The Hunger Games | Rilaya

Together

I clasp my hand over my mouth, instantly regretting what I just did. But nobody shows up, making me sigh in relief.

Now that I think about it, there must've been a reason for the Gamemakers to change the rules. The star-crossed lovers from District 12, of course.

Riley may have been using that angle all along, having the audience convinced that we really were lovers. Shaking her head to prevent me from running to the Cornucopia, fighting Cato to let me escape. Even teaming up with the Careers might have been just to protect me.

But the real question in my mind, something that I've been debating ever since her interview, is was she just acting? Or did she really love me?

I try to get some sleep, knowing that tomorrow I'll have an eventful day trying to find Riley.

The next day, I'm extra cautious. The Careers (which is just the tributes from District 2 now) most likely can guess that I'm trying to find Riley, meaning they could be planning to ambush me. If Riley was badly wounded, I'd have to defend both of us in the event of an attack.

I try to think back to anything Riley's said to me, hoping to find a clue as to where she could be. But I can't think of anything. So I go back to the last moment I saw her, back at the clearing after the tracker jacker incident. Her yelling at me to run, Cato appearing, her scream.

How did she get away then? Maybe she didn't get stung by the tracker jackers as much as Cato did and was able to escape. But how far away could she have gotten? And how is she still alive with a wound and stingers? Surely she would've died of thirst by now.

Wait. That's it. Riley has to be by water. Surely not the lake though, it's too close to the Careers' camp. I decide to check by the stream where Auggie and I had first made camp.

Auggie.

I wonder how he's doing up there. Hopefully he can just be a child again and not have any worries. Maybe even get a girlfriend named Ava or something.

I make my way down to the stream, checking for any signs of life. Just when I'm about to give up, thinking she must be somewhere else, I hear a hoarse voice.

"You here to finish me off, sweetHART?"

I turn around so fast, I may have just given myself whiplash. "Riley, where are you?"

"Well, don't step on me."

I jump back, startled. Her voice was right under my feet. And that's when I see her eyes. Of course, I should've known she would be camouflaged.

I kneel beside her. "I guess all those hours decorating cakes paid off."

Riley cracks a smile. "Yes, frosting. The final defense of the dying."

"You're not going to die." I say firmly.

I can't lose you too.

"Says who?" She asks.

"Says me. We're on the same team now, you know."

"So, I heard. Nice of you to find what's left of me."

I grab my water bottle from the pack, giving her a drink. "Did Cato cut you?" I ask, biting my lip, not wanting to hear the answer.

"Left leg. Up high." She replies.

"Let's get you in the stream, wash you off so I can see what kind of wounds you've got." I say.

Riley nods.

It was harder done than said. Even though the stream was only two feet away, Riley is so weak that she can't move even an inch. I try to drag her but quickly stop when I hear the first few cries of pain come out of her mouth.