Day 2: Come Away to the Slaughter, Chapter 9
I woke up to the sound of birds singing. As I stretched and yawned, my stiff back aching, I realized that the birds were Mockingjays.
We had some of them back in the woods in District 7. Whenever I went with my father to chop down trees, I'd hear them singing up in the treetops, their melodic voices in chorus. I'd smile and my father would tell me all about Mockingjays and how they came to be.
It was wonderful.
I blinked my eyes a few times and looked down. Karis was sleeping peacefully, curled up on the branch directly below me. Realizing that Jessica was with us, I climbed the tree to wake her up.
Her branch was empty. She had taken the spear. The backpack was half-empty, with all of the food gone. The jacket was gone too, and so were some of the medicines. But we still had our rope, some water, a blanket, and matches. Hopefully, that would keep us alive for now.
In a fury, I climbed down to Karis's branch. "Karis. Karis!" I whispered as I shook her awake.
"Hmmm?" She mumbled, her eyelids fluttering slightly.
"Karis, Jessica's gone! She took our supplies and the spear, and left! She tricked us!"
Karis was up and awake now. "What? But… but that's impossible!"
"Apparently not for her," I said grimly.
We were both angry now. A child, a simpleminded child of only 12 had tricked us! And we had fallen for it.
"Well," I began, "We can't dwell on it too long. We have to keep moving."
Karis nodded. We climbed out of the tree and began to walk, looking for water along the way. A few hours into our walking, we found a small pond with ice-cold water. Karis and I both happily bathed and washed ourselves, and filled our water bottles to the brim. We gulped in mouthfuls of water and splashed around, then sat and dried off. Our thirst satiated but our stomachs still grumbling with hunger, I retied my hair and Karis checked over our remaining supplies before we set off. I held my axe tightly in my hand, gripping it so hard that my palms began to sweat. Karis gripped her knife.
We were walking along and suddenly, something darted through the thick foliage in front of us. It was another tribute, I was sure of it!
"Tribute," I mouthed to Karis. She nodded and crouched down. I did the same, and we peered through the brush.
We caught a glimpse of who it was. It was the small District 6 boy, Darren Hills, who had miraculously made it this far. The poor kid must have endured so much in order to get this far.
What were we supposed to do now? Did we really have the courage, the sickness, the need to win, was it enough to kill him? He was so small! Just a child. Could we really kill him?
But we never found out. Because seconds later, Sasha Rhine, the District 3 girl tribute, came crashing through the woods, a sword in her hands. Poor little Darren didn't stand a chance. All he had was a slingshot.
We watched him silently slaughtered. He refused to scream, or cry. He let Sasha torture him before finally delivering the killing blow.
First, Sasha grabbed him, sword pressed against his neck. She cackled evilly before stabbing the sword through his cheek, making a ragged hole in his mouth. Blood poured out of his wound, but he refused to move or show pain. He simply sat, letting her slowly kill him.
Next, she slowly sliced off one of his ears. And then, his arm. Then, she slowly drilled a hole through Darren's stomach.
After all of that, he was still breathing. And finally, Sasha grinned and pushed the sword through his neck.
Boom!
My heart dropped in my chest. Here Karis and I were, watching a twelve-year-old being tortured to death, having to suffer every moment at the hands of a cold-hearted killer.
And there was nothing we could do.
My sadness was replaced with anger. Sasha Rhine. She thought she could torture a twelve-year-old? Torture him to death?
No.
I positioned my axe behind me as Sasha checked Darren for supplies. I slowly began to drag myself out of the brush and stood up.
"What are you doing? Stop!" Karis hissed, trying to pull me back. But I shook her off and positioned my arm.
Sasha Rhine had enough time to turn towards me, her mouth open in shock, before my axe flew into her chest.
She lurched backwards, falling onto the ground. Her eyes were now lifeless. In a way, it gave me satisfaction. The predator became the prey.
The cannon sounded again. Boom! Another two tributes dead today. Who was next?
I went over to Sasha and took my bloodied axe out of her chest, wiping it on my shirt to rid it of fresh blood. I wrinkled my nose in disgust, then turned to Sasha's hand. A sword. I freed it from her grip and gave it to Karis, whose features immediately lit up. She slid her knife into her belt and grabbed the sword, balancing it in her hands. She smiled.
"Thanks, Asher," she said. I grinned back.
I slowly and gently moved Darren's and Sasha's bodies away from Karis and I, giving them both a once-over. Sasha had had only the sword, and Darren just had his slingshot, which was of no use to us. We left them and walked away so that the hovercraft could retrieve them.
Karis and I walked away together, glancing at the sky. It was growing dark, and the Capitol anthem would be coming on soon. We looked for a tree until we found a sturdy one, and then we climbed. We laid in it together until a high-pitched squeal echoed through the Arena and another cannon sounded. I perked up, and looked around. Listening intently, I heard faint laughter. The Careers.
Looked as though they had found their most recent target.
The Capitol anthem came on right after a hovercraft had materialized to pick up the body of the dead tribute. They played the trumpeting music, and then showed the faces of the dead.
Of course, there was Sasha Rhine from District 3, and then Darren Hills from District 6. And last of all was annoying little Mary-Grace Hodnett from District 10.
It upset me a bit to know that Felix was still out there and alive.
I'd hunt him. I was finished with being weak prey. From now on, I'd be the hunter.
And I wanted to find Felix and kill him.
Only one more dead tribute until the Feast, I thought to myself as I dozed away next to Karis on our tree branch. Only one more tribute.
DEAD:
The Bloodbath:
-District 3 male: Cordin Smith
-District 4 female: Charlotte Parks
-District 5 male: Viktor Murr
-District 6 female: Ciara Morris
-District 8 male: Brendan Corwin
-District 8 female: Peggy Lynn
-District 9 male: Ian Stork
-District 9 female: Maria Lancer
-District 11 male: Andrew Larr
-District 11 female: Leila Shard
Day 1:
-District 2 male: Lander Kavis
-District 4 male: Allan Viper
-District 12 female: Shing Curren
Day 2:
-District 3 female: Sasha Rhine
-District 6 male: Darren Hills
-District 10 female: Mary-Grace Hodnett
TOTAL OF DEAD: 16 TRIBUTES
ALIVE:
After Day 1:
-District 1 male: Ripper Vinard
-District 1 female: Faith Mortemer
-District 2 female: Karis Montfort
-District 5 female: Jessica Lerva
-District 7 male: Felix Jameson
-District 7 female: Asher Mills
-District 10 male: Roran Cooper
-District 12 male: Jack Shan
TOTAL OF ALIVE: 8