Safe and Sound (The Hunger Games)

Chapter 15 - Moving Forward

My eyes flutter open, and everything is fuzzy. Someone is over me, but it is too dark to see who. "She's awake," the person says.

"What..." I start saying. My hands find my eyes and rub them so I can see clearer.

"Kaya. Are you okay? What happened back there?" I hear Elliot's voice.

"I-I... I had a fight with... with a tribute..." I stutter.

"Yeah, I can tell." He says with a little laugh.

"B-but...how did you...you find me?" I ask.

"Look, go back to sleep. I am here to protect you now, so you just focus on getting better. We will talk in the morning." He simply says. He kisses me on the forehead, and my eyes close.

My head is pounding, and I wake up again. I still lay on the ground, but turn my head to the side slowly, where I find my allies sleeping. Elliot is taking watch, but he is looking away from the group.

"Annie, if you can, please send me something to help heal Kaya. She really needs it." He says to the sky. I feel like crying, from the pain and from Elliot's loyalty to me. I close my eyes, and imagine me in his footsteps. I would have definitely done the same.

In the morning, I wake up to find everyone sitting and eating. I start to sit up, and I find Elliot helping me, because my head is still slightly bleeding.

"How do you feel?" Crystal asks me.

"A little bit better..." I say softly. "H-how did I get here? How did you guys find me?"

Mason passes me a bread roll, and I sit up a little bit more.

"Well how about you tell us what happened first." Mason suggests. So I told them how I saw them while I was in the tree, and then I was attacked by a tribute. I rub my eyes, and ask them again of how they found me.

"Well, we heard a few screams, so we followed it. We thought if we killed the attacker, it would eliminate some competition. And Elliot was so sure he knew that scream, so we definitely followed." Crystal explains.

"Then I found you laying on the ground all bloody, so I pulled the boy back and carried you to safety, while Toby killed him." Elliot continues.

"I would have been dead if you guys didn't save me." I say, my voice is strained.

"Good thing we are allies." Mason speaks up. I laugh, and my chest hurts.

"So let's talk about how we go forward." Crystal suggests.

"Yes, well since Kaya isn't one hundred percent okay, we will need one person protecting her for today. Any volunteers?" Toby asks. Everyone laughs, because most of us volunteered during the reaping.

"I will." Elliot says, and I smile.

"Okay. I guess after we finish eating, we get our day started?" Toby suggests. Everyone nods. "Wait, what's that beeping noise?" Everyone grabs a weapon immediately. I don't have one, so I just grab onto Elliot's arm.

"Oh, it's a silver parachute!" Brandi exclaims. She rushes over to it and brings it to the group. "Uh... I think it's for Kaya. It looks like ointment or something." She says as she hands it over to me. There is a note inside. Feel better. -Annie

"Here, let me put some on you." Elliot says. He takes his two fingers, and dabs it on my face where any cuts are open. "There." He says as he wipes his hand on his jumpsuit.

"Thanks." I smile.

We walk, and I limp, through the jungle until we reach the beach. "No one." Toby says out of breath. He sits on the warm sand, and I join him. "Anyone else have a plan?"

"Well I was thinking, we can set up a camp site here. We are near the perimeter of the island, so we could easily close someone in, that's if they are brave enough to fight us." Crystal suggests.

"That's a good idea, do we have everything with us? Do we need more weapons or stuff from the cornucopia?" Mason asks.

"I think we brought everything from our camp, but maybe we should check and see if there are any valuable items at the cornucopia." Brandi says.

"Okay, so how should we do this?" Elliot asks.

"How about we split up. Elliot, Brandi, and I can go to the cornucopia, while the three of you hang back and save our spot." Toby suggests. We all agree, so the the three of them leave while Crystal, Mason, and I sit on the sand and wait for their return.

"So how did you all find each other?" I ask.

"Well, I was the first one out of us there, so I started to grab weapons and be prepared to fight. That's when I saw Crystal come, so we were watching each other's backs. We only gathered together at the end of the bloodbath." Mason explains.

I nod. Crystal sits next to me, and picks up my wrist. "I like your bracelet." I look at it, not a single shell is broken.

"Thanks, I like your necklace." I say. Her district token is simply a small necklace with a small, shiny crystal.

Boom! We turn towards the island. "Do you think that was-" Crystal starts.

"Don't think like that. I'm sure they are fine." I assure her.

Mason stands up and tries to see what's going on, but stays on the beach. "Can't see anything." He informs us.

"I guess we just have to wait then." Crystal says. "Oh by the way Kaya, your wounds are looking better."

"I feel a lot better too." I smile.

Boom! We all are shaken by another fired cannon. "Maybe we should go..." Mason starts. "I mean, this is an island, so we can find another spot, right?"

"Yeah," Crystal says as she gets up. "Kaya, do you think you can keep up?"

I nod and get up. We start walking, but we speed up when we hear another cannon fire. All three of them could be dead now.

Walking turns into sprinting, and I feel lightheaded. "Come on guys, we are almost there..." Mason says in between breaths. That's when the arrow flies through his chest.