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It's astounding
Time is fleeting
Madness takes its toll
But listen closely
Not for very much longer
I've got to keep control
-Rocky Horror Picture Show
Stay alive. STAY ALIVE, I tell myself. It's easier said than done when you're a dead girl walking. It's a bloodbath when the gong rings out. Even though Haymitch already said not to, I sprint for the bow that's waiting there for me. After I retrieve it along with a backpack, District 2 girl is on me, chasing me into the woods with her knives. She unintentionally shares one with me when it lodges into my pack. It could be worse I guess.
I used to think I could run faster than all the girls at school. And after getting in and out of the Cornucopia alive, it's clear I haven't lost it too much. Just before the gong sounded, I saw Peeta. I didn't get a chance to see where he went, but I think he probably listened to Haymitch and just ran. It's not in my nature to do as I'm told, or so he's probably figured out by now. In that moment, I was terrified. Careers or not, how those other tributes could just take lives so quickly and relish in it is beyond me. Those kids in their last moments, how scared they must've been; their families back home watching them be slaughtered like goats…
As I'm charging into the woods alone, my focus is dragged down by thoughts of Peeta. Cannon after cannon, I lost count how many I heard during those first moments.
I hide in the forest today and wonder if my next breath will be my last. All I can hope is that if death does come my way, it happens quick. Before darkness falls, I've hoisted myself into a tree for the night. I try to see through the brush but it's too thick. Even though I try not to, I'm constantly thinking about my fellow District 12 tribute. There's been cannons booming throughout the day and every time I hope it's not for him. My body is also in serious need of water. When I rest my eyes, I hear the sounds of the forest and it almost sounds like mine back home. Home…of course I can't go more than a second without thinking about them. The ones I love. I try to imagine myself going home a victor and Prim running into my arms. This fantasy quickly changes when the anthem begins to play. I blink and look up into the sky. The faces of the fallen are displayed with honor. A sigh of relief, a tear rolls down my cheek. I do not see Peeta.
My goal is to play a game much like Johanna Mason's. The best thing that I can do for myself is to let everyone kill each other, until I'm alone or left with just a few. There are some tributes who may be stronger, but none of them can shoot as well as I can. I don't have to be within several feet of my prey, I can take them out from across an entire field.
Another advantage that I have on everyone, is that I'm much older than I actually am. I've aged so much in the last five years that I can probably outsmart most if not all. However, hubris is a deadly thing, and that I must remind myself. What would be an awful tragedy is if I didn't even go out by someone's knife or sword. If I accidently got myself killed because I was too stubborn and arrogant to take in my surroundings, that would not just be tragic but also embarrassing.
In elementary school, we played a game where essentially, kids threw balls at each other. The rules were simple: don't get hit. The kids who retrieved stray balls out of excitement were always the first to go. I learned that the easiest way to get to the end, was to stand behind other players and let them take the hits for you. This strategy always got me there, but it was never enough to win.
In this game, offense is the only sure way towards victory.
You could compare the two games with each other, except that in dodgeball, we would start over and play again. In the Hunger Games, there are no do-overs. And I'm not throwing soft, squishy balls at my classmates.
Though I know it's going to be a sleepless night, I arrange my sleeping bag in the fork of the tree and bind myself around it with rope from my pack. Though it's only going to cloud my cognitivity, I think of Prim and how she isn't here right now. I couldn't imagine her here, in the woods away from home. Alone, afraid, waiting to be taken out because she physically couldn't harm another person. I find comfort knowing that it's me and not her, because at least I can try to defend myself. This situation is sadly familiar.
Then as it does every single night, the last thing I think of is my baby girl. And wherever she is, I just hope that she is safe and sound.
…
Closing my eyes was a mistake, because I almost fall out of the tree when I awake from a nightmare. In this scene, Huck's fingers are running through my hair as I sit on his lap. He is speaking in the voice of President Snow. I have definitely compared the two over the years. Both pretend to be righteous and honest when they're actually demented and evil incarnate.
I have to shake myself out of this fog, still feeling his hands all over me. Graphic images flash through my mind of the many nights we had together. It's almost hard convincing myself that I'm in the Hunger Games and not back home, until I hear the sound of another cannon.
It's almost too much sensation for one moment and I cover my ears, shaking my head violently.
Several hours pass and I haven't moved from my spot. I'm wide awake at dawn, no longer shivering from the night. After what seems like eternity, I finally feel present again.
Maybe the temperature change is helping me come to, the heat from the synthetic sun feels very real. In fact, I'm now sweating through my shirt and my mouth is even drier than it was last night. Water is going to be my goal today, besides staying alive that is.
The ground beneath me is firm when I climb down the tree. I tuck my jacket into my pack, my dark shirt is absorbing the heat and every second I grow hotter and hotter. I have absolutely no idea where I'm at in the arena.
I stop and listen.
The timing is impeccable because in the distance I hear voices echoing throughout the forest.
I see something move on my left, out of the corner of my eye and I draw my arrow out in defense. The voices grow closer, from in front of me and I'm moving my shot between both sensations.
Then I see it, a little brown head of hair peeking out from behind a bush. I know who it is before I even see her face.
She slowly and cautiously steps into view, fear apparent in her. Is she surrendering herself to me? I lower my bow.
"Rue?" I whisper and wave my hand for her to come to me. She hesitates at first, but eventually runs so lightly and quickly it's as if she's flying. I stand in front of her and raise my bow in the direction of the approaching voices.
"Up there! I saw something move."
"Can you climb?" I ask. She nods her head enthusiastically and I point to a spot in the trees above our heads. Before I can even redirect my attention to the others, she is making her way up effortlessly.
