CHAPTER 6 - SURVIVING
The Careers loom towards me, torches hanging from their belts. Obviously from their pleasure, they've killed another tribute. I didn't hear the canon. Maybe I was too busy.
"Did you see the look on his face?" Glimmer laughs. I could only see her from torchlight.
"Oh, he sooo thought he was going to get away!" Clove laughed. I knew that they could only be talking about Eric. I thought I saw him run away from the mouth of the Cornucopia, but the Careers must have caught him.
The male tribute from District 2, Cato, let out a sigh.
"Guys, come on. If were going to find her, we need rest."
"Yeah, lets just set down our supplies here. It's not like anybody's gonna try and kill US."
I'm surprised at this voice. I recognise it, and it only takes me a few seconds to figure out who it belongs to. Peeta Mellark, from District 12. Strange... an outline district with the Careers? I thought that Peeta would be with the Careers... well, these games do change people. Although, I don't know why the Careers would pair up with this tribute. Isn't he a threat to them?
I let my thoughts wander for a little, and remember what the boy from District 2 said before. He said they needed to find 'her.' I realise that the 'her' the Careers are talking about can only relate to Kaniss Everdeen. Smart. They're using Peeta, allowing him betray his own district partner.
I was starting to feel anxious. They were going to sleep here, and find me in the morning.
"Hang on Lover Boy," Says the boy from Disctirct 1.
"There's something over there... I can see smoke,"
"It's fire! There's another tribute!" Cato grins widely, plunges his sword in the air and starts sprinting towards the flames.
A few mintutes later, I hear a terrible scream and the BOOM of a canon going off, indicating another tributes death. The Capitols seal then hangs in the air, the anthem ringing in my ears.
The girl from 3 is gone, the boy from 4... Erics' picture shows up next on the screen. So the Careers did catch him. Both tributes from 6 are gone, both from 7, both from 8, both from 9 and the boy from ten. So I've still got some majour compeition. The anthem dissolves into the night sky, and I start to feel hungry and thirsty. I wriggle out of my den, shoulder my pack and make my way through the woods in the angry shadows of night.
I know where I'm heading. The Cornucopia. The Careers might have left someone to guard the supplies, but whoever it is isn't important, otherwise they'd be hunting down tributes with Cato. There wouldn't have been enough time to stack all of the supplies together, at least I don't think so anyway.
I can see the gold gleam of the Cournucopia as I crawl under a mass of bushes and leaves that conceal me. I don't even rustle a leaf, let alone make any noise.
I can see that food products are still stored in the Cornucopia, whilst weapon containers are spread around the ground. I don't need a weapon, just courage. I can see a small boy from an outliner district. Is he with the Careers? He's so small and puny... not a muscle on his body. I know that he won't be able to catch me.
Making sure that he's turned in the opposite direction, I get onto my feet and run. I sprint like my life depends on it, which it does. Run, run, run, I tell myself, The boy is ought to turn around at any moment. I dive roll into the mouth of the Corncopia, thankfully not harming myself or making a sound, just as the boy turns. I hide behind an opened tent pack, and let my eyes observe the rest.
Crackers, beef jerky, even barley sugar linger before me in small, plastic containers. It won't be much to survive on for long, but for now I'm good. I fill my arms with as much as I can afford, I don't want to spill anything when I run away. The Careers won't know the quantity of their supplies yet, so I can take many items. That's not going to happen later, when they actually look at what food supplies they have.
I think I'm all set. I have a box of crackers, beef jerky, carrot and celery sticks, and salted peanuts. I stuff the food into my bag.
I crawl to the enterance/exit of the Cornucopia. The boy is looking away. I try to stand up in order to make my move in the direction of the lake, but I can't move my foot, it's snagged! My foot lays tangled in a mess of a fishing net, which gleames silver in the moonlight. I scramble forwards to untie myself, but the rope keeps getting smaller and tighter whenever I wriggle. I'm feeling desperate now, Cato and his gang are surely going to turn up soon. It's late, I can tell from the sky.
I release my hands from the net, panting hard, and what confuses me are the dull 'thunk' of hard shoes coming my way. I peep around the tent set, and see the boy who was on guard coming towards me. Has he seen my shadow? Heard me? Or maybe he's just interested in the supplies in here. I wrestle with the net that's so complicatedly twisted around my ankle, with the boy about five metres away from me.
Desperation now surges with fear around me. If he finds me, I'm dead. I hop around the tent pack on my good leg, and when I'm concealed I fumble around with the net some more. It's no use. I'm dead. Should I try and hop away? I'd be a laughing stock.
I'm almost whimpering now, and I wriggle the pack off my back and take out the carving knife that I gained earlier on. I cut a few strings of the net, trying not to cut myself, and cut out a hole large enough for my foot to fit through. After a few seconds of agonizing silence, I'm finally free. I breath a sigh of relief.
I scrunch up the net, throw it into my bag, zip it up, and crawl around the tent. The boy is peering around the tent pack, bending down and frowning. What's that he's holding? I ask myself. He has picked up something from the ground... my knife! Damn, I must have left it when I was busy with the tent. I tell myself not to worry, that there's nothing I can do now.
I take the opportunity to run behind the Cornucopia and surge to the right, facing the river. The boy wasn't looking. He was still interested in the knife that had snagged a few silver strings on the blade.
My heart is racing, my pack feels heavy and my forehead is hot and balmy with sweat. The pack is almost exploding from the contents now, because of the net. I unzip the pack, dig for my water bottle and fill it with water. I know that the water is pure, I studied this in training.
My water bottle is an average mug size, and I fill it up seven times before I tell myself to stop. I fill it once more, put on the lid, and walk back towards my den. On the way, I pull out my precious store of saltanas, and start eating. I know that I have more food than most people at the moment, but I can't help but feel worried. This supply isn't huge, there isn't much stored inside the containers. But I can do this again, I can steal. I'm stealthy, and only got a five for my training score. Everyone will overlook me.
As I come to my den, I take a quick look around for signs of danger, and nestle in my little hole. I'm feeling drowsy and I wonder how Thresh, the boy from 11 is going.