That night, as I watch the embers of the fire turn to nothing and see the stars through the opening of the cave, I feel as though Dan and I have lost all hope of winning. Not that I would let Dan know, but I can tell that he is getting nowhere real fast. The healing cream is barely working, and he hasn't eaten since the injury. He is very, very sick, and I don't want to be the one to just sit by and watch as he wastes away.
If I were home right now, I would probably be eating supper with my father while we watched the fire burn bright in my home. Before now, I had never realized how important such a quality time could be. It's almost as if I lost a part of myself, knowing that however this turns out, my father and I will never have that quality time again. Watching the embers of my own fire die is like watching the embers of my old life die with it. But I cannot fret about that now - there is no time or reason to be thinking about your future during the Games, mostly because you do not know whether or not you will have a future at all.
I hear a slight moan escape Dan's mouth, and so I look toward him, only to reveal that he is awake again.
"Hey," he whispers.
"How are you feeling?" I ask.
"Not good. What about you?" he replies.
I shrug, "I'm fine, given the circumstances. Do you think you'd wanna try eating again?"
He nods, and so I give him half of an apple this time. Maybe it was the meat that upset his stomach so much earlier.
After he finishes the first half, I give him the other half, and surprisingly, it does not come back up this time. Thank god.
"How long are we planning on staying in the cave?" he asks.
I reply, "As long as it takes you to get better again."
"I could walk if you needed me to..." he trails off.
"No, you need to rest. Your back was practically torn off by those moths, and you're sick. We'll get you better soon enough, but now is not the time," I explain.
"You have got to stop doing that," he says.
"Doing what?"
"Always looking after me like that."
"What else am I supposed to do? Let you die?"
"It won't matter because you're going to win anyway."
"No. We're both getting out of here. I don't care what it takes. I owe you a debt anyway. Well, many debts actually. You saved me from Tyler. I would have been dead on the first day."
That shut him up. He offered to stay up and keep watch while I finally got some sleep, which I gladly accepted. I was too tired to dream that night.
After dawn broke, I set out again to find food. We used up all of our fish yesterday and only had one apple left. Making sure that Dan still had the knife and spare spear, I was free to hunt without worry.
It was a very quiet morning, but the jungle was very much alive. A few times I would hear a ruffle in the foliage, only to find that a different predator had eaten my prey before I could. This jungle, I had noticed, was particularly fond in small birds, as well as a few mammals about the size of a cat. After trekking the area for some time, I realized how far I had wandered from the cave. I no longer really knew where I was, and the only clue that could lead me back was the position of the sun. I knew the sun rose in the east, and our cave was pointing west - right now, the sun is to my left, meaning that I am heading south.
Just as I spot a fat black bird perched perfectly on a tree, an arrow hits it before I could even raise my spear. Knowing that this means an enemy is nearby, I duck behind a tree and pray that my opponent leaves soon.
Trying to hear over the pounding in my ears, I hear the faint crunch of foliage underneath the other tribute's feet. I can't quite tell where they are going, but I am pretty sure that they are not coming towards me. Taking a silent sigh of relief, I cautiously stand up and survey my surroundings.
There is nobody to be found.
Deciding to abandon the hunt for today and get back to Dan before the other tribute finds him, I turn to go west. Two minutes in to my journey back, I hear footsteps again. I turn around quickly, just in time to dodge an arrow shot by the girl from District Two.
She charges me as I try to throw my spear at her, but I miss. The girl tackles me to the ground, and I struggle to free myself from her weight. Relentlessly, she punches my face over and over and I scream as loud as I can from the blinding pain. When she gains the upper hand, she grips her hands around my throat, completely cutting off my air supply. She looks me in the eyes and says, "District Twelve will never have a winner. You are nothing but a coal-covered memory."
I take my chance and use a free arm to get a knife from my belt. One second, this girl is squeezing the life out of me with her bare hands. The next, I am watching as her skin goes pale and her blood spills on me. Her grip loosens, and blood from her mouth falls on my face before she inevitably falls over. In this moment, I realize that I have not only killed one, but two people in these Games so far.
"I'm so sorry," I whisper shakily to the girl. Within a few seconds, she dies, and I hear the cannon go off. We're down to the final eight now. With shaky hands, I retrieve this girl's bow, along with eight arrows. I feel the tears in my eyes, and all I can think is, I don't want to be here. I didn't even bother to get the spear as I run back to the cave.
Struggling to catch my breath, I run inside the cave and collapse on the floor.
"Charlotte?" Dan asks, scooting over to me and taking me into his arms.
"The girl from Two," I force out.
"I heard the cannon and I heard you scream. I thought you were dead," Dan says, burying his face in the top of my head. "Are you hurt?"
"She beat me up pretty bad. She tried to choke me and that's why I can't breathe," I say, barely above a whisper.
"You should rest," Dan suggests, kissing my forehead. He takes my shaking hands in his as I lay on his chest, and I pause to collect myself, keeping my eyes closed.
I don't remember sleeping, but when I wake, I am in for a surprise.
There is a parachute laying right next to me, and the blood is gone from my face.
"What's in it?" I ask Dan, referring to the parachute.
He answers, "I don't know yet. I was waiting on you to wake up first."
I go to the parachute and open the canister. What I find inside amazes me.
"Oh my god...food..." Dan gasps, astonished.
"And medicine for your back," I smile. I grab the syringe, and with Dan's consent, I inject it into his back.
We have survived another day, and now, we might actually have a chance at winning.
