Chapter 8:
I looked after him in shock as he approached his teammates. Why? He definitely spotted me but why did he just casually walk away when he had the perfect opportunity to kill me? It didn’t make sense but then again thinking about it I realized he wasn’t like the others. For a Career, Troy was quiet, calmer and not as cocky, the way Spark was. But what shocked me the most was that he wasn’t anywhere as ruthless as a Career should be. During the blood bath at the Cornucopia, Troy didn’t really fight anybody unless he was approached. Why though? I had no idea but I had the urge to find out.
I almost wanted to walk up to him and ask why he just ignored me and walked away. It especially pissed me off that he spotted me because stealth was what I was best at. How the hell did he see me?
I was torn out of my thoughts when I head Spark laugh hysterically and lift Elra up, threatening to throw her in the ice cold water of the lake. She laughed and clung to him. I slowly inched my way towards the water keeping low. None of the Careers were paying attention from the other end of the lake but I still felt as if something was watching me. I turned towards the Careers again to see Troy glancing towards me from the corner of his eye.
“Troy?!” I heard Elra snap as I filled up the bottle quickly. “What?” he asked calmly, turning to her. His voice was deep and seemed harsh directed towards her. “What are you looking at?” she asked glancing in my direction. I had decent cover so I wasn’t worried about her spotting me but I expected him to rat me out so my heart raced in fear.
“Nothing” he said casually and very bored as he crossed his arms over his chest. I sighed and again wondered why he wasn’t trying to kill me. It didn’t matter though. My bottle was full of water and I was going to head back. As I stood up I took a careful step forward meanwhile crouching over hiding behind the snow covered foliage. I stole a quick glance towards the Careers. “I’m cold” Elra said batting her eyelashes at Troy and moving closer to him. I was amazed at how easy it was to hear them even though they were about 30 feet away from me but I guess the silence of the forest made it easy.
“Not my problem” Troy told her somewhat annoyed. I had the urge to laugh and nearly did as I took another step forward only to have my foot slid across the ice I hadn’t noticed earlier. Next thing I knew I was on the ground, a boom filling the forest as my body crashed. Birds flew overhead afraid by the sudden noise.
My head was throbbing and I forced myself to get up. Everything was spinning around me. I only managed to sit up though because the moment I tried to get on my feet my vision blurred and my leg ached. “That way!” Spark yelled and I heard his extremely loud footsteps. I glanced in that direction only to see Spark already jogging, deserting the deer. Elra was beside him and Drex followed at a steady pace. Troy stayed by the dead deer watching.
There was no way I could outrun them like this. I had to think quickly. I looked around hoping to find something that could help me. Behind me I saw 3 rocks about the size of my fist. One was covered in blood and I knew that I must have landed on it but I had no time to worry about that. I grabbed one rock and with as much force as I could manage I threw it across the lack. It smashed against a tree truck causing another boom to fill the forest and the snow in the tree fell off lightly.
Spark paused and looked that way. “Head that way” Spark demanded and Elra nodded running backwards as Spark headed in my area again, slowly this time as if he were a tiger stalking his food. I picked up the other rock and held my hand back, my grip on the rock tight. I threw it towards Spark only past him so that it hit another tree. Again he stopped and stared at it. “Drex, go!” he demanded and kept coming towards me. Shit he was still coming towards me.
I was down to my last rock and I prayed silently this would work. I looked back towards Troy. He was smiling and watching almost entertained by what was happening. I growled and picked up the last rock. This time I flung it straight at Sparks head. The idiot didn’t see it coming as the rock hit his jaw causing him to stumble backwards. I made my way to my feet and ignored my aching leg. Troy was laughing as Spark stood up in anger, blood trickling from his lips. I limped towards a nearby tree and started scaling it.
I could feel the weight of the snow combined with mine bringing the branch down. Staying on one branch for too long was not a good idea. I growled running out of brilliant ideas as Spark was now right under me, the lake on my left. Spark growled and shouted “Come out here, coward!!”
