Part 7 - The Boy from District 11.
My head feels clouded, foggy. My body is stiff and sore, expecially my head. As I open my eyes, black spots cover my sight.
I struggle to sit upright, trying to use my arms as balance beams. But I'm weak. I firm hand pushes me gently against a cold wall of stone.
"WhereamI?" I mumble, not really making much sence.
" It's ok," says a gruff voice.
"Who!" I jump up to my feet immediately, forgetting the dizziness and looking around wildly.
I'm in a dark, damp cave. Well, not really a cave, it's more like a little shelter of rocks sitting near a small pond, which is ringed with wheat the colour of dark corn. The shelter of rocks is small, barely big enough for two people to fit into, and is also covered in clumps of dark green moss. The five metre distance covering the pond to the shelter is made up of dust and granite. I can't see any trees, just wheat which circulates around the cave.
I reach for my pack, but realise that it has been taken from me, and I spin wildly, trying to look for it.
In my way stands a boy. He's well built, tanned and muscular, brown skinned. His eyes are black, matching his hair colour. I recognise him as the boy from District 11.
" Why am I here? Where's my pack?" I demand, stepping closer to him, no longer afraid. The boy holds his hands up in surrender.
" It's fine, your pack's over there," he points towards the enterance of the shelter, yet I do not take my eyes off this predator.
" Who are you?"
" From District eleven. My name is Thresh. You can leave now, I won't come after you." I snatch my eyes away from Thresh and sprint towards my pack, scoop it up, and hold it in my arms. I unzip the flap, searching, making sure to keep my knife in my hand as I find it.
Everything is in there.
I drop the pack in defeat, confused.
"You... you knocked me out, and you didn't kill me. Why?"
Thresh doesn't answer, just stares glumly at his over-sized hands.
" Why?" I demand, taking a step closer, holding out my knife.
Thresh seems taken aback, and raises his hands in surrender, then sits down into a corner of the shelter.
" I don't know why I saved your life," he mumbles.
" You seem innocent... and special."
"Special?" I ask, voice barely above a whisper. I lower the knife and take a small step forward.
" But you would have had more chance of winning, you could have had more supplies from my pack." I argue. Was this a trick?
" Anyway," Thresh continues.
" Were in the field, across from the forest. I knew I would be safe here because in District Eleven, I work in fields everyday. Or... worked."
I'm starting to feel sorry for the big guy, which isn't good. What if this is all a trick?
" How far are we from the Cornucopia?" I ask. Thresh's head snaps up, his eyes cold as stone, as though looking straight through me.
" Why? Your not thinking of going there, are you, Finch? You just can't, the Careers..." he trailed off.
" I've been there before, I just wanted to know if the Careers could find us here."
Us. I can't believe I just said that.
" Fat chance. Were well hidden."
I sit down. Not beside Thresh, but close to him. I'm starting to trust the guy.
"And... if were so well hidden, how do we get supplies?"
"Well, the wheat helps, I eat mostly that, and drink from the pond. I picked up a bag at the Cornucopia, and that's where I get the Iodine to purify the water from."
I'm surprised that Thresh didn't join the Careers. He's so strong and reliable... and I wonder why he refused their offer.
"I've got some food," I say suddenly, and reach into my pack, taking out the contents.
"Really?" Thresh's dark eyes light up, excited at the prospect of food other than that wheat.
I'm digging through my bag, but I can't seem to find most of my food supply. I have my water bottle, fishing net and raisins, but that's all I can find. Did Thresh steal something? I thought I checked pretty thoroughly...
I'm growing desperate when remember the fire.
"Oh no," I whisper.
"What?" Thresh becomes panicked, and unsheathes a weapon from his belt. The blade of Thresh's scythe glints in the evening sun. Or at least that's what the Game-makers have made the arena look like, anyway.
"Careful, Thresh!" I shout, jumping to my feet.
"Nobody's here, it's ok!"
He seems to calm down, but keeps the weapon in hand.
" I'm sorry Thresh, there was a fire, and my bag wasn't zipped up properly. The food fell out." I mumble, feeling like I let him down.
Thresh's eyes droop a little from dissapointment.
" But we can just do some fishing in the pond over there. I have a net." I say quickly.
"No point," say's Thresh.
" There are no fish in that pond."
I'm shocked. I can't speak. How are we going to eat? I mean, me. No, I canno't form an alliance with this boy. He would kill me in an instant.
