| " F A M I L Y . " |
___♔___
The rest of the day reflected upon what I had done. I regretted it- that was for sure. And I couldn't seem to shake my thoughts from my earlier mistake. I'm a murderer.
Everyone took their turns trying to get me to talk, but they all failed. I'm oficially traumatized. I mean- who wouldn't be? I killed two people without hesitating.
After laying down next to Seth and trying to pry my eyes shut, I finally gave up on falling asleep. I make sure that Seth, Bane, Triton, Grace, Jonah, and Laila are asleep before I walk to the opening of the cornucopia to find Raley, my eyes searching the surrounding grounds for the missing girl.
When finally finding her, I jog over to where she sits, looking down expectantly.
"Hey, why aren't you sleeping?" Raley asks, looking up at me. I plop down next to her on the dirt, pulling my knees to my chest. I rest my chin on my knees, and stare into the darkness.
"I can't sleep," I murmer.
"I can't either. I don't know why," She shakes her head with a sigh.
"I still can't believe I killed Nason and Liam. Nason was Laila's District partner, and I didn't even respect that. I just killed him anyway," I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to erase the memory.
"Don't get down on yourself, we all have to kill. It's what you have to do here." She soothes, placing a caring hand on my shoulder.
"I know, but I don't want to be here. I want to go back home."
"Me, too. Who do you have waiting for you?"
"My brothers, Mason and Garret. My parents. My cousins, Apollo and Christiana. And my aunt and uncle," I shrug lightly. "What about you?"
"My parents."
"Is that it?" I raise an eyebrow.
"Okay, okay. I have a boyfriend back at home. His name is Cody, and he's eighteen." She chuckles.
"Oh c'mon, give me more details," I whine, a smile lighting up her features.
"I remember when we first met, it was so amazing. I was at the academy, and I was up for hand-to-hand combat. Being my usual self, I was being very cocky with my opponents with the teasing and joking. After beating a few people, Cody stepped up to the mat.
"I hadn't known him before that, but he was hot. And that was coming from a seven year old." She pauses to laugh with me, then begins again. "He refused to fight me because I was a girl. Every other boy had no problem with fighting me, but he was such a gentleman, and stepped down. After that, we just sorta clicked.
"We were friends until I turned fifteen, then he asked me to be his girlfriend. I said yes, of course. Ever since, we've been dating." She finishes.
"What happened when you volunteered for the games?" I ask softly, knowing I hit a soft spot. She glances over at me, her eyes glossing over with tears at the mention of it.
"He uh, he didn't take it too well," She fakes a smile. "But he believed that I could win. But before the train left, he proposed to me," Raley surprises me by pulling a silver diamond ring from her jacket pocket, placing it in the palm of my hand.
I gasp, placing one hand over my mouth.
"And I said yes." She states, a tear rolling down her cheek.
"Oh my god, Raley. This is amazing! Congratulations!" I whisper, giving the ring back to her. She studies it for a moment before glancing back up to me.
"It's not amazing," She shakes her head, allowing her tears to fall freely. "I'm not gonna get out of here. I'm never going to see him again. I just thought that I would win when I got here, but I just . . . I can't."
"What do you mean?" I ask. "Of course you can win. I-"
"No, Lana. I won't win. I'm here right now, but I won't be in a few days. I chose this fate for myself, and I regretted it the day I got to the Capitol. Everyone here is rooting for you. We want you to go home and live your life."
"But I don't want to live my life without you guys. It would kill me. I'd be scarred for life."
"Yes, it will scar you when you win. It scars everyone. But you need to get past that, and look to the people you have to go home to," She frowns, looking into my eyes. "You have people waiting for you, Lana."
"But you have people to go home to- Cody, and your parents."
"My parents don't care. I'm from District one, Lana. People from District one are mostly heartless, and their life goals are to win the Hunger Games."
"You still have Cody, your fiancé."
"Cody can find another girl. But your family can't. Christiana and Apollo will never have another cousin like you. Mason and Garret will never have another sister like you. Your parents will never have a daughter like you. Your aunt and uncle will never have a neice like you. Don't you get it, Lana? You are a part of us now.
"We don't want to lose you, and we just met you. I can only imagine what your family would feel if they lost you. You need to win- no. You have to win. If you don't do it for us, do it for Hollon."
I almost choke on tears as she mentions my brother.
"You guys really feel that way about me? I'm like family?" I murmer as a few tears roll down my cheeks. She nods with a soft smile, pulling me into a tight embrace.
I grasp her arms, pulling her closer to me. And I now realize that I'm going to lose these people, one way or another. It's either I die, or they die. Or both.
These people are like my family now.
My family away from home.
___♕___
I yawn as I open my eyes, stretching on the hard ground. I sit up, only to notice that I've been sleeping next to Raley, who is fast asleep. I glance around, and see that everyone else is still asleep.
Wow.
I'm the first one awake.
I grab my knives and a backpack, walking outside to look to the woods. I'm going hunting. Not for tributes, but for food. Our water supply is high at the moment, so water isn't necessary. But food is a different story.
I am sure to check all around me before walking into the woods, taking caution with my surroundings.
I'm careful enough to not step on any twigs that could make a loud noise, only to stop in my tracks when I see a rabbit next to a tree. I focus all of my attention on it, drawing back my knife. And with one swift move, a knife is lodged into its forehead. I smile at my achievement, stuffing the rabbit into the backpack that is slung over my shoulder.
For the next half hour, I kill animals and pick edible berries, along with any other fruits I find. By the time I'm finished, I have three birds, three squirrels, one rabbit, two bags of berries, and five apples.
I make my way back to the cornucopia, knives in my hand, and the backpack secure on my shoulder.
"Where the HELL have you been?" Laila questions as I step inside.
"Hunting." I shrug, emptying the backpack onto a blanket that is splayed across the floor.
"You could've been killed!" Jonah says angrily
"So? I'm pretty sure I can protect myself," I defend. "Where are the others?"
"They're looking for you," Grace folds her arms over her chest, a stern and scolding expression plastered on her face.
"Then come on, lets go find them," I state.
"No. You and Jonah go, Grace and I will skin the animals. We'll cook while you're gone, and we'll be done when you get back," Laila sighs. "Just please stay out of trouble."
"Okay, lets go, Jonah." He picks up an axe, and follows behind me as I find my way back through the forest.
"Did any cannons go off when we were asleep?" Jonah asks quietly, his eyes scanning the trees around us.
"Nope. Not a single one. Something is going on here, but I can't put my finger on it," I huff, feeling a small burning rise in my chest.
Something is off.
"We'll figure it out soon enough. Either that, or we'll kill everyone ourselves."
"Hold on," I mutter, holding my arm out to stop him. "Do you hear that?"
"Hear what?" He asks, cocking an eyebrow, but staying in place.
"Exactly. There's something wrong here. There are no sounds. There's something wrong he-" But my sentence is cut off as I take a step forward.
I let out an ear-piercing scream as a rope ties itself around my ankle, pulling me upwards into a tree.
It's only then that I realize I'm stuck in a trap.
_______