I held my breath hoping that he wouldn’t look up but more importantly I hoped the branch wouldn’t give out and I wouldn’t fall. I wanted to throw a knife at him and debated whether I should but considered it was a stupid idea since the other Careers were around and would know instantly where I was. Throwing a knife and killing Spark was completely suicidal since I’d be up against 3 Careers afterwards and with my head bleeding and my leg aching it would end in sure death.
I was shocked to see a knife land into the tree opposite me. Spark spun around since the knife barely missed his face. “Enough. There’s nobody there. You’re wasting our time. Let’s go” Troy said standing right by the lake next to the tree I was in.
“You bastard! Are you trying to kill me?!” Spark yelled. Troy ignored him and just stared at Spark. “If there’s nobody here then how the hell did I get hit in the face with a rock?” Spark yelled.
“If you had half a brain you would know that the rock came from the south not west. The rock came from across the lake” Troy said bored. Why was he covering for me? What the hell was he trying to do? Why was he saving me? A million questions filled my head.
Spark cursed and slammed his shoulder into Troy as he stormed past him. Troy shook his head with a laugh and glanced up. His eyes instantly caught mine. “I owe you for hitting him in the jaw. If it swells and he can’t talk I owe you even more” Troy said. I stayed in the tree still in shock.
He turned and started walking away. I opened my mouth and quickly responded “I think we’re even since you just got that idiot away from me” Troy stopped and glanced back at me. His blue eyes weren’t as ice cold as before. “Well let’s see. You upstaged Spark, Drex and Elra back during training by outsmarting them when they tried to make you fall, you kicked my bitch of a mentor’s ass, you gave me the pleasure of watching a rock smash in Spark’s jaw, might have broken it too and you saved my life. All I’ve done was kept Spark away from you” he smirked and his eyes suddenly filled with what seemed like maybe a little joy.
“Saved your life?” I asked. He laughed and walked away glancing back only once saying “Get out of the tree before you fall stupid. Wouldn’t want to break your arm again would you?” before disappearing. I couldn’t help but wonder how he knew about that as I climbed down, my leg still aching. I landed on the ground quickly and limped back towards the ruins. How did he know I had fallen out of a tree and broken my arm before?
~
“What the hell happened?” Scott yelled at me angry. “I fell on a rock” I explained and sat down. “Sky, you are an idiot” he laughed a little and checked the new cut on the back of my head. “Looks like it’s not too bad. Only a minor cut. It’ll be fine in a few days” he smiled at me. I nodded as night had fallen already. “What do we do about dinner?” I asked pointing to the rabbit he had caught. “Cook it” he smirked. I laughed a little and sat up against the cold stone wall of the ruins. “How exactly without getting caught?” I asked confused. Scott rolled his eyes like it was a joke. “Simple. You see the low clouds that are drifting by overhead?” he asked pointing at the sky. I nodded my head.
“Those are Stratus clouds. They’re the closest clouds to the earth and right now they are very dark gray plus it’s already around twilight, the sky is a darkish blue. Smoke from a fire will easily blend in with all our current advantages and won’t be noticed in the slightest as long as we keep the fire small and controlled. But we have to do it quick before this opportunity is gone” he said bending over the few branches and dead leaves he had gathered. I nodded as I handed Scott the 2 rocks. He slammed them against each other. It was a while before I actually saw sparks.
Soon enough though the branches caught on fire and Scott roasted the rabbit. I sighed and took a sip of water. “How many do you think are dead?” I asked casually as I fiddled around with a knife, scratching lines into the stone wall. “Hard to say. If I had to guess I’d say maybe around half but we’ll know soon enough” Scott replied and carefully tended the fire.
