So cute pic to the side I found of Dot and Jay. I didn't even know Molly Quinn and Logan Lerman were in a movie together! But this pic is awesome!
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Chapter 16- In the Game
I look around, taking in the objects around me. I see a small green backpack just a few feet from me. If I can run as fast as I can when the gong sounds, I might just make it. Then I look around for weapons. I think I see something lying next to the backpack, but I'm not sure if it's a weapon or something else.
I see woods behind me and to my left and know I need to follow Katniss that way. In the mouth of the Cornucopia, I can see two bows ad arrows. Of course they have two because ones meant for Jay. I can see he thinks this too and when he looks over at me, I shake my head.
I don't know how long has passed when the gong sounds and I'm running like I've been shot. I grab the green backpack and small knife that lay beside it. A small boy from District Four runs up, obviously meaning to get the same backpack. He's so small that I don't want to kill him, so I just hold my knife in front of me, keeping him at bay.
I start to run towards the forest in the direction Katniss is going when something hits the backpack. Crap! I look behind me to see Clove throwing knives. She throws one at my arm and I jerk out of the way, barely missing it. Another hits my backpack before I make it into the safety of the woods.
I see Katniss staring past me to the other people as I run into her. She jerks up and grabs one of the knives.
"Katniss! I wanted to be your ally!" I say, puting my hands in the air. She thinks about it a minute and looks back at the blood covered field. Then she nods.
"I guess I could use a psychic on my side." and she's off. I struggle to keep up with her as we disappear from the other tributes sights. I hope Jay's okay.
So for a while we walk and jog. I'm out of breath but I keep going. I know I have to. I take both the knives out of my backpack and put them in my belt on both sides. Without stopping to examine the backpack, I slide my other knife in.
"See any water in the future?" Katniss asks as we continue to walk.
"Not for a while." I say as a rabbit hops out of a bush. That means there could be more for food. Katniss and I share a look and keep going.
By late afternoon, we begin to ear the cannons. Katniss and I stop and count the number of times it was fired. One... Two... Three... And we count until the number doubles from the original number to twenty-four. Twenty-four left. Is one of them Jay? Did be become a Career with Peeta?
We finally sit down, exhausted from walking so long.
"Is Peeta all right?" Katniss asks. What could it hurt?
"Yeah, he's fine. Doing pretty well." I say in a heavy breath. She nods.
"What about Jay? Is he okay?"
"I don't know about him. He's psychic too so I can't sense him. I hope he's all right." I sigh. Katniss starts looking through her backpack. I have all the same things as Katniss except instead of dried beef, I have dried fruit. And my small water bottle has a little bit of water in it. Its not full to the top but it's water.
"Thank the Lord!" I say out loud as I take a sip. The cool liquid feels good on my dry parched throat. I give Katniss a sip and she sighs.
"Now I'm glad I agreed to be your ally." she says. We put our things back in our packs as twilight approaches. I look around for any animals as Katniss gets us some bark to chew on (ew) just in case we don't find food.
Of course I don't find anything so I'm stuck eating pine beside Katniss as we walk. Another hour passes with us still looking for water. I know it'll take a while for us to find it. Hopefully a few things have changed.
Finally we decide to stop for the night. Katniss and I set up two snares to see if we can catch some food. We walk a few more minutes just to be safe then start to make camp. We climb up a strong willow. I sit a branch above Katniss as I try to get in my sleeping bag. I put my bag in it, then slip in as Katniss teaches me how to tie myself to the tree. I do exactly as she says because sometimes I roll around at night. I give Katniss and I one more sip of water before we get settled in our sleeping bags.
It's starts to get cold as night falls when I hear the anthem. We see the Capitol seal floating in the sky and the sky goes dark for a second. I watch as the face and name of the dead tributes appear above me. I count them off. I feel sorry when I see the little District Four boy didn't make it. The twins made it. That girl, Zaavia, made it. Of course all of the Careers made it. I sigh in relief when I see Peeta and Jay made it. I smile to myself in the darkness as I rub my locket and it heats up. I open it to see Jay and I. I don't know what he's doing but I know he's still my best friend, proven by these pictures.
