I gently push Riley away from the rocks and squint out into the dark, rainy sky. I'm just in time to catch a glimpse of Thresh's picture and then he's gone. I slump down against the rocks, forgetting about the food.
I know I should be happy. Thresh's death means one less tribute to face, one step closer to home. But all I can think about is the District 11 boy letting me go, letting me run because of Auggie, who had died with that spear in his stomach.
"You all right?" Riley asks.
I shrug, curling up into myself. I try my best to contain my emotions because no one is going to bet on a tribute who keeps sniveling over her opponents' deaths. Auggie was different. We were allies and he was so young. But no one is going to understand my sorrow at Thresh's death.
"It's just... if we didn't win... I wanted Thresh to. Because he let me go, and because of Auggie." I finally say.
"I know." Riley says softly. She nudges a plate of food into my hands. "Try to eat while it's still warm."
The stew suddenly lost its appeal. I force myself to take some bites to show that I didn't really care, but in reality it takes a lot of effort to swallow.
"I guess this means Cato will be back to hunting us." I say.
"And he's got supplies again." Riley says while swallowing her own mouthful of food.
"I bet he'll be wounded. Thresh would've never gone down without a fight." I say.
"Good. The more wounded Cato is, the better. I wonder how Foxface is making out." Riley says.
"Oh, she's fine. Probably be easier to catch Cato than her." I roll my eyes at the thought of the sneaky fox faced girl.
"Maybe they'll catch each other and we can just go home." Riley says wistfully.
We finish our food in silence and then Riley offers to take the first watch. I lay down in the sleeping bag and pull the hood of my jacket over my face to hide it from the cameras. I just wanted a little privacy where I didn't need to worry about every little thing I do being broadcasted to the rest of the nation. Under the hood, I silently promise to myself that if I win, I'll try to do something to help Thresh's and Auggie's family. Then, I fall asleep, comforted by a full belly and Riley's presence.
When Riley wakes me later, she's holding out half a roll spread with goat cheese and topped with apple slices.
"I had to eat again. Here's your half." She hands over the delicious looking roll.
I immediately take a huge bite, savoring the taste of the cheese. It was just like the kind Prim would make.
"We make a goat cheese and apple tart at the bakery." She says.
"Bet that's expensive." I say.
"Too expensive for my family to eat. Unless it's gone very stale. Of course, practically everything we eat is stale." Riley says. She pulls the sleeping bag up around herself and in less than a minute, she's asleep.
Huh. I knew Riley always had enough to eat. But, there's something kind of depressing about getting by on stale loaves of bread, the kind that nobody else would want to eat.
Sometime during my shift, the rain stops all at once. For the first time, I allow myself to think about what would happen if I made it home. Fame, fortune, my own house in the Victor's Village, what else could a girl want? My mom and Prim would live there with me, Lucas could visit any time he wanted, and Riley would only be a house away. Gone would be the days of scrounging around for food, getting by just barely.
The sun rises, its light illuminating Riley's face. At 5:30, she turns gold.
Eventually, I shake Riley awake. Her eyes open sleepily and the next thing I know she's pulling me down for a long kiss.
"As much as I enjoyed that, we're wasting hunting time." I say when we finally break apart.
"I wouldn't call it wasting." She says cheekily, stretching as she sits up.
To Riley's surprise, I divide the rest of the stew and rice and hand her a heaping plate. "All this?"
"We'll earn it back today. Plus, we need to keep our energy up when we go out there." I reply.
We plow into our plates. Even cold, it's one of the best things I've ever eaten. I scrape the remaining puddles of gravy with my finger and lick them clean. "I can feel Effie shuddering at my manners at this very second." I snort when I'm done.
"Hey Effie, watch this!" Riley says. She tosses her fork away and literally licks her plate clean with her tongue while making loud, obnoxious noises.
"Gosh, you're cute." I chuckle.
Riley laughs, blowing a kiss. "We miss you, Effie!"
I cover my mouth with my hand, trying my best to contain my laughter. "Stop! Cato could be right outside our cave."
"Aw, what do I care? At least I got you to protect me now." She says.
"Come on." I say, grabbing her hand and pulling her up.
Once we pack up and exit the cave, the mood shifts. For the last couple of days, we were sheltered by the rocks and the rain. It was almost as if we were given a holiday. But now, despite the clear sunny day ahead of us, we both sense that we're really back in the Games.
