I've traveled since Glorry died which was yesterday afternoon.
It is now early in the evening, and I still haven't seen or heard any sign of any other tributes.
I know Vicktor and Alexia have split up, but where to? And I can't even begin to guess where Harrold is hiding.
I have been basically wandering around the hills for the past 24 hours, looking for anything that would lead me to another tribute.
The heat had given way to a stiff cold, and a chilling breeze. My body numbed a while ago, and the only way to stop from going stiff, is to keep moving, which isn't an issue for me. I've been in almost constant motion since Luna died almost three days ago.
Fatigue is growing harder to fight, and the only good thing about the biting cold is that it keeps me alert.
I reach the top of another hill, and look in surprise.
On the other side of the hill, is a cliff. Plunging down thousands of feet into what I think is the ocean.
Well, at least I know they didn't go this way. I would have heard a cannon if they had.
I turn around, and begin the long hike over the rolling hills.
It grows dark in several hours, and the temperature drops lower.
I am debating finding somewhere to camp for the night, when I suddenly hear a cannon fire.
My head snaps up, as I hear a hovercraft pass above me. I watch as it flies past me, and stops a few hundred yards away, the metal claw appears, and takes up the body of a tribute.
I don't know who it is, but whoever killed them will most likely still be close.
I narrow my eyes, marking the location where the body was.
Time to go hunting.
Soon I reach the hill, and can see clearly where the fight took place.
The hilltop is covered in blood spatters, and the ground is turned up in several places.
Judging by the deep impression and width of the footprints, I would assume that the two contestants were Vicktor, and Harrold.
Although I have no idea who is dead and who is not. But by the look of the hilltop, I would say whoever is left alive, is not in the greatest condition. Most likely they are wounded, and they will definitely be tired. My advantage.
I follow the winners trail for a little while, taking note that they seem to be favoring their right leg.
After a little while, I come to the start of a small forest. I enter the tree edge, and peer into the growing darkness.
Suddenly a roar erupts from behind me, and I turn just in time to see Vicktor swing his flail at me.
I deflect the main force with my trident, but the heavy metal weight on the end of the chain, swings around my trident prong, and smashes into my forehead. I see stars, and fall back, instinctively bringing up my trident for the next blow.
My vision starts to clear as I feel the flail wrap around my trident. I jerk it quickly, pulling it away from Vicktors hand.
I scramble backwards, and grab my fallen net. Vicktor is weaponless, but not for long, he pulls a long knife from his belt, and limps toward me. I see that his right thigh is sliced open, and that is why he's limping.
Thinking quickly, I grab a handful of dirt, and throw it hard at his leg.
He screams in pain as the dirt and some small pebbles stick in his wound. I take the opportunity to hurl the net over him, then I run behind him, and wrap the net around his feet.
He's still yelling, but it's more rage than pain now. He jerks away from me, pulling me off-balance. I land hard on my stomach, and he pulls free from the net. I roll onto my back, and see him jump toward me with his knife held high.
I grab my fallen trident, and brace it against the ground.
It's too late for him to stop, and the handle of the trident sinks a couple of inches into the ground as he impaled himself on the prongs. He looks at me for a minute, then dies with a gurgle.
His cannon fires.
Blood starts to drip on me, so I push his body to the side, and pull my trident free. Then I rest my head on the ground, and gasp for air.
After I rest for a minute, I stand and collect my weapons. Then I pick up Vicktors flail, and throw it on his body. I relieve him of the long knife, and then I start on the trail of the one remaining opponent.
Alexia.
It's not until the next morning that I finally find her trail.
Here it is, the thirteenth day in the arena, only one tribute will come out alive.
Today, a tribute will become a victor.
Alexia seems to be heading out of the hills, and back down to the woods. Which is fine with me, I've had enough to do with hills.
Then her trail turns, and starts going in the direction I think the cornucopia is in.
It's in the late afternoon, when I breast the last hill, and I can look down on the cornucopia.
I see Alexia, standing to one side of the large metal horn. She looks relaxed, but then again, she always looks relaxed.
I take a deep breath, she will be the hardest opponent yet, with her incredible agility and skill with a sword.
"So, you decided to stop out in the open."
She twirls around, and spots me. Then she smiles, and shrugs her shoulders.
"Why hide? It would only delay the inevitable. One of us is dying today, and the other will become victor. Who did you kill last night? The boy from seven, or Vicktor?"
I walk down the hill, appearing casual, but keeping my weapons close.
"Vicktor, he had already finished of the boy from seven."
She nods as she draws her long slightly curved sword.
"Nice trident."
I hold it up slightly, letting the light catch on the golden metal.
"Like it? It was a gift."
She raises her eyebrows,
"Really? Well, I guess being handsome does have its advantages. Do you know what I got as a gift?"
She holds up a small glass vial filled with a green liquid.
"I just got it this morning actually. It's poison, I guess someone is rooting for me just as much as someone is for you."
She pops the cork off the top, and pours the liquid all over the blade, coating the entire thing in deadly poison.
"That's not exactly fair. Wouldn't you say?"
I ask her, and she laughs.
"Well if someone was concerned enough to send me poison when there's only you left, I would say they know something about you that I don't. After all, none of us expected you to last through the first day, let alone get down to the final two. So I suspect that you are much deadlier than anyone anticipated."
I shrug, and grin.
"What can I say, I can be pretty deadly. Although I've heard that you have no problem killing either, in fact I believe you killed my ally. That was pretty cold, killing a defenceless little girl."
Alexia and I start circling each other, as she replies with a wicked grin.
"Oh yes, I remember. Little Luna wasn't it? I had fun killing her, she was so tiny and frail, that it was easy to break her bones. Did you know a rib breaking sounds like a snapping twig? The whole time she kept pleading for help. 'Finnick! Save me Finnick! Help me please!' What a pity you didn't show up. How does it feel Finnick? To have someone trust you, and then you neglect to protect them. How did it feel when you showed up to late, just in time to see her die?"
A roar of pure rage bursts from my mouth, and I lunge at Alexia.
She skips to the side, and slashes her sword quickly across my back.
I yell in pain, and turn around to face her.
"What's the matter? Can't take a little pain?"
I hold my net loosely, and approach her slower this time.
I jab my trident towards her left side, forcing her to block with her sword. I use the opening, and hurl the net at her right side, and it wraps around her. I step forward with my trident, ready to deliver the death-blow. But with a fierce scream, Alexia twists her sword, and slices right through the net, it falls to the ground in pieces.
She looks up at me, with a innocent look on her face.
"Oops."
She takes the offensive this time, bounding forward slashing with her sword.
I deflect most of her blows, but I catch several a little late, resulting in a few gashes on my chest, and several on my arms.
I manage to cut her several times with the sharp prong tips, and we are both bleeding quite a bit.
However hers are only cuts, but mine are laced with venom, and already I can feel the poison working through my system, everywhere her sword broke flesh burns like fire. I know that I have to end this fight soon, or she will be able to just wait me out.
I attack fiercely, and drive her back toward the cornucopia.
She parries with her sword, taking smooth graceful steps back. One final pace, and her back is against the cornucopia.
I pin her to the metal side with my arm across her neck.
She gasps.
"That poison should be taking over your system by now, soon you'll feel it on the inside, burning like acid as it starts to reach your heart. You don't have long to live. especially after this!"
She brings up her sword, and stabs me through the shoulder. I cry out in pain, and slam my trident shaft into her arm.
She yells and let's go. I step back and pull the sword out of my shoulder.
"Now it's time for you to die."
I grind my teeth together, and stab her through the waist, pinning her to the cornucopia.
She gasps, holding the trident shaft tightly.
"You've killed me!"
My whole body burns as the poison works its way to my heart. I take a deep breath, and my skin starts to twitch.
"I gave you more of a chance then you ever gave Luna, now she can rest in peace."
Alexia sinks to the ground, eyes wide in horror. With the sound of a cannon, the sixty-fifth hunger games claims its last victim.
I feel my heart rate rise, and the skin all over my body tightens, the pain is unbearable.
A hovercraft appears, and a chain ladder is lowered quickly. With a last effort, I step onto the ladder.
Instantly a current freezes my body, and the ladder rises quickly.
I can hear my heart pounding loudly in my head, and my vision starts to mist over as I enter the hovercraft.
The last thing I see is a lot of people in white coats, and then everything goes black.
Thursday, 14 February 2013
Wednesday, 13 February 2013
There's Nothing More Important than Family, chapter 3
We are escorted into the Justice Building, and I still don’t
let go of my brother. Usually, for goodbyes, the tributes are put into separate
rooms, but they put us together since we are a special case. My mother bursts
into the room, bawling. She rips me from Nathan, and squeezes me tightly instead.
Father enters with Alex, Louisia and Katie. Louisia drops Katie into Nathan’s
arms.
“I can’t believe this,” whispers my father. “This can’t be
happening.” He hides his face in his hands.
Nathan changes the subject. “Where’s David?”
“He fainted when you were called up.” Mutters Louisia. “The
neighbors are taking care of him.”
My mother sniffles and wipes her eyes. “One of you has to
come home.” She cries. “I won’t be able to handle losing both of you.”
Nathan passes Katie to me, and embraces my mother. “We’ll
try.”
“Promise me you’ll work together!”
“Always.” He answers. The Peacekeeper comes in and escorts
our family out. We wait, but no one else comes to see us off. Eventually, the
Peacekeepers tell us it’s time to leave. I no longer cling to Nathan’s waist,
but his hand holds mine as we are led to the train platform. There are cameras
everywhere, but we ignore them as we board the train.
Palana and two others are waiting for us inside of the
train; a man and a woman. I recognize them as previous victors, and realize
they must be our mentors. The man is bald and middle-aged. His face is heavily
scarred. The girl, however, is much younger. She has wavy brown hair and a warm
face. She sighs. “I’m so sorry this has happened.” She whispers. “This is
horrible. It’s just so cruel.”
“I know.” Agrees the man. “I’m sorry, you two. I’m Sean, and
this is Olivia. We will be your mentors.”
Nathan raises an eyebrow at Olivia. “Aren’t you a little
young to be a mentor?”
“I’m nineteen.” Clarifies Olivia. “I won four years ago.
There’s no other female victors so, yes, I am a mentor.”
I close my eyes and hang my head. Sean must notice me, for
he says quickly, “Let’s go have lunch in the dining room. You must be starving.”
I keep my head down, but Nathan guides me to the dining room. As gently as he
can, he pushes me into a chair. I look up. The train is the most beautifully
decorated place I have ever been in. The furniture looks expensive and much
fancier than anything back in District 9. Nathan is sitting beside me and
Olivia and Sean are across the metal table. Palana sits at the head of the
table, like a king.
“You’re going to love the Capitol!” Palana giggles. “It’s so
much nicer, and cleaner, than the districts!” I see a muscle in Sean’s jaw
twitch and Nathan eyes Palana dangerously. She seems oblivious to the fact that
she did anything wrong. “You’re only going to be here on the train for a day,
but we want you to be as comfortable as possible. Now, Nathan, your room is
down the hall and to the left. Zania, you’re on the right.”
“No!” I cry. Everyone looks over at me, stunned. I’m
surprised that I spoke, too. “No.” I repeat. “I want to share a room with
Nathan.” Nathan pats me on the shoulder.
“I don’t know if that’s allowed!” says Palana.
“Do you know what our parents told us to do?” asks Nathan. “They
told us to work together. To watch out for each other. We’re both being torn
from our family and one of us, maybe both of us, will be dead in a couple of
weeks. It’s the least you can do.”
“Palana, its fine. They’re siblings. They’re scared. Let
them stay together.” Olivia persuades her.
“Oh, alright.” Says Palana quietly. She clearly isn’t used
to being argued with.
Just then, some Capitol attendants carry out some platters
of food. My mouth waters at the sight of the food. A giant turkey, every type
of fruit known to man, rich soups and refined Capitol bread dominates the
table. Nathan helps me dish up my plate, and we begin to devour our food. After
last night’s disappointing meal, this food tastes heavenly.
When we clear our plates, Olivia and Sean take us to the
sitting room. On the television, we watch reruns of the other districts’ Reapings.
