Hunger Games : The Covey

Chapter 3

Rustle Rustle Rustle

"Hello? Lucy Gray are you there?" I whispered.

I heard an almost inaudible sound coming from a nearby bush. Surely it was her. I tiptoed over, trying not to make a sound in case it was a wild animal rather than Lucy Gray, but, sure enough, she was there. Her curly hair looked as if it had been through a tornado and her beautiful dress was now besmirched with mud and leaves. She glanced over at me; I was unsure if she had recognised me until she whispered

"Maude Ivory, you found me. Help."

I screamed for the Covey to come over to where I was stood as I examined her injured body. I hadnt seen her this scared since the reaping.

"Who did this to you?" I asked stubbornly, but there was no reply, just small moans as I tried to see what was wrong.

CC had created a bed of katniss, moss, grass and leaves for us to put Lucy Gray on. As Barb Azure and I reached into the bush to grab her, I felt something odd on her hands. It was cold and hard, but I couldn't think about that now. I had to help her. It was all a blur really, and it happened really quick. We had to take off her dress to fully see the damage. There was a lot of blood, and her undergarments were ripped. But not like they had been ripped from a branch getting stuck. It was too perfect and round to have been an accident. Thats when it hit me.

She had been shot. Lucy Gray had been shot.

I think Tam Amber noticed at the same time as me and he shouted

"Maude Ivory, go get that doctor friend of yours, Aracelia or whatever her name is. Run, now!"

So, I ran. I ran as fast as I could to Aracelia's house.

Aracelia Florina Mercia has been my best friend since we were 3. One day, the old man who used to take care of us Covey, took me out to the outskirts of 12, right on the beach. We weren't allowed actually on the beach because the Capitol was scared that someone would just sail away. I don't know where to though because as far as I know, there's nowhere else in the world besides Panem. There's something up north where 13 used to be but not much id imagine. As I was staring out onto the beach, I noted a little dark-haired, blue-eyed girl trying to get over the fence, but the peacekeepers shoved her back. She fell hard on her face, but she didn't start to cry. Instead, she asked her father to grab the plasters out of her small purse. He did as she said, and she carefully placed the plaster on her face, perfectly where the cut was. She caught my eye and I smiled, and she smiled back. A week after, I was in the Hob, trying to trade my buttons for some food, and there she was, sat bored at the back of her father's stall. I waved her over and she jumped off her stool and ran over to me. I introduced myself as Maude Ivory and she introduced herself as 'Miss Aracelia Florina Mercia of District 12'. A great big smile spread across her face as she said, 'but you can call me Aracelia'. I knew from that moment that we would be best friends. We started sitting together in school and meeting up on weekends to go on adventures through the meadow. We could talk about anything for hours and never get bored of each other. She's my best friend.

She had always been interested in nursing, ever since I first saw her that day at the beach. She will never shut up about all the injured animals she had nursed back to health. However, when Aracelia was 8, her father fell very ill. No one knew what it was. Because of this, she couldn't save him, and he died in her arms. She hasn't been the same since then, but I think she's getting better. I can see it in her eyes. She's also from the seam, she lives in a small house on the edge, right next to the meadow, so it's easy to run over to her house.

As I reached their small, overgrown, brick home - or more like shed – I banged frantically on the front door. I was still calling out her name as she opened the door.

"Aracelia, you need to come right now. It's Lucy Gray, she's been shot. Please you need to help!" I shouted desperately. I saw her beautiful blue eyes widen as she quickly nodded and ran inside. I heard her fumbling around inside and she told her Ma she'd be back for breakfast. As soon as I saw her appear back at her doorway, I grabbed her hand and explained what had happened as we ran.

"Lucy Gray, she was gone this morning. We went out searching and she was out by the lake. She was shot. I don't know who it to her did, but she was in a lot of trouble with the mayor after Mayfair and Billy Taupe. I thought it might be him but then I remembered it was Mayfair's funeral today so surely it wasn't him. She was spending a lot of time with that peacekeeper, but I heard he got sent to 2 so I'm not sure."

"What about that one who got hung?" she asked.

"No not him, that was Sejanus. It was his friend, but I can't remember his name. That blonde one, you know?"

"Oh yeah, I think I remember him. He was that one who punched Billy Taupe the other week when it went into mayhem." she recalled.

"Yeah, him"