I hand Riley my knife and she slips it into her belt. I count the arrows I had left, seven to be exact. I had lost three in the explosion and two at the feast. With the threat of Cato looming ahead, I know I can't afford to lose any more.
"He'll be hunting us by now. Cato isn't one to wait for his prey to wander by." Riley says grimly, studying our surroundings.
"If he's wounded-"
"It won't matter. If he can move, he's coming."
We stop by the stream to replenish our water. I check the snares I set all those days ago and am not surprised to find them empty.
"If we want food, we better head back up to my old hunting grounds." I say, trying to stick to what I know.
"It's your call. Just tell me what you need me to do." Riley says.
"Keep an eye out. Stay on the rocks as much as possible and try not to leave tracks for him to follow." I say.
If possible, I'd walk in the water to cover our tracks completely. However, I'm not sure if Riley's leg could take the current. Despite the drugs, she's still weak. Although, I'm not at my best either. My forehead hurts from where Clove had cut it, but at least the bleeding has stopped.
As we head upstream, the boulders turn to rocks that eventually turn to pebbles. Finally, we're back on pine needles and I welcome the familiar feeling of treading on the forest floor. But, this is when I realize we have a problem. With her bad leg, Riley is loud. I could tell she was trying her best to be quiet, but she still manages to snap nearly every branch on the floor.
Finally, she says "Maya, we need to split up. I know I'm chasing away the game."
"Only because your leg is hurt." I say, trying to make her feel better.
"I know. You just go on, okay? I'll find some plants to gather and that way we'll both be useful." She says.
"What if Cato comes and kills you?" I say. I couldn't help but fear the worst.
"It's okay. I fought him before, didn't I?" Riley says.
"Yeah, and that turned out great." I give her a pointed stare and she deflates.
"Look, we're going to need food. You have to go on ahead. I'll be fine, really." She says.
I know she's right. We definitely do need more food. One apple, two rolls, and a small blob of cheese won't last long. I finally agree to split up after I teach her Auggie's mockingjay whistle.
"We'll use this to communicate, okay? Whistle every couple minutes so I know you're still safe. I'll do the same." I say.
Riley nods. With a goodbye kiss, she takes off. And as I watched her retreating figure, I just really hoped that it wasn't a goodbye forever kiss.
Away from Riley, the forest comes alive with sounds. Reassured by her periodic whistles, I drift farther and farther away. Soon, I manage to take down two rabbits and a squirrel. I decide that it's enough for now and begin to head back. But, I'm stopped in my tracks by a sudden cannon, its boom echoing in the now quiet forest.
"Riley!" I scream.
I whistle but when I hear nothing back, I sprint to our rendezvous point, my heart pounding. In no time, I find the pack with a neat pile of roots beside it. But where is she?
"Riley!" I call out again, panic overwhelming me. What if Cato had gotten her, just like I had feared?
A rustle of brush captures my attention. I immediately load my bow and almost send an arrow right through the girl I was desperately looking for.
"Holy shit, Riley!" I launch myself into her arms.
She's startled by the sudden hug, dropping a handful of berries onto the ground.
"I heard the cannon and thought it was for you." I whisper, trembling in her arms.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you." She says. She tries to calm me down by rubbing soothing circles down my back. It works for a second before anger overcomes me.
"You idiot! Why didn't you whistle back!?" I exclaim, breaking from the hug and lightly punching her.
"I found a bush of berries down by the stream. I guess I didn't hear it over the rush of the stream." Riley says, still looking and sounding very guilty.
I finally take the chance to look at the berries that nearly caused me a heart attack. I frown, trying to remember where I've seen them before. They look like the kind Auggie had collected, but not exactly. I lean down and grab a couple off of the forest floor, studying them carefully.
My father's voice comes back to me. "Not these, Maya. Never these. They're nightlock. You'll be dead before they even reach your stomach."
Upon my realization, I immediately slap the rest out of Riley's hand.
"Nightlock! Riley, they're nightlock! One taste and you're a goner! Please tell me you didn't eat any!" I exclaim.
"No, I didn't. I swear I didn't." Her eyes widen, staring at the fallen berries.
I'm unsure of whether I wanted to kiss her or slap her silly first. Before I can do either, I'm stopped by a sudden breeze. Turning around, I see the hovercraft appear about a hundred yards away. Foxface's red hair glints in the sunlight as her body is lifted into the air.
Riley grabs my arm urgently, pushing me towards a tree. "Climb. He'll be here any second now. We'll stand a better chance fighting him from above."
