Chapter 3
The white light begins to dim slightly, morphing into blues and greens. To them patches of brown, gold and black are added. The colours begin to sharpen and I see I'm in a big field. There's a vast lake, reflecting the mountain in the distance on it's silver surface. A golden meadow, presumably wheat, in another direction. Then there are trees, no knowing how long they go on for. Lastly, standing tall and fierce, the cornucopia. Huge, shiny and gold. So tempting, pulling people in with its riches, only to get them killed. Oh, I forgot about the tributes. We stand on our pedestals, inches above the ground. All twenty-four of us are in a small curve around the Cornucopia. Six faces standing out with eager anticipation.
I turn around and see the forest. Good, that's the direction I'll be running. Unless I turn back and become a Career. Could I even do that? According to Effie I'm a Career. Perhaps I agreed it with them a few days ago, then forgot. Or had my mind wiped. Whatever.
The countdown begins. What do I do? Run forwards or backwards? 30 seconds. I whisper "they know" under my breath. What did Portia mean by that? They know, they know, they know. What do those words mean? 20 Seconds. I look at my fellow tributes. Still mouthing words under my breath. Everybody seems to be looking at the Cornucopia, expect the boy from 2. Or man, he's very muscular and well built. He's looking at me. At me. Could it be- 10 seconds- never mind that, Peeta. Get ready. Run to the forest, you can't risk finding out whether or not you're a Career, you'll get slaughtered in the bloodbath. But why did he look at me- 5seconds- when I whispered "they know" under my breath? Zero.
My rational brain finally takes over and as I begin to hear screams, I'm brushing past leaves, twigs and branches. I keep running, not wanting to know whether or not anybody is behind me. I run and run, gathering speed. I'm running fast, weaving through the trees. I chance a look to my left, nobody is there, then to my right, nobody is there either. I finally turn my head 180 degrees and see that I'm completely alone. I'm not being chased.
Now that I'm used to running, it's almost painful for me to slow down to a walk. I jog for another five minutes, just to make sure I'm not being followed, before I collapse on the floor, resting on a fallen tree trunk.
I have nothing. Nothing that'd give me the slightest advantage. I could look for water, but the only place I'm certain that there is any is back at the lake by the Cornucopia. Would the Careers still accept me? I did run from them, though. They could just kill me on the spot. If only there was some trade I could offer, force them to accept me.
There must be some reason why they let me join in the first place. Something that they need, or want. Something only I can give them. Katniss. Of course! She's going to try find me, they're going to use me as bait. That's what I'll do. I hope this works.
After thirty minutes of walking back the cannons start to fire. Eleven. I'm glad to use it as an excuse to take a break, I'm exhausted. I'm pretty sure I'm walking uphill, that explains why I ran so fast in the other direction.
The woods start to thin. I must be getting close, after a few minutes I can hear their cocky laughter. If I walk out now they won't give me time to explain myself. However, if they see me walking from across the field, and see that I'm surrendering, they might hear me out.
It takes me ten minutes to scale the fringe of the forest, they've stopped laughing but I don't to get as close as to see them. Finally I give in, now a good three hundred metres from the Cornucopia. I walk to the edge, behind a tree and look out at the distant cornucopia where the Careers are gathered around something. I can't see what. Cato is standing up, listening to whatever is being said to him. He nods, then they all stand up and walk to the towering pile off supplies. That's when I walk out.
I raise my hands in the air, and walk, trying not to turn around and run. Cato notices me first, as he didn't move form where he was standing minutes earlier. When he sees me, he half laughs and walks in my direction. When we're a hundred metres from each other, that's when the others start to notice, they run to him. They don't run to him, they run past him. I stop still, but see that Cato has ordered them back, behind him. They all walk together. The girl from two and the boy from one giving foul looks. It takes all my will power not to run and hide. We stop walking when we're ten metres away from each other.
"I thought you ditched us," says Cato. A look of smugness on his face.
"I forgot I was a Career, kind of," what am I supposed to say? "I..."
"You didn't want to fight in the bloodbath?" He asks. I assume it's a rhetorical question, so leave it.
"Can I come back?" I ask, hoping my nerve pays off.
"Why shouldn't we just kill you now?" interjects the boy from one.
"Marvel, shut up, let me handle this," says Cato, agitated.
"For God's sake, I need to get this thing bandaged up. Not have a stupid meeting," He pulls up his right trouser leg to reveal a cut on his shin. Below, on his ankle is a tribal tattoo. My mouth falls open in horror. It was him. Marvel sees the recognition on my face too, but before he can be pulled back, he's charging at me, the head of his spear leading the way.
A/N: Here it is. I hope you all enjoy it, thank you to everybody who has reviewed, you're all amazing. Remember I'm a beta reader as well so just in case you want your stories beta read. Thanks!