Sea Of Secrets [1]

Nine

A loud clank erupted from outside my cave, and I snap my eyes open to the second day in the arena. I grab my knife, being sure it's not another tribute.

I sigh in relief as I see a small white parachute and a silver circular box. Finnick or Mags must have sent me something. I hope it's food, or better yet, another water bottle. I snatch it up and quickly retreat to my cave, using the small light from outside to see what I have gotten. A letter sits on top of something hard, and I hope it's a weapon of some sorts, or bread. To my surprise , it's another canister. I set it aside and read the letter.

'Dearest Coral,
I am surprised to see you fight so well when put into a threatened situation. Maybe this will help you in your victory. I am sorry for your small brother, but things have to be done to keep the rebellion under control in the Capitol, and Districts. When you get out, I hope to be walking you down the isle'
           Sincerely, President Snow '

I am so angered that he still expects me to marry his grandson that I throw the paper, crumpling and tearing it up in frustration and grief. He could have made my life hell in the arena to keep the rebellious behavior down, but no, he had to just go and kill.

What I am more surprised at is that Finnick would ever allow this to happen, for him to send me this package. The mentors are supposed to see if I even need it, to see if the package is needed or not. In this situation, this package was garbage. Does Finnick want me to marry the grandson ? Does Finnick want me to become a member of the Snow family? Does he want me to suffer for the rest of my life?

I scream and throw the canister at the cave wall, it crashed down opening and cracking the lid. A sweet smell came to my nose and I immediately wanted to know what it was. As I made my way closer, I noticed it was a lotion, a cream of come sort. I checked the lid , and it said it was some sort of healing remedy. Maybe this can come in use.

I spent the remainder of my day hunting for fish in the nearby lake, and relaxing. I don't know why I'm not going out and finding people to kill , like I wanted to yesterday. I think grief is finally setting in for me because my limbs are tired, my mind is tired, and my eyes tear up at the thought of my brother. He didn't deserve to die. I should have died, not him. He deserved to live a full life, find love - something I will never find - and live with his children until he passes. He deserved happiness, and I messed that up for him.

No cannons went off today, and the day has been fairly quiet. As I fill my water bottle up, and put a few drops of iodine in it, I think of how peaceful this space would be if it wasn't always used for killing. The animals could roam free, the trees could grow wild, not having to worry when the next time blood will be shed on them.

If I were a tree, I would dance with the wind, and sing with the stars. I would welcome birds, keeping them safe from the bees and bugs that threaten them off. I would grow my roots strong, planting myself deeper and deeper into the ground. I would grow so I could touch the stars , welcoming shelter for them too.

I wish I could just stay in one area, without being rushed into another bad situation, or be plagued with death. I am not a tree but a weed, nothing comes from me but bad. Everyone dies around me, I must be cursed.

I crawl back into the cave after I am done eating my raw fish, and gaining enough water to hold me throughout the night. I find myself crying myself to sleep , one part of me wants to be one with nature, wanting to sink in and never be seen again. Another part of me wants to avenge my brothers death, bringing Snow down, and all his ally's. I want them to know the pain I felt when they took away the last piece of hope I had. I want them to know how it is to suffer. The Capitol has been privileged their whole lives , while the districts suffer. There are no words to describe my hatred I have towards the people who watch us die, and then laugh, smile, make a party out of it. They have drinks that make you vomit , just so you can eat more food. District Twelve is one of the poorest, or even the poorest , and the Capitol doesn't have enough humanity left in them to give them a little bit more money, a little bit more food.

Sleep doesn't come easy for me, for demons run through my nightmares, never once stopping for hours. I find myself waking in sweat and heat, I find myself reaching for the water to drink, to try and flush the nightmares and dark memories away. Soon I am out of water, and soon sleep will no longer come to me.

Twilight has just passed , and today I will go and find another place to stay, for I can not stay in one place for too long. Someone might find me eventually. I roll up my sleeping bag , and fit it into the backpack that is laying on the floor next to my empty water bottle. I pack my new healing cream, and a few knives , but keep the rest out. I shove them into my belt, and make way out of the cave, making sure the I leave nothing behind.

The strong smell of smoke smacks me right in the face, and I start to cough immediately. I quickly rip a piece of my shirt off and dip it into the water , covering my mouth and nose in it. I look around for where the smoke is coming from and see that it isn't just a fire that spread out of control, but it was a wall of fire, slowly dying out, but still fire balls being thrown at something moving. Another sick and twisted way to kill people off.

I take a sharp breath in when I realize that it isn't an animal, but a human running towards me, the run limped because of a burn.

Katniss Everdeen

Fear , for whatever reason rushed through my body. She is a enemy, not an ally, not a friend. My heart strings pull for her through, knowing I can help her, knowing that I can help her wound. She has a family back in District Twelve that need her.

"Katniss" I flail my arms around on top of my head, trying to get her attention. "Katniss!!" I yell louder, smoke coming into my lungs with every shout. She seems to be running this way, but I am not sure. "Over here!! Water!"

She lands in the water with a loud splash, her head barley strong enough to hold itself above the water. I run over to her, grab her by the waist, and help her into the cave. Her breathing is ragged and her face is smothered in ash.

"I got you, I got you" I say as I heave her further into the cave. I wash away some of the ash on her arms and face with the piece of wet shirt that I used for my own. I pull out my container of healing gel and start to open to cracked lid when she grabs my hand.

"What is that?" Her voice is raspy , drained from fluid. I hand her my water bottle and she brings it to her lips, taking big gulps of it.

"It's healing gel, it will help your burns heal" I take my knife and rip away what's left of her brown pants. Her calf is all burned, and I can see where some of it is worse, and some areas that will heal quickly without the gel. She screams in pain as I rub it on her worse areas, getting it deep into her skin. "Shh, shh" I coo at her as she grips my leg in support.

"Why are you helping me?" She asks when I am done and putting it away. This question rips at my heart, why couldn't she just thank me? Maybe she is hard at trusting people, like I am.

"You needed help" I say , I wipe more grime off her face, wetting the cloth again. "And plus , you need to win, to go back to your family"

"You don't think you'll win?"

"I don't have anything to reach for, to help me along in the games, you do. I mean you have Peeta, you have your mom and sister"

"Peeta tried to kill me, so I killed him while he was sleeping yesterday. You have your brother, there's that to go on" I grab my food out of my bag, and hand it to her. She takes some willingly, but I can see in her face that she is grateful. She must have not eaten much sense she got here.

"Snow killed him" I say as I slump against the hard rock wall. "I told him I didn't want to marry his grandson, so he killed him" tears fall from my eyes as say these words out loud. Katniss didn't know what to say, so she stayed quiet. "When you get out Katniss, kill him for me"

"For you, I will"