As soon as I see their faces, I begin firing arrows. I hear them screeching and cursing at me as they drop.
"It's Twelve!" I hear a pained voice cry out.
It's the Careers, and I've just made myself their direct target. Two girls and one boy, running towards me and instead of using my last two arrows, I make the rash decision to climb up another tree and see how much time it buys me.
Rue is nowhere once I make it to the top, and I do this before they even reach the tree.
"Rip her face off, Cato!" That blonde girl from District 1 is hurling insults at me. I look down and notice her cheek is bleeding. I suppose I missed her eye by just a few inches. I remember this girl from training, she was the one who constantly sneered at me. More than once I heard her complain, "Who smells? Oh yeah…" as I passed by.
Cato, this "kid" they name is staring at me and breathing so heavy that his shoulders are trembling. He draws a sword from behind his back. He weighs too much, I think, if he even considers climbing this tree.
Just as he takes his first hold, I notice something just past him and I gasp.
"Peeta…" I say in the quietest of breaths. The boy with the bread is down there too, I can see him now. He's looking up at me and I think his mouth is hanging open.
My thoughts are interrupted once again when I hear a branch snap. The sound of the impact is painful enough, and then I hear Cato moaning on the ground.
"Bitch!" one of the girls yells, though I'm not sure which girl, as if it matters. I see Peeta bend down and put his hand on Cato, "We could rest for a little while? It's not like she's going anywhere. I'll take first watch."
Rest? The sun just came up, then I conclude they must've been hunting all night. Which made sense because I did hear more cannons. What doesn't make sense is why Peeta is with them. It could be that he's still trying to protect me, but we both know that only one of us is going to make it out of this arena alive. What makes my life worth more to him than his own?
I know what he said before, about me having more to lose, but that doesn't mean that he's worth any less. The tree supports my back and I close my eyes in frustration. I want him to stop rescuing me. It's hard enough seeing him and Rue and knowing what will become of at least two of us. If it came down to it, I honestly don't know what I would do.
All at once they arrange themselves on the grounds of the forest below me. Everyone has their own sleeping bags, except for Peeta. He sits up facing me, occasionally glancing my way. He is too far away for me to read what he's thinking.
I'm not sure how much time passes before they're all asleep. I've been sitting here motionless, frozen, too nervous to move or barely breathe.
"Pssst…" I hear from a few yards away from me. I whip my head in the direction and there she is again. Her index finger points to her lips and then it slowly points to a spot just above me. Her very movement is so concise, and the almost-grin on her face makes me wonder if she's been rehearsing her entire life for this moment.
Just as cautious as her, I tilt my head to where she points. The trees have hidden it well, and though it takes me a moment, I soon recognize it as a nest. A tracker jacker nest.
I look back and she's gone. "Rue?" I whisper. Then that head of dark brown hair peeks out from a tree and I hold up my knife. She's much smarter than most people probably give her credit for, and she nods her head in understanding and disappears just as fast as she came.
Maybe our exchange isn't as secret as I thought, because I look down to Peeta and he's staring up at me. I don't know how I can warn him, but I try to make a motion that means to get the hell out of here.
This goes on for so long, and at some point it must click because I see him stand up and walk out of sight. I have to mentally prepare myself for what I'm about to do. It doesn't hit me until I've climbed right up and am in arm's reach of the nest. I really don't want to do this. These tracker jackers can kill you, but that seems to be the name of the game around here and it's ultimately my only play at the moment.
I could try to fly from tree to tree like Rue, but I remind myself there's a time for defense and a time for offense. If this works perfectly, I could easily remove some of my biggest competitors in the arena. And right now, that's a risk I'm willing to take.
I grit my teeth and prepare for the pain if…when I get stung. Mind over matter…
The next few moments become a blur, because instantly I feel the stings penetrating into my skin. By the time the branch is falling down, so am I.
Down, down, down…I scrape alongside the tree. I don't even feel the scratches, I've been through pain much more severe than this.
Blood-curdling shrieks, they all scatter except for Glimmer. She writhes on the ground. Her face…exploded, mutated, pussly; her complexion is no longer porcelain white but a rainbow of ghastly colors.
Huck is hovering over me, he holds the little girl who looks just like me. "Time to say good-bye," he chants. "Mommy..." they're running into the shrubs as her voice sends an echo across the covering.
How did I get back on the ground? I think I climbed down as far as I could and fell the rest of the way…
"Meadow, Meadow?" I say crawling on the ground and reaching out desperately for her to grab my hand. Two cannons. Please don't let it be Rue's. Please don't let it be Peeta's. Please don't let it be mine.
Bloody arrows are sticking out of her body, I try to grab them but they disappear in my hands. Someone grabs my shoulders and I shake them off, has Huck returned to get me?
"Get off!" I mumble, "Get off me! Don't touch her!"
"Run, Katniss!" Peeta says. His voice, and I see him bend over me, "Run away, run away now!" Peeta? I reach out for him but he's gone again. Okay, the cannon wasn't his. It wasn't mine either. Glimmer, duh.
I attempt to stand but stumble aimlessly in all directions, trying to find something to hold onto. Then I see her arms reach out for me and I pull us both down. She manages to hide me in the shrubs and the last thing I hear is my own gasps as she begins pulling stingers out. I can't feel anything anymore. Before my entire world goes black, I vow to myself that if I ever survive this moment, I'll protect this girl with my life.
…
Rubbish chapter! Thank you so much for taking the time to read, please leave a review if you can! -xoTFTMxo