Not Just A Game

Chapter 40

{Happy 40th Chapter, enjoy!}
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I stumble out of the foggy woods into the blinding light of the clearing. There's nothing ahead except a few trees and a small creek lining the edge of the arena.

My stomach does a backflip when I hear the sound of the rushing creek, signaling clean, clear water. My body is getting dehydrated with all the running I've done in the past day, and fatigue is starting to settle in.

It's eerily quiet, there's only the sound of branches rustling in the light breeze. I feel so alone in the arena, like there's nobody here but me.

There've been no cannons today. Not one, and that scares me. The careers usually would have found somebody by now, after they go hunting down tributes at night.

Something is off, and my instinct tells me that the careers aren't the most important thing right now. There's 16 tributes left in the games and no recent deaths. That means something interesting is happening in the arena right now.

And suddenly, as if they were reading my thoughts, a loud cannon goes off, jerking eyes out of my thoughts.

I close my eyes and hope that it wasn't my district. I don't think I could mentally handle it.

Meanwhile, I still have no weapons. Maybe it would have been better to think about that in the initial start of the games.

I still have to look through the blue backpack I grabbed during the bloodbath. It's medium sized, but I can hear several items shift in it when I run. But I need to find the others before I even think about sifting through the contents.

I take a look around the green, grassy field that surrounds me, and direct my attention to the sliver of auburn hair that barely shows from behind a large tree.

My body floods with relief as I bound towards it, a trace of a smile on my tired face.

All doubts are washed away the moment I'm close enough to recognize Harley's face.

She senses me behind her and whips around with a bow in hand, arrow poised in her quiver. She looks like she's been running too, with her messy hair that's been pulled into a ponytail, the dirt covering her hands and shoes. It doesn't seem like they've just been waiting around by the creek.

The moment she recognizes me, she drops the bow and rushes to me, looping her arms around me.

"We were so scared. Where have you been?" she asks worriedly.

"I'm so sorry. I just got a little lost, that's all." I say reassuringly, although I know it was a little more than losing myself in the woods.

"Wait," I ask suddenly noticing an absence, "Where's Dustin?"

"He's just in the trees, you know..."

"Ok, ok, that's enough." I laugh.

It's been two days we've been in the arena. I'm sure that we have a lot of catching up to do, and it's not going to be pleasant.

A lot can happen in two days.

A few minutes later, after taking a quick drink in the creek, Dustin strolls out of the little group of trees about 50 yards away.

He has the same ruffled, worn look about him as Harley does. His dark hair is a mess of tangled locks.

The moment he looks up, his eyes lock with mine and everything that's gone wrong these last few days suddenly seems okay.

He doesn't even smile as he runs towards me an engulfs me in a tight hug. My head is tucked right under his chin as he holds me close to him in an longing embrace.

When we pull apart, his eyebrows are furrowed together in confusion and relief, "What happened out there? Where did you go?"

"I was lost in the trees, and the fog, and Griffin...." I trail off, remembering the cold, empty hole in my heart that my best friend used to fill.

"Don't think about that now, why don't we all go sit down and figure things out, okay?" He asks, trying to change the subject.

I nod as he takes my hand in his and leads me over to the tree where I first found Harley.

We sit down in the soft, green grass. It feels like silk between my callused fingers. The shade of the tree feels great against the heat of the sun on my back. There's a light wind the sways the branches of the beautiful Willow tree. This meadow is so peaceful, so pleasant, that you almost forget about what's really going on.

Harley slumps down against the bark of the tree and slides down it's trunk to a sitting position. She leans her bow against the Willow and throws her backpack to Dustin.

"It's his. He grabbed it." She explained.

I sling my own pack off of my shoulders and set it in front of me.

It's about the same size as Dustin's, but his looks bulkier on the inside, like it's packed heavier.

"Ready?" I ask.
They nod, and I unzip the bag.

They watch as I reveal a rope, a large empty canteen, a can of dried fruit, strings of jerky, a box of matches, and an extra pair of socks.

As I stuff the supplies back in my bag, Dustin pours his out.

I look at the supplies strewn across the grass, and notice half a loaf of bread, more rope, a small blanket, a canteen, a tiny knife, and a clear plastic poncho.

"Anybody hungry?"
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Author's Note///

I know it's a short chapter but it's important I guess...
Please vote and comment...

Happy Thanksgiving!
And Happy Birthday to me!

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Xoxo, eat lots of turkey,
IronAbbs