But his eye's are so warm, and I feel comforted by the thought of him being here. My thoughts about Thresh cloud over, and I'm still stuck on how to get food, when I think of Katniss. I saw the Career's pursuing her, and I haven't seen her picture in the sky or heard a cannon yet. They should still be tracking her.
" Thresh," I say.
" I have an idea."
*****
I'm lying on my belly in the dry earth, trying to stick to the tree's that conceal me. The Careers have taken all the supplies from the Cornucopia and have stacked them up in a huge pyramid, which is a good ten metres from where I'm hiding. Although I know that nobody near the supplies would be able to see me from here, I still feel cautious, and my heart is beating fast, like a hammer against cloth.
I can see that the Careers have stacked up all of their supplies neatly into a pyramid sort of shape. This is a clever strategy, if one where to ( like me ) sneak up on these supplies and streal, the would most likely go for the middle as they wouldn't be able to reach the top. If I wanted these supplies, I'd have to climb. As I'm about to run towards the supplies, I notice something. Large mounds of dirt are placed evenly around the precious survival products. I wonder who could have done this. Not the Careers; they're too stupid and wouldn't be patient enough. I look to my right, and can see the figure and the boy from District 3. The other Careers must have gone out 'hunting' leaving this boy to keep watch.
District 3. Technology. Clever, clever, Careers. What has this boy done to protect the supplies?
My eyes zone in on the closest mound of dirt. It looks a little like a shape of a circle. It then dawns on me that this whole pattern looks exactly like that of the circles we tributes stood on when the games first started. I remember Alius telling me how explosives were set up underneath the platforms in case a tribute were to step off before the sixty seconds was up. The tribute would be dead, their legs would be blown off.
This boy is very intelligent. He has redug the explosives.
I wonder what a heart attack feels like. Because, at this very moment, I realise that if I make one single mistake, this whole thing is going to go ka-boom. Then where would Thresh get his supplies from? Then where would the Careers get their supplies from? That could kill them off...
I shake my head, making myself concerntrate. This just has to do with a certain pattern. It couldn't be too diffitcult, because the Careers still need access to their supplies. It has to do with maths, geology and pattern.
I close my eyes, thinking of all the times I had to do this in District Five. My memories waver back to me instead, and I remember the dirt roads leading up to the huge power plants, those power plants where everyone would be sentenced to work one day. I remember playing hop-scotch as a kid, wearing those small, white shoes with the buckle that had cost my father's monthly wages. I never wanted to get a speck of dust on those shoes, and I remember my friends telling me that I was silly, and how I would never survive The Hunger Games if I didn't want to get my shoes dirty. They were only kidding then. We were only five years old. I can remember the houses in the valley, near the town square. They were small, but slightly odd as people liked to have some colour in the district of grey and dust. The town square was quite large, and I remember the well that stood in the centre. I remember danicng to ring - a - ring - a - rosie around it.
Finally, I remember working in my own clean office at the power plant. There was this one problem that was so difficult I worked on it for days. A certain shape that was difficult to remember...
Snap. My eyes open. I have the solution.
I run. Run faster than I ever have before. I don't know how much time I have.
I slow down once I reach the pyramid, then use tactics. Hop left, stop, right, forwards, left, left, right, centre, STOP!
I almost loose my balance and let out a tiny squeal. As a natural instinct, my hands touch the pyramid as a way to protect my body. Nothing happens. Ok, keep going. Finally, I come to a point where I start to climb the pyramid a little. I will only allow myself to take a few things, because I don't want the Career's to notice that I took anything. I also don't want anything to fall from the pyramid.
Left, right, left, straight, stop, reach.
I stop and reach upwards to a small box of salted crackers. I lunge forwards, a little wobbly, which sends a spur of panic shooting to my spine, but I reagain my balance and steal a box of fruit.
As I reach the end of the explosives, I check on the District 3 boy, who is still staring at his spear, obviously bored, and I run behind him, a triumphant grin spreading across my face.
I meet Thresh at the top of the hill facing the wheat fields, and give him the supplies I stole. He look's at me worriedly, his eyes and voice quavering.
"You shouldn't have done that. It was risky."
I roll my eyes.
" Nothing happened, Thresh. I just want to stay alive."
There's a pause between us, and Thresh speaks again.
" I guess this means were in an alliance now, right?"
I ponder the thought, although really, there's no turning back.
" Yeah." I smile.
" Come on, let's see what the Career's are up to."
Thresh stuffs the food packages into one of his huge, black bags and jogs down the hill with me.
" Did you hear anything while I was gone?" I pant, as the hill slopes down into a valley.
