The Quater Quell: 50th Hunger Games

Chapter 18

          "Where is she!" Larten demands. He is drenched in sweat from head to toe. "Where is that little Shi-""She's gone!" Dean cuts in. Larten stares blankly at Dean. "She's gone." Dean repeats, although this time quieter. Larten asks as if he doesn't even see me standing there. He stomps up to Dean and grabs his shirt with both hands. "What.Do.You.Mean. Gone!" "I mean-"Dean pulls Lartens hands from his shirt and throws them to the side. "She. Is. Gone. As in, I told her to run." Dean spits.

         "You what!?" Larten somehow manages to grow even angrier. Larten unsheathes his sword. Dean pulls some sort of long tube out. Larten freezes when he spies Deans weapon and sheathes his sword. "What the heck is going on here!" I yell. Larten looks at me as if he was surprised to see me standing there. "Hello, Raven. Dean here just let that little twat from 11 go. That's what." "What are you talking about Larten?" I ask.

       "Well, you see, I managed to get a few things form the cornucopia. Important things. After the blood bath I ran to the woods where I ran into Dean. That little girl has been following me ever since. She has been stealing from my pack, every night and every time I turn around! I'm going to kill her!" Larten beats his chest once and yells to the sky above. "Well, not right now you aint. She's gone. Might as well make the best of it."

        Larten looks at me in confusion and disgust. "Make the best of it? How on Earth can this get any worse." "Well, you could be dead. Or Dean and I could be trying to kill you right now." I say matter-o-factly. "Wait, why didn't you guys kill each other already? You hate each others guts?" "Good question Rave. Actually, I convinced Larten here to put our differences aside, for now, until we make it a little farther into the games. Its best someone from our District wins anyways." Larten stares at the ground and nods.

          "Good. Waylon and Cicero would be proud. It's getting late. Why don't we make camp here for the night?" I suggest. Larten looks longingly into the palmettos ahead where the girl from 11 disappeared into. "Fine. I'll go get some firewood." Larten storms off.

       "Dean!" I whisper through clenched teeth. What the hell!" "What?" he answers innocently. "Larten. Really? You are allies with HIM?" "Yeah, what he said I said is true. I was able to convince him to ally up for now." "And how exactly did you manage that? I was sure he would have killed you on the spot." "Yeah me to. But, I'm guessing he seen me shoot this thing a few times and changed his mind." Dean held up his long tube and rotates it for me to see. "What is that?"

      "Some kind of blow-dart gun or something. I don't know. I got it off a dead kid at the cornucopia. I was trying to help Maizey but it was too late. I didn't make it in time. Apollo, he, well. He got to Maizey first. So, I  tunred to run away but that's when I tripped over a body. He had this, and a small pack around him, so I took it and ran. I was chased though, by the careers and a few other tributes. I climbed a tree and picked them off one by one with this thing, until they fled. I'm guessing the darts are mega poisonous or something. But anyway, Larten was watching me from the bushes and we agreed to be allies."

     Larten crashes through the bushes and drops an impressive amount of firewood at our feet. "We aren't having a bonfire Larten. Everyone will know where we are then." "Who cares. Im ready for a fight." "Im not! I can hardly move. Some needle nose bird has his beak dug into my back and it broke off somewhere in there. It almost killed me but I got this water from Waylon and it seemed to heal me up pretty good."

          "Waylon sent you something?" Dean looks hurt. "Wait, why did he send you water!" Larten bust out laughing. "It sounds like you got jipped!" "No you idiot. Let me guess. Those packs you boys managed to snag from the cornucopia, they had water in it right?" "Yeah lots actually, why?" Dean looks confused while Larten has managed to stop laughing at me. "You don't know do you? This water. All of it. This arena. It's all poisonous! The only water source we have is what we get from our sponsors and whatever was at the cornucopia. That's where I was heading to was the mountain over there. I was hoping to melt the snow to drink it."

         The boys look dumbfounded. "All of it?" "Every last drop. I seen it first-hand. It kills you. I think the animals in here are programed to kill too and I'm betting that all of the plants and berries are poisonous too." I say smugly.

"So, the game makers weren't joking when they made this arena. Everything is lethal here." Larten says out loud followed by the faint sound of a cannon in the distance.