Daughter of the Games (Sequel to Pregnant in the Games)

Chapter 24: Lost

Chris's POV:

I have to admit that I'm falling apart.

Night descended upon us quickly. The anthem of Panem (the old one, not the one Katniss made in it's place) started to play, the sky lit up with a beam of tribute's faces. They flashed by in slow motion, allowing me to study each and every one of them. I tried to not think about their families, or their homes. I just stared at their faces and counted.

When the anthem faded, Ni was the first to speak. "Night two and fourteen people dead. That's a lot, isn't it?"

"I couldn't tell you," Ivan replied. "None of us had the pleasure of growing up with these Games." The sarcasm was so thick in his voice that I almost laughed.

"What are we going to do?" I asked. The question had been nagging at me for hours, ever since Grey said the fateful words.

We're on our own.

No one had an answer for me.

I didn't necessarily expect the sponsors to hold our hands. It's the Hunger Games. It's hard. It's bloody. But if Luke waves his hands and decides that he doesn't want us getting any sponsor gifts, then we'll die. What are the chances that one of us breezes through to the end, never needing outside resources? We already have Ni and Grey in need of outside resources. Ni's cut, while not horrendously deep, is causing Ni a lot of pain; the four of us are still sitting in the spot where Ni was cut. And Grey... Well, even if someone did send her a sponsor gift, she'd probably just shatter it against a tree again.

"It's too dangerous to stay here," Ni finally said. Small beads of sweat gathered on his forehead.

"But it could be too dangerous to leave. We don't want you to exert any extra force, and we can't leave ourselves too exposed," Grey reasoned.

"We're exposed everywhere," Ivan argued. "There is no good place for us to go. We just need to choose the lesser of two evils."

"If we stay here, then we'll be exposed and constantly bombarded. This is the only place we've found with food and water. The tributes who know about the water are going to have to come back soon. The tributes who don't know will either find us, or die. At least if we're out there in the forest, we won't necessarily be constantly fighting. We have a better chance that way," Ni stated.

"And yet you're still sitting," Ivan remarked. "You're weak. You're in pain."

Ni squinted his eyes, his cheeks flushing. "Don't call me weak."

Ivan sighed. "Ni, that's not what I meant... I'm just being a realist. And you're not the only one we have to be concerned about." Ivan's eyes glanced in Grey's direction.

"Don't you dare call me weak, either, Ivan," Grey said, crossing her arms.

"How far along are you?" Ivan asked, ignoring his sister's angry glares.

Grey swallowed and looked down. "Well, if the pattern doesn't change, then..."

"How long?" I asked.

"A day and a half. I'll be dead in a day and a half."

Ivan looked away from Grey, staring out in the forest. He took a few deep, shuttering breaths. He closed his eyes for a moment, biting his bottom lip. When he opened his eyes again, tears lingered behind his eyelids. With a blink, one escaped. He didn't try to wipe it away.

"I'm not doing so bad though. If we need to move camp, then let's do it. I still have a day of strength. Enough to walk for a few hours, anyway," Grey spoke frantically, like she had to defend herself.