"I heard some voices, but that was a while ago. From what I can tell, it came from over here." Thresh runs into the direction he's talking about, and I follow him.
"She'll most likely be in a tree, won't she, Thresh?" I say, and shudder because now were on a first name basis. I had told Thresh about what I saw when I first reached the hill; how the Career's had spotted Katniss Everdeen.
"Yes," he says, but returns to running.
If i'm right, almost half an hour passes before Thresh stops running. I slow to a walk.
" There's a fire over there, I can see the smoke," he says gruffly.
" I can hear faint voices, too." I say, because I can hear the giddy laughter of Career's overhead.
Thresh and I slowly, stealthily make our way across the ground of pine-cones. I'm grateful of that, because Thresh is such a musculine guy his steps are usually heavy. Now they are muffled.
We plan on sleeping in the forest near the Career's tonight to keep an eye on them and maybe steal some of their supplies. Just for an idea of what else is going on in the games.
Now I can see the Career's. Not clearly though, because of certain bushes and tree's, but well enough to know that they're there. I think Katniss is lying in a tree, because the Career's keep looking up and scowling. Katniss won't last long up there.
" Let's stop here," I say. I point to a thicket of blackberry bushes.
"We can hear them and see them. Plus, it's getting dark."
Thresh nodded, and his dark hair tangles in the sun.
We set up camp, which isn't very much. Thresh has a sleeping bag, which he gives to me, and a pair of night-vision goggles, which is extremely helpful.
The sun is red and dipping in the sky, soon to be replaced by the moon. Thresh is on first watch. I snuggle into the sleeping back and try to close my eyes, but my body refuses to let me sleep, which is harsh. I sit next to Thresh and tilt my head onto his shoulder. I feel him flinch, but he calms down.
"Thresh," I whisper, as the moon comes up.
"What's it like in District Eleven?" Thresh seem's taken aback by this question, but sighs deeply in reply.
"Well, it's agriculture. The skinny, less fed kids work in the tree's picking fruit because they're nimble and quite weightless. But the bulky people like me work in the fields, picking wheat and berries and roots. That's why I knew I would be safe in the fields at the start of the games, because I've grown up in the fields at home."
There was a silent pause, but it was a comfortable one. The leaves of forest tree's glowed a silvery green in the moonlight, and I feel the edges of my mouth twitch as a smile.
" In District Five, the adults worked at the power plant. It's to complex for the kids to work in, so we did the math's and science for the company. It's all there really was to do. "
I smile again and carry on with my story.
" The kids and I used to play hide and seek on the roads at night. Although the ground was dusty with orange rocks which made a lot of noise, they could never find me. I was always the winner."
A small breeze drifts past my ear, swirling my hair in it's presance.
" I'm glad I used to win at that. It was something that was winable for me. Unlike these games. I don't think I stand a chance."
Before I can carry on, Thresh's shoulders tense and he says gruffly,
"Don't you dare think like that, Finch. You're the smartest person in the games. You can win."
I didn't want to mention that if I did have a chance of winning, Thresh would have to kill me first.
I keep talking, even though I'm sure it's upsetting Thresh.
" I'm not afraid of dying, as long as it's not by Cato or Clove or anything. I want to die peacefully, quick, even though that's almost impossible in this arena."
Thresh now grabs me by the chin, and stares into my eyes, burning my sockets. I'm surprised by the intensity of his grip.
"Don't ever, ever say that. You are going to win. I - I'd risk my own life for it." Even though the sky has turned a deep blue, I can see that Thresh is embarrassed.
"Thresh-" I start, but I'm interupted by a sudden movement.
Thresh's lips against mine are hard, set. It surprises me, but somehow I'm relieved that this has finally happened. I caress Thresh's cheekbones with my palms and kiss him back, then gently coming apart. I smile weakly, silently saying 'thank you.'
"I'll take watch. Get some rest." I say. Thresh tries to interupt, but I arch my eyebrow and I think he see's it, and gets the message.
The night is cool. The only noises present are that of the Career's crackling fire and rustling sleeping-bags. I get up silently, trying not to distrub Thresh, and grab my pack, unzipping it slowly. I take out my night-vision goggles and blanket. Then I head back to my position near the bushes, where I can see the campfire of my enemies. I wonder how long my alliance will last. I don't exactly want it to end. I ponder this as I look through the goggles and see that Glimmer is on guard duty. She has a torch, but that wont help her much. She looks tired, and is slumped against a tree, her eyes drooping. Maybe I could steal some supplies... my stomach rumbles in agreement but I ignore it.
