After The Storm (A Hunger Games Fanfic)

The Beginning of the End - 7

[slightly stronger language in this chapter]

Splish.

Splish splash.

Splish splash splosh.

Ever perks her head up eagerly, her nose twitching. Rain! It's raining! It was raining when she left home, but this is different. This is nice rain, soft rain.

This is cold rain. Her arms and clothes are drenched in it and she shivers unhappily. She's not used to cold rain. They had hailstones once, when the tornado ripped through the district, but all she remembers about it is being worried that the animals out there might get hurt.

The rain plinks like music off the handle of her shovel.

"It's raining," she announces to nobody in particular. She just feels like she's being watched by something, so she may as well talk to them, in case they're there.

Maybe...maybe it's the Capitas!

Her mind springs into life. The Capitas! They must be around somewhere; they were in the potatoes earlier and they've probably been following them all the time! She brushes the rain from her eyes and leans out of her little bed-branch to ask the people below if they've seen them.

There are only two, the girls. She frowns but she can't remember their names. Both of them are asleep but one looks like she's been in a fight. The Capitas can get you in your sleep; they'll crawl in your ear!

"The Capitas!" she shouts down over the sound of the rain. One of the girls - the one who doesn't look like she's been fighting - mumbles something and turns up to her, screwing up her face as the rain falls in her eyes.

Ever waves the shovel, giggling as she almost overbalances. "The Capitas might get you in your sleep!" she tells her. The girl rolls her eyes and slumps back against the tree, and says something. Ever can tell it's aimed at the other girl. "She looks hurt!" she explains, "She won't answer!"

After a pause, the girl darts to her feet and rushes around to the other sound of the tree.

"Shit."

"That's not nice!"

"Shut up. No, wait. Did you see what happened?" She looks worried, looking around everywhere like she's expecting somebody to jump out of the sodden grass. Her clothes stick to her with the rain and her legs are muddy. She must be cold but she doesn't even seem to be shivering, like she's used to the cold.

"No! I was asleep!" Ever calls back down. The girl runs a hand over her soaking hair and breathes out, one long breath. Then she stands tall, gasping.

"Boo!"

"That's not scary!"

The girl turns back up to look at her briefly, before scanning the arena. Her heart sinks. It's exactly what just crossed her mind.

"He's taken all the supplies too!" she spits. This is bad. This is very bad. The boy has made a fool of both of them. At least she's still alive for it.

Ever, holding the shovel just in case, watches curiously, almost laughing. She doesn't seem to know what to do. She takes a few steps in one direction, then wheels around to look in the other, and all the time her mouth is moving though she's not actually making any noise. Not over the rain, anyway. Ever shivers; it's still cold. Once the sun comes out, though, it will be warm. And the sun has to come out. It can't rain forever. So she can wait.

"Listen...erm...Ever? It is Ever, isn't it?"

The girl is shouting to her, one hand cupped around her mouth. She has two weapons now; one is a long pointy stick with a strap on it, slung over her shoulders like a strange kind of bag. The other is called a sword; she knows that. It's like a straighter shovel.