The Hunger Games: Never Safe From Danger

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-One

Frinn’s POV

The tree was actually kind of really uncomfortable to lean on. I wake up and immediately regret it. My neck hurts from the awkward angle, my back hurts from the bark. I shuffle away from it and the weird thing is I can still feel the bark on my back. It’s imprinted. I can imagine I’m covered in red lines on my skin- like some mucked up pinkish tree.

Mucked up is nothing new, though, is it?

I’m not sure of the most productive way to spend my time…you see, I’m not feeling particularly hungry or thirsty, so I won’t attempt to hunt or scavenge or anything (a decision I will probably regret later).

Exploring a bit more…yeah, yeah that makes sense. Okay. And with any luck I’ll find Ten…that’ll be great. Would be great. I don’t know.

The fingers of my right hand are a bit stiff from holding my knife the entire night. I stand there, under the only tree in the valley, just wiggling my fingers. I’m not paying attention to the fact that killing me would be simple as clapping your hands to anyone who came across me. No, I have bigger priorities- making my fingers feel better.

My hands are feeling normal again now and I start walking, which I only now realise does not involve hands and therefore I just wasted a lot of time. Fabulous.

I climb the hill into another valley. It’s a new one- I’ve not been here before. I run down the slope and immediately notice that the odd dark green, leafy plant grows here and there amongst the grass. Each one resembles a stinging nettle. I make a mental note to steer clear- nettle stings are horrible. I used to get them all the time when I was seven, and me and the other children would all play tig in the fields…I was always that one kid who fell in the huge clump of painful plants and went home crying….and then tried to cover it up with the ‘no-seriously-there’s-dust-in-my-eye-excuse’…they always laughed at me.

I bet they’re not laughing now. “Hi, guys,” I say, even though a) I have no way of knowing if I’m on camera right now and b) if I am, they won’t know I’m talking about them.

Not knowing whether or not you’re on live television at all times…it’s a barrel of laughs, honestly.

What are Leighla and Zech and even Ryda doing right now? I want to know…I tell myself to get a grip- curiosity killed the proverbial cat, Frinn, and it could easily end you too if it wanted.

I cough awkwardly. Now I’m feeling a little bit self-conscious about everything- the way I walk, the ideas I have…will people think I’m an idiot for just having a wander?

Hopefully? No. Probably? Well…

I hear a twig snap. First thought: career. Second thought: vicious killer muttation. Final, painfully obvious realisation: I took a step forward and my foot landed on a twig.

I hate my life.

All of a sudden all I can think about is why my clothes are waterproof…it’s making me nervous, like the place will flood after a while or something. But no, full on flooding? What’s the point of waterproofs then? Relax, I tell myself. Worst you can expect is stormy weather. Least of your worries, yes?

Another step forward. Weird tingling sensation in my leg. I look down. I just walked straight into one of the nettle plants. I feel nothing, so I just shrug and keep walking. I look at the clouds, I look at the trees, I look at the grass…and then it hits.

OH…MY-

What the hell?! My leg- OUCH! Just…there are NO WORDS. WHAT. WHAT. WHAT. This is overwhelming. I fall over face first, hitting my head on the ground, but I don’t care compared to whatever’s going on in my leg. The place where I was stung, it’s literally feeling like it’s on fire and I can safely say I have never been in so much pain in my entire life.