Pregnant in the Games

Chapter 10: Tests

I was on edge all day long.

The four of us had to go out and look for water. Chris hadn't found any at the Cornucopia. They were so concerned with the weapons that they hadn't thought to grab a backpack. We could go back to the Cornucopia, of course, but I'm sure people have located it by now. We had our one chance to get things at the Cornucopia and it had already passed.

I hated wandering around in an area I didn't know. We were in a forest, surrounded with trees and rocks. It reminded me of home. However, Chris and Tetrick said that the place where they found the Cornucopia was in a desert climate.

"My guess is that there's multiple climates in these Games," Tetrick said. "That would be creative, don't you think? Rather than deciding on one climate, they just gave us all of them."

"Awesome," I replied sarcastically.

So we searched and searched. An hour passed and we never found any water. Tetrick kept complaining about being hungry. I thought it was funny that he couldn't go three hours without food. I can go days without food at home and barely notice a difference.

I had to walk at the back of the pack, too. I felt uncomfortable with Chris and Tetrick behind me. Talon seemed to trust them unconditionally. I'll be in an alliance with them, for now, but I'm not going to completely trust them. That would be dumb. I hope that Talon's trust isn't his downfall.

Constantly fearing for your own life is exhausting. I've feared for my life, of course. In the winter, when there's barely any animals in the woods, it's hard to get by. Death was never an immediate possibility, though. Not like here. At any moment, someone can kill me. Not only do I have to keep an eye on my own allies, but I have to keep an eye out for any Tributes in the trees.

In the hour that we had been looking for water, we only ever heard two canons. That made me really nervous. All of the Tributes started the game out the way Talon and I did. If there's only two canons, then that means that ten of the districts decided to ally with their fellow Tribute. Either that, or they decided that they wanted to wait another day to kill them.

"This is going to be a long three years," Talon remarked.

This isn't going to be a particularly bloody Hunger Games. Usually, if you go around and kill all the people you can, then you can win. In these Hunger Games, however, there's constantly going to be more people Reaped if you keep on killing. It's dumb to go around killing people. The slower these people die, the sooner I can win.

For the frist time, the thought of winning came to mind. I've always just thought up to the moment of my daughter's birth. There's actually Hunger Games past her birth. I can't imagine going through these games with a child! What's the Capitol going to do?

"I'm thirsty," Talon complained.

"We're all thirsty, Talon! That's why we're looking for water," Chris snapped. She's on edge. I'm sure she's used to having everything she wanted. She may be a Career, but she's not used to being hungry or thirsty.

"Any advice, Knives?" Talon asked.

"Keep looking," I snapped. All of them were getting on my nerves. We've been out here for a few hours! They're acting like we're about to crumble and die.

We continued to walk. I could see the frustration building. Tetrick's been frantically looking around. Chris is sulking. Talon just looks upset. I'm the only one keeping my head together right  now. 

"Ugh!" Chris grumbled, shaking her foot. "This grass is swampy."

I looked down at my feet. Water seeped up where ever I stepped. I brought my head back up and listened closely. This water has to come from somewhere. A moment later, I heard the sound of rushing water. Not wasting a moment, I went dashing up the hill.