"Do you really love him?" I hear Katniss ask below me. I know we are probably being watched but I don't lie when I say yes. I love Jay as my best friend and nothing will change that.
The last thing I feel before I fall asleep is the locket right over my heart, warming it.
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Newspapers. I see newspapers again. But this time they say, "Blye Ivory and Jay Keene Ghosts". What the...? I see Lily again looking at the newspaper crying, I see when I appeared to her how I looked. Like a ghost. Great. They think we're dead. Then my parents in an interview with the same story.
I'm about to call out to them again when something makes me jump. A branch breaks somewhere close. I look under me to Katniss where I can feel her eyes on me. We both heard it. We both turn in the direction of the noise to see only blackness. Is this when... Then I see a spark and a small fire appears. Poor girl. How could she not know any better?
And of course I forgot so we're close to her. And we're strapped in so we can't get out before the Careers come. It would be too much trouble and they could see us.
As dawn approaches, I can see Katniss's face. I shake my head at her, knowing what she's thinking.
"Just wait." I sigh.
A second after I said it, I hear running. I cover my ears as I can hear her pleading and then the scream that I could have never blocked out. I know she's not dead yet, but suffering. That poor stupid girl.
But what really makes me sick is laughter and congratulating that follows.
"Twenty-five down and twenty-three to go!" someone shouts. You can tell they're Careers because of the loud shouts and hoots because they're not afraid to be heard.
I hear them heading towards us. I get a little lower in my sleeping bag. I can name them as they walk by Marvel, Glimmer, Cato, Atlas, Vibia, and Clove.
"Shouldn't we have heard a cannon by now?" one says.
"I'd say yes. Nothing to prevent them from going I immediately."
"Unless she isn't dead."
"She's dead. I stuck her myself."
"So where's the cannon?"
"Someone should go back. Make sure the job's done."
"Yeah, we don't want to have to track her down twice."
"I said she's dead!"
The begin to argue until two people shout out. "Hey, we're wasting time!" one shouts.
"We'll go finish her so we can move on!" the other one shouts. I sigh as I recognize the voices of Peeta and Jay. I never thought he would be killing someone.
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I hear a slight rustling and look down. Oh crap... Katniss rolled sideways and is now hanging by the rope.
"Go on, then, Lover Boys," Cato sneers. "See for yourselves."
I flinch as I see Jay walking back towards the girl. He has cuts on his face and a black eye. He looks bad but I guess it could be worse. Besides, I'm not supposed to care.
I'm surprised Jay went with them, though. He must be following Peeta. He would never join the Careers on his own. They're a bunch of big bullies and I've shown how much Jay hates bullies.
"Why don't we just kill them now and get it over with?" Clove sighs. My eyes widen as I move a little in my sleeping bag. Katniss's eyes dart up to mine, like a warning.
"Let them tag along." Atlas says in a bored voice. "What's the harm? And Peeta's handy with that knife. Jay's handy with the bow. Better than Glimmer." she glares at him as he smirks at her.
"Besides, they're our best chance of finding them." Cato says. Is he talking about Katniss and I? Crap...
"Why? You think they bought into that sappy romance stuff?"
"They might have. They seemed pretty simpleminded and weak to me. Every time I think about them spinning around in their pretty little dresses, I want to puke." I might not feel so bad for killing Cato.
"Wish we knew how they got those elevens. Bet it was rigged."
"Bet you Lover Boys know." Atlas says as Peeta and Jay run up.
"Was she dead?" Cato asks
"No. But she is now." Jay says as my heart drops.
"Ready to move on?" Peeta asks, stepping forward.
They start to run off. But before they can, I swear I see Jay glance up at me. My eyes widen. He wouldn't dare tell the Careers. Would he?
