Together

Chapter 8

In seconds I'm off my pedestal and running. I run about 20 yards into the woods before turning around. My throat is burning and sweet is dripping down my face. I guess Cinna was right about the warmer climate. I sit down under a plant with big green leaves to wait for Arrow and Mae. I don't know how long I wait before I hear footsteps tromping through the trees. Then I see someone dodging the trees. She looks like she could be a deer; moving with fast and precise movements. Suddenly she stops. I hold my breath, hoping this girl is Mae, but I don't dare check for fear that it could be someone else.

"Fern? Are you here?" She whispers; looking around through the trees. I breath a sigh of relief before standing up. Mae spots me immediately.

"There you are," she breathes the same sigh of relief that I did. She jogs over to me; dodging the trees and pulls me into a hug.

"Did you see Arrow?" I ask her when she pulls away. The fact that Arrow wasn't with her worries me? Could he be injured? Lost? Or worse?

"Yeah. He ran into the woods about fifteen yards from here. We should get moving if we want to find him," Mae suggests. She grabs my arm and pulls me through the forest. Boom, boom, boom. The cannon that signals a tributes death sounds a total of 8 times. 8 of my fellow tributes are dead, leaving 16 of us.

"Well, eight less people we have to kill," Mae sighs before she continues walking. The woods are dense so it would be hard to spot anyone running through here. We keep walking for around 10 minutes and we still haven't found Arrow. My heart is beating at a mile a minute and my throat is dry from walking in the intense heat. We decide it's a good idea to take a brake so we sit on the damp ground. Mae slings her black backpack of her shoulder and sets in in front of her.

"What did you get from the cornucopia?" I ask as she begins removing items from her over stuffed pack.

"I got a small water canteen. Oh and it's filled with water!" She says as she takes a sip before passing it to me. "And I also have a pack of dried fruit and nuts, a rope-probably for climbing the mountain-, iodine for purifying water," she says as she removed each item from her pack. "This knife for sawing woods, a flashlight, a small first aid kit, and five throwing knives." She lays each material out in front of the both of us. She proudly holds the knives in front of me to inspect. One of the knives has a serrated blade and the other five have smooth blades that look like spearheads. Each looks just as razor sharp as the others. When we are done inspecting the items, Mae quickly stuffs them back in her pack and we stand up. "We need to get moving," Mae sighs as she hoists the heavy-looking pack over her shoulder. We continue waking until the sun begins to dip in the late afternoon sky. I can't help thinking of what might have happened to Arrow. Was he killed by careers? Possibly torn to shreds by some woodland beast?

"How long have we been waking?" I ask; trying to push the terrible thoughts from my mind. We stop walking and I squint at the bright sunlight shining through the leaves on the trees.

"I would say around 20 minutes. The gamemakers are trying to make the days go by faster. That's why the sun is setting so quickly." she responds. We sit down and Mae pulls the bag of dried fruit out of her backpack. We each eat a couple pieces and drink a few sips of the water from the canteen. We want to make it last as long as possible because we don't know when we will find another water source.

In the short time we are sitting down the sun falls below the horizon and darkness takes its place. The sound of crickets takes over and the night creatures are come out to play. We hear the occasional foot fall and snapping of twigs, only to turn on our flashlight and find there's nothing there. The woods give off an erie feeling and the feeling that we are possibly being stalked is terrifying.

"It's not safe to stay on the ground. We're going to have to climb a tree," Mae says when we realize that whatever we are being stalked by is not going away. We presume it's some big animal; which would explain the disembodied footsteps. Mae walks to a nearby tree and uses the flashlight to look for a sturdy branch. She easily scales the tree and climbs to a branch about 8 feet off the ground before looking down at me. "Are you any good at climbing?" she asks while pulling the rope out of her pack.

"I don't need the rope. I can climb." I shout up at her. I move to the trunk and place my hands on the rough bark. I climb the tree, much slower than Mae, but I still manage to make it to the branch she is sitting on. She pulls me up next to her and we sit side by side, with our backs against the trunk. As soon as we are situated the anthem blares out, and the Capitol seal appears in the night sky. The music is loud enough to silence the sounds of crickets and the clicking sounds of other bugs. The first tribute to pop up in the sky is the small girl from district 3. Then both tributes from 5, the girl from 6, boy from 7, both tributes from 9, and the boy from 10. That means all of the careers are still alive and out there; possible hunting is now. As the anthem ends the Capitol seal disappears from the sky and the sound of crickets and clicking resumes.

I'm about to fall asleep when Mae shakes my shoulder and whispers in my ear. "Wake up. Someone's down there." I open my eyes and look arounds. Just out of view, hidden where the moon light doesn't reach, stands a dark and ominous silhouette. The sight sends shivers down my spine and makes the hairs of the back of my neck stand on end. I pin my back up against the tree trunk and slow my breathing. I hear the snapping if twigs as the shadow figure grows closer. It stops just below the branch we are sleeping on.

"Fern?" It whispers. His voice is clear and familiar. Without thinking about it I quickly climb down the tree and barrel into Arrow. His arms rap around me as he pulls me into a tight hug. "I thought I'd lost you," he whispers into my hair as I cry tears of joy into his chest. I wish I could block out the cameras and the prying eyes of the Capitol people. A moment like this feels to private to be televised, but still, I don't want this moment to end. Unfortunately, he quickly pulls away from me. "We need to get in the tree. there is some kind of big cat roaming around here. Didn't sound like something I would want to come across in the dark." Arrow takes a knife out of his belt and watches for warecats while I climb the tree. I climb back onto the branch next to Mae and Arrow sleeps in a branch about 2 feet below us, and on the other side of the tree. Mae falls asleep quickly and so does Arrow. Even though it seems like it would be impossible to sleep under such circumstances, I too soon find myself drifting off into the comfort and darkness of sleep.

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I'm sorry it took my so long to update!

I really like the creepy feeling of the woods I put into this chapter and I hope you enjoy it as well!