Back at the camp, we wait for the nightly death toll. We killed four tributes today; a sign of success crosses Lucifer's face. What did Quaid mean? Get rid of Lucifer. Are we going to kill him in the night? I pick some dried cranberries and place them in my mouth. I don't want to see the death toll. I can't get the image of Faith out of my mind. Only twelve years old, having more of her life to live, struck dead by me. By me!
The anthem plays and the seal appears. 'The Fallen' is in my face. The first picture to appear in the sky is Skylar. Faith follows, along with Omar and Neal. Four more gone. Ten left in the game, fighting for their lives. The anthem finishes and we are in the dark once more. "District Ten, you guard tonight. Quaid, take the shift after her." Lucifer commands as he gets into his sleeping bag. Devin, Flitter, and Camilla follow.
I look around the camp. When I imagined myself in the Games, I thought I'd be dead in the bloodbath. I survived and I am working with the most hated of tributes. I know my parents are probably devastated that I am a killer. I didn't mean to kill three people. I am just working to survive. I'm not a ruthless killer.
I stared into the darkness. No one was there. Everyone is sleeping. Sleeping in trees, caves, and on the ground. The moon was starting to rise and the stars appeared. I remember my first midnight ride with Loco. I snuck out of my room and got on Loco's back. The Peacekeepers were keeping guard, but they paid no attention to me. Irving probably had his word in it. I never paid too much attention to that; I just rode on the trail.
"Come on, Loco." I whisper to my horse. It was a warm spring night, days after my twelfth birthday. I am on his caramel colored back, holding onto his chocolate mane. No one was watching. The Peacekeepers weren't on abandoned back trails. I loved the back trails. I can be free of the Hunger Games and Panem's rule. I am just by myself.
I kick his sides slightly and we are on the trail. He walks and I sway back and forth. I just learned how to ride without any saddles or bridles, and I was ready to test it out. I let the moonlight be my light, leading me into the unknown. I kept making Locomotion walk straight. He was leading me to my new adventure.
I stopped him. In front of my eyes was a spring. I jumped off of his back and took a look at the clear water. I could see the very bottom of the spring where rocks rested. I have never seen something so…beautiful before. It was truly breathtaking. I dipped my fingers in the water and pulled them straight out. It was freezing cold. Loco nudged me forward and I fell face first in the water.
When I resurfaced, I swore that horse was laughing at me. "Loco!" I whisper in the night. "You silly horse!" I dipped my head back in the water and swam around. I knew what I was getting into, riding off in the night. I could have been hurt or found by Peacekeepers. But, instead, I found a spring. A spring that no one knew existed. It was a refreshing experience.
Suddenly, a bird sings. I look in the trees above my head and see a bird, singing away. I have never seen this bird before. But, I knew what he was. He was an infamous mockingjay. Mockingjays are not hard to find in District 10 and 11, but they are harder to find in Districts 1 or 2. Some people believe that they died off and are no longer around. But, I know this isn't true.
"Can I sing for you?" I ask the lovely bird. The bird takes my offering, falling silent. I sing a five note medley, and I pause. I sing it again, and the mockingjay picks it up. He sings the medley back to me. Unexpectedly, the medley bounces off of the mockingjay above me and another one picks it up. I turn to the direction of the sound, water splashing in my mouth.
Before long, my medley was all over the forest. Birds picked it up and bounced it back. I crawled out of the water and sat on the grass. As the water cascaded off my body, the mockingjays kept singing my medley. I didn't want to leave the forest, but I knew I had to. I can't stay here forever.
I wish I could. The moon has risen slightly when Quaid comes over to me. He sits next to me with a knife in his hand. "I'm ready to kill Luce." He says.
"Why?" I ask. "We'll live longer with him."
"He just needs to go." He says. "I'll slice his throat and place the knife next to Flitter's hand. Wait until the cannon fires and scream. We'll frame Flitter and we'll be off clean. Just say you dozed off until the cannon fired. Okay?" I nod as he moves to Lucifer's sleeping body. His muscles ripple as he takes the knife across Luce's throat. I close my eyes and lay on the ground. I wait.
As soon as Quaid lays on the ground, the cannon fires. I open my eyes and look at Lucifer. I see a bloody knife next to Flitter's fingers. I wait a few more seconds before letting my scream fill the air. Camilla shoots up, along with Devin. He turns away as Camilla kicks Flitter's stomach.
"What the hell?" She screams in Flitter's face. "We were working together! And you backstab us by killing Lucifer?"
Flitter clutches her stomach. Quaid just raises his head. "What happened?"
"Flitter killed Luce." Camilla says calmly. Her brown eyes have a reddish tint to them.
"I didn't kill anyone!" Flitter screams as Camilla tackles her.
"Why is a knife by your hand?" Camilla has Flitter's hair in her hand. She drags her to a nearby tree. She grabs rope and ties it around Flitter's body.
"Damn it, Cami!" She yells as Camilla finishes the final knot. "Let me go! I didn't do anything! I bet it was District Ten! She was watching us! I was sleeping! I couldn't kill Luce!" Everyone's eyes are on me.
"I dozed off. I admit to being wrong on dozing off. Why would I kill a part of our team?" Everyone's eyes dart back to the helpless girl on the tree.
"Let's pack up camp." Quaid suggests. I place a sleeping bag, swords, and food in the giant black bag I got from the Cornucopia. We walk away from a screaming Flitter, leaving her to die.
We walked miles before Camilla stopped us. "Guys, am I the only one who thinks it's time to…"
"Split up?" Quaid finishes. Camilla nods and Quaid seals the deal. "Okay. But, we won't come after each other after three days. Got it?"
"Yes. Come on, Devin." Camilla and her partner turn left as Quaid and I turn right.
I'm glad that's over.