Come Back to Me

XIX

Cordelia woke up with a scream, startling the other tributes around her back into conciousness as well. Her terror was only able to subside when her eyes laid on Carter, her arm wrapping around him tightly to give a reassuring squeeze. Which one of them needed it more? This was a question she didn't want to bother with at the moment. In the smallest amount of words, she comforted him, not wanting to deal with the contents of her nightmare any longer. He was still alive and right next to her. That was all that mattered now.

"Just a bad dream," She faked a warm smile, "sorry."

"That's alright," Parker said, still slightly panicked, "maybe this whole thing is just one bad dream, yes?"

He meant it as a joke, most likely in attempt to lighten the mood. Though the further the games went along, the more futile his attempts proved to be. Not that it mattered. Cordelia had gathered that the added edge to his personality was only to please the people that could decide to send him a gift, and it hadn't yet been sucessful. She moved her focus to the entrance of the cave like area, her face bending in frustration at the realization that the sandstorm was still going strong.

It took two days for the storm to clear itself out completely. The first day was probably the tougher one for the entirety of the group. With how strong the wind had kept up, none of them could see the end in sight, and that's leaving out the fact that the entirety of their dynamic was strained. Gretchen and Parker were still refusing to speak to one another. Cordelia was still trying to dissect her bad dream and plan out their next move. In fact, Carter was really the only one who was thinking even remotely straight, and his voice had yet to come out as anything other than an inaudible scratch, rendering the previous point useless. There were points in the storm where the area around them had faded in and out of complete darkness. All they could do was sit and wait in a tense silence, and try to keep themselves moving the minute things cleared up. Then, during the second day, things started to get better. Cordelia was able to rope her allies into devising a plan. They'd use the delay as an opportunity to bulk up as much as they can, in preparation to go find the Careers. Both Carter and Cordelia were hesitant on the idea at first given their recent conversation and, that wasn't even considering the injuries amongst the group. Of course Carter still couldn't talk but, Parker's eye was still no use to him and Cordelia could barely hear out of her left ear. It wasn't hard to believe that perhaps the odds were not in their favor but, as Gretchen had been telling them all along, it'd be better for them to strike first. At least then, maybe they could gain an advantage by catching their opponents off guard.

"I don't think we should attack at night. I mean for me it's hard enough to see as it is, and the darkness would make it difficult on all of us." Parker reasoned.

He was right. It would harder for them to make out anything in the dark and without being able to see clearly, Cordelia wouldn't be as likely to here someone sneaking up on her and Carter, who yes could see and hear fine, wouldn't be able to call out a warning. If they went forward with their previous idea to strike at night, Gretchen would be the only one they could truly count on.

"No, I agree," Cordelia nodded cognitively, "but, first thing in the morning could be smart. If we could just wake up before them, we could strike while they're still asleep."

They talked some more and it was settled. The following morning, they got moving, using the start to their day to stock up on food, as well as refill their water and bathe themselves once again. The sweltering heat had returned in no time, making the task of scrubbing the dried sand dirt, and in Cordelia's case blood off of their bodies much more satisfying then it already would've been. Cordelia took their time along the river as an opportunity to get some fishing in. Not only did it serve as a comforting reminder of her home district but, it was also very helpful in terms of keeping the stomach of both her and her allies full.