The Capitol's seal glows in the sky, and the anthem plays.
A picture of a girl from District Ten shows up in the sky, and then dissapears. One death has occured. Maybe it was the fire? I think to myself.
I look up to the sky, the sky that the Game-makers have made, and think of home. The stars twinkle and reflect in my eyes, and I wake Thresh for his turn to watch the camp. I think I completely trust him now, but if he does kill me in my sleep, I hope that he has registered the hints and will do it fast.
*****
A rough hand shakes my shoulder and I jump, forgetting where I am. Thresh's face looks stricken in my sluggish vision. It wakes me, because I know that something is wrong.
" What, what is it? Careers?" I whisper, getting out of my sleepingn bag.
" Worse," Thresh says.
My facial expression must have looked confused, because he started packing my belongings immediately.
"Thresh!" I say, and kick him in the ribs as he hunches over the sleeping back, stuffing it into a pack.
"Ow! What?"
" What is going on?" I snap.
"Katniss is up to something. There's a Tracker - Jacker nest. I think she's cutting it down."
I feel my eyes widen. My hearing sharpens, and I can hear a faint buzz and rip, like a saw through wood.
" Oh my God," I say, and help with the packing.
Thresh and I work fast, and soon enough, all the supplies are gathered up as we stand a safe distance away from the Careers. I learn from what I can see that the Career's are asleep and Katniss plans to drop a Tracker - Jacker nest on top of them. Dangerous. Very, very dangerous. Yet a nagging thought rings through my head, saying that this may be my last time to steal supplies. If the Career's manage to wake and survive this, they will return to the Cornucopia.
I can hear Katniss sawing through a tree branch now. I wonder how the Career's can sleep through this, which makes adrenalin run through my veins. I could just run in there while Katniss is distraced, grab a bag... Thresh's hand tightens on my shoulders. He won't loosen his grip.
" Thresh," I say through gritted teeth, and shrug his hand off.
I consider the moment. Now or never. I feel my legs pulsing even though my brain hasn't connected with their desire. I run through the bushes, and faintly hear Thresh cry out my name, begging me to stop. I ignore this, and keep running until I reach the Career's camp.
Katniss is distracted, her tree lies a few metres in front of where I stand. The Career's are asleep, lying in a circle around a dead fire. But they're stirring, and Katniss has almost cut down the tree. I don't have much time.
My eyes set on a small box of chips. Flavoured chips. I've only ever eaten them at the Capitol, and it surprised me that I would have another chance to taste them in the arena.
I run towards the box, scoop it up whilst still running. As if in slow motion, I face-plant into the dirt, tasting blood, leaves and dirt. I look behind me, hair plastered to my forehead. I've tripped on one of Clove's knives, and the hilt is sticking into my heel.
I gasp for breath as the shock registers. I've tripped and stabbed myself. Idiot! I look up desperately and see Katniss struggling with the branch. Cato is stirring, and I feel a surge of desperation choke me. I stand up, not caring about the pain, although it surges upwards, strangling me in a firy embrace. I hobble towards the canopy of leaves, wanting concealement. Just as I reach the first layer of bushes, I hear a creak, and a snap as the Tracker - Jacker nest collapses, branch and all. Horror implaes me and I try to run forwards, but trip again. I'm writhing in the dirt like an electrocuted snake when I hear the screams. The Career's are screaming,
" The lake, to the lake!" But their voices turn foggy in my mind as a sharp pain erupts from my left shoulder.
I've been stung.
I'm going to die. I know what these stings can cause; dizziness, hallucinations and death. I army crawl further into the bushes, seeing purple and orange spots in front of my eyes.
Pretty, pretty polka dots.
Pain bolts from my knee to my head, and I wince, because I know that this is it. This is the way I will die.
Worms. Brown, filthy worms crawl underneath my body, and I scream from the shock, screaming for Thresh, for mercy, for life.
Then the worms turn into a sea of black, a wave of water... I can see my mother running at me, electricity running through her outstretched hands as if she were a zombie. 'No!' I want to scream, but my voice has gone. My mother comes closer, and I can see dead bodies all around me... Thresh, my mother, my father, my friends from the streets... My mother's hands touch me from behind...
I feel another sting in my back when a blurry figure bounds towards me. His skin is dark, but laced with daisies. I giggle a little, the world is so pretty.
I end up turning on my back, seeing the sky, giggling aprehensively. Pink paisley patterns dance over blue stars. I see a face linger over mine, looking concerned.
Everything turns black.