"Where I Am May Be Lost" {Arianna; Day 1}

Water. I have to find water.

It was one of the pieces of advice that Arianna had retained as she tried to calm her nerves and mind. The fact that she had survived, the fact that she had made it out of the initial fight, they made the adrenaline rush amplify as all she could hear was the buzzing sound of her thoughts. She could feel her heart beating in her throat with each step away from the building “Arianna! We have to go!” Arianna’s hand was enclosed in her brother’s, his chest still for the past hour. “Gregory?” her 7 year old voice was so childish, so quiet. “Are you going to come with?” Her other hand was being tugged on, Annora was already strong at that age. “He’s not coming, Arianna, he’s dead. Dead like our parents.”

Arianna looked to the sky, looking for a sign on where to go. There was no one in the arena to take her hand, no one to direct her where to go. She was going to have to rely on landmarks and what better landmark was there than the large rock ahead in the distance. Arianna made sure there was no one else around and adjusted her bag so it sat better on her shoulder. Forward and away, the only way to go. Before she could keep going, a bright flash caught her eye as she looked to the sky again. Is that…safe? A little parachute was attached to the capsule, and Arianna moved toward the object, her eyes scanning to see if anyone else had seen what she saw. Her shaky fingers opened the capsule to find fabric inside. Confused, she unraveled the fabric and found a piece of clothing that had one big hole and one smaller one. Is this…a blanket? Unsure, she stuffed the fabric into her bag, thinking it could also be a sleeping pad.

Dust eventually became brittle grass as Arianna found herself having to squint to watch her step. Tiptoeing around was not the difficult part of this walk; Arianna had trouble stomaching the sights she saw at the base of this big rock. Like someone had been staying here for a while. But it was only the first day. She had always assumed these arenas were designed and created, but the camp looked so realistic that Arianna started to quake at the sight of bones peeking out of the dark pockets. Were they human?

Arianna didn’t dare venture too far, but she thought she heard the sound of water and her ears coaxed her body to follow. It was almost unbelievable, too good to be true, but the stream of water was very real as Arianna lifted up her skirt and quickened her pace. In what felt like a record pace, she was by the stream and already filling up her canteen with the cool and clear water. The canteen felt heavy in her hand, but the weight on her shoulders lifted as she mentally checked off another need in her mind.

And now, I hide.

[Arianna Taylor fills empty water canteen with water]
[Arianna receives Poncho from RE]
[Arianna Taylor uses camouflage]


Thread title from Winnie the Pooh