The Wunder Games 26

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The first person to come bursting from their den with a raised weapon is Ilslie, shortly followed by Brite. Daze emerges into the clearing with Karine close by his side.

"Who was that?" Ilslie asks me.

"Not me," I say, narrowing my eyes.

"I know that," Ilslie smirks, "You'd be dead. I thought it was you for a second."

"It's got to be one of Anemae's allies," Brite says, "They didn't exactly look ship-shape last we saw them." 

"Brite, last we saw them was about thirty seconds ago," Karine remarks, "They can't be dead."

"It's a possibly," Daze chimes in. I look at my friends.

"It only makes it more urgent that we move quicker," I say. Everyone nods and disappears back into their dens, except for Daze, who seems to have his backpack already made up.

"What if it was Garren?" he asks me.

I don't answer.

"What will you think then?" He looks like he won't leave me alone until I answer him, so I do.

"The truth is," I gulp, "I think it is Garren."

"You don't think Antonius-"

"Yes," I say, quickly, "Yes, I do think so. He wouldn't go much longer without finding out."

"I dunno," Daze mutters, "Antonius doesn't seem to be the brightest star in the sky."

"Agreed," I say, "But if it is Garren, I don't know what to think. He's Career, but at the same time, he's my fellow tribute. I feel like I knew him really well." 

"I'd feel bad if it was Garren," says a voice from behind Daze. Karine is finished packing her bag. "He was so nice. And so quiet."

"Yeah..." I trail off. Nice and quiet wouldn't exactly be how I would describe Garren.

"But we don't know it's Garren," Daze cuts into the silence, "Like Brite said, it's probably one of Anemae's allies." I just nod, and hope he's right.

I don't want Garren to die.

If he does die, I want to have talked to him first and I don't want it to be at Antonius's hand.

Brite and Ilslie enter the clearing.

"All the food's packed up," Ilslie tells me, "And we got our weapons."

"How much food is there?" I ask her.

"I hope there's enough to get us to our new campsite," she comments.

"Where will our new campsite be?" Karine asks, wide eyed.

"We don't know," Ilslie mutters, "But that's the main priority right now. We can figure out who's dead when they play the pictures in the sky tonight. Until then, we can never know." 

She leads the way out of the clearing and into the thick, swampy woods again. Thank goodness for boots, because if I was not wearing them right now, I would be drowning in mud. Brite follows me carefully, making sure each square foot of land is stable before he puts the full weight of his foot on it. Karine looks worried. She's gripping her slingshot tight in her hand.

We're well on our way towards the ocean and the Careers' territory by the late afternoon. Daze is helping Karine along, and I can hear everyone else's stomach growling. Ilslie passes out roots among us and we munch on them as we walk along.

The ground is sloping downward and I can smell the sea after about another mile. The homestretch is in an enormous field of tall grass and beating sun.

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