Author's Note: It's back to Willow's POV, the way it should be!
Do you guys really think that 3 years is really that big of a deal? I have friends dating guys three years older than them. No big deal. My parents are two years apart. Three years wouldn't make that much of a difference. So what if Willow is three years older? I've liked guys who are 2 years younger. No big deal.
It was two weeks before we saw Gale or Rayne again.
After Titus died, it was announced that a new round of Tributes would be added to the arena next week. So, like always, we had a week in the arena all to ourselves. Usually this week is great, since we have no worries. However, none of us could enjoy the week of freedom. Not with Titus gone.
Titus was a light in all of our lives. He always managed to make us smile, even when there was nothing to smile about. Together, him and Gale acted as glue. They kept our spirits up. They helped us get through all of these months in this tree house. And now Titus is just...gone.
None of us worried about Gale too much, when he left. He said that he just needed some time. He promised all of us that he would come. We let him go without much argument. For this week, nothing can kill us. We assumed that him and Rayne would be back at the tree house before the new wave of Tributes arrived.
We were wrong. The new tributes arrived. Gale and Rayne still didn't come back. Each time I heard a canon go off, I flinched. What if that canon was Gale? Or even Rayne? Gale couldn't handle it if Rayne died. Each day was Hell. I stared anxiously at the sky, waiting for the faces of fallen Tributes to get put up. Each day, I was relieved to see that neither Gale or Rayne had died. But the next day, the same process just repeated over again.
Until finally, one week after the new tributes, Gale and Rayne came back.
Gale explained that he had a lot of pent-up anger towards everything and everyone. He told us that three of the canons, of the 12 we've heard, were him. He said that the tree house harbored too many memories of Titus and that's why he waited so long to come back. The entire time he spoke, Rayne stared at the ground.
"I feel awful, killing those people. It didn't make up for what I did to Titus," Gale said.
"Hey, Gale, don't say that," I replied. "First of all, killing is part of the game. It's what you have to do to keep yourself alive sometimes. Nobody blames you for that. And Titus' death wasn't your fault. It was the Gamemakers and Luke."
"He knew someone was going to die if we didn't make a move."
"It's not like you were going to go and kill Rayne," Talon replied. "The way I see it, somebody had to die. In reality, four of us are going to have to die. We're trying to prolong it as long as we can, but all of us have a clock. His clock ran out. This is an awful thought, but he was probably going to die at some point. This situation is better than the alternative, where you would be beating yourself up for killing your girlfriend."
"And let's be honest," Rayne stepped into the conversation. "You wouldn't have killed me anyways."
Gale looked over at Rayne. "You're right. I wouldn't have."
"So no more self-blame, okay?" I said. "We all miss Titus. But it's not your fault." Tears started to come to my eyes.
Gale nodded, although I could still see that he was hurting. We all lost a friend two weeks ago, but Gale lost a best friend. That's something that's going to stay with him. It'll be a while before Gale is back to normal.
The past two weeks have been the hardest of the entire time I've been here. Sponsors have ceased. We're forced to catch all of our own food now, which isn't working out super well. We've been eating about every other day or every two days. It could be a lot worse, but for a pregnant girl, it's pretty bad.
I'm now in week 32 of my pregnancy. The baby is expected in eight weeks from now. It's coming up and I'm absolutely terrified. So many things can go wrong during labor. There's no doctors here! What if something is wrong with my baby? There's nothing that I can do from down here. Not unless the sponsors send some miraculously expensive treatment.
And what about after I have my baby? It's been hard enough taking care of myself through all of this. Now I have to take care of a child? I can't even fathom that. But it's only two months away.
Finally, Crystal will be here. Despite all my worried and fears, I'm very excited. I love her already.
Talon's wound is almost healed. It's a bit puffy around the edges, but I don't think it's serious. It's nothing compared to the infection Tetrick got when he was stabbed in the thigh. Talon still limps and he still can't run, but I expect that it will be all better in a week or two. Hopefully we're not threatened the next couple weeks. Or ever.
"There was another reason why we were gone so long," Rayne said. "We noticed this girl and started to follow her. We were trying to kill her, but she's really hard to lose track of."
"So we started to follow the hovercrafts," Gale said. "Every time we saw a hovercraft, we would follow it to where the body got picked up. We started to notice a pattern; every person that died, besides the ones we killed, had a B scratched into a nearby tree. She's killed 9 people in one week all by herself. She has no alliance members and she's extremely dangerous."
"B?" I asked. "B for what?"
"Blaze," Rayne replied. "I heard one of the other Tributes say her name, before..." Rayne swallowed. "Before Blaze killed her."
"Blaze? From District 1?" Tetrick asked.
Rayne nodded. "You know her?"
