Chapter 12

I heard no more canons that day, nor the next night. There were only three of us in the arena and it just didn't seem like it was ever going to end. Part of me was angry at Jasper for taking so long to get rid of the district 4 girl. What was she, magical? How come no one had managed to kill the weakling yet? I wanted these stupid games to be over.

The more I thought about my final confrontation with Jasper, the more my heart seemed to stop. I couldn't comprehend killing another person. It seemed ridiculous that I had gotten to this point in the games and not actually killed anyone. The arena had definitely ruled this games and it had been a harsh rule, indeed. I suppose the capitol meant something by it, but I was at the stage that I didn't care.

My eyes were sore from looking at the bright reflections of the sun on the water. My muscles were exhausted from keeping me afloat. My ears were tired from listening for the smallest sound, hoping for nothing, but straining for anything. I rested my head on my little boat after eating the last of my food. I wished the stupid games would just hurry up and finish.

That was when I saw her, the girl from district 4, and I realised exactly why Jasper hadn't found her. She was swimming, or, more floating on her back, looking quite peaceful. There was no flotation gear anywhere near her, but from the looks of her suit, she had stuffed supplies down there too. Jasper hadn't found her because she was almost impossible to see in the water.

She almost seemed to not be breathing, her eyes were closed and I got to have a good look at her. She was pale and sunburnt. Her red hair was long and luxurious, and it swum out behind her. She probably wasn't a fisherman like most of them from 4 were. Her build was not muscular but not particularly slight either and it seemed to have an unnatural ability to float as she made barely perceptible movements with her hands that propelled her.

I pulled out a dagger, if Jasper wasn't good enough to kill her, I would have to do it. Anything to make these games finish.

She reached the bottom of my boat and her head touched it lightly. I raised my arm. Her eyes flew open and I saw my reflection staring back at me in the pupils.

She didn't scream, for which I was grateful. She just looked at me as though I was something vaguely curious. Her eyes were a brilliant blue, although it could have just been the sky above us reflected in them.

I found myself lowering my arm and putting the dagger away. I didn't know why, what was I doing? I had my chance and I couldn't take it. The girl sat up in the water and looked at me straight on.

I found myself offering her a spot on the boat and helping her clamber on. She immediately lay down, exhausted and placed her head on my leg, falling asleep straight away.

I just sat in shock. I looked down at her. Why couldn't I kill her? Part of my mind whispered that it was because I didn't have it in me to kill anyone. But it was more than that. I looked down at this girl. She looked about sixteen, younger than me.

Then it struck me. This girl was basically a child. She hadn't spoken a word since seeing her fellow district member dying at the cornucopia. Lying here, on the lap of a person who would probably kill her, she was just a child. She was confused and trusting and not understanding anything about where she was. I couldn't kill a child.

Now what was I supposed to do? I could feel the capitol citizens egging me on, telling me to kill her on the other side of the screen. I could feel the citizens of district one, egging me on to kill her so that it was an assured district one win. I could feel the district 4 people, probably egging me on too; no one wants a disabled victor. Every now and again, a victor was so changed by their experience that they became a liability. This was the case here. They would want her dead.

But watching was not the same as doing. I couldn't just kill an innocent girl. Jasper was a different matter. He had killed people and would kill me; there was no innocence there. This girl was different. I wondered how the other careers could possibly have killed all of those children from the lesser districts.

"Survival", came my answer and I wondered if I would have to make the same decision. Most of me was just hoping that Jasper would somehow kill her and I would kill him. Even better, they would kill each other whilst I had a nice sleep. A victor with no blood on their hands… that would be something.

I let the girl sleep and when she finally awoke, I gave her water. Part of my brain still screamed at me to just kill her, but I pushed it aside. I knew that I couldn't so there was no point in arguing about it. Instead, I let her sleep and kept an eye on the horizon, hoping that Jasper would just drown somewhere and then I would be completely in control of these games. I wondered whether they would somehow let both this girl and myself win. She was obviously handicapped; surely they couldn't just kill a handicapped girl. No, I corrected myself, they wouldn't. I would. I pushed the thought aside; it was too horrible.

When the girl was completely awake, I tried to talk to her.

"Are you okay?" I started off with. She nodded. I felt pleased with myself.

"Do you have any food?" I asked. She shook her head.

"What is in your suit?" I asked suspiciously. She smiled, seeming to think that I was taking an interest in her. Like a proud child she reached into her suit and pulled out her treasures. There was the hilt of a broken dagger, a scrap of material that had a similar feel to our suits, a bottle top, a bit of broken rope and a rock. She really was crazy. She showed them each to me as though they were the most precious things she had ever seen and I wondered whether she remembered anything before the games. The District Four girl put the treasures back carefully. I had to stop calling her that.

"My name is Allure." I said kindly. "What's yours?" She looked at me blankly. I touched my chest. "Allure." I said and then pointed to her. She looked at me shyly.

"Annie." She said quietly.

"Nice to meet you Annie." I said, feeling that getting her to talk was a victory and settling back. It was nice to meet her; it was just a shame where it had taken place.