The Rapid Sparks of the Cord; A Hunger Games Novel

Chapter 10

She sat there, unmoving. Seconds passed. Seconds turned into minutes.

Just as Lith was preparing to make a move, she darted off into the woods behind her, in such a shockingly quiet manner.

Ocean came across a berry bush. The berries were green, almost yellow. Their food supply had been damaged by a bear that has chased them through the thick forests, so these were all they had left.

"You sure those are ripe?" Holly asked. Ocean plucked one off of the branch. He squished it in his fingers. "Maybe? We're out of other options though." He said.

He threw the berry in his mouth to taste. He chewed for a second. "Doesn't taste weird." He said after finishing. He sat unspeaking for a minute, and Holly grew concerned.

"Are you okay? Are you sure those weren't poisonous or something?" Holly stammered. Ocean looked at her with a sad frown. He collapsed to the ground, holding his chest, as he struggled to breathe.

Holly go a better glimpse at the berries that Ocean had just eaten. She couldn't remember which ones they were. She thought back to training, when she quizzed herself on the berry species.

Virginia creeper. Ocean had swallowed virginia  creeper. Holly remembered this berry from District 8. Greenery wasn't common there, and factory buildings soared over the horizon in any direction you looked, but sometimes, the kids would have to go through the wildlife and acquire dye colors. Virginia creeper was the first dye she remembered using for mustard yellows. She didn't touch it herself, but many of her factory friends did. After about 2 years of its usage, and 116 confirmed deaths from ingesting, they switched the primary source for that color with another plant.

Ocean mouthed words, but no audible sound came out, besides a few gurgles and chokes. Holly knelt to the ground beside his body. Finally, one discernible word was spoken:

"Holly..."

And the shot of cannon fire. But Holly didn't have time to cry. With just three tributes left, there wasn't any time for anything. She grabbed his backpack and ran, looting through it as her footsteps creaked on fallen sticks.

Lith hadn't realized, but by noon, much of the snow had melted. He started seeing green grass, and at one point, came across wildflowers. The temperature wasn't warming up, though. Gray storm clouds closed in, and when he turned around, he had noticed the clouds were reaching ground level. This usually meant some sort of fog, but as he had learned, in the Hunger Games, nothing was coincidental. He ran towards the center of the arena, or what he had hoped to be. He was a decent distance away, but could faintly see the silver cornucopia shining in the distance, on top of a rock formation. He didn't quite remember it being in such a location, but then again, his mind was in too much of a whirlwind  during the bloodbath to quite remember all the little details, even for him.

As he approached 4 yards of it, he crouched down, making sure to stay low and alert. He was certain that at least one of the tributes had the same idea as him to run towards the cornucopia.

He sat behind a rock, periodically checking to see how far the fog had progressed. He still had a little time, but with the other tributes, he wasn't sure.

Holly crept up to the cornucopia, climbing up the hill it sat on from what seemed to be steps from snow. She couldn't tell if they were manmade or placed there originally, but with how high the cornucopia's platform was, at the very least, they were helpful. The snow sunk beneath each step she took, and she knew it would alert nearby tributes if she were too loud.

From the corner of his eye, Lith spotted blonde hair entering the cornucopia. Where he was positioned, the cornucopia's tail faced him, and he was too far away to make out any faces.