A few stick in my mind; the volunteers from 1, 2 and 4 all look strong and
athletic. They should, seeing as they’ve been training for the Games their
whole lives. We call them ‘Career Tributes’ back in District 9. I’m not the
only twelve-year-old. There’s a girl my age from District 12. She’s much
smaller than I am, though. The boy from District 7 is huge and evil-looking.
There is only one other volunteer, the girl from District 6. She looks very
intimidating and self-assured.
When the Reapings are done, Olivia turns the TV off. “Oh, it’s
so horrible. “She whispers. “This year’s tributes are so young.”
Sean counts off his fingers, “Two twelve-year-olds, three
thirteen-year-olds and three more who are fourteen. I see what you mean.”
Olivia sighs. “Well, the only good thing that comes out of
that is that you’re chances of winning are greater.” It’s ominous to think this
way, but I know she’s right. I think again to all of the other tributes. In two
weeks, twenty-three of us will be dead. It’s surreal to think about it. I close
my eyes and bring my knees up to my chest. “Zania, don’t worry.” Says Olivia. She
reminds me of Louisia, and thinking of my sister is painful. “We’ll do our best
to get you ready for this.”
“We will.” Agrees Sean. “Usually, we have to work against
each other, Olivia and I, but I don’t think that will be the case this year.”
“Zania and I will work together.” Nathan says firmly.
Sean grunts. “That’s what I thought. Now, that gives us an
advantage; all of our planning will be about the two of you working together.”
“We know what we’re doing before most of the others do.” Confirms
Nathan.
“Exactly.” Sean looks at me. “Are ready to start planning
now, or do you want to wait?”
“I don’t know.” I say quietly. “Can we wait until tomorrow?”
“Yes, of course. Sean and I will start talking tonight, and
we’ll discuss it tomorrow, before we get to the Capitol.” Says Olivia. I glance
out the window. We’re going so fast, the landscape is a blur.
“When will we get to the Capitol?” I ask nervously. “What
time is it now?”
Palana responds from the other room, “It’s about four o’clock,”
she yells. “We’ll be in the Capitol around ten-thirty tomorrow.”
“Okay, so we can’t strategize with you once at the Capitol.”
Explains Olivia. “At least not tomorrow night. You’ll be with your stylists,
preparing for the Tribute Parade.” She thinks for a moment. “Can you be up by
eight? That gives us enough time for you to have breakfast and for us to get a
lot of talking in.” Nathan and I promise that we will be up by eight.
I sit in front of the window, watching the scenery zoom by
for a while, until Olivia tells me it’s dinner time. The food is still
magnificent. By the time we are done eating, it is quite late. I change in mine
and Nathan’s room, and then wait outside the door until he’s done. When I come
back in, he too is dressed in pajamas provided by the Capitol. He gently
removes the circlet from my hair and places it on the bedside table beside his
token. We crawl into bed, and I curl up against my older brother’s chest. He
holds his arm around me protectively.
“Nathan?” I say.
“Yeah?”
“I don’t want to win.” I whisper. “Not if it means going
home without you.”
Sea Green, chapter 16
I stayed with Luna until they sent a hovercraft to collect her body.
After she was gone, I picked up my net and trident, and started on the trail of the careers.
They are making no effort to cover their tracks, and it is all to easy to follow them.
They are moving fast though, eager to seek other murder victims.
I never stop, not to rest or to eat. vengeance keeps me going.
Some of us are thrown into the games against our will, forced to become killers. Others, like the careers, train and prepare their whole lives for this. They have no problem murdering, they actually enjoy it. Like the capitol, they look on the whole thing as a game, something that is fun and sporting. But the truth is, they are trained killing machines, eager to find their next kill.
To anyone watching, I am just another career. Wasn't I a volunteer? I have trained my whole life, and now I am hunting the other tributes like prey. The careers hunt the other tributes, and I hunt the careers.
As I move through the hills, and small forests. I try to think of who is left in the arena.
Both tributes from one, two, and four are still alive, all the careers. Besides that, I think there is only one other tribute: Harrold, the boy from seven is still alive.
My thought are interrupted, as I notice a dark stain in the grass. I kneel and run my fingers over the spot. Blood, it's fresh to by the feel of it.
No cannon has fired, so that means there is a wounded tribute somewhere close.
I search the ground for more blood, and soon I've picked up the trail. I follow it for about half an hour, and then I slow down. On the peak of the next hill, I can see a blood covered arm. Whoever it is, they are still alive, and laying just on the other side of the hill.
I grip my trident, and hold my net ready. A wounded animal is the most dangerous one.
I stand beside the protruding arm, and poise my trident, about to strike. I jump over the peak of the hill, and bring the trident down.
I barely manage to halt my attack, stabbing off to the side.
"Annita?"
She spins her head around, and stares wide-eyed at me. I gaze in horror at her.
She was stabbed through the shoulder, and sliced deep across her waist. Blood has soaked her from her shoulders almost to her knees. Her hair is matted with it as well, and I see the back of her head was cut too.
"Finnick..."
Her voice is hoarse, and as she speaks, blood dribbles out of her mouth.
I drop my trident and net, and kneel beside her. There is nothing I can do, already I can see the life fading from her eyes.
"Annita, what happened?"
She coughs, misting my face with blood.
"The careers decided it was time to split up...when I turned to go, Alexia attacked me. Xavier tried to stop her, but Vicktor stopped him, I ran and Glorry threw a knife that hit the back of my head. I don't remember anything else, but no cannons fired, which means nobody died...well not yet at least."
She coughs again, and tears clean two channels in her blood and dirt stained face.
"Finnick please...it hurts so much...do it quickly."
I gaze hopelessly at my dying district partner, and I remember when I caught her crying, the talk we had, and how she looked, so elegant and peaceful at the interviews. The games have changed yet another person, turned them into something they're not.
She sees my hesitation. Gripping my hand tightly, she looks at me with her tear filled eyes.
"Please."
I feel a hot tear roll down my face, as I pick up my trident.
"Thank you."
She whispers, and closes her eyes.
I take a deep breath, and drive my trident through her heart.
I hear her cannon fire, and I gasp in shock. I just killed someone.
I feel tremors in my stomach, and my knees feel weak. I calm myself, and take several deep breaths.
She saved my life, and in a way, I saved hers.
I wipe off my trident, and walk away from her body. She wasn't to blame for Luna's death, but the people who are to blame are still out there, and I will hunt them down one by one. Until they all have paid for their murder.
I return to where the fight took place, and decide to go after Xavier next. He will be hard to track, but at least I'll have no problem finding the others once I'm done with him.
I find the trail I think is his, and follow it.
It's almost completely dark now, but I keep going, knowing sooner or later I'll run into Xavier, hopefully he wont be much of a problem, maybe he was even wounded.
When I reach the top of one of the many hills, I scan the area for any signs of life. There! The small tell-tale glow of a fire.
I approach cautiously, although he probably wont be expecting an attack, he might not be asleep, and with his bow, I'm going to need the element of surprise.
As I reach the fire, I see that he is sitting staring into the fire. Most likely he is thinking about Annita. unfortunately for him, his eyes will be useless in the dark after looking at the fire, he wont be able to shoot straight. Unfortunate for him, lucky for me.
I hold my net loosely, and get a firm hold on the trident. Just because I'm going to kill him, doesn't mean I am not going to be merciful, It'll be quick, he'll barely feel a thing.
I brace myself, and throw the net over him.
He yells in surprise, and tries to pull it from him.
I'm still holding one end of the net, and I twist it quickly, tangling him completely.
"Odair! Why aren't you dead yet? Pretty boys shouldn't last long in a place like this."
I grit my teeth as I stand over him.
"Lucky people liked this pretty boy enough to send him presents. I heard you gave away my ally, big strong guy like you, didn't take anything out of you giving her away? It was just all to easy to kill her wasn't it?"
He wiggles in the net, cursing me.
"Stupid girl, she should have stayed away. Besides, I didn't kill her, Glorry and Alexia did that, all took turns beating her with the flat of their weapons, until Vicktor got bored with it of course and delivered the fatal blow with his flail. To bad you couldn't save her."
Hot tears escape my eyes, as I spit out the words behind ground teeth.
"You are just as much to blame as the ones who did it. You had just as much to do with her death. And now I'm going to give you the same chance she had...none!"
I stab the trident down, and Xavier rolls quickly, taking the blow in the back of his shoulder. He yells in pain, and I pull the net hard, rolling him back over.
"If you had stayed still, It would have been over already with hardly any pain, now you've succeeded in getting a lung pierced, you are going to die anyway now, I can either let you die slowly and painfully, or I can be merciful. But I don't want to just wound you again, so the choice is up to you. Slowly and painfully, or quick and painless."
He gasps, his face masked in agony. He relaxes his body in the net.
"Do it."
I do the same to him as I did to Annita: straight through the heart.
His cannon fires, and I untangle him from the net.
I clean my trident, and retrace my steps back to follow another trail.
As I walk, the anthem begins playing, and I see Xavier, Annita and Luna light the sky.
There's only five left now.
Soon only one of us will be left standing.
It's the middle of the afternoon, when I finally find Glorry's trail. She shouldn't be to hard, I just have to watch out for her knives.
I haven't slept or eaten anything since yesterday afternoon. But I don't think I could eat anything anyway, and I know if I rest, the others will only get further away.
Glorry doesn't seem to be in much of a hurry, but she still has almost a entire day head start.
The sun is blazing, and there are no clouds to give any shade. The gamemakers must be messing with the weather again.
Sweat drips into my eyes, making them sting, and my vision blurs. I continue to trudge up another hill, why are there so many hills? Why couldn't some of the careers go back to the forest or something?
I stare up at the scorching sun.
"Why do you have to make it so dang hot? We're all going to die anyway, you don't have to torture us while we are still alive!"
I wipe the sweat off my forehead, and look behind me. Nothing but endless hills, how big is this arena?
I sigh, and continue to follow Glorry's trail.
Heat waves ripple the hill tops, and I've stopped sweating. Which I don't think is a good thing, it means that I have no more moisture in my body. I can not get dehydrated.
"If you're going to make it so hot, the least you could do is send some water!"
A parachute appears.
"Thank you!"
I shout angrily at the sky.
I retrieve the parachute, and open it to find a slender glass tube, the liquid inside is a odd light blue color. I find a slip of paper in the bottom of the parachute. I pull it out and it reads: Hydrationdrops: sip to keep from dehydrating, overconsumption can be harmful.
I unscrew the top, and take a small sip. It tastes like water, but one small sip quenches my thirst.
I slid the tube into my pocket, and start back on the trail feeling refreshed.
After another hour, I suddenly lose the trail, I back track a few steps. There's the trail, a few steps forward, and it's gone. I stand confused for a few moments, then I look to the left of the trail. The grass is all smushed down, like something fell into it.
I look around, Glorry must be sick or something, because the trail starts to zig-zag, and it looks like she's fallen down multiple times.
I follow the trail for a while, walking slowly and observing her condition.
"I'll get you eventually! Just wait and see!"
The shouts are coming from up ahead, and they echo through the hills, bouncing back to me. I look up, and see Glorry on a hilltop three away from the one I'm standing.
She is staggering around, looking straight up at the sky. I notice the many glints of knives in her belt, their blades reflecting the sunlight.
"What's the point of it all?! Sure we train and volunteer...that's all we're meant for right?! To prepare our whole lives for this, to kill other children...I don't have any problem killing. But what is it all for?! To bring honor and glory to our district? Like our districts need glory of all things...well you know what? Screw the glory, and the districts, and the all mighty capitol. This whole thing is just pointless...pointless!"
I watch in surprise as she screams insults at the sky. She has to be suffering from heat stroke, or something.
I walk slowly to the hill that she's on. making sure to approach her from behind.
She has her head tilted down, and her eyes are closed. She must hear me, because her head snaps up, and she whirls around.
Her eyes are wild and bloodshot, and her hair is clinging to her sweaty head and neck.
When she sees me, she starts laughing insanely, pulling out a knife from her belt.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't the prince of the games. I'm surprised you didn't die the first day, if Vicktor hadn't stopped me, I would have made sure you died in the blood bath. But I guess I'll just have to end it now."
She pauses, and looks back up at the sky, shouting madly.
"Welcome welcome, to the sixty-fifth annual hunger games! Prepare to watch the showdown of Glorry, and the prince...One of us is about to die for your entertainment, so pay attention!"
