The Seventieth Hunger Games chapter 6
Hey guys! I know, I know. I'm sorry, I've taken so long to get another chapter out. Please don't yell at me. I know. I'm sorry. I've been working on a lot of new stuff that will come out in the near future. Stay tuned. Anyway, let's just get on with the chapter.
Lily's POV:
Mal and I ran until we literally collapsed on the ground from exhaustion.
"If they're still chasing us, let them come. I can't run anymore," Mal grumbled.
"Agreed," I said.
They weren't chasing us anymore. We'd finally lost them.
"Nice trick you pulled back there, with Colleen. You probably saved us," Mal commented.
"I just knew I had to do something," I replied.
We'd ended up in a clearing in the middle of the forest. We could see the sky clearly from where we were laying in the grass. The clearing was probably twenty feet across.
"I can't move," Mal said.
"Me neither," I replied.
"Let's just watch the fallen and not move then."
"Sounds good."
The anthem started and the faces of the fallen flashed across the sky. Both from two, Grover from four, both from eleven. The light in the sky faded and all was dark.
"Just eight of us left," Mal said. "The numbers getting down there now."
"Yeah. One of us will get to go home soon," I said.
"Yeah. Get some sleep. I'll take first watch."
"No. You took first watch last night."
"It's really okay. I like protecting you. You remind me of my little sister."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. Get some sleep."
I frowned at her, but shrugged and turned over, falling asleep almost immediately.
I woke up to Mal shaking my shoulder.
"Wake up. We should get going," Mal said. I sat up and grabbed my backpack, standing. "Okay."
Mal and I walked for most of the morning, looking for the Careers camp. We needed to get water now, or this wasn't going to work out well.
After an entire morning of walking around and not finding it, Mal and I sat down on a rock to take a break.
"We've been looking all morning. Where the hell is the stupid camp?" Mal said.
"I have no idea. How big is this arena?" I said.
"Maybe they don't have a real camp. Maybe they're just carrying all their stuff with them," Mal said.
"No. Remember yesterday? They weren't carrying anything other than weapons. They have to have a camp somewhere and-"
Then I figured it out and slapped my forehead. "God, we're idiots!"
"What?" Mal asked.
"The Careers always hoard all the good supplies, right? And where do all the good supplies come from? Why would they move it if they don't have to? It's the Cornucopia."
"Ha, you're a genius. How did we not think of that before?"
"I blame heat exhaustion."
"That works. Come on. Let's go to the Cornucopia."
That's exactly where we went. Mal and I hid in the bushes, watching the Cornucopia. Zarah and, surprisingly, Ethan were guarding the thing. So, Ethan joined them. Doesn't want allies, my ass.
"Oh, that little traitor," I muttered.
"What's wrong?" Mal asked.
"The boy, Ethan, he's my district partner," I grumbled.
"What's he doing with them?" Mal said.
"I have no idea, but it doesn't matter. What's the plan?"
The plan was for Mal to fire an arrow into the bushes across the field as a distraction. Then, we would just have to run and grab as much as we can before they get back to kill us. They—No, Zarah might be a good fighter, but neither of them have a long-range weapon and Mal does. I like our odds.
Mal fired her arrow into the far bushes. As planned, both Zarah and Ethan ran off into the woods to see what that was. They didn't even see the arrow being fired. I mean, that's what we were hoping for, but still. Mal and I bolted from the bushes and toward the Cornucopia. Thankfully, there were a few jugs of water at the very entrance of the Cornucopia. But we barely had enough time to grab them, because Zarah and Ethan caught on fast and they were running back to the Cornucopia. I grabbed whatever was closest, which was only a jug of water and a set of throwing knives. I'm not the best shot, but it couldn't hurt to have another weapon. "Come on, go!" Mal said. I grabbed the stuff and started to run. Only when I got several feet away, did I notice that Mal wasn't next to me. I whirled around in time to see Zarah stab Mal through the stomach.
"That's for Grover," Zarah hissed.
"No!" I screamed.
Mal collapsed on the ground, blood soaking her shirt. I couldn't see her face, but I could see the blood starting to spread to the back of her shirt. Zarah looked at me and started to run towards me, but Ethan grabbed her arm and stopped her.
"She's not worth it. Come on. Let's go find Alec and Tatia," Ethan said.
Zarah glared at me with a murderous expression on her face, but she turned and followed Ethan back into the woods.