Katniss gets back onto her branch and takes a huge breath. "Could they help the Careers find us?"
I just shake my head at her. "I don't know."
While we lay there, something changes. I can't put my finger on it. Then I realize it. The birds are silent. Then one let's out a high-pitched squeak.
A hovercraft appears before us to get the girl. I see her ashen face frozen in fear and look away. When I look back, the hovercraft is gone and the birds continue chirping happily.
I clear my throat. "Katniss, we need to keep moving."
She nods and starts to get out of her sleeping bag. I start to get out too while trying not to roll over out of the tree. We start to climb down and I can tell Katniss is up to something. As soon as she jumps out of the tree, she starts smiling at nothing. I give her a confused look as my hand slip and I bit my tongue as I hit the ground. Blood fills my mouth from where I clamped down on my tongue. At least I didn't make much noise.
We check the snares and find a rabbit. Nice! But I'm not thinking its so nice as I watch Katniss gut and clean it. I have to turn around to hold down what little food I have left. That poor bunny...
Before I know it, Katniss is running off in a different direction. I grab my stuff and run after her. I find her quickly fashioning a spit over the dead girl's fire. Katniss is good.
I watch the rabbit while Katniss covers her orange backpack.
"Hey. Can I use some of that water?" she asks, interrupting the silence.
"Why?"
"I need to make some mud to cover my pack."
I shake my head. "We need the water to drink more than you need it to cover the pack. Besides, we'll find water soon." I say even though I have no clue when we'll find water. All I know is if we don't have that water, we're dead.
She thinks about it for a moment before sighing and nodding her head. Then we start to pack up. She grabs the spit while I kick some dirt on the coals. We take off in the opposite direction we saw the Careers go in.
Along the way, we only eat half of the rabbit and save the rest for later. As I eat the delicious meat, I try not to think of the poor bunny. It died for the greater good.
We each take a little sip of the diminishing water supply we have. We're almost out and need to find some soon.
I try to remember that we have cameras on us as we hike along. Hopefully I won't fall. I've probably already gotten enough laughs when I fell out of the tree.
I wonder what Jay's doing right now. I hope he's okay. I don't care if he is with the Careers or he says he doesn't care. I know he does care and I'm still bent on protecting him. So that's that whether he likes it or not.
As the day goes on, Katniss and I start to pant. We try not to drink any water. She coats her lips with rabbit grease but I refuse. Gross! When we stop to rest under the baking sun, I lean down and run some dirt between my fingers. Dry. So there's no water around here.
"Crap!" I whisper. I would have joined the Careers if they had water. I feel I soft pat on my back and I know we need to move on. I start to have a headache as the sun grows stronger. When I open the water bottle the next time, I'm ready to cry. There's only a drop left. We drained it too fast. I save the little drop we have while Katniss trys on her sunglasses.
She angrily stuffs them back into her backpack.
"What's wrong?" I croak and try to clear my throat.
"These sunglasses are messed up."
"That's because they help you see in the dark."
"Really? How do you know?"
I laugh humorlessly. "How do I know any of this stuff? Try them on when it gets dark."
We continue going downhill while I occasionally feel the dirt for moisture. We're dehydrating fast and I bet Katniss can last longer than me. She's lived in this world where food and water are hard to come by. I've lived in the world where all I have to do is turn a knob and water comes instantly. Which one of us do you think will die of thirst first?
In late afternoon, Katniss starts running. I think she's starting to hallucinate, then I see it. Blueberry bushes! Thank God!
We each grab a handful and pull them to our lips. There's something at the back of my brain trying to warn me but it's too fuzzy from dehydration. I'm about to suck the sweet berries dry when Katniss knocks them out of my hand.
"What'd you do that for?!" I gasp.
"They could be poisonous. Believe me, I want to eat them as much as you but remember what the plant instructor said?"
"Don't eat berries unless your 100% certain they're edible." I grumble.