She jumps toward me, flinging a knife as she does. I flick the net in front of me quickly, it tangles the knife in its folds, but while I am focusing on the first net, Glorry releases another one.
It catches me on the collarbone, slicing the skin as it bounces off the bone. I yell in pain and she whirls forward with another knife ready. I can't let her throw anymore knives, I have to get closer to her.
I snap the net to her right, drawing her attention. Then I bring up my trident, catching her throwing arm between the prongs.
I give the trident a quick twist, and cringe as I hear Glorry's arm snap.
She screams in pain, and jerks her broken arm free, it hangs limply at her side, bending at an odd angle.
She pulls a long knife from the back of her belt, and slashes at me. I instinctively jump back, the blade slicing through my shirt, and missing my stomach by an inch.
I whirl the net low, and tangle her feet in it. She falls to the ground hard, and I jump forward with my trident raised.
She twists onto her back, and slices shin with her knife. I can feel the blade hit bone, and I don't hesitate to plunge the trident deep into her waist.
She gasps, and her head falls to the ground.
She gasps out one last sentence as death takes her.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the prince has won the battle. We hope you have been entertained by the death of the girl tribute from district one..."
Her body shudders, and she lies still, her glassy eyes staring up at the sky, as her cannon fires.
I collapse to the ground, panting hard. I look down at my leg, at about the middle of my shin is a long horizontal cut. The blade sliced to the bone, but the cut is fairly shallow.
It's the same with my collarbone, I ignore the wounds, and collect my net and trident.
"And then there were four."
After she was gone, I picked up my net and trident, and started on the trail of the careers.
They are making no effort to cover their tracks, and it is all to easy to follow them.
They are moving fast though, eager to seek other murder victims.
I never stop, not to rest or to eat. vengeance keeps me going.
Some of us are thrown into the games against our will, forced to become killers. Others, like the careers, train and prepare their whole lives for this. They have no problem murdering, they actually enjoy it. Like the capitol, they look on the whole thing as a game, something that is fun and sporting. But the truth is, they are trained killing machines, eager to find their next kill.
To anyone watching, I am just another career. Wasn't I a volunteer? I have trained my whole life, and now I am hunting the other tributes like prey. The careers hunt the other tributes, and I hunt the careers.
As I move through the hills, and small forests. I try to think of who is left in the arena.
Both tributes from one, two, and four are still alive, all the careers. Besides that, I think there is only one other tribute: Harrold, the boy from seven is still alive.
My thought are interrupted, as I notice a dark stain in the grass. I kneel and run my fingers over the spot. Blood, it's fresh to by the feel of it.
No cannon has fired, so that means there is a wounded tribute somewhere close.
I search the ground for more blood, and soon I've picked up the trail. I follow it for about half an hour, and then I slow down. On the peak of the next hill, I can see a blood covered arm. Whoever it is, they are still alive, and laying just on the other side of the hill.
I grip my trident, and hold my net ready. A wounded animal is the most dangerous one.
I stand beside the protruding arm, and poise my trident, about to strike. I jump over the peak of the hill, and bring the trident down.
I barely manage to halt my attack, stabbing off to the side.
"Annita?"
She spins her head around, and stares wide-eyed at me. I gaze in horror at her.
She was stabbed through the shoulder, and sliced deep across her waist. Blood has soaked her from her shoulders almost to her knees. Her hair is matted with it as well, and I see the back of her head was cut too.
"Finnick..."
Her voice is hoarse, and as she speaks, blood dribbles out of her mouth.
I drop my trident and net, and kneel beside her. There is nothing I can do, already I can see the life fading from her eyes.
"Annita, what happened?"
She coughs, misting my face with blood.
"The careers decided it was time to split up...when I turned to go, Alexia attacked me. Xavier tried to stop her, but Vicktor stopped him, I ran and Glorry threw a knife that hit the back of my head. I don't remember anything else, but no cannons fired, which means nobody died...well not yet at least."
She coughs again, and tears clean two channels in her blood and dirt stained face.
"Finnick please...it hurts so much...do it quickly."
I gaze hopelessly at my dying district partner, and I remember when I caught her crying, the talk we had, and how she looked, so elegant and peaceful at the interviews. The games have changed yet another person, turned them into something they're not.
She sees my hesitation. Gripping my hand tightly, she looks at me with her tear filled eyes.
"Please."
I feel a hot tear roll down my face, as I pick up my trident.
"Thank you."
She whispers, and closes her eyes.
I take a deep breath, and drive my trident through her heart.
I hear her cannon fire, and I gasp in shock. I just killed someone.
I feel tremors in my stomach, and my knees feel weak. I calm myself, and take several deep breaths.
She saved my life, and in a way, I saved hers.
I wipe off my trident, and walk away from her body. She wasn't to blame for Luna's death, but the people who are to blame are still out there, and I will hunt them down one by one. Until they all have paid for their murder.
I return to where the fight took place, and decide to go after Xavier next. He will be hard to track, but at least I'll have no problem finding the others once I'm done with him.
I find the trail I think is his, and follow it.
It's almost completely dark now, but I keep going, knowing sooner or later I'll run into Xavier, hopefully he wont be much of a problem, maybe he was even wounded.
When I reach the top of one of the many hills, I scan the area for any signs of life. There! The small tell-tale glow of a fire.
I approach cautiously, although he probably wont be expecting an attack, he might not be asleep, and with his bow, I'm going to need the element of surprise.
As I reach the fire, I see that he is sitting staring into the fire. Most likely he is thinking about Annita. unfortunately for him, his eyes will be useless in the dark after looking at the fire, he wont be able to shoot straight. Unfortunate for him, lucky for me.
I hold my net loosely, and get a firm hold on the trident. Just because I'm going to kill him, doesn't mean I am not going to be merciful, It'll be quick, he'll barely feel a thing.
I brace myself, and throw the net over him.
He yells in surprise, and tries to pull it from him.
I'm still holding one end of the net, and I twist it quickly, tangling him completely.
"Odair! Why aren't you dead yet? Pretty boys shouldn't last long in a place like this."
I grit my teeth as I stand over him.
"Lucky people liked this pretty boy enough to send him presents. I heard you gave away my ally, big strong guy like you, didn't take anything out of you giving her away? It was just all to easy to kill her wasn't it?"
He wiggles in the net, cursing me.
"Stupid girl, she should have stayed away. Besides, I didn't kill her, Glorry and Alexia did that, all took turns beating her with the flat of their weapons, until Vicktor got bored with it of course and delivered the fatal blow with his flail. To bad you couldn't save her."
Hot tears escape my eyes, as I spit out the words behind ground teeth.
"You are just as much to blame as the ones who did it. You had just as much to do with her death. And now I'm going to give you the same chance she had...none!"
I stab the trident down, and Xavier rolls quickly, taking the blow in the back of his shoulder. He yells in pain, and I pull the net hard, rolling him back over.
"If you had stayed still, It would have been over already with hardly any pain, now you've succeeded in getting a lung pierced, you are going to die anyway now, I can either let you die slowly and painfully, or I can be merciful. But I don't want to just wound you again, so the choice is up to you. Slowly and painfully, or quick and painless."
He gasps, his face masked in agony. He relaxes his body in the net.
"Do it."
I do the same to him as I did to Annita: straight through the heart.
His cannon fires, and I untangle him from the net.
I clean my trident, and retrace my steps back to follow another trail.
As I walk, the anthem begins playing, and I see Xavier, Annita and Luna light the sky.
There's only five left now.
Soon only one of us will be left standing.
It's the middle of the afternoon, when I finally find Glorry's trail. She shouldn't be to hard, I just have to watch out for her knives.
I haven't slept or eaten anything since yesterday afternoon. But I don't think I could eat anything anyway, and I know if I rest, the others will only get further away.
Glorry doesn't seem to be in much of a hurry, but she still has almost a entire day head start.
The sun is blazing, and there are no clouds to give any shade. The gamemakers must be messing with the weather again.
Sweat drips into my eyes, making them sting, and my vision blurs. I continue to trudge up another hill, why are there so many hills? Why couldn't some of the careers go back to the forest or something?
I stare up at the scorching sun.
"Why do you have to make it so dang hot? We're all going to die anyway, you don't have to torture us while we are still alive!"
I wipe the sweat off my forehead, and look behind me. Nothing but endless hills, how big is this arena?
I sigh, and continue to follow Glorry's trail.
Heat waves ripple the hill tops, and I've stopped sweating. Which I don't think is a good thing, it means that I have no more moisture in my body. I can not get dehydrated.
"If you're going to make it so hot, the least you could do is send some water!"
A parachute appears.
"Thank you!"
I shout angrily at the sky.
I retrieve the parachute, and open it to find a slender glass tube, the liquid inside is a odd light blue color. I find a slip of paper in the bottom of the parachute. I pull it out and it reads: Hydrationdrops: sip to keep from dehydrating, overconsumption can be harmful.
I unscrew the top, and take a small sip. It tastes like water, but one small sip quenches my thirst.
I slid the tube into my pocket, and start back on the trail feeling refreshed.
After another hour, I suddenly lose the trail, I back track a few steps. There's the trail, a few steps forward, and it's gone. I stand confused for a few moments, then I look to the left of the trail. The grass is all smushed down, like something fell into it.
I look around, Glorry must be sick or something, because the trail starts to zig-zag, and it looks like she's fallen down multiple times.
I follow the trail for a while, walking slowly and observing her condition.
"I'll get you eventually! Just wait and see!"
The shouts are coming from up ahead, and they echo through the hills, bouncing back to me. I look up, and see Glorry on a hilltop three away from the one I'm standing.
She is staggering around, looking straight up at the sky. I notice the many glints of knives in her belt, their blades reflecting the sunlight.
"What's the point of it all?! Sure we train and volunteer...that's all we're meant for right?! To prepare our whole lives for this, to kill other children...I don't have any problem killing. But what is it all for?! To bring honor and glory to our district? Like our districts need glory of all things...well you know what? Screw the glory, and the districts, and the all mighty capitol. This whole thing is just pointless...pointless!"
I watch in surprise as she screams insults at the sky. She has to be suffering from heat stroke, or something.
I walk slowly to the hill that she's on. making sure to approach her from behind.
She has her head tilted down, and her eyes are closed. She must hear me, because her head snaps up, and she whirls around.
Her eyes are wild and bloodshot, and her hair is clinging to her sweaty head and neck.
When she sees me, she starts laughing insanely, pulling out a knife from her belt.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't the prince of the games. I'm surprised you didn't die the first day, if Vicktor hadn't stopped me, I would have made sure you died in the blood bath. But I guess I'll just have to end it now."
She pauses, and looks back up at the sky, shouting madly.
"Welcome welcome, to the sixty-fifth annual hunger games! Prepare to watch the showdown of Glorry, and the prince...One of us is about to die for your entertainment, so pay attention!"
She jumps toward me, flinging a knife as she does. I flick the net in front of me quickly, it tangles the knife in its folds, but while I am focusing on the first net, Glorry releases another one.
It catches me on the collarbone, slicing the skin as it bounces off the bone. I yell in pain and she whirls forward with another knife ready. I can't let her throw anymore knives, I have to get closer to her.
I snap the net to her right, drawing her attention. Then I bring up my trident, catching her throwing arm between the prongs.
I give the trident a quick twist, and cringe as I hear Glorry's arm snap.
She screams in pain, and jerks her broken arm free, it hangs limply at her side, bending at an odd angle.
She pulls a long knife from the back of her belt, and slashes at me. I instinctively jump back, the blade slicing through my shirt, and missing my stomach by an inch.
I whirl the net low, and tangle her feet in it. She falls to the ground hard, and I jump forward with my trident raised.
She twists onto her back, and slices shin with her knife. I can feel the blade hit bone, and I don't hesitate to plunge the trident deep into her waist.
She gasps, and her head falls to the ground.
She gasps out one last sentence as death takes her.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the prince has won the battle. We hope you have been entertained by the death of the girl tribute from district one..."
Her body shudders, and she lies still, her glassy eyes staring up at the sky, as her cannon fires.
I collapse to the ground, panting hard. I look down at my leg, at about the middle of my shin is a long horizontal cut. The blade sliced to the bone, but the cut is fairly shallow.
It's the same with my collarbone, I ignore the wounds, and collect my net and trident.
