Here's chapter five! Enjoy!

~Ohsnapitspercy~

Chapter 5

A large group of Peacekeepers led me into the Launch Room with Cinna at my side. Today was the day I would be sent into the arena. My siblings would be off school today, just like every Hunger Games.

A female Peacekeeper injected a needle into my arm. "This is your tracker. It will help the Gamemakers know where you are and if you're alive."

All the Peacekeepers left the room, leaving me and Cinna alone.

"As a stylist, I'm not allowed to bet. But if I could, my money would be on you." He whispered.

He took my hand and carefully slid something onto my wrist. It was my silver charm bracelet that Haven had given me; I couldn't believe I had almost forgotten it. "Thank you."

He handed me the jacket I would wear in the arena. I was already dressed in the tight shirt, jeans, and boots. I put on the jacket and zipped it up halfway.

A lady's voice came on over the intercom, "Thirty seconds until launch."

Cinna wrapped his arms around me and wished me luck. With one last glance at him, I stepped into the tube. The glass closed around me and I started to panic. I put my hands against the glass and looked into Cinna's eyes, trying to find comfort. He nodded his head and smiled.

The tube started to rise and for about fifteen seconds I was in pure darkness. As I emerged into the Arena, I had to shield my eyes from the bright sunlight.

A robotic voice began to count down.

60…

59…

58…

My eyes adjusted and I studied the area around me. All the tributes waited in a circle. I was one of the few who stood directly in front of the Cornucopia. To my left was Clove, from District Two, the girl from District Five to my right.

57…

56…

55…

Peeta was three spaces to my left. He met my eyes and I saw fear and nervousness in his gaze.

54…

53…

52…

"Good luck." He mouthed.

51…

50…

49…

I grinned. "May the odds be ever in your favor." I mouthed back.

48…

47…

46…

I studied the Arena and tried to think of a plan. I most likely wouldn't survive without something from the Cornucopia. Orange and black backpacks littered the ground around it. The mouth of the Cornucopia was filled with spears, knives, bows, axes, and in the very back of the pile, a silver sword with a cushioned handle.

I had to get it.

10…

9…

8…

7…

6…

I looked at Peeta and nodded in the direction of the weapon. He shook his head and mouthed the word "No."

5…

4…

3…

2…

I ignored him. I had to get that sword. It was the only one in the Arena and if I didn't get it Cato would. I couldn't let that happen.

1…

"Let the Seventy-Fourth Hunger Games begin!"

I was the first off my plate. I sprinted towards the Cornucopia, snatching up two backpacks along the way. I slung the packs over my shoulder and kept running.

I was at the mouth; the sword was a few feet away. I lunged for it and grabbed the handle. Right next to me was a belt filled with razor sharp knives. I grabbed it for Peeta because I knew he had gone into the forest with nothing. I turned to run when I saw a spear sailing towards my head. I hit the ground and threw one of the knives at my attacker. It hit him in the chest and he fell backwards.

I didn't have time to retrieve the knife due to the boy from Seven aiming a throwing ax at me. I dived out of the way as he released the weapon. The ax lodged itself into the wall of the Cornucopia.

I got to my feet and fled to the woods in search of Peeta. Leaves brushed my face as I tried to put distance between me and the other tributes. I slowed down when I heard a rustle from up ahead. It could have been the wind, but I wasn't going to take any chances.

I got down on my knees and crawled behind an overgrown bush filled with berries. I peeked through the leaves and caught a glimpse of the monstrous boy from District Eleven, Thresh.

He had a spear in one hand and a pack in the other. If I could somehow catch him off guard I might be able to escape.

I reached for one of Peeta's knives. As I pulled it out my elbow hit a twig and it snapped. I froze, hoping Thresh hadn't heard.

"Who's there?" He demanded.

He was standing now. I full plan sprang into my head.

I grabbed another knife. There were still eight left.

In one swift motion I picked up a rock and threw it at a tree. It bounced off the trunk and hit Thresh. Just as planned, Thresh thought it had come from the other direction. While he wasn't facing me, I sprang out my behind the bush and threw both knives at his back. He yelled and fell to his knees.

I ran up to him and pulled my knives out of his skin. I doubted the cuts would kill him but maybe I would have some luck.

I dashed away from Thresh, who was trying to get to his feet. I made it about three or four miles without any sign of Peeta. I was starting to get tired so I picked a tree I could rest in and climbed to one of the top braches. I sat down and leaned my back against the tree trunk.

I unzipped the orange backpack first. I pulled out two pears and set them in my lap. I rummaged through the rest of the contents and found a blanket, an empty water skin, a cookie, and dried beef strips. In the black pack there was an extra jacket, a dozen matches, sliced oranges, and a thick piece of rope.

I divided up the supplies and put half in each backpack. When I found Peeta he could take one bag just in case we got separated.

