I awoke in a haze, for a minute unsure of where I was. I was sure I had been supposed to stay up for a watch, but Blaine had taken my place, sitting beside me and scanning his eyes across our camp.
"Hey." I said, looking up and for a second not thinking about where we were, just that we were together. Blaine smiled briefly, but then looked serious again.
"We're moving." As I craned my neck to look upwards I saw Camille and Jethro already moving about. They had gathered together all of their supplies and were beginning to destroy all the evidence of our camp. In my Games few of the tributes had had tracking experience, but these Games would be different. We had to leave no trace if we wanted to stay ahead. My movement sent Stacey stirring in my arms, she clung onto me, almost like she had used to when she was little, and I gently stroked her hair as she opened her eyes.
"Morning." I whispered. Stacey smiled, for a brief second looking only at me, but then she remembered our surroundings and fear flashed across her face.
"We'd better get moving." Blaine jumped to his feet, leaving the pair of us alone. I looked back at my sister and wondered how to comfort her. With all that had happened to me in the Capitol over the past year, it had left me desensitized to the arena and it's dangers. It was hard to think back to the fear, the absolute terror of not knowing if you would survive the next few minutes. I gripped hold of Stacey's hand and looked at her intently.
"We're going somewhere safe." I said, trying to sound like I believed it. "We're going to make it through."

Five minutes later we were with the rest of the group. Jethro had slung his pack, made of leaves he had pulled from the trees and somehow sewn together, across his shoulder and looked at me with interest as we approached. Camille quickly saw to Stacey, brushing her hair with her fingers and talking to her as if she were her own child. I watched with interest, sighing.
"Did she sleep well?" Jethro suddenly asked. I looked back at him, surprised.
"Yes. Why?" The District 11 man smiled.
"We tried everything to put her at ease. Sang her songs, told her stories. But it was only ever you she talked about. That you were coming to get her. She and Blaine rely on you." The realisation dawned on me. Stacey really was only 16. She needed me more than anyone else, and I had to protect her. At whatever cost. Blaine walked over, sensing the change in my mood and taking hold of my hand.
"You ready to go?" He said. I nodded, shifting my pack further up my arm.
"Where is Hunter?" Jethro asked. As if on cue our District 8 acquaintance suddenly appeared from a nearby tree, startling everyone and making Camille jump a good foot or so backwards.
"Let's move!" He exclaimed. I tried to hide the smile that spread across my face, knowing it wouldn't exactly go down well with the others, but it was hard. Hunter glanced across at Blaine, seeing the cold, hard stare he was giving him and grinning.
"Did you sleep well last night?" He asked. "Sam and I found that sleeping bag a bit of a squeeze, but it was nice and cosy at least." Oh shit.

The journey from camp was almost unbearable. Blaine stomped next to me, anger seething out of his pores. I had explained the situation countless times and I knew he didn't blame me, but it was still frustrating. Hunter found the whole situation hilarious, grinning at me every time we made eye contact – for once I didn't share his amusement. Thankfully Stacey served as a barrier between the conflict. Gripping onto my hand she stared around the arena almost in amazement, her feet barely making a sound as we trudged through the undergrowth.

"What kind of animals do you think are here?" She asked. I looked around, noticing a few flies and some kind of lizard scuttling through the undergrowth about a metre or so away from us.
"I don't know." I replied. With the arena, you could never tell. If giant pink bugs could exist, there was no telling what they would create for us this time.
"We know there are squirrels." Jethro said, smiling kindly at my sister as he held back a bit to join in our conversation.
"And those birds." Suddenly Hunter's brash voice chimed out. I saw Blaine seethe a little and reached out my other hand to squeeze his arm – he pretended not to notice. "Man I could do with some of those eggs right now." Suddenly Jethro stopped. His movement was so sudden I almost walked into him, Camille stopped moments later and looked intently at her district partner.
"What is it Jethro?" She asked.
"Eggs." The District 11 man said, repeating Hunter's words. "You found eggs?"
"Yes." Hunter replied, confused as to why it was such a big deal. "Sam brought them back."
"What colour were they?" Suddenly Jethro turned to me. His eyes were wide with panic and for a second I felt real fear again.
"Er…blue." I said quickly, my brain frantically searching for anything out of the ordinary that might have caused our friend's anxiety.
"Where did you-?" All at once our conversation was halted. A new noise echoed out across the arena, so loud and so piercing that it had to be close. A scream.