"And then there were four."
Sea Green, chapter 15
I wake up to the sound of someone humming.
I lie still, and listen to Luna's angelic voice echo around the low hills.
Close your eyes little one,
sleep in peace little one,
hope and joy, linger near,
let them take away your fear.
Hope, it's the only thing to keep us going,
Hope, is the only way to see the light,
Hope, is the force of the living,
always keep it close,
and never lose hope.
I know things seem dark,
I know everything seems lost,
even in the darkest day, still sings the lark,
I also know that there is always a way,
to open your eye, into a brighter day.
Hope, it's the only thing to keep us going,
Hope, is the only way to see the light,
Hope, is the force of the living,
always keep it close,
and never lose hope.
Now look, the sun is rising,
now look, the darkness disappears,
and see, the brightness of the day,
now turn and lay all your fears, away.
Turn and lay all your fears, away.
The last notes of the song, linger in the air, like the earth wants to hold onto it a little while longer.
The tune is still in my head, when I stretch, and yawn,
"Well, well, well, look who decided to join the living. Good morning sleeping beauty."
I clench my jaw at the sound of the name that's been jeered at me my entire life.
"Are you okay? Do your wounds hurt?"
Luna walks over to me, concern darkening her innocent face.
"No, it's just that...well I've been teased about my looks ever since I was little, and sleeping beauty is what they call me back at the community home."
Luna sits down in front of me.
"Oh, I'm really sorry...I didn't know."
I give her a cocky grin.
"But don't worry, I realised they were just jealous that they would never look as good as me."
I run my fingers through my hair slowly, with a look of complete self-importance on my face.
Luna laughs,
"Oh, you are the absolute limit Finnick Odair."
She shoves me in the chest, knocking me onto my back.
"Ow!"
She's leaning over me in an instant.
"Oh gosh! I forgot about your chest wounds, are you alright? I didn't hurt you that much did I?"
I kick her legs out from under her, and she falls hard on her rear.
I start laughing.
"I'm fine now."
She crosses her arms and glares at me, just like a little sister being teased by a brother.
"That wasn't funny Finnick."
I sit up, and grin at her.
"It was a little funny."
She stands and brushes herself off.
"Oh whatever! How are your wounds doing mister ego."
I stand, and unwrap my bandages to check.
"Oh wow. How did that happen?"
Luna stares confused, all the cuts on my torso, are just faded pink lines.
I unwrap my arm, and those wounds are the same.
"It must have been the medicine I got last night."
I say remembering the parachute.
Luna takes a closer look at my wounds, and I flinch as her breath hits my skin.
"That tickles."
She flicks my hand, and then checks my arm.
"Stop complaining you big baby. Man, someone had to have spent a lot of money to get medicine this good."
She's right, the better the gifts, the more it costs. And we're down to the final eight, which means the price for sending in sponsor gifts, has increased as well. Whoever sent that medicine, had to have spent almost a small fortune.
"Well, I don't need bandages anymore. What is our plan for today?"
I say while pulling on my shirt, and attaching my pant legs.
Luna follows suit, as she replies.
"Well, yesterday the gamemakers made it flood, probably because not enough excitement was happening. So, now that there are only eight of us left, they will probably do something to drive some of us together. I didn't hear any cannons last night, or this morning, so all the careers must have survived the flood."
I nod.
"They probably lost all of their food, which means they will be extra eager to end this."
Luna kicks dirt over the fire, and I pick up my net.
"Who knows where they are now, and now that there is so few of us, they might have split up."
I sigh. Trying to think of what to do.
"I vote, that we just keep moving, if we run into any careers, well let's just hope that doesn't happen."
Luna nods, and follows me as I start to walk up the small hill, towards the mountains behind.
All morning we hike across the hills, always keeping an eye out for other tributes.
After reaching the peak of one tall hill, we could see the cornucopia far below us, the flood had collapsed the rock fort, and scattered the stones around. There's no sign of the careers, and I figured they probably split up.
Sometime around noon, Luna and I stop for a rest at the base of one of the taller hills.
"Any chance we could get some water?"
Luna asks in a hoarse voice.
A parachute appears, and inside are two large canteens of water.
We drink our fill, and start out again.
"Where are we going exactly?"
Luna asks after another hour has passed.
"I don't know really, maybe looking for food, or shelter or something."
At the mention of food, Luna's stomach growls.
We both laugh.
"How about it? Anyone feel like sending some food?"
I call out to the sky.
Another parachute appears, and inside we find food that will last for a while. Rolls, and dried meats.
We snack as we walk, and I start looking around for somewhere to camp for the night.
"Do you want me to go take a look around?"
Luna asks.
I shake my head.
"No, I think we should stick together, no telling who we might run into."
She sighs, but doesn't say anything else.
I guess the time around 4:00, when we find a good campsite.
A little hollow in the side of one of the hills, almost like a shallow cave.
We settle in, and I go out to gather some wood for a fire.
When I get back, Luna is pacing around the camp like a trapped animal.
"You okay Luna?"
She spins around as I enter the hollow.
"Thank goodness you're back! I got to get out, and have a look around or something."
I dump the wood in the corner, and brush my hands off.
"Why what's the matter?"
She walks over to me.
"I have a little problem with tight spaces, and I haven't gotten the chance to sneak around all day."
I laugh,
"Sneak around?"
She glares at me.
"Yes, it's what I am best at, hiding, sneaking, you know, stealth mode. It helps me relax. Please, please, please! Let me go out. Just for a little while, I won't even go that far."
She pouts her bottom lip, and opens her eyes wide.
"Please!"
I stare at her innocent little face, and her large baby blue eyes.
"Oh gosh. Fine! But only for a little while, and I don't want you to stay in earshot distance, okay?"
She hugs me quickly,
"Thank you! I'll be back soon!"
She dashes out of the hollow, and I chuckle at her desperation.
I start placing the wood to start a fire, humming the song Luna had been singing earlier.
I start to get worried when Luna still hasn't shown up after half an hour.
another twenty minutes pass, and she still hasn't shown up.
I step outside the hollow.
"Luna!"
I yell as loud as I dare.
Still nothing.
Now I'm really worried. Where could she be? I told her to stay within shouting distance.
After another five minutes pass, and I decide to go look for her.
As I grab my knife and net, as I run out of the hollow, I notice that it's starting to get dark.
Not good. Finding Luna is going to be hard enough, without it getting dark on top of that.
I scour the ground for any signs of her, but of course I find nothing.
I circle wider and wider, hoping to find anything that would lead me to Luna.
I search for about half an hour, and am about to go back to camp to see if Luna went there, when I hear it.
"Finnick!"
My whole body stiffens, listening.
"Finnick help!"
I run faster than I've ever run before in the direction of her cries.
"Luna!"
It sounded like her shouts came from a small pine grove at the base of the larger hills. I dash into the trees, trying to look through the low branches.
"FINNICK!"
Her scream is different this time, it's filled with fear and desperation.
I turn in the direction of her voice, and I am about to run, when I hear a twig snap behind me.
"I can't save her, but I can save you."
I whirl around, and see Annita for a brief second,
"I'm sorry."
She says, and before I can react, the end of her bow smashes into my head.
When I come to, I'm confused at first. Where am I?
Then everything comes flooding back.
"Luna!"
I yell, and pain shoots through my head. I can feel sticky blood on my cheek.
I stand up groggy, and stagger in the direction I heard Luna last.
I stumble into a clearing, and my heart stops.
Lying in the middle of the clearing, is Luna.
Her small body is bloody and bruised, and her leg is twisted the wrong way.
I walk slowly over to her body, and fall to my knees.
I brush some hair out of her face, and look at her bruised face. I brush my hand across her cheek, and I jerk in surprise, as her eyes flicker open.
"Luna!"
Her eyes look like they have a glaze over them, and her breathing is shallow.
"Finnick?"
I move to pick her up.
"No! Don't touch me, I'm broken."
I swallow hard, and tears start running down my face.
"Don't worry, we'll get you back to camp, I'm sure the sponsors will send something..."
She coughs, and some blood trickles out of her mouth.
"There's nothing you can do."
"I'm so sorry Luna...I should have helped you...what happened?"
I can see that every breath she takes is painful, and she struggles to answer me.
"I heard something...the careers...Xavier heard me...I was trapped."
I grit my teeth, and choke the words out.
"Did you see Annita with them?"
She thinks for a minute.
"No, she wasn't with them when they attacked me."
Her breathing becomes more harsh, and she struggles to breathe.
"Finnick, promise me you'll win. You need to win, for me, and for Annie."
I hold her hands tightly.
"Please, promise me."
I rest my forehead on her hands.
"I promise."
She smiles,
"Thank you."
She closes her eyes, and her hands slip from mine.
Then I hear the cannon.
I sit for a long time, crying as I look upon the small broken body of a innocent child, forced to die for the entertainment of a sick culture. Her small pale face, once bright and happy, is bruised, and forlorn in death.
I grind my teeth together. They did this, the careers! They are cruel enough, to beat a small child to death, and laugh about it.
I stand up. Head bowed.
"You will pay for this!"
I shout, then I lift my head, and scream at the sky.
"Do you hear me! I will hunt you down and give you the same chance she had! I won't stop untill her death is avenged!"
All of a sudden, I hear the steady clicking of a parachute.
I look up through my bloodshot, tear filled eyes.
I see it, and attached to it is a long flat case of some kind.
When it lands, I place it on its side, and unlatch it. The lid swings open, and I smile as I see what's inside.
A beautiful, golden trident. Now I have the ultimate weapon, with this, I am unstoppable.
Now the careers have nowhere they will be safe, they who were cruel and murdered, are about to be hunted.
And I won't stop until Luna is avenged.
I lie still, and listen to Luna's angelic voice echo around the low hills.
Close your eyes little one,
sleep in peace little one,
hope and joy, linger near,
let them take away your fear.
Hope, it's the only thing to keep us going,
Hope, is the only way to see the light,
Hope, is the force of the living,
always keep it close,
and never lose hope.
I know things seem dark,
I know everything seems lost,
even in the darkest day, still sings the lark,
I also know that there is always a way,
to open your eye, into a brighter day.
Hope, it's the only thing to keep us going,
Hope, is the only way to see the light,
Hope, is the force of the living,
always keep it close,
and never lose hope.
Now look, the sun is rising,
now look, the darkness disappears,
and see, the brightness of the day,
now turn and lay all your fears, away.
Turn and lay all your fears, away.
The last notes of the song, linger in the air, like the earth wants to hold onto it a little while longer.
The tune is still in my head, when I stretch, and yawn,
"Well, well, well, look who decided to join the living. Good morning sleeping beauty."
I clench my jaw at the sound of the name that's been jeered at me my entire life.
"Are you okay? Do your wounds hurt?"
Luna walks over to me, concern darkening her innocent face.
"No, it's just that...well I've been teased about my looks ever since I was little, and sleeping beauty is what they call me back at the community home."
Luna sits down in front of me.
"Oh, I'm really sorry...I didn't know."
I give her a cocky grin.
"But don't worry, I realised they were just jealous that they would never look as good as me."
I run my fingers through my hair slowly, with a look of complete self-importance on my face.
Luna laughs,
"Oh, you are the absolute limit Finnick Odair."
She shoves me in the chest, knocking me onto my back.
"Ow!"
She's leaning over me in an instant.
"Oh gosh! I forgot about your chest wounds, are you alright? I didn't hurt you that much did I?"
I kick her legs out from under her, and she falls hard on her rear.
I start laughing.
"I'm fine now."
She crosses her arms and glares at me, just like a little sister being teased by a brother.
"That wasn't funny Finnick."
I sit up, and grin at her.
"It was a little funny."
She stands and brushes herself off.
"Oh whatever! How are your wounds doing mister ego."
I stand, and unwrap my bandages to check.
"Oh wow. How did that happen?"
Luna stares confused, all the cuts on my torso, are just faded pink lines.
I unwrap my arm, and those wounds are the same.
"It must have been the medicine I got last night."
I say remembering the parachute.
Luna takes a closer look at my wounds, and I flinch as her breath hits my skin.
"That tickles."
She flicks my hand, and then checks my arm.
"Stop complaining you big baby. Man, someone had to have spent a lot of money to get medicine this good."
