Chapter 17

Snow's P.O.V.

Two days had gone by with no deaths. The Capitol people were no doubt getting bored. The drama between me and Jason had probably satisfied them for a little while but it wasn't enough.

It was never enough.

Something was going to happen.

Something big.

"You hungry?" I asked as a groggy Orchid climbed down from her tree. She nodded sleepily.

Over the past few days, we'd gotten to know each other pretty well. She was like a little sister to me. 

She was also a lot like Jason.

"What's for breakfast?" Orchid asked snapping me out of thoughts.

"Groosling. I caught it this morning."

"Yum." Orchid said gigging.

I laughed and handed her a leg.

"So what's the plan for today?" I asked.

She shrugged. "We should probably relocate again."

I nodded. "We'll pack up right after breakfast."

We ate in silence. Orchid and I shared an understanding that I often didn't like to talk or be bothered when I was in thought.

By the time we finished eating, Orchid had noticed how on edge I was.

"You okay?" she asked as I put out the fire. 

I nodded. "I'm just...nervous, that's all."

"I know what you mean. I can hear the Gamemakers discussing our deaths."

I smiled at her slightly. "Yeah. I wonder how the other tributes are holding up."

"It's a big arena, plus, I know that a lot of the Districts allied with each other so there isn't many people to find separately."

"You're smarter than you think you are Orchid." I murmured as we packed.

"I'm quite normal actually. There's nothing special about me."

"I beg to differ." I said looking up at her. "You're special to me. You helped me."

She smiled at me. "That's because I know how you feel. Everyone thinks you're some horrible person, but you really aren't."

I laughed bitterly. "I woudn't go that far. I'm still a horrible person just not as horrible as everyone thinks I am."

"If you're horrible than I'm definitely not smart."

I grinned at her. "You are though. You've made it this far."

She looked pleased. "How long do you think we've been in the Games?"

I thought for a moment. "Well, I think about eight days." 

"Eight days." Orchid murmured. "Wow,"

"You know, I'm thinking that some of the other tributes must've fought but not died. Otherwise the Capitol would be bored out of their minds by now."

"I have to agree with you." Orchid said nodding.

We grabbed our stuff and headed off in a direction, ready to relocate yet again.

Jason's P.O.V.

"Morning!" Vena said brightly as I walked out of the cave. 

"Morning." I murmured back. 

She smiled at me and gave me a quick kiss.

Surprise, surprise.

I had kissed her two days ago. 

And suddenly she was in love with me or something.

Was I in love with her?

I didn't think so.

So why did I kiss her? 

I didn't really know myself. I guess I wanted to heal myself. After Snow, I thought maybe it would help to move on.

Except, I never really moved on.

I was still in love with her, no matter how much I tried to deny it.

"You okay?" Vena asked quietly.

I nodded. "Just...thinking." I said giving her a fake smile.

"Good, cause I was thinking that we should go hunting sooner or later."

I gave her a confused look. "We have plenty of food."

She shook her head. "Not for food."

Realization hit me.

"Oh...you mean...other tributes." I said quietly.

She nodded. 

"I-I don't know."

"Come on Jason! The whole point of the Games is to kill each other, we can't just sit around and do nothing! Then the Gamemakers will do something instead! And we don't want that to happen, now do we?"

I shook my head slowly. "Okay, we'll look for other tributes, just not today. How about in a couple of day after we get our energy up."

"We have plenty of energy!"

I really didn't want to find other tributes. First off, I didn't want to murder other innocent people. Secondly, I was afraid. And also, Snow and Orchid were close by here. They were most likely the first people we would find. And Snow would probably overpower us again, and she definitely would not miss with her knives this time. 

I also didn't want Orchid to get hurt.

Vena seemed bent on hunting tributes.

There was only one other option.

"Well, we're going to need all our energy if we want to be able to over power Snow right?" I asked.

Vena stared at me. "Snow?"

"That's who you wanted to go after right?" I asked, praying it would work. "Or did I misunderstand?"

