Katniss knew the other warriors were likely to follow her. She didn't care. If I just keep running… I don't know. I'll fall off the edge? Then I can't hurt them anymore. Was it night before?
She heard them shouting out after her, but she wouldn't stop. She leapt over shrubs and gullies, tearing through the forest with utmost determination. Something that sounded like a giant zipper being done shrieked overhead. Katniss looked up, catching a glimpse of the girl with the swords.
"Hold up!" shouted the airborne girl. "You don't want to go any further!"
"Yes, I do!"
Another zipper shrieked, and Katniss felt something catch her leg. She tripped forward, sliding forward on her face for much longer than she would have preferred. The sword girl descended behind her, winding up the cable she had used to trip Katniss into the bulky device built into her belt.
"No, you don't. Did you even notice how it just became night?"
"Yes, of course. The Gamema- I mean, the Master of Games can change the time of day as he pleases. Nothing too out of the ordinary."
"No. There's something in the forest making it dark."
"Evil ki!" gasped Ryu, stumbling through the brush and struggling to catch his breath.
Katniss punched a tree in frustration.
"God, more of you? I don't have time for this. I have to get away."
"From what?" questioned Mikasa.
"The ring! I have to keep away from it!"
Ryu was puzzled. "Isn't the point of the competition to hold it?"
Katniss cradled her head in her palms.
"It's evil! And it made me try to kill my own team!" She took a moment to catch her breath. "And I would appreciate it if you left me alone!"
Mikasa sheathed her swords. "Fine. Have it your way. Come on, Ryu. Let's avoid that evil ki."
The two turned and stumbled back through the dark forest. Katniss set off again, at a light jog this time. The moon, or something that looked just like it, shined brightly overhead, but only tiny pinpricks of its light reached the ground. The trees loomed over her like pillars of onyx, vast and omnipresent. Only the sound of her footfalls kept Katniss company. And then, they didn't.
Katniss paused for a moment, even stomping her feet on the ground.
No noise at all. Weird. That's just too quiet.
For a moment, her ears sensed nothing but silence. Then, a quiet ringing, as if from far away. Katniss walked a few more steps, hoping that it would go away. It didn't. She searched to the left and right for the source of the sound, but there was simply nothing in the dark forest. The ringing was getting louder, closer. She broke into a jog again, and then a full-out sprint, but she could not escape the sound. Her foot caught an exposed root, and she tripped.
Damn, how many times today is that?
She scrambled to her feet, preparing to try and escape the sound again, when she noticed the ground. The moon's light was scattered everywhere along the forest's floor… except in front of her.
"That's too big to be… my… shadow," Katniss said, gripping her knife and clenching her jaw against the ringing noise. She turned, and for the first time in a long while, she consciously screamed in fear.