After The Storm (A Hunger Games Fanfic)

Map - 6

That picture is stuck in her mind.

The girl with sticky blood running all down her front, streams of rain down her face and pale hands, and the weeping red of the inside of her neck, cut by shards of pure white bone. Her tummy twists uncomfortably. That wasn't nice. She bothered a dead person. Hopefully she will be forgiven.

Ever sits down, just because she doesn't want to carry on walking. The grass isn't talking to her anymore. It's hissing, scowling. She keeps the shovel close, just in case, but her other hand toys absently with a strand of her hair, wrapping it around her fingers again and again. She's still damp and muddy even though the sun is out now. The sky is a pretty shade of purple-orange, early morning.

The boy's face was in the sky last night, the one who was always with the shouty girl. He looked sad then.

The loud noise bursts out of the sky, making her jump to her feet; what's happening? It's not nighttime so why is the music playing? Her head whips around, her hair slapping into her neck, her eyes wide like a frightened animal's, as the voice beams out over the arena. She recognises this woman. This is the woman on the stage who smells like fruit.

"Hello there, tributes! Lovely morning, isn't it? I hope you've all had plenty of sleep! Because we have decided to make things interesting!"

Interesting. Ever's ears perk up. Interesting is good.

"Now, I can see a few of you looking a little puzzled" - Ever looks around but she can't see the woman, so the woman must not be able to see her - "So allow me to explain. At precisely midnight tonight, the Cornucopia will be restocked. That's right, restocked. It's a long time since many of you have eaten. Some of you are injured or hurt. You will find food, cures, bandages, almost anything you could need, at the Cornucopia. But by dawn, it will be removed, so if I were you I would get there early? Any questions?"

After a pause, the voice giggles - it sounds wrong, even to Ever - and announces, "Well, you can find out the answers yourselves! A victor is among you, tributes. Could it be you? May the odds be ever in your favour!"

Ever hears the word 'food' and her tummy forces her to concentrate on the rest even though it doesn't sound very interesting and she doesn't like the voice. Most of it sounds irrelevant but she gets the basics; food at the horn place, until dawn. Dawn is when it starts to get light. Somebody told her that but she can't remember who. They had a very thin face. They were in a tree.

Yes, food. That sounds good. But to get food she needs to be at the horn place, and she doesn't know how to get there. She could almost see it from in her tree but now which direction has she gone?

Her tummy says; this way.

She doesn't notice her hands shaking on the shovel as she darts through the grass, following the call of hunger.

Rain's arm feels useless. It has stopped aching but it feels unresponsive and her breath comes in sobs. It's not worth it, is it? Even if she is infected. She can't go, even if it could help her arm. She would be slaughtered. Doubtless somebody would think of hanging around all day, waiting for weaker tributes to turn up. That boy from Three, probably. He seems creepy enough to do that.

Her left hand is clutching the box, the last few scraps of bread that she had to collect everything in her consciousness to resist. A strand of hair flops in front of her eyes, sticking to her nose, and she lifts her right arm to push it aside...

...except she doesn't because her right arm still hangs limply by her side. She can see it, she can feel the weight hanging of her shoulder and she can feel it bumping into her side, but no feeling comes from the arm itself.