She's right, the better the gifts, the more it costs. And we're down to the final eight, which means the price for sending in sponsor gifts, has increased as well. Whoever sent that medicine, had to have spent almost a small fortune.
"Well, I don't need bandages anymore. What is our plan for today?"
I say while pulling on my shirt, and attaching my pant legs.
Luna follows suit, as she replies.
"Well, yesterday the gamemakers made it flood, probably because not enough excitement was happening. So, now that there are only eight of us left, they will probably do something to drive some of us together. I didn't hear any cannons last night, or this morning, so all the careers must have survived the flood."
I nod.
"They probably lost all of their food, which means they will be extra eager to end this."
Luna kicks dirt over the fire, and I pick up my net.
"Who knows where they are now, and now that there is so few of us, they might have split up."
I sigh. Trying to think of what to do.
"I vote, that we just keep moving, if we run into any careers, well let's just hope that doesn't happen."
Luna nods, and follows me as I start to walk up the small hill, towards the mountains behind.
All morning we hike across the hills, always keeping an eye out for other tributes.
After reaching the peak of one tall hill, we could see the cornucopia far below us, the flood had collapsed the rock fort, and scattered the stones around. There's no sign of the careers, and I figured they probably split up.
Sometime around noon, Luna and I stop for a rest at the base of one of the taller hills.
"Any chance we could get some water?"
Luna asks in a hoarse voice.
A parachute appears, and inside are two large canteens of water.
We drink our fill, and start out again.
"Where are we going exactly?"
Luna asks after another hour has passed.
"I don't know really, maybe looking for food, or shelter or something."
At the mention of food, Luna's stomach growls.
We both laugh.
"How about it? Anyone feel like sending some food?"
I call out to the sky.
Another parachute appears, and inside we find food that will last for a while. Rolls, and dried meats.
We snack as we walk, and I start looking around for somewhere to camp for the night.
"Do you want me to go take a look around?"
Luna asks.
I shake my head.
"No, I think we should stick together, no telling who we might run into."
She sighs, but doesn't say anything else.
I guess the time around 4:00, when we find a good campsite.
A little hollow in the side of one of the hills, almost like a shallow cave.
We settle in, and I go out to gather some wood for a fire.
When I get back, Luna is pacing around the camp like a trapped animal.
"You okay Luna?"
She spins around as I enter the hollow.
"Thank goodness you're back! I got to get out, and have a look around or something."
I dump the wood in the corner, and brush my hands off.
"Why what's the matter?"
She walks over to me.
"I have a little problem with tight spaces, and I haven't gotten the chance to sneak around all day."
I laugh,
"Sneak around?"
She glares at me.
"Yes, it's what I am best at, hiding, sneaking, you know, stealth mode. It helps me relax. Please, please, please! Let me go out. Just for a little while, I won't even go that far."
She pouts her bottom lip, and opens her eyes wide.
"Please!"
I stare at her innocent little face, and her large baby blue eyes.
"Oh gosh. Fine! But only for a little while, and I don't want you to stay in earshot distance, okay?"
She hugs me quickly,
"Thank you! I'll be back soon!"
She dashes out of the hollow, and I chuckle at her desperation.
I start placing the wood to start a fire, humming the song Luna had been singing earlier.
I start to get worried when Luna still hasn't shown up after half an hour.
another twenty minutes pass, and she still hasn't shown up.
I step outside the hollow.
"Luna!"
I yell as loud as I dare.
Still nothing.
Now I'm really worried. Where could she be? I told her to stay within shouting distance.
After another five minutes pass, and I decide to go look for her.
As I grab my knife and net, as I run out of the hollow, I notice that it's starting to get dark.
Not good. Finding Luna is going to be hard enough, without it getting dark on top of that.
I scour the ground for any signs of her, but of course I find nothing.
I circle wider and wider, hoping to find anything that would lead me to Luna.
I search for about half an hour, and am about to go back to camp to see if Luna went there, when I hear it.
"Finnick!"
My whole body stiffens, listening.
"Finnick help!"
I run faster than I've ever run before in the direction of her cries.
"Luna!"
It sounded like her shouts came from a small pine grove at the base of the larger hills. I dash into the trees, trying to look through the low branches.
"FINNICK!"
Her scream is different this time, it's filled with fear and desperation.
I turn in the direction of her voice, and I am about to run, when I hear a twig snap behind me.
"I can't save her, but I can save you."
I whirl around, and see Annita for a brief second,
"I'm sorry."
She says, and before I can react, the end of her bow smashes into my head.
When I come to, I'm confused at first. Where am I?
Then everything comes flooding back.
"Luna!"
I yell, and pain shoots through my head. I can feel sticky blood on my cheek.
I stand up groggy, and stagger in the direction I heard Luna last.
I stumble into a clearing, and my heart stops.
Lying in the middle of the clearing, is Luna.
Her small body is bloody and bruised, and her leg is twisted the wrong way.
I walk slowly over to her body, and fall to my knees.
I brush some hair out of her face, and look at her bruised face. I brush my hand across her cheek, and I jerk in surprise, as her eyes flicker open.
"Luna!"
Her eyes look like they have a glaze over them, and her breathing is shallow.
"Finnick?"
I move to pick her up.
"No! Don't touch me, I'm broken."
I swallow hard, and tears start running down my face.
"Don't worry, we'll get you back to camp, I'm sure the sponsors will send something..."
She coughs, and some blood trickles out of her mouth.
"There's nothing you can do."
"I'm so sorry Luna...I should have helped you...what happened?"
I can see that every breath she takes is painful, and she struggles to answer me.
"I heard something...the careers...Xavier heard me...I was trapped."
I grit my teeth, and choke the words out.
"Did you see Annita with them?"
She thinks for a minute.
"No, she wasn't with them when they attacked me."
Her breathing becomes more harsh, and she struggles to breathe.
"Finnick, promise me you'll win. You need to win, for me, and for Annie."
I hold her hands tightly.
"Please, promise me."
I rest my forehead on her hands.
"I promise."
She smiles,
"Thank you."
She closes her eyes, and her hands slip from mine.
Then I hear the cannon.
I sit for a long time, crying as I look upon the small broken body of a innocent child, forced to die for the entertainment of a sick culture. Her small pale face, once bright and happy, is bruised, and forlorn in death.
I grind my teeth together. They did this, the careers! They are cruel enough, to beat a small child to death, and laugh about it.
I stand up. Head bowed.
"You will pay for this!"
I shout, then I lift my head, and scream at the sky.
"Do you hear me! I will hunt you down and give you the same chance she had! I won't stop untill her death is avenged!"
All of a sudden, I hear the steady clicking of a parachute.
I look up through my bloodshot, tear filled eyes.
I see it, and attached to it is a long flat case of some kind.
When it lands, I place it on its side, and unlatch it. The lid swings open, and I smile as I see what's inside.
A beautiful, golden trident. Now I have the ultimate weapon, with this, I am unstoppable.
Now the careers have nowhere they will be safe, they who were cruel and murdered, are about to be hunted.
And I won't stop until Luna is avenged.
Tuesday, 12 February 2013
Sea Green, chapter 14
I become aware of the sound of waves, pounding on the shore.
I feel sand beneath my feet, and wind in my hair.
Slowly, the mist clears away, and I'm on a shore.
The ocean is roiling and thrashing, and dark thunderclouds blot out the sky.
Lightning flashes, sending long jagged cracks through the cloud mass.
I am standing in the ocean, the waves reaching my waist.
I can hear someone calling my name.
"Finnick...Finnick."
It says in a sing-song echo.
I look back to the shore, and see Annie walking hand in hand with Robbert.
"Finnick."
She says again, and she reaches her hand out to me.
I try to run to her and take her hand, but something is holding me back.
I look behind me, and see Luna holding tightly to my other hand, pulling me further into the water.
"Finnick, you promised you would come back."
Annie calls from the shore.
I turn back to her, but Luna tugs my arm.
"No Finnick! You have to help me."
Annie looks at Robbert, and he fades away.
"Finn, I'm all alone, you promised him you wouldn't leave me alone. I need my bests friend!"
Luna pulls hard on my arm.
"No! I lost all my family, don't let me die as well!"
"Finn!"
"Finnick!"
A wave slams into my back, and I fall into the water.
I wake up with a start, coughing and spluttering water.
Water?
"Finnick!"
I snap into reality, Luna is holding tightly to my arm, and water is swirling around my waist.
"What happened?"
Luna is almost out of her depth, and she holds tightly to my arm to stop from being pushed away.
"I think the gamemakers are making the lake flood. I woke up when the water splashed us, but you didn't. I managed to grab a tree, but the water just keeps coming."
I look around. Our campsite is completely underwater, and I see parachutes floating around here and there.
I feel something wrap around my leg, and pull up my net.
"Listen! can you swim?"
I have to shout above the roaring of the lake, growing louder.
"No! I can't!"
I look around quickly,
"Alright. Climb onto my back, and hold on tightly!"
I throw the net over my shoulder, and she climbs up and holds onto my shoulders.
"Can you see the back pack anywhere?"
She points over to the rock ledge, barely peaking above the surface.
I can see the pack swirling in an eddy caused by the ledge.
I slosh through the water and grab it.
"Hold this!"
I hand Luna the pack, and feel her sling it over her tiny shoulders.
"You alright back there?"
"Yes!"
"Alright hang on!"
The water level is rising rapidly, it's already reached my shoulders.
"Take a deep breath, and don't let go!"
I plunge beneath the surface, and shoot forward for a minute. Then I come up for air.
"Still alright?"
She coughs several times.
"Yes! Where do we go?"
I think over the possibilities. By the rate that the lake is rising, I would say the gamemakers are planing on flushing any tributes still in the woods.
"I think we should head for the hills on the other side of the arena!"
"That's on the other side of the cornucopia! Can you swim that far?"
I know I can swim better than anyone I know, In fact, I'm almost more at home in the water than I am on land. But I've never attempted to swim several miles, with a sixty pound weight on my back before. Plus a back pack and net too.
"Uh, Yeah I can make it. Just hold on tight!"
I plunge back beneath the surface, and swim hard for the cornucopia.
After almost an hour of swimming, I can feel my muscles starting to tighten, refusing to go further.
I stop and tread water for a minute, trying to relax my muscles.
"Finnick!"
I hear Luna scream in my ear, then I feel her get pulled underwater.
It happened so fast, there was nothing I could do.
"Luna!"
I yell. But there's no answer.
I dive beneath the surface, and search for her.
Vision under the water, is a whirling mass of confusion. There are so many sticks and leaves and other things swirling around, that it makes seeing, nearly impossible.
I look for as long as I can, then I come back up for air.
"Luna!"
I cry again.
"Finnick!"
I whirl in the direction of her voice, turning just in time to see her pale face vanish beneath the water.
I dive under, and swim as fast as I can to where she went under.
A mass of leaves swirl by, and then I see it.
A long, thick eel, it must be a mutt, because it is unlike any eel I've ever seen.
It's dark purple body is at least six feet long, and it is as thick as my waist. It has a long black frill on its back.
But it's the eyes that give away its unnatural form.
Large glowing red eyes, with a diamond pupil.
It has Luna wrapped tightly in its coils, but I can see that her body is limp.
The eel spots me, and releases Luna's limp form, and slithers quickly through the water at me.
I pull out my knife, and wait for it to get close enough.
It snakes around my leg, wrapping tighter as it starts to coil around my waist.
I grab for its head, but it wiggles out of my grasp. Now I know where the expression 'slippery as an eel' comes from.
I stab its thick body where it's wrapped around my waist. Apparently this makes it mad, because it lunges at me with its large mouth gaping wide. Sharp, needle like fangs seek my neck.
I brace myself, and stick the knife into the eels mouth, up through its skull, and into its brain.
I cry in pain as the eels fangs sink into my arm. But the knife did its work, and the eel starts its death throes.
Pain shoots through my arm as the fangs rip the flesh as the eel writhes back and forth.
I pry open its mouth, and pull out my knife. Then I slip it back in its sheath, and dive after Luna.
I see her sinking slowly to the bottom, I reach her, and wrap my arm around her. Then I kick for the surface as fast as I can.
Water rushes past my face, and I inhale deep breaths of air.
All of a sudden, the water level drops so quickly, that I stumble onto dry ground within a few seconds.
I don't know where it all went, and I don't care.
"Luna!"
