Chaos erupts around me even before the sound of the gong peters out and I could hear the cries of battle that marked the beginning of the Games. This was it. This would be where the first part of my fate would be decided. Whether I would die here at the Cornucopia or live on to survive the ultimate blood bath. My focus remains on the sword even as I see darting figures take notice out of my peripheral. I duck instinctively and hear a whistling pass above me from a flying a knife thrown by someone to my right.
Breathless and my heart racing, I reach the sword and desperately grab for it even as I see a Career girl charging me with a sword of her own. I'm jerked to the ground by the unmoving sword and I see that it had been secured to the ground by metal stakes hammered into the hard dirt. It seemed that someone out there didn't want to make this easy for me. They knew I would go for the sword and they wanted to make sure that I could struggle just long enough to be skewered. It was a shame I had to disappoint them, but seeing as I was fighting for my life it just couldn't be helped.
Using the blade of the sword as a lever, I quickly loosen the clasps from the ground and remove the sword with a satisfying ring. I roll to my back and raise the weapon just in time to block the girl's attack, our blades colliding in a jolt that produces hot sparks. She sneers down at me and I suddenly recognize her as Justin's female tribute counterpart. The girl doesn't say a word and quickly counters her move, forcing me to block her yet again. I strain against her as she presses down with all her weight on our joined blades, knowing that if I could not get up I would be dead within seconds.
Kicking out with a foot, I cause her to drop her sword and scramble to my knees to swiftly aim my blade towards her heart, ready to deliver the final blow. She is rendered immobile as I had kicked her chest and drove out all air from her lungs. A perfect target and an easy kill. About to thrust forward, I stop and stare into her face, surprised to see a flicker of fear register in her ice blue eyes. I realize that my face is turned up in an ugly snarl and I flinch away from her. I was going to kill. I would have killed her if I had not seen her fear. A fear that I knew all to well.
"Go ahead." she snarls, her voice rough as she gasped for breath. "Do it. Show the Capitol who you are-"
She stops abruptly and lurches forward in surprise, specks of blood splattering her shirt from her gasping mouth. Shocked I look down at her torso, afraid that I had killed her, and see a silver arrow head sprouting from between her collar bone and neck. Hot blood steams on my skin as it drips down from her fatal wound and I watch, as if in a dream, the dying girl fall onto my sword. Her cool eyes never leave my gaze and I hear the awful, slick sound of her body sliding along my blade towards the hilt I continue to grasp. She gasps once and then dies, her limp body slumping over onto my shoulder. Terrified, I look up to see Engle Arons aiming his bow again only to be tackled by one of the Captured. Just to his right I watch as Justin turns around at the edge of the Cornucopia and notice the dead girl on the end of my sword and for the first time his expression is horrified.
I don't have time to stop and think. The blood bath is still rampaging around me and it was only a matter of time before I became someone else's target. Shakily, I shove the girl from my blade and run for the edge of the hill, grabbing a discarded and bloody bag from a fallen tribute on the way. Reaching the beginning of the hills I feel something hit me and wrap around my lower legs, causing me to pitch forward and roll down the hill leading away from the Cornucopia.
Flat grounds eventually cause my decent to cease and I find myself at the very edge of a dark forest that I had seen from the top of the hill. An arrow lodges itself solidly into a tree trunk and I see several figures pursuing me down the face of the hill, their hungry calls tearing away from the rest of those on top. Hurriedly I work at the weighted cords tying my legs, managing to throw them off and disappear into the tight trees just as the others levelled out. Stumbling through the thick brush, I untangle the cords I still held and find my way up a slight rise before pausing to get my bearings.
The dark woods were too close for me to see anything helpful, but I could hear the others who were still in pursuit not far behind. I find a pairing of sturdy trees and stretch the length of cord between them, securing the crude trap with the weights at their ends. There is a flash of movement from the direction I had just come from and I quickly escape up the rest of the short rise towards a grouping of large boulders. Arriving at the forefront of the massive rocks, I spare a glance behind me and see a couple of Careers become clotheslined by my trap, their flailing bodies entangling with their companions who were close behind.
I chuckle loudly before I can stop myself only to cut short when I see the group of tributes quickly recover, their dirty faces livid. Ducking behind the rocks, I dart between the formations of stone I find myself in, mentally kicking myself for not getting out of there sooner. Rock splinters fly out from my left and right as my hunters shoot at me with whatever weapons they possess. Swallowing against the fear working its way into a tight knot in my throat, I round a corner and feel rough arms catch me from the side, pinning my arms together. A large hand smothers me when I try to scream out of pure terror and I am dragged back from the open into a craggy crevice of stone.
