25 years ago, a young girl called Katniss Everdeen became the Mockingjay, to defeat the Capitol and keep our Districts safe. She had survived The Hunger Games twice with her lover boy, Peeta Mellark. Katniss made a promise to our districts. She swore we would never have to suffer through The Hunger Games again. She told us the Capitol would finally get what they deserve. The pain and horror we witnessed for 75 years would be thrown upon them. Their children would be reaped. What Katniss didn't realise at the time was that killing President Coin was the worst idea she ever had. After President Snow died we got a new president, President Pearce, who killed Katniss Everdeen, her family and her friends and carried on The Hunger Games as if nothing had happened.
The girl from three has pinned me, hand over my mouth, spear against my throat. "Say goodbye four!" she cackles, digging her ratty fingers into my scalp. I manage to turn my head around a little and bite her wrist. She yelps out in pain, releasing her grasp from my head. She looks into my eyes and frowns, lifting her spear into the air. "You'll make a nice corn on the cob" she grins. I close my eyes, waiting for pain to soar through my body, but it never comes. I hear the boom of a cannon and wonder if death is really painless. Unlikely. I slowly open my left eye as the weight on my stomach lifts. I see my attacker lying on the floor, eyes wide open but no life left inside. I look up to see a young male, around my age, grasping a bloody sword. He reaches out his hand to me, indicating for me to take it. I don't. I continue to stare at his dark brown hair that flicks across his face, his deep sea green eyes that shine when they catch the sun and his bright white teeth that glitter when he smiles. I can feel myself blushing. I finally knock myself out of day dreaming and take his hand in mine. "Thank you" I mutter under my breath, dusting down my grassy trousers.
"You're welcome" he laughs. Even his laugh is cute. I look across the ground for my axe, which is half buried under a pile of leaves. I pick it up and wipe off the mud. I begin to walk away but I feel a hand touch my shoulder, dragging me back. "Where do you think you're going" this boy asks, raising his bushy eyebrows.
"Away from the death scene" I reply, shaking his hand off my shoulder.
"I just saved your life and you're just walking away from me?!" he starts to shout now.
"Well I said thank you" I say, in a slightly hushed voice. He lets out a fake laugh.
"You owe me now Curly" he says. I feel myself blushing again as he refers to my messy hair. I'm not much of a looker. I have blonde curly hair, bright blue eyes and the figure of a mop. I'm surprised he's still looking at me. No guy that cute ever looks at me. "I want to be your ally" he blurts out. I think for a minute. I get ready to say no, but his piercing eyes tell me this isn't a good idea.
"Fine" I say, offering him my hand. His face lights up again, going for my hand but leading it in to a hug. For a guy who's been living rough in an arena for two weeks, he smells really good. "I'm Blu, from District Four" my muffled voice says through his t-shirt. He lets go at me. "I'm Devon, from Six" he grins. I try to forget that in a few days or so one of us will have to die. Let's just hope someone kills him before I have to.
I stare in to the dark sky, dreading Ill see my brother, Noah, staring back down at me. Every year 24 tributes are reaped into The Hunger Games and every year, 23 die and only one comes out. This year for the 4th Quarter Quell, 100th Hunger Games, President Pearce thought it was be a brilliant idea put brothers and sisters in. So not only would one family member die, another would too. Last year mine and Noah's brother, Xander, was reaped into The Hunger Games. He made it into the final five but during a battle at the Cornucopia, he got sliced in half. Me and Noah made a promise to stay strong and protect each other, for our parents. A month later mother died of a broken heart. After all, the greatest magic of all is love. And there was nobody mother loved more than our big brother. Nobody. I hold my bag close to my chest and close my eyes, wishing he could be here with me. I think back to the night before the big day. He came into my room and got into my bed, clasping me close. I heard the sniffing of his nose and a whimper coming from his mouth. Before then, I had never seen my brother cry. Not when Xander died, not when mother died and not when father went six months without talking to us. Tears fill in my eyes as the thought of him flashes in my mind. "Are you okay" I hear a voice come from the side of me, bringing me back to reality. Devon had been looking at me this whole time.
"Yes. I'm fine" I say, wiping my tears from my cheeks. I can feel his eyes fixing on mine, waiting for me to turn to look at him. I forget his existence and lie down, laying my head on a log. Devon lies down next to me, still staring at me. "My sister" he softly says. I feel guilty. Through all this worrying about my brother and myself, I forgot that he had a sibling too. "My sister died yesterday."
"I'm sorry to hear" I say.
