CHAPTER ELEVEN

[makeshift treehouse]

They darted after them, hooting and hollering. Shay heard them each trying to claim her and Katniss, calling dibs on who would get to kill them.

Branches whipped past the blonde's face and she propelled herself forward although her muscles still ached. There was no way that she and Katniss were going to be able to outrun them. Not in their current state. Just as the thought crossed her mind, the edge of a branch skimmed the healing cut on her brow, ripping the forming scab off. Blood began to drip into her vision once again. Great, Shay thought. Just what I needed.

Katniss seemed to realize what Shay had; that they were dead if they could not create much-needed distance between themselves and the Careers. The dark-haired girl halted at the base of a large tree to their left and quickly began her climb. Shay waited nervously at the bottom until the District 12 tribute was far enough up that she could start the climb too. Shay hesitantly followed Katniss's example, careful not to miss a hold. She was not as proficient at climbing trees as Katniss obviously was and this tree was much more difficult to climb than the one they had slept in. Shay could not afford to slip up.

Katniss was relatively far up the tree while Shay was only about halfway up when the Careers reached the base. Katniss situated herself on a branch that was not too much farther up the trunk from Shay. I can do this, Shay coached herself.

She heard a commotion behind her as Cato attempted to climb the tree, his sword still clenched in his hand. He's never going to make it, the blonde tried to convince herself as he closed the distance between them. He making it harder on himself by still holding his sword. Not to mention, he was too heavy and generally not built for the activity. Shay's suspicions were confirmed when his hand slipped from a knot on the tree and he body crashed to the ground. Shay rolled her eyes, not bothering to look down at him, and continued climbing. What was that saying? The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

Looking up, Shay watched as Katniss cast a sardonic smile down at her. No, not at her, at the Careers. Shay pushed herself to climb faster, knowing that Death was standing just below her if she failed.

"How's everything with you?" Katniss called down to them, distracting them while Shay continued up the tree. The branch below Katniss was too low for Shay's comfort, and it would be awkward and unsafe for her to try to share a branch with her ally so she was forced to go up to the next highest. Luckily, she managed to do so, finding her own holds as she passed Katniss's branch.

Straddling her branch, Shay looked down to see the predatory smiles of the five Careers below her while Peeta stood warily off to the side. Cato locked eyes with her, recovering from his fall. His 'smile' was more of a snarl now, the fall having damaged his ego a bit. His gaze never left hers as he replied to Katniss's mocking question, "Well enough. Yourselves?"

"It's a bit warm for my taste," Katniss replied causing Shay to chuckle lightly. "Don't you agree, Shay?"

"I do, Kat," Shay answered, giving the other girl a small smile. Looking down, the blonde could tell that Cato was absolutely fuming. Shay continued, "The air up here's so refreshing. Won't you come join us?" To rub salt in the wound, she shot him a sly wink.

His snarl turned back into a smirk and Shay, even at that distance, could see the twinkle of a challenge in his eye. Again, the danger that was Cato caused her stomach to erupt in butterflies for multiple reasons, and she was not comfortable with all of them. She really did have a death wish if she still found him attractive even after all of this.

"I think I will."

Glimmer tried to hand Cato her bow but he refused, trying once again to climb the large tree with his sword. This time it seemed that he learned his lesson though, as he sheathed the short, heavy blade at his waist before beginning his climb, the rest of the pack cheering him on once again.

Shay and Katniss did little to hide their amusement when he, once again, dropped to the ground, this time even harder than the first time.

"Aww, Cato. Is that really the best you've got?" Shay teased. "C'mon. What can I do to motivate you?" She bit her bottom lip to keep the laugh from bubbling out. Cato looked up at her once more and despite failing to reach them once again, he does not huff and puff at his failure. He just watched as she cocked her head at him in a challenge and smirked at her in response.

Glimmer shoved him back and practically growled, "I'll do it myself." Her gaze was not quite as pleasant when her eyes locked with Shay's. The deep-seated anger in her glare almost made Shay flinch. Almost. The blonde Career aimed her bow up at the two girls and fired.

The arrow flew past both of them, closer to Shay but not close enough. Shay took a deep breath as she heard Katniss let out an uneasy laugh.

"Give that to me," Shay heard Cato snarl as he pulled the bow out of Glimmer's hand just as she was preparing another shot. He reached over and grabbed an arrow from her quiver. Within seconds, another arrow fired into the tree canopy, missing them both but this time edging closer to Katniss. It was not as good of a shot as Glimmer's and Shay immediately filed that information away for later.