Shadows engulf me and I watch from the sliver of the stone's opening as the group of tributes pass where I had been, eagerly calling for my blood without realizing they had lost me. Without warning I am pulled beneath a ledge of rock and I tumble down a small hill covered in the rotting leaves of the forest. Gasping at the sweet air, I tighten my grip on my sword and turn around to face who ever had grabbed me, keeping my blade pointed at their throat. I freeze when I see who it is and I feel my limbs begin to tremble as the burst of adrenaline slowly seeped away from me.
"Ronen?" I rasp, confused. "I thought you said you wouldn't kill me."
The young man grimaced in annoyance, looking pointedly at the sword on his neck. "Does it look like I'm trying to kill you? I just saved your life, Darling."
Slowly I lower my sword, still unsure what to believe. "You also said you wouldn't save me." I tell him.
"That's one hell of an apology." He grunts, rubbing his neck. "But you're right. Just count this as a one time thing and we never have to see each other again."
"Except in hell."
He smirks and cups my face with a hand, catching me off guard. Swiftly he leans in and brushes aside the hair from my ear, his hot breath blowing softly against my neck.
"We are in hell, Emma." Ronen whispers.
There is a rustling from the bushes beside us and he stiffens as I grip my sword with clammy hands. Turning towards the sound I feel Ronen's lips graze my jaw line before he vanishes, leaving me to face the threat alone. My heart thuds and my face feels like it is on fire, but I refuse to move. Silently I battle myself on whether or not I could kill for my life and then a lone figure bursts forth, collapsing to the ground just in time to avoid the blade. A young man rolls onto his stomach and tries to scramble away, but I tackle him and force him to look at me. For the second time in so many minutes I am surprised by who I find at the end of my sword, only this time I allow the weapon to fall from my grasp.
"Mother of God, Emma." pants Justin as I quickly back away from him. "I thought you were going to kill me right then and there."
"I thought you were one of them." I reply as if it were a valid response to almost killing him. "I didn't know it was you."
"Well I've got to say you really made me think you were a Career." He swallows nervously and I see his gaze rest briefly on the discarded sword.
My trembling limbs return and I am caught between the instinct to run and the deep desire to embrace my brother. Justin looks up at me and then slowly rises, lifting his hands into the air as an act of surrender, like he was unsure of what I would do. Suddenly his serious expression breaks and he grins at me, reminding me of the little brother I had grown up with. It triggers a welcoming reaction and I throw myself into his arms, allowing him to embrace my shaking body. Even then I felt the small of my back tingle as it was exposed to any attack that might come my way. Breathing in Justin's familiar scent I realize that I no longer trust him and that at the same time he felt the same way. We were different now. No longer a close brother and sister, but strangers. How could this happen? How could they do this to us?
"Do you think they're watching us right now?" Justin murmurs, hiding his face in the crook of my neck.
I look past his shoulder and stare hard into the dark forest surrounding us. Every tree, every branch, stump and rock...It was all a threat to me.
"They're always watching." I reply quietly.
"Then perhaps we should get moving before they become too interested."
I pull back and meet his bright blue eyes. "Are we staying together now?"
Justin bends down and picks up my sword, weighing it in his hands before handing it back to me. "Always." he assures. "Just...Tell me one thing. Why did you kill Lyra?"
"Lyra?" I question, slightly confused.
"The girl at the Cornucopia. She was my female tribute." he explains grimly. "Don't get me wrong. I mean I'm glad you're the one who is still alive, but Emma...I saw you pull your sword from her chest."
I glance at my blade and see that it is still smeared with fresh blood. Noticing how Justin is carefully avoiding looking at it, I quickly swipe it across the ground and slide it into the cinched opening of my stolen bag. I remember the girl's blood still on my face and rub it off with an arm before addressing Justin. He still seemed unwilling to look at me and I remember the look of horror he had when he saw me with the dead girl. Of course he thought I had killed her. Even then I had thought I had accidentally killed her.
"I just never thought," Justin continues softly. "I mean I never would have said you were a killer."
"I didn't kill her, Justin." I tell him, feeling hurt that he would even think that. "I know what it looked like, but I swear she just fell on my sword. That boy, Engle? He was the one who shot her first." I pause and try to look him in the eye, but he avoids me. "You don't believe me?"
He struggles to meet my gaze and I can see the doubt in his eyes, but he takes my hand and gives it a reassuring press. "I believe you, Emma."
We look up suddenly towards the rock formation as we hear a set of cannons going off, one after the other. The ground trembles with the sound and I can't help counting them, feeling an awful sickness as the number continued to increase. At last the last of cannons fade into silence and I glance at Justin whose mouth is pressed into a thin line.
"Eleven." Justin murmurs, starting off in the other direction. I quickly fall in step with him, keeping my hand wrapped tightly around his. "How many of ours do you think made it?" he questions darkly.
"Do you want the optimistic response?" I ask. "Or do you want an honest one?"
"Honest." he replies after a long pause.
"We're probably the only ones left."
He frowns. "That's what I thought."