"I was there. I saw the life wash out of her eyes and her sweet smile turn into a frown. I saw the spear go in and I couldn't do anything to stop it" Devon's voice begins to crack, as if he's holding back his tears. "I admit. I didn't kill that girl to save your life. I just wanted revenge. For Elise." I think back to this morning and how the girl from three had a spear. I knew it was all too good to be true. I take his hand and softly kiss it, holding on as if I am falling. I close my eyes as he cuddles up to me and we fall into a deep sleep.
I wake up to the sound of birds chirping and Devon standing over me. "Get up" he says, "we need to get out of here." I scramble to my feet and pick the sleep out of my eyes. I can hear screams and decide not to question our quick escape. There's not many of us left. Maybe five or six. We run through the woods and find ourselves at a stream. I scoop the water up in my hands and splash it across my face. The stream looks clean so I scoop more up and push it into my mouth. Devon pokes a stick in to the water, poking it on the river bed. He steps in and takes my hand. I slip on a rock and fall straight it. "Help!" I panic, splashing around franticly.
"Just stand up Curly" he chuckles. "It's not even deep". I get up, blushing red with embarrassment.
"I knew that" I mutter. I pick up more water and splash him in the face. He raises his eyebrows in the cute way he did when I met him. I mimic him, raising mine, trying to keep a serious look. He grabs hold of me and drags me, carefully, through the stream, throwing me onto the bank. He falls down next to me and we break into giggles. We stare up at the clouds as a Butterfly lands on to my hand. "I love Butterflies" I say, watching its blue and red wings flutter in front of me. "They can't see their wings. They don't know how beautiful they really are. Just like humans" I sigh. I can feel his eyes dig into me again, but I fix mine on the Butterfly. It fly's away as Devon leans into me, softly kissing me on my lips.
(3 days later)
I awaken to the sound of the anthem belting above us. I haven't seen Noah's yet. I wonder if he thinks about me as much as I think about him. I look to the side of me to find Devon not there. I jump up and scan our little base. There's chicken leg bones scattered across the floor and his sleeping bag is crumpled up on the ground. I decide to wait a few minutes; he could have just needed the toilet. Ten minutes pass and he's still not back. I hear a scream and I run through the woods as fast as I can, jumping over logs and rocks and following the sound of the shout.I approach my destination as I see Devon, squirming around on the floor, blood dripping down his chin and seeping out his stomach. I try to scream but nothing comes out. I kneel down and try desperately to help. "No" he whispers, knocking my hand away. I rest his head under my arm and stroke his brown locks. Tears stream down my face as every breath he takes gets weaker and weaker. "Promise me you'll win?" her mumrers.
"I don't kn-" I start.
"Promise me! You have to. Not for me, not for your family but for you. I believe in you Blu" he growls.
"Ill try" I soothingly say, stroking his face. He looks into my eyes one last time, placing the palm of his hand on my cheek.
"I love you" he smiles. His cannon goes. Dead.
Today's the day. Today's the day I put my life in the hands of another child. I won't win. I've had no sponsor gift which tells me the odds aren't exactly in my favour. "Tributes" a male's voice booms from above. "There will be a feast at the Cornucopia. Food, drink, fresh clothes, everything you could ever wish for. Hurry up before it's all gone." The voice fades as I lift my axe from the ground and walk in the direction of the Cornucopia. This is possibly just a diversion to bring the remaining tributes together but I can't risk the chance. The Gamemakers must know I haven't eaten for four days. I reach the outskirts of the Cornucopia and see piles and piles of food all laid out on a long table. I know others are here. I run towards the table, grabbing a pot of soup and a tub of water and spring back off in the same direction. I don't get very far. A girl with a bow and arrow shoots at me. She's not a very good aim. I stop in my tracks as more and more tributes come from behind trees and in bushes. I look around for Noah but he's nowhere to be seen. He's probably hiding somewhere. He's clever like that. The girl shoots her arrow and I duck. It fires through another girls head that was following behind me. Her cannon goes. I laugh my axe at the girl with the bows as it sticks into her stomach. She pulls it out and throws it on the floor as her eyes roll backwards and she falls to the floor. Her cannon goes. Around me, tributes fight each other. There's more left than I thought, eight or nine. I try not to get in the way of them more cannons fire above us, each tribute dropping to the ground covered in blood. There's just me left standing. I put my soup and water on the ground, lifting my axe up just in case. A show emerges from the Cornucopia and its familiar face glitters in the sun. Noah. I bite my lip as my heart beats under my top. Were the only ones left. One of us will have to die. I throw my axe in to the distance, indicating for him to kill me. His eyes don't leave mine as he pulls something from behind his back. A knife. He mouths "I love you" as he lifts up the knife. And before I even have time to scream, he slams it into his chest. Right over his heart. ""Ladies and gentleman" the voice appears again. "I am pleased to announce the victor of the 100th Hunger Games – Blu Skyes."