Katniss pulled away from where she was hugging the tree trunk for protection. "Maybe you should throw the sword," she mocked. The two girls looked down at the frustrated faces of the Career pack below them. Shay was thoroughly amused at how badly a large tree could screw with their little hunt.

Finally, Peeta stepped forwards from where he had isolated himself. "Oh, let them stay up there. It's not like they're going anywhere. They gotta come down at some point. It's that or starve to death. We'll just kill them then."

Shay looked to Katniss only to watch the other girl's face drop as she faced Peeta's betrayal head-on once again.

Everybody below waited for Cato's ruling, the large teen having become the unofficial leader. "Fine," he sighed irritably and shoved Glimmer's bow back into her hands before going to walk off. "Somebody make a fire."

The rest of the Careers filtered off as they prepared to make camp below the tree. However, Shay was not as focused on them anymore. The blonde watched as Katniss shifted so her back was to the trunk, her face contorting in pain as her burned leg began to ache again.

Shay's eyebrows furrowed in worry, not only at the predicament that they had found themselves in but at her ally's injury. Unless she got some help from sponsors, Katniss could be dealing with the wound for the rest of the Games.

Shay thought, for a moment, about ditching Katniss and leaving her for the Careers somehow. If she did not get help for her leg soon, the blonde would be a risk if she stayed around. If Shay spent all her time trying to get Katniss from place to place safely, she was not looking out for herself like she should. The minute she thought it, she hated herself for it. But, it was the harsh reality.

The sun set once again and the hours leading into the night had passed slowly.

Shay reclined on her branch listening to Katniss try to cool off her burn once again with little success. To pass the time and distract herself, Shay had taken to whittling a chunk of wood she broke off from another, higher branch.

She carefully chipped and whittled away at the piece, shaping it roughly to resemble a horse. She tried to focus on her fine movements and not fall into the abyss of nostalgic thoughts. Sure, she missed Althea and Dani and her other friends back home, but they could do little to help her now. The thought of them only served as a reminder of the shitshow she was stuck in and how she needed to get out by any means necessary.

When it grew dark, Shay stashed her half-finished project away in her pack and fastened herself to the tree so she could try to sleep. She thought about snacking on the little food she had but decided against it. If she was trapped up here for who knows how long, she would need to ration what she had. That and she was too nervous to think about eating.

Katniss had been quiet all day and Shay was not eager to start a conversation around their present company. Below them, the Careers had all gathered around the fire, looking to settle in for the night too. Out of boredom, Shay had taken to spying on them, trying to learn as much about the dynamics of their group as possible.

Her thoughts on Cato remained the same. He had become the de facto leader to no one's surprise. However, aside from him, the dynamic grew interesting. Marvel was boisterous, almost as if he was trying too hard to partner-up with Cato, even going as far to get snippy with Glimmer on occasion. Glimmer was acting the same way as Marvel; however, she had no qualms about using her feminine wiles to earn a spot beside the group's alpha male. It was nauseating, honestly. Her blatant attempts at flirting did more for inflating his ego than securing her a place as Cato's second. The girl from District Four—Korra—was an outlier. She did not fit in as well among the group. She was too quiet, but not in a calculating way like Clove was. She was shy and hesitant. Peeta was an outlier too, but for a completely different reason. It was obvious they were only using him to get to Katniss. After that, he was expendable. Then, there was Clove.

Shay found it infuriating how no one else seemed to realize that Clove was obviously Cato's right hand in their little group. Not only was Clove his district partner, but they genuinely seemed to know each other. Several times over the course of the night, Shay watched the hulking blond tribute make eye contact with the smaller girl and it was as if they could have entire conversations with only a look. They did not need to speak to be on the same page; they just were.

Despite her size, Clove was just as lethal as Cato was. In fact, Shay found her even more unnerving because of how silent she stayed most of the time. She did not showboat her talents. The smaller girl only used her skills when necessary. Shay felt the hairs rise on her arms as she watched the District 2 girl skewer an unfortunate lizard against a log with her throwing knives.

Cato rested his sword in the fire for a moment before pulling it back out, the tip glowing due to the heat. Cato spat on the white-hot tip of the sword, causing a light sizzling sound to fill the air.

Glimmer shook her head at him. "Boys," she muttered under her breath while giving him a smile that he returned. Shay rolled her eyes before looking back over the rest of the group. Marvel was already passed out and Korra looked like she was about to follow suit. Clove, however, seemed to be on the same page as Shay when it came to whatever was going on with Cato and Glimmer. The smaller girl was also unable to keep her eyes from rolling into the back of her head at the two's interaction.

Begrudgingly, Shay attempted to get some sleep, realizing that if she continued to stay awake that she would have to continue to listen to Cato and Glimmer flirt with each other.

