A Victor's Ally - The 73rd Hunger Games (Fanfiction)

ten

The morning sun once again pierced through the trees, making me groggy in the heat as I woke up. The last of the dried fruit made its way down my stomach. If I didn't find food soon, I wouldn't make it far in the games. The container of nuts was the only thing I had left, and that would only be enough for a day. There was no point in making my food last as long as possible if I wouldn't have enough energy to fight off an attack.

I quickly pulled the straps of my backpack over my shoulders and began to make my descent. A few feet down, my body froze as I heard voices from below. My breath hitched as I attempted to hold my body as still as possible. It was too late to climb back up the tree, and facing the tributes head on was not a good idea. The only weapon I had was buried in the stomach of Layla, and her body had to have been taken away from the hovercraft by now. I could only hope that I was high enough that I was out of their immediate line of vision.

Unless, they looked up.

A distinctly female voice reached my ears as the tributes neared closer. The second tribute shushed the girl, and continued to speak in a low voice. I was unable to tell if it was male or female, but I was assuming it was male. Besides my alliance and the Careers, I didn't think any other tributes allied with someone from another district.

"I thought you said she would be in the forest! We've been walking for a day and we haven't found her."

"Calm down, Laurette. I doubt she would be in plain sight."

Cautiously, I clambered the rest of the way down the trunk, making my presence known by the muffled thump of my feet hitting the forest floor.

"Laurette? Hank?" I called out, hoping my suspicions were correct. I had been keeping an eye out for my alliance for the past two days.

I spotted their matching, light brown hair as they caught sight of me at the same time.

"Juliet!" Laurette grinned and rushed over, a spear clutched in her hand and a large bag on her back. Hank followed quickly behind, looking slightly less comfortable in our open position, but he shot me a grin nonetheless.

"Told you we would find her here." The corner of his mouth turned up in a proud smirk. Hank had as many supplies as Laurette, if not more. He also donned a large backpack, as well as a belt around his waist, filled with knives of all different sizes. In his hand he carried a long, silver sword, still shiny at the tip and clearly unused.

"We really need to talk." Laurette sighed, her eyes darting around the forest to make sure we were alone. "But first, Hank and I are really, really, hoping you have some water. We ran out yesterday."

I handed over the water canteen I had filled up yesterday, hoping that the three fourths that were left would be enough to satisfy the District Ten pair.

The three of us had finally settled down to talk after finding a small stream not far from the place we met up. Hank had handed me the knife belt, and I graciously clipped it around my waist, feeling much more secure now that I could defend myself. Our eyes shifted nervously around the secluded area by the water. We had decent coverage amongst the thick bushes that surrounded thin stream, but in a fight to the death, one couldn't be too careful.

Laurette split the supplies evenly among the three of us in the event that we were separated in the arena. I was shocked at the amount of food and weapons they got from the Cornucopia, so I suggested that they tell their story from the beginning.

"We just got lucky, I guess." Laurette started, popping a walnut into her mouth. "I was facing the mouth of the Cornucopia, and Hank was only a little ways to my right. We ran in while the Careers were chasing after the tributes. I was surprised that there wasn't anyone guarding the entrance, but I think some of the Careers were having a hard time getting up the side of the cliff."