"Exactly," she sighs, throwing them into a bush. I close my eyes and throw them as hard as I can. Stupid possibly non-edible berries...
We have to stop and rest often because we're so tired. If only we had some water. I would try to move faster but I can't. Katniss try's climbing a tree to see if she can find water. I stand below her, my hands shaking slightly, to catch her if she falls.
When she comes back down, she shakes her head. "I can't see anything but trees. We should keep walking until nightfall. Is that okay with you?"
Trying not to look like the wimp I am, I nod my head. I can make it for a while. I hope.
We walk until I'm falling on my face every five minutes and Katniss is stumbling. I wonder what Panem is thinking of our sad state.
So we climb into a tree as best as we can and tie ourselves in. I try to sleep while Katniss sucks on a rabbit bone. Then I try to make myself stay awake as the anthem plays. I see the girl from eight and a few others, but nobody important. No Jay. I kind of smile as my eyes close.
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"Dot. Dot!" Katniss croaks at me as I force my eyes open. A few more minutes and I bet I would have died from thirst in my sleep. I sit up and almost fall back down. Major headache. I try to see straight as I gather my things and start to climb down. I can't go on much longer like this. My tongue is bone dry and I'm so shaky.
I fall from the tree again and almost land on Katniss, who fell down too. It takes us forever to get our stuff together. I can hardly think as we lean against the tree.
"I thought you said we were going to find water soon?" Katniss asks.
"We should. I just didn't know how fast we were going to dehydrate."
"So we should keep looking."
"Definitely." I say, getting shakily to my feet. It hurts to move and my head hasn't stopped pounding. I almost fall as grab my bag. I look back and Katniss isn't moving. "Katniss?"
"Water." Katniss says in a loud voice. Has she lost it? What does she think, a glass of water is just gonna fall from the sky? Wait... Fall from the sky!
"Katniss," I say as gently as I can. "Haymitch isn't gonna send us any water."
"Why not?" she glares at me.
"Did you ever think because we're getting close?" I say holding out my hand to help her up.
She thinks about it while she takes my hand to get up. We each find walking sticks and walk off in some direction. We won't stop. We can't stop.
I try to focus on the cameras watching us. I never thought I would actually try to focus on that. But I need something to motivate me to keep going. I don't want to look any more stupid in front of the cameras. Besides, I'm planning on sitting and watching the replays of the Games at the end. So I have to make it there.
As Katniss and I forget which direction we're going in, fall a few times, and try to forget our thirst, we talk a little.
"Dot, were you dreaming about a jabberjay last night?"
"What? I don't know, I can't remember."
"I heard you talking in your sleep about a jabberjay and mockingjay." she says as I stumble.
"I was probably dreaming about Jay again."
"Jay? What?"
"Jay and I's nicknames for each other are Jabberjay and Mockingjay. Don't ask. You want to know a secret?"
"Besides you being psychic?"
"Yeah. I've never told anyone this. It's so weird. I have these crazy dreams sometimes that are like flashbacks. I have them during the day sometimes, too. Like I've flashbacked a million times to the day when Jay and I first met." I confess.
"Wow. That's crazy." Katniss says.
"And sometimes it gets mixed with things from the Hunger Games." I say without thinking.
"Wait, what?"
"Crap!" I say out loud. I hadn't meant to say that! Then I realize that it made it worse by saying 'crap'. I'm such an idiot! I just look at Katniss who stares at me with a puzzled look. "I can't tell you now. You have to trust me on this, Katniss. I promise I'll tell you if I'm still alive close to the end of the Games."
"Why can't you tell me now?" Great! Now she's annoyed.
"It'll change the future too much and the whole way you look at your world." I say in one breath before I can change my mind. Her eyes widen a bit but she doesn't say anything. She thinks for a minute before nodding her head. I can't even imagine how weird I look to her. But then I don't care because I'm falling again. And I can't get back up. I don't have the physical or mental strength to force myself up again.