"Yes, I know her! Everyone in District 1 knows her. This girl is absolutely mental. Her entire life, she's had an obsession with the Hunger Games. As a kid, when the rest of us would want to play hide and seek, she would want to play the Hunger Games. I've seen her make weapons out of bed-side tables. I'm surprised she didn't volunteer as a twelve year old! All she's ever wanted was to go into the Hunger Games and come out a hero."
"Do you think she volunteered?" Talon asked.
"It wouldn't surprise me," Tetrick replied. "Blaze is a girl you want to stay far away from, even in District 1. I can't imagine how dangerous she is in her natural habitat, when she has access to weapons."
"She has a dagger and a spear," Gale said. "She uses the spear first, to injure the Tribute. Then she uses the dagger for the final blow and the carving of the B."
"Why didn't you guys ever kill her?" Talon asked. "Clearly you guys spent some time watching her kill people."
"We didn't have the right resources with us," Rayne replied. "It was too dangerous to get to the ground and fight her with our swords. Even with Gale and I, she would've easily killed one of us. We need a long-distance weapon to kill her. Or at least injure her first, so that she can't fight back."
"That was smart," Tetrick replied. "Her work with a dagger is insane. No one fighting her hand to hand stands a chance. The only way to kill her would be to do it from a distance, when she's not expecting it."
"Well Willow is good with throwing knives, right?" Rayne asked.
I nodded. "But throwing knives aren't always the greatest for long distance. It depends on how far away we're going to be from her. An arrow would be more dependable."
"We don't have a bow and we don't have any arrows," Tetrick replied. "Your throwing knives is the best shot we have."
"We can get some."
"From where?"
"One of the Cornucopias. We still haven't found the second one. Or we can kill a Tribute and take it from them," I replied.
"Do you really think there's going to be anything left in the Cornucopias?" Rayne asked. "Usually it get's emptied out."
"Yes, usually..." Tetrick said. "But everything about these games are different. The Cornucopia that Chris and I found was in the desert. You don't want to spend more time there than you have to. My guess is that there's still some stuff there. People are going to avoid the desert."
"You know, they've never exposed the second Cornucopia," Rayne said. "I've been watching from home. I've seen the Cornucopia in the desert, but not the other one."
"How is that even possible?" Gale asked.
"If someone found the second Cornucopia, they would've showed it," I said. "Meaning no one in the arena knows where the second Cornucopia is. No one's found it. So we have to think of the place in the arena where no one would go."
Then, it dawned on me. The second Cornucopia is in the cold climate. That's where it has to be! We've at least been inside of every other climate but that one. No one would purposely go into the cold climate. You would die within a day, even with warm coats.
Talon seemed to come to that conclusion, too. He gasped and looked over at me. I nod, letting him know that I had realized it too.
"The second Cornucopia is in the cold climate," Talon said.
Everyone fell into silence. We knew it was true. That's the only explanation.
"That makes sense," Rayne replied. "They never show us the cold climate."
"So that's where we need to go," Tetrick said.
"It shouldn't be that bad, right?" I asked. "I mean, we're just going to the Cornucopia and leaving right away again. In and out. We'll be fine."
"I'm sure that it's going to be harder than that," Tetrick replied. "It always is. That being said, though, I agree that we should go. Blaze needs to be eliminated. I'm sure we're her target."
"We should leave first thing in the morning," Gale said.
We all nodded agreement. It was about noon right now. So tomorrow morning, we would be taking the long journey to the cold climate so we can get to that Cornucopia. If it's never been visited, there's a lot of things that we can get from there. It can be very resourceful. Plus, with the sponsors slowing down so much, we could use the supplies.
With that, the group split. Tetrick and Gale left to go hung. Again. This is the third expedition in two days and we haven't had any luck. Rayne stayed behind to guard the tree house. Talon grabbed my hand and led me away from the tree house. We went around the back of the tree house and walked to the beach.
"I haven't been here for a while," I said to him. He sat down in the sand. I sat beside him. The Capitol was probably buzzing from activity. I could see the tall buildings, the people walking along, although they were really small from here. Suddenly, I felt a pain in my heart. I missed the Capitol. Despite the over-elaborate costumes and the strange people, it's civilization. I would much rather be with civilization than in the arena, where my baby's coming soon.
"I thought you might want to relax here for a while," Talon replied. "Plus, I need to fulfill my promise."
I raised my eyebrows. "What promise?"
"Do you remember when the two of us trained together, before the games even started?"
I smiled. "Yeah. That was over 6 months ago. Can you believe that?"
"Hardly. Well, you wanted to go to the fishing station cause you didn't know how to fish. Then I promised you to teach you how to fish."
"So you're going to teach me how to fish?" I asked.
"I always keep my promises," Talon replied, slipping into a seductive voice.
"Oh yeah?"
"Yup." Talon popped the P and kissed me.
I smiled. "So, tell me, how do they do it in District 4?"
