May the odds be ever in your favour

Chapter 18

 The sound of rain pouring over our house's roof gently pulls me towards consciousness. I fight to go back to sleep though, wrapped in a warm blanket, safe at home. I slightly feel my head throbbing. Maybe I have the flu, that's why I'm still in bed, since I can tell I've been sleeping for a long time. I feel a gentle hand cupping my cheek. I think it's my mom. I don't resist it. But the voice that comes after, is not my mother's and I'm scared.

"Rosy?" the voice says, "Rosaline? Are you awake?".

My eyes open in an instant and the vague feeling of safety vanishes. I'm not home. I'm not with my family. I'm in a dim, chilly cave, my feet freezing and the air tainted with the unmistakable smell of blood. The ginger haired boy fades into view and I feel that feeling of safety return slightly. "Wren,"

"Hey there," he says, gently tucking a lock of hair behind my ear, "Good to have you back."

"How long have I been out?" I ask in confusion. "I'm not exactly sure. I woke up yesterday evening and the first thing I noticed was you unconscious on the ground next to me in a large pool of blood," he says. "It ought to have stopped by now, the bleeding. But I wouldn't sit up just yet, if I were you."

I quickly touch my forehead and I feel a bandage wrapped around it. Even after what I've done, he's looked after me. Wren holds one of the water flasks at my lips and I drink eagerly. After I finish the whole flask, I look at him surprised. "You look a lot better," I say. "I feel a lot better," he replies. "Whatever you shot in my arm did the trick just fine. By this morning, almost all the swell in my leg is gone."

He doesn't seem to hold a grudge for drugging him with the sleep syrup and abandoning him to get the medicine. Maybe he wants to make sure I'm alright in my health before I hear all about it. For now though, he's all gentleness. Not that I mind it. It reminds me of the good old days.

"Did you eat anything?" I ask. "Well, I found some roast fish in your backpack and I ate them. It wouldn't last for much longer anyway. But don't worry, I'm back now on my strict diet." he says, giving me a goofy smile. "No, it's good that you ate it. You need your strength back. Besides, I can go hunting and scavenging again." I reply.

"Alright. But for now, let me take care of you." he says. And he does. He feeds me some leftover raisins, braids my hair behind my back, wraps his jacket over my freezing feet. "Your boots and socks are still damp and the weather doesn't really help to dry them out," he says.

I tilt my head towards the opening in the rocks as a jolt of lightning hits the sky. Water from the rainstorm is dripping all over our cave through small holes in the ceiling. Wren has placed the pot where the broth came and the spare backpacks in such a way to catch the water.

"I wonder what brought on the storm. I mean, who is it meant for?" he asks, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. That's an easy question to answer. "It's for Thresh and Cato," I reply. "Foxface is probably hiding in some den and Clove . . . Well, she hit me and then," I struggle to finish my sentence. "I know Clove's dead, Rose," says Wren. "I watched the sky last night."

"Was it you?" he asks. "No. Thresh did it by smashing a rock in her head." I say. "Thankfully, he didn't catch you." Wren shrugs.

The memory of the feast and the fear return to my mind at once. "No, he did. But he let me go." I say. Of course, Wren looks at me like I've gone mad. To him what I've just said does not make sense at all. That's why I'm forced to tell him everything. Every little detail that's happened to me, before I found him. I tell him all about the alliance with Rue, the plan and the explosion, the boy from District 1 and the bread. All of which ultimately lead to Thresh's decision to spare me in order to pay off a debt of sorts.