I could feel it, feel it slipping away from me: my sanity. I didn't want to be here, like so many others from the other districts. It hadn't been good year in District 4 for all, leading to almost no training and also leading to no one volunteering on the girls side. One of my good friends though, Thom, had volunteered for the boys. However, I didn't want to be here, I knew I couldn't take it; the death and destruction of the game. Thom had been strong though, he helped me just as Mags and Finnick did in the beginning, when the others from District 1 and 2 came around. He helped me prove my worth with fishing, tying knots, creating nets, and my bit of skills with a knife, all the things my father had taught me but then we got here.
We rose up from the ground, emerging in a sort of basin with a large river running right through it and a large dam high up on the ridge to the right. Half were on one side, having split up the pairs from the districts, and separating me from my only true ally. Then it happened, with the cornucopia in the middle of the river, on a small sort of island the buzzer sounded and it began. Finnick had told me to run. "Run as fast as you can Annie," he had told me as we went over the game plan and I did. I ran as fast as I could towards the cornucopia and dove into the river before anyone else, pulling myself up onto the ledge. The careers left me alone, taking out the weaker districts that attempted to invade on 'our' territory, but some couldn't swim so they just took off into the trees. Grabbing up one of the bags, I quickly looked inside, thankfully seeing a water bottle and zipped it up with a smile before turning and looking for Thom. Then it happened.
Reaching up, I covered my ears and squeezed my eyes shut as I remembered the look on his face, the blood, there was so much blood in the river as I dove into it and started running again. I hadn't stopped running until finding the large hallowed out tree that I had been hiding in since then. When I was hungry I'd slip out and move to the river that I had fashioned a trap in for the many fish and it rained often enough to collect water. But, everyday I'd hear that stupid song, and it'd just continue on in my head which was filled with images of Thom dying and his blood running into what used to be so comforting to me: the water.
Curling up into a ball, I laid down on my side but didn't dare close my eyes as I tried to think of something good. Gripping onto, my long tangled mess of brown hair I focused my breathing, creating a soft rhythm that would hopefully lull me into peaceful dreams consisting of the world outside of this horrible place. I worked on imaging how the sand felt on my feet, so hot that you had to rush across it to the water. I worked on hearing the sounds of laughter from my friends and family, but mostly I worked on feeling the touch of Finnick's hand in mine just before I left him and Mags. He had been there for me since I stepped on that train coaching me along with Mags, but for some reason he had been there for me the most. We hadn't ever spoken a word to each other, well maybe a few hellos in school since we were only three years apart, but I couldn't remember any sort of interaction after he won his games five years ago. But since getting my name called he had been someone I could look to when in search of a smile, a laugh, of some encouragement.
Just then I heard a beeping outside of my hiding spot and slowly eased out on my hands and knees, looking around wildly in search for some sort of trap but my eyes landed on the parachute a couple feet in front of me. Scrambling out I grabbed it, stopping the beeping and rushed back into my hiding spot only to look at the gift. Who would send me a gift five weeks into the game?
Twisting off the top, I looked down to see a cup of stew. But it wasn't just any stew, it was the signature fish bone stew of District 4. Bringing it up, I sniffed it slightly only to catch sight of a note in the lid. "Hold on, Annie," I read out quietly and then unable to help it let out a giggle as I continued to reread Finnick's handwriting.
What was I supposed to hold onto?
oOo
I could hear the screams of the others the few that had made it to the cornucopia and were part of the slaughter the Careers were carrying out: screaming, gurgling, and then silence. I tried to ignore it and stick to the plan, get the essentials, some knives. A bit excited for having gotten a good one, I turned to my ally during the games—having not thought about the end—and caught Thom turning to me, having kept the others away. Just then the sword sliced through the air, and I saw the intended path. My victorious smile faded out as the blood started to fly through the air, hitting me across the face.
With a gasp I woke up not knowing when my dreams of the beach and home went away but glad that I had been shaken from my nightmares. But now a new problem arose and that was that I was still shaking, the whole area was shaking. Quickly I grabbed my pack, shoving everything in it, but the note from Finnick which I shoved in the pocket of my tight, light weight, fast drying pants which matched the shirt. Moving out from my hiding spot, I looked around to the wild life fleeing the area as the earthquake rumbled and decided that they must know more than I do and took off after a small deer as it leapt over the terrain.
'Run, run as fast as you can, Annie,' Finnick's voice echoed in my head as I moved over branches and around bushes. Just then there was a creak and crack ahead of me and a large tree came rumbled down, crashing into more trees in front of me. Wide eyed I skidded to a stop, falling onto the ground as one of them slammed into the ground right where I would have been had I kept running. Gasping for breath, I knew I couldn't stop and moved to my feet yet again. I had to get out of the trees.
The clearing that we arrived in sprang to my mind and I struggled to remember where it had been right as I stumbled into it with about twelve others. For five and a half weeks in, that was a lot of people to still be alive, probably causing the game makers to cause the earthquake. Instantly I paused and tucked back into the trees, hoping that I hadn't been seen as one of the Careers kicked into action killing off the girl from district 5 that had paused just the same, but in the open. It was almost like another bloodbath, but this time we were trapped in the center, too afraid to enter the forest.