Talon walked over to the trees and pulled out a giant pile of grass. He started to weave the grass into a net, his hands moving skillfully and quickly. I had seen one of Finnick's finished nets, but I've never seen the actual process. I can't believe how fast he does it!
"It's been years since I've lived in District 4 or weaved a net, but it still comes right back to me," Talon said.
"Do you miss District 4?" I asked.
"I used to. But if I hadn't moved to District 12, my life would be so much different. I never would've met you," Talon replied. "So no, I don't."
"If you didn't move to District 12, you wouldn't be in the Hunger Games right now," I replied.
Talon put down his grass. "I probably wouldn't have met you if we weren't put into the Hunger Games, either. I would've never fallen in love with you." Talon moved the grass out of the way and moved so that he was sitting right in front of me. "You're the best thing that has ever happened to me. I don't care if we're in the Hunger Games. As long as I'm with you, then I'm good. You're my life. You're my babe. If I had the chance to go back and time and change things so that I wasn't picked for the Games, I wouldn't change a thing. I love you."
I smiled. "I love you too, Talon."
Talon pressed his lips into mine. I kissed him back, putting my hands on the back of his neck. His tongue slowly made it's way into my mouth...
I pulled away. "I thought you were teaching me how to fish."
Talon laughed. "Sorry. I got distracted."
I smiled at him. "You're forgiven. Now, tell me how to weave this thing."
Talon started to teach me how to weave the net. It was kind of confusing and I didn't go nearly as fast as he did, but I got the hang of it.
Talon and I spent the next few hours on the beach, throwing our grass nets into the water. We didn't actually catch anything, but that's not the point. We had a lot of fun, just spending time with each other.
"We should go back," Talon said to me. I think we've been at the beach for about four hours now.
I gave him a pouting lip. "Why?"
Talon smiled. "Because sometimes we need to go back to the real world. Come on. I'm sure Tetrick and Gale have found some food by now."
Talon and I walked back to the tree house. When we climbed up the ladder, we were surprised to find that Rayne was the only one there.
"Where are Tetrick and Gale?" I asked.
"I don't know! I wanted to go and look for him but with you guys at the beach, I didn't want to leave without telling you where I was, but I also didn't want to leave the tree house unattended with some of our stuff in here, and..."
"Whoa, Rayne, calm down," Talon said. "Don't talk so fast. Let's just go and look for them, alright?"
The three of us left the tree house, all of us with weapons. Rayne had a sword, I had my throwing knives and Talon had his sickle.
"Should we be calling their names out?" Rayne asked.
"That could attract unwanted attention," Talon replied. "We don't want any Tributes to hear us. Especially Blaze."
Rayne sighed. "I don't like this."
"Don't get worried too quickly."
It turns out Rayne had every reason to worry. As we crossed a corner, we saw Gale and Tetrick. For a moment, I felt relieved. They both smiled at us. Tetrick was about to say something when it all fell apart.
Tetrick gasped. His eyes went wide. A look of pain flashed across his face. Blood started coming from his chest. The silver point of a dagger stuck out from his sternum. Then the silver point dissapeared. Tetrick slumped to the ground, completely limp. When he fell, I saw the girl standing behind him. She had fiery red hair and bright green eyes. She flashed me a quick smile before turning away and running.
"No!" Gale screamed, running after her. Rayne followed him. Talon ran over to Tetrick and knelt by his body, turning him onto his back.
Meanwhile, everything in my body went numb. I didn't move. I just stared at Tetrick, watching as Talon spoke to him. Tetrick's eyes were wide open and unblinking. I couldn't hear any of the noises around me. Just a ringing noise in my ears.
He's dead. Tetrick is gone.
That's when, suddenly, my body isn't so numb anymore. All of the emotions crash into me. I can hear all the noises around me with startling clarity. I collapse to my knees and start to sob. I literally feel like my heart is ripping in half right now. I can hear Talon whispering, "Come on, Tetrick... Come on."
But Tetrick's not going to wake up. That girl killed him.
That must be Blaze.
I look around me and, as expected, I see a B carved into one of the tree trunks. She planned on killing Tetrick. She already came here and carved her B. She just needed to wait for Tetrick and Gale to show up.
I tear my eyes away from Tetrick's life-less body and lay down in the grass, my eyes up to the sky. Each breath I take feels forced, like breathing doesn't come naturally anymore. I feel like a rock is pushing down on my chest, threatening to collapse my lungs.
This is what overwhelming grief feels like.
I've felt a similar feeling before, when Chris died. It wasn't so intense, but it was definitely there. Now, with Tetrick and Titus both dying within two weeks, everything in my life comes crashing down.
This is all too much to take.
***
Two deaths in two chapters. Ouch.
Do you like what you've read? Go to my website ( https://haileyladonna.wordpress.com/) and sign up for email notifications. There, you'll find work not published to Wattpad, as well as blog posts and updates on my life.
Don't forget to vote and comment to get Pregnant in the Games into the top ten!