back up on my feet quickly.

            She tried to sweep kick me off my feet, threatening to slice one of my legs with her knife. I jumped, crushing her hand. She yowled and bit my leg. I gave a grunt and shook her off me. If I didn’t know any better, she was part animal. I hoped she didn’t have rabies. So far I saw no foam around her mouth, so I was fine.

            Jillian tackled my legs, her head butting into my knees. She crawled over me, slapping my hatchet away from me. I gave a snarl of intimidation as she tried to hold me down. She aimed the dagger at my heart, ready to shove it through. I caught her lanky arm, holding the dagger a few inches above my heart. I threw her arm and her off me, long enough for me to roll onto all fours and retrieve my hatchet.

            I sprang to my feet only to notice Jillian vanished, and fog now surrounded the area. It was thick, so I couldn’t see the black trees or even Daniel’s body. The hovercraft hadn’t retrieved him yet, I would have heard it. The Gamemakers were waiting for either Jillian or me to drop dead. They wouldn’t have to wait much longer once I got a hold of that girl.

            Her cackling echoed, making me turn three-sixty.

            “Where are you?” I shouted. My words fired back at me, echoing like Jillian’s cackling.

            Every footfall made me turn. This was such a disadvantage for me. Jillian had the cover of the fog, I had nothing. The grip on the hatchet handle tightened. If Jillian sprang out at me, ready to stab me, I was going to have to catch her right as she got to me if I had any chance of killing her.

            “You should learn to be more on the offense than defense,” she crooned. She sounded close.

            Not wanting to miss my shot at her, I quickly whipped around only to receive a dagger to my ribs, just below my heart. Air escaped me, a loud, piercing scream soon followed. I bet it had echoed in the entire arena. If anything I had probably just attracted more attention to us. If Sutton happened to hear me, I hoped she came running, because I really needed her right now. This was a startling case of déjà vu almost, because Noah had gotten me with a knife. I was pretty sure this one wasn’t laced with poison, though, but I could be wrong.

            Jillian’s lips twisted into a sneer as she twisted the dagger inside me. I let out a strangled squeak and dropped to my knees, soon collapsing on my side. My hatchet fell from my hand. My hands felt my blood-soaked shirt, the dagger buried practically inside of me.

            Jillian giggled, bending down to look at me. I looked at her. This was wrong—seeing such a young girl love the idea of murdering another person in cold blood. This is what the Hunger Games did to kids: it corrupted their minds, causing them to do unthinkable things that their families would never think of them doing. That’s what happened when the survival instinct kicked in; it brought out our savage natures.

            “I’ll be taking this back,” Jillian sang. She ripped the dagger from me. She kicked me onto my back, sitting on her knees at my side. The dagger was lifted, aiming once again at my heart. This time, it wouldn’t miss its target.

            “Go ahead. Do it. I dare you,” I challenged her. I winced. “My friend is going to find me, and when she does, she’ll know it was you. She’ll hunt you down and finish you off.”

            “Not if I finish her off first,” Jillian crooned. “You should be happy that I’m killing you quickly. Be thankful you’re not suffering.”

            “I’m suffering now.”

            “Oh well.”

            The dagger plunged straight for my heart.

***

            I startled myself awake. I felt around my heart. No stab wound, no blood pool, no Jillian, no fog. I was still alive.

I ran a hand over my sweaty forehead and brushed my hair back. That was some wicked nightmare. I knew I wasn’t a fortune teller, but was that what I predicted my fate would be if I crossed paths with Jillian?

Wait…there was no ‘if’ about it. It was more of a ‘when’ I crossed paths with that murderer.

            Patches of sunlight descended to join me on the jungle floor. I uncurled painfully from my ball. I had kept that position all night judging by my sore body. I rubbed the back of my neck, looking up at the tree. Sutton had to be up there still.

            “Sutton, you awake?” I called. I got no answer. Hmm, she might still be sleeping. “Sutton!” I raised my voice. “Wake up!”

            No answer again. I began to panic a little bit. Where had Sutton gone? Had she left me because she couldn’t control me after all, like Dan had thought? Was she out hunting and didn’t come back yet…or not at all? I would have heard a cannon sound, I’m not a heavy sleeper.

            I couldn’t just leave the tree and go looking for her, not without some form of protection. And what protection did I have? None. No bow and arrow, no hatchet, no sword, no blowgun, no knife, nothing. I was as defenseless as a tribute could be out here in the Games.

            The only thing I could really do was wait by the tree and hope Sutton came back soon. If my voice carried in this jungle, and if Kristi happened to be nearby, she’d come running. Better be safe and climb the tree. If Kristi or someone does come by here, I don’t want to be killed.

            I sighed, gripping the tree. It was like the day Kaya died all over again, only I wasn’t being followed. I was waiting for Sutton to come back instead. Slowly, I meandered up the tree. I was only getting up on luck since there were no branches to really grab on to. When I finally reached a thick branch to perch on, I noticed I was in cover of leaves. Good, nobody will see me if I stay hidden. This was the best camouflage I was going to get.

