I feel someone shake me. I open my eyes slowly and see Lucas. The sky is grey and dawn is approaching. I sit up silently.
"You didn't get any sleep," I whisper. "You should've woken me."
"You needed it," he whispers back. "It's going to be dangerous and your risking your life so you needed sleep so you could concentrate properly."
"Thank you," I whisper in gratitude.
We wait for the sun to start rising. I feel butterfly's inside my stomach. I'm nervous and scared. I look through the trees and can see massive piles of food in the distance. I try and keep calm.
"I don't know if I can do this," I whisper to Lucas.
"It will all go fine, we have to if we want to live," he whispers back.
I try and stay calm as we wait. My heart beats so fast in my chest. I swallow hard as I start to see a bright light in the distance. The sun is rising. We get to our feet and start walking closer to the open area. We make sure we have our weapons and wait for a couple of minutes before running.
"Are you ready?" Lucas says.
I nod and swallow hard. Before I can take a step out into the area Lucas grabs my free hand.
"Just be careful," he says. "I don't want to lose you."
I nod and he gives my hand a squeeze then let's go. I grab an arrow from my quiver and place it on the bow. I don't aim the bow but keep it ready beside me. I'm scared. No, not scared, terrified, but I have to do this. I sprint. Faster and faster, looking for food and drink. I look around me and a wave of relief rushes over me when I see that no one has come to attack me. I quickly open my backpack and stuff it with food and water. I constantly look around me. Behind me Lucas is crouched in the bushes looking around. Suddenly he stands and sprints. No! It was going well. Just keep focused. I keep stuffing the bag until it's full. I zip it up and fling it onto my back. I run in the direction of Lucas who is now out of sight. I sprint. I see blood. In the distance Lucas is fighting. Who? I stop running. Isn't that Niall from district 4?
Suddenly I'm pushed to the ground. I roll over to see my attacker the girl from district 2, Charlotte. She kicks me in the ribs. I groan but fight. I grab my bow and arrow which has slid underneath me. I shoot but she ducks and pounces onto me, pushing the bow out of my hands. We roll over and over. I try and keep rolling as I find my pocket knife that's inside my pocket on of my pants. She pins me to the ground and finally I see her malicious grin. She pulls a dagger from behind her, probably a pocket or something.
"No!" I yell.
I roll over and pin her down, then I make a desperate grab for the dagger. She moves it away and I punch her in the chest. She screams in pain, but I don't care. Right now I have to stay alive. I snatch the dagger from her grip and stand up. She stares at me, a look of defeat on her face. She has no weapons. Suddenly she sprints and picks up the bow and arrow. She shoots at me but I duck. I tackle her to the ground and fling the weapon out of her hand. She struggles but grabs the dagger and slices my arm. I feel the pain and the blood dripping. I snatch the dagger out of her hand and pin her to the ground. I try to strike her but she moves away. Again I try but she keeps dodging the blade. I try again and pierce her skin. She chokes up blood and in an instant she is dead.
I grab the bow and arrow and sprint towards Lucas. Niall is over the top of him holding an axe up high, ready to strike Lucas who is on the floor helpless. Blood is everywhere. I shoot an arrow straight at Niall without him realizing and he drops dead. I then run up to Lucas and kneel next to him, watching for danger. He's covered in blood.
"You have to win," he says, half choking. He squeezes my hand and then adds, "for me."
He starts to fade away and I start to cry.
"No," I whisper. "I can't go on without you."
"You can," he chokes. "You're amazing. Now get away before you die. I'll miss you."
He lets go of my hand and I stand up. "I won't forget you," I say and run. I see the district 7 boy and the district 10 tributes. The girl is dead but the boy is still fighting. I keep sprinting, into the forest, deeper and deeper. I keep running, not daring to stop. Tears stream out of my eyes. Nick's dead, Lucas's dead. I've got no one. How can I go on? I start to climb a tree but my arm stings and a can't get up. I sit down and lean against the trunk. I examine my sliced arm and sigh. I rummage through the backpack and look at the food I've gotten. Bread, apples, a watermelon, a tin of cold soup and some chicken. I've also collected three bottles of fresh water. I can win. I know I can. I'm not going to doubt myself anymore. I've gotten this far and I can get to the end.