I shout her name, as I lay her on her back.
"Luna! Wake up!"
I slap her cheek, but she remains motionless. Her pale skin even whiter then usual.
I feel for a pulse. Nothing.
"No!"
Then something sparks inside me.
"Hang on Luna!"
I remember when I was little, and I used to hang out at the docks, that an old fisherman, told me that sometimes when someone drowns, you can bring them back. He showed me what to do, and I hope desperately that I remember everything.
I place the heel of my hand on the left side of her ribcage, and push down hard. After doing this for a while, I tilt back her head, open her mouth, and blow two deep breaths into her, then I go back to the compressions. After doing this for several minutes, I check her pulse. Still nothing.
"Come on Luna! I know you're still there!"
I give her one more long breath. Then I hear her gasp, and she starts coughing up water.
"Luna! You're okay, it's alright."
I sigh with relief, as her eyes flicker open.
"Finnick? What happened?"
I hug her small wet form.
"You almost died. Well technically you did, but I brought you back."
She looks confused.
"What? How?"
I stand, and lift her carefully in my arms.
"Never mind how. We need to get you somewhere dry."
As I search for somewhere to set up a camp, I hear two cannons fire.
"We made it to the last eight."
Luna says quietly. She is absolutely exhausted, and is soon fast asleep in my arms.
I reach the edge of the hills after several hours of walking.
I managed to hang onto the net, but the back pack is long gone.
I manage to start a small fire, and lay Luna carefully onto a soft patch of grass.
I detach her sleeves and pant legs, and lay them near the fire to dry.
Then I detach my pant legs, and pull off my shirt.
I wince as the cloth rubs against my arm where the eel bit me.
I haven't examined the wound yet, and I don't exactly want to, but I have to so I lay my shirt and pant legs in front of the fire.
Then I sit by the fire, and look at my arm.
It's my left arm, and between the wrist, and the elbow is covered in blood.
My left sleeve is ripped to shreds, and bloody.
I use it to wipe off as much blood as I can, and then I see the damage.
Six long fangs punctured my arm, leaving behind deep wounds. Besides that, are long gashes all over my arm from where the fangs sliced when the eel was thrashing around.
I grit my teeth as more blood starts oozing out of the wounds. Then I hear the steady click...click...click. Of a parachute.
I see it floating down near us, and retrieve it. Inside is some bandages, and cut medicine.
I apply the medicine, and wrap my arm tightly, then I remove the bandages around my torso, and use the medicine on that too. Then I bandage my chest, and settle down to keep watch.
That night I see that the girl from seven, and the boy from six both died in the flood.
That leaves all the careers, Luna, Harrold, and Annita and I. The final eight.
I look over at Luna's peaceful face as she sleeps.
And I remember the dream I was having before I woke up.
Luna and Annie, both begging me to help them. But I can't help both of them. To help Luna would mean to die in this arena, but to help Annie would mean to win the games so I can leave the arena.
How can i decide?
Am I still not trying to survive in this arena? To win for Annie?
But on the other hand, I just saved Luna's life. Helping her survive.
I realise that it is going to be impossible for me to choose.
So I take a deep breath, and decide to take one day at a time, and hopefully...
The choice will be decided by itself.
I feel sand beneath my feet, and wind in my hair.
Slowly, the mist clears away, and I'm on a shore.
The ocean is roiling and thrashing, and dark thunderclouds blot out the sky.
Lightning flashes, sending long jagged cracks through the cloud mass.
I am standing in the ocean, the waves reaching my waist.
I can hear someone calling my name.
"Finnick...Finnick."
It says in a sing-song echo.
I look back to the shore, and see Annie walking hand in hand with Robbert.
"Finnick."
She says again, and she reaches her hand out to me.
I try to run to her and take her hand, but something is holding me back.
I look behind me, and see Luna holding tightly to my other hand, pulling me further into the water.
"Finnick, you promised you would come back."
Annie calls from the shore.
I turn back to her, but Luna tugs my arm.
"No Finnick! You have to help me."
Annie looks at Robbert, and he fades away.
"Finn, I'm all alone, you promised him you wouldn't leave me alone. I need my bests friend!"
Luna pulls hard on my arm.
"No! I lost all my family, don't let me die as well!"
"Finn!"
"Finnick!"
A wave slams into my back, and I fall into the water.
I wake up with a start, coughing and spluttering water.
Water?
"Finnick!"
I snap into reality, Luna is holding tightly to my arm, and water is swirling around my waist.
"What happened?"
Luna is almost out of her depth, and she holds tightly to my arm to stop from being pushed away.
"I think the gamemakers are making the lake flood. I woke up when the water splashed us, but you didn't. I managed to grab a tree, but the water just keeps coming."
I look around. Our campsite is completely underwater, and I see parachutes floating around here and there.
I feel something wrap around my leg, and pull up my net.
"Listen! can you swim?"
I have to shout above the roaring of the lake, growing louder.
"No! I can't!"
I look around quickly,
"Alright. Climb onto my back, and hold on tightly!"
I throw the net over my shoulder, and she climbs up and holds onto my shoulders.
"Can you see the back pack anywhere?"
She points over to the rock ledge, barely peaking above the surface.
I can see the pack swirling in an eddy caused by the ledge.
I slosh through the water and grab it.
"Hold this!"
I hand Luna the pack, and feel her sling it over her tiny shoulders.
"You alright back there?"
"Yes!"
"Alright hang on!"
The water level is rising rapidly, it's already reached my shoulders.
"Take a deep breath, and don't let go!"
I plunge beneath the surface, and shoot forward for a minute. Then I come up for air.
"Still alright?"
She coughs several times.
"Yes! Where do we go?"
I think over the possibilities. By the rate that the lake is rising, I would say the gamemakers are planing on flushing any tributes still in the woods.
"I think we should head for the hills on the other side of the arena!"
"That's on the other side of the cornucopia! Can you swim that far?"
I know I can swim better than anyone I know, In fact, I'm almost more at home in the water than I am on land. But I've never attempted to swim several miles, with a sixty pound weight on my back before. Plus a back pack and net too.
"Uh, Yeah I can make it. Just hold on tight!"
I plunge back beneath the surface, and swim hard for the cornucopia.
After almost an hour of swimming, I can feel my muscles starting to tighten, refusing to go further.
I stop and tread water for a minute, trying to relax my muscles.
"Finnick!"
I hear Luna scream in my ear, then I feel her get pulled underwater.
It happened so fast, there was nothing I could do.
"Luna!"
I yell. But there's no answer.
I dive beneath the surface, and search for her.
Vision under the water, is a whirling mass of confusion. There are so many sticks and leaves and other things swirling around, that it makes seeing, nearly impossible.
I look for as long as I can, then I come back up for air.
"Luna!"
I cry again.
"Finnick!"
I whirl in the direction of her voice, turning just in time to see her pale face vanish beneath the water.
I dive under, and swim as fast as I can to where she went under.
A mass of leaves swirl by, and then I see it.
A long, thick eel, it must be a mutt, because it is unlike any eel I've ever seen.
It's dark purple body is at least six feet long, and it is as thick as my waist. It has a long black frill on its back.
But it's the eyes that give away its unnatural form.
Large glowing red eyes, with a diamond pupil.
It has Luna wrapped tightly in its coils, but I can see that her body is limp.
The eel spots me, and releases Luna's limp form, and slithers quickly through the water at me.
I pull out my knife, and wait for it to get close enough.
It snakes around my leg, wrapping tighter as it starts to coil around my waist.
I grab for its head, but it wiggles out of my grasp. Now I know where the expression 'slippery as an eel' comes from.
I stab its thick body where it's wrapped around my waist. Apparently this makes it mad, because it lunges at me with its large mouth gaping wide. Sharp, needle like fangs seek my neck.
I brace myself, and stick the knife into the eels mouth, up through its skull, and into its brain.
I cry in pain as the eels fangs sink into my arm. But the knife did its work, and the eel starts its death throes.
Pain shoots through my arm as the fangs rip the flesh as the eel writhes back and forth.
I pry open its mouth, and pull out my knife. Then I slip it back in its sheath, and dive after Luna.
I see her sinking slowly to the bottom, I reach her, and wrap my arm around her. Then I kick for the surface as fast as I can.
Water rushes past my face, and I inhale deep breaths of air.
All of a sudden, the water level drops so quickly, that I stumble onto dry ground within a few seconds.
I don't know where it all went, and I don't care.
"Luna!"
I shout her name, as I lay her on her back.
"Luna! Wake up!"
I slap her cheek, but she remains motionless. Her pale skin even whiter then usual.
I feel for a pulse. Nothing.
"No!"
Then something sparks inside me.
"Hang on Luna!"
I remember when I was little, and I used to hang out at the docks, that an old fisherman, told me that sometimes when someone drowns, you can bring them back. He showed me what to do, and I hope desperately that I remember everything.
I place the heel of my hand on the left side of her ribcage, and push down hard. After doing this for a while, I tilt back her head, open her mouth, and blow two deep breaths into her, then I go back to the compressions. After doing this for several minutes, I check her pulse. Still nothing.
"Come on Luna! I know you're still there!"
I give her one more long breath. Then I hear her gasp, and she starts coughing up water.
"Luna! You're okay, it's alright."
I sigh with relief, as her eyes flicker open.
"Finnick? What happened?"
I hug her small wet form.
"You almost died. Well technically you did, but I brought you back."
She looks confused.
"What? How?"
I stand, and lift her carefully in my arms.
"Never mind how. We need to get you somewhere dry."
As I search for somewhere to set up a camp, I hear two cannons fire.
"We made it to the last eight."
Luna says quietly. She is absolutely exhausted, and is soon fast asleep in my arms.
I reach the edge of the hills after several hours of walking.
I managed to hang onto the net, but the back pack is long gone.
I manage to start a small fire, and lay Luna carefully onto a soft patch of grass.
I detach her sleeves and pant legs, and lay them near the fire to dry.
Then I detach my pant legs, and pull off my shirt.
I wince as the cloth rubs against my arm where the eel bit me.
I haven't examined the wound yet, and I don't exactly want to, but I have to so I lay my shirt and pant legs in front of the fire.
Then I sit by the fire, and look at my arm.
It's my left arm, and between the wrist, and the elbow is covered in blood.
My left sleeve is ripped to shreds, and bloody.
I use it to wipe off as much blood as I can, and then I see the damage.
Six long fangs punctured my arm, leaving behind deep wounds. Besides that, are long gashes all over my arm from where the fangs sliced when the eel was thrashing around.
I grit my teeth as more blood starts oozing out of the wounds. Then I hear the steady click...click...click. Of a parachute.
I see it floating down near us, and retrieve it. Inside is some bandages, and cut medicine.
I apply the medicine, and wrap my arm tightly, then I remove the bandages around my torso, and use the medicine on that too. Then I bandage my chest, and settle down to keep watch.
That night I see that the girl from seven, and the boy from six both died in the flood.
That leaves all the careers, Luna, Harrold, and Annita and I. The final eight.
I look over at Luna's peaceful face as she sleeps.
And I remember the dream I was having before I woke up.
Luna and Annie, both begging me to help them. But I can't help both of them. To help Luna would mean to die in this arena, but to help Annie would mean to win the games so I can leave the arena.
How can i decide?
Am I still not trying to survive in this arena? To win for Annie?
But on the other hand, I just saved Luna's life. Helping her survive.
I realise that it is going to be impossible for me to choose.
So I take a deep breath, and decide to take one day at a time, and hopefully...
The choice will be decided by itself.
Sea Green, chapter 13
The next morning, I wake up to find Luna curled up close to me with her head on my shoulder.
I hear her gentle breathing, meaning that she's still asleep.
I carefully ease her head off my shoulder, and onto the blanket.
Then I quietly get up, and look for some breakfast.
In the pile of sponsor parachutes. I find some biscuits and a container filled with some jam.
Grabbing these and some dried beef, I walk back over to the blanket, and nudge Luna.
"Luna, time to get up."
She moans and rolls over.
"Go'way Finnick..."
I grin and tickle her nose with a lock of her hair. She swats at me.
"I'm serious! Let me sleep!"
I laugh and sit down next to her.
"Well, seeing how you're not asleep, why don't you have some breakfast?"
She hesitates, then sits up and glares at me.
"Good morning sunshine!"
