31. Release the Beasts

       I couldn’t really listen to my brain from last night, because really, I had no control of what I dreamed about or if I dreamed at all. Sadly, I did dream, and it wasn’t pleasant, like I feared. I wasn’t sure how my dreams could get any worse. This one had involved three archenemies: Kaya, Noah, and Jillian. They decided to start invading my dreams now as one group. I was alone; Sutton and Daniel were nowhere near me. I wasn’t sure if they were dead or alive in the dream.

            We were on Jillian’s territory, the mountain that had hidden mines planted in it. The three of them had had me cornered; I had been on the edge of a cliff, just a step or two from falling down the long way. I had looked over my shoulder once before—it was a long fall. When they had all advanced, I had lost my step and managed to grab onto the edge but only with my injured hands.

            They had all looked down on me, snickering and smirking. They had loved the sight of me looking so helpless that it was hilarious to them. Noah did the honors of finishing me off, just like he had in the last dream he starred in with Kaya when they stabbed me and choked me, leaving me to slowly suffer until my heart stopped.

            My back was once again sore for the twentieth time while being in the arena. I rubbed it, but it did little to help me out. I remembered what kind of position I was in at the moment: vulnerable, with no food, and no water. I was practically a sitting duck, and my only asset was fleeing and hiding in hopes that nobody ever found me and killed me.

            I hid my hands under my arms, the hands that had once latched themselves around a twelve-year-old girl’s small neck. I shuddered. That wasn’t an easy thing, dealing with what I had committed myself to doing. I had been so revenge-driven that I hadn’t realized what it really looked like until after it was said and done.

            I definitely knew I wasn’t going to hang around here long. As peaceful as this newly found area was, I needed to regroup with Sutton—if she was willing to forgive me for being such a ditz and being oblivious to becoming a monster. I could understand if she never wanted to ally with me ever again, but I made a promise to Daniel before he died that Sutton and I would win the Hunger Games. So really, Sutton was going to have to forgive me so that I could fulfill my promise to Dan.

            I wasn’t sure what time of day it was—probably late morning or early afternoon. Regardless what time it was, I needed to start Sutton-searching. How long that would take me, I wasn’t sure. I just hoped I found her before anything bad happened—like she got killed or I did. I was going to have to rely on all my gut feelings and suspicious feelings I would have when searching for her, being that I was defenseless and alone.

            I clambered down the tree, landing softly on the ground. I inhaled, stretching on my tiptoes. Just like last time. Just think of it as trying to find Daniel again, only Kaya isn’t hunting you and there’s only four other tributes left when you exclude yourself and Sutton, my brain told me. It did kind of feel like déjà vu; I was trying to find Sutton like I had tried to find Dan early on in the Games. If it turned out to be anything like last time, I’d find Sutton after someone got killed or after my life was nearly taken from me. I just hoped it was a simple search with little problems.

Ha, that wasn’t going to happen.

            I never had any sense of where I was headed. All the jungle looked the same to me. I jumped when monkeys called to each other high in the trees. No wonder Sutton was scared of them. They sounded vicious. I hadn’t gotten attacked by one; I had witnessed Kaya being slowly eating alive by them. That was another bad thing I’d love to forget seeing here in the Games.

            I pushed huge plant leaves out of my way and kicked small branches about half the size of my leg across the ground. It was kind of boring, really, to be wandering aimlessly in the jungle with nothing to defend myself with, with no idea as to where Sutton might be, and with no idea as to where the other tributes might be in the arena. I was just waiting for another forest fire to break out, or for another shower of fireballs to come my way, herding me towards other tributes that were probably mentally unstable.

            But who would be unstable in these Games? Everybody. I could be insane and not even know it. Sutton seemed to have a clear head. I did once again. None of the Careers probably had a straight head. They were all probably going crazy because it had been forever since they speared a tribute in the chest or broke their neck with a quick twist. As for District 11’s girl, I wasn’t sure what was going on inside her head. She was the only person who wasn’t allied with anybody. Well, I’m not either right now, nor is Sutton.

            Now I began to wonder who the Careers’ target would be: Sutton, me, or the girl from 11. I mean, she had the highest score in training—no doubt that pissed the majority of the Career pack off. Rarely did the pack ever accept members from the outside into the group; this year was not the case. Maybe since she was such a threat to them, she’d keep them occupied and away from me and Sutton.

