Haber Dasher, District Eight- 17
When the platforms raised I scanned the circle, picking out one ally after another. Yasmine was right next to me. Elara came next at two platforms to Yasmine's right. Myrtle and Dominique stood next to each other seven and eight platforms to my left. The others were hidden behind the Cornucopia. Dominique signaled to someone I couldn't see.
Everything worked smoothly in the Bloodbath. Dominique, the sprinter, ran in for supplies as Myrtle and I watched her back. We even got a kill in when Whyte went after Emmeline and Elara ran in to help her. I joined in and we managed to pull him off her and throw him on his back. He landed on a piece of wood sticking up from the ground and it went right through him. We all beat a hasty retreat when Vera screeched and ran at us. Five people died in the Bloodbath. Only one woman, I might add. Because girls look out for each other while boys just want to kill.
When my alliance killed, we had a reason. It wasn't the same when women fought back against men. Men murdered women just because they could. My alliance killed to stay alive. We made our plans carefully and when we got things done. Our first victim- no, our first target- was Jay Dallas. Later he was the only one I felt bad about. Myrtle pretended to be wounded while I sat guard with the bow Emmeline built. When Jay came to kill Myrtle I shot him in the head. Later, when I saw the tapes, it looked a lot like he was coming to help her. But I couldn't be blamed. No one would expect a man to help someone.
Sky was the one that really gave us our big break. She'd declined to join our alliance and that was a pity. I would have loved to have seen what she and Emmeline would have cooked up. But all on her own Sky blew up almost all the Careers in one glorious firebomb. It was a shame Priscilla reached her and killed her before she bled out. By that time my alliance was down to me, Emmeline and Elara.
Naturally it was Emmeline who made our final plan. She was our biggest asset and one of the most amazing women I'd ever known. We spent days digging through the garbage to find all the things she needed. I watched in awe as she knitted them together into something I never would have dreamed someone would use in the Games. She flipped a lever and a gout of fire shot out of our homemade flamethrower.
It made me sick to see Rapture coming our way. Again we'd gone with the same ploy. Elara was standing in a clearing pretending to be looking for supplies. Emmeline was in position to engage when Rapture came into range and I was standing watch in case he tried to sneak up on us. But he came in proud and open, swaggering in that disgusting way men do to show how much they think they own the world. I wondered how many women he'd killed. We would make sure every one of them got vengeance.
Rapture attacked. He ran in at Elara, who held back her reaction until he was almost on top of her. At the last possible second she threw herself flat on the ground. Emmeline emerged from her cover and triggered her device. A glorious pillar of flame lapped out like a tongue and engulfed Rapture. It was gratifying to hear him scream. He was getting what he had coming to him.
As Rapture flailed, beating vainly at the flames covering him, his arm arced out. I didn't have time to see the tube get severed before the flamethrower exploded. It was like a bomb had gone off. A mushroom-shaped cloud wafted into the sky. Even at my perch on top of a hill of garbage I felt heat fan across my face. I knew before I even saw the charred corpses that I was now alone in the Arena. Just like a man, I thought bitterly. Just like a man to take two women with him.