Annie's weaknesses are showing, faster than I would prefer them to. The worst is her reaction to the gore, the blood. She flinches every time she kills someone. Then, she won't do anything for as much as a day. She just sits and eats with the rest of the group. She mumbles words that aren't picked up by the cameras.
The process repeats until the day that the final 8 is revealed. It consists of Whiz, Sparkle, Agro, Elizabeta, Annie, Kayne, Liwa, and the boy from district 7, named Dale. An announcement comes for the tributes just when the Careers are settling down for dinner. There will be a feast.
Feasts worry me. People die at these feasts, mainly the people that missed the bloodbath. By this point in the games, the tributes are willing to do anything for the things they need to get out alive. You can practically smell home at this point. The pain of possibly never returning home is worst feeling you will ever feel.
The feast will be the next day at the river, unlike the Cornucopia like normal. That means that everyone has found the lake by now and they must still be close. I pull up the map on my tablet. It shows where everyone is at in the arena, plus an outline of major water bodies, mountains, and caves.
Seven little dots are right where Annie is sitting and Dale is close, in a cave nearby the river. Tomorrow is the big day. Tomorrow is the feast.
The feast begins with a bang.
Dale is the only no show, but that doesn't mean that bloodshed doesn't occur in the arena. When the door of the Cornucopia opens, the entire area breaks loose.
First, everyone runs toward their bags. Each one of them has their own bag, providing them with something that they will need to help them survive. As a mentor, I have no idea what could be in any of the bags. The bags are provided by the gamemakers. One time, all of the bags contained nothing. It was just a lure to get them to fight.
The Careers turn on Liwa, letting her run right into the Cornucopia, coming out proudly with her bag. However, everyone circles the door making sure she doesn't get any farther alive.
Liwa digs in her bag and pulls out something dangerous, something that none of them can directly fight: a poisonous dart gun. The only person that has something to defend the bullets is Kayne because he got a shield. The Careers didn't give him any weapons, only the shield so he could at least keep the numbers on their side.
"Kayne, cover us!" Agro screams Kayne. Kayne fumbles around trying to open the shield. It is in a little pack thing, that he can't figure out how to open. He doesn't open it in time and a poison dart sinks into Whiz's head. He crumbles down to the ground, having spasms all over the place. Annie kneels down and finishes him off, so he didn't have to go through the rest of the pain. This time, Annie doesn't freak out as much. Even though, her kill number goes up because she is the one that stopped him from living. She is the one that makes sure that Whiz doesn't go home to his family.
In the craziness of Whiz's death, Liwa sneaks away into the nearby forest.
"Stupid! You let her go!" Agro screams. He storms over to Kayne, pulls out his sword, and I can already tell what he is planning. I start Johanna's spinning thing so I don't see what happens next. Agro's sword slices off Kayne's head in one swift motion.
I see the tablet dim and Annie is the only tribute I have left.
Annie almost looks like she is about to start crying because of his death. I remember back on the train, when she said Kayne was like her brother. It would be freaky to see that happen while you were in the arena.
"Well, he isn't the only one dying today." She takes her spear and throws it right through Agro's chest. He topples over and Elizabeta turns back to Annie. I think that Elizabeta has always liked Agro, or at least felt that she should keep him alive. They helped each other way too much for that to be fake.
"Well, better make that three." I am so nervous at that point. Annie has to react fast before Elizabeta kills her. Careers don't miss.
Annie takes off toward the forest, making various twists and turns. Of course, Elizabeta runs behind her, chasing her, until Annie gets to the very edge of the forest, right next to the same cave that Dale is in. Annie runs into the cave, which is lit by a dim fire, throwing shadows off the walls.
Elizabeta's footsteps go right by the cave, not even briefly stopping. Annie has gotten away this time.
Annie gets out her knife and throws it, almost lifelessly, at Dale. The cannon fires as I turn to look at Johanna.
"No hard feelings?" I ask Johanna. I don't want her to hold a grudge. Johanna can hold a grudge.
"Nah, they aren't us, you didn't kill me so we are good." We shake hands on it and the feast is over. The total death count is four: Whiz, Kayne, Agro, and Dale.
Meaning, we have our final four: Sparkle, Elizabeta, Liwa, and my personal favorite, Annie.