My Games: Johanna Mason

Chapter 9

DAY 9 - PART 2

The split second I heard the voice, I thought I was going to die.

'Relax,' Cyprus said as he crossed the river to join me. 'It's just me.' I let out a sigh of relief. 'Never sneak up on me like that again,' I scolded him. 'Seriously, Cyprus, I thought you were a Career. I thought you were going to kill me.'

Cyprus apologised and went in for a hug. 'I'm really sorry, Jo.'

I knew that he was glad to see me, but I was pissed. 'It's Johanna. Now how do you eat those weird things?' I pointed to the 'mushrooms.' Cyprus chuckled. 'It's easy. Just rip it,' Cyprus said, grabbing the supposed mushrooms and tearing them from the ground, 'and then eat it.' Despite the horrible odour, Cyprus stuffed the mushroom in his mouth. He didn't seem to enjoy the taste.

'Go on, you try.' Cyprus handed me another mushroom. 'Okay...' nervously, I chewed on the mushroom. I cringed. It tasted worse than it smelled. 'Don't worry,' Cyprus assured me. 'After a day or two, you get used to it. Now lets collect as many as we can and then go back to my tree.'

I nodded. After we had collected two dozen mushrooms, we descended back into the Winter area. 'Why did you choose the snow?' I asked. 'Isn't it cold?' Cyprus shrugged. 'The Careers never go there, though. At night, I go over to the Spring section. It's just over there.' He pointed downriver, and I could make out some green trees that were taller than those in the Winter section.

'And besides,' Cyprus continued, 'it reminds me of home. This arena is nothing compared to the winters back in 7.'

I giggled. For the first time, I felt girly without having to try. 'I really believe that one of us will see home again, don't you?' Cyprus nodded, though he obviously didn't want to talk about it. 'Here is my tree,' Cyprus said, pointing to the particularly tall tree in front of us.

'You have good taste.' The tree was perfect - difficult to climb, yet easy for a person from 7 - tall, but short enough so that it blends in, and just the right thickness. There were plenty of places to securely rest on it, too.

'What supplies do you have?' I asked.

'A few more of those mushrooms, a water bottle, and a couple of bandages. I had way more before that battle, though.' I wished we could've talked more, but we were constantly being watched. As if being forced to kill or be killed isn't enough. When I was out of here, I would let the Capitol know how I truly felt. 'We can head straight to the Spring if you want.' And so we did.

A few hours later, Cyprus and I were huddled together on top of a tree on the edge of the Spring. It wasn't as cold as I anticipated it to be, though. Soon Cyprus had dozed off, and I just laid in his arms. I really needed to pee, but I didn't want to move. I decided to just take the small freezer-box out of my backpack. Once I had myself positioned correctly, I did the deed. I really hoped Titus or the Careers were doing something interesting right now, and I was praying that the cameras were focusing on them.

Just as i finished, the emblem appeared in the sky. The noise gradually woke Cyprus. He saw me fumbling with my backpack. 'What are you doing?' He asked. 'Just collecting my own piss.'

Though I couldn't see Cyprus' face, I could tell he was smiling. I looked up at the sky and saw Apollon's (the male form 1's) face. Titus must have found him.

Cyprus seemed exhausted. 'Okay, let's get some sleep now.' Cyprus once again descended into unconsciousness. 'Goodnight.' I whispered.

Suddenly I felt more comfortable, and hardly even cold, with Cyprus. I was so glad he found me again. Even though we've only known each other for a couple of weeks, it felt like we've known each other forever. He smelled like the towering pines of District 7, and reminded me of all the axemen that used to nod at me out of respect because I was one of the few teenaged girls who worked all day, six days a week. And even though the work back home was difficult, I enjoyed it.

Cyprus wasn't much, but he was from home.