The squawks and caws from the birds above me are loud and piercing in nature; I'm up right away. I decide to climb down the tree quickly; if they're muttations, I'll stand a better chance on the ground. I quickly pack up my things into my backpack and shimmy down the tree. I know I've had better ideas, but I'm dying to go to the Cornucopia. The whole meeting will probably turn into a bloodbath, which might be the reason I want to go. I decide that I have nothing better to do, so I start walking to the Cornucopia, eating some dried beef and drinking some water as I go.
I stop walking as soon as the Cornucopia comes in view and climb a tree. There I place my camo-green backpack on a branch; no weapons allowed at this meeting doesn't mean I can't keep some security nearby. I scale down the tree and walk over to the Cornucopia; I can see that many tributes have already gathered. The girl and boy from 11 are in the middle of a large semicircle of kids. It looks like every tribute except for Togru and Rachelle has arrived, which makes a total of twelve. A girl, I believe she's from 5, sees me approaching and screams, "Career!" All the kids turn around to face me, obvious fear emanating from their faces. I put my hands up and smile. "Relax everyone," I say, "I only kill when there's valid reason for it." A few tributes seem to calm down, but many remain wary of my presence. "You killed the tributes from 6!" cries a girl. "District 3 told us!" yells another boy. Before I can even respond, the girl from 11, Flora, is yelling through her megaphone. "Calm down everyone! If he came here unarmed he's a friend. Besides, the tributes from 10 killed the boy from 4, and we accepted them." Everyone settles down almost instantly. I can't help but stare at the boy from 10. This small, weak tribute who couldn't use a sword...how had he done it? "Where'd you get that megaphone?" asks Xavier, the boy from 3. "Sponsor gift," replies the tall brown-haired girl from 10, before Flora can answer the question. Flora motions for the group to sit down. "Let's talk," she quips.
The group has hardly sat down when people begin throwing questions at me. "Is the Career pack still active?" "Where's your collar?" "What happens when our partner dies and time runs out?" "Where are the tributes from 1?" I answer these questions as best as I can. No, the Career pack is dissolved, considering there are only three of us left. My collar was deactivated and fell off my neck after I killed the boy from 6. Your head explodes when your collar stops beeping. I don't know where they are, but if they were here someone would already be dead. Flora interrupts the stream of questions. "Enough. Flax and I have been thinking," she says, motioning to her partner from 11. "We agree that we should start moving together as a pack. We take out the tributes from 1, and after that we try and stay alive through whatever the Capitol throws at us." The tributes murmur amongst each other. "What happens if one of us dies?" asks the girl from 5. "Yeah, won't our partners just try to kill someone else?" inquires Xavier from three. Flora sighs. "That's why we need to convene right now. We'd need to all agree that if our partner dies, we would surrender and wait for—" The tributes explode. "What?" "That's ridiculous!" "Look at what happened to the tributes from 8!" Flora, by the look on her face, clearly wasn't expecting this kind of reaction to her simple suggestion. As the screaming continues, I raise my hand, and wait for the frenzied chattering to stop. Slowly but surely, silence returns as the tributes wait for the wise Career from 2 to speak. I take a quick but deep breath, and voice my opinion. "People are never readable. Look at the past ninety-nine years of Games. The innocent tributes are the first to go. All that's left are those who would kill their partner to live." The tributes look around at each other. They know it's true. "Flora, if your partner died, and I was standing next to you, wouldn't you kill me without a single thought?" I ask. "Yes," she responds immediately. I wasn't expecting that answer from her at all. A few tributes gasp. Flora whips around to face them. "What? He doesn't have anyone linked to him! Killing him would be…" Flora stops talking, and I suddenly know exactly what she's thinking. I'm already up and running as she screams, "Grab him!"
Hands reach for my ankles, but I dodge and jump over them, heading for the forest. The tree, which tree was it? I'm miles faster than any of the tributes, but I can hear them behind me, their hasty footsteps matching the rapid beating in my chest. I find the tree and start climbing as fast as I can. I disappear into the canopy just as the first tribute comes into view on the ground. I press back against the trunk, hoping with every fiber in me that they keep moving. My hopes add up to nothing as I hear someone below scream, "Stop!" The footsteps fade as all the tributes stop right under the tree I'm hiding in. I recognize the voice of the girl from 3. "Why are we chasing this kid?" "Because," says Flora, "he's our scapegoat. If we catch him and hold him hostage, we can kill him if one of our partners dies. The chain of death will stop, and the partner-less tribute will take his place as the scapegoat. We can beat the Capitol's system!" I press back into the trunk as hard as I can. How low could these kids sink? I listen to the tributes speak their approval of Flora's brilliant plan. She splits them up, telling tributes that can climb trees to do so. At dusk, they are to meet up at the Cornucopia. In a few minutes, the tributes leave the area.
My pounding heart is telling me to stay in the tree, be safe. But my brain tells me I need to leave. I'm still in view of the Cornucopia. Who knows if I'll ever be able to leave this tree if I don't leave now? I wait a few more minutes, then swiftly climb down the tree and hit the ground. I orient myself, and run directly away from the Cornucopia. I only take a few steps when I hear voices and am forced to duck behind a tree. Four tributes sprint by, heading towards the Cornucopia. I wait until they are out of sight, and then run in the direction they came from. For about two hours, I run through the giant forest, stopping to hide behind bushes and trees whenever I hear the slightest noise. I don't run into any other tributes, but by the time I finally decide to climb into a tree and wait out the rest of the day, I'm jumpy and scared. I was used to the idea of every tribute trying to kill me, but now they're all going for me personally. And with Sydni dead, I'm on my own.