This is the Fire is Catching Forum Writing Challenge for April!

Over the next 3 days I will post all 3 entries (this is the first one, but next time I hope for more entries) and then after they have all been posted I will hold a vote so YOU can decide who wins. People have spent time on these I know, and if you don't win, don't be too upset, these will be held every 2 months, so enter the May/June one for another go!

Also, please review to give the person feedback.

April Challenge:

Prompts: the careers,just children playing soldiers, I want to kill her in my own way,blood on meadows, fighting spirit

Deadline: 30th of April.

Written by Feral Piper

The Careers...Is that what defines us? The ruthless killers, the hunters, the murderers? We may seem like that on the outside, but we were also once children, crying when we fell and skinned our knees. The fighting spirit that rages wild in the first couple districts is forced onto us. We embrace it yes, but do we like being evil, being seen as the ones who have killed a sister, a brother, a daughter or a son?

Children playing soldiers, that all it is. I try to shake off that feeling I always get when I think about it. That's all we are, a mother's son, or daughter. We try to make our District proud by killing children, younger and older alike. We act tough to hide our fear, our fear of the unknown and the world. Not like it's much of a world.

I try to tell this to the others, but they just laugh and walk away, calling me soft. I guess I am. I don't want to kill anyone; they have the same right to live as I do. The others, they don't understand my regret of killing.

The Cornucopia...A merciless blood bath. I killed a girl from 4 I think. I don't remember who it was, I only remember her please, begging me not to kill her. I looked around, Cato and Clove urging me on. I killed her, slit her throat right there. I watched the light die from her eyes, her small body fall limp. The other Careers cheered, clapping me on the back before turning back to the fight. I couldn't take my eyes off of the girl though.

She had a family, a mother and a father. Maybe they had a little sister or brother. There was probably a boy back at her district who would never get to see the love of his life again. I felt a tear roll down my face, and I let it fall. I closed the girl's soft green eyes and turned away.

The blood of innocent souls spilt in the meadow, an image I will never get out of my head. Their pained screams, the sickening squish of blades sinking into skin, the moans. We had left it behind a long time ago, but they still joked about it. There was one girl, that one from 12 I think.

Cato has something against her, and he doesn't want anyone getting in his way. We found the guy from District 12 later. He told us how to find her, with the promise of his life if he lied. I found it funny, how he was leading us straight to the girl whom he said he was in love with not a week ago. Funny, how the arena changes people.

Surprisingly, we actually found her. I watched as she tried to run, and laughed with the others, giving a slow, agonizing chase. We watched her run up a tree. I asked Cato if I could shoot her.

"I want to kill her my own way." He hissed in my ear, trying to climb up the tree. We waited, until one by one, we all fell asleep. I stayed up longer then everyone, watching the fake sky change. I knew I must sleep, but something told me not to. I shrugged off the feeling, slipping into a blissful sleep.

A loud thud, followed by screams woke me up. I jump up clutching the bow I had grabbed at the Cornucopia. I turned to face our attacker, and saw a giant swarm of tracker jackers. My heart sank, and I began to scream, flailing my arms around. My screams drew no attention from the rest of the Careers, who all took off in different directions.

The Careers...that's all they are. They aren't mother's children, they are killers. In the arena, nobody is who they were before the reaping. I fight for my life, but not against another Tribute, as I thought it would be, but against something as small as a mutated wasp.

Blood in the meadows, children playing soldiers, a mother's child...

Please review for Feral Piper's sake, I'm sure she'd love to hear your thoughts! Come back tomorrow for Pineapple Girl 1997's entry.