The Rapid Sparks of the Cord; A Hunger Games Novel

CHAPTER 7

The snow fall had started to calm down, but Musa wondered if the fire had anything to do with it.

Holly had managed to grab all of her supplies before the flames engulfed their shelter, but the other 4 weren't as lucky. Ocean managed to grab his bag of beef jerky, but Bryant, Enfys, and Musa all left empty handed.

Ocean caught himself nibbling on the beef jerky, even when it wasn't a necessity. Enfys, Holly, and Musa all judged him for it, but couldn't blame him too much; he didn't grow up knowing how to persist through hunger.

They sat underneath a rock formation, shielding them from the heat the wildfire had spread. The 5 of them hardly fit in the confined space, and realistically, them bunching up together probably didn't help keep them cooler. After napping, watching birds, counting clouds, or anything that could distract their minds, Bryant looked up into the sky, and noticed the fire was dying down.

"Do you think you'd want to go back that way? Our stuff might still be in okay condition." Bryant said, peering over the rocks. Musa looked unsure, but Enfys was quick to jump on the suggestion. "I had a knife in there. I need that back." Enfys spoke firmly. Holly and Ocean couldn't care less either way, so they shrugged and went along with them.

Musa was worried that the fire hadn't fully burned out yet, and they'd be subject to smoke poisoning. While living in District 12, she had heard countless stories of miners inhaling carbon monoxide from the dynamite, never to breathe again. Ocean reassured her that the fire couldn't last forever, and was likely burning out for good. This seemed to help Musa just a little bit.

As they approached the charred woods, the fire was almost completely gone. The trees were blackened with ash, and some of them had already collapsed. A fallen birds nest had successfully brought Musa to tears, and Enfys rolled her eyes as she strolled past. "Do you think we'll find anyone else here?" Holly asked, positioning the arrow in her hand. "I wouldn't be surprised. Best to stay prepared." Bryant said, taking out a small switchblade. Enfys and Ocean had nothing, besides a plastic bag, and Musa had no doubt that the weapon would be more dangerous to her than anyone she battled against.

Enfys managed to find a large stick that had remained relatively unscathed by the fire. As she terrorized snakes hiding underground, the sound of cannon firing rang through the woods. Doing a head count, Bryant confirmed that no one in the alliance was gone.

Holly had her hopes on who had died, but would keep those to herself in case she DID win. She had grown up watching the games, as did every other kid, but she would notice the damage it did to the surviving tributes as she would get older. Watching the victors face the parents of the children they had killed was never an easy sight. You couldn't blame the victors; it was an act of survival. But being the parent of a kid who you watched get murdered live on television, then seeing the murderer of said child in front of your face was what she could only imagine to be a horrible feeling. If she were to win, she wouldn't want anyone to look down on her, so her plan was to get through the games with as little kills as possible.

Food was growing more and more scarce, and as Ocean took the last bite of a piece of beef jerky, they knew that they needed to start searching during daylight. Enfys was a requirement, while Musa volunteered to go with. Ocean, Bryant, and Holly would search for the missing materials.

Musa and Enfys traversed the right side of the woods, while Holly, Ocean, and Bryant took the left path. Musa pointed out countless berries, most of which being toxic to humans. Eventually, they needed to take a rest break, and sat down by a bush, as quiet snow fall fell upon them.

"Do you think you have a chance of winning?" Musa asked, trying not to keep things too awkward. "I don't know, I doubt it. I didn't come here thinking I would." Enfys admitted, but she didn't seem upset about it. It was more like numb acceptance. No one was entirely happy that they would die in the games, but to claim they had any other choice would be nothing short of a lie. Sure, they could put up a fight, but only 3, maybe 5, of the 12 districts stood a high chance.