The Gamemakers have a clear path that they want me to take; considering that a lot of bamboo acid sprinklers activate in front of me as I flee, yet there is always a safe way to go, that provides me with sharp turns and a general direction for me to run.

When I finally clear the bamboo forest, I'm not surprised that all the acid sprinklers are now activated behind me, barring me from waltzing on back in.

Ok, Gamemakers, I'm outta there. Now what?

Ahead of me is a great, deep, salt rock chasm. I can't even tell how far the fall is, because it's so dark and foggy down there. The opening is a good 30 meters wide, and the only way to cross it is by a small, wooden rope bridge. The fact that I ended up directly in front of the bridge further insists that I had been led there by the Gamemakers. And there's already another Tribute crossing the bridge.

Sly... devious... Gamemakers.

The Tribute is good at looking back to cover his tracks, so we spot each other right away. I instinctively reach for my gun and point it at him. The boy instinctively runs away towards the far side. He doesn't want to fight; he wants to cross. Maybe he doesn't have any weapons; maybe he knows that the electric blast from my Peacekeeper 7.13 cannot reach him at that distance. My bluff has lost, so I put the gun away. I climb onto the rickety bridge to chase after him. The boy pulls out a small hand-axe from his pack. He means to chop the bridge after he crosses it!

Things are happening too quickly. The Tribute is running hard towards the other end, and I cannot let him reach there alive. I don't think I can run fast enough across this weak rope bridge to get within distance of my gun's shot range in time. I think he will beat me to the end of the bridge before that. He's halfway there!

I have to think of something fast! I'm getting desperate. I toss my orange backpack over the side, abandoning its weight (along with its contents of food, medicine, and weapons), but at least this way nobody else will make use of any of it. I watch it fall into the chasm and down into the deep fog. ...I knew I would never open that nauseating thing.

And with that, I coil my foot around one of the bridge's ropes. I whip out my Katswiss Army Knife, and I press the extension trigger on the side. Like an extendable baton, the blade is now four times longer. Now a short-sword, I raise the Katswiss above my head and swing down hard on the ropes of the bridge. The ropes cut like cheese, and the bridge connection is no more.

As the useless structure of wooden planks and ropes tumbles across the chasm, I hold on tight to the side rope that I was able to ensnare myself to before cutting the bridge loose. The other Tribute, however, had not expected it at all. He falls a good few meters as what's left of the rope bridge swings towards the opposite cliff wall, before he manages to latch onto one of the wooden planks. So, he gets to live for now. But he was forced to release his axe in his desperate attempt to grab tight onto the rope bridge. The Tribute's weapon is now gone down into the chasm, to meet whatever end my orange backpack did. Also, he's now hurt, and dazed... and he's a lot closer to my gun.

The dangling rope bridge slams us painfully against the cliff wall. The Tribute boy falls down a couple of notches, but we both hold on. I put away my Katswiss and point my Peacekeeper at him.

The Tribute sees this, and he reacts by pulling his legs up to dangle in a sort of fetal position. His legs now provide him cover. Even his feet are crossed over, to protect his crotch area. This kid must have read The Ender Games (a children's bedtime story based on an old archived science-fiction book from a previous century.)

I hold my grasp on the bridge... and my aim. The kid will tire soon enough from holding his legs up like that. And I will be here pointing my gun at his ass when he does. I only hope I don't tire first!

And then, as if this situation wasn't exciting and dangerous enough, the Gamemakers add a little bit of their touch to the game. From out of the fog at the bottom of the chasm, rise thousands of silver-gleaming metal spikes, sharp enough to skewer us like lambs on kebab. (Ok, so now I'm hungry again.)

#howidieinthehungergames