Return of the Mockingjay

Chapter 37

We all leave the relative safety of the brown stone house and run across the street to the woods. I'm so thirsty, do Mutts ever eat or drink? Since Cato found me he'd been running nearly non-stop and at no point have I seen him drink anything. Cato and Clove both trot on deeper into the woods and I'm about to call out to them to stop when we suddenly reach a large lake which stretches away into the mist.

"Stop here" orders Cato.

I look longingly at the glistening water, desperate to bury my face into it and gulp down my fill. I take a step forward but Clove pulls me back by grabbing my arm, I stagger back before staring at her and snatching my arm away.

"Patience Mockingjay, all is not as it seems" she says to me slowly, all the time staring across the lake.
Cato pulls his sword from his scabbard and steps tentatively toward the waters edge, he stops as the water's surface starts to swirl slightly, not unlike when a fish moves around in shallow river.

In an instant a long thick tentacle bursts out from the water heading straight for Cato, he leaps to his right and rolls clear of the long shiny finger clutching at mid air. Another emerges from the water, this time Cato has no defence with him still getting to his feet. The tentacle grasps his right leg and he screams as it pulls him through the mud toward the waters edge. And then the creature emerges from the water, an enormous water spider of some sort, stood on eight legs, it's four sided jaws snapping in anticipation of an easy meal, at least a dozen tentacles flail around from its body and I step back further to get away from its reach.

Cato claws at the muddy shore trying to stop himself from being dragged into the water.

"Now Clove!" he screams.

With lightning fast reactions Clove throws her knife at the tentacle which has Cato, her aim is true with the blade burrowing in right up to the hilt, the creatures jaws open wide and an agonising screech comes from its mouth. It releases its grip and Cato quickly rolls to the side, grabs his sword and in one fluid motion hacks off the tentacle, there's another ear splitting scream from the water spider as it slides back into the water and submerges, leaving a bloody pool behind it as it disappears.

Cato collapses to the floor struggling to catch his breath while Clove steps forward calmly and pulls her dagger from the twitching tentacle.

"Good work Clove, it worked" he says between breaths.

"What do you mean it worked?" I say

"We planned this dumbass, you've probably noticed there's hardly any food here. As far as we can see the monster is the only source in the arena"

"But we've only been here for a day, how do you know all this?"

"We know a lot about this place, it was all part of our training before the games began. We don't know everything of course as that wouldn't make it any fun for those watching. These games are just for you Katniss, everyone here knows about the arena except you"

The two mutts quickly butcher the meat and hang it high up in a nearby tree to try to keep it from the other tributes. Clove fills her water bottle and treats it before handing it to me. I gulp down the contents in one before handing the bottle back to her. She gives me a look of utter hate as she snatches it back and turns back to the water to fill it once again. Cato steps up to me.

"We need to find your own stuff, if anything happens to us you'll have to survive on your own"

"Okay, where?"

"There's a cornucopia on the other side of the lake. We'll skirt round the edge and check it out from the cover of the trees"

"What's there, will I find my arrows?"