Save me - A Hunger Games Story

Chapter 10

The burning sun blinded my vision. I had to wait a few seconds for my vision to appear again. When it did, I saw bright, greens trees looming around. Me and the other tributes were lined up in a circle, around a tall, jet black cornucopia. About 11 tributes to my right, I spotted Ash, wearing matching clothes to myself. He subtly nodded behind me, for our plan to work. 

The bangs of the countdown roared, announcing only 30 seconds left until the beginning.

I searched the cornucopia. A whole array of weapons and materials were packed inside. A bit further away I noticed some backpacks. In fact there was one just in front of me, not too far off. Just a quick sprint. Hurriedly I made my decision.

10

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1

GO!

Running the fastest I probably had ever in my life, I shot forward and lunged for the backpack. Clutching one of the straps with my hand and pulled it onto my back. To my luck, a belt of freshly sharpened knives was attached, and I pulled that around my waist. I sprinted behind me for the safety of the trees, without looking back at what was probably a bloodbath. 

Once enclosed in the safety of the trees and bushes, I dared to turn back. My mouth gasped open in horror. There were so many bodies of the tributes lying still on the ground, with pools of red staining the once green grass. Behind the bodies, holding shining metal weapons were some of the Careers I had seen earlier. Orion and Alexis had teamed up with the tributes from District 1 and now looked like a lethal alliance. Screams and cries erupted from the cornucopia as I saw two more tributes collapsed to the floor. Apart from the dead tributes and the Careers, I saw multiple tributes sprinting behind the trees like me, some empty handed, others with some stuff.

But where was Ash? And then it dawned on me. Could he have died in the bloodbath? No. He was so strong and he could probably win a fight. A tear slipped down my face and I brushed it off. Turning around, I ran further into the forest.

After running for what felt like forever, stumbled across a small stream. The water softly lapsed against my boots as I crouched down and sat at the edge of the water. Searching around to check there was no tribute around, I opened the zipper of my backpack and emptied the contents onto the grass. A box of matches, a water bottle, a pack of water sterilizers, some packs of food and a sleeping bag. Wow. I got lucky. 

Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. 

The cannons. Marking the deaths of the tributes. 14. That meant there were only 10 of us left.

After packing them away, I filled my water bottle with water from the stream and sterilized it. With a full bottle, and the sky turning dark, I stumble not too far from the stream, into some mossy areas, and built a bed. Exhausted, I wiggled into me sleeping bag and tried to sleep. But when I closed my eyes, I saw the bodies of the fallen tributes, lying still, and wondered whether Ash was one of them, or was searching for me.

But just as I was about to fall asleep, the familiar anthem echoed everywhere and I looked up at the sky. Bold silver words read: The fallen. I gulped. Blinking once, I stared up as the pictures of some of the tributes appeared, along with their district number.

The girl from 3. The boy from 3. The girl from 5. The boy from 5. The girl from 6. The girl from 7. The boy from 7. The girl from 8. The boy from 8. The girl from 9. The boy from 9. The boy from 10. The girl from 11. And the boy from 11.

Wait. No boy from 12. Ash was alive?

Beaming, I fell asleep, convinced that in the morning, I would find Ash.