Too Clever

Chapter 18

     I take a small sip of water, wishing I could have more. Tomorrow is the absolute latest I can get to the Cornucopia. If I don't, then I will soon run out of food and water. I do not think I will able to do it today; it's going on four o'clock, and daylight will not be on my side for much longer.
Tomorrow, I promise myself. I have to do this tomorrow.
     The rest of the day passes with no action, or cannons. I bet the Gamemakers are just itching to flip a simple switch in the control room, one that could kill a tribute in a second flat. It has happened before, for no apparent reason. Solely to show that they can, that the Capitol has the ultimate power.
     Since I have nothing else to occupy myself with, and Chase and the Careers don't seem to be too alert at the moment, I decide to take a walk a little deeper into the forest to hunt around for berries, mint leaves, roots, anything that can hold me over until tomorrow.
     If someone sees my things all strewn across the dirt, they will know another tribute has been here, and they might wait for me to get back. So I stuff my sack of oranges—now there are only two left—and my water skin behind a bush to obscure it from view in case another tribute happens to venture through the area. I take my blanket with me, wrapping it around my waste and tying it into a loose knot, as there is nowhere to conceal the conspicuous orange fabric in the dull green foliage.
I walk in a straight line to ensure that I will not wander off track. After about fifteen minutes, I discover a small bush with blue-black berries hanging from its dainty branches. They look exactly like regular raspberries, except for their color. They must be black raspberries. After a minute of close examination, I conclude that these are safe to eat. These are the same type of berry we eat at home. I used to put them in my porridge to add some actual taste. Nora never liked blackberries, or any kind of berry, for that matter. She claimed she didn't like the sourness of them.
I smile, picturing my little sister turning to my mother at this very moment and scrunching her face in disgust as I plop the berry into my mouth. The sweet juice explodes across my tongue, and I smile again. This was just the thing I needed; something that tastes good while even helping to rehydrate me a bit. The blackberries are the only things I've eaten in the arena that are rich in flavor, aside from the oranges. It was quite a drastic transition from the Capitol, where there was a magnificent feast three times a day, straight to here, where I have to scavenge for my every meal.
I find a large, shriveled up leaf on the ground, curving up at the edges like a bowl, and use it to carry the blackberries in. When I get back to my little clearing, I untie the blanket around my waste and wrap it around me. It's getting colder by the minute. I take my oranges and water skin out from under the bush and set them in the dirt in front of me. The temperature seems to drop a few degrees in the short amount of time it takes for me to eat half of the berries I collected. My teeth begin to chatter, and I can't suppress the shivering that comes with the cold. I breathe into my hands and rub them together to create friction, thinking how grateful I am to have a blanket.
Soon, darkness looms over the trees, and the Capitol seal lights up the night sky. Of course, there were no canons today, and no one's face appears on screen.
I've gotten through another day, I think to myself as I drift off to sleep. But sleep doesn't last long. It comes in increments throughout the night. The cold air bites my bare skin, and tiny goosebumps appear; the blanket isn't big enough to cover my legs. I try to curl up into a ball so I can get most of my body under the blanket, but it doesn't work. I'll just have to tough it out until morning.
When daylight finally breaks through the branches above, the temperature is noticeably higher. It's as if the Gamemakers are raising it during the day and plunging it down to freezing at night, which, of course, they probably are.
I decide that since it's not as cold anymore, I might actually be able to get some decent rest in before noontime, so I close my eyes and fall asleep, for real this time.
**********
When I awake for the what seems like the hundredth time since last night, the sun shines high in the sky, telling me that it's about one in the afternoon. Feeling well rested again, I slowly rise to my feet, stretching out my arms and back.
Today is the day.
I take my position in the greenery, where I saw Rue earlier, and peer through the leaves. The Careers are sitting in a little triangle, eating the food they took from the Cornucopia and talking amongst themselves. Chase sits a few yards away from the clumps of dirt surround the supplies pyramid, a spear in his hand. Probably on guard.
Suddenly, Marvel stands up and points to a spot in the distance. I follow his finger and immediately see what he's pointing to—a thick line of smoke rising above the canopy of the trees. Someone must have built a fire, but it's not cold. Perhaps it's to cook game or fowl that they caught.
"Let's go!" I hear Cato say, beckoning the others along. He turns to Chase and says something to him, pointing his index finger in Chase's face. Chase looks a little disappointed, but stays put as the three Careers enter the forest at a run, armed with weapons. Chase turns the other way, facing in another direction, away from me.
My heart begins to pound against my chest, and I try to control my breathing, taking deep, even breaths of air. Adrenaline courses through my bloodstream like fire.
It's now or never.
I shoot out of the trees at a swift run, heading straight to the pyramid of supplies. It feels as if everything is in slow motion, and with every step, I get closer and closer to the pyramid until I finally reach the first pile of dirt. With a little hop, I make it over.
I jump over the next dirt pile, a little to the left, and land on one foot, as this clump is rather close to the other. After teetering slightly, I regain my balance and hop over the next one.
I continue on with little hops over the mounds, landing on one foot if I have to. Sometimes I risk a few steps of there is a large enough gap.
Almost there, I think. My adrenaline has skyrocketed with every little hop. I keep wanting to sneak a glance toward Chase, just to see if he's still facing the other direction, but I can't risk it; I have to focus on the ground underneath me. One misplaced foot and I could be blown sky high into the air.
A small barrel stands in my way, about two feet high. I take a quick, collective breath and launch myself over the barrel. But I overshot slightly too far, and I land on my toes, teetering dangerously back and forth, trying to stay upright. But my momentum throws my body forward.
As if in slow motion, I can feel myself falling. Everything around me ceases to exist, and it's only me. Me and the little mound of dirt that could end my life in seconds. My heart thuds, and my stomach lurches into my throat.
But at the last second, I reach down to stop my body from touching the ground below me, and my hand lands on the dry edge of one of the mounds.
Expecting the ground to explode beneath me, a sharp squeal escapes my mouth. When nothing happens, I take a moment to compose myself, regain my footage, and continue on.
I finally reach the pyramid after what felt like an eternity, although it was really only about fifteen seconds. I quickly scan the great heap of supplies and grab a few packs of crackers from a crate, a handful of apples from a burlap sack that hangs down from a rope, another water skin, a pack of dried beef strips, and a small bag of dried fruit. Not enough for others to notice I took any, but just enough to hold me over for a while.
     I turn around, and, making sure Chase is turned still away, repeat the pattern through which I came and sprint back to the tree line at full speed. I peek through the leaves and can just make out Chase turning his head and scanning the open space around him. He must have sensed the movement as I ran, but he probably doesn't know who it was. He walks off towards the forest, searching around for some clues.
     That's when I notice the arrow whizzing toward the pyramid, splitting open the burlap sack I had just gotten my apples out of minutes before. But the question is, who shot the arrow? And why did they do that, knowing that Chase is nearby and could notice?
     Another arrow comes shooting at the sack and tears it even further. I scan the open space, looking for the tribute who shot the arrows. And then I spot her, right outside of the trees, aiming a third arrow at the pyramid. Squinting my eyes, and just can make out who it is. Katniss.
     I had no idea that Katniss could shoot, let alone hit her target spot on. I only saw her in training a few times at the edible plants station and the fire starting station. Maybe her shooting skills is what got her the eleven in training.
     She sends her third arrow towards the pyramid. It hits the burlap sack, opening it up and letting the apples spill out onto the ground. Before I even have time to react, the apples hit the mound of dirt below, setting off an ear splitting explosion.