She opened her mouth to speak but I didn't let her.

"Sorry about that. I just assumed you wanted to go after Snow." I paused and shook my head. "Yeah that was stupid, she's definitely too strong for us."

"No! That was my idea!" Vena said immediately not wanting to be shadowed by Snow. 

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Yeah! Of course! You're right, we probably need a bit more energy. I guess I just got excited that's all."

Relief hit me. 

"Great then, we'll take a few days to rest and plan." I said nodding.

She smiled at me. "Great."

But this wasn't great.

Definitely not at all.

Snow's P.O.V.

Orchid and I hurried through the forest. 

"Snow!" Orchid called. "Why are you going so fast? I'm tired."

I stopped and waited for her to catch up. She was seriously out of breath.

"You're....going extremely fast." she panted.

"Sorry." I murmured.

Something bad was going to happen. The Gamemakers were going to do something seriously bad.

"You wanna take a break?" I asked Orchid.

She nodded. "I'll be fine. I just need to rest a bit."

We both sat down on a log and I handed her my bottle of water. We had been following the river so we had no shortage of water, nor food since we could always catch fish.

"You're really jumpy today, what's wrong?" Orchid asked after taking a few sips from the water bottle.

"Nothing." I said immediately. "Nothing serious anyways. Like I said, I'm just nervous."

She frowned but didn't pressure me anymore.

And then I heard it.

A hiss, the sound of a machine getting ready to fire.

Literally.

"Move!" I screamed tackling Orchid to the side.

The ball of fire missed us by inches. It hit the log and exploded it in a fury of flames.

"We have to move! Now!" I screamed to Orchid as I noticed the wall of fire growing behind her.

She nodded, her face was pale.

"Let's go!" I said running quickly.

"Left!" I screamed. A ball of fire hit the ground where we were a second ago.

"Why are they doing this?" Orchid choked out as the smoke blinded us.

"They're flushing us out. We're going to bump into at least one other tribute sooner or later!" I called back.

I could tell she was getting tired, her pace was getting slower and her face was becoming more and more pale.

Trees exploded in flames from our left and right. 

Our lives were on the line, and those sick Capitol people were watching for entertainment.

"Wait." I said as we broke out of the forest.

"The fire's stopped." Orchid murmured.

The machines they were using to eject the fireballs weren't hissing anymore. There was still charred trees and branches behind us, but it had all stopped suddenly.

Which meant there was someone else close by us.

"Orchid," I said quietly. "Get behind me."

"Why? What's going on?"

A tribute broke through the forest across from us.

My eyesight was still adjusting from all the smoke and blazing light. I couldn't concentrate long enough to be able to take a good enough aim.

"Snow?" the tribute said putting down his weapon. 

I blinked.

"Kern?"

"You're alright!" he said with relief.

Why would he care?

"Are you guys okay? What happened?" he asked immediately. He took a step toward us.

"Stay. Away." I said raising my knife. 

He backed up slowly. "Snow...let me explain."

"What did you put into me?" I asked. "The thing you told me to have injected into me, what was it?" I demanded specifically not saying tracker.

His eyes widened. "Look out!" he yelled pointing behind me.

I turned frantically to see a tree about fall on top of Orchid.

With my last remaining strength, I manage to tackle Orchid.

The tree fell on top of my leg.

I screamed in pain.

"Snow!" Orchid said in panic. 

She rushed over to me.

Kern ran over too.

"Stay away!" I screamed. He was going to kill us. I was sure of it.

"Snow." Orchid said softly. "We can trust him. He won't hurt us. Please." 

I glanced between the two of them. "What's going on? Why-"

"We'll explain later, right now, we need to get this tree off of your leg. Luckily it was just a huge branch not the whole trunk." Kern murmured.

"Explain now." I said panicking.

Kern frowned and glanced at Orchid who nodded slightly.

He leaned in and put his mouth close to my ear.

"District 13."

 I looked up at him.

No.

The stories couldn't be true.

That wasn't possible!

