I placed my hand on the trunk of the tree, with the sudden pressure instantly stinging my wound. Ignoring the pain, I pushed off of the tree's trunk and groaned as I continued on through the jungle. I had covered some of my wounds by using leaves as a sort of bandage, but it was by no means a good way to cover them up. The leaves were covered in some sort of lubricant that made them sting and burn the second they touched flesh, and even more so if it was bloodied. And sicne I had open cuts and bruises on my skin, I felt like I was going through a literal hell. Looking around the foliage of the jungle, I could hear the numerous chirpings of crickets, and other animals in the area. I wondered why there had to be so many trees, before I noticed a sound completely alien to the rest of the nosie in the jungle. Whimpering. Not from some dog or a mutt, but a person. Stepping forward, I try to block out all other noises, focusing instead on the whimpering. It was close... Almost like it was right in front of me.

"Hello?" I asked into the vast sea of green. Carefully, I stepped over a large root as I moved forward, with the whimpering becoming steadily louder as I came closer and closer. I came upon a large grop of vines, forcing me to bring out my knife to cut them away from my path. Groaning from the effort, I stepped through the passage, as I began to hear soft whispers in sync with the whimpering. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but I could tell that it was a girl making the sounds. As quietly as I could, I stepped forward, making sure to avoid any sticks that laid across the ground. The sound was coming from the left now, and I turned my head that way. What I saw was not a pretty sight. I reeled back slightly in horror at my discovery, sickened by the sight. Laying there was the girl from 12 with her insides coming out of her stomach. She must have heard my approach, because she weakly turned her head to me. Her face was paler that a new bed sheet, and her eyes were red, with tears strolling down her face. She tried to say something, but it was too quiet for me to hear. Looking to my surroundings, I made sure there was nothing that could spring out and attack me before getting closer.

"Don't worry... I'm not going to put you in anymore pain..." I said calmly as I placed my knife away. The girl wheezed uncontrollably, but then steadied her breath moments after. I carefully knelt down beside her as I realized just how bad she was. Her small intestine had been pulled strung away from her body, lying across the grass and dirt. In addition, her liver, stomach, part of her large intestine were merely leaning against the sides of her body. Whoever, or whatever had done this had wanted her to die slowly, and painfully. It made me sick knowing that someone or something got pleasure out of this. More than likely it was one of those mutts. The girl reached her hand out, her eyes barely open now. I didn't know what she was trying to do, but I grabbed her hand, seeing the pain that was defining her face. Still aimed at me, she said in a barely audible tone;

"Please... Kill me... It hurts too much..." She was clearly straining to make words, almost like it hurt to speak. I looked down to her midsection again, then back up to her. Her eyes were still trained on me... And it was like she was asking me with only her look. I sighed and nodded my head, bringing out my knife. I gently placed it on her throat, keeping it clutched firmly in my hands.

"I'm sorry this happened to you..." I said as I dragged my knife across her throat. Her eyes closed as I heard one long breath, then nothing. The sounds of the jungle continued to fill my ears, but I only saw the girl. She didn't deserve to die like that, it was nothing but barbaric in every way, shape, and form. Inhumane. And the capital didn't care, as long as their stupid message got across. I still didn't understand. Hadn't enough blood been shed in the rebellion? I get there had to be some sort of disciplinary action, but why kill us? The future of the country? Slaughter was not the answer! Shaking my head, I set the girl's hands on her chest as her cannon went off, alerting the rest of the tributes to her demise. As I stood up, still looking down at her. Aside from her gruesome wounds, she seemed more like she was asleep, rather than brutally attacked. I felt a little guilt over killing her, but not as much as my first. This was purely a mercy kill. I had ended her suffering.

"Rest in peace..." I said quietly as I turned away from her, starting to go back the way I came. Suddenly, I heard a growling, causing my stomach to tense up. Looking to my right, I could several pairs of eyes looking at me, all of them the same color as the beast that had attacked me earlier. Looking to my left, I saw even more sets of the eyes, none of them looking friendly. Only now does the realization dawn on me. The girl died because she had wandered right into their den, and they were defending it. And now I was invading their home as well.

"Of course..." I thought to myself. Not wasting any time, I took off sprinting as fast as I could, as I heard fierce growls and roars from behind me. My legs weren't hurting as much as normal, or any part of my body really. I knew it was because of my adrenaline pumping through my body, but it wouldn't last forever. I could hear the pounding of the beast's paws against the ground, and I knew they would catch me if I didn't do something. I turned sharply to my left, barely dodging a tree that was in my way. I swerved numerous ways, throwing anything I could down into the path I had been going. Whether it be leaves, branches, or vines. Panting heavily, I made another sharp right turn as I threw another group of leaves behind me. I didn't dare to look behind me. All I could see around me was trees, none of which seemed like I would be able to climb before the mutts got me. The pain in my legs started to catch up with me, igniting fires in my thighs and calves as I tried to press on. Gritting my teeth, I quickly made a left turn, and saw what looked like a ledge made from moss, vines, and dirt. I knew it was probably unstable, but I couldn't see any other way to get out of this situation.

"Hope this works!" I shouted aloud, bringing out my knife. Using what strength I had left, I leaped as high as I could. When I was close enough, I drove my knife into the dirt, praying that it would stay. Luck smiled on me. I didn't have time to celebrate though, the mutts were right behind me, I could tell by their grunts, growls, and roars. Grunting, I threw my other hand up, grabbing onto the moss with all the strength in my hand. As I began my climb, I could hear the mutts get closer and closer to the edge, driving me to go faster and faster. I used the vines to support my feet as I climbed, and heard the growling increase in volume. Looking down, I could see the mutts leaping at the bottom of the ledge, trying desperately to climb the wall and get to me. Continuing to climb, I looked back up to the top of the ledge, looking so far away to me. My strength was leaving me by the second, and the burning in my entire body was intolerable. Gritting my teeth and letting out a cry of pain, I drove my knife into the dirt over and over again, using my legs and my other arm to steadily climb up. As I neared the top, my vision started to blur, and I felt dizzy. Shaking my head, I looked down back to the beasts, and saw the source of my dizziness. A trail of blood lined the ledge, and I already knew it was mine. The world spun in and out of focus, as I struggled to find my knife hand again. Groaning, I focused all my effort into raising my arms a few more times, moving slowly up the ledge. When I finally reached the top, I simply rolled over and laid there, to exhausted from blood loss and my lack of energy to move. I breathed heavily and closed my eyes as I heard footsteps coming my way. Honestly, I didn't care anymore. I had had enough escapes for a lifetime. I was done. The last thing I heard before passing out was the crunch of a stick.