Covering myself with mud was, in the end, one kind of idea that made you feel that God interfere in your mind to save you. And I am not even sure if He truly exist.
All of this because in the afternoon of the eight day I finally saw another tribute.
I went to the pond as I did every day to fill my water bottles. Maybe it would have been smarter to continue moving, but this place gave me some feeling of being safe. It was somewhere I already know. I spent the last few days looking around the area. I even made small traps, well, they were more like alarm circuit. There wasn't enough rope to sacrifice to it, unless I wanted to sleep on the ground and the vegetation was not good enough for being a substitute. But I grabbed some dry leaves and sticks so that anything that approaches me made some sound, nothing too obvious unless you are looking for it. Hopefully it would give me enough time to hide or run away. Maybe this is why they let me in peace for so long.
There were only nine tributes left. Everyone from 1 and 8, the girls from 2 and 3 and the boys from 7 and 9. And me. It is more than I thought it would be. But not enough for me to think that there is going to be a longer Game. It looks more like that there is something that the gamemakers are planning to. Everyone saw the fishes. It has been three days and the water are still stained red out of blood. Every tribute knows that we shouldn't get to there. Even if we hadn't saw what happened.
The only thing good is that we are one career down. I imagine that was him at the waterfall. It is too early for them to separate and there were not two sounds close so it was hard to imagine one of them died because of another tribute and they escape alive.
My southeast trap made a sound. It was subtle. Nothing really out of place. Unless you consider that this is a really quiet forest so the sound travels fast.
I ran to the north, the tree I wanted already clear in my mind when I listen to their screaming.
"There! We found her! Come on!" A boy's voice was heard. I didn't turn to look. But the thought of being more than one tribute almost made cry. I could fool myself thinking that maybe I could take out one person if I used my knives, but two? Or three? I am not that naïve.
The voice is distant, but it barely gave me time to climb my tree before they arrive. It is a couple. From 8 if I am not wrong. The boy and the girl look worn out and gaunter than they were before. But everyone lost weight in the arena. I know this myself when I feel how my ribs stick out way more than before. They also have a scythe, it seems like it is the only weapon they have, but the fact that is stained with blood doesn't give me much confidence.
"Hey, little girl. Get down now! We just want to kill you." I can't hide my confusing. Is he serious? I knew people lost their minds in the arena, but I did not expect it was like this. Did he really expect me to get down when he obvious said that he is going to murder me? And how could he talk about assassination so casually in live television?
"Nettle! You can't talk to her like that." Well, at least someone from district 8 is still sane. "Hello, you know we really want to go home so if you get down, we promise to make it as quick and fast as possible, way different than those guys from 1 and 2." Or maybe not.
I can't believe it.
I watched countless times the Games. I thought I saw everything, but this? I am twelve, I look even younger, so they are asking for a child to go down to her own grave.
The boy, Nettle, seemed to think my silence was acceptance.
"Yes, yes. If we kill you, we might get some sponsor and that could make us win! Better us than a career, right?" He gives me what was supposed to be a bright smile. It looked maniac.
I tilt my head to the side. This time pretending confusion instead of actually feeling it.
"I don't know. I really want to go home. And see mom and dad, and Chloe and Harper and James and Will and Chris and Charlie." I bit my lip before clapping my hands and smiling. "Oh! I had a perfect idea!" Both of them look up to me, the girl is even smiling slightly, as an older sister that is caring for her little sibling. As if she had not just asked me to kill myself. "You two can kill each other! This way everyone gets what they want! I am closer to go home and you two can end someone live!"
My smile grows even wider as I see the anger in the boy's face and the smile of the girl disappear.
"You, bitch. We tried to be nice! Now I am going to cut your body into tiny pieces." Shouted Nettle.
"You should had been smarter." Yes, I should. I am on top of a tree with nowhere to run and only five small knives on my hand that I barely know how to use it. They may only have one weapon and be a little bit more worn out than me. But one day I would need to come down. Even if the gamemakers didn't force me, hunger would make me. My water bottles are full and I have enough food for two maybe three days. I doubt they are going to let me stay here for so long. And the couple from 8 is loud. Soon they will attract attention. The other tributes are going to stay away, but the careers are going to be drown as moths to the light. And then Silver is going to kill me with her bow. My hands start to tremble. I close them in fists so the two can't see it. I am breaking apart, but I will not let it show. Not while I can still handle it. "Sooner or later, you are going to…"
A loud howl cut her. It didn't sound like a normal wolf and I could already hear the sound of destruction it was making.
