I open my eyes. My head is throbbing. I attempt to pull myself up but I'm forced back onto the ground by someone. Let this be over soon, I wish.
"I'm so sorry," I hear the person say. "I should've known it was you. I'm the boy from district 3."
"What!" I yell. "You killed your own district partner!"
"How did you know?" He asks.
"I was there," I reply.
He starts to rub my back. "Medicine," he explains. "Any other gashes?"
"My arm and hand," I reply. "Why are you helping me?"
"I don't want you to die," he says. "You're inspiring to everyone out there. You can win. I didn't mean to hurt your back and just so you know we're not allies. I'm helping you get better and that's it. There are only six of us left."
"Thanks," I reply.
He starts to rub the gooey medicine into my arm. It stings so much. I screw up my face and try not to groan. My back is hurting too, and I don't want to show Daniel that I'm an easy target. The sound of a canon startles me. Five left.
"I need to leave," he says as he stands and leaves. He forgot the medicine. I'm about to call out to him but he's gone. Then a nearby groan and another cannon. Daniel. It's the first person that comes to my mind. I stand up and look around. Where can I go? My back and arm still hurt so I can't climb. This could be the end. I hear footsteps. Closer and closer, but from where. I hide behind a tree next to me. Then he appears. The district 7 boy.
"Where are they all?" He mutters. He has knives and a sword. Lucas. He had that sword.
Help! I nearly scream it out. It's what I need. But I won't let him find me. I will go back home to Lil. Lil, who will be proud and scared watching me. Close to my death with a hopeless chance of winning.
I'll prove everyone wrong. I can win and I will win.
He looks in my direction and I move closer towards the tree, chest against the bark. He looks past and curses. What is it now? Another flood? No, it's the finale. We must move closer to each other. They need the games finished. Suddenly I don't feel the pain in my back. I turn around to face what lurks behind me.
I nearly scream, I nearly run. Animals, evil animals surround me. Snakes covered in moss, monkeys, a gorilla, black panthers, huge spiders and a jaguar. I look around at where the district 7 boy was. He's not there, so I run. I run faster and faster, away from the animals that are itching for a taste of my flesh, my blood. I don't stop, even when I see him in the distance. I run faster, closer to him, not daring to look back. When I'm close enough I grab my bow and load an arrow. I'm too late. He knows I'm here. He turns and throws a knife but keeps running. I duck, just avoiding the silver blade. I aim and shoot. Miss. It's hard to shoot when you are running. I dodge his next knife which is to my right. I shoot again. Another miss. As I reach the arrow that I just lost I bend down and stumble. Somehow I manage to roll forwards on the ground and get back onto my feet. I shoot again. It looks like it will hit him, but he ducks and grabs another knife. It comes my way, towards my leg and I leap in the air, just missing the blade. I load another arrow and shoot.
Another cannon. Not for the district 7 boy. I miss again. I'm running low on arrows so I grab the arrow I shot. I shoot again and this time he's too late. It hits his thigh and he falls. I run past him but he grabs my leg. I trip and he loses grip. His cannon goes off.
One more kill. I keep running. My legs ache, my heart beats fast, my throat is dry and I feel like stopping. But I don't. I won't give up.
Past trees into the clearing, into someone. We have collided.
"Yes!" She yells out and I know who it is Ruby. She's wanted to kill me all along.
I pull myself up. Last fight, last kill and I go home. I don't bother with weapons I run and tackle her to the ground. She rolls over and pins me to the ground.
"How does it feel when you have no one to save you?" She sneers at me. I feel helpless. I try and get up put she puts her arm across my throat so that I have no hope of moving. She pulls out one of her knives at presses it hard across my face. She doesn't press the blade into my skin yet.
"Feel honoured that you have made it this far. You don't deserve to win. You have won fights because of luck. But your luck is about to change..."
Her voice trails off as I think of Lil. The only one who I have left. The only one I must go back to. I must, I need to go back. The thought of Lil makes me even stronger. I can't get up. But I have an idea.
"Get ready for your slow miserable death!" She says as she starts to dig the blade into my cheek. Now is the time. I spit in her face and she yells in fury. She has slipped with the knife, which has caused it to dig deeper into my skin but I have to forget about it. She has become distracted so I kick her off of me and stand. I try and pull the knife out of her hand but she doesn't let go. I pull her up and smash her against the side of the cornucopia.
"Everyone underestimated me!" I yell in her face. "Including you! I am not some wimpy child! I am a survivor, a fighter!"
I pull the knife out of her grip and that's the moment that she pushes me off of her. She dives on top of me and even though I am caught by surprise I put my feet out in time and kick her over behind me. She falls onto the ground and I quickly get up and stomp one foot down on her stomach to keep her down. Now is the moment. I look down at her face which is full of fear. She scratches my leg but has no weapons.
"I'm sorry Ruby," I whisper as I force the knife down into her chest. Her cannon goes off. I fall to the ground in agony after the traumatising experience I have just gone through. Flashbacks of Nick and Lucas come running through my mind. I don't hide the tears that stream down my cheeks.
"I love you," he said. I blushed and told him I loved him too. I wished that we would always be together. In training he brought to me a great friend, Lucas. A caring boy who despite the fact that he was a career tribute he was a kind boy.
The tears come flooding out as a curl in a ball and close my eyes. Trying to forget the experience. It feels as though their voices are in my head talking to me.
I will always be in your heart. Don't forget me.
I won't forget either of them. I hear the hovercraft above me and slowly get up off of the floor wiping the tears from my cheeks. I climb the ladder up into the hovercraft and am congratulated by Danielle and Dale. I appreciate their support but all I want is to see Lil, to hold her in my arms and be told everything will be okay. I am taken back to the Capitol, but I don't remember anything after that. My mind is flooded with memories of the past few weeks. All I remember is returning home to my district and seeing Lil rush up to me. I ran into her arms and she held me tight. I cried making her clothing on her shoulder damp, but she didn't care, she was just glad I was safe.