I have a surprise for you all! Since I gained so many new readers and I feel horrible for leaving you all with so many cliff-hangers, you get 2 chapters tonight! It just doesn't seem fair to leave you with yet another cliff-hanger, especially since this one is so… well… you'll see ;)

Chapter 7: Too Late

If someone were to find this cave, they would walk in and see nothing. Because everytime I think I hear anything that could be a footstep, I scramble to the wall and stand, frozen, covered in the gray mud that I have so obsessively been applying. I close my eyes and wait until I feel sure it was nothing. Then I go back to doing whatever I was doing, which, most of the time, is just sitting, hugging my knees, listening for the sound of a cannon that brings me one step closer to going home. If I stay in here long enough, hopefully the others will forget about me, think I've died from starvation or dehydration somewhere. So even though I am running lower and lower on water and my last pack of dried fruit is almost gone, I keep telling myself I can't leave. I can't risk seeing the Careers again. I can't risk seeing anyone. But the urge for water gets harder and harder to resist. The only thing that keeps me from leaving is every night when the Capitol anthem plays, and I peek out to see the faces in the sky. But tonight, there are no faces. Or the next night. Or the next night. And now I haven't had water for 4 days and I know that if don't do something I will die in here. So on the 5th morning, I decide I have to do it.I wake up to find the sky still dark and the wind whistling through the trees. I feel… weird somehow, like something's wrong. Then I remember… It's my birthday. Happy birthday to me. I mutter sarcastically to myself as I will myself to stand. Your birthday present? Death. I try to be strong and determined, but as I creep towards the mouth of the cave, I am shaking. It's okay, Annie, I tell myself. Just to the spring. But remembering the Careers, the tracker jackers, Sage's screams… just thinking of it makes my vision swim. But I know early morning is the best time to go, so finally I take a deep breath and leave my cave for the first time in 2 weeks. I almost cry out of fear, but I push myself to go. I tiptoe as soft and quiet as I can, my heart stopping any time I think I hear a noise. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I promise myself I will never leave the cave again once this little expedition is over. I finally make it to the spring, just as the sun begins to rise. I dip my bottle into the pool formed by the spring, thinking how beautiful the sunrise is. And then I hear the screams.

3 people come staggering into the clearing, although they can hardly be recognised as people. A girl whose blond hair is tangled and caked with blood, and whose face is swollen and beaten, along with 2 boys who look like they could (if it's possible) be even worse off than her. The girl limps over to the spring and collapses, blood tricking from her mouth. A cannon blasts in the distance, and I know that this girl, who I now know as Silk from District 1, is dead. Seeing the 2 boys draw closer, the world swirls in lopsided circles around me. Because one of the bloodied, fighting boys is someone I never hoped I would see again. Jackson Castor.

He seems too engulfed in fighting to notice I'm there, but when he turns around our eyes meet and he pauses for one second, giving Mace an advantage. He grabs Jackson in a headlock and pulls him to the ground. "Well look who it is, Jackson," sneers Mace as he runs his knife along Jackson's cheek tauntingly. "District 4's wittle baby. Come out of hiding at last, have we?" All I can do is sit there, frozen, causing Mace to crack up. "Well, this'll be a good show for you," he whispers, to Jackson, just loud enough for me to hear. "I'll let you pick how she dies. Would you like stabbing, drowning, or slow and painful torture?" Jackson gathers enough strength to kick Mace in the chest, throwing him off enough for Jackson to stand up. But Jackson can't run fast enough, and I am forced to watch as Mace grabs Jackson by the neck and swings his axe, hard. And Jackson's head rolls on the ground towards me, stopping at my feet, landing face up, his lifeless eyes staring straight into mine.

REVIEW RESPONSES:

70thHungerGamesVictorD4: YAY! A NEW REVIEWER! I am sooooo glad you love it, I LOVE getting responses it means a lot to hear you say it describes them perfectly, I try ;)
Coco: Don't worry about it have fun on vacation!

okay so since this is probably the worst spot to leave you, and chapter 8 is really short, I will post that tonight as well. Love you all!