"Let's get that tree off of you before the damage to your leg gets any worse." Kern said. He shifted the branch. "On the count of three, pull her out, okay Orchid?"

Orchid gave him a nod.

"One, two, three." Kern said lifting the heavy branch about an inch above my leg.

Orchid quickly grabbed my arms and gently pulled me out from under the branch.

As soon as I was out of harm's way, Kern let go of the branch.

"Sprained by the looks of it." Orchid said quietly. "You're lucky though. You could've broken a bone or torn a muscle. We just need to put something cold like ice on it, bandage it up, and elevate it."

I winced again the pain.

"I have some cold water I got from the stream this morning before the Gamemakers turned on the heat." Kern offered.

Orchid nodded. Kern handed her his water bottle. She poured the water onto some gauze and put it on my ankle. 

I murmured a few curse words and gripped Kern's hand in an attempt to stop the pain. He raised his eyebrows but didn't object.

"Oh my god, wait!" Orchid said rummaging through her backpack. "I know it's in here somewhere." she muttered.

Finally, she pulled out a few leaves. 

"What are those?" I said gritting my teeth in pain.

"I-I found them after I tripped and hurt my ankle during the beginning of the Games. They help reduce pain or something. The lady in the training room center told me about them."

She shoved the leaves into her mouth a chewed on them.

After a few seconds, she spit it out and put it on my ankle.

Relief overwhelmed me.

"Better?" Kern asked.

I nodded. 

"Where've you been?" Orchid asked Kern while she tended to my ankle.

"I managed to get a spear and a few extra spear heads from the Cornucopia, along with a couple other things before I ran off into the forest."

"You didn't join the rest of the Careers?" I asked.

He shook his head. "I haven't seen them at all yet. But I know Vena isn't with them either."

"Yeah, I know that. She tried to kill me." I said bitterly. "She and my old ally."

"Really?" Kern asked concerned. "I knew she was trouble." 

"Yeah, well, you weren't all that nice to me in the beginning either." I said grinning at him.

He laughed. "No, I guess I wasn't."

Orchid propped my foot up on a log to keep it elevated.

"You guys hungry?" she asked pulling out our left over groosling from breakfast.

"Ravenous." Kern said taking a bite out of a groosling leg.

I took a bite out of a wing. "Do you know where the Careers are now?" 

Kern shook his head. "Somewhere near the lake on the other side of the Cornucopia."

"I'm gonna go get so more water from the river. I'll be back in a few minutes." Orchid said standing up.

Kern turned to me after she left. "How's your leg?"

"Okay." I said. "I have a lot of questions though."

"Yeah, I bet you do. But remember, they can hear everything we say."

I nodded. "I know."

"Then ask away."

"Were you really born in District 2?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yes."

"How many times did your name go into the reaping pool?" 

He laughed bitterly. "A lot. That's all you need to know."

"Are they...alive?" I murmured. 

He would know what I was talking about.

"Yes. Alive and running."

My breath got caught in my throat. 

"You okay?" he asked noticing my panic.

"I'm fine." I said immediately. "Just shocked."

"I'm not surprised. I was too." 

"One last question." I said slowly.

He listened.

"What did you put into me?"

Kern's eyes flickered. "Every tribute get's trackers put into them. It's a routine."

"I know but-"

He cut me off. "The Gamemakers can locate your position in the arena, they can also watch your vitals, but they can also do so much more."

"Like what?"

Kern glanced at me uneasily. "They..they can-"

He suddenly stiffened. 

"Kern?" I said.

He didn't respond.

"Kern! What's going on?" I said starting to panic.

He simply stood and walked a few feet away from me, toward the out edge of the forest across from me.

"Kern! What are you doing?' I said. 

He picked up his spear and lifted it.

"Kern! Kern! Listen to me! What are you doing? Why are you..." I trailed off as I saw his eyes. 

They were normally a blue, but now they were red.

"K-Kern?" 

It wasn't Kern anymore.

He threw his spear right at me.

I couldn't move. My mind was frozen in panic.

"Snow!" a voice screamed. 

