Fighter | The Hunger Games

Chapter Twelve

The night was cold; the kind of cold that crept inside and chilled you to your very bones. If it wasn't for my fleece sleeping bag I would have frozen to death in the depths of the darkness. 

I awoke in the morning feeling surprisingly well rested. "Day two" Olivia mumbled as she stretched her arms into the air and combed her hands through her messy hair. A slight ray of sunlight crept its way into the crevice of our enclosure signaling daybreak. "I wonder who didn't survive the night- especially with that acid rain and severe temperature change. How are your burns?" She questioned groggily. 

Although a dull pain lingered up both of my arms, the cold water and the bandages offered some relief. I carefully peeled back the edge of one of the bandages, revealing pink and flaky skin. "Not too bad" I commented quietly. "I'm sure they'll be fine within a day or two. My left wrist is still pretty swollen." I suddenly remembered stumbling through the forest and breaking my fall with my left arm. 

Olivia nodded and absentmindedly reached for her water bottle before realizing it was empty. "I suppose we should get some fresh water and maybe some food?" She sighed to herself. I longed to be back in the Capitol where our meals were specially cooked for us. I was growing used to living a life of luxury. "Yes we should do that now while some of the tributes are sleeping. Are you any good at hunting?" I asked hopefully. 

Olivia scoffed. "Please. District Eight is textile production. The only thing I know how to do is sew up a Peacekeeper uniform. Besides aren't you the one who practically lives in a forest?" She noted carefully.

I bit my lip. I knew the language of trees and various plants and lumber of course but never in my life had I hunted before. "Unfortunately gathering wood and killing animals isn't closely related in Seven, but I think I have an idea." A smile crept across my face as a thought crossed my mind. I was precise with a knife but I didn't want to risk losing any of them, and besides accurately hitting a target was different than targeting a quick animal. The Gamemakers would never place large animals in the arena; I knew from my lessons that it was most common to find squirrels and other small critters. My knives may not be useful but Olivia's nimble hands could prove to be a major resource.

"I have string, wire, and we can find some wood. I noticed metal weights in your bag. Maybe we could craft some sort of snare or trap? You are obviously skilled with your hands. I'm positive your work would be cleaner and more effective than my own." I proposed the idea to Olivia who was listening closely. 

"I like that idea. I can handle tying a capable trap. After all string and wire aren't much different than some of the materials I've used at home with a thread and needle. You are quite clever Avery." I appreciated Olivia's support and reminded myself of Jace's advice. Be smart. I needed to remember to think before acting.

It wasn't long before Olivia and I exited the cave and navigated our way into the forest surrounding us. The acid had burned many of the trees bare, their spindly branches and towering heights mocking us. It seemed like an image from an apocalypse. Unfortunately for us all of the streams were acidic and wildlife carcasses littered the forest floor. "We have to be careful" I spoke warily. "We're more exposed now without any of the foliage and clearly we've lost our water and main food supply." I found myself growing frustrated; this was not appearing to be promising for us. Neither Olivia or I wanted to stray far from the safety of our cave where many of our items rested, but it was looking as if our only option was to abandon the forest and search for a more abundant area.

"How about those? Could we somehow kill them?" Olivia asked pointing up to a group of cornixes circling around the tops of the trees. I let out a sigh of annoyance. Those damn birds. Bred to kill. "No" I shook my head. "Those birds are lethal. They cannot see but they can hear and smell. They'll kill anyone who touches those blackberries; they pick up on the foreign scent." I warned her. The Gamemakers were trying to set a trap for us by depleting all of the food and water in the forest besides the blackberries and cornixes. Who knows what else lays in this deadly forest.