Sea Of Secrets [1]

Fifteen

   Katniss wakes me up a bit before dawn so we can get our weapons and packs together. We were thinking all night at what we might need, and decided maybe some new clothes at the least. We have everything we need at the stream. We are guessing that the rest of the tributes need a little more then clothes. Some might be injured , or some might be starving.

   We eat a small amount of food before heading out, not wanting to have too much in our system before running a whole lot. I eat a few nuts and berries, and she eats a small fish that was left over from last afternoon.

   As we quietly make our way to the cornucopia, we chew on some mint leafs. They give my teeth something else to do then chatter from the cold. The days have been boiling hot, and the nights have been as cold as a winters day.

   Katniss tells me to stick close together , to have each other's backs. If one of us goes down, the other defends them. Our main goal is to get our packs , and get out of there, for we are sure there might be a blood bath.

   There are six of us left, and I am hoping for there to be at least four when we get out with our packs.

   As we come to the opening to the cornucopia, we hide behind some large grass, and lay flat on your stomachs watching from the slits of the wild grass. The table with the packs on it has a white cloth covering the wood, and there were five packs. One for Clove and Cato, another for Thresh, one small one for Foxface, one for myself, and one slim one for Katniss. I'm guessing they are more arrows.

   We were just about to get up until we noticed Foxface running to her pack, she grabbed it and hesitated. We thought she was going to get another pack , but she didn't and hurried off. I guess she didn't want to risk death.

   "Let's go" Katniss whispers and we take off running. I know damn well that a knife could take my life at this very moment, but all I think about is keeping my friend safe. Having her back like she has mine. All I see is her and my pack.

   Right as I am about to grab my pack, I go down with a thud. At first I thought that I just slipped, but then I realize the knife in my left shoulder and the large shadow above me.

   Clove.

   Her smile is pearly white, and her teeth reflect the sun. She stares down at me, and for a moment I wonder where Katniss is , why she isn't defending me like she promised she would. As I look past Clove, I see that she is injured herself. She has a large gash going from her hairline to her right eyebrow. It is gushing blood, and it looks as if she is blinded.

   "Hello there Coral" Clove shoves my head back down, tracing my neck with her finger. She knows how she is going to kill me, she's going to stab me in the throat. She should stab me in the heart instead.

   Before she could say another word, I flip her off of me, and reach for the knife in my belt. "Oh how the tables have turned" I am not sitting on her stomach, and I wince as I pull the knife out. "Isn't it a lovely day?" Her eyes are full of fear as I say my words calmly, like I'm not about to kill her, but sit her down for some tea. As she screams for her ally, I stab the knife into her forehead, hearing the loud crack as the knife hits bone. My next move is her heart, but I know she doesn't have one so instead I stand and walk over to Katniss. A cannon booms over head and I know that Clove was my third victim.

   "You kill in a very strange way" Katniss says to me as we run into the woods and back to our cave.

   "It's like a bullet to the brain, it kills you almost instantly" my voice shakes as I say my words, knowing that I am becoming a ruthless killer. I don't want to be, but I know that I will have to kill more to keep myself and Katniss safe.

   As I enter the cave I realize that there are now only five of us left. I sit and take out my ointment, handing it to Katniss. She gratefully takes it, and sets it aside. Obviously more interested in what she got. She got more arrows, and some bandages. We both had forgotten about her burns, that are almost healed, but not completely. They are still red and swollen.

   I looked in my pack to find some more knives, a rope for climbing, and some dried seaweed. No clothes. This is what the district thought that we needed, and I guess I needed some seaweed to help me realize that I'm here to win, not to be weak. Finnick must have bribed the game makers to put some in for me.

   I help wrap Katniss's leg, and forehead. The cut is pretty deep, but not so deep that it's fatal. She helps me wrap my shoulder, knowing that mine is deeper then hers. She puts some chewed mint leafs on my stab wound, and the cooling helps the throbbing. She puts some ointment on it, and wraps it up with the remainder of her bandages.

   That night we stayed quiet, not wanting anyone to hear us if Thresh or Cato came after us. We knew it had been hours sense the fight, but we didn't want to risk anything else from happening.

   I dozed off to sleep of the anthem when the pain in my shoulder finally hit the mark where I couldn't stand being awake. I wrapped myself around Katniss's body in the sleeping bag and drifted off into another nightmare.