The 65th Hunger Games - EDITING

Chapter twelve

"Back in district eleven, I was studying all kinds of plants, from a comestible one to a highly deadly upon consummation one. I spent hours looking at these flowers, fruits and roots until I knew them so well they'd be in my dreams. Judging by what we saw yesterday, a big part of our food is going to come from plants, so it's important that we all know the difference between what could kill you and what could save you, just in case we get separated."

We all know that when he says just in case we get separated, he means just in case he gets killed. It's a horrible thing to say at our age, but yet, here we are, talking about survival, murder and our own deaths like it was a normal thing to do. I take a quick look at the game makers, but they don't seem too interested by us; all eyes are on the careers, still at the spear throwing station. I wonder what is going to happen once they get bored of that and actually start watching our every move. Anthos looks at the different plants, and then grabs one.

"Do any of you know what this is?" he asks while holding a small black berry.

"Isn't it the berry that was used in the beef stew yesterday?" asks Adenias.

"You're dead. Next!"

"It looks like a fruit that grows near my house, if you don't eat a lot of them it's fine, but if you eat too much, it can cause hallucinations." explains Cedar.

"You're also dead. Who else wants to take a guess? No one?"

"I guess they are not edible?"

"Good answer Viviana. Eating this fruit, even just one of them could kill you. They are made to look exactly like black nightshade, but they actually are another one of the Capitol's mutations. They're a mix of deadly nightshade and hemlock."

"Nightlock."

"That's the right answer Finnick. If you see anything that looks like this, do not eat it. It may be another strain that is edible, but it's better not to take any chances, especially when you don't know the difference between the different strains. Now, do any of you know this one?" he asks holding a green stem with a raceme of about ten beautiful small white flowers.

"They are enhanced lilies of the valley. We use them during wedding celebration in district seven, but we also use their nectar to make lethal injections to people who break the law."

"Yes, that's exact Cedar."

For the next two hours, we listen closely to Anthos' words. All this knowledge will be really useful in the arena. I really hope he'll be able to survive at least a few days, because I doubt that any of us is going to remember everything that he said. I'm still trying to think about what skill I'm going to show them. Cedar helped us with the fires and axe throwing yesterday, Anthos with the edible plants and Adenias said he'd show us how to make weapons later today. Only Viviana and I haven't yet decided what to help them with. I could show them how to fish, but I doubt there is going to be a trident in the arena. I could show them how to make a net from vines, but who knows if the arena will even contain trees. Maybe we're all doing this for nothing and I was wrong from the beginning.

***

"In the arena, you're going to need to make it way sharper. I'm not going to do it right now, but you just need to continue to sharpen it a lot the same way I showed you."

I look at the improvised spear and arrows that Adenias made from branches, rocks and vines. It's not so hard to reproduce; I would probably be able to make a trident from the same materials. Those weapons are way heavier than the carbon fiber ones provided by the Capitol, but it should be able to serve the same purpose. Once the game makers see that the homemade weapons aren't sharp and that they break easily, they completely lose interest and focus on the careers that are now throwing knives and fighting with swords. Their amused faces make me wonder if they're going to put swords and knives in the cornucopia for their own entertainment. The way Anthos looks at the careers and the game makers proves that I'm not the only one with this thought.

"Depending on what we get, we could probably make an improvised crossbow but thing is, I'm pretty sure none of us ever practiced shooting with one, right?"

We all shake our heads, visibly discouraged. Not knowing what more we could do, we decide to finish this morning's conversation and to continue the training tomorrow, on the last day allowed for this purpose.

"I think that Finnick, Anthos and Cedar are the fastest of our group. You two probably could make it to the cornucopia in time, grab a few things and then meet us somewhere else. While they are there, we could grab some backpacks that are a little further since we're slower and it's going to be less dangerous." proposes Adenias.

"I may be tall, but I'm not that fast. I'd never get out of there alive." replies Anthos.

"I can go, I don't mind. Plus, it's going to be easier if we're just two instead of three. We're going to be able to move faster. What do you think about that Finnick?"

"I don't know. Are we really going to risk our lives for things that may not even be useful?"

"Everything you'll be able to grab is things the careers won't have in their possession. It may not be useful to us, but it may be to them and we can't give them that kind of power."

"I agree with Viviana. Finnick and I are going to go to the cornucopia and gather as many things as possible while you three pick up some backpacks on the ground."

"How are we going to find each other?"

"Just run in the direction where the tail of the cornucopia is pointing, we'll hopefully meet somewhere about there if everything goes right."

Thing is, we all know that in the Hunger Games, nothing ever goes right.