Time for the Quell! This one will probably be shorter than the others, sorry :/
25th Hunger Games, 1st Quarter Quell
Calico
District Eight
I call myself Callie sometimes. It sounds better to me than my real name, shorter and easier to remember. But I don't have friends to call me that, or much of a family, even. So it's a nickname I gave myself.
They called me Calico at the reaping.
I thought maybe they'd pick someone else. After all, I'd told them I wouldn't hurt anyone, promised them. It was just the one time, when I'd lost control. My classmate, she didn't get hurt too badly. She should have been tougher. My father's hit me like that before, and no one calls him crazy.
I can't believe I thought I was safe.
"Ladies and gentlemen, let the twenty-fifth Hunger Games begin!"
I've wasted my time! As soon as I jump off my pedestal, I trip on my oversized leather boots, landing face-first in the dry grass. By the time I scramble to my feet, many of the tributes have already reached the Cornucopia. The golden horn looms ahead of me as I run, looking ominous rather than heartening.
Suddenly, someone slams into me from the side. I automatically lash out with my fist, striking the tribute in the jaw. He yells out in pain and starts to grab for my arm. I jerk away from him and race to the Cornucopia.
I need supplies, I think, halting in my tracks. Frantically, I turn around, scanning the field for something of use. I spot a backpack, a few yards away, and sprint for it.
The girl from District 5 gets there first. She gives me a sneer before disappearing into the trees. My fists clench. I try to force myself to turn around, to find another backpack.
But I can't let her go.
I take off running. I can just see the older girl's back in the distance. She's slowed down considerably now, at a jogging pace. And she's wearing the backpack; my backpack.
She doesn't notice me until I jump on her from behind, yanking at the straps of the bag. The girl cries out in surprise. She whirls around, trying to shake me off. While I'm light, I hang on for dear life, wrapping my arms around her neck and squeezing as hard as I can.
After a minute of clawing at my arms with dull fingernails, the older girl collapses. She's still breathing, but only barely. I take the knife from her belt, and the backpack from her shoulders. The sound of footsteps grows louder in the distance. The others have heard our struggle. I look down at the unconscious girl from Five.
She's still breathing, but that can be fixed.
FATE: When the Careers found the girl from Five, she was dead. Calico, despite being one of the youngest tributes at age fourteen, lasted two weeks in the Games before she was killed by the Careers.
I'll admit that one was rather morbid, especially for a girl my age to be willingly murdering people because they stole her backpack. But Calico is not someone you'd call mentally sound :/ It's the reason she was chosen.
Anyway, wow! It's been almost a year, and this story is only 1/3 of the way finished :) Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and please leave a review :D Next one: Whit, the boy from Nine, meets one of the younger tributes.