Suddenly my tangles of hair were seized and I turned wide eyed to see the boy from District 1. "Look what we have here," he gave a devilish smile. Reaching up, I grabbed his hand, trying to pull away but his grip tightened, pulling even more on my hair so I was on my toes. "What? You're not even going to beg?" He laughed. "Where have you been any ways? Hiding like the coward your partner was? He went down so easily." Suddenly the images flashed in my mind and I quickly reached up and covered my ears as I squeezed my eyes shut. "Awe, does the poor baby not like hearing it?" He taunted, his voice echoing around in my mind over the rumble of the earth and screams echoing in the clearing. "My god, you've lost it haven't you?" He laughed right as there was a deafening crack. Instantly my eyes shot open and I looked back to the dam along with all the others, the fighting having stopped; you could see it, the water starting to pour out. Looking back to him, he looked just as wide eyed but he was still gripping onto my hair. I had to get out and run, I couldn't be here when the water flooded; I looked around for a way out when I caught sight of his belt. But I couldn't. I wasn't strong like Thom, Mags, or Finnick.
'Hold on, Annie.' The words ran through my mind and I couldn't give up. I had to try, so I grabbed onto the handle of the knife in his belt and pulled it out before he could regain his thoughts and plunged it into his stomach. With a gasp and surprised look he released and I didn't even think as I dropped to my feet and started running, even as the earthquake continued. Chancing a look over my shoulder I saw just as the dam broke.
Wide eyed, I looked to the tree tops in order to find the tallest one and rushed to it, grabbing the lowest branch, hoisting myself up but it was too late. As I reached the middle of the tree the water rushed in. Taking in a gulp of air I tumbled with the will of the water, washing me out of the tree. I didn't know where the others had gone and couldn't care as I struggled to move against the rush of the water and up to the surface.
The pack weighed me down and pushed against the water unlike my sleek clothing so I struggled out of it, letting it go before continuing up and taking in a gasp of water as I emerged. Looking around wildly, I could see tree tops emerging from the continual flow of water and quickly half swam, but mostly flowed with the current towards one. Gripping onto it with my hands, I swung my legs around and just hung there but the water kept rising as a canons started firing.
"1…2…3…4…5…" I counted of the consecutive fire, most likely from the second bloodbath. There we seven of us left, six more to die and then it would be over. I just had to hold on for six more and then I could go home. I just had to do what Finnick told me to and then it would all be over.
Soon the water was up to high that I had to let go of the tree and had to start treading water which wasn't a feat, having basically grown up in it but evidentially it had been for some as two more canon shots rang out.
"Hold on, Annie," I whispered to myself as I continue to tread water which had turned the arena into a large sea with remnants of tree tops poking out, but mostly us. All are too concerned with trying to keep their head above the currents which are still pulling me to the other side. Truthfully I didn't know how long it had been since the dam had broken but as I looked up I could see that water was still pouring out of it. Softly, I repeat Finnick's note to myself as canon's continue to fire and I felt my strength, which was minimal after five weeks in the forest, dwindle as the sun set.
With the sun down the temperature dropped more than it had the whole time and even though I wanted so badly to try and float I knew that I would get even colder if I exposed myself to that much air. So, instead I struggled to get off my jacket, tying off the hands and up the front before filling it with a bit of air. It was a trick that was taught to us at an early age in District 4, a makeshift buoy and I knew that it probably wouldn't last the night, but it gave enough for me to rest for a bit.
Then just as the sun started to come up, solving the added problem of it being almost pitch black I heard another canon shot echo over the arena. Looking around the arena, I looked for the hovercraft and watched as it moved in not far from where I was at and watched as the body lifted up into it and it moved way just leaving the two of us: the girl from district 1 and me which made sense, since District one was on the coast. Looking around, I struggled to see where she was in order to stay as far away from her as possible when I felt my thigh erupt in pain. Instinctively I stopped moving and dropped down with the undertow and gripped onto my thigh as blood oozed from it. Trying to push back up to the surface I struggled to take in a breath when all of a sudden hands pushed down on my shoulders. Taking in a mixture of air and water I moved down and grabbed onto the hands. Flipping both of us around, I open my eyes to watch her as she went under the water with me and saw that she had somehow made a snorkel of odds and ends.
This was it; she was going to kill me if I didn't kill her. Grabbing onto the tube, I yanked it out of her mouth and scrambled back under the water but she quickly righted herself and moved after me. Kicking up to the surface, I took in a full gasp of air and then moved back under continuing to scramble back while keeping an eye on her, hoping that I could outlast her on the lung capacity, after all I've been diving for fish since I was five. Thankfully it worked and as she moved up I surged forward with a kick and clumsily grabbed for the knife in her hand. Instantly she started fighting back, igniting the battle underwater for the weapon. My lungs were starved for oxygen and in a move to both get her away and get to the surface, I gripped onto the knife handle and blade—not even paying attention to the pain—and pulled up my feet before stamping them on her stomach. From the force she tumbled back, releasing her hold and I kicked up to the surface. Taking in a gasp, I suddenly felt a pull on my ankle and in the same motion brought up the knife and lunged towards her plunging the knife into the first solid mass which just happened to be the top over her head.
Wide eyed I scrambled back as a mixture of her and my blood mingled together in the water and lifelessly she moved with the current, further away. Kicking away I surfaced and just started swimming away, ignoring the pain in my thigh and hand when next thing I knew a canon echoed and I heard Claudius Templesmith's voice. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to present the victor of the Seventh Hunger Games, Annie Cresta! I give you the tribute of District Four!" I could hear the crowd from the Capitol cheering over the speakers as a hovercraft materialized.
The ladder lowered into the water and quickly I grabbed onto it, the electric current locking me in place as I rose up. As the door closed behind me and current released, instantly the exhaustion of the sleepless, nightmare filled nights and swimming constantly took its toll and I just let go of everything I had been holding in and dropped to the ground.