Chapter 29.- Silver Bellcreek
I had to fight really hard to not throw up after Glow killed Keek. The way she screamed, and then crumpled afterwards- I'm never going to get rid of that picture in my head. We stop hunting the other tributes halfway through the night and go back to camp where Lar was standing watch. I knew I wasn't going to sleep so I volunteered to stand watch while the others slept. It got pretty chilly, and I started envying the others in the tents, well protected inside the Cornucopia. It wasn't too bad for me, actually, since I had a sleeping bag to curl up in while I watched for tributes. I knew no one was going to come, since no one would be that stupid.
I stood watch until dawn, when I went and had a nap. "Hey, Silver," Lar says. He's pretty tall for a thirteen year old, and he's not a bad ally. "Yeah, Lar?" "Let's go hunt some food." "Okay," I say and get up. I grab my bow and follow Lar into the woods. "You know, Silver, we're going to need to find water soon," he says over his shoulder. "We still have five water bottles up at the Cornucopia," I answer. "And there's five of us and it's a hot day," he says in a condescending voice. I cross my arms, not liking his tone. "Now hush it Silver or we'll never get anything to eat."
It takes an hour or two but the two of us get several small plump birds and a good sized rabbit for our troubles. Somewhat satisfied with our kills we head back to camp. Out of the corner of my eye I see a flash of red hair disappearing behind a tree. Violet. I say nothing to Lar; I don't need that girl's blood on my hands. I see no one else until we reach the Cornucopia, where Glow is tending the fire, Beade is reclining on a pile of blankets, and Curia is throwing knives at the sun hot Cornucopia. The gold is so warm the knives stick.
Beade leaps up and grabs the birds from my hands. "They'll make a good meal," she says, smiling. Curia pulls her latest knife from the side of the Cornucopia and comes over to join us. "I'll gut the creature," she says and starts on the rabbit. As she starts to skin it she laughs harshly. "Not too different from that District 3 girl last night," she says. I say nothing. "Looking a bit green there 1," she says, dumping the insides of the rabbit out. I grit my teeth. "I'm fine, Curia. Just fine." She cocks her head at me and says, "Oh? Then you can kill the next tribute we find. Or are you too weak to be in our alliance?" She brandishes her knife, and I know she means to kill me. I laugh weakly and hope it doesn't sound too forced. "It's a deal, Curia. The only reason I was so ill last night was because I was still in a bit of shock from the beginning of the games. I'm not really that weak." She looks at me suspiciously then says, "That's a good thing, Silver."
We get the birds and rabbit on a spit and they start to smell very delicious. Glow laughs all of a sudden. "Let's put out a trap, so that maybe one of the idiot tributes will come and Silver can show what she's made of." The others agree, but my insides turn to ice. Yet I go along with it and find myself hidden in a tree with a knife while the others hide in the Cornucopia. The birds are still roasting, giving off a wonderful smell. And we wait. And we don't actually have to wait long before someone comes. I look down at him, and it's the District 5 boy, Violet's partner. He really mustn't be very bright, because he takes one look around to see if anyone's there, then he runs out and starts to grab the spit.
He never makes it. Glow leaps out and grabs him; he's much bigger than the District 5 boy. Curia laughs menacingly. Beade leans up against the wall of the Cornucopia, watching; Lar circles around. "Come out Silver!" Curia says in a mocking voice. "Come out and prove yourself!" I drop down from the tree and walk towards Glow and the boy, knife outstretched. The fear in his face knots my stomach, but I can't do anything about it. Here it's a kill or be killed environment. I get a better grip on the knife, turn it once, twice over in my palm. "Get it over with, Silver," Beade calls. I look the 5 boy square in the eyes. And then I stab him in the stomach.
Curia looks actually surprised as I step back, my knife bloody. Glow's let the boy crumple to the ground, a dark stain spreading over his front. My thoughts are screaming, but I can't let it show, I can't let it show. "Well well, 1. So you had it in you," Curia says. She looks down at the boy, shaking on the ground. "Why don't you finish him off?" She smiles devilishly at me. In what I hope is a strong voice I ask her, "Any preferences on how I should do it?" She considers the boy for a minute then says, "Slit his throat."
I kneel down next to the quaking boy. And I draw my knife from one ear to the other. It takes only a minute for the cannon to go. I hold back my tears and everything I'm feeling. Beade comes and takes me by the arm. "Well done, Silver," she says. "Come on, let's go eat that way, so the hovercraft can come pick him up," Lar says, picking up the now roasted meat. I don't look back at the boy, his life bleeding out on the ground. But oh, I know that I won't ever forget, won't ever forgive myself for what I've done. And all I can think is that this makes two boys I've killed and it's only the second day.