As soon as they were gone, I ran to Mal and dropped down next to her, turning her over to that I could see her face. Her eyes fluttered opened and she looked up at me.
"Mal," I said.
"Go. Go, please. They'll kill you," Mal said. Her breathing was labored and ragged.
"No, no. I'm not leaving you," I said as tears started to fill my eyes.
"Please go. I don't want you to see me die," Mal coughed, struggling to breath. Her eyes were starting to close.
"Mal, no! Please don't leave me," I sobbed.
"Listen, I need you to win, okay? Someone good needs to win for once. Go back to your little brother."
"No, no. Don't leave me!"
"It's okay. Nobody needs me now. Win for your little brother, okay? Good luck, Lily." Her eyes closed.
"No! No, Mal please don't leave me. Don't go, please!" I broke down in tears as Mal's cannon boomed.
I stayed there crying for a long time. When I looked up again, I could see the sun setting over the beach in the distance. I looked down at Mal's body one more time and gently closed her eyes. I know I need to go. I need to do this alone. Maybe it's better like this. This way, it won't ever come down to just Mal and me. Finally, I stood up, shoved the throwing knives and jug of water in my bag and looked around the woods. The Careers weren't back yet. I don't know where they are, but as long as they're not killing me, I'm happy. Well, not exactly happy, but safe, I guess. I gave Mal one more look and started walking off towards the woods.
After spending half the evening walking around aimlessly, I ended up in the clearing that Mal and I camped in last night. I guess this is as good a place as any to camp again. It was dusk now. A dusty purple light was all that was left. I set my stuff down in the grass and drank some much-needed water. I was so lost in thought; I didn't even notice the other person enter the clearing.
"Hey."
I was on my feet with three throwing knives in my hand in a second. But I didn't expect it to be who it was. Ethan.
"What the hell do you want?" I said, holding the knives threateningly.
"Don't shoot. I-I-I come in peace."
"Why should I believe that? Your little friend killed Mal. You might have helped her for all I know!"
"All I did, was stop her from killing you too. You're welcome, by the way."
"I didn't want your help."
"But you needed it. I saw the look on your face. You weren't in any state-of-mind to fight."
"Alright, just tell me why you're here."
"I want to make an alliance."
"Fat chance. You're probably just here to kill me for your career buddies."
"No, I'm serious. They're angry that I stopped Zarah from killing you. They were gonna kill me. I ran. I know you don't trust me, but, look, I'm not armed. You can kill me if you want, but I'm telling the truth."
I stared at him. I could kill him and get it over with, but…. Something in his face told me he was being genuine. Slowly, I lowered my knives.
"Fine. Allies."
"Thank you."
I sat back down in the grass, and Ethan joined me, staying a couple of feet away.
"Are you okay?" Ethan asked.
"What do you mean?"
"That girl that Zarah killed. She was your friend, wasn't she?" I pursed my lips.
"So now you want to talk to me? You've changed your tune since training."
"I know I was an ass to you and I'm sorry. I thought if I didn't make friends or anything, it would be easier to kill people. But I was wrong. I haven't made one kill yet. I don't even know why the Careers kept me around this long."
"Right. Well, we're getting down to the last few people. The Gamemakers will try to get us all together for the final battle soon. I wonder how this will all turn out."
"With both of us dead, most likely."
"Okay, Mr. Optimist."
We stopped talking when the anthem started. There was only one death today. Mal's. The light from the sky disappeared and we were left in darkness.
"I'm sorry about your friend," Ethan said.
"Yeah. Thanks. You sleep. I'll take first watch."
"Why? Because you don't trust me?"
"Pretty much."
"Fair enough."
Ethan turned over and went to sleep. I didn't trust him enough to wake him up so I could sleep. It doesn't really matter anyway. There's no point in sleeping if we all might be dead tomorrow. I just watch the stars and try not to think about Mal. I want to survive this for her now, as well as Peeta. And if I get the chance, I'm going to kill Zarah. She deserves it. When the sun started to peak of the horizon, a voice boomed through the arena.
"All Tributes, please report to the Cornucopia tonight for the final battle."
Great. Might as well stay here until then. I reached over and shook Ethan's shoulder until he woke up, which he did after a couple of minutes.
"What?" Ethan said.
"Final battle tonight at the Cornucopia," I replied.
"Oh, wonderful."
