rising from the ashes || a hunger games story

chapter eight

so that's what they had in mind for her. all the tributes stand up straight and look at her pedestal. i don't want to describe the sight. it's gruesome. i then hear the gong.

nobody moves. everyone is in shock. everyone but me. i don't want the next cannonball to be for me. i run straight into the cornucopia. i reach the weapons and grab the trident, axe, and bow and arrows.

the quiver that holds the arrows is strapped in my back. before i strapped the quiver on, i was able to put the bow inside. i hold the axe and trident in one hand and my other hand grabs three backpacks as i leave the cornucopia.

i can see one of the careers running towards me. they're weaponless. she probably considered attacking me but i see her look at my hand of weapons and look back up, away from me. instead of tackling me, she runs around me.

i continue running to the west of the arena where i can see ivy and finn waiting at the entrance of the forest. my legs are aching. when i reach them i stop for a moment and give finn the trident and ivy the axe and each of them a backpack. i pull the bow out of the quiver and begin to run.

i hear the snow crunch behind me. i turn to make sure nobody has followed us and nobody has. the explosion was able to distract everybody and i was able to get in before the bloodbath started. everything had happened so fast.

"we get as far as we can until we can't go anymore. then we slow down. we need to find water" i say, loud enough so they can hear me. i don't know how long we've been running when i hear the crunching stop.

"i need to take a break" i hear finn say, out of breath. i stop and automatically collapse on the ground. i hadn't realized how much my legs were hurting until i was off my feet. we're all on the ground and in pain.

i take the chance to look inside of my backpack. i find a canteen, rope, and a sleeping bag. i stick my hand into the sleeping back. it has the same soft texture on the inside like the jacket does and it also radiates warmth.

the other backpacks have the same three items. my backpack had a flashlight inside along with two knives. ivy and finn had iodine to treat water. we all had small foods that wouldn't spoil.

i open up all the water bottles and look inside. empty. i sigh. "we need to get moving again soon. we're going to end up dehydrated soon and if we don't find water, we're screwed." i say. "we always have the snow" i hear ivy say.

i shake my head, "we would have to wait for the snow to melt first and then we would need to purify it. and the snow is most likely combined with dirt too. it's not safe."

after a few minutes i get back up and grab my backpack. my legs are numb but we need to find water. "let's go," i say, letting out a breath. ivy and finn groan but they cooperate and get up.

"the water is most likely frozen over so we won't hear it running." i tell them as we walk. "so how will we get to the water in the first place with the ice in the way." finn asks me.

"we'll have to find a way to break it." i say. after a few more minutes walking, i hear something break. it sounded like glass but it was most likely an icicle. i look around me. the trees only have snow so the icicle couldn't have come from anywhere else besides a waterfall that has frozen.

a waterfall means water. i start running in the direction of where the icicle came from and i soon encounter a lake that's been frozen over. the waterfall wasn't huge but it wasn't that small either.

i look at the ice. it's thin right now. "finn, give me your trident" i say, looking down at the ice. finn passes me his trident as i put down my bow and the backpack. i put my right hand around the top of the trident handle and my left in the middle.

i position the trident by the edge of the ice. i pull it back and quickly stab the trident into the edge of the ice. the ice breaks by the edge. i stab the surrounding ice and leave a circle for us to get water from.

"get as much water as you can, the ice is probably going to start thickening as the days go on." i say, handing finn his trident back. i pick up my backpack and take out the canteen.

i open it up and put the canteen into the water so it can fill up. i'm glad it filled up quickly because when i take the canteen and my hand out of the water, my hand is numb. once ivy and finn have filled their canteens, they're eager to drink it.

ivy is about to chug it when i stop her. "not yet. we have to purify it," i say. i sit down on the ground. "place your things down," i tell ivy and finn. they both set their open canteens on the ground along with their backpacks.

i grab finn's backpack and take out the iodine. i unscrew the iodine. the cap is an eye dropper so i can take the iodine out. i dip the eye dropper into the iodine and squeeze some of it up.

i drop 8 drops of the iodine in each canteen and close the canteens and the iodine. i place the iodine back in finn's bag. "we need to let it sit for 30 minutes. let's see if we can find any shelter or animals to hunt."