I shivered again at the cold and drew myself closer to the fire. “Hey, do you remember the time I forced you to go to school?” Scott asked. I laughed and asked “Where is this coming from?” He laughed too and shrugged, “Do you?” he asked again. I nodded my head, “I hated it and everybody there hated me” I replied.
Scott laughed again before speaking “I remember hearing a girl talk about how rude and cocky you were” he said. My mouth dropped a little in fake surprise. “I was not!” I laughed. Scott focused on the fire. His gaze steady on it and I could see the flames flicker back and forth illuminating his face. His blue green eyes shone and his hair drifted backwards in the wind. “I also remember having to come and talk to your teacher because you were causing trouble” he smiled slightly at the fire. I looked up at the sky and smiled too. “Yeah I wasn’t exactly her favorite student. I think she hated me ever since I caught that bird and planted it in her closet” I smiled lying beside the fire on the stone ground of the ruin.
“Yeah that’s true. I guess school really wasn’t for you” Scott said still not looking at me. “That’s for sure. I think that if the teachers weren’t so stupid and had more to teach I’d have enjoyed it more but I guess being raised anywhere but the Capitol and Districts 1 and 2 pretty much guarantee’s that life’s going to suck” I sighed and turned over on my side. I rested my elbow in the ground and leaned on my hand, facing Scott.
“Can I ask you something?” I asked Scott. “You just did” he said as he turned his head to me slightly and smirked. I chuckled and said “I’m asking another” He laughed and turned the rabbit over. “Shoot” he said. “Why didn’t you ever go to school? Ever since I’ve known you I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in school” I said. Scott shrugged “Needed to work. I would have gone to school but it didn’t exactly offer survival. The only way to get survival was to work, find something to do in life that could make some money or a living. I needed to take care of you once we met didn’t I?” he asked.
My eyes widened in realization. “So it’s my fault you couldn’t go to school” I whispered, “I’m so sorry” I said. Scott turned to me and laughed. “Don’t be an idiot Sky. I gladly gave it up. I didn’t have to take you in, did I? I chose to” he reminded me with a smile. I nodded and gave him a smile but still couldn’t help feeling guilty. It wasn’t long before the rabbit was done cooking and Scott put the fire out. Then we sat in silence eating the rabbit happily. Once the rabbit was finished I smiled at Scott. “Thanks for dinner” I smiled. He grinned and said “Hand me some water.” I did as he asked and then moved to the corner of the ruin walls. I shivered again as a strong wind blew.
I closed my eyes and rubbed my hands against my arms and shivered again. I felt something drape over me. I opened my eyes to see Scott wrap the blanket around me. I smiled at him and suddenly the anthem played. Scott and I glanced up at the sky as the anthem ended and the faces of the dead tribute flashed across the sky. I was relieved when the little boy, Kurt’s face didn’t appear. That means he’s survived the first day. I was happy enough with that.
“13 dead. That leaves only 11 tributes” Scott said when the sky went dark again. I nodded. “That leaves me, you, the 4 Careers, Kurt, Retner from district 9 and Snow from district 10 plus 2 others I don’t remember” I said thinking. Snow was falling heavily now and again I started shivering. “You cold?” Scott asked. I shrugged, “a little” I replied. He sat closer to me and opened his arms. “Come on” he said. I smiled and scooted over to him, pulling the blanket along with me. I rested my head on Scott’s chest and pulled the blanket over both of us.
Scott wrapped his arms around my back tightly and I wrapped my arms around his waist. A knife was close in reach in case somebody ambushed us. “You know I miss this” Scott whispered. “What do you mean?” I asked glancing up at him. “Just sitting here like this together. When we first met, I remember thinking that you hated my guts” he laughed and continued, “You stayed away from me as much as possible and rarely talked. I wondered what I had done” he whispered. I hugged him closer and said “Nothing. I was just being stupid” I smiled at him. “I know that you were upset about losing your family and because the snow reminded you of them” he said. “But the day you first opened up to me was what I was referring to. It was snowing. I had heard about what happened to your parents and I was worried. We were in the little cottage and you decided you wanted to go for a walk, remember?” Scott started telling the story.
