𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 → 𝗁𝗎𝗇𝗀𝖾𝗋 𝗀𝖺𝗆𝖾𝗌 ¹

𝑶𝟏𝟑. 𝖾𝗑𝗉𝗅𝗈𝗋𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇

     after puking and lying down for a - too - long time, i finally stand up. i can't stay here.

     because they'll come and get the body.

     because i'm too exposed.

     because i have to find my sister before something similar happens to her.

     i stagger to my feet, back to the beach where i lost half of my stuff in the fight, packing my bag like an automaton, turning my head in every direction to constantly check if i'm alone. i find the knife that was almost used to kill me a few moments earlier, i hang it around my waist with my other weapons, thanks to the thin rope that i have.

     then i wait.

     i crouch at the edge of the forest, staring at the islet of the cornucopia, very quiet as far as i can see, and wait for the hovercraft to take micah's corpse away.

     it appears from nowhere in the sky, emerging from nothingness, the breath of its twists practically laying the trees on the ground. a claw descends to a precise spot, rises with a silhouette between its claws. micah, who disappears the next moment in the belly of the device.

     and suddenly, the silence returns, the calm is made, the birds sing again and i can hear the noise of the waves on the bank. all this lasted only a few seconds.

     i wait a little longer, scanning the environment around me for other possible tributes. but after a while, i realize that i am alone at the edge of the beach, at the limit of the forest.

     this is not necessarily the case on the whole island.

     i slowly rise to my feet, listening for the slightest noise, before setting off in a directionless walk, with only the trees in front of me as my goal. if willow is here, it will be in the heart of the forest, and nowhere else.

     then follows a long and painful walk, where i have the impression that each branch, each root, each bush seeks to make me fall ; where i have the intimate feeling to be spied - enemy tribute or camera ? ; where the stifling heat overwhelms me. the sun's rays seem to pierce the thick tree tops and burn my skin at every exposed spot. the tepid humidity, which has nothing to do with a dry heat, makes me sweat profusely.

     my exploration lasts for hours in silence as i scan each tree, hoping to catch a blond stain, a quick movement, a blue look. but willow is nowhere to be found ; if she was there, she would have spotted me long ago - even if i don't dare to shout her name - so visible am i from the height of a tree.

     i still manage to find fresh water in a small stream, and i take the opportunity to quench my thirst for a long time before filling my bottle and resuming my journey.

     a petty voice in the back of my head keeps telling me that willow might be one of the tributes that have already passed away, but i push that disturbing thought away.

     no, i saw her running out to sea.

     she saved herself, that's for sure.

     however, when i finally emerge from the forest and come upon a new beach in the middle of the afternoon, i feel despair creeping over me. i crossed the island from one side to the other, without having seen even a shadow of my sister. i decide to follow the beach for what seems to me to be a quarter of a circle around the forest, and i start again my long crossing but this time, perpendicular to my first trajectory - which allows me to explore almost the whole island.

     at the end of the day, as the sun finally finishes its course in the sky and the night falls, i am forced to stop. between the trees in front of me, i can already see the beach opposite to my starting point.

     i have to face the truth : willow is not there.

     refusing to let me down, i climb a tree to settle for the night. she is surely on another island.

     yes, that's it.

     she changed islands, that's all.

     nothing more.

     potentially on one of the two islands bordering this one.

     i don't have time to think about it anymore when suddenly, without warning, panem's anthem resounds between the trees. i automatically raise my head to fix my glance on the celestial vault on which appears the words the fallen, as well as the presidential coat of arms of the capitol. then, the first face : the little girl from the three - which means that the four career from the one and the two are unsurprisingly still alive, as is the boy from the three. then it's the two kids from the five, and suddenly what little water i've swallowed today goes down my throat. micah, and lizzie. finally i know her name. 

     their faces are imprinted on my retina, their blank stares burn and pierce me. somewhere in district five, two families are mourning the death of their children whom i killed with my hands.

     another face is imprinted, that of the boy from six. and then the boy from eight.

     a weight i didn't realize i had releases my shoulders, my stomach, my throat when i realize willow is still alive, somewhere.

     i hardly notice the last five faces as the relief i feel is so intense. such a relief that i let my head fall back against the trunk of the tree in which i am installed and that i close my eyelids of exhaustion. i let my fatigue fall on me, so much that i could fall asleep this way.

     a smile stretches my lips.

     willow is not dead.

     tomorrow i'll find her, and everything will be fine.

     before sinking into sleep despite my body being exhausted by this first day in the arena, i force myself to swallow some beef jerky and a few slow sips of water. my skin is burned by the sun's rays, tugging with every movement, but there's not much i can do about it. then i huddle around the trunk and the branch that serve as my bed.

     the night has completely fallen.

     a light wind drives away the heat of the day, but does not cool the air enough to require an extra layer. my only wetsuit is enough. around me, the sounds of the forest lull me and i end up letting myself fall into sleep without resisting anymore.