Safe and Sound || Hunger Games

Chapter Sixteen - Trust Mockingjays ||PART TWO||

NOTE: I think you guys will like this one :)

PART TWO - THE BURN

Chapter Sixteen - Trust Mockingjays

I woke up suddenly when I heard the anthem of Panem. It was still raining, but it wasn't as heavy as before. Admittedly, it was still very cold and very wet, but it didn't hurt to look up to the sky to see the face of Ryker being shown. I gulped as looked away, squeezing my eyes shut. I didn't want to have to look into the eyes of the boy I killed. I stared at the ground until the anthem finished. Even though I felt bad about being the cause of someone's death, I couldn't help but think 'Eleven left, ten to go'.

When I was sure there was no one looking down at me from above, I opened my eyes and allowed my belt to pull me back down to the branch. I lay there and stared at the sky, which was now getting quite dark. The rain landed on my face, despite how I was guarded by the canopy of leaves above my head. I thought about Grayson, I couldn't help myself.

I knew that Grayson was more or less safe, but I was still worried for him. I didn't need him, though. But I also did. After all, he was the one who made me laugh during training, who had shown me support and who had been kind to me, even though he knew that we would have to fight to the death in the next few days. I imagined Grayson's smile; it was so bright, so innocent and so happy, even though he probably didn't have the best life. But he was optimistic and thought positive. I imagined the rabbit he cooked and gave to me when I was in need, the blue hair that he gained trying to do camouflage during training and the warm hug he gave me the night before the bloodbath. While picturing all of these things, I found myself smiling. The rain didn't feel so cold and the shivers in my spine felt much more like happiness instead of lack of warmth.

"Okay, you win." I whispered to the stars that seemed to be following me about throughout these Games, "I'll find him tomorrow."

_________

I woke up on day six of the Games with a mindset of determination, the rain no longer falling and the sun shining. Well. It wasn't exactly a 'pleasant shine', more like a dull glow, but it felt like it was waking me up gently. I was going to go and find Grayson Stengard, the boy who made me smile without even trying. I unbelted myself and packed away my sleeping bag. I put my belt back on and stretched. I then slipped my backpack and quiver onto my back and picked up my bow. I then jumped down from the tree and landed somewhat gracefully. I decided I would go hunting, as I was quite ravenous. I dreaded to think how much weight I had lost these past six days. I had done a lot of running and not much eating.

So I went out with my bow and I managed to shoot down another rodent, like the one I had shot down on the second day. I cooked it quickly and ate some of it and then had a little bit more of Peeta's cake to wash it down. There was only a small bit of that left after I had had my bit. I would definitely be saving that for later. I packed it all away then slung my backpack onto my back. I then put my quiver on over the top and picked up my bow.

I was going hunting again.

But this time, I was hunting for Grayson Stengard, a rare specimen who truly made me happy, even though we had actually only known each other for a few days. He was a one-of-a-kind, very rare and a very gentle creature. If anyone was to just be caught in the presence of the Grayson Stengard, they should be very honoured, for he is the rainbow in the heavy rain.

I walked. I knew it was going to take a long time to find him, but I didn't mind. It would probably even take days, but I knew that it would be worth it in the end. So I kept going, determined to keep on the move. The thing was, the forest was huge and it would be very hard to find Grayson, he could have been anywhere. He was awful at camouflage, I knew that for certain, but he was quite quick and stealthy. He would be able to run pretty fast and be hard to catch. I didn't know if he could climb trees very well or if he preferred to be on the forest floor, but I find out sooner or later. Well, I hoped I would.