Everybody reacted. Blaine sprung in front of me again, his hand reaching for his bow and arrow. Hunter already had out his knife and Camille and Jethro banded together, Camille standing next to Stacey and me.
"Is somebody hurt?" Stacey asked. I didn't want to reply, didn't want to tell her what this probably meant, that someone was being killed by another tribute right this second, but then another sound changed the situation. The squawk of a bird.
"HELP!" Without thinking I moved forward. Somebody was in trouble. Another tribute, possibly an enemy, but possibly not. And it wasn't a human that was attacking them.
"Sam!" Blaine called out, trying to keep his voice down and lurching forwards to grab hold of my arm, but I ducked out of the way and missed him. As I ran onwards into the deeper undergrowth I followed the sound of the screaming, of the tribute begging for her life.
"HELP ME! PLEASE! HELP ME!" My heart was pounding but I carried on, knowing I had to find her before it was too late.

Suddenly I stumbled forward into an open space. The trees around here were thicker but it was clear to see now who was in trouble. Holly, the District 9 tribute and the oldest out of all of us, was cowered on her knees merely 10 metres away. At least, it had been Holly. To my horror I saw her surrounded by birds, birds that were ripping the flesh from her face and body in great big chunks, tearing her apart piece by piece.
"HELP ME!" I realised that with my sword I had no real way of aiding her. If I came too close to the birds, they would probably attack me too. And they had already done enough damage. Helpless, I could only stand and stare, watching a fellow tribute be mauled and destroyed right in front of my eyes.
"Sam!" Suddenly a body appeared behind me. Instinctively I turned around and put a hand up to their face, looking to shield Stacey from the atrocity that was happening before us, but it was only Blaine.
"What are you-?" My boyfriend's words were cut off as he looked ahead at Holly. She had dropped to her knees now, her screams dying down as they birds tore apart at her insides and rendered her speechless, barely alive. For some reason I found myself unable to look away, unable to tear my eyes from her squirming, deformed body. Blaine pulled me back into the undergrowth and I stumbled on tree roots and sticks. When we were enclosed enough to be safe Blaine wrapped his arms around me and tried to turn my head to his.
"Don't you ever run off like that again ok?" He said, half scolding me, half in relief that I was safe. I looked back at him, unable to think of anything but the remains of Holly on the floor, then suddenly a canon sounded. The distant rumble of the Capitol body retrieval machines started up and Blaine gripped hold of my hand again.
"Come on, we'd better get out of here." As we rose to our feet to leave, I took one final glance across at the scene of destruction in the clearing. What had caused those birds to do that? Were they the ones Jethro had been asking about earlier? I was about to turn away, feeling Blaine gently leading me forward, when out of nowhere another figure appeared.
"Wait!" Blaine stopped, turning around and looking at me in concern. I shuffled forward, dragging him with me and peering through the bushes at the scene. It was definitely another tribute. From a distance it was too hard to pick out, but he had dark hair and was thin. As he crouched over the body of Holly I saw him bring out a knife from his back pocket.
"Sam, we have to go!" Blaine hissed, the sound of the Capitol machines growing louder by the minute. The wind began to pick up, rustling the bushes that we were hidden in, but I stayed fixed upon the figure. He was leant closely over the body, digging his knife into the parts of flesh that were still attached to her body and carving something. What was he doing?
"Sam!" Suddenly another tribute appeared. This one was immediately recognisable by her striking purple hair.
"Victor!" The realisation clicked. Of course it was Victor. Now I remembered what I had struggled to recall in the training arena. Victor had become famous throughout the Capitol for his strange ritual after a kill. A firm believer in other undiscovered species, he would carve strange patterns into the bodies of his victims as a message to them, a way of communicating that nobody else had understood. As he worked on the remains of Holly, Violet crouched down and tried to pull him up.
"Sam!" Blaine's tugging on my arm was beginning to move me – I fixed my eyes on the two District 3 victors as we moved backwards, watching him be lead away the same way I was. As the bushes took over and they fell out of sight the Capitol machine flew over our heads, sending gusts of wind whipping around us. I felt blinded.