Just as her eyes shut, a light ringing filled the canopy. Opening her eyes once more, she looks up to see a parachute snag on the next branch up from her. Shay turned to look down at Katniss, who was eyeing the parachute before she stood up to grab it.

It was just in reach, thankfully. The blonde opened the base of the parachute and pulled out a note and a small tin. Glancing at the note briefly, she knew it was for Katniss. One might think that Katniss getting a gift from a sponsor would upset her, but why would she be upset? The dark-haired girl obviously needed it more if she was going to get any further in this damn arena.

Moving to sit on her branch once again, she reached around the trunk of the tree and handed the items to Katniss, careful not to drop the valuables. Settling back against the tree, Shay heard Katniss let out a whispered "thank you" as her eyes drifted shut once again, all thoughts of abandoning her ally long gone.

It was early the next morning when Shay felt a tap on her shoulder. Slowly turning around, she saw Katniss standing up on the other side of the tree.

"How's your leg?" Shay asked the other girl immediately, making sure to keep her voice low so she would not wake the sleeping Careers below.

Katniss gave her a small smile. "Much better thanks to that parachute," she answered softly.

"I'm glad," the blonde replied. She was not lying. Shay was genuinely happy that she would continue to have someone around to watch her back.

"I have something I want you to see," Katniss continued. Shay narrowed her eyes in confusion before her eyes followed where Katniss was pointing. In the tree across from us, the little girl from District 11 perched on a branch. A smile lit up Shay's features as she noticed how comfortable the small girl obviously was in the heights of the trees. The blonde waved to her in greeting and the girl returned it shyly.

"She showed us our way out," Katniss stated, interrupting Shay's thoughts. "That." Shay looked up and saw what appeared to be some sort of hive that had escaped their notice the day before. Suddenly, Shay realized what the hive contained.

Tracker jackers.

She had seen them before unfortunately. They littered the dense woods between towns in District 10 and became even more common the closer you got to the district border. The electric fence was not the only thing keeping them trapped in the confines of their district.

Shay felt the hope drain from her body as she eyes the hive. After all the horror stories she had heard about the Capitol mutts back home, they began to terrify her. Now the only obstacle between getting away from the Careers alive also seemed to be one of her biggest fears.

The two allies looked back to the District 11 girl who pointed to the hive and then down at the sleeping Careers before making a cutting motion. Katniss nodded and turned back to Shay who could do little to hide the fear in her eyes.

"Drop the hive," Katniss said seriously. Shay gave her an incredulous look.

"Are you insane? You drop the hive!" Shay whisper-yelled to the dark-haired girl.

Katniss sighed, looking up to the hive again. "I won't be able to reach it, but you can." Pulling a large dagger from her bag, she handed it to Shay. "Cut the branch with the serrated edge and drop it on the Careers," she coached.

"There is no way I'll be able to cut it before that pack of wolves down there wakes up or these damn bugs kill us." Shay was borderline hyperventilating at this point.

Katniss shook her head. "It's the only chance we have. If we stay here, we're going to die anyway."

Shay knew that there was little choice in the matter. This was their way out. The hive would fall and the Careers would scatter, leaving the base of the tree empty and allowing them to make a run for it. Grabbing the serrated knife from Katniss, she tucked it into her waistband before climbing up to the next branch to get closer to the hive.

There was little buzzing coming from the hive as she grew closer and Shay wondered if the smoke from the fire the day before kept them subdued. Taking the serrated blade, the blonde began to saw at the branch. She stopped when she heard rustling below her. She hesitated, afraid that the Careers were waking up. Glancing down quickly, she saw that it was only Glimmer turning over from her spot cuddled up beside Cato. Shay could not bring herself to roll her eyes this time; she was too concerned about her current task. She continued to saw and got about halfway through the branch when the buzzing grew louder. More tracker jackers left the hive and began to swarm around her.

Shay used her free hand to swat them away from her face, but it only succeeded in making them angrier. She ducked her face toward her chest and away from the hive as she started sawing once again. Vaguely, she could hear Katniss whispering encouragements to her from the branches below.

Her next setback was when one of the genetically engineered wasps stung her on the neck. She recoiled away from her efforts, a strangled cry escaping her as she tried to muffle the pain. The blonde watched as more began to crawl on the tree around her and even on her jacket sleeves. Panic was hitting her at full force, but she could not afford to stop now.

She started again, hearing Katniss's own gasps of pain as they stung her too. Another tracker jacker stung her on the wrist just as the branch began to crack, the wood splintering. Shay managed not to drop the knife as her wrist lit up in pain. She kept going and finally, it dropped.