Hello all!(: this is a little idea I thought of while watching the Hunger Games. I figured, how would she not know what Nightlock was, when she was probably the smartest person there. Tell me what you think!
Lucky.
Summary: A glimpse into the final moments of Foxface. The girl that could identify every type of berry, would not confuse nightlock for another berry for no reason. Her luck had just run out.
The boy from 12 was waiting for his partner, I hid in the bush, concealing myself from his view. It was pretty easy, he was not the most observant. My mind travels to the rest of the Tributes, there was Cato… Ruthless, and would take anyone down without hesitation. Thresh: he killed Clove with such brute force, of course, both from 12, but it was obvious who was the brain in that team, and myself. I sat against the tree, thinking of the people who had been lost in the games so far. How I had survived. I figured out the bomb trap from the Careers. I knew every edible berry and dangerous plant in these woods. That was not good enough to win these games. You had to be ruthless. And I couldn't kill. Not any of them, even if they were about to kill me. Evade, of course. But not murder. I think back to my reaping. I felt my parents knew I was going to be picked.
My eyes fall upon the children around me. All were nervous, some tried to mask it, others were openly frightened. I was among the ones who tried to act strong. I had 2 siblings in the reaping with me. My big brother, this was his final year, and my younger sister, who was a year younger than I. I felt my parents wished they hadn't had any kids. I can only imagine how taxing it is to have to sit and wait, and then watch your children die. Mine were strangely nervous today, they acted as if we had already been chosen.
Of course, our District had its Victors, but we had losses as well, losses that outnumbered our winners. We were only a power district, no real training ever came to us. I believe our tributes were just lucky. Finally, the last of the kids had fallen into place, and a tense silence filled the shopping square. Our district escort pranced up to the microphone. There was a speech, a video I paid no attention to, and finally, she was choosing names.
"Evalyn Sparks!" I jolted awake, and managed to walk myself up to the stage. The male was Richard Powers. I managed to get through goodbyes easily enough, but I knew I wouldn't be returning. Not even if I became the luckiest girl in the world.
I'm jarred back into the reality of the games when I heard the male from 12 near me. He wasn't sneaky either. I shrank back, keeping away from him. He was gathering berries. Nightlock to be exact. See, the girl is clearly the smart one. Hopefully he doesn't eat one before she returns. He picked the bush clean and set them on the tarp, and then disappeared. I made a split decision and grabbed a few from the pile and flew into the opposite direction of the boy. I made it to a small spot and sat. I looked at the berries in my hands. One berry had the potential to kill before it even hit your stomach. Quick and painless. I pictured her now, watching in fear, knowing that I knew what I was holding. What I was considering. I could hear her screaming no, telling me I was being foolish. My dad was probably holding her tightly, telling my siblings to leave. She would be a wreck, just like she was when I first left.
My mother had always taught me the way of herbs and cooking. It was her thing. While my father was away at the plant, she taught my siblings and I all there was to know about plants and their flavors, how they combined to create the best tastes.
"This is nightlock, as you can see, it's slightly darker than a blueberry, always remember that." She gave us a wink as we all nodded.
Thinking of this, I think back to my goodbyes with my parents. My father, a strong and silent man was close to tears, my mother held no emotions back.
"OH EVIE!" She flung herself at me, hugging me tightly. I hugged her back. I refused to cry. My siblings wedged themselves into the hug and they just cried. No words were spoken. What could you ever say to someone in a moment like this? When visits were up, I gave a quick hug to my father, who whispered a good luck. And everyone told me they loved me.
"I love you all too! Take care of yourselves!" I called. I had one more visitor.
"Evie, you have to win." Heather was my best friend. She was always thinking positive, but even now, she was faltering, you could see it in her eyes. When I didn't reply, she hugged me and I hugged back.
"You're done!" The Peacekeeper spoke. She pulled away, wiping her eyes.
"Be safe. Win." She said. I nodded and she was walked out of the room. I hope she would be okay without me.
These memories flooded back so quickly, I tipped over. Though, that may have been my lack of food the past, what, 2 weeks? The berries were looking better and better with each passing second. My stomach ached. I didn't have much longer, I knew that. I looked up, knowing a few cameras were bound to be watching me. My luck was bound to run out. Everyone knew that. I escaped the bloodbath, I figured out the careers trap, but that was simple. But maybe it was only luck. I looked back at the berried. Just one, it would be over in a second. With another tribute, I wouldn't be so lucky. And starving would go even slower. I looked back up.
"I love you." I mouthed, I could only hope they could understand and that they wouldn't be angry with me. I popped the berries into my mouth and chewed. The sour taste was all I remembered and the world tipped and swirled as I took my final breath. My luck had just run out.
Let me know what you think!
Rhey!