I say in a outrageously peppy voice.
"Shut up and give me some food."
I hand her several biscuits and some meat.
"What's the matter? You not a morning person?"
She begins eating, ignoring the question.
"Well I guess that answers that. Well, what's on the agenda for today?"
She looks up at me surprised.
"What do you mean?"
I wipe some jam off of her cheek.
"You know, what do you want to do. What is our plan of action and all that."
She frowns,
"Shouldn't you be the one to decide what to do?"
I pretend to be aghast.
"What are you implying? That just because I am older, taller, better looking, and a boy. You automatically assume that I should be the leader? Are you saying that I judge things based on gender? Or do you think that your job ended after saving my life...twice."
She smiles.
"No, that's not what I meant and you know it. I was just thinking since I'm only twelve, and not a fighter, that you should probably decide what to do. You can fight, and you're older and wiser than I am."
This last sentence she says with an exaggerated voice.
I look thoughtful.
"Yes I suppose you're right. Why don't we go see what the other tributes are up to? I for one would like to see the careers camp, and I'd like to find Weasel and finish what she started."
Luna nods, and finishes her food.
"Alright, I can take you to the careers camp, but finding Weasel is going to be hard. She's clever, and sneaky."
After cleaning up the campsite a bit. We disguise it, and start.
I removed the sleeves from my shirt, making it a vest. And I am carrying my knife, and the backpack, filled with food and water. Luna is carrying a small pouch that once held dried fruit, but now holds another canteen of water, and some medical supplies.
After a few hours of walking, we reach the edge of the woods, and I can see the tip of the cornucopia above a rock barricade surrounding it.
to the left of the stone fort, I can see the entrance. Standing just outside the opening, is Xavier. Holding a large bow, and quiver full of arrows. He stands perfectly still at his post, head moving slowly back and forth. Watching for anything suspicious.
I look over my shoulder for Luna, but she's nowhere to be seen.
"Luna."
I whisper angrily.
"What?"
I look down, and there she is again, right by my right shoulder.
"Quit doing that! It kinda freaks me out."
She grins.
"It looks like they're planning to go hunting."
I look back at the rock fort.
"What makes you say that?"
She points out that Xavier is the one watching.
"He only goes on watch if they're planning something. I think It's because Vicktor doesn't trust him. Anyway, it's in the afternoon that they do most of their hunting."
We watch for a little while, and sure enough, in a minute the rest of the careers appear.
Vicktor is wielding an evil-looking weapon I think is called a flail.
Glorry is armed with her throwing knives, and Alexia is sporting a long sword.
I see Annita walk over to Xavier and give him a kiss, I guess he likes her too.
She is armed with a bow slightly smaller than Xavier's.
They all talk for a minute, then head off in the direction of the meadow.
After they disappear over a hill, I look down at Luna.
"What do you think we should do?"
She watches the fort with narrowed eyes.
"I don't think they would leave their camp unprotected. Unless they really don't think any of us are a threat. But I don't think they're that stupid. We could go take a look around, or we could set up a trap..."
I can tell she's thinking.
"Like what kind of trap?"
She thinks for a few moments, then smiles.
"What if, we weaken the wall? Not a lot, just enough for it to topple at any minute?"
I look at the structure, it looks like it was hastily piled together, it wouldn't take much to crumble.
"That could work. Keep a watch out for me will you? Whistle like a bird if you see them coming."
She nods, and disappears.
I warily make my way over to the wall, and start loosening some rocks. After a while, I can tell which rocks are supportive, and which ones aren't. After an hour, I've weakened the wall enough to where, if someone were to lean against it, it would topple. But the damage wasn't noticable.
I make my way back to the trees, covering my tracks as I go.
Luna is waiting for me, with a smile on her face.
"I followed them!"
I stare at her shocked.
"You what?! I told you to keep watch, not to go after them! You could have been killed!"
She shrugs.
"Well I didn't. And guess what? I heard them talking and...did you know they call you pretty boy? Anyway, apparently they don't think you're much of a threat. In fact, they said they can't believe you survived this long. By the sound of it, they are going to keep hunting down tributes, starting with the weakest, and work their way up to the more imposing ones. Like Weasel and Harrold. I don't know why they haven't come after you yet."
I think about this.
"Maybe they think I will just starve to death or something."
Luna bursts out laughing at this, and then covers her mouth quickly.
"Sorry, we should probably be more quiet. Man, if they knew how much sponsors you had, they would have hunted you down long ago."
I frown.
"Why?"
She looks around my waist, behind me.
"Because, you are going to be full, and comfortable, and you're getting medicine which means you wont be sick. Truthfully, if they want to win, they should have killed you by now, they could always pick off the weak ones later. Where as you are just getting stronger everyday."
We decide to go looking for Weasel's camp, and I think about what she said as we walk.
Me? The greatest threat in the arena? Sure I'm strong and fast enough. But I don't know if I could beat Xavier or Vicktor in a fight, I don't even know if I could take on Glorry or Alexia. But Luna is right, I will be getting stronger, while their food supplies diminish, I will have a full belly. I think of how my odds have grown since I got in the arena, and then I look at little Luna in front of me, what are her odds? I feel like I am responsible for her, and I owe her my life. I'm going to protect her at all costs, even if that means me not making it out alive. After all that's happened to her, it wouldn't be right if she didn't make it. Then I think of Annie. She's my best friend, and I told her I would come back home, and I promised Robbert that I would bring back the cure for his sickness. What will happen to them if I die? Will Annie be okay? She was awfully upset when I volunteered, almost on the point of hysteria. Will she go off the deep end if I die? What if Robbert dies as well? I have to win for them. But I can't, Luna has to live, She's to young...
My mind is torn in pieces, so I just stop thinking, and follow Luna as she scans the woods for signs.
But the decision still tugs at the back of my mind.
In about an hour, we hear a cannon fire, and decide that the careers found whoever they were hunting.
After that we scour the woods for hours, but find no sign of Weasel.
It's starting to get dark, so we head back to camp.
Halfway there, we hear another cannon.
"Do you think the trap worked?"
Luna asks quietly.
I shrug, and start walking again.
"We'll just have to wait and see tonight."
We make it back to camp, and eat some dinner.
Then we settle down and wait to see who died today.
I work on my almost finished net, and Luna watches the stars.
"Finnick?"
"Yeah?"
"In your interview, you said that your mother abandoned you when you were a baby. Was that true?"
I tie a knot slowly.
"Yeah. I never knew her, or my father. I grew up in the districts community home."
"Oh."
We sit in silent for a few minutes, then she breaks the silence again.
"I have...had a family. Two older brothers and my parents. My father and mother would talk about a revolution, something that would bring justice and peace to the districts. They said that it was only a matter of time before something small would happen, that would be the breaking point for a new rebellion. Well, somehow the head peacekeeper heard about what they were talking about. And one night peacekeepers came to the house. They dragged away my parents to be executed, and when my brothers tried to stop them..."
I glance down and see that she's crying.
"They just shot them, and left them lying on the floor. I woke up when I heard the screams and shots. The last thing I ever heard my mother say was: 'go to your aunt's house now! I love you.' Then they were gone forever. I've lived at my aunt's house ever since."
I fiddle with a loose rope end for a moment.
"I'm sorry."
She sighs and clears her throat.
"What's she like? Your best friend back in district four."
I think of her as I work on the net.
"Annie Cresta, she is the best friend anyone could ever have. She always seems to be smiling, and finds the bright side to everything. She is like a sister to me, and I will always look after her."
I can picture Annie watching this at home, curled up next to Robbert on their big couch. I smile and continue.
"She always gets annoyed when other girls talk about boys and clothes and that kind of thing, and she denies that she's pretty, but all the boys her age think otherwise. I bet she's watching us now thinking, 'Finnick Odair, how dare you talk about me when all of Panem could be watching.'"
Luna laughs, and I keep going.
"The first time I met Annie, was when we started going to school. We sat next together, and when I told her she was cute, she punched me in the nose. We've been best friends ever since. A lot of people think that we are a couple, but we just tell them we are more like siblings. She will always be my best friend, no matter what happens."
Luna sits up and scoots closer to me.
"Finnick?"
I grab the blanket and wrap it around her shoulders.
"Yes?"
She leans up against me and closes her eyes.
"I think you should win for her."
I put my arm around her as I reply.
"Why?"
She starts giggling.
"Because she would be majorly ticked off if you died."
I start chuckling.
"You're probably right. I bet she wouldn't even go to my funeral."
Luna starts laughing now, gasping out the words.
"No she would probably go and beat your body with a stick."
I laugh too. Picturing sweet, skinny little Annie beating my dead body with a big stick.
Our laughter is silenced as the anthem starts playing, and we look to the sky.
The first tribute to appear is Luna's district partner, the boy from five.
Then we are both surprised when Weasel's picture shows up next.
The anthem ends, and the sky returns to normal.
Ten left alive.
"Did you know him? Your district partner?"
Luna shakes her head.
"I'd never met him before. How do you think Weasel died?"
I shrug.
"Who knows? You should get some sleep."
She spreads the blanket out, and lies down.
"What about you?"
I pick up my net.
"I'm going to stay up and work on this for a little while."
She quickly falls asleep, and I work on the net in silence.
Thinking about the Cresta's. And hoping Annie will be okay if I don't make it.
I hear her gentle breathing, meaning that she's still asleep.
I carefully ease her head off my shoulder, and onto the blanket.
Then I quietly get up, and look for some breakfast.
In the pile of sponsor parachutes. I find some biscuits and a container filled with some jam.
Grabbing these and some dried beef, I walk back over to the blanket, and nudge Luna.
"Luna, time to get up."
She moans and rolls over.
"Go'way Finnick..."
I grin and tickle her nose with a lock of her hair. She swats at me.
"I'm serious! Let me sleep!"
I laugh and sit down next to her.
"Well, seeing how you're not asleep, why don't you have some breakfast?"
She hesitates, then sits up and glares at me.
"Good morning sunshine!"
I say in a outrageously peppy voice.
"Shut up and give me some food."
I hand her several biscuits and some meat.
"What's the matter? You not a morning person?"
She begins eating, ignoring the question.
"Well I guess that answers that. Well, what's on the agenda for today?"
She looks up at me surprised.
"What do you mean?"
I wipe some jam off of her cheek.
"You know, what do you want to do. What is our plan of action and all that."
She frowns,
"Shouldn't you be the one to decide what to do?"
I pretend to be aghast.
"What are you implying? That just because I am older, taller, better looking, and a boy. You automatically assume that I should be the leader? Are you saying that I judge things based on gender? Or do you think that your job ended after saving my life...twice."
She smiles.
"No, that's not what I meant and you know it. I was just thinking since I'm only twelve, and not a fighter, that you should probably decide what to do. You can fight, and you're older and wiser than I am."
This last sentence she says with an exaggerated voice.
I look thoughtful.
"Yes I suppose you're right. Why don't we go see what the other tributes are up to? I for one would like to see the careers camp, and I'd like to find Weasel and finish what she started."
Luna nods, and finishes her food.
"Alright, I can take you to the careers camp, but finding Weasel is going to be hard. She's clever, and sneaky."
After cleaning up the campsite a bit. We disguise it, and start.
I removed the sleeves from my shirt, making it a vest. And I am carrying my knife, and the backpack, filled with food and water. Luna is carrying a small pouch that once held dried fruit, but now holds another canteen of water, and some medical supplies.
After a few hours of walking, we reach the edge of the woods, and I can see the tip of the cornucopia above a rock barricade surrounding it.
to the left of the stone fort, I can see the entrance. Standing just outside the opening, is Xavier. Holding a large bow, and quiver full of arrows. He stands perfectly still at his post, head moving slowly back and forth. Watching for anything suspicious.
I look over my shoulder for Luna, but she's nowhere to be seen.
"Luna."
I whisper angrily.
"What?"
I look down, and there she is again, right by my right shoulder.
"Quit doing that! It kinda freaks me out."
She grins.
"It looks like they're planning to go hunting."
I look back at the rock fort.
"What makes you say that?"
She points out that Xavier is the one watching.
"He only goes on watch if they're planning something. I think It's because Vicktor doesn't trust him. Anyway, it's in the afternoon that they do most of their hunting."
We watch for a little while, and sure enough, in a minute the rest of the careers appear.