Eventually we found the others again. Stacey and Camille looked concerned, but sighed with relief when they saw me.
"What happened?" As my sister rushed over to hug me I looked at the District 11 victor.
"It was Holly." I replied. "She…" The memory was almost too much. Flicking my eyes across to Jethro, I saw him looking equally as solemn.
"What were those birds?" I asked.
"Tacaws." He answered. I tried to think back through my brain for any memory of the name, but there was none. "You won't find them in the Districts anymore. The Capitol had them all killed, on account of the fact that they were fiercely protective of their eggs." I realised in horror mine and Hunter's mistake.
"The blue eggs?" Jethro nodded.
"If they are taken, they use their tracking ability to find and kill the person that did it. There is no escape."
"But how…?" My mind tracked back to the bird we had found lying dead on the floor as we searched for the others. Had somebody killed it? Or were we just lucky? The thought struck fear through me, but Hunter seemed unphased.
"Jesus," He said, making everyone turn and stare. "How much shit from the Districts does the Capitol have locked away?" Blaine shook his head, checking again to see if I was all right. Stacey clutched me tightly and Jethro let out a long sigh.
"Too much."

We moved on quickly from the scene of Holly's death. The memory played in my mind over and over again for a while – skin torn from bone, screams and hand flailing to fight off the birds. The thought that I could have died like that was terrifying. Stacey kept her grip on my hand, staring around the arena as we travelled through it with a mixture of wonder and apprehension.
"Where are we headed?" Blaine asked, breaking the silence that had formed over us.
"Towards the centre of the arena." Jethro replied. His arm pointed upwards to the top of the giant centre tree, just visible over the forest line. "If we know where the careers are we can get a better sense of how the games will play out." I ran through my head the list of tributes already dead. Dean, Niamh, Cassandra - I would never forget those names. Then there were Cooper and Sophie, killed during the earthquake - Henry and Cooper murdered by others. And Holly. Eight dead in all. That left sixteen remaining.
"Look, a bridge." Camille suddenly spoke, pointing her own hand forward to a rope bridge in the distance. Glancing across at Blaine, I nodded my head slightly to show that this was ok, that we should still stay together. Jethro and Camille were good allies, and despite the obvious disagreement from the rest of our group, I trusted Hunter too.
"That will take us closer to the cornucopia." Jethro picked up his speed, seemingly wanting to move out of the expanse of clear ground we had found ourselves in. I followed his lead, pressing on and taking Stacey with me.

The rope bridge was fairly long and reasonably sturdy looking. The forest at the end of it looked thicker and more ominous, but we knew it was our best chance of finding answers. As we stopped by the edge of our current ground I stared over at the bottomless pit that lay beneath. The trees stretched down endlessly until the darkness overtook them, a vast cavern of nothingness. I knew there must be some kind of optical illusion designed by the game makers, but didn't want to be the one to find it out.
"Phew." Hunter came up beside me, whistling as he took his own look over the edge. "What a drop." At the other side of me, Blaine glowered at the District 8 tribute, obviously wishing he could push him off himself. My hands twitched, ready to leap out and save him if he did, but thankfully my boyfriend stayed put.
"There doesn't seem to be anybody around." Jethro said, joining us again. He had made a quick scan of the surrounding area and was now focused on the land beyond the bridge. "We can cross."
"Hunter first." Suddenly Blaine spoke. All of us turned to look at him, seeing his set expression and how he was still glaring at our newest ally. Jethro looked surprised, but didn't say anything.
"Why me?" Hunter replied, seeming offended.
"So you can check the bridge." I knew Blaine didn't trust him, that he would rather have the youngest victor where he could see him, but for once I had no strength to argue.
"Fine." Hunter replied, holding his hands up in the air and stepping forward towards the first rung. Jethro went to immediately follow, but Blaine held him back.
"Leave a little space." He said. "If he tries any funny business I'll shoot him."
"Jeez!" Hunter had now stepped onto the bridge, his exasperated expression leaving him slightly when it creaked and rocked momentarily. We watched him edge along carefully, my eyes scanning the surrounding trees for any sign of movement, until after a few metres Blaine let go of Jethro. The District 11 tribute began to edge along too, looking for Camille to follow him. She in turn held out her hand for Stacey.
"Are you coming too?" My sister asked me, her fingers still interlocked with mine, not wanting to let go.
"Yes." I replied reassuringly. "You go. Blaine and I will watch the area until you're across." Hunter was halfway across the bridge now. He seemed insignificant from this distance, like a tiny bug crawling across a plant stem. As Stacey finally let go, I watched her gingerly place her foot on the first rung, Camille holding out both arms and then enveloping her in a hug when she reached her.
"Go." Blaine said, nudging me as they began walking. "I'll follow up." I shook my head.
"You're still injured."
"I can take care of myself." I let out a disgruntled noise, annoyed by my boyfriend's stubbornness.
"I thought we agreed it was Stacey you were protecting, not me." Blaine scowled, looking like he wanted to argue again, but not pushing it. As Hunter neared the end of the bridge, he sighed, moving to take his first step on the ladder.

