Of Victors and Tributes

Chapter 13: The Ledge

Meadow and I hold tight to each other in the rising moon light that glistens the color of daisy petals. The Careers settle right below us, standing in a group huddle. They hold flashlights and I catch the reflection of a bag or weapon in their hands or on their backs. They're going hunting, like the hunter Meadow told me about from District 12. Except this time, they aren't looking for turkeys and deer.

"The boy from 5 was easy pickings," laughs Silver, or possibly the boy from 2. I think that it was Silver. I've heard him talk before; he would laugh often at other tributes who weren't trained like him.

"He was an idiot," Pearl replies, her voice void of humor. Pearl is different from most of the District 4 tributes that I've come across while being alive. She is not celebratory and she does not make fun of the other tributes. She is simply here for the Games, to compete and win. Which makes her dangerous.

"Lighten up, Pearl," Spark says. I can imagine her blonde locks and wide smirk that would always throw me off guard. For such a pretty girl, she is incredibly terrifying.

"Lighten up? I'll lighten up when we've got rid of those stupid tributes that formed an alliance. They're going to regret getting on our radar," Pearl snaps.

"They're no better than the outer district tributes are every year," says the boy I believe is from District 2. I don't know what his name is. I do know that he lost his district partner on the same day I did. That must have been a first. Anybody can tell that the Capitol caters to District 2 more than the rest of us. I'm not entirely sure why, but I know it has something to do with weapons and the like.

"But they're popular. Especially that boy from 8," Pearl hisses. Meadow tightens beside me. I motion for her to stay quiet. "Because of his brother. I hope that I get to kill him."

"He doesn't matter, Pearl," Spark insists. The mountains have been boiling hot, but I feel like the heat radiating around me is coming off of Pearl.

"Then it won't be a problem for us to get rid of him," she replies brusquely. I assume that the rest of the Careers are too afraid to continue the conversation, as they quiet down. Their torches are beginning to bob, the glimmer from their weapons signaling that they're moving on.

I catch the light of a silver parachute bearing down.

Somewhere from the lot of the Careers, there's an exhale of relief. I hear a weapon drop and someone reach up for the parachute, but it gets caught daintily in a tree, just out of reach.

"Damn. That must be the cream," Spark says. I can see her form jumping slightly, trying to reach the parachute, but not even the tallest of them can get to it.

"For the burns? I still can't believe that they didn't have any at the Cornucopia," Silver replies. Meadow and I stare at each other. We both know that her burn is becoming infected, and now we know that this is our only chance to get some. Obviously, we don't have enough money to afford a tube of the stuff quite yet. I stand carefully.

"No," Meadow whispers, grabbing my arm. "It's not worth it."

"I don't know the medicinal values of plants," I respond just as softly. "We need this or you could get much worse."

"It's not worth it. There's five of them and one of you. How are you going to get it?" she asks urgently.

"Look at the branches," I say, pointing to the tree. They are the thick, rubbery wood of the jungle trees. The ones that are strong enough to hold me up. And they are leaning outward towards our ledge, and if I leap, I can just make it.

"If you don't fall to your death, they'll hear you," Meadow persists. She refuses to let go of me.

"I need to try–" And as I try to take that one step forward, a rock slides out from beneath my boots and clatters against the mountain side as it falls. Instantly, I hit the ground, knowing that the Careers will be looking towards us.