Garden of Eden

Chapter 21

I stare, stunned, in mute silence as he tentatively sits up.

"You cut your hair," he states, bringing me back from my shock.

And that's all it takes.

A massive rush of relief overcomes me as I lunge at him, his name on my lips.

"You're okay," I mumble, my arms around his neck and my face in his shoulder.

"What happened?" he asks.

I let go of Haymitch and sit down in front of him, my legs tucked beneath me.

"You were poisoned."

Haymitch thinks this over a minute. "By that kid from 6," he concludes.

I nod in affirmation. "He must've poisoned the edge of his knife and infected you that way."

"Then how am I still alive?" asks Haymitch, his brow knit in a slight frown.

"Because of this," I say with a small grin, getting out the needle.

Haymitch takes the syringe and examines it minutely.

"Where did you get this?" he eventually asks.

"From Konrad," I answer.

Haymitch gives me a disbelieving look.

I laugh. "Don't look so surprised to find that you've got sponsors."

"Of course," I continue, "that's not the cure. The real antidote was a bubbly pink colour."

"So what's this?"

"Poison."

Haymitch looks at the discarded blackberries, and, putting two and two together, nods.

He hands me back the hypodermic needle, which I put away.

"This way, we might be able to fool some tribute into thinking that this is medicine," I comment with a shrug.

Haymitch nods again, an impressed look on his face.

There is a brief silence before he asks, "How long was I out for?"

"Just one night," I reply.

He looks around us. "And where are we?"

"In a small cave created by some large rocks," I answer, yawning into the back of my hand.

My eyelids become heavy so I blink rapidly to keep them from drooping closed.

"Did you get any sleep at all?" Haymitch asks worriedly.

I nod tiredly. "A bit," I say.

"Get some more," he tells me. "There's still," he peeks through the gaps in the branches, "one and a half hours or so before sunrise. When he sees my hesitation, Haymitch continues. "It'll be fine."

He absently picks out something caught in my hair.

Eventually I nod. Satisfied, Haymitch moves to sit near the entrance of the cave. I lie my head down on my backpack before closing my eyes.

I wake to bright light shining on my closed eyelids. Blinking several times, I sit up groggily.

The cave is illuminated by sunlight poking its way through the gaps in the leaves.

The peaceful silence of the cave is suddenly broken by the sound of Haymitch's stomach growling. I quickly stifle a giggle.

"There's half a drop biscuit with your name on it," I tell him.