A Blooming Rose (hunger games fan-fic)

Chapter 9 (Day 2)

Loredana shook Rose awake. She looked around. Their shelter had stayed up all night. Rose got out of the sleeping bag and rolled it up so she could put it in her backpack. Ash had already done the same. The trio packed up their things and started through the woods again, but went at a slower pace this time.

"Where are we going?" Rose asked after an hour-and-a-half.

"I'm not sure yet," Loredana said. "We should focus on finding food, water, and a semi-permanent camping spot."

"And where do you think that is?"

"We could spread out and look around," Ash suggested. "We meet back here in, say, half an hour?"

They agreed on this and went in separate directions in search of water, food, and a place to stay.

~

Rose looked around. She found a small spring hidden behind some bushes and a cave-like structure in a hill. Rose set multiple traps and started back towards their meeting spot. Suddenly, there was a canon shot. Rose froze in panic then ran to meet with the others. She almost knocked over Ash as he emerged from the trees.

"What happened?" he asked. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, you?"

"I'm fine. Where's Loredana?"

Suddenly, Loredana appeared a few yards away. She spotted the two and rushed to join them.

"You two alright?"

"We're fine, Loredana," Rose said. "Who do you think that was?"

"Not sure. Could have been anyone: a career, a soloer. Guess we'll have to wait till tonight to find out. What did you guys find?"

"Nothing we can use," Ash reported. "You?"

"Same here. How about you, Rose?"

"I found a water source and a cave we can hide in. I've already set up traps so we might have something for dinner tonight, maybe even lunch."

She lead the two tributes towards her discovery. As they walked, they heard another cannon shot. A moment later, they could hear a hovercraft in the distance, retrieving the body of the dead tribute.

"That's eleven dead so far," Ash said. "Thirteen of us left."

"And only twelve left to die," Loredana added.

~

Hours later, night fell upon the arena. The trio had caught three squirrels, two rabbits, and even a few birds that they would later cook. They had already eaten one of the rabbits and their fire was starting to die when the Capitol's anthem began to play. Rose looked in the sky. The boys from 7 and 9 were dead. Who or what they were killed by was unknown; Rose guessed it was careers. They normally get a lot of kills in the games. The three tributes worked out who would be on watch when. Rose was going to be last, after Loredana. The girls rolled out the sleeping bags and climbed in. Within a few minutes, Rose drifted off to sleep, thinking about her brothers back home.