Thanks to A (guest) for reviewing at least four times! As for why the girl from District 5 is so rude, I modeled all of the tributes in these games after my 7th grade classmates, with the exception of River (who is modeled after my friend who just happens to have a name that is perfect for the fishing district) and Victoria. The girl who was the model for the D5 girl is extremely obnoxious and rude.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games.
River and Oliver lay him down in front of a kneeling Maddie. Maddie screams and starts trying to bandage Alistair's leg with Oliver's jacket, which the other boys were using to carry Alistair. Her hands are bloody almost instantly. I shake my head when Maddie looks at me desperately. I know he's never going to live no matter what I do, so why even try. Plus, the sight of the stump where his leg used to be and his shredded thigh makes me want to throw up last night's dinner of berries and rabbits.
Maddie turns her attention back to him as she bursts into tears. He raises his hand to her face slowly. "Don't cry for me, Maddie. I'll see you when you come home. Please don't cry over me," he whispers weakly. She grabs his hand before it can drop. His cannon booms.
Maddie doesn't listen to his final wish. She screams and cries and shakes him like she's trying to wake him up from his eternal sleep. A hovercraft appears to take Alistair's body, but it has to wait for River and Oliver to drag Maddie away from the body. She screams and kicks and tries to bite them.
After the body is gone, Maddie curls into a ball, leaning against the cornucopia, and starts to sob. Anna and I go hunting and refill all of the berry bags. Five rabbits come with us to camp, arrows through their heads. When we come back, she's still sobbing. "Who'd y'all kill this morning?" I ask Anna as we skin and clean the rabbits. "The girl from six. Then Alistair died, that means only eight people left, and it's only the second day. Who's left again?" she asks, pulling off the skin of the last rabbit and chucking it into the swamp.
"Maddie, you and Oliver, Caroline from 3, River and I, and the girls from nine and ten. I think their names are Sarah and Katherine,' I answer after thinking for a few seconds. She nods, biting her bottom lip. I can tell she still worried about her and Oliver being the final two. But I'm not going to let that happen, no on my watch. Gradually, Maddie stops crying.
I glance around to see what the others are doing as the rabbits cook. Oliver and River are talking in hushed voices, probably comparing weapons or something like that. Maddie is staring into space, clutching one of the spears that Alistair used. "All right, let's eat,' I say.
While we're eating, a parachute floats down and lands right in front of me. I hear a sloshing noise from within, so I twist the wide cap off carefully. Inside is water, lapping against the sides gently. There's a note attached to the inside of the lid. "From home," it reads. It's signed To Princess Victoria Rose, from Finnick Odair, your mentor dearest. I hold it up to my nose and take a sniff. My eyes water as tears form.
I give it to Maddie to pass to River. She smells it, and wrinkles her nose as she passes it to River. He sticks his nose in, and comes out sniffling. He screws the lid on and throws it into the cornucopia's pile.
"What is that? It smells disgusting," she asks me. "It's salt water from District 4. And it doesn't smell disgusting, it smells like home," I say, offended. "It smells like Marlin," I add, under my breath. We finish eating in silence.
I open my mouth to say that I'm hunting tonight when Maddie cuts across me. "I'm hunting tonight. I need closure," she says stonily. I nod. I set Oliver and River up to guard, then Maddie, Anna, and I head out down one of the narrow paths. I secretly hope that we don't find anyone. At least if we do, I can make Maddie or Anna kill them. My conscience is already plagued enough.