A knife spun through the air. The movement was so fast I almost thought I'd imagined it. Then there was a soft thudding sound as it embedded itself into Blaine's shoulder.
"CAREERS!" They were on us within seconds. Titus and Andronica came running in, teeth bared and weapons raised. Linus and Trix followed, then Lydia. Her eyes were full of fire, her knife obviously the one that had been thrown. Immediately drawing my sword I turned momentarily to Stacey and the others behind me, their bodies frozen with fear.
"GO!" As Jethro moved again Camille pushed my sister on - I turned back around to see Titus lurching towards me, about to throw his spear. Suddenly an arrow shot into his arm, he cried out in pain and dropped his weapon. Blaine was up beside me.
"Take Andronica." I stepped forward, meeting the District 2 tribute with my sword. The metal clanged against her mace, sending a shudder through me. Andronica smiled, whipping it free to strike me again. I followed every blow, but for some reason felt like she wasn't trying. Next to me Blaine had ripped the knife from his shoulder, throwing it in the direction of Lydia who laughed manically.
"Lost your touch?" She exclaimed. As she approached I noticed Trix and Linus standing back. Why weren't they fighting? With five against two they could defeat us easily. Lifting up my foot I kicked Andronica in the stomach, sending her tumbling to the floor a few feet away. As I turned back towards Blaine I saw him wrestling on the floor with his district partner.
"Come on Lydia." Linus suddenly called out, leaning against a nearby tree as he watched. "I thought you said this would be easy?" Lydia bared her teeth, reaching in her pocket for another knife as her other hand choked my boyfriend. Blaine struggled helplessly, his strength sapping rapidly out of him. Feeling another surge of anger shoot through me I hurtled over, launching myself onto Lydia and ripping her away. We tumbled onto the ground together and I glanced to my side to see Blaine now had clear air, the other Careers only a few metres away.
"Blaine!" I shouted, trying to fend off Lydia's hands as she pushed me away, snarling. "RUN!" The District 1 girl kicked me, managing to scramble free and hauling herself to her feet. I reached for my sword and flung it out, catching her on the ankles so she stumbled and cried out in pain. When I got to my feet Blaine had made it to the edge of the bridge. I could see the turmoil in his eyes - wanting to help me but knowing there was no way he could in his current state. His arrows were gone, his face bloody and bruised, chest heaving up and down.
"RUN! I shouted again. With one final look he turned and began clattering across the bridge. Lydia shrieked. As she moved to run towards the bridge herself I propelled myself forward, ducking underneath her body by millimetres and grabbing hold of one of the posts. The whole bridge shuddered and swung - but I had no time to check behind me.
"Move Twelve scum!" She spat at me, her mouth frothing with rage, like a wild animal. As she swiped at me with her knife I ducked and then kicked her in the stomach, sending her sprawling to the floor. The other Career tributes laughed.
"He's got spunk." Linus said, glancing at his cousin as he spoke. "Haymitch must be a good trainer after all." Lydia sprung to her feet again, blood now trickling out of a cut in her head.
"Lydia, lets just leave this." Trix called out, seeming very casual given the circumstances. "You'll have plenty of chances to kill the traitor later."
"NO!" Lydia bellowed in reply. "I WANT TO KILL HIM NOW!" There was a sound, almost derision, from the Careers. I figured this attack had been Lydia's idea - a sole plan to get rid of Blaine once and for all. Obviously Linus viewed me as a threat - so why was he not joining her? Why not kill me as well as Blaine - pick off our group now? I didn't have time to ponder any more, Lydia was on the attack again.
"MOVE BOY!" She screamed, thrusting out her hand again towards my shoulder. I jumped backwards, making the bridge shudder and shake again. Lydia took a step forward too and I knew where this was going.
"Don't do this." I said calmly, trying to negotiate, thinking about Blaine and the others behind me. "Listen to your friends. You won't get Blaine."
"YES I WILL!" Lydia hissed again. She inched forward a little more, knife raised, and I stepped backwards to compensate. "He is weak, he is spineless. He is a traitor to our District."
"He is not a traitor to anything." I replied, feeling my own anger begin to kick in. "You are the Traitor for condemning him."
"HOW DARE YOU!" Lydia swung out again. I ducked, but was then met with a punch from her other hand in my face. A noise puffed out of me and then I responded with my sword, pulling it up in front of my head and steadying my stance, ready to strike.
"If you wanna fight." I said, hoping to God my boyfriend was across the bridge and safe with the others. "Let's fight."