Two cannons boomed and a scream echoed through the clearing. Running footsteps could be heard in the woods, headed our way.
"Careers. Let's go!" Ethan said.
I grabbed my bag, which held all of our stuff while Ethan grabbed the hunting knife and we bolted into the woods.
As we entered another clearing and stopped to see if they were still following us, the three Careers stepped out of the woods, facing us and smirking.
"Well, well, well," Alec said. "If it isn't the girl who killed Colleen. Where's your little friend? Oh, right. Zarah ran her through." I grit my teeth but didn't respond.
"Oh, Ethan, what are you doing with her? Damn. I was hoping to keep you around. You're cute. It's too bad we have to kill you," Tatia simpered.
"The final battle isn't till tonight," Ethan snapped.
"Why wait? We can finish this now. I'll be the Victor, and claim my riches," Alec gloated.
"Who said you were going to be the Victor?" Tatia asked.
"Shut up. Let's get them," Zarah said. "I already killed the other one. I want a shot at this one."
Ethan grabbed my arm and we started to run again. We managed to lose them, but they'd find us again. Ethan pulled me behind a tree.
"What are you doing? We need to go," I said.
"No. I need to go. I'm gonna run and lead them away, then you're going to run in the opposite direction," Ethan said.
"What? No. They'll kill you."
"I know. I'd rather die protecting you now, then risk having to kill you tonight."
"What are you talking about?"
Instead of answering, Ethan pulled me into a deep kiss. After a moment of surprise, I kissed him back. Then Ethan pulled away. I looked into his dark brown eyes in confusion. I didn't get the chance to ask him anything before Ethan ran into the woods. I heard the Careers yelling to get him and I knew Ethan's plan had succeeded. I lined against the tree, unable to sort through all the emotions I was feeling. There is one sentence that basically sums up all my thoughts-What the hell?
Finally, the sun was starting to go down and I knew that it was time to go to the Cornucopia. I reached it by the time the sun was down. Zarah and Alec were already there, leaning against it. I held my throwing knives tightly and approached them, not getting too close. When they saw me, they stood up straight and readied their weapons.
"Where's Tatia?" I asked, casually.
"Dead. Your friend Ethan killed her earlier…. Right before I ran him through," Alec said.
"Oh, really? That's good. She was annoying," I commented.
"You shut your mouth!" Alec growled, gripping his machete.
His weapon was bigger, but mine was long-range and that gave me an advantage. I gripped one of the knives in my left hand and got ready to throw it.
"Ha. You'll miss eight times before I kill you," Alec said.
"We'll see about that," I replied.
I threw my blade and it lodged itself through Alec's throat. He made a choking noise and fell to the ground dead. I looked at Zarah, who was smiling. I dropped my knives and grabbed Alec's machete. I didn't want to kill her from a distance. I wanted to be face-to-face when I killed her. This was for Mal.
"I was waiting for you to kill him. I was so hoping it would come down to you and me," Zarah said, walking forward to meet me in the middle of the field. She was armed with a machete as well.
"Me too. I need to avenge Mal's death, even if I die trying," I said.
"She had it coming. She killed Grover."
"Oh, really? Were you in love with him, or something?"
Zarah slashed at me with her machete. I blocked and counter-attacked. Zarah was skilled and we kept fighting for a long time. Zarah managed a well-aimed slash at my side. It wasn't deep enough to kill me, but it hurt like hell. Zarah kicked me and I landed on my back, dropping the machete. Zarah sat on my stomach and raised her blade above her head, ready to kill me.
"Ha, ha. You put up a good fight, kid. But you could never beat me. Maybe I'll crave that heart out and keep it as a trophy. Looks like you won't be seeing that brother of yours after all," Zarah said.
That comment about Peeta made me angry. Just before she was going to kill me, I grabbed one of my fallen throwing knives and stabbed it clean through her throat. The look on Zarah's face as she died was priceless. She rolled off me and I sat up and looked at her.
"You can burn in hell with Grover," I said.
It took a minute for my brain to register what just happened. I did it. I won. How did that happen? Then the voice boomed through the arena.
"Ladies and Gentleman, we have our winner. The Victor of the Seventieth Hunger Games, Lillian Mellark!"
Okay, guys, that's it. Lily won! Yay! There will be a couple of more chapters of this story and then there will be a sequel set in the first Hunger Games book that comes after those chapters. Please review this chapter and tell me what you thought. Bye guys, - Lily