Chapter 28

NARRATOR | Easton Rodgers, District 9

TIME | Day 2

TRIBUTES REMAINING | 15

This sapphire bracelet feels like it's burning through my wrist, and I wish it would just kill me like I deserve.

I can't even begin to explain myself because I have no excuse. Why didn't I try to find Heather in the hovercraft before we fell into the Arena, and why didn't I hold her as tightly as I could until I knew she was safe?

But no, after everything we've been through, I failed. I volunteered myself into the Games, I was willing to give up my life to protect Heather because she deserved it, and it was all for nothing. She was killed in the Bloodbath, and now she's gone.

At least I didn't have to watch her die, I've told myself all day. My parachute got tangled in a tree, and it was too late by the time I arrived. If I'd had to watch her get stabbed, I don't think I'd be able to keep going. Still, seeing her body in a pool of blood was enough to send me over the edge. Everything after that was a blur - I chased after the boy from Eight, the one who was hovering over her body when I found her, but I tripped over a body and he got away.

I'm not sure how I made it out of the Bloodbath alive. I was so crazed that I had no control over my own body... I remember seeing the sapphire bracelet with the girl from Ten, and I tackled her to the ground for it. It's a miracle that none of the Careers spotted the bracelet and killed me for it, but I don't feel so lucky to still be here.

Adrenaline kept me on my feet for most of the day yesterday; it felt like I would have to face Heather's death the moment I stopped, so I didn't let myself rest for a minute. Once night fell and the sapphire sent its marker up into the sky, I had no choice but to keep moving for my own sake.

After running for an entire day, I had nothing left in me to keep me going. I collapsed here this morning, and I've barely moved since. As I've lain here across the ground, memories of Heather have started to crash through me in waves. She deserved to live more than me... out of everyone in this Arena, she deserved to go back home and continue her life.

More than anything, the emotion that takes over my mind is anger. My hands tremble as I try to fight the urge to scream. That boy from Eight knew what Heather was like - he watched her interview, he saw her in Training - and he still killed her. I want to leave him dead in a pool of blood just like he did to Heather.

A wave of rage passes over me, and my body relaxes, the tension flowing out of my limbs. I'm left as a sobbing mess on the ground; even if I find that boy and make him pay for what he did, nothing will change. Heather will still be gone, and there's nothing I can do to bring her back.

I wish someone would find me and end my suffering... I have nothing left to do here but die.

I'm broken from my thoughts by the familiar pinging sound of an incoming parachute, and I look up to see my second gift drifting down from the sky. As I watch the parachute fall, I know that I don't have the strength to keep going, and I'm glad. My bracelet will light up the sky any second now, and the hunt will be on. The other tributes will here in a matter of minutes, and then this will finally be over.

I force myself to grab the plastic casing of the gift and crack it open. Yesterday, my mentor sent me a canteen of water, and I already drank most of it after my day-long sprint yesterday. I hope he didn't waste too much money on me for whatever I'm getting today.

I look into the plastic casing of the gift to find two small items. At the bottom of the case is a slip of paper; resting on top of it is a bracelet made of straw.

I feel like the wind has been sucked from my lungs as I carefully pick up the straw bracelet, the one thing that Heather brought with her from Nine. Her mother wove this for her, she told me.

Beneath the bracelet is a note from Daniel. He's been a pretty horrible mentor so far, which is why I offered to be assigned to him instead of Heather, so I'm surprised that he put in the effort to leave me anything more than the bracelet.

Fifteen tributes left, it reads. What would H want?

Tears blur my vision as I think of Heather, her broken body lying on the ground beneath the Cornucopia. She didn't deserve to die, but I can't change the past. What would Heather say if she saw me like this, broken and useless?

I'm nearly blinded as the sapphire bracelet on my wrist glows, sending a strong beam of light into the sky. The light brings me to my feet, and I'm running through the trees toward the lake before I can think of what I'm doing. My body is filled with energy I didn't even know I had, as if Heather's bracelet was the key to unlocking something deep inside me.

Be smart, Easton, I can hear Heather say as I run. Don't give up... don't let them think they've defeated us just because I'm gone.

By the time I reach the center of the Arena, I'm out of breath. If anyone was looking for the sapphire tonight, they'll have no luck finding it at my old resting spot. I slip the gold band from my wrist, throwing it as far as I can into the lake behind the Cornucopia.

I hear the sapphire hit the water with a splash, and my heart sinks a bit as I see it return to the surface, sending ripples across the still water. I was hoping that it would sink to the bottom, but I guess that the Gamemakers predicted this. If nobody can reach their precious sapphire, the twist is ruined. While I don't want anyone else to have the advantages that the bracelet have brought me, they will still have to stay on the run like I have, and maybe that's a good thing.

I gingerly slip Heather's bracelet onto my wrist where the sapphire once sat. Finally, I'm free from that damned power. I tackled a girl for it, and I haven't been able to rest since. Now I have a chance to fight in these Games like Heather would want me to. If I can't protect her like I promised, I have to do the next best thing and protect her memory.

I exhale slowly, watching as the golden band floats lazily across the surface of the lake. The anger I felt earlier is gone, left behind at the beam of blue light behind me. What's left is determination... I have to be strong and push through this. For Heather.

What would H want? Daniel's note is still buried deep in my pocket. A few minutes ago, I would've said that Heather would want me to find that boy from Eight and make him pay. Do to him what he did to her. I know that's not true, though. Heather would never be so spiteful, and killing him wouldn't bring her back to life.

Heather would want me to win these Games for her. No, I take that back - she would want me to win for our home, for District Nine. Whoever survives these Games wins food for their District for the next year, and District Nine needs it more than anybody. Heather always wanted to help the people of our District, and I have a chance to do that in her honor.

I sigh, taking one last look at the sapphire bracelet before turning away and entering the woods behind me. Heather's straw bracelet feels a million times lighter on my wrist than that golden band ever did... with my partner by my side, I feel like I can finally do this. For Heather, for District Nine, and for myself.