            I couldn’t say that I was entirely bored while wandering through the jungle. I pulled my hair up into a decent ponytail to keep my dirty hair away from my eyes. My mind kept me busy, thinking about who was still left here in the arena, who the Careers would take out first, then what would happen should it come down to just them. That would be an interesting thing to see; the three remaining Careers (Kristi, Meeka, and Eric) fighting each other. I would get a front row seat for that event.

*      *      *

            The day seemed to drag painfully along, and I felt like I covered little distance. It aggravated me. There wasn’t much to do in the arena besides starve, go thirsty, avoid other tributes, hope that a sponsor gives you a gift, and hope that you outlast everybody else so that you can be crowned the victor of the Games.

            If there was ever a time for company, now was it. I wished Daniel came back again, just so I didn’t feel so alone. Dan…why was he popping up now and again? Was he acting like my conscience? Did I really miss him that much that I was seeing him and talking to him, when really, I was talking to nobody? I probably looked insane if that’s what the cameras showed to all of Panem. Well, if you live to see the recap of the final Games, you’ll find out, I assured myself. Always in the post-Games interview did the victor watch the main highlights of the Games they were in.

            I quietly hummed a random tune to myself when I almost passed food. I stopped, backtracking until my eyes lay on the bush. Delicious berries were staring right at me. My stomach roared, begging for it to have the berries. I sat on my knees, looking at them. Were they safe to eat?

            I pursed my lips and scrunched my eyebrows together as I examined the tempting berries. I wasn’t sure if eyeing these were such a good idea. I mean, yeah, sure, they looked good, but they could be deadly. There was such a thing called poisonous berries. They’re known as nightlock. They could kill you in an instant. You’d never know you just ate the very thing that could kill you until it was too late. This had to be bait for who was left, to see who was starving so badly that they would recklessly take the berries and eat them, not realizing they were killers.

            But I’m not entirely sure if they’re nightlock. I could be confusing them with other berries. I decided it was better to be safe than sorry and backed away from the berries. If I had to, I would eat leaves to try and curb my not-satisfied appetite. Hell, I’d chew my nails if I had to ward off my growling stomach for a few minutes.

            When the sun began to set, I knew I was going to have to find some place to call home for the night. I didn’t want to go searching too much into the night. After all, I had been walking all day. My feet were crying for me to stop, my legs felt like rubber. My back was so sore from walking for hours straight that I was hunched over when I walked.

I leaned against the nearest, thickest tree trunk, taking a long breather. Another day done in the Games, and so far, no cannon blasts. I sighed. I couldn’t expect deaths to happen every day when there were so few tributes left in the Games.

            As night fell over the arena, the area of the jungle I was currently in—wherever it was—seemed to be safe. There were lots of shrubs, which was enough cover for me. It was also a good alarm system, that way if something was moving, I would hear the shrubs rustle.

            I was waiting for the Capitol seal to light up the sky like always, but instead I was greeted with a different sight: a full moon. I craned my neck up to look. Hmm, it had been a while since I had seen the moon. It was a change from just seeing stars in the sky.

            Moonlight shone down in the jungle, giving it an eerie look. Everything always looked more eerie at night, and moonlight only made it worse. My nose began to freeze; I covered it with both my hands, breathing into them. The Gamemakers were dropping the temperature again. I huddled into a tight ball. There were no nipping winds just yet.

            I rubbed myself, trying to keep some parts of me warm. My breath could be seen each time I breathed. I was just waiting for it to snow, because the temperatures were so cold that it seemed to be cold enough to produce snow. That would be a first, having it snow in the Hunger Games. But the Gamemakers wouldn’t make it just snow—they’d make a blizzard, I was positive. After all, these were the Hunger Games, and nothing was easy out here.

            Rustling bushes nearby made me snap my head to them. There was no wind, something was lurking close by. I swallowed; I let out a shaky breath. The bushes rustled again. I slid up against the wall, supporting myself with it. My legs almost felt numb from the cold, my hands felt like they were frostbitten. Had I been followed all this time? Is it Sutton? Is it somebody else? I really wished Sutton had found me rather than any of the remaining tributes; she’d be a welcomed sight.

            The bushes stopped moving. I froze, holding back my breath. I breathed silently through my nostrils, waiting, watching, and listening for the possible threat sneaking around. The jungle was quiet.

Something didn’t feel right.

