Fire is Catching

Chapter 11: The Tributes in the Sky

CHAPTER 11: THE TRIBUTES IN THE SKY

Everdeen steps down from the tree. "The forcefield has us trapped in a dome." She says. "There's the Cornucopia in the center with the sea, and the jungle around it. Very exact, but not very large."

"Did you see any freshwater?" Finnick asks.

Everdeen shakes her head.

"There must be water somewhere!" Peeta cries. "Or we'd all be dead in a matter of days."

Plutarch might want to get it over quick. Thin out the tributes so Beetee can destroy the arena before we can screw it all up. That'd be quick thinking. But then he'd have no control over who dies. Finnick and I exchange a look, sharing our thoughts.

Peeta scratches his chin. "There must be drinkable water between the forcefield and the wheel."

So we start going back down. I take the back, because Peeta's adapted to walking on his own. When the sun in straight above us in the sky, Peeta and Mags cannot go on.

We decide on a campsite with the forcefield to our backs. Finnick and Mags begin making us a shelter, Peeta cooks some nuts, and Everdeen stands guard.

I don't know what to do.

"Why don't I go hunt for some water?" Everdeen says. "Alexandria can stand guard."

"Call me Alex." I correct coldly.

Peeta opens his mouth to worry about her, but she talks him down. She sets off with her bow and arrows, and I stand up with my knives to guard.

Just a moment after Everdeen leaves, a cannon sounds. Then a few more. The long Bloodbath is over. I count eight shots. I can't help but remember that I know all of those eight dead men and women. Most of them are my friends.

Finnick gets up from making baskets behind me. "Lexi, you okay?" He asks in my ear.

I nod, but I can't look at him.

Everdeen arrives back soon after the cannons. "No water." She announces. "But it's out there. This thing," she holds up an ugly, squirrel-looking thing. "knew where it was. His muzzle was set, but I couldn't find the source."

"Can we eat him?" Peeta asks.

She inspects him. "His meat doesn't look that different from a squirrel's." Everdeen replies. "It ought to be cooked."

Peeta takes the animal from her and throws it at the forcefield, charring the outside, but leaving the inside perfectly cooked.

We all take a break from guarding, and sit down. The sun is going down, and the moon is rising. I put my head on Finnick's chest, sighing. The anthem is next.

Domino is first to show up in the sky. It wouldn't be hard to kill him, he's slow and a drunk. Cashmere and Gloss are alive! The male morphling from 6, and Woof appear, and so does Cecelia, the woman with three adorable children. I know their names too, Billy, Corey, and Bailey. Three great kids now without a mother. Both tributes from 9, the woman from 10, and Seeder.

I choke back tears. This is only the beginning. Finnick is beside me, as I knew he would be. His friends are dead too. "Cecelia had kids..." I say.

He strokes my hair comfortingly. "I know."

"Seeder was like my grandmother..."

"I know."

Peeta is looking at me with sympathy, and Everdeen doesn't know what to do. Mags is sitting there in the corner, looking up at the sky wistfully.

Before long, a silver parachute comes down in front of us. "Whose do you think it is?" Everdeen asks.

"Why don't we let Peeta claim it?" Finnick says, picking it up and handing it to Peeta. "Because he died today."

I want to laugh, but Everdeen would go nuts.

Peeta unties the ribbon and pulls out a small metal object.

"What is it?" I ask.

None of us seem to know. We pass it around and try almost everything, everything but what it's supposed to be used for.

I give up and lie down in one of the beds Finnick and Mags made. I mourn Seeder, and Cecelia. Seeder always asked about Lilyanna when she saw me. She'd never met my daughter, but cared about her nonetheless.

"A spile!" Everdeen cries suddenly. "For sap!"

"What?" Finnick and I ask in unison.

She gets up excitedly. "You put it in the right tree and sap comes out."

Finnick's brows furrow. "Sap?" He asks.

"To make syrup!" Everdeen cries happily, extremely proud of herself.

Jackpot. "What'd be worth hiding in those trees?" I ask rhetorically. "Water!"

We drive Mags's awl into the trunk of a tree trunk. Once the hole can support the spile, we wedge it inside. For a moment, nothing happens. Then a slow, crystal clear drop of water lands on Mags's palm. She licks it and puts her hand out for more.

We put the water in the bowls Finnick and Mags have woven, and pass it around. Until now, water is a luxury we haven't been able to afford, without the spile. We are smiling, despite our current, unhappy predicament. Our tongues get damp, and it satisfies our thirst. This was a smart move, Plutarch. I'd never have thought about it before.

Finnick offers to take the first watch. I lie down with my head on his chest, and fall into a restless sleep. The only thing that wakes me up is a canon, signaling the death of one of my friends.

Don't think about it... I tell myself.

I know I won't go back to sleep, so I offer to take the next watch. Finnick nods and lies down. A few hours later, I hear Everdeen scream. Fog is eerily floating towards us. Everdeen's touched it, and now has blisters on her hand. In my effort to shake Mags awake, the fog reaches my back.