Safe and Sound

NOTE: I'm sorry for how tremendously awful this chapter is - I had a tiny bit of writer's block and I think it is quite obvious :( Ach well, I do hope you enjoy it all the same I guess :P But I swear, the next chapter is going to be so much better! I promise :)

Chapter Twenty Six - The Spark of the Flame

That night, it was hard to sleep. I was comfortable lying against Grayson and my head felt better after having some cream rubbed into it and being wrapped up in a bandage. After a few gulps of water and a relatively good meal, I almost felt as good as new. But despite all this and the fact that I could hear Grayson's steady heartbeat, I couldn't sleep. Maybe it was when the faces of the two dead tributes that had looked down at me came up. It had certainly made Grayson tense up from beside me.

But it may have also been the fact that there were seven tributes left. When one more tribute died, there would be a feast for the six remaining tributes. This feast could vary from a variety of things such as all six of us fighting over a single backpack, or we all get our own supplies that we have to fight to get. Whatever it was, it would be a great bit of entertainment for the Capitol. But not for us tributes. It was just like another bloodbath and every tribute would hate to have to go through one of those again.

However, the family interviews had probably already taken place, which was an odd thought. Did my parents have hope for me, maybe even Grayson, because normally no tribute from 12 ever got this far, let alone both of them...

I looked over towards Grayson who looked peaceful in his sleep, but also quite uncomfortable. I knew he must have been having a rough night, with bad thoughts and shadows plaguing his dreams. I reached out and gently ran my hand over his cheek, feeling the warmth of his skin underneath my fingers. My fingertips moves from his cheek to down his neck and eventually to his collarbone. I pulled the collar of his t-shirt down a bit and saw the damage to his right hand shoulder. There was a bloody gash from where Angora had caught him. It was also the same shoulder that I had scraped with my arrow accidentally. My fingers hovered slightly above this gash and I looked over to Grayson's face. His eyes were closed and he was sleeping, but now he had a small smile on his face, as if he was smiling at my touch or something.

I turned slightly and picked up Grayson's backpack, which had some sort of healing cream that we had collected from the Cornucopia after being chased by fire. I unzipped the backpack and found the small pot. I undid it and dipped my first two fingers inside it, the cool and jelly-like substance feeling odd yet soothing beneath my fingers. I carefully put the pot down and stated to rub the cream into Grayson's shoulder. It must have stung a bit, because he jerked back slightly, but he didn't wake. All antiseptic creams stung at first, but they always worked wonders later on. Especially ones from the Capitol, instead of homemade ones from, well, home.

I then put Grayson's backpack back where I had got it from and then put his t-shirt back into place, letting it fall naturally over his collarbone, which stuck out somewhat considerably. I then moved the hair that had fallen into his eyes back, feeling its softness actually quite relaxing. This moment felt peaceful, even though we could have been put under attack at any second.

Grayson wriggled in his sleep slightly, his head turning away from me in the process. I smiled slightly while looking at this boy. He looked so innocent and young in his sleep, even though he had turned sixteen before me. He was older than me, but when sleeping, he looked like a child, lost in his dreams. I hoped he wasn't having anything like nightmares. I wouldn't be able to have to coax him out of it, I just wouldn't be able to. Maybe because nightmares in his mind are much calmer than the nightmare we were currently living in.

"Get some sleep, Harper," I heard Grayson mutter, "You'll be exhausted in the morning."

I smiled and rested my head on top of his arm. He allowed me to and allowed his hand to rest on my shoulder, a comforting gesture that sent some sort of shiver down my spine. And, lying next to Grayson, I allowed myself to drift off to sleep.

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"Two weeks in," Grayson said in a disgruntled manner as we walked in the rain, "And now we get a heavy downpour of rain? It's as if the Gamemakers are trying to kill us or something...no, wait. They are trying to kill us. My mistake, sorry."

I was finding Grayson's rant quite amusing. His hair was plastered to his head and he looked freezing, despite the jacket that he wore. Yes, the rain was cold and wet and miserable, but Grayson just make it hysterical. He had been ranting for a good hour now and he was still going strong. He was even using sarcasm now, which was new.

"Grayson, give it a rest." I said as I moved a protruding branch out of the way with my bow, "Your complaining isn't going to help us find shelter."

"I'd kill to be at the Cornucopia right now." Grayson said. He then stopped, thought about what he said and whipped a knife out from his pocket and threw it at a nearby tree, so only the handle stuck out. "I am going to stop talking right now."

"Good idea."

