The Hunger Games - Rebirth - Book 2

Chapter 13

I sat keeping watch while Tierney slept. She got tired easily so I made sure she got enough sleep. A few minutes before I woke her up I made sure she had fresh water and a meat sandwich to eat. When I made sure she had ate well and was fully hydrated I fed and watered myself as well.

Before I set out I made sure we were both bathed and there was enough food and water to keep Tierney fed for the rest of the day. It was something I felt I was responsible to do since I had claimed her like she was my own. After much observation I realized that this girl was also lacking the skills a normal 16 girl would have, she seemed to have the mentality of a 7 year old. I realized that this child was special.

"I won't be gone long" I promised her. "Stay in the tent no matter what happens. Keep quite and don't forget when the sun hits the middle of the sky you should get some rest." She was a good listener which I liked because it made her less difficult to deal with.

I gave her a peck on her forhead and slung my bow, sheeth and backpack over my back before I headed out. I zipped up the tent and took a few steps back to make sure the camoflauge worked with the rocks and then turned and headed out. Before I made my way out of the concealment of the rocks I made sure my bow was at the ready.

I spent 2 and a half hours walking circles around the perimeter of the area, slowly making my way outwards with each circle. When I made my 4th loop around I heard commotion, two people talking and heading my direction. I moved closely to the nearest tree and scaled up the tree and watched the scene below.

"There are 9 of us left, soon 8 when that Katniss girl finally bleeds out. I cut her good Ambrosia." The first girl said.

"Where did you cut her Rosetta?" Ambrosia asked.

"Her leg, I cut her deep." Rosetta replied.

"Why didn't you just kill her?" Ambrosia asked.

Rosetta shrugged her shoulders. "I like them dying slowly, same way I killed my neighbors son and that last guy from 12 Haynitch I think it is."

My eyes widened, this was the girl that killed Haymitch. Without hesitating I pulled back my bow and let it go. I watched as the arrow flew through the air and hit Ambrosia in the neck. She was dead within seconds. I pulled another arrow from my sheeth and armed my bow before I jumped down landing on my feet.

"Where is Katniss?" I asked the girl. I took a few steps forward keeping my bow ready to launch and my arrow pointed right at her heart. "I'm going to ask you one more time, where is Katniss?"

"Who's Katniss?" The girl asked me.

"Don't play stupid I heard you bragging about cutting her. Where did you leave her?!" I shrieked. I walked forward and pulled my arm back harder. "I'll do it you bitch! I'll shoot my arrow straight through your god damn heart! Now where is she!"

The girl rose her hands up before her and took a small shuffled step backwards. "Okay, okay. I left her by the waterfall, in it, around it. I don't exactly remember where it was because it was so dark I just know she was bleeding alot when I left her." The girl replied.

"Where is the damn waterfall?" I asked her.

"Just follow the river east and you will come to a mile wide dry patch that used to be part of the river. Follow that and you will come to a pond with a waterfall. Look for blood, lots of blood."

I nodded my head and smiled. "Thank you. You may have just saved my friends life."

Rosetta smiled nervously. "Well I'm just going to go now..."

"Hey now, I said you may have just saved my friends life but unfortunately for you your days in the arena have come to an end. Don't worry I promise it will only hurt for a moment." I pulled back my arrow and aimed right at her heart. In one swift movement I released and heard a gut wrenching ripping sound as it tore through her skin and through her heart. A cannon blast sounded and I knew it was over for her. "I'm sorry but you shouldn't have hurt my friend." I spoke to her dead body as I ripped the arrow out of her chest and then turned to retrieve the arrow from Ambrosia.

I set back to the tent to check in and make sure that Tierney was doing okay. After I made sure she was good on her water and food I told her where I was going and that I would be back soon. With my backpack fitted on my shoulders and my arrows clean I headed out following the river.

It was late night and I had just found the dry river bed that was my second marker of me heading in the right direction. The sky lit up and the anthem began to play before the recently dead tributes faces flashed in the sky. Katniss wasn't there and that meant she was alive. I smiled to myself.

I took off at a run covering the ground as quickly as possible. A few times I had to stop and make sure I was on the right path before I started running again. In less than 30 minutes I was running along a moist river bed.

I came to a stop and looked around. There was the pond and off to my left by the sound of it was the waterfall.

"Katniss!" I hissed. "Katnissssssss!"

I began walking around the pond carefully before I gave up. I needed light if I was going to see anything. I searched around the ground and found rocks to make a boundary and then began piling up some wood. After I made a somewhat reasonable teepee I used some moss I found on a the wall of the cliff and used my flint to start a small flame which I worked into a bigger one.

After I got the fire going I made a torch and began looking around. Almost immeadiately I found blood trails. Slowly I followed them and stopped at the far end of the pond. There laying unmoving halfway in the water was Katniss! I covered the rest of the ground tossing the torch in the water extinguishing it. I knelt down beside Katniss and pull her head into my lap.

"Katniss" I whispered. "Wake up." I touched her face and felt the coldness. Her warmth was gone.

I carefully pulled her over to the fire and removed her clothes to dry them. I searched the area and found a vine which I used to make a clothing line and I hung her clothes. I cleaned her off and then took a look at her wound. It was deep but uninfected, atleast for now.

I found a medicinal plant and crushed it up before I soaked it and plugged the knife wound with it. This would draw out any germs and bacteria and would help the white blood cells to repair quickly. After that I bandaged up her leg and laid her close to the fire and covered her with my sleeping bag.

"You are going to be fine." I told her as I began giving her water.

I kept a close eye on her and when she had finally pulled out of her stooper I gave her some bread. I watched the sun rise slowly bringing around the sun.

"Aloe...." I heard Katniss whisper. "Thanks...."