The 62nd Annual Hunger Games

Chapter 13: Shelters

As I make my way over to the shelter station I notice Juniper and Grayson are also here. I smile at the instructor who introduced herself as Sheffley. These Capitol names are killing me, literally. We watch a short video on disguising our shelters and making them protective against the wind and weather. We then look at a book with shelters that we try to find, most of them are disguised so well I can't spot them. After that, we are sent into a room where we have 45 minutes to make and disguise a shelter of our own. I start work, digging a little space into the ground by a tree. I push some boulders close to the edge of the three foot deep hole for some protection against the wind. So it's not obvious I move other large rocks around the surrounding tree. I gather multiple arm fulls of pine needles and place them in the hole. I dig the ground out some more, this time coving under the tree. I circle the fort, making sure it's not visible from any sides. I am worried it's too obvious, so I gather some moss and place it on the rocks and also some in the hole. Now I grab a small log and place it across the shelter. I cover it with dirt, moss, twigs, pine needles, and everything else I can find to help it blend in even more. I have extra time so I start to dig out another compartment for an extra person. I am almost finished when the alarm goes off. This startles me greatly, and by the time I realize what it is I am twenty feet up in the neighboring tree. I come down and walk out the door. Sheffley applauds the three of us, and she sends us into each others compartment to find their shelter. I get Grayson's room and within a minute I figure out his is in two trees. I walk out to find the other two already done. We all need some more practice for sure.