Caged | The Hunger Games AU ✓

xxiv. ardor

•beck

8 TRIBUTES STANDING
16 GONE

supplies:

-water
-disinfectant
-blankets
-paper & pencil
-tent
-rabbits & squirrels
-berries
-night vision goggles
-plastic scrap
-weapons

let's beat these bastards

later that night, i lay wide awake in emmanuelle's tent. her soft snores from beside me make my body yearn for rest, but my brain won't allow it. i wonder if i'll ever be able to sleep on my own again. every time i close my eyes, i'm plagued with haunting images of the horrors i've experienced in the games thus far. i remember every speck of tragedy with uncanny clarity. the loss of asher and carly still makes my heart feel like it's caving in on itself, spreading an ache down to my toes.

matthias has offered to take watch. maybe that's part of the reason why i'm feeling so antsy. every nerve in my seems to itch to get up, to check on him. make sure he's okay.

i hit myself. i'm way too attached to him. maybe a little time away will help with the problem.

rolling on my side, i stare at the wall of the tent and try to relax. i don't hear a thing from outside except for the quiet chirping of cicadas. my eyelids flutter shut and i'm immediately stabbed with grotesque images of the games. of the nightmare i had the day asher died. the tributes' empty eyes...

i sit up straight so quickly my head swims for a second. my heart hammers painfully against my ribs. the walls of the tent seem to be closing in on me. they fold in closer and closer until the air turns stuffy and thick, so dense it won't go into my lungs. i can't breathe. i want to, but i can't. i can hear the blood rushing in my ears. i need to get out.

i throw the blankets off of me and fumble with the zipper on the entrance. my shaking hands can't grasp onto it. my lungs burn and i can feel restless thoughts plaguing my head, cramming it with so much that it begins to ache.

i'm choking when i finally unzip the flap, diving out of the tent and onto the dirt. my hands catch my fall and i push my face above the ground, sucking in the cool night air.

matthias jumps a mile and whirls around, sword clenched tightly in his hand and a fierce look in his eyes. once he sees me, the expression melts and is replaced with one of concern. "thalia, you okay?"

i nod, coughing a bit as i push myself up so i'm standing. my hands are more steady than before and i'm able to close the tent without trouble. the zipper shuts out any of emmanuelle's snores.

matthias simply watches as i come over slowly and stand beside him. my eyes scan the woods surrounding us, black shadows in the dark of night.

"what are you doing?" he asks in a gentle tone. "what's wrong?"

i don't look at him. instead, i focus on the trees in front of us when i respond. "go sleep. i'll take watch."

matthias sighs tiredly. we've had this argument before and he knows how it's going to end. "thalia, you need the sleep."

"and so do you," i retort, flickering my gaze to him. he just stares at me like he's about to argue, the pale moonlight washing out the color of his face. dried cuts and scratches mark his skin like graffiti. his ice-blue eyes seem to burn into mine.

i'm not sure why i haven't moved or said anything. my feet are rooted in place. i couldn't walk or look away if i tried.

my eyes flicker down to his lips, slightly chapped and worn, and they stay there. i think he's pulling me closer. i don't know. everything else is muted around me like emmanuelle isn't sleeping just yards away. it feels like we're alone. not in the hunger games. just in the woods back in twelve.