rising from the ashes || a hunger games story

chapter sixteen

willow's pov

it was the 11th day in the arena. nothing has been happening for the past few days. not since the feast. probably because merlin knows he would be outnumbered now that crystal was dead and finn's wound healed.

the ointment had to be reapplied every day and by the third day since the feast, the wound was almost completely covered up. by the next day, all that was left was just a scar.

since nothing had happened for the past few days, no deaths or anything, i knew the gamemakers were trying to plan something. whether it be another avalanche or another form of attack. i'm not worried though.

now that finn is healed, i won't have to face anything alone. plus, this cave is a great form of protection. with the opening always blocked and us only going out for food, we don't really have anything to worry about.

i look over to finn who's cooking the squirrel i found earlier. "you have to win, you know that right?"

he gives me a confused look. "your mom needs you. my family doesn't need me. of course they'll miss me but they have each other. your mom only has you. she needs you. nobody needs me."

he gives me a look of sympathy. "i do. i need you."

before i can say anything i hear a whining outside. it sounds like a dog. i remove the rock from the entrance and walk out of the cave slowly. i'm met with a white artic fox.

he has his right front paw lifted from the ground. he's bleeding from the same paw. i kneel down on my knees as he limps towards me. i hear the snow crunching behind me. the fox puts his head in my lap and i caress him.

"a friendly fox? he's not trying to kill us? i thought the gamemakers could control all of the animals in the arena." i hear finn say from behind me. "they can but they need to insert a chip into each animal to control them. his chip is over there." i say as i point to the bottom of a tree where a small black, thin square sits.

i pick the fox up gently and walk back into the cave. finn follows behind me. "close the cave back up," i say as i grab finn's backpack. i take out the ointment we used for his wound. "does that even work on animals?" he asks me.

i shrug my shoulders, "i guess we'll find out." i open the ointment up and place some on my pointer and middle finger. i place the ointment on the cut. i hear the fox whimper.

i grab the bandage and wrap it around the cut. the fox has now relaxed and fallen asleep on my lap. i don't know how long he's been bleeding but he's probably been restless.

i hear finn sit down next to me. i stay looking at the fox and petting him. i hear finn chuckle. "you're a hunter but you're attempting to save a fox. it's weird."

i look over at him, "i don't hunt foxes. just squirrels and birds. not much else." when i first volunteered, i didn't imagine myself taking care of an injured fox. but i wasn't going to kill him. he wasn't attacking me and he had no reason to.

he was injured and the gamemakers could no longer control him. so it was either i kill him, i leave him, or i help him. and i definetly wasn't going to leave him or kill him. i don't kill just for fun. i kill animals to eat and i've only personally killed one person in these games and it was to try to help june.

i see finn grab the squirrel that was on the verge of burning. he puts the fire out and gives me two pieces and one for himself. i put one piece to the side and eat the other. i see the fox's nose twitch and his eyes open.

he looks up at me and then to the piece that im eating. i chuckle as i grab the piece i had put to the side and lay it in front of him. he jumps up off of my lap and starts eating the squirrel.

"foxes like squirrel?" finn asks as he looks over at me. i nod, "they eat raccoons, squirrels, hamsters, gerbils, opposums." "why do you know all this?" "i've read up a lot on animals."

i hear the fox release a yappy bark that almost sounds like he's laughing. it echoes in the cave but i don't do anything because if you aren't in the cave or right by it, you wouldn't be able to hear a thing.

the fox runs towards a corner of the cave and grabs a small stick that was just laying there. he starts chewing and playing with it. i chuckle and look over to finn who's smiling at the fox.

"when you win, can you take him with you? give him to dahlia. she'll love him." he shakes his head, "you'll be able to do that yourself."

i give him a small smile even though i know that i'm not going to let him die. he needs to live. whether it means i have to sacrifice myself or not.

a/n: it's a short chapter but i've been having writer's block and i really thought this was a cute idea. i hope you like it! hopefully, the next chapter will be up by tonight or tomorrow.