All at once the assault began. Lydia let out another cry, darting her hand towards my gut. I brought my sword down to clash with it and the vibrations reverberated through us. Trying again Lydia swiped her other hand across my face - the knife caught my cheek and I howled out in pain, staggering backwards slightly.
"You are just as weak as him!" Lydia cackled, a crazed smile appearing on her face. She lurched forward again but I was prepared. Four consecutive knife blows were met with my sword - the fight training with Mike and Tobias in District 12 kicking into action. Lydia began to get impatient, each swing wilder and wilder until eventually she missed and I managed to get my own slice in. As she stumbled backwards clutching her leg I took a brief glance behind me, and moved backwards, trying to see the others.
"Don't run away from me scum!" Forgetting her pain Lydia thrust herself forward, the venom in her eyes even more apparent. We exchanged blows again, her expertise beginning to show through but her rage keeping me in the game. With every new move the bridge swung and groaned - I could tell it wasn't designed for this kind of combat.
"Lydia!" I called out, trying to get her to listen whilst still fighting back her slices. "The bridge! It's going to break!" Ignoring my words the District 1 tribute carried on. As I took another step backwards she grinned again, like she was winning.
"You are going to die boy!" She said. Suddenly one of her swings caught me off guard. I leapt out of the way just in time, but the force of her movement sent her knife slicing through the worn rope of the bridge.

Instantly the whole bridge shuddered. I gripped onto the other side, watching as it titled sideways and sent us both tumbling onto the wooden slats.
"SAM!" Suddenly I heard a scream from the other side of the cavern. I could only faintly pick out the group, but they were all on the other side. Blaine and Stacey looked like they were by the mouth of the bridge, having to be held back by Jethro and Camille. Before I had a chance to respond to them I looked back and saw Lydia scrambling for some kind of stance again. Using my strength I hauled myself further along the bridge to where it was slightly more stable, grasping for my sword to check it was still there.
"SAM!" As the District 1 tribute followed me, also reaching for her own weapon, I looked at the other parts of the bridge and thought. What would I achieve from winning? The way we were going - this bridge was going to collapse anyway. And if I didn't win, Lydia would be left to attack Blaine and Stacey. I needed to take her out quickly, even if it meant doing something drastic. Turning back towards the end of the bridge for a second, the safety where all my friends and family were, I called out.
"BLAINE! YOU NEED TO CUT THE BRIDGE!" Lydia was up again. This time she launched herself on top of me taking advantage of my distracted state. As she bared her teeth at me I wrestled with her, feeling my muscles ache despite my strength.
"BLAINE!" I called out again. "CUT THE BRIDGE!"
"NO!" Lydia seemed to have grasped my plan - she began to fight harder, realising what would happen if she didn't. Knowing I had to stop her for my family, I felt a surge of strength rush through me. Thrusting forward I sent her flying off me, almost through the gap the broken bridge side had created. She clung onto the rope and growled at me.
"BLAINE! DO IT!" I bellowed
"NO!" He replied. The pain in his voice was evident, like he was being tortured all over again. "SAM NO!"
"I'm gonna kill you…" Lydia said suddenly, her voice filling with hate, more hate than I had ever heard in my eighteen years of living. "Then I'm gonna kill your traitor boyfriend, then your stupid little sister. All…dead." She lunged forward one final time, fire in her eyes and her knife aimed at my heart. Taking one final look back at the people I loved, I lifted up my sword and sliced it through the remainder of the rope bridge.

For a second it was like we were flying. Everything in the world seemed to stop for a second. I couldn't even hear the screams of my group, the sound of the air rushing past my face. But I felt it. Gradually it became faster and faster, building in speed as the bridge separated and fell through the air towards the cliff wall. As the upper half of the rope hit the overhanging ledge and slowed us down slightly I braced myself and gripped tightly onto the rope, closing my eyes and feeling the impact as we smashed against it.

