A Blooming Rose (hunger games fan-fic)

Chapter 10 (Day 5)

Three days had past since the deaths of the boys from 7 and 9 and nothing much had happened since. The allies went hunting everyday in search of food; they had killed many squirrels and rabbits along with a couple of birds. They had a good supply of food. Their spring gave them plenty of water so they could always refill their water container and relieve their thirst.

"Let's have a look around the area," Loredana suggested suddenly.

"What do you mean?" Ash questioned.

"We've been in the same area for days now. Nothing had happened, so the others probably aren't here. We have a chance to get to know our surrounding. I say we take it while we can."

"You've got a point," Rose agreed. "As long as we make sure our things are well hidden, our fire is well covered, and we have our weapons in case we do meet another opponent, then I'm in."

Ash agreed and the three quickly made their camping sight appear as if no one had ever been there. Each carrying their weapons, they walked through the woods. Looking for new food sources and other hiding places. After an hour, Rose motions for them to stop.

"What is it?" Loredana asked.

"Something else is out here," Rose whispered. "We aren't alone."

"What do you mean?" Ash inquired. "Is it an animal? Another tribute?"

Rose listened closely. She tried to determine what was coming towards them. It was slow, unsure, but there was at least five of them coming.

"Most likely tributes," Rose said. She pulled out her sais. "Be ready."

"How can we stop them?" Loredana wanted to know.

"We fight," Ash said.

"Or we use a distraction to lead them away from here," Rose suggested.

"With what?"

Rose looked around. Building a fire would take too long. They needed something quick. A buzzing sound caught her attention and she looked up. Above her was a tracker jacker nest.

"With that," she said quietly, pointing at the nest.

"What are those?" Loredana asked.

"Tracker Jackers. They're sting makes you see weird things or can kill someone. We need to be careful." She looked at the ground and smiled. She picked up a handful of leaves that she always carried with her around home. "If we're stung, these will help us. I'll climb up and cut the nest down. You two hide somewhere."

The two nodded and hurried into the bushes. Rose put her sais away and pulled out a knife instead. Gripping it in her hand, she began to climb the tree from which the nest hung from. She looked down and could see the tributes approaching.

"Keep a sharp eye," one said. "I heard voices over here."

Careers, she thought. If we can take them out, we have a better chance of survival.

Rose looked at the nest. She took her knife and aimed carefully. She glanced down again. The Careers were just within range of the nest. Rose felt a sudden stab at her hand. She looked at saw a Tracker Jacker sitting there, its stinger in her hand. She held back a cry of pain and concentrated. She threw the knife before he vision began to blur. The knife released the nest from the tree, but not before another Tracker Jacker stung Rose. She ripped out the stingers and looked down. The nest had burst open and the jackers were flying towards the Careers, who were now screaming in fright. She could tell by their cries that they were getting stung. Some more than others.

She watched as the Careers ran back the way they came, swatting at the Tracker Jackers. When they were gone, Rose jumped from the tree, but fell over. She pulled out her leaves and quickly put them in her mouth to chew. After a moment, she pulled the leaves out and placed them on her stings. She sighed as the pain quickly ceased and she could see clearly again.

"Ash!" she said. "Loredana!"

She heard rustling in the bushes and saw her two allies stumble out. Both had stings on them as well, but they were lucky. They only had two at the most.

"Guess you two survived the stings," Rose said. "Let me see them so I can treat them."

They showed her the stings; Loredana had one on the cheek and Ash had a sting on his upper arm and ankle. Rose chewed on the leaves and applied them to the stings. Ash and Loredana laughed in relief.

"You're pretty good at this stuff," Ash said. "Glad we decided to team up."

"Yeah, cause if you didn't, you might be dead by now."

The three laughed a little, but froze when they heard a cannon.

"A Career?" Loredana asked.

"Possibly," Rose replied. "Let's get back to camp. We'll want to be rested for tomorrow. Those careers might still be around here."

After Rose had helped them with their leaves, they slowly walked back to their campsite. When they got back, the sun was already setting. Rose put Ash and Loredana in the shelter. She started a small fire and cooked a quick meal for them. Once they ate, Loredana suggested that she take first watch. Rose and Ash were grateful and after they had applied more leaves to their stings, slid into their sleeping bags.

A few hours later, Rose was awoken by Loredana.

"Your time for watch," she said.

Rose got out of the sleeping bag and looked at Loredana.

"Did you find out who the cannon belonged to?" she asked.

"Yes," Loredana said. "The girl from Four. Probably died to the Tracker Jacker stings."

Rose nodded and wished her a good night's sleep. When Rose's watch was up, she woke up Ash and they changed places. Rose quickly drifted off to sleep, thinking of what awaited them tomorrow.