Hey-hoo. Yeah, the deaths aren't this chapter. There are deaths, but only ones which I came up with on the spot. (mwuahaha)
Next chapter. I promise *crosses fingers*
Love you all,
*In the Blink of an Eye
Marella Lamia Cobalt, District Four
I scream helplessly. The lizards are almost upon me. I've been able to ward them off with the carving knifes from the pack, but their fear is diminishing by the second. I saw what they did to the fish. The minute water creatures which managed to swim down to this cavern . And then to greet them at the end of their journey; mutts to leap onto them, poisonous skin and all. If the mutts touch me, then I'll be one of the gulping, convulsing creatures I have seen this night.
Just a few rocks to perch on, before I'd have to take the plunge. I'd be swimming against the current, but at least I know that I can get out. I have to go. I don't want to die down here.
A skitter there; pebbles hit the water. The mutts are rabbit size, but that doesn't weaken their toxicity. The dark light in the cave makes it hard to see them. This is it. I can't take every moment possibly being my last.
Making sure my pack and clothes are strapped to my back, I perform a few breathing exercises to get oxygen flowing vigorously. When I'm done, I splash water on my body to ready myself for the temperature change.
I take a huge gulp of air and dive in. The cavern is dim, but I can just make out the tunnel entrance underwater. It's hard going – the current is powerful – but soon I am swimming up the tunnel again. My muscles begin to hurt. My head is a little fuzzy. But still, no sign of light. Surely I would be able to see the exit by now?
Something brushes against my leg. I scrunch up protectively, but it's just seaweed trailing from a rocky outcrop. I can see a few rays of light. I must be near the opening now. But fighting the current has drained my energy. And I'm no where near the surface. I begin to doubt my previous water experience.
Finally, I reach the opening. The current is so strong here, I have to hold onto the rim of the tunnel. Black spots cloud my vision. You need to get to the surface! I haul myself out of the tunnel and to the side to escape the pull. Almost reflexively, my lungs release all the air they contain. No! I watch my air escape to the morning air. Like little jellyfish wriggling skyward.
I need to get up. Now. My limbs are sluggish and oxygen-deficient. My chest convulses for air. Kick, Marella, kick! But something stops me from kicking. Maybe a mix of pure tiredness, or maybe partly the thing a few meters away from me. A camera. Attached to a pole, which in turn, is attached to the rock face.
The Capitol are watching me die. For entertainment! The livid anger that courses through my body gives me the strength to kick. But that is not enough.
I see something light years away from me. A dancer dances above me. A beautiful black silhouette, which gets closer and closer. If I could breathe, I would have laughed.
That is when I realise that that breath I took in the cave was my last.
I breathe in.
Stag Browning, District Ten
"To the side! To the side!" I try to call out to Natalie and Jaysper. I picked up the useful information from a travelling teacher, but never thought I'd need it. Run to the side and down from an avalanche. My long legs easily give me ground and I hope that my two allies will follow my path. There is no trail leading in the direction I want, so I end up having to leap over rocks and boulders. I just hope there aren't any snakes hiding behind them.
The bottom of the mountain is in sight, but it will take longer to get there because we are running at an angle. I see another figure, running straight down. And several tributes at the bottom, simply staring at the face of the roaring cloud of dust and rocks.
We're at the bottom, but we have to keep running. I pass the tributes. It's the Seven boy. He looks mesmerised. His ally, presumably, is tugging his arm and begging him to run.
I don't even know where I'm running. I peek behind me. Natalie is ahead of Jaysper, who is flagging. "Come on!" I shout. "Just get as far away from the mountain as you can!"
The rumbling ceases. Then there is silence. This was not a natural occurrence. The Gamemakers flushed us out of the mountain to get us all together. To make us kill each other.
I stop running and face the sight behind me. An invisible wall seems to have appeared. The rocks and several up-rooted trees are pressed against it. I almost expect the wall to break like glass. But this is no glass wall. This is high-tech Capitol engineering. Dirt blocks most of the view, but it is apparent that the wall circles the whole mountain.
It was an efficient way of getting us together. But now, we need to find a new territory before tributes start moving in for the kill.
Not bothering to check if my allies are following, I run to where the sun is beginning to set.
A cannon goes once. Then twice.
The Fallen:
Marella Lamia Cobalt, District Four girl [Cause of death: Drowning]
Sienna Garcia, District Three girl [Cause of Death: Crushed by rocks]