𝐇𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬: 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 ✔️

Chapter 22 - Della

^Della

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Chapter 22

POV: Della (District 3)

Time: Day 4

Tributes Remaining: 23

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Casey, Jomilee, and I are at the giant wall of vines. We left camp early in the morning to investigate it. The other two girls were especially excited to find that the vines contained small yellow berries that looked edible.

We each hold a small container as we pick berries quietly. Next to me, Jomilee examines a small berry, and behind her, Casey throws berries in the air, trying to catch them in her mouth. After a few attempts, she finally catches one.

"Ooh," she says, swallowing the berry. "They taste like blueberries!"

I shrug, chuckling a bit at her antics. Suddenly, I hear some sort of wheezing sound. Turning around, I see Casey on the ground, clutching at her throat. As I crouch down to her, she lets out a loud scream, now clutching at her stomach before her eyes roll back into her head and she goes limp.

"Casey!" I cry. What happened?

Jomilee rips her bag open, grabbing a plant manual as I try to attend to Casey. "Quick, shine your flashlight on the berries!" she reads from the book.

I click my light on, and the berries begin to glow a neon purple hue against the bright light. Jomilee flips a few pages in the manual.

"Got it," she says. "Voidberries - only recognizable when light is shone on them. They taste like blueberries, but they're really poisonous!"

This can't be happening. I crouch down to Casey, feeling her pulse. It's there, but it's getting slower and fainter by the second. "Any antidote? Her heart is slowing!"

Jomilee looks closer at the book. "Uh... yes! Didn't you pick some of those yellow flowers earlier?"

I shake my head, thinking back to the moment. "No, Casey did..."

I rip Casey's pack off her back, reaching in and pulling out a yellow flower she picked earlier.

"It typically heals wounds but it can also be used as an antidote," Jomilee tells me. "It says here it's super risky with voidberries, though. There's only a 5 percent chance of success."

"It's worth a shot, Jomilee!" I say desperately. I can't bear to lose another friend after losing Marnie so suddenly. Even a five percent chance is worth a try.

Jomilee nods solemnly. "Hold her mouth open."

I hold Casey's jaws open as Jomilee drops two yellow flower petals into her mouth. There is a fizzing sound as the petals dissolve. Casey's body begins to shake violently before she goes still for the last time. Foam begins to spill out of her mouth as a cannon shot booms.

Jomilee lets out a shocked sound of grief. First Marnie, and now Acacia. Am I next?