I stop her, suddenly calm as I piece it all together. "No, Riley. She's your kill, not Cato's."
Riley halts. "What? I haven't seen her since the first day. How could I have killed her?"
I hold out the berries. "She must've seen you and tried taking some for herself. She wouldn't have questioned the safety of the berries if you were collecting them."
"She seemed like a clever one." She remarks, thinking pensively. "This doesn't seem fair, somehow."
"Sometimes it's just as dangerous to overestimate an opponent as it is to underestimate them." I shrug. "Here, I'll get rid of the rest." I begin to gather the rest of the berries from the pack.
"Wait!" Riley stops me in my tracks. She hands me the leather pouch that belonged to Marvel, gesturing for me to fill it with a handful of berries. "If they fooled Foxface, maybe they can fool Cato too."
"It's worth a shot." I nod, scooping some berries into the pouch.
If Cato was anywhere nearby and saw that hovercraft, he'll know that we killed her and will come after us. But even if we run now, we still have to cook the meat and our fire will give away our location too.
"Let's make a fire right now." I say.
"Are you ready to face him?" Riley asks, frowning.
"I'm ready to eat. If he knows we're here, he knows. But he also knows that there's two of us and probably assumed that we were hunting Foxface. That means you're recovered and the fire means we're not hiding. Instead, we're inviting him here. Would you show up?" I ask.
"No." She says, seeing my point.
Riley is able to start a fire with some damp wood in no time. I roast the rabbits and the squirrel over the flame while the roots are wrapped in leaves, baking in the coals. We take turns keeping watch for Cato, but he doesn't make an appearance.
When the food's done, I pack most of it up. We each eat a rabbit's leg as we walk, trying to find a place for the night. I want to move higher into the woods and climb a good tree, but Riley's leg can't take it.
"Maybe we should go back to the cave. It's near water and easy to defend." Riley suggests.
"Okay." I agree. I realize that I haven't exactly been easy on her today. With her loud footsteps, inexperience with hunting, and foolishness with the nightlock, I viewed her more as an annoyance to deal with than an actual ally.
I reach up and give her a quick kiss. "Let's go back to the cave."
"Well that was easy." She looks relieved.
As we take the long walk back to the cave, hand in hand, I pretend that we're just a normal couple on a date rather than fighting for our lives in the Games. Even so, I take note of the stream from early, the water level significantly lower than before. By the time we get back to the cave, we're both exhausted and still way too underfed. I keep an eye out for Cato and any other animals, but the forest seems strangely empty. We fill up our water bottles and climb the slope to our shelter.
In the cave, I set out our dinner. But halfway through, Riley's eyelids droop and she begins to nod off. I make her go into the sleeping bag and she's too tired to even protest, falling asleep nearly immediately. After days of doing nothing, our long expedition today really wore her down. I tuck the sleeping bag up to her chin and kiss her forehead.
After I finish my half of our dinner, I set aside Riley's half so she can eat it later. The sky lights up and I see Foxface one last time. Even though she didn't say anything, I know Riley didn't feel good about killing her. I can't pretend that I'll miss her, but I sure as hell do admire her intelligence.
I let Riley sleep well into the night, my mind too alert to fall asleep. By the time I shake her shoulder, I can just make out the beginning of a sunrise, the soft pastel colors seeping through the dull gray sky.
"I slept the whole night. That's not fair, Maya, you should have woken me up." Riley frowns.
"I'll sleep now. Wake me if anything interesting happens." I yawn, drowsy from staying up all night. I burrow down in the bag and cuddle up next to Riley, letting sleep wash me away.
When I open my eyes, it's the afternoon. "Any sign of our friend?" I ask.
She shakes her head. "No, he's keeping a disturbingly low profile."
"I have a feeling today's the day." I say.
I open my mouth to elaborate, but the look on Riley's face tells me that she understands what I mean. Foxface died almost a day ago, so there was plenty of time for the audience to place bets and get bored. It was really only a matter of time before the Gamemakers drove us together.
I try my best not to think about my family, but my mind can't help but wonder how Prim was doing, how my mother was faring. If I close my eyes, I can almost imagine them in the square, anxiously watching the big screen. Lucas would probably be torn between constantly watching my every move and throwing himself into hunting in the woods to get his mind off of everything.
Riley and I decide to eat most of our leftover food. The only thing we save is the squirrel and an apple. Then, we step out into the arena for what might be the last time.