            I propped myself against the tree, looking around. The jungle was mostly quiet unless I counted the occasional bird or monkey calling in the distance. I saw a few tiny bugs crawl along the tree, but they weren’t dangerous since none decided to bite me. Being in the Games at this point in time was really boring. If it was up to me, I would go out hunting for Jillian. But I couldn’t really do that since I had no weapon to arm myself with. I was no good at hand-to-hand combat, so, really, without a weapon; I was a goner if I came across anything that could kill me.

            A faint beep made me alert. I pressed myself against the tree as much as I could. The beep sounded like it was above me. I heard something crash into the branches above. I tensed, looking up. The beeping was right above me.

Another sponsor? A little late to send a gift, I thought bitterly. Where had Johanna been yesterday when Daniel had been dying? She could have sent us medicine, and he could be here with me right now, now that I thought about it. I almost considered not retrieving the silver package, only because it reminded me of the help that could have been given a day ago. Yet, I couldn’t just leave it there hanging above me. It could be water, food, or maybe a weapon.

There was only one way to find out.

            I climbed a few more branches to rip the package from its parachute. I pried it open only to find the next best weapon for me: an ax. Not a tiny hatchet to chop squirrels heads off with, but an ax that was capable of chopping limbs, whether on a tree or a tribute.

            It looked brand new and freshly polished. The blade gleamed in what sunlight was given to me. It felt a little heavy, but I’d soon adjust. I had only used an ax once before; I was so used to holding hatchets. This was a step into the big leagues for me. I unraveled a note around the handle of the ax. It was a lot shorter than the last.

     It may have been too late to save him, but it’s not too late to save you. You know what to do with it.

                                                —J

            Obviously it had been too late to save him! If I ever made it out of the Games alive, I’d definitely get an answer from Johanna. I deserved to know why help didn’t come when I thought it would and when it was most needed!

I tossed the package away into some nearby foliage. I planted the ax across my lap. As tempting as it was now to go after Jillian with my new gift, I wanted Sutton to come back. I wanted to know that she was okay first.

            The hours passed, and my morale didn’t improve any. My stomach growled. I considered eating the tree’s leaves, but I decided against it. I didn’t know if the tree’s leaves were poisonous or not. I wasn’t about to take any chances. The only source of liquid I got was my spit, and that wasn’t very satisfying. I needed real water. I wasn’t about to resort to anything drastic like somehow drinking my own urine. That would be just downright disgusting on so many levels.

            The sun was starting to set. I felt like my dad back home in 7, sitting around on my ass like a bum. I chipped away at the dried blood that was still on my mouth. My hands looked to be scabbing over. These weren’t severe, so they’d heal quicker.

Sutton still hadn’t come back yet. Maybe she had forgotten where we made temporary camp. Maybe she was caught in a trap somebody—whether the Careers or other tributes—set out originally for catching animals. My heart raced at those thoughts. Sutton was a smart girl, and even if she did get caught, she’d fight her way out of it…wouldn’t she? I mean, she took her bow and arrows with her. She was armed.

            Footfalls made me freeze in the tree. I snatched the ax, holding it tightly against my side. I kept hidden in the cover of the leaves. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. There was a possible chance it was Sutton, but there was a bigger chance of it being an enemy, which was pretty much everybody except for Sutton.

            I carefully leaned over the branch, looking through what leaves I could to see the ground. I didn’t see anybody. I pulled back up just in time, because where my head was, an arrow replaced it, digging into the tree. I covered my mouth. I pulled the ax to my chest. Maybe it’s not Sutton after all.

            “Sutton,” I squeaked. “I-it’s me. Don’t shoot!”

            “Oops,” she called. I ripped the arrow from the tree and kept it. “Sorry. I thought you were somebody else. Come down, will you? Bring the arrow too; I can probably still use it.”

            Carefully, I slid back down the tree and hopped to the ground, an ax in one hand, an arrow in the other. Sutton had something stuffed in her bag where the arrows usually were kept. She had an arrow in her hand, her bow in her other. She had a few bloody scratches on her face; her clothes looked like animals had taken hits at them.

            “What happened?” I asked, looking her over.

            “In a second. I’ll take that back,” she said, grabbing the arrow. “And what’s this?” She eyed the ax.

            “Another gift,” I growled, eyeing my new weapon evilly.

            “That’s good.”

            “Not really.”

            “What makes you say that? Come on, Bridget, you can defend yourself now! I won’t have to worry about you if I ever leave you alone to go hunting again.”

            “Yeah, I know, and I’m grateful for that…but I was expecting a sponsor yesterday, remember?” I mumbled.

            “Oh. Right.”

            “Anyway,” I said quickly, “what’s this new getup? Are you trying to look like you wrestled a bear to look all badass so you can scare the other tributes?”

            “Ha, I wish,” she snorted. “I was out hunting. By the way, sorry I left you, but I couldn’t wait until you got up. I figured I wouldn’t be out long, but I kind of underestimated that by a lot. If the monkeys weren’t so scarce out here, I would have bagged more than one.”

            “You killed a monkey?”

