The Second Annual Hunger Games (Book 2)

Fifteen

I jolt awake with a layer of cold sweat covering my body. The night around me is dark and the only sounds are the creatures of the forest. I take a few deep breaths and let the cool air calm me. Talon pushes off the tree he was leaning against and comes closer to me.

Are you okay? I can barely see his hands moving in the dark.

"Yeah." I swallow. "It was just a bad dream."

He sits down across from me. Do you want to talk about it?

"No. I'm fine. I'm just going to try to go back to sleep."

Are you sure?

I nod and lay back down and Talon goes back to his spot. I stare at the sky. The tree branches cover most of it, but the stars are still visible. My eyes start to close, but as soon as they do, my dream comes back to me.

I was in the games with Sybille and Fergus. We were running from the careers, but they caught up to us. They were just about to kill Fergus and Sybille, before I yelled for them to stop. I lifted my axe and killed them myself. Then I woke up.

Why would I have this dream? I'm not in the games with them and I would never kill them. I'm their mentor; I'm supposed to help them. I swallow.

Help them, not abandon them. I sit up again. "Do you think this was a good decision?"

He comes back to me. What do you mean?

"Leaving the Capitol? Abandoning Sybille and Fergus? Abandoning my family?"

He sighs. Aldera, I don't know. I think it was a good decision for you. At 13, you'll be safe and out of the Capitol's reach.

"So I was selfish."

He looks down. Maybe, but can they really blame you? Your family didn't go through your games; they don't know what it was like for you. Only you do. And if Sybille or Fergus survives, they will understand because they'll have been through the games.

"I guess that makes sense," I say, but I don't fully believe it. I can't help feeling the guilt of what I've done shower over me.

You're not convinced. He looks me in the eyes.

I shake my head, but decide to change the subject. "Why did you come? We never really had a chance to talk about it before we left."

He shifts his position so he's sitting crossed legged in front of me. It's simple really. I didn't want to be an avox anymore, although I knid of still am. I give him a confused look. He points to his mouth.

"Oh right. But at least you're not serving them anymore."

He nods. I've enjoyed these past couple days; being able to express myself, not listening to someone else's orders all the time, just you and me, it's almost been fun.

I laugh. "As fun as treking through the woods can be."

He smiles. There's another reason I came too, he signs more seriously. I raise my eyebrows. I didn't want you going by yourself. He looks down. I have this strong urge to protect you, even though I know you can protect yourself. He half smiles and looks up at me.

I stare at him for a moment wondering how he could have forgotten what happened between us a year ago. I nod and swallow. "That's what friends are for. We protect each other." I start to stand. "Which is why, it's my turn to stand watch."

He stands as well. Are you sure you don't want to sleep more?

I nod. "I don't think I can, anyway." I hug him quickly and then go to where he stood before. "Thanks."

He nods and climbs into a sleeping bag. His breathing soon becomes even.

"I have nothing to apologize for."

"Oh really?" Swann stands facing Yohan. "You let Wren get away. That's one more tribute we have to worry about and she should have been an easy target."

Yohan shakes his head. "I already told you, there was a crocodile. I wasn't going to almost get killed just to get one tribute."

Swann sneers. "Maybe it would have been better if that crocodile had got you."

Gaviner comes over from the fire. "Guys, calm down. Fighting won't help us."

Corbinus and Orchid watch while they cook a fish. They glance at each other but don't get involved.

Yohan steps away from Swann and Gaviner, turning away from the whole group. He turns back after a few deep breaths; all eyes watch him. "Gaviner's right, we shouldn't fight." He looks at Swann. "If you want we can try to go find her. She should be easy to track."

"I don't want to go anywhere with you," Swann says.

Yohan raises his eyebrows and presses his lips together. "You know what? I don't need this." He grabs a backpack and starts shoving supplies in it, and then he grabs weapons. "We can't stay allies until the end anyway." He looks at Orchid, who is now standing. "Are you with me?"

All the others turn toward her and she looks at each of them in turn. She turns back to Yohan. "I'm with you." She grabs her own supplies and joins him.

Yohan looks at Gaviner and Corbinus. "You guys staying?"

They look at each other and nod. "Sorry, man," Gaviner says.

Yohan nods and turns away, leading Orchid with him out of the camp.

Hi guys! Sorry it's been a while since I've updated, I've been really busy recently. So what did you think of this chapter? Will Aldera be able to make the journey to 13 without her guilt swallowing her up? And what do you think of Talon's urge to protect her, do you think subconsciously he still has feelings for her even though he forgot what happened? And what about his tension among the careers? Will them splitting up help or hurt Fergus and Sybille? Let me know your predictions in the comments and if you liked this chapter please give it a vote! Thanks for reading!