The pain shot through me, crushing the air out of my lungs and breaking several of my ribs in the process, the cracking sound like logs on a fire. With the intense shot of pain I was suddenly aware of everything else too - out of nowhere the space around me was a cacophony of noise. Blaine and Stacey were screaming across the other side of the cavern, both anguished in their own different kind of way. Sounds of horror were coming from my own mouth too, and as I looked upwards I saw Lydia equally disfigured. She had suffered slightly worse than I had, one of her knees sticking out at a funny angle where it had broken completely.
"AARGH!" She screamed in pain but still gripped onto the ladder tightly, one of her knives wedged in her right hand. I looked down at my own hands to see my sword pressed flat against the cliff face, the steel cutting into my skin. In contrast the pain was minimal.
"AAH!" Suddenly Lydia began to move. Using only her hands and her right leg, she began to drag herself slowly up the ladder, trying to climb it. We were a good ten rungs from the cliff edge. As blood from her wounds dripped down onto my face, I realised what her getting to the top would mean. Fighting through my own torturing pain, I found a grip on the ladder with my feet and began to climb. My sword was slick with sweat and blood and kept slipping out of my hand - struggling against the agony I turned my body and tried to slide it back into its holster. The first few times I missed, my brain struggling to focus against the pain and keeping hold of the ladder. I knew with every second wasted Lydia was closer to reaching the top and her friends. Eventually I thought I had a grip, when suddenly the sword slipped without me being able to react. I lurched out for it, sending the ladder swinging and Lydia screaming out again, but I missed. As it clanged down the side of the cliff face, into the abyss never to be seen again, I looked up above me and saw Lydia was only five rungs away.

Cursing my stupidity I turned my body back round and began to climb again. Even with four working limbs the work was exhausting, my body weight not helpful in this instance. Lydia seemed to be doing better but her leg was slowing her down. Willing myself to carry on I began to catch up, thinking all the time about who I was fighting for. When I was within touching distance I reached out my hand and grabbed hold of Lydia's foot. She shrieked and immediately began to kick, sending the whole bridge shaking.
"GET OFF ME!" Gritting my teeth I avoided her flailing leg, hauling myself up another rung so I was even closer. Lydia's face seemed panicked, her hands grasping for the next rung, only a few from the top now.
"TRIX! LINUS!" Suddenly the District 4 tributes appeared over the side of the cliff. Linus crouched down beside the beginning of the bridge, his cousin standing behind him.
"HELP ME!" Lydia screamed. As I looked up at Linus he smiled, gazing down at us like he was observing some kind of game, not two people fighting for their lives.
"WELL WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?" Lydia moved to grab the next rung with her hand, but suddenly another reached out to stop her. The District 1 girl's head snapped up, her eyes widening.
"Now why would I do that?" Linus was still smiling, his body leant over the edge of the cliff so his face was closer to that of his ally. "Look at you. You're injured, you're crazy - what use are you to me? To us?"
"I'M YOUR ALLY!" Lydia screamed in return, panicking now she realised what was about to happen.
"You were our ally. If you hadn't pulled that stunt on the bridge, we might have saved you. Now however…" I looked back across the ravine at my group, still seeing Blaine and Stacey in the distance and hearing their cries. Was this how I was to die? Falling from a rope bridge at the hand of a Career? What were Mother and Stevie thinking right now? Could they watch?
"Linus, don't do this!" Lydia pleaded, her anger fading as she tried desperately to save herself. She tried to climb up again but Linus smacked her hand away, making her scream as the bridge shuddered.
"It's a shame the Twelve boy has to die too." He continued, suddenly looking at me. "We could've used him." He smiled, his eyes narrowing so I saw the pure evil in his eyes, the realisation that he would stop at nothing to save his own life.
"Linus! Please! Help me!" The District 4 tribute turned to look at his comrades. They were smiling too, completely at ease.
"Shall I?" He asked. Trix nodded her head, glancing down at us and giving a little wave. Linus turned around and in one swift motion cut the end of the rope bridge.

The sound of Lydia's screams outshone any other noise that might of occurred, that I would ever hear again. As we fell through the air I suddenly felt the pain in my body disappear, replaced with a sensation that felt like relief. The Careers and the cliff face bolted away, melding into blackness so I closed my eyes and waited for the end to come.

My body smacked against something hard.