            A loud, piercing scream made me jump out of my skin a foot in the air. I nearly fell back on my butt just hearing it. I quickly looked to the sky. Kristi’s picture flickered above me. She was dead.

My eyes widened at the realization: only five tributes were left. A Career was dead. There were three Careers—or two, if I didn’t count Sutton as one anymore—and three regular tributes (again if I counted Sutton as not being a Career anymore).

            The scream sounded close to me, which made me scared even more now. What happened to her? What had gotten to her? Had she been the one near me? There were so many ways Kristi could’ve died that I couldn’t even begin to think which one was how she died.

            Creaking branches above me made me look up into the trees. I saw darkness move nimbly across the branches. A monkey or a tribute? Where I was didn’t seem so safe anymore. This place was a danger zone. First I heard something near me, then Kristi gets murdered, and now I think I’m seeing something up in the trees near me. Something in the pit of my stomach told me that I was probably the next tribute to die tonight. I’m not letting that happen.

            I wheeled around to push through the bushes, but my feet rooted to the ground. My breath caught in my throat, and I was so frightened that I couldn’t turn on my heel and start running. Through the bushes’ leaves, two eyes were staring right at me. I could hear heavy breathing, and it didn’t sound human.

            Run. It’s the only thing you can do, my brain shouted at me. I finally unlocked my legs and tried to run. Of course, the moment I started running, something grabbed my leg, and I screamed. Something razor sharp was digging into my leg and the feeling was anything but pleasant. I started kicking with my free leg, looking over my shoulder.

What snatched me made me want to get away from it that much quicker.

            It was a muttation. It was ridiculously huge; it looked like a wolf on steroids. From what the moonlight gave me, I saw its fur was a bright blonde, its blue eyes murderous. Its teeth were slightly stained red. I had heard about these types of mutts before: they represented the fallen tributes. This one was no doubt Kaya. I kicked the mutt in the snout, it snarled back at me. I tried to claw away from it, but it pulled me closer.

            The mutt yelped in pain and released my leg. I hissed in pain, grabbing it while watching the mutt thrash around in pain. I didn’t look to see what was causing its misery; I was already stumbling to my feet, running as fast as I could with a bloody leg. If this mutt was here, I had no doubt that there were more, and that Kristi was probably killed by mutts.

            I clutched my leg as I ran. Loud snarls and howls erupted behind me. I wheezed, trying to sprint as fast as I could. I needed to find a tree that had a low enough branch that I could grab a hold of. One would be all it would take for me to start climbing. Mutts didn’t stand on two legs like I had thought they did, being that they weren’t your average wolves, but thankfully they were on all fours. Still, that was a problem for me. Four strong, muscled legs against two legs, one that was bitten and bleeding.

It’s obvious to see who the odds favored more.

            I heard thundering paws behind me and loud growls. I tried to make sharp turns to outsmart the mutts—how many that was after me. I bet they could smell my blood, which was how they were tracking me.

            I stole looks over my shoulders to not even think about a mutt trying to cut me off. It leapt on top of me, knocking the air out of me as it squished me to the ground. But that wasn’t the only mutt that joined. Two more flanked it, and they all were fighting over me.

            The two that were fighting for me were both easily recognizable: the mad hazel eyes and wavy blond fur was Noah, and the caramel-furred, green-eyed, smaller mutt was Jillian. The one that kept backing them off was one that made my heart sink. His dark fur, his large incisors, those blue-gray eyes: Daniel’s mutt.

 The Gamemakers sure knew how to make nightmares come alive.

            I heard Jillian’s mutt howl in pain and drop to the ground. Daniel’s mutt tried to snap at my face. The only thing I could do was shield myself and push on its throat, keeping its head away from my face. But I couldn’t keep away the drool that flew from its mouth. I made a face.

            Noah’s mutt still wanted in on the action, but five seconds later it went down as well in a slumped heap. Was Daniel’s mutt going to drop dead on me, crushing me to death? Were the Gamemakers killing the mutts off, or was somebody helping me? If they’re killing these mutts just to have me to themselves, that’s harsh.

            The mutt’s dark paw slashed my face; I gave out a loud cry. The mutt snarled and snapped at me, ripping into my left shoulder. I punched its muzzle; it reared its massive head, shaking off the pain. The blue-gray eyes were murderous, dark furry lips pulled back away from the teeth that were about to rip out my throat.