The Anthem started playing and the first tribute's face was shown in the sky above.

Is Peeta still alive? The thought had never occurred to me but now that it had, it seemed very possible.

I watched the sky as the ten total tributes were shown. I counted in my head and I was overjoyed when I learned Peeta was still out there somewhere.

The boy I had killed at the Bloodbath had been from District One. It wasn't very often that a Career died on the first day.

My relief ended when I remembered Thresh was still alive too. There was no doubt in my mind that he was coming for me.

Will I be the next person to die? There's only fourteen left, and it's only been one day. Only one tribute will come out alive. Do I even have a chance?

I almost fell out of my tree when an acorn hit me in the head. I looked down as another hit my nose.

Peeta stood at the bottom of my tree, a wide grin on his face. "What the heck are you doing?" I demanded.

"How else was I supposed to get your attention?" He called.

I jumped down from my branch and landed on my feet. "What about saying 'Hey Lexi!'?" I rolled my eyes and threw the orange pack at him. I knelt down and started to cover my black one with mud and leaves. "So, did anything interesting happen to you before you found me?"

"I was watching the Careers build camp by the lake." He replied. "All their supplies is in one big pile but they're making the girl from three rebury all the mines so if anyone tries to take anything they'll get blown to bits."

I nodded. "Do they have the boy from three too?"

Peeta shook his head. "They did at first. Both the District Three tributes were taking turns guarding the supplies. The boy was guarding when Foxface tried to steal some of their stuff. Cato found out and now they're both dead. I think the girl wants to run but she doesn't want to get caught."

"Who's Foxface?" I asked.

"That's what I nicknamed the girl from five."

I reached behind me to grab some leaves when my hand hit my belt of knives. I unbuckled it and handed it to Peeta.

"I see you went to the Cornucopia." He accused.

"Well, yeah. But I had too. If I didn't I would probably be dead right now." I told him about my encounter with Thresh and he sighed.

"Good thing you're fast." He looked away and continued camouflaging his backpack.

I retrieved my water skin out of my bag and held it in front of me. "Do you want to look for water now or later?"

"It would probably be better to go now while everyone's busy." Peeta said.

I gathered all of my possessions and got to my feet. "To find water you have to look for greener plants, mud, and water bugs."

We hiked around for awhile. I threw one of Peeta's knives at rabbits as we went. I brought down two and stashed them in my pack for later.

"Look over there." Peeta whispered. He was pointing in front of us. I followed his gaze and saw Cato and Clove up ahead. I grabbed Peeta's wrist and started taking small steps backwards.

We made it about five yards away when Peeta tripped over a log and fell into a bush. There was a loud thud as he hit the ground. I watched in horror as Clove's head shot up. "What was that?"

Cato looked in our direction. "I'll go check it out. You stay here."

I helped Peeta to his feet. I could tell by the swelling that he sprained his ankle. He could still walk but he had a slight limp and leaves crunched with every step he took.

We hadn't made it very far when a hand landed on my shoulder. I whirled around and found myself facing Cato. "Hey." I choked out in a hushed voice. Peeta was a little ahead and I didn't want him to turn around.

Cato leaned towards my ear. "Get out of here before Clove sees you. I'll tell her it was a squirrel or something. Just try to be quiet." He slid something into my hand and turned to leave. It was a silver bottle filled with water.

"Thank you." I whispered.

He disappeared into the trees and I was left wondering, why did he let me live?

I quickly caught up with Peeta. He hadn't even noticed I'd stopped. "I got some water."

He stopped and turned around. "How?" He took the bottle from me. "This isn't even ours!"

I explained to him what happened with Cato. He listened intently the whole time I spoke. When I finished, he asked, "Do you think it's safe to drink?"

"I don't think Cato's that type of person. If he wanted to kill me, he would have done it back there when he had me trapped." I said. "But I still think it should be a last resort."

Peeta nodded in agreement. "Do we have any bandages in one of the bags?" He asked, looking down at his bruised ankle.

"No," I thought for a moment. "But we might be able to use part of the extra jacket to make one."

I dig the jacket out and tore off the sleeve. I wrapped it tightly around Peeta's ankle and tied it off. I sawed a branch off of a tree for Peeta to use as a cane.

"Thanks." He said, trying out the branch.

It was starting to get dark so we picked a place to make a camp. We chose a small space in between a group of trees. I laid the blanket down on the ground and helped Peeta lay down. I sat beside him with my sword drawn, ready to fight anyone who tried to attack us. Peeta told me to wake him up when I was tired and drifted off to sleep.

Sorry about the abrupt ending. I didn't want it to be too far over 2000 words. I'll try to make the next chapter better :) . Have a great rest of your day! May the odds be ever in your favor!

~Ohsnapitspercy~