The Hungry Games

CHAPTER TWO

Katniss climbed down the tree, still trembling. Her mind reeled with what she had just seen; she tried to shut it off, and wasn't able. She wondered what she should do now...were they still playing? There hadn't been an announcement in days, and the cannon had been quiet even though there had been deaths right in front of her eyes. And Cato...he was still out there, and was still out for blood, she was sure.

She turned her mind to scanning the forest, and saw just trees. There were no birds singing, no noise at all. It was quite unsettling, and it made her senses go into overdrive. She began to walk, making sure she had an arrow ready to fire. Her mind wandered, and she thought about a lot...her family, Peeta, the strange dead woman who liked to eat people, and the fact that she saw two teenagers chewed alive, and return from the dead. The last thought was particularly unsettling.

Katniss found herself coming up on the clearing where the supplies were kept. There, one of the dead teenagers was shambling around, seemingly directionless. What a pointless existence. Katniss crouched down silently, and decided she would put this creature out of its misery. When she let the arrow go, she breathed out silently, knowing that the arrow would hit the intended target. The girl stopped suddenly, looking down at its chest, where there was an arrow sticking out. To Katniss' surprise, the girl turned towards her, snarling and breaking out into a goofy run. Katniss, with lightning speed, nocked another arrow, and put it right between the girls' eyes, taking her off her feet.

Katniss shook, adrenaline coursing through her veins. After a moment, she walked slowly into the clearing, constantly scanning all around her for movement. She reached the girl, and pulled the two arrows from her body. Can't lose these, she thought. She then began digging through the boxes of supplies, taking food and stuffing it into her pack. She also found another quiver of arrows, "that should make 30 or so," and a survival knife with a compass.

As she was shouldering the now-heavy pack, she heard a soft noise from the other side of the mound of boxes. Alert, she went on the defensive, and got ready. Slowly, she circled the boxes, looking for anyone or anything who could have made the noise...and nothing. Suddenly, she was surprised by a loud yell, and she was on her back. Too late, she saw the boy on top of the boxes, jumping at her. He was trying to stab her, when suddenly, he stopped.

"Katniss?" It was Peeta.

"Jesus, Peeta! You scared the shit out of me!"

"Sorry," he looked like he truly was. "I thought you were one of those things. Or Cato. I didn't know, I was scared."

"It's okay, I'm glad to see you!" The two hugged tightly. "Stay by my side, and we're going to get back home, okay?"

Just then, there was a very deafening explosion, and the dome seemed like it was coming down around them. They ran as fast as they could, to get to the cornucopia, the only shelter there was. The whole dome crashed down to the ground, and there was smoke everywhere. Through the smoke, Katniss could see a shimmering shape in the treeline, that sent her mind whirling. She could see daylight, and fire. She didn't hesitate. She grabbed Peeta, and ran towards the shimmering daylight, that was circled with fire.

Cato was crouched down in the cornucopia before the dome came crashing down, and he watched her dig through his supplies. He waited while the wimp jumped on her, and then they talked. He was biding his time. He was hidden behind boxes, and listened to them talk. What a pussy, little Peeta talking about how scared he was. It took literally everything Cato had, not to kill him right then and there. But patience...if they find a way out, he will follow, and then kill them both. He would still win. He followed them to the daylight circled with fire, and they never saw him.

Andrea and Dale barely made it behind the sandbags before the CDC exploded, igniting the oxygen in the air for quite a distance. Both of them felt a rush of heat, and the shock of the explosion. As the explosion collapsed in on itself and the air cooled, everyone ventured a glance back at the CDC. Through the shimmer of heat and flame, it appeared as though two figures were running outward from the blast's epicenter...