Let The Flames Begin

Chapter 6

I’ve rarely ever swam before, but I don’t have any other options, judging by our surroundings. All that matters is staying afloat. It would be really pathetic if I drowned in the first two minutes. I keep surveying the arena. The Cornucopia sits by itself on a tiny strip of land. 

When the countdown finishes, I dive into the water. I get the bitter taste of salt in my mouth, which is strange for someone who’s used to swimming in fresh water lakes.  Nausea threatens to take over my stomach. But I don’t stop for a moment. People could start attacking me even in the water. Finnick Odair, who Katniss and I had decided to ally with, makes it to the Cornucopia first. Katniss is merely inches behind him. I see her make a run for a golden bow and arrow, and she eyes him anxiously. She even prepares to shoot him. Then she sees my expression of disapproval as I walk up to the beach.

“Hey, you silly girl! Look at his wrist.”

Finnick shows off a golden bangle with mockingjays etched into it. It was made for Peeta, but I suggested we give it to Finnick, for proof that Katniss can trust him. He might have the skills of a Career (and he’s got the ego to go along with it), but he’s got the heart of a rebel. Katniss still looks hesitant, but she plucks the arrow off of her bow.

“Hurry up and grab some weapons,” Katniss says to me. She starts to head away from the Cornucopia.

Finnick points his trident at her. “Hold on. Mags isn’t here yet. Please stay. She’ll need us.” We catch a glimpse of Mags seconds later, paddling like a dog to stay afloat. Almost nothing comes easily anymore once you’re her age.  

Quickly, I gather up a knife and club while we wait for Mags. Finnick gets antsy and announces, “I’m going to get her.”

He’s the best swimmer out of us, and in no time, he comes to the sandbank, carrying Mags.

“Let’s get moving before-”

Too late. Gloss from District 1 has almost reached us. Katniss snaps another arrow onto her bow and fires at him. A shot in his leg doesn’t kill him, but he sure will have trouble with movement now. The District 5 male begins to fight Finnick, who thrusts his triton into his body. The man becomes silent. Nobody else has come close to land, but Brutus, Cashmere, and Enobaria can’t be far. I prove to be right. Katniss attempts to shoot most of them. They all avoid her arrows as best as they can.

“Move out. Now!” Katniss demands. Finnick and Mags take the rear, while Katniss and I stand in front of him, and we run, run until our legs almost can’t take it anymore.

Finnick doesn’t say much else when we press on. Eight cannons ring through the air, signaling the end of the bloodbath. We don’t walk too far before I see a funny-looking shape in the air, like a sheet of glass. Katniss makes eye contact with me and points in the shape’s direction. “Do you see it?”

“Yes,” I answer. I raise my voice to Finnick and Mags. “There’s a forcefield right ahead! I’m not sure how long it goes, but don’t ever get too close to it.” Finnick and Mags nod. For old times’ sake, I feel the urge to throw a rock at it. But that stupid thing’s cost me too much already.

Desperate to find water, we search for about an hour. No luck. We stop to rest in a small jungle. We’re so far into the arena that none of the tributes could possibly sneak up on us yet. I still keep my eyes open for anything unfriendly that might come our way, man or beast. It’s getting harder to concentrate, though. My head hurts, and I’m shaking even worse than I did before. I hate withdrawal.

Katniss is taken over by curiosity. “I’m going to climb up that tree to see more of this place.”

She only takes a few minutes to scale the tree and come back down. “The whole arena’s shaped like a circle, and it looks like the forcefield is the exact same way. It’s like we’re stuck in a bubble.”

We begin making a camp. Okay, I didn’t contribute anything. Even though I’m in no physical condition to help, I think over the structure of the arena. We’ve barely scratched the surface, but it’s a start.

While most of us rest, Katniss decides to hunt. She returns with the ugliest rodent I’ve ever seen. “Look at the mouth,” she says excitedly. The creature’s lips are a little wet, and we all know what that means: water!

“Good work, Katniss,” I say to her. “It might take a while to find the source, though. Let’s call it a day.”

Night falls, and Katniss sits beside me to give me bad news. “They started to beat up Cinna when my pod was going up. I think they killed him.”

Even if I barely knew him, and even though he was reckless with his design, it feels as though I’ve been punched hard in the stomach. “I don’t know what to say, sweetheart. He was a good man.”

She grins at me for a second. “One of the best.”

“Who’s Cinna?” Finnick asks.

“Our stylist.”

“Oh.” He bows his head somberly. “Sorry to hear that. What he made for you was… so bold. Brave.”

“The best,” Katniss agrees. Then her eyes widen as she remembers something. “What about Seeder? She was supposed to come with us!”

“So was Chaff,” I say. “But the Games like to have fun separating us all.” Inside, I’m hoping that he made it through the bloodbath. 

Right on cue, the Panem anthem plays, and we see the faces of the tributes who died today. Seeder is one of them, sadly. I breathe a little better when Chaff doesn’t appear in the sky. That doesn’t make the death toll any easier to watch. We don’t go to sleep afterwards, thinking of where we might find the water. A silver parachute with the number 12 on it floats down towards me. Inside it is a tube of some kind.

“Any of you know what this is?” I ask, handing it to each of them in turn. Mags confirms that it’s not a fishing tool, while Finnick and Katniss are just as stumped as I am. We’re stuck in thought for maybe ten minutes until Katniss declares, “It’s a spile, you guys!”

I raise an eyebrow in confusion. “What exactly does it do?” 

“You can use it to get sap out of a tree to make syrup. But I’m thinking some of these trees have something much more important: Water.”

We all jump to our feet. Finnick and I are the ones who make the first decent hole, using our weapons. Slowly but surely, water begins to pour out. It feels so good on my tongue after all this time without it. After our efforts, everyone lays down to sleep. I close my eyes, but like I said before, I’m petrified of sleeping at night. I open my eyes every once in a while to keep us informed of anything strange. That doesn’t come until later. A bell tolls in the distance, and I try to count them. Katniss wakes up to the sound. “This can’t be good. Finnick! Wake up Mags right now. We need to get out of here!”