I had to run.
I held onto Alto's hand as we sprinted through the woods.
We'd travelled for days, and we were decidedly worse for wear. First we went travelled on the hovercraft I stole from my father, and then by the train we managed to sneak on. All of these got us to District 12, where we waited until night-fall. At nightfall we snuck out and across the dishevelled district to the forest I had heard the driver talk about.
That was terrifying enough as it is, but then we had to spend the night in the forest. I was terrified, but Alto kept his hand on mine the entire night. In the morning we were hungry as well as on the run, so we searched around for game, not that we really knew how to pick it up. We did find a snare with a rabbit, and we took the rabbit and ate it over the fire Alto finally got started. I snuggled up to him, and he stroked my hair.
I don't know why no-one understood why I loved him. He was Avox, and I was the daughter of a Gamemaker. He served me food, and I ignored him, until that night.
I was watching the Hunger Games with my family; I supported Rye, a tiny girl from 9. She was in the final 7. Suddenly, Mila from 1 leapt out and started slamming her tiny face against a rock. I cried and ran to my room, with my dad talking about how weak I was, it's not like it's real people. I lay there, crying until he entered, Alto. He stood there, and smiled. He wrote me a note telling me that the games werecruel.
Two weeks late was when I kissed him and gave him a note with one word on it. 'Escape'. Then we did. We're trying to get to 13. Alto overheard about it from the District 12 mentor. He overhears a lot as an Avox.
But now we are running. We heard a hovercraft overhead, and instead of hiding in the under-bush, we had started running. Stupid. It's my fault we ran. I panicked.
We jump over fallen logs, through nettles and poison ivy, his hand still clasped firmly in mine. I see the hovercraft falling behind, we're escaping, we're escaping…
I turn, and to my surprise I see a girl and a boy, looking worried. 'Help Me!' I mouth. But they stay where they are. Anger shoots through me.
A jerk wrenches Alto from my grasp. I turn and scream.
He's hanging dead from a spear.
No he isn't.
He can't be.
HE CAN'T BE!
A net falls on me, and I struggle to escape,
I need to get to Alto,
I need to get to Alto.
As the net pulls up,
I catch the girl's eyes.
She looks horrified.
"I LOVE YOU ALTO!" I scream out through the net's gaps.
Those words were the last I managed to say.
