Caged | The Hunger Games AU ✓

xi. burglary

eleven - burglary

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it's going to be dark soon and asher and i haven't had very much luck. there doesn't seem to be a freshwater source anywhere. what will we do? what if the only water available was the ocean on the beach? it's a full day's journey from where we are now, and an even harder one with nothing to satisfy our parched tongues. i imagine the saltwater wouldn't be very good to drink, either.

i'm panting as i move, my aching, tired arm slashing through the green a lot slower than before. every once in a while asher scolds me to "please suffer more quietly," but even he is moving slower and his lips are cracked.

"i" – i take a deep breath – "can't go on. not like this. we have to" – i gasp for air again – "stop for the night."

"no," asher protests much to my dismay. i groan quite childishly. "we have to find water. we'll die if we don't."

as much as i hate to admit it, asher is right – as usual. my sore, exhausted body is slow to comprehend that we have to keep moving, and it takes all the strength i have left to cut through the branches blocking our path.

suddenly, as i slice through the last bit of vegetation low enough to reach, i hear voices and spot a person out of the corner of my eye. i quietly gasp and, without wasting a second, grab onto asher's sleeve and pull him down.

"what was that?" astrid, the female tribute from district one asks, standing up from the log she had been sitting on.

"i'll check it out," bliss, asher's district partner says as she grabs her - is that an axe? - and starts off. right. toward. us.

asher curses under his breath. my heart leaps into my throat. immediately i bury myself into a thick, tall bush, making sure i'm completely obscured. i hear a faint rustling that tells me asher has done the same.

barely breathing, i hear bliss's footsteps on the earth, so light they can scarcely be heard. i squeeze my eyes shut and wait with my reflexes on high alert, tightening my knife in my hand. my palms have become sweaty and the handle is slippery.

after what seems like forever, bliss retreats. "i can't see anything," she says, her voice sounding farther away. "must've been a rabbit or something."

"good thing we have plenty of those." i peek through the bush to see lycus, from district five, kindling a fire. that would be a stupid thing to do for anyone else, but since they're careers, i suspect they think they have nothing to worry about.

on a spit above the fire are two dead rabbits and a squirrel. beside the flames are four more rabbits and three squirrels. astrid has what looks like berries in her palm and she is washing them with trickles of water from a bottle. my eyes widen. they have an entire feast!

bliss' long, black hair swishes back and forth as she walks and then sits back down, doing her part and helping astrid wash the berries, then putting them in large leaves for bowls. her bronze skin looks almost golden in the firelight. her sharp jaw is tense as she concentrates on washing the berries.

"they have water," asher whispers almost silently into my ear. "and food. there must be a way to steal it."

"steal it? are you crazy?" i hiss back, my eyes widening.

i can basically hear the smirk in asher's voice. "i'm a career, remember? as much as i hate it, i'm technically one of them."

as carefully as he can, asher skillfully climbs out of the bush. he then scoops me out and sets me back on the ground. we both hurriedly check to make sure none of our weapons or supplies were lost during our hiding, and when we're sure we have everything, we set off tip-toeing away.