The Hunger Games: Wroetostar, Merome, Pooflan & Minizerk

⫷Chapter 12⫸

Josh's P.O.V.

After Simon agreed to our alliance, I made sure to find him the second we were on the plates and the games we about to begin. He was closer to me than I thought he might have been, separated by three tributes to my left and we made eye contact before the gong sounded. He was hesitant, glancing back and forth.

The second the gong sounded I rushed a few feet forward, scooping up a knife and a loaf of bread, stuffing them into my jacket. I managed to grab another rainproof coat and a small backpack before I dug in my heels, scrambling to turn back in the other direction.

I meet up with Simon only a moment later, he had been waiting for me and had somehow got ahold of a spear and a pocket knife, which he was wielding in the hopes of warding off other tributes. It seemed to have worked, because the three tributes between us had either run into the centre and had probably been killed and one had fled into the forest behind us. We followed, making sure to split off in another direction.

In the end we didn't have much, a couple of weapons and a single water bottle, and so our aim was to walk for as long as possible as far as possible, just to get away from the other tributes. We were in no place to fight the others, only knives for weapons and very little food to keep us going. We could hunt on the journey, find water too.

We slept up high for the first and second nights climbing up trees and sleeping tangled together in the freezing air, too cold to be natural. The gamemakers were probably messing with the temperature but it was easier together, shared body warm and tucked into a nook in a tree.

As much as I didn't want to, I trusted Simon.

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Ten dead, I mused as a cannon went off during the morning of the third day. I was wondering if there were going to be any deaths considering the number of tributes still left alive and it seemed I was right. 6 in the bloodbath and another three the following day, all at once. I thought about the boy from 2, he had won that fight while losing his girl, no doubt he was injured.

We came out the other side of the forest about midday and were struck by a vast lake stretching in front of us, appearing to go on for miles. Simon appeared excited and I wasn't surprised- district 4 was known for swimming. There were streams and fast flowing rivers spreading out from it and Simon pointed out the willow trees on the banks- a perfect place to hide. The branches proved warmth, shelter and disguise, the river was a source of fresh water and it would no doubt lure prey to the area which could feed us, alongside any berries or nuts were could find growing in the area.

"This looks good Si." I said, pointing to a particularly huge tree whose trunk was about a metre from the bank and whose foliage was thick, proving perfect cover. He agreed wordlessly and that was it, we had somewhere to come back to at night, somewhere to sleep where it might be less cold. We could sleep on the ground or in the branches.

As we set up, Simon started talking.

"What's it like?- in district 3 I mean, I've never been outside my district." I smiled to myself, knowing that we would probably be off camera now. The Capitol actively discouraged talking about other districts, they wanted to keep us separated as much as possible so no organised rebellion could start.

"It's... different I suppose. I was meant to volunteer next year but I suppose the world had other plans for me." He gave me a surprised look.

"You were going to volunteer?"

"Yeah, I was trained from quite a young age because I had potentially apparently." He looked me up and down. "I know, I'm nothing special, I'm pretty average height and build now but apparently I was quite a big kid and although I've never been book smart, I've always been people smart."

He nodded slowly, glancing away. Shoot, I hadn't meant to scare him.

"So... why did you want me as an ally? You seem pretty set on your own..."

"I know but... I knew I couldn't do it alone. What with the girls from our districts and 1 I'm less hopeful and... you caught my eye. You seemed like someone I'd be friends with- maybe more."

He looked up, frozen, something glinting in his eye.

"You... you like guys?" He said, tensed almost as if he was waiting for me to slap him. I grinned.

"I do." I knew that would be blocked, muted and the footage destroyed- you weren't supposed to be gay, especially if you were from some of the more affluent districts. I supposed some of the less well of districts had more of an I-don't-give-a-shit attitude, especially considering the presence of one of the boys from 7, who hadn't been born a boy.

"You- you do?"

"I do. You've never met anyone else, have you? You thought you were alone." He nodded again, smiling shyly.

I leaned in and kissed him gently, one hand cupping his cheek and the other resting over top of his, laughing as he practically melted into me. I knew I shouldn't be doing it- I shouldn't be forming a relationship when it was likely the both of us, or worse, one of us, would die, but I couldn't help it.

We pulled away blushing like mad and Simon fell against me, giggling.

"Wow." He whispered, closing his eyes. "You know, when I was reaped I thought I'd never have my first kiss."

"Well I'm glad I proved you wrong." I whispered back, cupping his cheek again, tilting his face up so he was looking at me. "Because you know, I think you're something special Simon. If I don't make it, I want you to get home."

"Why me?" He whispered. "I don't- I don't have any siblings to look after, my families pretty well off. You-"

"Si, I don't have siblings either. My parents will be fine." I pushed a strand of his fringe up off his forehead, sighing. "I want you to get out because I now know I won't. I might have been hopeful in the beginning, but not anymore."

His arms snaked around my waist, his head resting in the crook of my shoulder.

"I just... I don't wanna think about it right now."

"Then don't." I whispered back. "It's only midday and if we want food, we'd better go find some."

That earned a smile.

"Okay. Let's go."