Too Clever

Chapter 15

     The smoke continues to rise higher than the tree line, and I know it must be an extremely serious fire. Definitely no camp fire gone wrong; it must be the Gamemakers. Nothing else in this arena could create an inferno of that size.
     But why? And who is it aimed at? I can only imagine the hell that tribute just be going through at this very moment. If I don't hear a cannon in the next thirty seconds, I'll be shocked. Either the smoke will suffocate the tribute's lungs, or the fire will disintegrate them into ash first.
     Suddenly, I hear a faint boom. But it wasn't the cannon. I listen for about a minute, and I hear another boom, then another. But what is it?
I think back to previous Hunger Games I've watched, and it finally dawns on me. Maybe the booms are another Gamemaker's weapon, just like the fire is. I shudder just thinking about that other tribute. But I don't get much past that thought. Instead, I smell a slight whiff of smoke. I pick up my stuff and run, with no other thought but to save myself.
The smell of the smoke must mean that the fire is getting closer, and I sprint away from the smoke, into the thick forestry and away from the Cornucopia. Away from my food and water source. But I can't think about that now. All I can think about is saving myself from the fire.
I continue to run, and it soon becomes a fast-pace jog. I look up and see that the smoke is no where near me and take a breath, glad to fill my lungs with fresh air again. I think I may have overreacted slightly; the smoke doesn't seem to have reached anywhere near here, and I ran all this way for virtually nothing.
After I redo my hair, which almost fell out in my haste to escape, I pick a tree with nice thick boughs and slowly climb it, keeping my body close to the trunk. Once I reach a point of about thirty feet up in the air, and not to mention well out of my comfort zone, I scan the canopy for any more smoke just to be sure. There is still smoke in the distance, but it seems to be clearing. I try to look for any clues on what the loud booming sounds were, but I don't see anything that suggests it.
I carefully climb back down the tree, glad to have my feet touching the ground again. I rummage through my stuff to make sure that I didn't lose anything while I fled the smoke. A few oranges must have dropped out of the bag, but I still have about seven or eight more of them. The only thing that worries me about the oranges is that if another tribute is wandering through this area, they could see them on the ground and know that someone else might be close by.
So without further ado, I gather my things and head deeper into the forest. I'll be able to last a few days on the oranges and beef strips, but I'll need to make my way back to the Cornucopia sooner or later to refill my water and scavenge for more food. At least I've got my blanket to keep me warm at night, although while I was running through the thick underbrush earlier, it must have gotten caught on a tree limb or something, because there's a small gash running through the middle of the fabric.
I take a small sip of water, since it's the only water I have until I make the trip back to the lake. I sit in the dirt and think about what could have caused the Gamemakers to create such a raging fire today. Maybe a tribute broke some sort of unspoken rule before or during the Games. But this isn't likely; the tribute would probably be dead if that were the case.
So why else would the Gamemakers start that fire? It suddenly dawns on me after about fifteen minutes. The fire kept coming closer to the Cornucopia, where there were at least six tributes in the area—the five Careers and myself. Therefore, the Gamemakers could have been attempting to drive that tribute towards other tributes. I've seen it happen before in past Hunger Games, though with different strategies, of course. When someone is either near the edge of the arena or too far from the rest of the tributes, the Gamemakers activate weapons that can be used to drive that tribute closer to another. The fire would be a very effective way of doing this.
I just want to know who it was that was being driven toward the Cornucopia and the lake where the Careers' camp is set up. It wouldn't surprise me if I saw that person's face projected in the sky later, although there hasn't been a canon yet.
     Suddenly, my thoughts shift to my family and friends back in a far off place called District 5, a place I once called home. Now, it just seems like a distant memory, or dream, something that might never have been real. My mind exits reality, and I begin to daydream about being with my family again. It seems like forever ago that I was telling Nora how pretty she looked in that champagne colored reaping dress. Could it only have been just over a week ago?
     My mind wanders to Calla, about how we always used to play in our backyard, be partners in school, play sneaky pranks on Andrew, her brother; the list goes on and on.
I suddenly remember the little orange flower Calla gave me as a district token, and I dig my hand in my pocket and pull it out. It's quite shriveled up, and one of the petals fell off, but the only thing that matters is that it's still here with me. I still have my one thing that I took with me from home. I cup it in my hands tightly. Comforted by my flower, I lie down, pull the blanket over me, and wait for the anthem to play.
     Soon, the sky projects an image of the Capitol seal and the music echoes off the surrounding trees. No faces are in the air tonight. The unknown tribute that pursued the fire today survived.
     None of us have died since the first night, so about half of us are still left. So far, I've been doing okay in the Games, even decent compared to what I expected beforehand. But it's still very early in the Games; the real fun hasn't yet begun.
                         **********
The boom of a cannon jolts me awake. I sit bolt upright, startled by the sound. After letting my heart calm down a little, I look at the faint morning sun. It's barely dawn, and someone's dead already today. Another cannon sounds, and I find myself trying to guess who it is; I can't help it. Is it one of the Careers? Rue, the twelve-year-old? I guess I'll find out tonight.
Unable to keep my eyes open, I drift off to sleep a second time, hoping against hope that one of the cannons signified Cato's death, or at least another Career.
Two more dead. With every boom of the cannon, the closer I am to home.
                          **********
When I awake again, I have a throbbing headache and I can barely open up my eyes. It feels like someone is knocking a hammer around inside my skull. It must be because I'm dehydrated. I had better start the hike back to the lake and get more water soon.
I take a moment to rub the palm of my hand over my forehead. The pressure helps subdue the pain, but once I take my hand off, it starts right back up again. But I have to get going soon before I get so dehydrated that I won't be able to walk.
But first, I take an orange and quickly peal it. I bite into it and the juice floods across my parched tongue. I eat the rest of the orange slowly to make it last longer. Once I'm finished, I take my stuff and begin the long hour-and-half hike or so back to the lake. If I weren't so weak, it would probably only take half as long; I know I wasn't running for that long of a time when I smelled the smoke yesterday.
After about an hour of trudging through the woods, I have to stop and take a break. Beads of sweat drip down my face, despite my dehydration, and I find myself unable to produce much saliva at all. I pull my hair up in a higher ponytail to keep it off of my neck and continue walking, knowing that I can't be far now.
I look at the burning sun beating down on the tops of the trees and think how lucky I am that I'm in a forest and not some desert with no trees for shade. From the sun's position in the sky, I can tell its about twelve in the afternoon. I slept much longer than I should have; if I had started walking right after the cannon woke me up at the crack of dawn this morning, the air would have been much cooler.
I have to stop two more times, but I finally make it there about a half hour later. I can see the Careers near the Cornucopia through the leaves. They seem to be pretty relaxed; chances are they won't go hunting until late tonight. It would be too hot to go any earlier.
I can't wait for another seven hours; I need water soon. And not just the juice from an orange—I need actual water. But there's no way I'll be able to get to the lake without them spotting me. I guess I'll just have to wait until tonight to get my water. That is, if I'll even be able to. By that time, I might be completely wiped out.
But I have to fight through it though, for Calla, for Nora, for my parents. But mostly for myself. I've made it this far; I'm certainly not about to let anything take that away from me just yet.