Chapter Seven Hope

"Peeta, there's still hope!"

I don't know what Finnick meant, but unless my entire life has been a dream, there is no such thing as hope. Herald thought he had a chance of surviving this; he did not.

The second Johanna's foot hit the inside of the pyramid inhuman screeching sounded from inside.

"See, told you they were great bait!"

My ex-companions glared at me hostilely. Could they blame me for being right?

It was then that that thing made itself known. It was as large as Buttercup, and fast; unbelievably fast for its size.

Johanna and Finnick had the reflexes to get out of its way. The soldiers were not so lucky. It whipped its tail back and forth before looking me right in the eyes. It was so ugly.

That's a dumb thought to have, but it is the awful truth. I have never seen anything nastier on this planet or the Preserve!

It glared at me, whipping a body into its enemies. The soldiers around it were distractions. It wanted me, it wanted my body.

I took off.

My armor was not too far away. It was stowed away in the event of my escape. My goal was to kill Herald or die trying, but the presence of former Hunger Games champions ruined that for me. Their lives ought not be forfeit because I was too focused on revenge.

Katniss could do it. She would have killed Herald quickly. I found the armor and slipped it on. The system booted up in seconds. Once the infrared kicked in, it showed I was not alone. Tiny was with me. We nodded to each other. He understood the new plan was to save the two tributes.

-Katniss

I was terrified. Previously, splitting up was a way for the group to evade detection. Now it just seemed like a bad horror movie when the jock and the virgin split up. My heart sunk; I was no virgin, not anymore.

Taking a breath, the tribute in me determined not to let my fears ruin the mission. Herald was talking to someone, and that someone had to die. A low clicking sounded behind me. It sounded as though the predator had decided to follow me instead of Gale. I must be the luckiest girl in the world!

Crunchy was not terribly loud, but he was not particularly subtle. I took off at a run. Nothing would be worse than having to face Crunchy. Maybe he would grow unhappy following me around!

A low hiss sounded in front of me. A bug, fully grown, dropped to the ground, teeth gleaming. Explosive arrows were out- the back blast would end us both. I picked up a fire arrow, and nocked it.

The hissing grew louder, "C'mon!"

The thing leapt. Knowing what shot to take, I let the arrow fly straight at the monster's mouth.

"See ya," I whispered. Suddenly, the bug changed direction mid-air. I blanched. The bug's tail was wrapped around the tail of another. This other one was larger, and vaguely resembled a predator. It hissed.

I swore again. One bug had saved another's life, and the fire arrow had certainly signaled my position to the troops.

I ran for my life. The thing was on mein minutes. I turned, and nocked another fire arrow. It paused, watching. Its mouth was closed, "Not this time," I growled.

An arrow struck its chest impotently. The monster purred before the shaft burst into flames.