We walked for a long time, looking for somewhere where we could hide from the rain. We both knew that we could get seriously ill if we stayed out in the cold for so long and I didn't particularly want to have to suffer through the Games with a chill. If tributes thought injuries were bad, illness had to be about a thousand times worse. Illness, to a tribute, was like being stung by Tracker Jackers. You couldn't fight, the only cures were hard to find and it usually meant certain death. Pleasant, I know.

Eventually, we found a place that would be able to hold us out for a while. It was a mini cave that didn't go underground. It was about the size of a mattress, shaped like a deformed semi-circle and we wouldn't be able to do much in there, just sit, but it was a shelter nonetheless. As soon as Grayson saw it, he dived right into it and spread himself right out underneath the low, stone ceiling. I laughed quietly at his child-like manner, before stooping down so I could get into it. I moved Grayson's legs so I could sit down too.

"This seems almost too perfect. What's the catch?" Grayson asked as he sat himself back up again, leaning against the back of the cave wall. "Man eating rats or something?" He sat completely still for a second, before looking about to check there were no rodents out to get him while he slept.

"There's nothing in here, just us." I answered, "But I might be wrong."

"Yeah, well. Anything could get us at any moment. As demonstrated yesterday and practically every other day that we've been allies." Grayson said, not wanting to actually say Angora's name. I think it must have been quite a touchy subject for him to think about.

"Um, I must thank you for yesterday you know," I dared. Grayson looked over at me, "You put yourself between me and...her. She would have killed me no doubt. You injured yourself for my well being. Did you realise this?" I asked, touching his shoulder gently. He flinched slightly. I raised my eyebrows triumphantly. His flinch had just proved my point. Grayson blushed ever so slightly. Either that or it was a trick of the light.

"Well, you know. We're allies, are we not? You would have done the same thing for me." He said. I nodded in agreement. "And...it would actually be an honour to die in your place, if it would keep you alive for a few more seconds then I would be willing to do so." Grayson offered me a kind smile. I didn't know what to say. All I could think about was what had happened between us just before we were attacked by Angora. We had almost...almost...

But did it mean anything to me? Did it mean anything to him? Could he remember...did he want to remember? Was it an accident or intentional? Was it supposed to happen?

"Of course. I would naturally protect you. You are my ally and from my District. It makes me feel quite sick watching two tributes from the same District kill each other in the bloodbath or something." I whispered, "It's like some form of betrayal, you know? They come from the same place, practically have the same blood and this is a way of saying it? No. I would never do that. Not even if I had to."

Attachment results in pain, Harper.

You'll have to kill him in the end, won't you Harper?

You'll have to betray him or he'll betray you.

One of you must die to enable the survival of the other.

It will be a fight to the death.

I shook my head rapidly at my thoughts and Grayson gave me a funny look, as if I was mad or something. I probably did. His expression then softened and he reached out towards my head, taking off the sodden bandage. It was no use anymore anyway. The bleeding had stopped, but the pain hadn't quite. And a bandage can't take away pain, especially a wet one.

"You'll hurt yourself doing that, whatever it was for. Remember, you cracked it right against a tree trunk yesterday? I can't give you another bandage, the wound has to be able to breathe in order to heal quicker. But I can give you something for the headache. Want it?" He asked, scrunching up the wet bandage and putting it down in the corner. I gave him a small smile as an answer. Grayson took off his backpack, unzipped it and pulled out a small bottle. "I've been saving this because there isn't much of it, but I want to give it to you so you can heal better. Saves me wasting cream and bandages, doesn't it?"

He gave me the bottle and I took a small sip. He screwed the lid back on before putting it back into his pack. He put his backpack to the side and gave me a smile.

"You'll be as right as this downpour of rain in a couple of hours. Just relax and allow the medicine to start to work. Then you'll be ready to face the Games with a happy head." Grayson said. I sighed in exasperation slightly. I didn't mind Grayson's light humour, it was actually quite pleasant to have about the place.

"Thanks." I said simply, before leaning against the cave wall. "What do you suppose we do to pass the time. I mean, hunting looks completely out of the question-" A fork of lightning lit up the sky momentarily. "-and I'm now on medicine. Looks like our options are quite limited."

Grayson thought for a second, then shrugged, not quite sure. He then stared outside at the rain, then back over to me. He smiled.

"Come here." He said, softly. I did just that. Grayson then slinked an arm around my waist and gently pulled me down so my head was resting on his chest. "We could enjoy the peace, the quiet and the fact we're not busy dying or fighting or surviving. That's always a good thing."

Grayson lowered his head so his cheek was resting on the top of my head as we lay there, our bodies twisted into this odd embrace that I was thankful to have. I didn't know what I would have done or where I would have been in the Games without Grayson.

He truly was that little spark to my flame.