"Katniss, I can't make it. I can't get up. Go on. You should find water soon enough." I sigh, sitting against a tree. Then a thought comes to me and breaks my heart. I'm going to die right here.
"Dot, I'm not leaving you." she says, sitting down beside me.
"Katniss, please. If you find water somewhere close, you can come back and see if I'm still alive."
She doesn't answer, just closes her eyes. I sigh and close my eyes, too. It wouldn't matter if someone came by and found us. We'd be dead before a blade could pierce our hearts. Besides, mine's already broken.
I'll never get to see my parents again. It doesn't matter if they forgot about me sometimes, I could see from my dreams that they loved me. Even if it was just a dream, I love them, too. Lily... Despite how much Lily gets on my nerves at times, she excepts me for who I am and I will always love her for it. I can just imagine her curly blonde hair flowing around those light chocolate eyes of hers. Her perfect naturally red lips smiling at me as I yell at her to slow her pink convertible down.
Lastly, Jay. What can I say about Jay? I love him more than the rest. I know it's sad that I love him more than my own parents but you've seen my life. He's been there more. He's like my other half. I know that sounds cheesy but it's true. It feels like I would feel if something bad happened to him, and I could never live without him. I had actually hoped to travel the world with him some day. He's my best friend, and the brother I never had.
And that's the last thing I think.
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The next thing I know, Katniss is shaking me. Jesus, I thought I was dead for a second! Whole out-of-body experience about to come on. I must have fallen asleep instead.
"Dot! Dot!" Katniss is shouting loader than she should be. Is there someone here? I look around and I see no one. "Good. I thought you were dead."
"I was about to be. Can't I die in peace?" I grumble.
"Look!" she smiles. She holds up her hand to reveal a slimy brown substance. Could it be? "Mud." Katniss confirms. I would leap for joy if I could move that fast. We're here.
She starts crawling in a random direction. I smell something. Lilies. It reminds me of Jay. I crawl as fast as I can after her. She disappears into a bush and I hear a splash. I crawl though after her and am surprised to see the splash wasn't from her diving in. I'm about to dive in when Katniss stops me. Careful Katniss.
She makes me fill my bottle and purify it. What can happen if you don't purify it? I don't know but I have a feeling it could be poisonous. This is the Hunger Games we're talking about. As soon as the (maybe) half hour is up, I gulp down the bottle. CK beside me, smacks my hand like I would have imagined Effie do, and makes me sip. I have to admit, sipping is better. It gives the sweet liquid time to cover my tongue and refresh my dry mouth and body.
We're able to crawl to a tree and have some more rabbit while we sip. When the anthem plays, my brain is less foggy to where I can actually think, and I can move a little better but I still can't get up. No one died today which means Jay is still alright and probably under the Careers protection.
"We can stay here all of tomorrow to rest." Katniss says as I snuggle in my sleeping bag. I refilled my water bottle in case we needed to make a run for it. Now that we have a chance to survive, the Careers could jump out of the woods at any second and I'm planning on making it out with my water.
A few hours later, I'm thankful as I'm awoken from my dream of beasts with human eyes, to something much worse. I must be losing two pages of the book a minute and I'm down to nothing. My brain is still fuzzy, but I can't miss the smell of smoke, the stinging of my eyes, or the wall of fire about to decend on us that was sent by the Devil himself.
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Sorry! I have a life outside of writing and I've had a lot of things to do. Besides, I bet no one reads this anyway... If you read this chapter, please like or comment!! Anyways, sorry about Dot forgetting all this. I base it off of if I would have remembered something or not. Like Dot, my memory sucks. So, any ideas you can give me for the story? Do you like it? Suggestions? What do you think of the awesomazing (yes that is my favorite word that I made up!) new trailer MissDiorCherrie made me? Check out her awesomazing books, too!!! Okay, about to work on some other top secret stuffs! Bye!!
~*~Caty199973