Liberosis - The Hunger Games

45

Katniss, Atlas, and I take positions looking out on the cornucopia. While the violence has subsided, I take the time to pull out some useful supplies, there's not much left after the blood bath, but what I find will keep us afloat, at least until we die of dehydration. Atlas is scouting the terrain in search of somewhere we could be safe. When Finnick had successfully brought Peeta back to the group Katniss pulls him into a hug, "We have allies," He remarked, looking around the group.

"A gift from Haymitch," Katniss said dryly.

"Don't worry," Atlas responds in a similar tone, "We won't make you sing campfire songs and braid our hair just yet," Peeta suppresses an amused smile as Finnick and I chuckle. Katniss appears far from amused. "We should go west," He faces the direction, it, like the rest of the terrain is characterised by thick jungle and uneven ground, however, it's a lot steeper than that of the other directions. I would be sceptical, but I've learnt to trust Atlas's judgement on matters such as this. "That way we're in the opposite direction of the careers, the only other tributes remotely close are,"

"Miles away," Finnick acknowledged before Atlas could divulge anything further, Lorelei and her group were somewhere northwest, considering we were a far more mobile group we would find them soon enough. Peeta chooses a large knife for himself and before long we were running west, deep into the jungle.

Much like the ecosystem of my first game, the jungle flora and fauna were deeply familiar to me, though swelteringly hot. I could discern plenty of useful plants that Elsie had taught me about during our time together in the arena. Peeta fronted the group, swatting any thick foliage in his path, Katniss was running up the back, her bow drew, itching to fire at any sudden movements. Atlas, as had been predicted was in a great deal of pain, the saltwater had triggered it and without medication, he was struggling to keep up as we ran.

Finnick and I were on either side of him, propping him up as we moved through the jungle, the two of us had kept up our exercise levels following the games, and both of us were more than fine with the current pace we were going. Peeta and Katniss seemed to be keeping up to the rhythm well, the excess training they had attempted was of great help to them. The steep climb began the further we pushed ourselves through the jungle, it only took two kilometres for Atlas to announce he required a break.

We're all breathing heavily as Atlas is the first to sit down in the damp soil, Peeta rests his back against a tree, throwing his head against the trunk as he attempted to catch his breath. Finnick stood, leaning against the same tree that Peeta was under, and I had taken a seat beside Atlas to examine his wounds.

The compression from the wetsuit was helping reduce any swelling, but still, he needed it to dry before his pain would subside. Katniss let out a gruff, "Wait here," before easily clambering up the highest tree in our vicinity. All the running had caused my stomach to churn, and I stood once more, stumbling just out of the group's sight before throwing up into the nearby shrubbery.

"I'm fine," I gagged, noticing the broad silhouette behind me.

It was Atlas' hand on my shoulder, helping me sit down as he rubbed my back soothingly, "You are so lucky I've been friends with Haymitch for years, how do you think I would cope if I hadn't been?" He joked to diffuse the situation.

"Please don't tell Finnick, I really don't want him unfocused right now," I whispered.

"How long have you been sick?" He asked with concern.

"Every morning since the reaping happened," I told him, Atlas' face paled significantly, and I noticed a fleck of realisation in his eyes. "What?" I asked him, straightening up with anxiety, "What is it?" I never found out what it was as he shook his head and helped me to my feet, slowly we wandered back to the group together, which had grown tense since Katniss had returned from her climb.