I closed my eyes, waiting. I gave it my all.

            I heard something zip in the air, and the next thing I knew, Dan’s mutt reared on its hind legs, bouncing away from me in pain. In a daze and severely injured, I slowly got to my feet and found a tree two feet away from me with a low branch to climb on. I limped to the limb and painfully climbed. I heard something snap in half, and then I heard massive paws thump against the jungle floor.

            I heard air whoosh below me. I perched myself on a high limb, panting heavily. Daniel’s mutt showed its teeth, standing on its hind legs, trying to swipe at me with one of its huge paws. Despite the pain in my shoulder, I kept ambling up the tree. The pain in my leg, shoulder, and face stung terribly. I had half of my body on one branch. I was exhausted. I rested my chin on the branch. I needed to rest….just for a few seconds…

            “Don’t give up now!” barked a voice.

I barely opened my eyes and felt something lifting me up. I heard someone grunting and felt something tugging on me. I did little to help whatever was pulling me. I rested gently against a tree once again. I kept my eyes closed and breathed through my nostrils.

            I felt the branch quiver towards my legs. Something was crawling on the branch. I heard something zoom in the air, and Dan’s mutt yipped down below. I heard something thud to the ground.

            “There, that took care of you,” the voice huffed. I popped open my eyes to see someone who I had desperately wanted to find. She was looking down at the jungle floor, her bow in her hand. Her arrows and my hatchet in her bag were absent from her back. Maybe that was her last arrow she had just used up.

            “Sutton?” I croaked. Her head snapped to me. She waddled cautiously to me across the branch.

            “Do you have any idea how lucky you are?” she snapped. “If it hadn’t been for me watching you, you probably would’ve been dead!”

            “You were following me?”

            “Not all day. When you came into this area, I happened to find you. I’m glad we crossed paths.”

            “You were up here all this time? I should’ve been climbing trees.” I chuckled dryly. I inhaled sharply. “Did you shoot the mutt?”

            “Yeah. I killed him. Let me see how bad you really are.”

            Sutton tenderly touched my face and looked at my shoulder. She winced and closed her eyes, having to look away for a second. I carefully rolled up my pant leg to expose long, thin, bloody cuts. That had been from when Kaya’s mutt tried to drag me off. Tears flooded my eyes. I rested my head against the tree. This didn’t feel as bad as the poison I had suffered from, but it wasn’t a nice feeling.

            “I hope your mentor is sending out for some medicine,” Sutton whispered.

            “How bad is my face?” I asked.

            “Bleeding, but not as bad as you think. It didn’t scratch your eye out, did it?”

            I touched the right side of my face. I could still see. Lucky me I had avoided losing vision in my right eye. I didn’t dare to look at the possible fresh blood on my hand from touching my face.

            “I can still see.” I shifted cautiously. “Were you the reason the other mutts left me alone?”

            “Hmm?”

            “The other mutts, they got killed. Did you do that?”

            “No, I was too busy tree-hopping to keep tabs on you and try to help you. Whoever helped you out, Bridget, it wasn’t me,” she said softly.

            “Then who was it?”

            “I don’t know.” Sutton looked over her shoulder warily. “They might still be nearby. Stay here, alright? I’m going to go up a little to get my bag.” Sutton clambered up a few branches. I could hear her wrestling for her bag.

I breathed through my nostrils. Johanna needed to pull through for me right now. There was no way I would be able to go on without medicine. These injuries would get worse or infected if I didn’t get them tended to quickly.

I squinted through the dark, using the moonlight as light. A silent gasp escaped me when I saw a figure peeking out from a neighboring tree. Dear God, it’s like Kaya all over again.

“Sutton,” I squeaked. I looked up above.

Sutton came leaping down, landing perfectly on the branch I sat on. On her back was her remaining arrows and my ax. I counted three arrows in her pack.

“What?” she panicked.

“I think someone’s there.” I bobbed my head in front of us.

Sutton’s brows came together. She had her back turned to me, an arrow whipped out and already loaded. Her arm was twitching, waiting to release the arrow. I couldn’t tell who it was since the light wasn’t that good. For all we knew, it could be Eric or Meeka, finally tracking us down after all this time.

“Don’t shoot and I won’t,” the voice piped from the tree opposite us.

 I peeked past Sutton to realize that in terms of luck, this was good. It wasn’t Eric or Meeka.

It was District 11’s girl.