𝐇𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬: 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 ✔️

Chapter 35 - Jomilee

^Karrie from District 8.

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Chapter 35

POV: Jomilee (District 6)

Time: Night 8

Tributes Remaining: 15

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It nears midnight when I hear voices in the distance. I can't help myself as I stealthily follow the voices. I haven't seen a single other tribute since Della died days ago, and the isolation is making me go crazy.

It crosses my mind that I could be putting myself in danger, but it doesn't cross my mind to stop. I'm pulled towards the voices, lured in by the sound of company. Hopefully, the tributes I'm hearing are friendly - I feel desperately isolated and I'm starting to get lost in my own thoughts.

After a few minutes, I finally come across the origins of the voices. I've hit the jackpot - Dalia from District 11 and her group of allies. Dalia and I grew somewhat close during Training, especially after our District partners attacked each other violently.

The group seems to be looking for something. "It's yellow," one girl, Lacie, says. "Almost like a bellflower but with round petals, and it's larger, too."

I peak from behind the tree where I'm hiding to see that the boy from District 4, whose name I can't remember, is limping heavily. He looks pale and is sweating quite a bit despite it being nighttime.

A thought suddenly comes to me. "A yellow flower?" I say aloud, reaching into my pack.

The other tributes whirl around, alerted by the sound. They look around with weapons at the ready.

I slowly back out from my hiding place, my hands in the air. I grip the yellow flower in my right hand so they can see it.

I forgot I still had the flowers Casey picked on the first day of the Games. The flowers that ultimately failed to save her.

"I have a yellow flower if you need it," I tell them. "A lion lily."

"Jomilee?" Dalia asks, amazed. "Where did you find that?"

"No idea, it was so long ago," I tell her. "My ally picked it at the beginning of the Games. She died later when it failed to save her."

"How did she die?" Lacie asks me curiously.

"She ate berries off the Hydra Vines by mistake and was poisoned. The flower was an antidote, but it only has a 5 percent success rate."

"Uh, Lacie, nobody told me that!" the injured boy says, panicking.

"Not in your case. For you, it has a 0 percent success rate until you reach the final stage of your poisoning before death. At that stage, it's 100."

"Is there anything we can trade this for?" The other boy says, speaking for the first time. I recognize him as Della's District partner - Robin, I think his name is.

"Your company," I beg. "Please, just for one night. All three of my allies died so long ago, I haven't spoken to anyone in so long. If you can let me stay with you, give me medicine for my neck, and feed me, you can have the flower."

"Deal," Lacie says without hesitation. Her quick response makes me feel like I'm letting myself get scammed, but I don't really care anymore.

I sit with the group after Lacie tucks the lion lily into Dalia's bag for safekeeping. According to the group, the District 4 boy, Soren, was poisoned by the Hydra Vines that overtook the Arena, but the poison is slow-acting and is slowly taking over his body from the inside. I shudder at the thought.

I learn the names of the others, too - Lacie, Dalia, and Soren are joined by Della's District partner, whose name is Robin, just like I thought. They're also joined by a girl named Lena, who I remember vaguely from training. I know she wasn't originally with the group, though. She must have joined them recently since she doesn't seem well acquainted with the others yet.

Bored, our conversation shifts as the sun begins to rise. We talk about our childhoods, and how we came to be Reaped.

Dalia goes first. According to her, she didn't work in the fields or the groves like the other girls such as Nia or Angelica. Instead, she was a warehouse worker, sorting, packaging, and distributing food to the other Districts and to the Capitol. That likely contributed to her impressive strength. She says her brother was Reaped into the 121st Games, but he was killed early on.

Robin speaks next. He speaks quietly, and his eyes dart around as he speaks. He's been the quietest of the group, and something about him makes me wary. Unlike Della, who I know worked as a factory inspector in District 3, he instead worked in the weapons department, working to design and test new weapons for Peacekeepers and for the Hunger Games. That explains why he was so skilled with a bow in Training, and why he knows tricks to every weapon. He doesn't seem to know which relative could have gotten him Reaped, so he must be related to a tribute from before the Second Rebellion.

Soren's next, and he talks quietly. I can tell he's in pain from his injury. He used to work in the fishing District, helping his parents out at sea, but he stopped once his brother, Roman, won the Games last year.

After Soren is Lena, which is short for Magdalena. She's the youngest of the group at only 15 years old. Soren, Dalia, and Lacie are all 16, and I'm pretty sure Robin is 17. She only talks a bit about District 10, where she worked as a cattle rancher. Her brother was in the Games a few years ago and apparently went quite far. I think I remember him, although I never watched the Games very closely.

The group looks to Lacie, but she doesn't speak, so I go next. I tell them about my upbringing. About my parents, my brothers, and my job as a manufacturing worker. My area of the District specialized in the construction of hovercraft, including those used in the Arena, which Lacie finds especially interesting. Just like Lena, my brother was Reaped a few years ago, but he died in the Bloodbath. He was only 13.

Lacie is next, but she shakes her head. "Not to be rude," she says, "but you don't need to know about me. I find all of your backstories interesting, don't get me wrong, but we are all going to die eventually, and I'd rather not place that burden on you guys of having known me on that level."

The others nod, understanding. I shudder, thinking about all the information I know about the others. If any of us survive the Arena, our stories will be stuck with the Victor for the rest of their lives.

As we sit, my mind wanders. I find it so interesting how different we all are. We've come from the far corners of Panem, and here we are, all gathered together as we fend for our lives. We all have one thing in common, though, and it's the pain the Games have brought us and our families. I hadn't thought about it very much, but every tribute in the Games this year has a family member who has been Reaped in the Games. Many of us have had siblings, cousins, or even parents killed.

As the sun rises, brightening the sky, we head out from our camp. Lacie wants to find some herbs to help heal my neck wound, which is still healing from my run-in with Rowan. It seems like she's actually dedicated to healing my injuries. I'm grateful to have a group of allies, even if it's only for one day.