            “Yeah. But I think I’m taking you with me next time. Monkeys don’t like it when one gets threatened, as you’ve noticed by my lovely blemishes and new look.” She wiped off a drop of blood sliding down from under her eye. “They like to gang up on you and try to eat you alive. Lucky me I was down on the ground. It only took one arrow to kill one, and then I ran like hell until I felt they wouldn’t bother me anymore.”

            “I was considering going organic and eating leaves, dirt, tree bark, and bugs.” I made a face. “Did you find a water source at all?”

            “Sadly, no,” she sighed. “I’m not that lucky. But now that you’ve got that ax, mind if I borrow it? I might need it to skin the monkey.”

            “Sure,” I said uneasily, handing the ax over to her. “Make sure you clean off the gore after you’re done, will you?”

            “I will, don’t worry.”

            In exchange for having my ax, Sutton let me wipe off her arrow that she shot the monkey with. Even though she didn’t like it, she still took care of the monkey. I could hear the disgusting noises of its skinning and its gutting. Ugh. There were some things I’d never forget from these Hunger Games.

            After dealing with the bloody mess, Sutton managed to make the monkey meat actually look appetizing. She couldn’t exactly wipe off the blood on her hands though from the dirty work she had done. The first bite into the meat almost made me gag. The thought of eating something wild like a monkey compared to chicken or ham seemed horrible. But in the Games, it didn’t. It seemed like it was necessary to survive, because that’s what it was.

            When night fell, I didn’t know about Sutton, but I felt a little better with something in my stomach. We both rested at the bottom of the tree, lounging around, exhausted. Sutton looked to be ready to sleep for the night while I was wide awake still. The ax was at my side, my fingers running along the wooden handle.

            “Do you think the Gamemakers are making these Games too easy?” Sutton mumbled. She was lightly banging her head against the raised tree root.

            “Too easy?” I asked. “Umm, I doubt they’re making these Games easy. If they were, there would be more of us still around, and the Games probably wouldn’t end for months,” I theorized. “Every Games has had its own level of difficulty.”

            “But it’s the last Games, so wouldn’t they give us everything they’ve got and make this the most extreme?”

            “I don’t know. I don’t understand the Capitol,” I sighed. I twisted my neck to relieve it of soreness. “By the way, don’t go giving the Gamemakers any ideas. If they hear us, they’ll make sure to answer our complaints. That aside, what I do understand is that these Games are ridiculously long, and that you and I are going to win them.”

            “I’ll feel a lot better once Eric, Meeka, and Kristi are out of the picture. They’re the biggest threats. I bet Kristi found the boys.” Sutton’s voice was a low growl. “And I bet Kristi will try to put Muhammad’s death on both of us, giving the pack all the more reason to come after you and me. I bet the boys would love more reasons to want to hunt me down.”

            “Let’s hope she hasn’t found them,” I said.

The anthem rang in the arena. No deaths were reported today. It was a shame, I was hoping Kristi died.

            “I’m just waiting for them to crumble and rip each other’s throats out.”

            “Literally or figuratively?” I asked hesitantly.

            “Both.” There was a silence between us. “I haven’t gotten a gift from a sponsor yet. I just realized that.”

            “You will sometime,” I said.

            “I doubt it.” Sutton pushed her hair back over her shoulders. “My mentor probably hates me now ever since I broke off from the pack.” She touched her face tenderly, trying to see if the blood on her face was dry yet.

            “Did they tell you not to do that, abandon the pack?”

            “Oh yeah, so many times I swear she almost bashed it into my skull.”

            “Oh, I’ve felt that way before about so many things,” I confessed. “You’re not alone, believe me.”

“If my mentor had wanted to, she probably would have tattooed it on my wrist to make sure I didn’t forget.” Sutton laughed dryly. “She’s probably helping out Meeka a lot. I always suspected she favored him a little more over me.”

            “I don’t think that’s fair. So what if you abandoned the rest of the Careers? You’re still alive, aren’t you? If your mentor thought the way you did, I would think she’d be giving you gifts as a sign that you’re doing something right.”

            “You don’t know her.”

            “You’re right, I don’t,” I admitted. I huddled myself closer into a ball. “Did the temperature drop suddenly to you?”

            “Y-yeah,” Sutton breathed. She pulled herself tighter together. “I think it did.”

            “I bet the Gamemakers overheard us saying these Games weren’t much of a challenge. See? I told you not to say it so loudly.”

            “Ha ha, very funny,” she retorted. I could hear something chattering: Sutton’s teeth.

            “You get cold fast, don’t you?”

            “Y-yup.”

            “Go up in the tree, you might be a tad warmer up there. I can handle being out in the cold, I’m not fond of the heat.”

            “I’ll take first watch.”

            “No, Sutton. You look exhausted. Go up there and sleep,” I protested.

Sutton pursed her lips. “I’m still staying up; I’ll wake you up when I’m done.”

            I never bothered to argue with her. Sutton inched up the tree as quickly as she could while I curled into a ball, trying to block out the cold as best as I could. Without a blanket, all I had was my body heat to warm me. I definitely knew that wasn’t going to be enough.