rising from the ashes || a hunger games story

chapter thirteen

willow's pov

a few rocks fall from the ceiling onto the ground. i look over to the opening. the rock i put there earlier is stuck there tightly. i cut a large piece of the sleeping bag and lay it on top of finn's cut.

i grab a rope and tie it around his leg where the cut is so the sleeping bag stays and doesn't move. "what's that for?" finn says as he turns over. "to keep anything from falling into the cut and leaving it infected."

i can feel my hands start shaking and my palms start to get sweaty. finn grabs one of my hands. "what's wrong?" he asks. "i don't know if being in this cave saved our lives or ended it," i say as i look around the cave. rocks are still falling from the ceiling. it's been about a minute since the avalanche started.

finn looks at me confused. "the cave could collapse on us because of all the pressure from the snow, or the snow could just pass over and the rock will keep the snow from coming in and burying us alive."

i hear him whisper "calm down" when he brings me towards him and hugs me. i place my head on his chest and wrap my arms around his torso. i hear the rumbling stop after two minutes and rocks stop falling.

i sit up and look around. i walk towards the opening slowly when the rock falls right in front of me. i jump as a bunch of snow falls through. once the snow stops falling through i look through the opening.

i can see the sun so we aren't buried. not anymore, at least. i climb out of the cave when i hear 2 cannonballs go off. they probably got buried in the avalanche. i look around when i soon feel a sharp pain in my right shoulder. i look up and see that it's hailing.

i hurry back into the cave. i'm not going to be able to go hunting. i don't even know if animals are still out there after the avalanche. i feel a lasting pain in my shoulder. i move my jacket and shirt over to see a bruise on my shoulder.

i feel the same pain in the middle of my right arm and my right hand. i unzip my jacket and take off the right sleeve. i can see an, almost identical, bruise on both my arm and hand. the bruises are a mix of red and purple.

i groan as i put the sleeve back on and zip up my jacket. "whats wrong?" finn asks me. i shake my head as i sit down next to him. "just a bruise." he moves my shirt and jacket over to reveal my right shoulder.

"that is not just a bruise, willow." i look over to the bruise. it's become a bump on my skin now. the area around the the bump is a blue. i don't know the damage that hail can have on skin, especially when it's damages can be worsened since this whole arena and everything that happens is programmed by the game makers.

"i'll be fine," i say looking back to him. he gives me a "really" face as he presses down on the bruise. i make a face that shows im in pain and i move my shoulder away. the pain on the bruise is sharp and it doesn't go away. even before he did that, i still felt pain in my shoulder, arm, and hand.

i feel my eyes start to tear up as i move my jacket and shirt back. that's when i hear beeping from the outside. i look out and see a parachute. i grab the sleeping bag i kept cutting from and hold it above my head as i run out of the cave, grab the parachute, and run back in.

i feel a pain in the palm of my left hand. i look down at my hand and sigh. it's another bruise. i put my hand down and gather my attention to the parachute i'm holding in my right hand.

"is it medicine?" i hear finn ask as i open the parachute. i shake my head. "soup." i sit down next to finn and grab the spoon that's on the inside of the container that the soup is being held in.

i feel my stomach rumble as i look at the soup. we haven't eaten since last night. i look over to finn who's looking at the soup desperately. i pass him the soup and spoon. i feel my stomach rumble again and try to find something to take my mind off the food.

i remember i never poured iodine into the other two canteens so i grab them from our backpacks along with the iodine. i pour iodine into both canteens and close them back up. that's when i hear trumpets and someone starts to speak.

it's the guy that announces the feasts and anything special. it isn't the same person from the past games but whenever there's an announcement, it's one specific person to do the job. he's announcing a feast. i brush it off because i don't want to leave this cave unless it's necessary. going to the feast would be like throwing myself to the wolves.

that's when i hear him say, "i know some of you may be declining my invitation now, but you all have something you really need. at the feast, you will find something inside a backpack with your district number on it. these backpacks will be placed at the cornucopia tomorrow at dawn. for some of you, this will be your last chance, so think hard before you refuse to show up." nothing else is said.

i look over at finn who already knows when i'm thinking. "no." "you need that medicine. i have to go." he shakes his head, "you are not risking your life for me."