For a moment we three forgot that they were trying to kill me as we look around in panic. It was too loud. It seemed to be alone and maybe if this was not an arena of the Hunger Games, we could beat this creature. But it is. And I am sure that whatever did that sound it is not something that it's found in nature.
They set free another mutt. One that is coming in our direction.
Nettle and his district partner start to run in the opposite direction. All thoughts of killing me totally forgotten in face of survival. I climb higher than I had ever did before until the branches are too thin to hold my weight. There is not time get down, and even if there was and by some chance, I am able to escape this monster it would leave me with District 8.
I just hope that it can't climb.
From the top of my tree, I get the perfect vision of the mutt.
In the world of before I never met a wolf, but there were pictures on the internet. I remember thinking they were beautiful and way bigger than the tiny dogs I used to see around. In this life I am used to bigger animals, but this thing won over all of them.
It had the body of a wolf, only to be almost three meters long, with fangs sharper than daggers and claws that seemed they were able to rip skin and bones apart as easily as I tore a piece of paper, the fur covering the paws and snout was already dripping blood.
Before I could capture his entire body in my mind it had already move.
The whole scene must have been five minutes long at most. However, at the moment it didn't feel like it.
I watched all paralyzed as that thing jump into that girl and rip her leg out. Nettle did not even look back and kept running while she screamed for help in pain. But it did not matter. The creature seemed somehow intelligent and when it saw that the girl would not be able to escape, it changes target.
I don't think even if I reincarnate again I will able to forget this scene and most of all the screams. Because the mutt tore each member they had apart while they were still alive. At some point the screams of pain turn up into pleas. They end up begging for someone or something to make it stop, even if it means to kill them.
My heart remember it had to beat when it stopped, only to skip a beat a second later. The mutt put his snout in the air and start to sniff its next prey.
My trembling hand tighten the grip on my knife. Maybe it would be better if I end things here myself. I never thought too deeply into suicide, but it was better than what happen to the kids from 8. My family and Sunshine are watching. I think this is worse than what happen to Emilia. For her it was quick, no more than 10 minutes into the game. It did not give her family hope, and for better or worst Gloss turned out to be a great killer. It was clean. This is not going to be. I can't even fight it. My little knives won't even dig into its fur. What should I do?
It turns its gigantic head in my direction and I don't dare to move a muscle because it may be my only chance of survival, after all it doesn't have eyes. For a minute I glare into those empty orbs until it finally turns around and leave.
It took me an entire day to get of that tree, in part because of the fear and in part because my body was shaking so much I couldn't trust myself to get down. It would be tragicomic if I died falling from a tree when I survive two people trying to kill me and a mutt.
I am too close to the remains of the tributes for the hovercraft come to pick them up. This may have been good. Normally the careers will come to the direction they saw someone was kill in order to murder whoever was left, I will need to run and hide as fast as I can soon. But first…
If anyone had asked me before I would say I was better than this, than examinate the bodies to see if I could find something useful. I guess this is part of the human nature. We like to think that doesn't matter the circumstances we will do the right thing. And maybe before I would never do it. However, know my survival may depend on whatever I can dig out of this bloody mess. There is no longer something that is recognizable as human with all bones crushed and the flesh lacerated, if I hadn't saw it happen on my front, I wouldn't have been able to guess which tribute it was.
I can't imagine how their parents must felt. Are they crying right now? Or it is too late in the night for the outside world? The arena took away my sense of time. Maybe this is going to be show as a highlight tomorrow morning with close up and all the horrific details.
I try to stop myself from vomit, but the nausea is too strong. I shouldn't throw up, food is precious and scarce, I can't give myself the luxury to waste. It is useless, I puke everything that I had on my stomach until I ended up with the bile. They are the first death I saw in real live. Not like the bloodbath that I only listen to the screams or the tribute in the waterfall that I only saw the remains.
This can be me soon.
I need to find a way to win this game. Anyway. I may regret later, but regret is a problem for the living. And is better than the other alternative.