I remembered it. I was about 12. It was a couple of months after Scott had taken me in. It had been a while since I had seen snow and I was somewhat happy it started snowing again but also worried and scared. Scott had hunted and was making the food. I was still in my silent state. I didn’t talk unless necessary and that day in particular I didn’t say a word.
It was a snowy day that I had lost my parents. I was 7 when they died. My mother loved the snow. She used to talk about how pure and beautiful it was so I started loving it too but not like I loved my father’s sky. My father would always say how he named me after it. The 2 of us would lie on the ground and watch the sky and clouds all day if we could.
Ironically it was a sunny day. I remember that it had snowed the night before so the world was covered in white. My dad had to work as a lumberman despite the snow and my mother took care of me. The moment my dad came home a Peacekeeper broke in as well. The door was knocked down and the Peacekeeper had a knife in hand. My father had told me to run away as he defended my mother and me. I back away only to have my mother drag me through the back door. I remember looking back at my dad several times only to see him fall to the ground, dead.
My mother and I ran into the forest, through the snow until I stumbled and fell. I was too little to keep up with my mother. She carried me through the snow as we ran. I had asked her what was happening. With a smile she had told me that we were going to find a secret in the snow. I had been suspicious but she just smiled and kissed my head. I looked over her shoulder as Peacekeepers ambushed us. A knife was thrown and my mother and I fell to the ground.
“Run” she had said. “Run!” she yelled as she lay on the ground. The white snow was covered in her blood and I was terrified. It wasn’t until I was older that I understood why it had all happened. My father had given free lumber to a dying family, his own work and labor. It was the winter solstice and the cold was unbearable. No wood meant no fire. No fire meant no warmth which ultimately meant death. My father saved lives but it was illegal to give lumber away. They had said that my father stole from the Capitol by doing what he did and we were to be punished. I had run at my mother’s request and the Peacekeepers couldn’t find me when I had climbed a tree.
The day Scott was referring to though was when I was 12. It was snowing and I decided I wanted to go for a walk. The snow brings trouble in District 7 because it’s unbearably cold so everybody needs the fire wood. People would steal it to keep their families alive and I didn’t blame them. During my walk I had headed for the woods. After walking a while I had come to a little clearing.
In it there stood a Peacekeeper and a woman. She was tied up and was lying in the snow. The Peacekeeper pulled out a whip and I had to close my eyes but I still heard her screams and I knew why she was being tortured like that. When I opened my eyes the Peacekeeper was cursing and the woman was dead. The snow was red in blood.
Scott had come out looking for me to call me in for dinner. I had spotted him behind me. He looked in the same direction as me and shook his head “Oh no” he had said. Tears had streamed down my eyes back then and I had thrown my arms around Scott as I wept. It was the first time I accepted him and the day I grew to love him.
“I was happy that I got to hold you and comfort you back then. It made me feel like I was able to help you” Scott whispered as he rested his chin on my head. “I wanted to help you more than anything in the world but I never knew how. I helped you with the Peacekeeper in the beginning but I felt like it wasn’t enough. I didn’t want to see you suffer anymore. I wanted to take away your pain” Scott whispered more slowly. I looked up at him. He gazed down at me. His blue green eyes were looking down at me softly and lovingly. “You have already” I whispered in reply. “You’ve taken away my pain by being beside me all the time” I smiled at him and kissed his cheek then rested my head on his chest again.
He laughed a little. “Then you owe me back” he teased me. “I know” I replied seriously. He didn’t ask but I had a feeling he knew what I meant. I would get Scott to the end of these games and die for him so that he could win and go home because he didn’t deserve to be here. Scott kissed my head again and whispered “You’ve already done enough for me.” I didn’t respond but only closed my eyes and listened to his breathing, falling asleep in his arms.