Someone hit me from the side. I heard a high pitch scream.

The ground was spinning from beneath me. 

"Orchid." I murmured. 

Orchid.

No.

Not Orchid.

Please, not Orchid!

Please!

My eyes focused.

No, no, no.

"Orchid, please, no. Orchid, please!" I said. I ran over to her, despite the pain in my leg.

She was gasping for air with a spear sticking out of her stomach. 

Tears started running down my face. "No, please, no. Orchid you can't...you can't." I said.

Her eyes focused on me. "You can do it." she said slowly. She took a deep breath of air. "I believe in you. You can win. Remember the real enemy."

"Orchid. Please, stay with me. You can't die." I said. I knew there was no hope. She was dying and I was powerless.

"His eyes. They're..." she couldn't speak as she gasped for breath. "Look at him!"

I turned my head to look at Kern. He was walking toward us slowly, as if in a trance.

"Kern!' I screamed. "Kern! Stop!" 

And amazingly he did. He stopped three feet away from us. But his hand lifted his spear again.

"No! Stop! Kern!" I screamed. I was paralyzed.

But he didn't throw it.

He lifted the spear.

And stabbed himself.

"KERN!" I screamed. 

"They did it." Orchid was muttering. "They did it. They did it."

Kern collapsed onto the ground right next to me. His eyes were closed. 

Tears were pouring out of my eyes. 

Then his eyes suddenly snapped open. They were blue again.

"Orchid! What happened?"

"They did it." she repeated. "They did it." She was running out of air. Each word leaving her almost breathless.

Her hand found mine. As did Kern's.

"Please, you guys can't just...die." I choked. "What's going on? What happened?"

"The...tracker." Kern said weakly. His hand was stained with blood but I couldn't care less. 

Their eyes were slowly fading. 

"Look at me Snow." Orchid whispered. 

I turned and met her eyes. 

"Trust yourself. You can do it." she said slowly. "Promise me something." she murmured.

"Anything." I said holding back the rest of my tears.

"Don't. Kill. Him." she managed to say. "He made a mistake. He messed up. But don't kill him, please. For me."

Jason?

I didn't understand.

"I-I won't."

Kern's eyes were trained on me. His hand reached up to touch my face. 

"You look like your mom you know. And your dad too. You have your mother's eyes." he quietly.

How did he know my parents?

"They would be proud." he murmured. 

Orchid nodded. "So very proud."

"I..." I didn't know what to say.

"You're beautiful Snow. And talented. They won't even know what hit them." he said laughing slightly. His face contorted in pain.

"I'm...so sorry." I said softly.

"Trust yourself." Orchid said. "You're better than you think."

That was what Cinna said to me.

Her eyes found mine. As did Kern's.

And as if they were one person, they said the same word at the same time.

"Rebel."

Kern's hand dropped from my face. Their hands went limp in mine.

"No. No. Please." I sobbed. "You can't be dead."

Two cannons fired.

I released their hands gently and laid them on the ground.

"Orchid." I whispered. "Kern." 

Their eyes were closed and they were still.

It was as if they were asleep. 

I raised my shaking fingers to my lips and pressed three fingers against them, then towards the two of them. 

A sign from District 12.

It means good-bye to someone you love. 

It's also a sign of rebellion.

Rebel.

What did that mean?

I wanted to curl up and die right there. So I would at least be with them, be with my parents. 

The hovercraft appeared above. 

I stood and stepped back. Their bodies were slowly lifted up into the hovercraft. 

And then it disappeared.

It was as if they were never here.

Like they had never been in the Games. 

As if they were both at peace.

I fell onto my knees and cried. 

My body racked with each sob.

Somebody could have found me and killed me easily. And I wouldn't have even fought back.

Sometimes, death is a blessing.

It was hours before I stopped crying. I lay in the middle of the field, my eyes open. My body stiff and sore. I heard the sound of the anthem playing faintly. I watched as the faces of Orchid and Kern appeared in the sky. 

I said good bye to two people I had trusted.