One Lucky Winner

Chapter 74 ~ Peeta

Day 8
8:27 AM

I open my eyes. The eighth day here in the arena. Here we go.

I sit up and lean against the side of the cave, still sleepy. I would go back to sleep, but I know I need to get up now. Today is the day I need to find Katniss. She only has a small bag, and we've been apart for far too long. I'm worried she ran out of food, and I miss her.

I dig through one of my bags for breakfast. After going through it for a while, I decide on crackers and fruit. I sit there and eat in peace. It's quiet in the cave, and I don't think anyone knows about it besides Katniss and Tony. Oddly, I feel safe and content here.

I stand up and walk out the cave. I look around. It's cloudy today, but less frigid then last night. Thankfully, the wind is mostly gone. It's just silent, besides the light breeze that once in a while blows across.

I sigh. I guess I should continue my search for Katniss. I don't want to leave the cave, and it's a huge hassle to carry all of this stuff around. Yesterday I was walking around all day, trying to find Katniss. It was tiring and miserable, because it was freezing and I had so much to carry. I finally returned to the cave at about midnight, when the tribute to the dead played. Two people died yesterday, so that makes seven people left.

I go back into the cave and start to pack up my stuff. I put all the supplies and water bottles and food back in the bags, I bundle up all the weapons, and I put back on all the winter gear. I feel like I'm going to go in the Arctic, because I have so much winter gear on I can hardly move. It takes too much room if I stuff the gear in the bags, so I have to wear all of it. Two pairs of gloves, two coats, a stocking cap, and three scarves. I feel and probably look silly, but oh well. At least I'm warm.

I head out the cave, and I'm immediately startled, coming face to face with someone who has a gun pointed at me.

I gasp and drop all my things on the ground. My mind screams at me, telling to point something at him. I'm too shocked to move, though. I just stare at the person, still trying to catch my breath. Why isn't he shooting at me? He's just standing there. I'm so confused.

"Who are you? What are you doing?" I ask him, sounding suspicious. He looks like a criminal because he's dressed in all black and his hood is up, so I can't see his face.

"Before I kill you, I need to know if you saw someone recently. I'm looking for someone." Woah. Not a dude. That was a girl's voice. She pulls down her hood, and I see now - it's that one girl, Tris.

I'm not trying to be mean, but she hardly looks like a girl. She's mostly flat chested, with no curves at all. She's wearing all black and a coat that's too big for her. The sleeves are sagging and it's too long for her. She looks worn out and tired; she has large dark circles under her eyes. But the one thing that makes me not recognize her is her hair. She cut it. I remember her interview, where it was long and pretty. But she cut it recently, and it's short. As short as mine.

I stop myself from trashing her looks. It's not like I look any better than her. I don't even want to know what I look like.

"Well, who are you looking for?" I ask her. I'm not scared of her. I think she got a 10, and I got a 12. She looks really skinny and frail. I can easily kill her if I needed too.

"Harry," she says. "Have you seen him?"

I think about it, and I realize that I haven't seen Harry, his friend, or that other girl at all during this past week in the arena. It's like they're invisible to me. I haven't came across any of them. Harry's the only one alive out of them now.