10
We flop panting to the ground, exhausted. I can't hold back a slight laugh of joy. The bow is mine! And ninety percent of the Careers' food is ruined by the mud. The rain has finally come in handy for something other than water. Myrae sits up, gasping but smiling.
"You idiot. I..." she coughs a little, "told you to tie the knot properly. And" she coughs again, "what do you go and do?"
I open my mouth to reply.
"You go and totally make this fun!" she laughs. I giggle and we straighten. Myrae coughs again.
"Are you okay?"
"Asthma." She hacks. "I'm good. It's not serious." We force away the laughter.
"Now, let's see how good you are." Myrae slowly and awkwardly climbs a tree and I can't help thinking 'Amateur' as she wobbles and plucks a handful of fruit.
"Now, don't eat these, because they're poisonous. I'll throw and you shoot, okay?" she calls as she climbs down. I nod and nock three arrows as her boots hit the ground. She pegs three yellowish, round pieces of fruit right after each other and I shoot in rapid succession, spearing all three. The fruit spurts a yellow juice that fizzles like acid. I load another few arrows into my bow as she throws another three. I hit two but miss the third because a wall of rain, blown by the sudden wind, blows into my face as I'm aiming and I release the arrow in shock.
"Oopsie. Gotta work on that." I mutter. The sound of stretched elastic drifts to my left ear. I turn quickly. There's a snap and I see a large rock, the size of a fist, shooting towards Myrae's head. If it hits her, she'll be killed, or get a concussion at the very least. I lunge and shove her aside. She cries out as we fall and land with a splash in a puddle. A shape steps out of the trees. To my shock, I see it's Alexei.
"What are you doing?" I shout as he pulls another stone back in his sling, twice the size of the one I made.
"I have to." he whimpers.
"That's right, isn't it?" calls a low, mocking voice. A male tribute I think is from District Five steps forward. I growl, stand up and nock an arrow, ready to shoot it into his stomach. Beside me, Myrae straightens and takes her spear from her back.
"You won't attack me," continues the tribute, enjoying our shock, "because the second you do, my partner will shoot a crossbow bolt into Alexei's brain, killing him. Then she will shoot Myrae in the spine and you, Gardenia, in the throat. What you will do is give me your weapons, food, packs and goggles. Then maybe I will not kill you."
I hiss angrily, looking for a way out. I lift the bow, pretending to aim at the District Five boy's head. I hear what I was listening for; the click of a crossbow bolt ready to fire. I now know where this tribute's accomplice is. I spin as fast as I can and let fly with the arrow I loaded before, shooting a few metres to the right of Alexei. There is a gasp, then a dull shunk and a thud. I wonder what the 'shunk' noise was. A cannon booms and I know I have hit the accomplice. At the same time, Myrae hurls her spear into the Five boy's stomach. Another cannon fires. We beat them! I turn to Alexei, to see if he is hurt, and my stomach drops out of me. He is curled up, a crossbow bolt lodged in the top of his spine. I drop to his side.
"Alexei! No!" I gasp. He croaks an answer.
"You have to beat everyone now, you know. Since I can't and all."
"No...no. Please. Not like this. Don't go. What about Hazel?" I beg. Hazel is his sister. He has protected her all his life.
"Tell her... tell her I love her." he whispers. Then something leaves his eyes and there is a small beep from his arm. A second later, the cannon blasts. I look at his arm. A red light has flashed where the tracker was; it must have registered his vitals flatlining and signalled both the cannon and the hovercraft that will soon arrive. I choke away a sob and blink back tears. A few metres behind and to his right, the girl from Nine lies, her green dress soaked with blood and an arrow sticking out of her throat. Myrae crosses to her and takes the crossbow and the sheath of bolts, shoving them in her pack, which is now full to the brim. I look at Alexei's token; a snow white eagle feather pinned above his ear. I snap off the clip and pin it under the burgundy flower clip above my own right ear. The tip is stained with blood, where it must have trailed in his wound. I stand silently. Myrae is speechless. I pluck a single white flower and arrange his hands so they are clasped over it. It is the traditional way of saying goodbye in my district. Together, Myrae and I walk away.