Vicktor is wielding an evil-looking weapon I think is called a flail.
Glorry is armed with her throwing knives, and Alexia is sporting a long sword.
I see Annita walk over to Xavier and give him a kiss, I guess he likes her too.
She is armed with a bow slightly smaller than Xavier's.
They all talk for a minute, then head off in the direction of the meadow.
After they disappear over a hill, I look down at Luna.
"What do you think we should do?"
She watches the fort with narrowed eyes.
"I don't think they would leave their camp unprotected. Unless they really don't think any of us are a threat. But I don't think they're that stupid. We could go take a look around, or we could set up a trap..."
I can tell she's thinking.
"Like what kind of trap?"
She thinks for a few moments, then smiles.
"What if, we weaken the wall? Not a lot, just enough for it to topple at any minute?"
I look at the structure, it looks like it was hastily piled together, it wouldn't take much to crumble.
"That could work. Keep a watch out for me will you? Whistle like a bird if you see them coming."
She nods, and disappears.
I warily make my way over to the wall, and start loosening some rocks. After a while, I can tell which rocks are supportive, and which ones aren't. After an hour, I've weakened the wall enough to where, if someone were to lean against it, it would topple. But the damage wasn't noticable.
I make my way back to the trees, covering my tracks as I go.
Luna is waiting for me, with a smile on her face.
"I followed them!"
I stare at her shocked.
"You what?! I told you to keep watch, not to go after them! You could have been killed!"
She shrugs.
"Well I didn't. And guess what? I heard them talking and...did you know they call you pretty boy? Anyway, apparently they don't think you're much of a threat. In fact, they said they can't believe you survived this long. By the sound of it, they are going to keep hunting down tributes, starting with the weakest, and work their way up to the more imposing ones. Like Weasel and Harrold. I don't know why they haven't come after you yet."
I think about this.
"Maybe they think I will just starve to death or something."
Luna bursts out laughing at this, and then covers her mouth quickly.
"Sorry, we should probably be more quiet. Man, if they knew how much sponsors you had, they would have hunted you down long ago."
I frown.
"Why?"
She looks around my waist, behind me.
"Because, you are going to be full, and comfortable, and you're getting medicine which means you wont be sick. Truthfully, if they want to win, they should have killed you by now, they could always pick off the weak ones later. Where as you are just getting stronger everyday."
We decide to go looking for Weasel's camp, and I think about what she said as we walk.
Me? The greatest threat in the arena? Sure I'm strong and fast enough. But I don't know if I could beat Xavier or Vicktor in a fight, I don't even know if I could take on Glorry or Alexia. But Luna is right, I will be getting stronger, while their food supplies diminish, I will have a full belly. I think of how my odds have grown since I got in the arena, and then I look at little Luna in front of me, what are her odds? I feel like I am responsible for her, and I owe her my life. I'm going to protect her at all costs, even if that means me not making it out alive. After all that's happened to her, it wouldn't be right if she didn't make it. Then I think of Annie. She's my best friend, and I told her I would come back home, and I promised Robbert that I would bring back the cure for his sickness. What will happen to them if I die? Will Annie be okay? She was awfully upset when I volunteered, almost on the point of hysteria. Will she go off the deep end if I die? What if Robbert dies as well? I have to win for them. But I can't, Luna has to live, She's to young...
My mind is torn in pieces, so I just stop thinking, and follow Luna as she scans the woods for signs.
But the decision still tugs at the back of my mind.
In about an hour, we hear a cannon fire, and decide that the careers found whoever they were hunting.
After that we scour the woods for hours, but find no sign of Weasel.
It's starting to get dark, so we head back to camp.
Halfway there, we hear another cannon.
"Do you think the trap worked?"
Luna asks quietly.
I shrug, and start walking again.
"We'll just have to wait and see tonight."
We make it back to camp, and eat some dinner.
Then we settle down and wait to see who died today.
I work on my almost finished net, and Luna watches the stars.
"Finnick?"
"Yeah?"
"In your interview, you said that your mother abandoned you when you were a baby. Was that true?"
I tie a knot slowly.
"Yeah. I never knew her, or my father. I grew up in the districts community home."
"Oh."
We sit in silent for a few minutes, then she breaks the silence again.
"I have...had a family. Two older brothers and my parents. My father and mother would talk about a revolution, something that would bring justice and peace to the districts. They said that it was only a matter of time before something small would happen, that would be the breaking point for a new rebellion. Well, somehow the head peacekeeper heard about what they were talking about. And one night peacekeepers came to the house. They dragged away my parents to be executed, and when my brothers tried to stop them..."
I glance down and see that she's crying.
"They just shot them, and left them lying on the floor. I woke up when I heard the screams and shots. The last thing I ever heard my mother say was: 'go to your aunt's house now! I love you.' Then they were gone forever. I've lived at my aunt's house ever since."
I fiddle with a loose rope end for a moment.
"I'm sorry."
She sighs and clears her throat.
"What's she like? Your best friend back in district four."
I think of her as I work on the net.
"Annie Cresta, she is the best friend anyone could ever have. She always seems to be smiling, and finds the bright side to everything. She is like a sister to me, and I will always look after her."
I can picture Annie watching this at home, curled up next to Robbert on their big couch. I smile and continue.
"She always gets annoyed when other girls talk about boys and clothes and that kind of thing, and she denies that she's pretty, but all the boys her age think otherwise. I bet she's watching us now thinking, 'Finnick Odair, how dare you talk about me when all of Panem could be watching.'"
Luna laughs, and I keep going.
"The first time I met Annie, was when we started going to school. We sat next together, and when I told her she was cute, she punched me in the nose. We've been best friends ever since. A lot of people think that we are a couple, but we just tell them we are more like siblings. She will always be my best friend, no matter what happens."
Luna sits up and scoots closer to me.
"Finnick?"
I grab the blanket and wrap it around her shoulders.
"Yes?"
She leans up against me and closes her eyes.
"I think you should win for her."
I put my arm around her as I reply.
"Why?"
She starts giggling.
"Because she would be majorly ticked off if you died."
I start chuckling.
"You're probably right. I bet she wouldn't even go to my funeral."
Luna starts laughing now, gasping out the words.
"No she would probably go and beat your body with a stick."
I laugh too. Picturing sweet, skinny little Annie beating my dead body with a big stick.
Our laughter is silenced as the anthem starts playing, and we look to the sky.
The first tribute to appear is Luna's district partner, the boy from five.
Then we are both surprised when Weasel's picture shows up next.
The anthem ends, and the sky returns to normal.
Ten left alive.
"Did you know him? Your district partner?"
Luna shakes her head.
"I'd never met him before. How do you think Weasel died?"
I shrug.
"Who knows? You should get some sleep."
She spreads the blanket out, and lies down.
"What about you?"
I pick up my net.
"I'm going to stay up and work on this for a little while."
She quickly falls asleep, and I work on the net in silence.
Thinking about the Cresta's. And hoping Annie will be okay if I don't make it.
There's Nothing More Important than Family, chapter 2
I wake up early the next morning when Alex decides to start
jumping on my bed. I sigh as I sit up, and see that Louisia isn’t in her bed. I
think she’s probably be making breakfast, and I am right. Her hair is wet, so
she must have been the first to use the bath water this morning. I eat quickly.
I know the Reaping will be sometime around eleven. They try to synchronize all
of the Reapings in the districts so they’re one after another. They do that
because the people from the Capitol always want to watch all of the Reapings,
one after the other.
I use the bathwater next, after David. It’s still slightly
warm, and not yet dirty. After I’m done, I grab a towel, and go to my room with
it wrapped around me. While I was washing, my mother had taking out my Reaping
clothes and had set them on my bed with my token. All of my brothers and
sisters have tokens too, except Louisia. My mother made them from dried wheat
stalks and ribbon. She gave mine to me on my twelfth birthday and when I turn
eighteen, I get to burn it. Louisia has
already burnt hers, since she’s now twenty-three. If I get chosen for the
Hunger Games, that is what I am to bring as my token. If I win the Games, when
I come home I get to burn it. If I die, then it comes home with my body and my
family keeps it in memory of me. All the families in District 9 do this. My
token is a circlet of braided wheat and silver ribbon, to be worn like a halo
around my skull. It’s very pretty, but I can’t wait to burn it when I get
older.
I get dressed. This year, my Reaping clothes are a
sleeveless yellow blouse and a black skirt. I wear decorated sandals on my
feet. Louisia comes in quietly, dressed in her formal attire, to do my hair. It
only got a little damp from my bath, so she doesn’t have to wait until it
dries. She pins some of it up at the sides and delicately positions the circlet
on my head. Then she leaves, without a word.
I return to the kitchen, and see Nathan and David. They’re
wearing their tokens; matching bracelets. Nathan looks rather dashing in his
baby blue dress shirt, but David is too scrawny to look very good in his. My
dad’s eating the toast Louisia made for him. He’s staring at the table. He does
this every year. I don’t know what he’d do if one of us were chosen for the
Games.
We spend the rest of the morning before the Reaping in eerie
silence. We’re all scared; for ourselves, for our family, for our friends. At
ten-thirty, Dad loads us up into our old wagon, and takes the reins. Our land
is one of the properties closest to the village so it only takes about twenty
minutes to get there. We get out, and Father ties up the horses. We make our
way to the square, and the Peacekeepers herd Nathan, David and I into our age
groups. I stand near the stage with all of the other twelve-year-olds.
I look up at the stage, directly in front of the Justice
Building. It’s fairly large, and there’s a microphone at centre stage. On
either side of the microphone is a glass bowl full of paper slips. I know my
name is in there nine times. My parents had me take tesserae, but not much. I
know one boy from the Community Home whose name is in thirty-four times, and
he’s only thirteen.
It is quieter here in the square than it was at home. You
can feel the tension build up as we stand there for longer and longer. Finally,
Palana Savandi, the official Capitol escort, makes her way on to the stage. She
looks ridiculous. She has a bright purple wig on (I know it’s a wig because
it’s crooked), and a giant matching hoop skirt with ugly frills. Her collar is
popped high above the tops of her ears. Her heels have to be at least six
inches high.
She taps delicately on the microphone with one of her
grotesque, long, blue nails. The speakers screech, and I fling my hands over my
ears. “Well, well, well! Welcome to yet another Hunger Games!” It’s difficult
to understand what she’s saying through her silly Capitol accent. She starts
talking about how we came to be here; about the rebellion, the Dark Days, and
the obliteration of District 13. Then the mayor, an old woman with a heavily
wrinkled face, takes the stage and explains about the Capitols mercy, and
gibberish like that. I don’t pay attention; it’s the same every year. Finally,
she’s done, and Palana steals back the microphone. “Now that that’s over, let
me just say: May the odds be ever in your favor!” I roll my eyes. “Here we go,
no for the fun part! Ladies first!” she reaches into one of the glass bowls and
chooses a slip. She comes back to the microphone, and says in a clear voice:
“Zania Roberts.”
My heart skips a beat, and then beats faster, as if to make
up for lost time. I’m sure I heard Palana wrong; it can’t really be me, can it? But I know it is me, because everyone is
looking my way. I take a deep breath, and follow the Peacekeepers to the stage.
I stand beside Palana. “And how old are you?” she asks me.
I swallow hard. “T-twelve.” I whisper into the microphone.
My eyes are stinging, and I know tears will come soon.
“Wonderful!” gushes Palana. “And do we have any volunteers?”
I look around desperately, but no one speaks up. “Ok. Well, thank you, and now
on to the boys!” Palana fishes out a name from the boys’ bowl. She reads it out
loud:
“Nathan Roberts.”
I hear the crowd gasp, and that’s when the tears really
start. In no time they are dripping down my face. I look over to where my
parents and Louisia are standing. My mother is sobbing uncontrollably into my
father’s chest. Louisia, who is holding Katie, is frozen in shock. Alex seems
oblivious to what is happening.
I’m sure this is unheard of; siblings being reaped at the
same Hunger Games! When Nathan reaches the stage, I throw myself into his arms
and don’t let go. Out of all my siblings, Nathan and I are closest. I can’t
believe this is happening. He awkwardly tells Palana his age. Palana asks for
volunteers, but none step up.
Palana smiles into the crowd. “This Hunger Games is bound to
be exciting! Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor!”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)