Game On

Chapter 11

A bright stream of light probes through the hole in my cave.  Another lovely day awaits. Chills run down my spine when I realize that only four of us are left. I’ve made it farther than Joules did. It’s like she’s given me the strength to make it this far.

Stepping outside, I look up at the sky. Thank you Joules. As if to answer, rain starts pouring down. I let drops fall into my mouth, and it tastes so amazing after thirsting for so long. Only a few seconds later do I remember that the Gamemakers could’ve poisoned the water. Oops. I begin walking once more, careful to keep my mouth closed. An hour passes and I still feel fine. Yet the rain is still coming. It’s relentless, almost blinding.  So they intend to flood the arena, which would bring us all together. And here I was hoping not to run into anyone. How do I avoid them? I can swim, but I need to find higher ground. Time for some tree climbing.

It’s hard to get a grip on the bark when it’s sopping wet. I slip more than a few times, and it’s all I can do to hang on to the trunk.  I settle on a steady branch about twenty feet in the air. Don’t look down, I remind myself. I might fall over if I do. Then… I wait. The water doesn’t flood as high up as I expected it to go. Oh well.  As long as I’m still breathing, climbing was worth the bruises.  

Now for the next problem: I can’t climb down without being soaked. In reality, though, the water’s only risen to about a foot. I can handle that. It’s so much harder to come down. Much more painful, too. I can’t even say how happy I am when I reach ground. The water goes up to my knees, and I’m struck by immediate cold.  It feels like I’ve stepped in ice. But it’s a nice relief after basking in heat. While the water’s so abundant, I decide I might as well fill up my bottle.

It would be so easy to just hide again, yet it has to be somewhere new. The others might have caught on to where I’ve been in the mountains. I sludge through the water on another walk, looking for some giant bushes.  Call me morbid, but I feel better knowing that there are only three people to worry about now. Way more space for me to conceal myself. Plus, the sun is setting.

I find the perfect set of bushes. They actually look pretty comfortable.  A nice bed, with room to hide my bag and me. I won’t try sleeping on the ground again until the water recedes, but this will do just fine.  Covered in branches and leaves, I close my eyes.

So much time has flown by that a jolt of surprise runs through me at the sound of the anthem. I jump out of my bush, staring up into the sky.  Only one person died today: the boy from District 7. His cannon must have been muffled by the loud rain, because I didn’t hear it. Just like that, I have made it into the top three. Things are about to get really interesting. If they find me, that is.